Master of Bait Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 (edited) Hey gang, Amazing, but after not having angled the dangle in more than a month, I hit Simcoe again on Saturday - THAT'S TWICE IN TWO WEEKS!!!!! Better yet, I'm off again next weekend!!!!! This'll be three times in three weeks for me, well above average considering I've ice fished exactly twice in the last ten years... Here's the scoop on Saturday's mission... Plan was to leave my place in North York at 8am, one punctual buddy shows up on time, the other two are working off their hangovers. 9:15 we're packed and good to go. Stop at timmies then off to Lucky in Scarborough for minnows and a license - doesn't open until 10am, more waiting. Finally baited up and on the road at 10:30am, pulling into Sibbald Point at 11:30. Park the ride and we're hoofing it out on foot towards the pack of huts northwest of the launch ramp - about a klick's walk with lots of gear but not killer. Start drilling with the manual auger and 12 holes and a ton of sweat later, we're good. In case anyone was out there we were the goofs with the summer camping tent out on the ice... Action was slow at first then came in waves. A few decent fish mixed in with lots of dinks. All in all it amounted to 30 keepers between 4 guys in 4 hours. Not great but far better than lounging on the couch. The friendly neighborhood CO paid a visit. Didn't hang and chat but he did his job and he was nice about it. Overall, great time between friends. I've never been big on the hardwater but I think my mindset is changing. Could never have imagined being so excited about nailing a 9 " perch, something about the mystery of the hole, who knows, but I like it! I must echo Clampet's point in another post where he says doing it on your own is more fun. We were 4 guys who could've spent $160 between the 4 of us for a hut but did it all for a few bucks (parking, sandwiches and bait). It's nice to be a little mobile and there's something satisfying about figuring it out on your own. Not to slag the hut operators but any time the weather permits I'd rather do it on my own. All I have is a manual auger, no vex. Good enough for me. I actually have pics but they'll come later as they're from a buddy's camera. Quick question for you in the know out there. My father in law and I are going next Sunday for a few hours in the morning and I wonder if anyone can tell me where I can get perch-sized shiners on the way up? Ideally it'd be somewhere between the Davis Drive exit on the 404 and the provincial park but I'll go wherever I need to. Just want to avoid waiting until Lucky tackle opens at 10. Probably leaving the house at 7. Appreciate any help and hope to post pics soon. Cheers! Hope it works, I'm trying to link pics from myfishingpicutres.com... http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto...0&password= http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto...0&password= http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto...0&password= http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showphoto...0&password= Edited March 27, 2007 by Master of Bait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeh Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 TRY Harry's bait and tackle in Keswick 905-476-0441 , call ahead to see what he has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douG Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Master, you write very nicely. I enjoyed that, and thanks for your report. You are welcome here, hope you can stay fer a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master of Bait Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Hey Mike, Thanks for the suggestion. A detour through Keswick may be unavoidable - still far better than waiting for minnows in the city. DouG, Thanks for the kind words! Appreciate the friendly and welcoming attitude from folks like yourself on this board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMASSE Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 gOOD JOB, HARRY IS A GOOD GUY TO DEAL WITH AS WELL, MASTER OF THE FISHING GROUNDS.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clampet Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Thanks fer the plug! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccmtcanada Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Great report! Well written and thought out. Will be looking forward to the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskieb Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 You could try Smokey's in Jackson's Point for minnows too. You will get a good number of minnows for the price and they always have some larger minnows mixed in with the small perch minnows, just a little bonus for the odd big guy cruising through. Likely less of a detour than Keswick too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crappieperchhunter Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 I agree with muskieB smokey's would be a much closer stop. There is even a Timmies close to it. Might I suggest artificial bait ? I fish Simcoe for Perch alot and haven,t used minnows for over 10 years. My #1 bait would be a #2 or #3 sized firetiger jigging rapala tipped on the treble hook with 1 Berkley 'Micros" Power wigglers..small artificial maggots...neon pink being my favourite colour. I also use homemade Simcoe "BUGS"...Harry used to sell them but I have not been there for ages so I don't know if he still does. If you do try either of my suggestions I would also suggest going with 2-4 LB line...anything heavier and you will not get a good feel for using the artificials and end up missing light hits. Good luck when you get out next. I hope you give the artificials a shot. It sure beats having to scurry around for bait everytime you head out to the lake. Not to mention lugging a bucket of water around if you are walking out...less weight to lug around is always better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master of Bait Posted February 22, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Hey folks, Coupla pics added at the bottom of the original post. Still trying to "master" this effort - they're direct links to the fishing pics website. Will try to get better at this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbayboy Posted February 22, 2007 Report Share Posted February 22, 2007 Sounds like a great time, I really gotta convince some of my friends that ice fishing isn't that bad, I haven't been able to drag anyone out yet and never feel like going by myself (just more fun with others). For the pictures to show inline just put them in [ img ] like this: [ img http://www.myfishingpictures.com/img/119026.jpg/img ] - only without the spaces in the square brackets. When you look at your pics on myfishingpictures the url you want is the "image link" down at the bottom - paste that into the img section and voila: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master of Bait Posted March 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Test: [http://www.myfishingpictures.com/img/119024.jpg/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douG Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b2kptbo Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Looks like ya's had a good time, great report... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted March 27, 2007 Report Share Posted March 27, 2007 Nice read! Thanks for taking the time. You've got the bug now! I just love Perchin, when they're bitin! I also second Crappieperchhunter's suggestion that you really don't need live bait for Perch, especially this late in the season. They got the feed bag strapped on and will eat just about anything that's put in front of them. I also find that for numbers, the artificials out fish minnows two to three to one... and it has nothing to do with which bait is better, it has everything to do with how fast you can hook'em, get them in, un-hooked and your bait back down the hole! By the time you re- bait you lure and get it back down the hole, the guy using the artificial has already caught two or three more! Number two Jiggin Rap, with the Berkely Power Maggots, I prefer white, are deadly, especially this time of year! Sunny days, I prefer the blue and silver and cloudy days, fire tiger! HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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