Fishing 4 Mile

Fished a CBAF event on 4 Mile lake on Saturday September 22nd. With a draw format you don't know who your partner is until a few days before the event, and in this scenario I had never met my partner until the morning of the event. Friday night we had a conversation over the phone to discuss our game plan and we met at the lake before blast.

For what was deemed a slow day by many, we managed to stay on fish all day long. We got a lot of fish under 12 inches, but overall we managed to bring in an decent bag. We though for sure we were in the money but we had no idea we would finish first overall. 

We generally fished weed humps and rocky points. The sun definitely played a major roll in fish activity when ever it popped out from behind the clouds. Throwing Senkos, Jerk-Baits, and Tubes through out the day provided all the fish that mad it to the weigh in, while drop shoting came up with only fish under 12 inches. I took a risk and decided to try Power Pro super slick 8 for the first time at the event. I cant say enough good things about it right now! It is the best handling line I have ever used, over the course of the season I have been slowly turning to Power Pro and Suffix braid since my long time stand by (Fireline Braid) just does not seem to be the same anymore. I really have spent a lot of time experimenting with different line this year and so far think I am pretty happy with my choices. I have to spend a bit more time on the Suffix braid, but with how nice the Super Slick 8 is, I have a feeling it may not get a fair chance. Only reason it is still on my reel is that it sinks a bit better than Power Pro, which I prefer for jigs and plastics.

All things aside, I had a great partner in Patrick Chow from OSP and PH Lure on 4 Mile. We had a lot of fun, caught a lot of fish considering it was a cold front, and despite some chaos when we were puling the boats out was a great event!

Here are some photos.

The Big Fish of the event!

Second Place Fish

Some of the Winning Fish

Tournament on Scugog

After missing the CBAF Scugog event with the North GTA club, I decided to jump on to fish the Kawarthas event, and I am glad I did. I got paired up with a great boater, we had a lot of fun even though it was an odd day. The fish hit very hitting lightly, most of the time we didn't know they where there when we were shaking the baits, but when we started reeling we felt the weight. 

Then there was the smallie.....that hit a Live Target Frog in open water! I remember reading an article maybe 12 years ago about brook trout fishing in lakes. They said "when you are entering a bay, always make a cast out side of the bay on the way in." That's something that I have adopted with all sorts of species. We were fishing this section of lilly pads, and didn't get a fish, as we started turning the boat towards the main lake to leave, I decided to make a cast across the mouth of a little back bay. Halfway across the bay, my frog got hammered! At first I thought that it was a bucket mouth  while my boater was saying it is was smallie, but once we got it in the net we realized how big of a smallie it actually was! 

I like the guy posing in the background!

The large mouth came on a Chilli Pepper Flappin' Craw from Bass Magnet rigged on a 1/4 ounce tungsten weight with a 5/0 TK 130 Trokar Flipping Hook

Fishing The Bog!!!

Spent the day on Scugog doing some running around with Seabass trying to learn the lake a bit better. We had a decent morning, then it slowed down a bit, but then got real exciting just before we had to leave (I had to work....boooo)


First, the exciting part.....

We were working our way through an area, and found some great structure, and I mean great! Like when the people on TV draw those little diagrams that have 4 or 5 pieces of major structure all close together to save room on the TV screen kind of great! So he flips up to the outside edge, and gets hit on the drop, lets me know that he has a fish on and as I turn to look I see the bass coming up for a jump, and a giant Muskie coming up to eat it! The Muskie turns on the fish at the surface, throws about a gallon of water into the boat with his tail, splashes around some more, and rips the bass off the hook leaving the bait intact! We were guessing that fish to be in the 50 inch + class this was the longest freshwater fish and close to the fattest fish I have ever seen in person!


The rest of the day...went something thing like this.

We got there as the sun was just about to break the horizon, hit up a flat with assorted weeds and started throwing frogs and punch baits. We had a few fish each blow up on the Live Target frogs and Seabass got one in the boat, but I couldn't get any fish on the Strike King Rodent.

Eventually we started to move around, we were here to learn after all. We spotted some fish still guarding fry and we left them alone to guard. Since between the two of us, we only fished the lake three or four times before, we focused on finding new spots in the lake, and we found some cool spots!  Scugog really is a "junk" fishing paradise. Flipping pads, punching baits, picking apart docks, and throwing frogs is probably my favourite way to fish, and the "bog" really is a great place to do it! We switched our focus to flipping docks as the sun got high and I hooked into a nice one on a jig almost right away.

Excuse Sebastians finger.....he normally uses an iPhone

 Seabass got some nice fish, including the one that was stolen from him, but my favourite was this tiny guy he got throwing a spinner bait...he is probably gonna kill me for posting this!!!!!

See....no finger!

All in all it was a good day, found some new spots, and even though we had to get out early, had a decent learning day.

Waterfalls Lodge May 2012

 Every year for the past 3 there is a group of us that go to Waterfalls Lodge in Spanish Ontario, this year was no exception. We left Sunday morning, stopped at the Big Nickel in Sudbury as usual, and head right over to Waterfalls Lodge.

 We were welcomed by Rob and Kathy,spent the first afternoon fishing off the docks, and than hit the sack. We woke up at 4:30 am, and hit the water hard on Monday. This year, the water was exceptionally warm for May, 19 Celsius (approx. 67 F) so the pike were coming out of the spawning bays. We hit a lot of large Smallies, both off shore, and in deep water while trying for Pike....I had one come out of 36 feet of water, and destroy my X-Rap!

Eventually we found the pike, and started getting them on X-Rap's, Spinner Baits, and X-Zone Swamers, which is what started to produce the most consistent larger fish.

                                     Here are some of the fish we caught on our trip.

One very cold morning, and the smallies were hungry!

A nice pike out of 20 feet of water...They were definitely scattered this year.

Use a net on any sized fish when throwing a Trokar.....don't want that thrashing around your hands and arms!

This one crushed a cisco coloured Swammer!

Managed a few coincidental smallies on top water frog's!

Was throwing a generic beater frog for pike......I will keep my Kooper's Live Target Frogs in one piece for Bass Tournaments! They work too good to slice em up on Pike.

The Swammers really came into their own when I found some pike in 12-20 feet of water, just outside a spawning bay. I put it on an articulated football head jig head made by Stringease, with a 2/0 TK110 Trokar hook, and yo-yo'ed the bait back to the boat. They always seemed to hit it right before it started to drop. Having a fast gear ratio and a 7 foot rod helped to pick up line and set the hook home.

Spitters!

This is my first attempt at hard foam poppers....and it was a blast! Its like an art project that catches you fish, well you hope it catches!

It was a lot of fun turning this....

Into...

The three on the top have a few wraps of lead just behind the foam bodies on the hook. This creates a tail down resting position much like the Heddon Zarah Spook One Knockers. I am hopping that they will walk just a bit because of this despite the lack of a keel. None the less, the tails on those ones have much more bulk, and are made of (from left to right) webby hackle, marabou, and a rabbit strip, all with a wrapped hackle up to the foam.

The flies on the bottom are all hackle, except the far right, that is the webby part of the hackle, deer hair, and crystal flash underbody that has been plucked out.

All the bodies are salt water grade Wapsi Perfect Poppers that were painted with acrylics, and dip coated in urethane before the tails were tied in. They are pretty tough bodies! The eyes are Bass Pro 3-D Stick On Eyes that I added before dipping. 

I cant wait to throw these for Pike on out trip up to Waterfalls Lodge in 2 weeks, and bass when the season opens!

Here are some details of my favourites!

Deer Hair, Black Saddle Hackle, Diamond Dub

All Hackle

Grizzly Webby Hackle, White Saddle Hackle, and White Flexx-Floss

Add caption

Chrome Paint, Arctic Fox, Yello Marabou

Black Saddle Hackle, Webby Saddle Wrapped, and Flexx-Floss barred with Magic Marker.

Next on the "Tie-List"....

Rabbit-Sculpin

and a video for my rabbit-leech.

Dont forget the box

Not to long ago, I spent a day on Balsam with a friend. It was the first time for both of us on this body of water, so after some research we decided to make the short run into Mitchell Lake. Its a much smaller body of water and with the high winds we were excepting likely much safer, and easier to fish. 

Since we were targeting pike, we decided to start with suspending jerkbaits, my favourite technique for spring pike. We didn't even see a fish for the first hour. Than we noticed a boat with one guy on it, hooking up every two or three casts. Once we got with in shouting range we initiated a conversation. He was throwing a 3/4 ounce spoon, and catching fish all day, and the day before! So to the tackle bag to grab my spoon box.....wait, where is my spoon box? At home, with all my trout gear.

With the excitement of a day of fishing ahead, I forgot to go through my tackle bag and grab the appropriate boxes. So now, I am the guy who went pike fishing in the spring with out a box of spoons. We managed to eventually land a few fish that day, but nothing compared to the guy throwing the firetiger Bluefox. 

Being prepared is so important to a day of success. A big part of that is making sure that you get a good nights sleep and give yourself enough time to prepare the night before the trip. Forgetting a box of tackle is one thing, it might just mean you get to improve your net skills through out the day. But imagine how bad a day on the water could be if you forget water, food, sunscreen/protection or bug repellant. I have forgotten all of those on different occasions. Although fishing a a few hours without food is not that bad, without water or sunscreen the day is downright gruelling. I have started a necessity check list that has all of those items included. I now have a bag with sunscreen, muskoil, line conditioner, all my scents(not a necessity but easier to carry in this bad) a hat, glue, tape and a first aid kit that I make sure to bring along with water, a few granola bars and rain gear for every trip. 

Exploring Lake Ontario

Spent some time on the water with Sea Bass last week. The pike were still lethargic, and would barley move at anything we were throwing, had a few pike follow, but none would commit. Got into a little back bay where the water was a few degrees warmer and hooked a bass. Way at the back we spotted a some smaller pike, a gar, and a whole bunch of bowfin sunning them selves in the shallow muddy water right up against some deeply undercut reeds. Needless to say, that spot has a waypoint on it, and I am definitely going back in there when bass open!


All in all, it was an explorative day. Tried out the GoPro camera, and really started to use the FireLine Braid on my casting gear.




A few days before fishing around Toronto, we were on Lake Ontario launching out of Pickering. We fished in Frenchmans Bay and around the warm water outflow from the power plant. Sea Bass managed a few small bass, and I hooked a nice brown on a big 3/4 ounce spinner bait.

Going to be spending a few days on land with a camera, but I will be out again soon. I think the next few trips will be for trout, cant wait to try out the new reel that Courtland sent me as a warranty replacement!

Time For Trout

Ok, this will be a quick one, but I finally got my centre pin and my big fly reel back. Just in time, because I was getting a bit of cabin fever. I was thinking of using my drop shot rod to trot spinners for steelhead!! I can finally get out and enjoy the bizarre warm weather we are having and hook into some of the trout everyone else has been catching.....and I am excited!

I put some Trelene Sensation on my pin, gonna try the high-viz line this year. I have seen quite a few people do it in the past, and have always wondered about it. Either way, I can finally get out to the rivers again, planing to hit the streams on Wednesday, so a report should be coming soon!

Line up!

I know every one talks about using fresh line, especially tournament guys, but sometimes line right out of the pack just doesn't preform right for me. I've come up with a few rituals that I use when spooling that really help me.

No matter what type of line I use every time I spool up, I use a paper towel that has been lubricated with a line conditioner. Personally I use Blakemore Reel Magic Lubricant both when I spool up and on the reel before a day on the water. I believe that it really helps with line memory, castability, and helps the line lay down nicely when I am filling the spool.

I found that Fireline Fuse, and most coated braids, work better after it has been cast for a while. Some of the coating comes off and the line actually handles better. Instead of breaking in the line on the water, I started breaking it in at home, using a practice plug, and just making a bunch of casts in the yard using some paper towel lubricated with some line conditioner, holding the line just above the reel. This will  take off some of the coating with out damaging the line. And since you are not retrieving wet braid, the coating comes off is easier to clean off your reel and rod.

With fluorocarbon, especially on spinning reels, I found that stretching out the first bit of line helps. It packs better on the reel and doesn't spiral off at the end of casts or when you have slack line. I tie off to a fence post, let out about 50 meters of line, and apply some tension to the line. This trick also helps if you use fluoro for flipping, pitching, or any slack line presentation. This will reduce the coils you get from the line being on the spool, therefore reducing the amount of line you have between the bait and the rod tip equaling more sensitivity and a more positive hook set. A straight line is a shorter distance than a wavy line.

Putting your Monofilament line in warm water before you spool up does wonders! The first bit of line that you spool will pack very tight creating a good base for the line you are going to be using. This will reduce the amount of tangles you get and help to eliminating line bite in the first 3/4 of the spool. Because the line is warm when you spool up, it shrinks a bit when it cools and tightens up on the spool. The first 2 or three casts will probably be a little off, but  once you get the line used in one cast, its much easier to manage. The paper towel helps to dry the line as it goes on and remember to use warm water, not hot water, you don't want to melt the line!

Why I hate trying new line

So I decided to try some new braid on one of my casting reels. I put Fluorescent Neon Fire Suffix Performance Braid on one of my Curado's.....what a mouth full! The idea is to have a high-vis option. Once I got the reel spooled, I went to make a few cast's in the front yard and almost immediately the line started shredding. I wasn't dragging the line on anything harsh, it was coming across grass, and I was mostly high sticking when I retrieved.

I've used Suffix before, and have not had a problem, but this spool seems to be a bad bunch.

I love the box, to bad I've lost confidence in the product.

Im going to cut off a few meters, and give it a second chance, but all in all, I think I'm going to stick to Fireline this year.

The long off-season

Its Mid January and the itch for open water season is already driving me up the walls. There are many off season projects that anyone can do, and they usually take up most of the winter, but this season seems to be dragging on. I am even building an ice rod, not that I ice fish but I have nothing better to do with an errand rod tip and I am almost done the maintenance on my reels, just waiting of some new parts for them. After that its onto my fly gear and fly tying. After that....its just waiting!

Im switching all my drag washers to Carbontex washers for the upcoming year. I already put them into my ABU Garcia round reel, and its a HUGE difference. They are super smooth, and when I tighten down on the drag, its almost unlimited power. I am going to put them in the Curado's Bantam 201 as well. They are already a nice reel with tons of power, now they will be even better!

Im also switching to FireLine this year, both the Original and the Braid. I have always found the the four carrier braids like Power Pro were great, but just not what I like. Than I tried some of the FireLine Braid, and I was blown away. The eight carrier's really make a huge difference, there is just something about it, it feels silky. Also switching to the Treline 100% Fluorocarbon Professional Grade. I had too many problems with the Seagaur line this last year. I will probably still use it as a leader, but I don't think I can trust it on my reel.

 I am going to try a new pattern for Pike on the fly this year. Its a Lefty's Deceiver, which isn't a new fly, but the colour pattern is new for me. Red with red and grizzly hackle. I already tied up a few weighted flies in this pattern. Might even tie up a few with a white stripe down the side, kinda a Daredevil Deceiver.

I also have to replenish my fly boxes. This is just part of whats on the list for the rest of the winter.

So, as you can tell....I'm already a little stir crazy! I need open water. Rising trout, green flashes of pike, leaping smallies....cant wait!!