Ok...I've had just about enough!!!

[Canuck2fan]

Lightning water and I don't mix.... Since May this year many times on the one day off I get each week the % chance of a boomer rolling through makes spending the 30 bucks worth of fuel to get to big water a bad bet. Only to have to turn around and come home without wetting a line. The four times I risked it I got rained on 3 no worries Frogg Toggs do work fine, one trip though was interesting as I had to wait out a major T-storm in the car for over an hour. Also the fishing sucked HUGE all 4 times I have bothered going to big water since the second week of April. Never seen it so slow at either spot EVER when I did go as well. I hope the high water levels will mean something come steelhead time though.

 

So this year, due to time and weather constraints I have spent a lot more time fishing closer to home. I know the spots well, never get skunked and amuse myself by catching lots of bass while other's can only catch rock bass or sunfish. This year I am definitely catching good numbers of fish (except last Saturday)but they are all smaller than usual even the panfish.

 

At one spot I have refined my approach to "sniper" the bass I want to catch. It gets a little depressing though when you constantly line up a nice 2lb plus smallie only to have a little 1/4 or 1/2 lb fish dart in and grab the bait while the bigger fish just sits there UNINTERESTED. I have to wonder what is going on, since I can't use crayfish anymore I know that is part of it but something else is still way different than the past 3 or 4 yrs.

 

GCD says he is keeping at it because they HAVE to eat sometime and I do agree but this year I just can't crack the feeding schedule. Other years I could predict within ten to twenty minutes when the big guys would turn off and on there. I would be able to show up when others had been fishing for hours with nothing going on and nail a few decent fish and then head out because I knew nothing would bite after a certain time. This year that timing is way different but again only the smaller fish will hit anything you offer them.

 

Which, just goes to show the best learning opportunities are usually in adverse situations. I have spent more time this year watching how a certain type of fish will attack a kind of bait compared to other species. It is also very interesting to see how a small fish uses speed to smack a large bait stunning as it swims by, so it can come back and then try to swallow it, whereas a big fish will just engulf it and carry on.

[blarg]

It didnt rain In north bay yesterday, first time in a week, and its supposed to be nice all day today, if it doesnt rain today it will be the first two day stretch without rain that i can remember since a warm stretch we had in may. I dont care where your from, thats crappy weather. And a great deal of that rain was in the form of thunder showers.

 

 

 

Lol, i just noticed, net attendant, what does that pay anyway?

Edited August 12, 2008 by blarg

[LeXXington]

I was thinking it was my fault for a while everytime I wanted to go fishing it was rainy or windy. Now I know its Cliff's Fault

 

If only you could pick your work days when the weather was bad and your fishing days when it was good. Guess thats call retirement

[Squid]

I can't find any smileys with the whiner symbol.

[fishnsled]

 

 

There you go Squid.

 

 

I've been fishing about the same as usual, perhaps even a bit more. My weekends are some what flexible and just pick the day that looks less likely to have a thunderstorm. Not to say that the weather has not hurt the number of days on the water but I seem to be making out OK. The fishing since about mid-June has slowed down a bit. A lot of smaller fish and the bigger ones seem to be few and far between this summer.

[Reef Runner]

So far this year, I've fished alot less.

 

But its not the weather, hmmnnn...maybe different kind of whether

 

"Wonderin whether you'd be available to come by this weeknd and help me..."

[Garry2Rs]

I have been out a lot, 5 or more times in some weeks.

As was mentioned, I have never used my rain gear so much!

The early fishing ...Crappie and Pike were okay, but the fish weren't where I expected until well into the season. What I'm saying is I found them on the "regular opening days spots about 2 - 3 weeks later than usual.

Musky were shallow at the start of the season, typical for cold water...but I don't target them anymore so I can't say much about them. One expert said the bite was great, but he fishes a very shallow lake where the higher water might not have retarded the weed growth as much as in the "Shield" type lakes.

Bass started well. Then there was a drop in my numbers as the SMBass moved to deeper water, but usually the LMBass would have been moving in...I don't think they did until quite recently.

So I am saying the since the beginning of the month the LMBass are coming on strong.

Water levels in the North Kawarthas are now at JULY levels...

All this deeper water means slower weed growth etc.

In my opinion, the fishing has picked up and is more like the early July bite than the normally slower August bite...

If that's true, everything is running about a month behind what was normal for the last half-dozen years.

Garry2rs

[JohnF]

I have been out a lot, 5 or more times in some weeks.

As was mentioned, I have never used my rain gear so much!

The early fishing ...Crappie and Pike were okay, but the fish weren't where I expected until well into the season. What I'm saying is I found them on the "regular opening days spots about 2 - 3 weeks later than usual.

Musky were shallow at the start of the season, typical for cold water...but I don't target them anymore so I can't say much about them. One expert said the bite was great, but he fishes a very shallow lake where the higher water might not have retarded the weed growth as much as in the "Shield" type lakes.

Bass started well. Then there was a drop in my numbers as the SMBass moved to deeper water, but usually the LMBass would have been moving in...I don't think they did until quite recently.

So I am saying the since the beginning of the month the LMBass are coming on strong.

Water levels in the North Kawarthas are now at JULY levels...

All this deeper water means slower weed growth etc.

In my opinion, the fishing has picked up and is more like the early July bite than the normally slower August bite...

If that's true, everything is running about a month behind what was normal for the last half-dozen years.

Garry2rs

 

So d'ya think the MNR will extend the bass season by a month or so?

 

JF

[ozaibak1]

It's very interesting. I go fishing every 2 weekends. Last year almost all of them happened to be total rain, and storms, sucked. This year, we been gettin REAL LUCKY in that it seems to rain except when we're on the water, and lightly. Crazy thing too is, last time I fished which was right after a storm, in a cold front, I had my best performance of the year! And finished right before a hard long rain came down for the entire night. I think it's karma, I feel that the kawartha lakes spirits have protected me for the sacrifices I have made in its honor.

[jwl]

I have actually been having a great year...winter pike and steelies was awesome, lots of 10lbs plus fish in the mix...bringing that into spring, I have gotten to my trailer quite a bit this year and caught some nice fish althuogh I normally catch alot more and bigger pike, and have only muckled with one really big musky so far which I lost in the battle..that however should change in the next 2 months..lol. I have been having some great pickereye fishin on Erie as well, fortunately one of my fishin buddy's JHM (Reel Serious Charters) has invited me out on his 27ft boat a few times and we been doing pretty good, just Tuesday we got 15 .

 

So overall I would have to say that I am having a pretty good season so far and still got untill Dec 31st to top it off

[Greencoachdog]

Adapt, improvise, and overcome!!!