genec

I plan on hitting the Ft Erie show in the afternoon.

Article said they filed in the US. NF mayor claims business as usual in the Falls. Hey Bill, maybe they will let us troll from the back of their boats.

Never fished either for browns or the L Ont shore before, but, considering my poor luck in Ft. Erie lately, I have to try it. What other lures besides cleos work for browns? How about rapalas, or plastic minnow baits? And what weight line does everyone use?

Well, that was a wasted trip….the river was full of sediment! 2 weeks ago I could see down at least 5 feet. Today a white plastic twistertail disappeared 6”-8” below the surface!

Its cold, but sunny, and seems like too nice a day just to sit around and do nothing, especially when everything is closed. So I’ve decided I’m going to Ft. Erie this afternoon and try fishing the river again.

Been trying all my fav stuff for them at Ft. Erie….lures, plastics and jigs, but just haven’t had any luck at all there from shore. Tried minnows the last trip hoping they might work, but nothing.

Unfortunately, I had to sell my Legend boat 3 years ago after it became a money pit…67 rivets replaced, 3 hull welds, then the motor started going…new stadter, then needed 4 replacement carbs. All I have now is my Wilderness Systems Ride fishing kayak, and a 16 ft aluminum with a 20 Hp we inherited from my cousin.

Just did a Google search, and right away came up with Marstar Canada and Shooters Choice for flintlocks.

Is it just a bare jig, or does he add a white plastic to it? i’ve tried white jig + white twister tail from shore, but absolutely no luck with it there.

And Valens is catch and release only, in case anyone didn’t know.

Neat photo!

Hope to target the Grand more this summer in my kayak for pickerel if we don't get all the rains like last summer. And Lake Erie for smallmouth when the season opens. Would also like to take the yak north on a day trip once or twice to try some inland lakes. I may also end up buying a trailer for my kayak, as I’m finding it harder to get an 82 Lb kayak on the roof rack of my Cherokee (just one more joy of aging) 🥴

What area are you going to try, Bill!

Yankee!!

Since it looks like there is zero chance of local ice fishing this year, I decided to try shore fishing. Yesterday morning I tried an early run to fish for pickerel in the Niagara river in Ft. Erie at the old Nichols marine site. Normally I try using lures or plastics there, but yesterday decided to try with minnows. However, after over 2 1/2 hours I hadn’t had a single bite. I still had minnows left, so this morning decided to switch and try the north end of the rec canal for perch. However, no bites again!

Actually Bill, CH said the photo of the ice fishermen was from Waterford. Im with Bruce…3” is too skinny ice for me…4” or more and I’m willing to go out (spud in hand, of course). I agree with Tyler…I spent the morning in the bush on the family farm scouting out sites to build brush blinds to get ready for spring and fall hunting…short of a thunderstorm, weather doesn’t matter for that!

Was up to the family farm outside of Cayuga this morning…never saw any sheds while walking thru the bush, and haven't seen a yote there in 4 years. saw 2 flocks of turkeys thou, with 20+ in each flock.

They certainly have the light coloured rump patches typical for elk. Must be game farm escapees. i just did a google search, and Lakeland Meats (1226 St pPaul St w) states that they have a herd of 20 female red deer/elk hybrid animals…must be 2 of them that escaped. You should contact them with that video.

Surprisingly, the recoil from one of them isn’t too bad with the muzzle brake and the heavy gun weight. i read 2 years ago that felt recoil on the shoulder is 57 foot pounds. my 12 gauge with 3 1/2” shells rates at 68.

I was at Silverdale many years ago when a guy showed up with a .50 cal. Standing 15 feet to his right, I can vouch for the amount of muzzle gas blowback from the muzzle brake on those things! Like getting slapped in the face.

I’m lucky here in Welland. we live at the end of a small dead end street with a park just behind that has a wooded area. We have a family of 5 foxes living in there, and haven’t seen a rat or mouse in the past few years! Really nice to have a live pest control crew in the neighbourhood!!

Bill, the MNRF won’t let us hunt them. Here is the section from the hunting regs:

Bill, I cant find any figures on what percentage of their funds goes to ducks, but according to their website, there are only 359 employees for all of Canada, which is very low considering all their work duties across the whole country, and over 4200 volunteers. I would think from these numbers that the vast majority of funds raised goes into the wetlands projects.

You have to remember that DU is not just a charity handing out money to people in need. It is a major environmental organization that does wetland creation, development and maintenance all across North America! To do all that work requires a large number of employees with various environmental skill sets, and that requires a great skill set in management. They do everything from major wetland creation (e.g., 1.5 million acres just in Manitoba alone) to tiny scale projects. Several years ago, after a careful property assessment, they created a 1/2 acre pond in the family farm bush, and it now supports a small duck population every year. The other important fact you need to understand is that 90% of the money they raise is done in the U S, but they spend 70% of their total wetland development money in Canada since we are the breeding grounds for ducks. I think their executives earn every cent they make!! And Bill, as a side note, I refuse to ever help the humane societies because they proliferate the cat population, and cats are the biggest all-time killers of small mammals and birds!! Many of these species are nearing dangerously low levels because of cat predation!!

Way to go! what were you getting them on, minnows?