Jwl1

Awesome pics.... being from Niagara I always love the chance to escape and enjoy some brookie fishing over the years...the smiles say it all...and those fish are a pretty decent size too!

Nice fish...thanks for sharing...good to know the water is cleared up

Nice going Bill..will have to get out with you soon for sure..I'm just over my management training at work now so my schedule is back to the normal night gig

My first " car".. found this pic dating back to 1995 when my oldest daughter was like 1 years old....the bike is a 1972 Triumph Trident triple I bought in 1988 when I was 18 because at the time I thought it was way cooler than buying a car...haha

M1 eh Bill... Taking up a new hobby...?...lol...we can hit a parking lot in the spring and see if you can do the pylons on my Harley then walk it in a circle....it's vintage just like you...haha...I'm looking into vintage/ classic insurance on it this spring...it's 44 years old now

Hope you get on the mend soon...and some fishiotherapy...march is usually a good month for us around here....when I have gotten the pleasure of meeting smerchly for some spring toothies we have made out ok...and a few surprises in the mix....and as bill mentioned there are a few good weeks left until the season closes in some spots...but we are lucky here in Niagara...there are some waters open all year......and like you mentioned Aaron....the great trout fishery we have on the river.....fat Lakers...and high flying steel...yahoo....I know I will be sharing some pics soon....haha...and some of those same tactics I mentioned for pike also work great on the river for Lakers and steel depending where you plan to fish.....match your presentation to the area you fish...and your numbers will definitely go up

Thanks for the update Bill...my work schedule been all over the board lately with some training I been doing ...back to my normal night schedule after this week and plan on trying to get out instead of lending advice from the couch ..haha

Doesn't hurt to experiment with different sized soft plastics...if you fish soft minnow imitations under the float try wacky rigging them...(through the back)...give the rod a few pops here and there...your float size sounds ideal...you just need big enough to cast out to the deeper water.....if you have larger sized soft plastics heavy enough to get a good cast out of....even 6-8 inches....you can use them like a suspending bait if you put those little rattle weights in them like the bass guys...or even poke a nail through the body for weight...

The suspending bait suggestions are good ones for sure....one of the keys this time of year is a slow presentation. ....be patient...cast out give the bait a few cranks to settle a couple feet below the surface...make a few twitches then pause...cranks, spoons, and spinners pretty much require too fast of a presentation to work properly and for this time of year....have you thought of soft plastic minnow imitations as well....there are ways you can use them like a suspending bait...there are weights you can insert into the body of the bait.....I have great luck as well over the years with big twister tails as well jigged super slowly on the bottom in cold water situations...by just letting the jig hit bottom and giving it the slightest twitch at a time....although we haven't had ice winter long and no real thaw to follow so to speak...pike will often feed on " winter kill"...like when bait that has been frozen slowly falls to the bottom during the first thaws of spring.....as already mentioned by a couple people as well...the good old simple float and minnow....keep in mind as well with the somewhat warmer winter this year the pike will be well into pre spawn mode as well...pick areas adjacent to deeper water where fish will start to gather up before making their way once the water warm a bit to shallower spawning grounds.....I often fish in 15 foot plus depths this time of year ...a slip float of slow jigging presentation comes in handy....if you happen to get out on a nice sunny day you might luck out and start to see baitfish in the adjacent shallower water which is always a good sign this time of year....and as the water starts to warm look around for any signs of a good staging area....deep water into shallow bays....creek mouths....mud flats....and mudlines ...it sounds like you have been trying your luck in some of the right bodies of water....you just have to do some looking around and try to break down a few areas for structure ect along the way...it's that old saying...90 percent of the fish are in 10 percent of the water....

I used to live right up the road from there and fished there alot....it's always hit and miss there depending on time of year ..fishing pressure...and availability of baitfish.....it's a natural back eddie with a slight slope that has lots of fish holding potential....you can literally catch anything that swims in the lake there ..even multi species in the same day...there's a few factors to take into consideration there though....mainly the biggest factor is how far out the main current line is....with a keen eye you can see where the current changes...it's approx 15 ft deep....wind direction as well....lots of fish hold on the current break.....if you can cast out to the main current...reel in a bit then let it drop in the back current....the bottom is pretty flat there ..so....the current is the main structure....if the wind is pushing inward the fish will tend to be closer to shore....minnow imitations work best...jigged slowly

All the best in the new year to everyone

My daughter lives near the peace bridge...they got it pretty bad...we just got an update from shans son...the boys are still stranded near buffalo until at least tomorrow... I remember my mom sending me to school in the blizzard of 77..in Niagara falls... We lived like 2 blocks from my school and it took what seemed for ever to get there only to find 5 or 6 other kids..we all walked around the school trying to find an open door all confused until we all decided to walk back home...lol

We have hardly any snow here..don't know what it's like out in the real world...my townhouse complex is set back off the main drag in our own little neighborhood

Update from my daughter too ...they are pretty much snowed in ..some of their friends without power ect... obviously they are changing plans ...best I know.. Shannon son is going to be stuck over the border again today... He should have listened to his mommy on that one...lol..we sure lucked out here in St Kitts Bill

That's way too cute bru.... Um... I mean Santa ....happy holidays ..I will leave the doors open for you tonight..you can warm up with a nice rum... Can you please put some of those yummy looking baked goods on my wish list?..I promise I have been a good boy

My daughter lives in fort Erie...she said they got it pretty bad yesterday...and the girlfriend's son despite his mother's warning not to go over the river to holiday valley on Thursday night is stuck over the border amid travel bans...I got up for work about 6 pm yesterday and then made the executive decision to stay home for the night and stay warm with a few krakens and the fireplace... waiting for updates from our kids today

Sorry to hear about that Bill....you have talked about that a bit during a couple of our outings together

Don't have much of a storage problem....it's more like...cast ..drift....snag...gone!!!...tie another on....repeat....hahaha....kidding aside... tackle tray... assorted colours...pencil lead...corkies...swivels....sometimes when it's super cold out I will make a few 3 way rigs ahead of time and wrap them around a piece of cardboard....that way when I cast...drift...snag...gone!...it's just a quick change and one knot when everything including your hands are frozen

That's sad about Dave for sure Bill.....I can remember a few times on the bank somewhere when I may.... or haven't won the " pike off" he started...also had the pleasure of having Dave up to my trailer on Moira back in the day.,.that's where I learned by the campfire playing guitar and singing why he called himself " rock fish,"......he shrugged his shoulders and said " I like to Rock... I like to fish" ...,

That's awesome...what a great tradition..I can recall a few old time nfn get togethers where Santa paid a visit....my daughter also remembers when she was small back some almost 15 years ago when I was newer on this site

I would like to take this time to give a shout out to my sponsors..with out them I could not have made this happen!.. a huge thanks going out to Busch Beer....proud makers of bad ideas and lots of laughs...another thanks going out to Noma for their uncanny ability to consistently fabricate the world's most self tangling lights..and finally the Rose Sucheck Ladder Company, from rooftop to blind feel safe on your climb... Haha

I know someone who had horses ...one got attacked....no choice but to take matters into their own hands.....and for that matter tried to find help for the problem....can't get em during the day 🤔...ended up roasting 9 of them on the fire the very next night!....don't get me wrong I'm conservationist at heart......was a trustee for a conservation club years back...volunteered for a super successful walleye stocking project...ect... something certainly has to be done about the rampant coydogwolf hybrid population around the whole Niagara region.... hybrid from the wolves that wondered down to Niagara along the Bruce trail years back mixed with the local coyote population and then intermingle that with the domestic dogs they kidnapped along the way......and there you go....a super size predictor that has no natural fear of urbanization and humans anymore

Bagged this one last year in my clever light snare trick took a while too fetch him off the roof but I managed to get up there with my handy dandy.. rose sucheck ladder

Finally....a little late in the season....and as much as working nights cuts into my out door time what soever...today( yesterday) I had a chance that I could actually participate in the best of both worlds....I got to spend a beautiful December morning with smerch trying our best to get a trout in the net... ( Psst...we should have went pike fishing)...haha...tough morning...no current put a damper on the bottom bouncing....later in the day.. current picked up sun came out...turned into the perfect day....but this old kid already stayed up too late and had to go to bed for the best part of them go to work.....got off early (2am..)....set up my blind and cracked a beer in the recroom....sat there quietly for a little while.....then finally out of boredom and an overactive imagination I managed to bag this trophy non typical.........

The roe bags where tied on the table with care ... In hopes that saint Fishmas soon would be there...