My Year in Review a pictorial passion

[aniceguy]

As a year it should be called full circle

We at the club worked hard for many years before the ecological framework changes happened to have sections of the North shore rivers opened to more angling opportunities, happily the OMNR listened. For the first time in many many years I was able to legally fish the lower stretches of the Credit for steelies.

 

So my year started January 1 on the Credit

 

 

and this picture as it was the first fish caught in these new waters and the last picture from an article on a conservation group in ODD I’m hoping it’s not so, that magazine's quality and respectability will dwindle under the new regime as many are saying

 

 

So with some rest and relaxation my son and I decided to take a run up for perch

 

 

He is my youngest and the most adorable little kid out there, of course I am biased'

 

 

I was told by a local that the 4 inches my son was lying on was open water with chunk ice a week before this picture, but it was fun watching them jig perch up

 

 

Not much time had passed and one of m good fishing pals commits me to a white jig fest on Simcoe, after the 4k walk we finally get on fish, funny thing about that day we walked I swear more then we fished but I had dinner

 

 

There were a few trips in between but none that were eventful memorable or photo worthy until>>>>>>>>>>>>

Winter steelhead

 

 

I will say that spending time with some new friends is always a worthy thing to do as you never know when a best friend is about to emerge

 

 

 

 

 

The Niagara with friends.....It was cold the hands were hot and I had the distinct pleasure of meeting amongst the rest a man named Trev...it’s a day I’ll remember for quite some time as his stories from when I wasn’t even a twinkle enlightens ones zest to fish for sure

The pictures that came out of this trip were neat

 

 

Got to love the weather

 

 

 

Well with the thaw coming and having some business out east I figured let’s kill 2 birds with 1 stone I didn’t have a pile of time but enough to find a pretty fish willing to take my bait as an offering

 

 

 

 

Feeling the urge for a road trip off I went to the states for a bit of dirty water angling, nothing better than finding old browns mixed in with fresh chrome it was a fun day for a pile of reasons none the less was spending time with a close friend

 

 

 

A northern excursion

Knowing everything would pop and soon I would be busy on the daily fish lifts the club does I figured time to get out, it was a neat trip where for some reason I became obsessed on a low angle shot....go figure

 

And the shot just didn’t turn the way I wanted

 

 

And the reason I love steelhead so much a tank out of the ladder on the Credit

 

 

 

 

The opener

Usually by the point of trout openers I’m all trout bummed out from fishing them hard on every single chance I can over the winter although openers from the old days was about seeing river bums you have seen in a while with msn these days they are a nudge away.... many times I’ll even leave roe at home and see if I can get them to go on bugs..The take down is out of this world

 

 

 

A few trips in between for some hidden late spawners and I was content to put the long stick away for a while...

May was a clean the house event with a few garage sales, after some thought I decided to sell my old boat and pick up another one that was more in line with my summer passion BASS!!

Out with the old

 

 

And in with the new!!

 

 

Not much I had to do with this boat other than a cleanup detail….and this picture says it all really

 

 

Well it’s time to chase the brown and greens…. Bass opener was approaching and I really wanted to spend the day with my wife so that she could understand this obsession we all have, I was happy to know that after a few hours she finally understood and was even more understanding of this constant need to fish…after she took this picture it was humbling to see how she perceived it and me while flipping a jig quietly for hours

 

 

The triton on her fish trip for a sliming with me

 

 

The greatest thing to ever happen to me Christina, simply because she puts up with this fishing nirvana

 

 

And another tiny one from the day

 

 

 

A few days later as a return for his generosity over the winter I asked if a good friend would join me, partially hoping to hook a pile but also to quit eager to extend the friendship some more (happily it most certainly did that!!)

It was a tough bit but we managed a few fish and even more laughs

 

 

 

Shortly thereafter I got a call from my friend Donna to come fish with her and Walter, to kick off the GOSD never shy to turn down an offer off we went ½ a day of fun followed by running back for the kids baseball game I recall being exhausted that day but I was happy that she finally got how important these Lake Ontario cold water fish really are….and how committed she is to them and us as anglers

 

 

This as it turns out was my favorite picture of the entire year of me anyway

 

 

Well work Baseball with the kids and life had me tied up for the rest of the month a few small local outings but nothing to shake at other than seeing just how fast I can push my boat……alas it was time to pack the clan and head to the cottage….. It was a summer trip to remember filled with some serious first.

My youngest lipping them and hooking them

 

 

My daughter getting beyond EWWWWW gross!!!!! To hummm this is cool

 

 

And of course the dock fishing extravaganza ‘’fish hooked without bait” we all laughed so hard I genuinely think that dock won’t hold fish for a year. I did try on subsequent trips too and it really didn’t hold fish like it did earlier on in the year

 

 

It wouldn’t be complete without some time up north and some back river with two close friends some 4wt fun, its surreal when its 30 degrees outside but the water is a cool 14 degrees and these things are everywhere

 

 

And of course the greatest family on the planet

 

 

Ohh ya some fish I actually did catch on vacation

 

 

 

Back home and fully rested I found some time to fish with someone I have gained a lot of respect for …..From a moment at a fishing show when we really didn’t know each other and me asking him to help with the craa hatchery to a guy who has stood up and ran a hatchery that is responsible for lots of those rainbows you catch in the blue zone these days. If you like your steelhead he sure is raising a lot of them for you

We decided to run out and have some fun…. Next summer will come with some techniques the GL guys aren’t aware of some light line tactics that should seriously rock!!!

This picture is of a bait ball so dense it disengaged the sonar

 

 

A neat picture of the day

 

 

And finally a fish from the day

 

 

Well finally I had the chance to fish a few club events’ this summer and enjoyed every single one of them. Tournament fishing at its funniest but regardless I still subscribe to the principle that if I wanted to make money tournament fishing I would sell the boat…bottom line it’s all about the fun and giggles

 

 

Somewhere in all this summer fun I knew I had to get out again so again I decided to do a small lake that I know had serious smallies in it…..while we didn’t slay them it again was a wicked day of fishing What I’ll remember about that day was our faces after we couldn’t manage a bit for a bit and this guy’s 12 yr old spanks them right in front of the boat as we chatted….

 

 

 

 

I really do love this pothole lake for its smallies for a tiny piece of water they have some nice fish in it off the radar not many know about it and it sure does produce some real pigs

 

 

Of course a classic of fishing with milo that anyone who has ever fished with me my chronic obsession with FOOD!!!!!!

 

 

Not wanting to stop I quickly planned another trip out to get on them……………. It was a bit cooler but the bit was ok

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well the following weekend I fishing a tournament on Quinte after day 1 I was happily in 9th less than 4 lb off the lead out of 68 boats I felt good for the next day as I was really teamed with one heck of an awesome bass fisherman

 

 

Insert this picture for day 2 and insert teary eyes the cards just weren’t there…I’m blaming it on beer and ballet dancers lol but I did learn hook sets are free so set the damn thing already

 

 

fall steelhead

Well I left the bass rods aside for a bit to dawn the waders and dust off the long stick. never upset to do that I tell ya and off I go on one of the biggest river walks I have ever done, for those that know the catt I walked ½ way from Versailles to Gowanda it was an epic walk with not a lot of fish but some serious quality hiking with someone I consider one of the best GL steel headers out there…., then back at it again a few weeks later and again a few after that, I will let the pictures talk along side with some great scenery shots of my fall steel heading season

 

 

so fresh a lamprey just met its demise

 

 

 

TO BE CONTINUED

[drwxr]

awsome

[Leecher]

WOW.... great report and pics aniceguy

 

That's a lot of nice steels congratulations

Beautiful bass too

 

Thanks for sharing

Leechman

[pirlo06]

wow!!! great report aniceguy!! congratulations on the new boat! shes a beauty! i see that you love to fish the credit, i am the same way only i stay away from the river in peak runs because of the number of people on the river. so your saying that the bridge just below erindale park is open year round?? ive never fished those stretches, can you walk right underneath that bridge?? i've been dieing to get out for some steel and the credit is awesome in the winter, its a bit of a drive from where i live so it hurts when i drive down there and find out shes blown, if you can tell me the river is fishable right now that would be much appreciated and i think instead of going ice fishing tomorrow ill bust out my 10' sage and make a trip down there. thanks in advance

[ehg]

Those are some great fishing pictures, especially the trout close ups

Nice new boat as well!

[Dnthmn]

 

Wow.

[mikeh]

Thanks for sharing those pictures, that fish in the first picture looks huge with nice colours. Congrats on a great year.

[lunkerbasshunter]

wow you sure got into some awesome fish this year! Congrats!

 

Cheers!

[highdrifter]

OH SO SWEET! Great news about the lower stretches being open too..

 

HD

[ccmtcanada]

Wow...those are some BEAUTY trout!!!! Congrats on a great year!!