Darryl L

1 hour ago, Tyler0420 said:

I’d say it’s a decent size venue. Lots of vendors. Never seen an empty space last time I was there. 

Thanks. Maybe I'll see some of you there . 

Is this a good sized show? Lots of vendors? I was at the one at the school in St.catharines just wondering if it's comparable? 

7 hours ago, smerchly said:

One of my carp spots looks like toast as I visited there yesterday . The water level is down well over a foot and full of branches ,logs etc.

The berm has been destroyed and is now encroaching half way into the pond . Only a few years ago the berm was full of trees , brush and at least 3 ft. above Lake Ont.

water level .....a shot from 2018  and a shot of the berm I took yesterday ...

 

 

We are slowly losing more and more fishing spots. 

I've had wild boar many times. It's not bad at all. We made ground beef, breakfast sausage etc. You get a ton of meat off one boar

15 minutes ago, smerchly said:

Went to gas up the van today & get a coffee & BIG cookie , then decided to try my luck for pike while I was on the road ..

It was very windy & I only had my rod & net in the van with one lure , still on the rod ...

Fished for about 15 min. and hooked a decent pike which was one ounce short of 5 lbs.  & 28" ....also had one 'bump' but came up short ....

Another kabobber on the way soon ....  need to get some more veggies .....

 

 

Congrats ! You're on a roll?

I have two tickets to this weekends fishing and boating show in Missisauga. I purchased a pair of tickets but can't make it now. They are digital tickets that are scanned on your phone at the show. If anyone is interested let me know and I'll send you my link via text message. No charge.  First come first serve 

Congrats ! Beautiful fish 

33 minutes ago, Tyler0420 said:

How far out do you need to go from port maitland to get into perch?

 

im sure you could get them off the pier. 

I don't fish out of Maitland but Farmer would have a better idea than me. I go out of crystal beach and find my sweet spot is 50 to 60 feet of water. Still too early probably but this nice weather is giving me the itch

Perfect weather for perch fishing ! 🎣

I was there too. Great turnout! I was shocked when I pulled in there wasn't a single parking spot to be found in the entire school lot. Picked up some great deals!. There are a few big shows coming up in feb and march. If all goes well I will be attending all of them 

The two biggest walleye I've ever caught were both from shore at Nichols, but you have to put ALOT of time in there. I lost interest in driving 25 mins to get there when 90% of the time I didn't even get a bite

I was out a week ago but didn't find any fresh ones from this year, just a few nice pairs from last year that had been chewed on pretty good . 

Pretty soon there will be nobody that wants to be a Police officer.  Why would you? A friend of mine in Policing said they used to get thousands of applications a year, now its hundreds and the pool is getting weaker and weaker.  

2 hours ago, smerchly said:

Just curious about what you guys use to clean your fish on.  I have a few of those 12" x 16" bamboo cutting boards that clean up very easy after cleaning perch , etc.

The boards are on sale now at C.T. for 80% off , reg .49.99 + for $10+ . I paid $10 four yrs ago & $8 (on sale) 5 years ago . 

You can mark these boards off in inches to quickly measure as you clean . We use them daily for a cutting board and they stand up very well .

I used to clean fish on top of the old chest freezer with some newspaper for the guts while using the bamboo board but it's gone to heaven, so now I use the dryer (right beside the tubs)

Then I may freeze the wrapped guts until garbage day and toss them in the green bin . ....been doing this for decades !

My wife prefers me to clean pike outside as they send a strong 'fishy' odour throughout the house !  Otherwise ....the Wally haddock fillets .........  

I bought 2 of those same cutting boards from CTire this week. They look good for $10. Not too thick with the nice rubber corners. I use my work bench for the height, couple cutting boards, and my electric knife

44 minutes ago, smerchly said:

Yesterday was spent exploring some old spots for bait fish and do some carp fishing .....and it was a complete bust !  My old ditch has dried up where we caught crayfish and small chubs . I fished for about 90 min. as the cold NE wind got to me . I headed to P.Dal . to check for minnows ...none to be seen & saw about 12 guys fishing at the harbour . 

Then I went to CDP to check out the beach etc. Damn , if the lake isn't too high or too low !  There isn't much water left in the pond , barely over the knees now as the berm is about 70 ft. wide and barren of trees . Some outflow  is still draining the pond , and they have fenced off 90% of the park which I have never seen  happen before. 

The fence on the east side of the park is there to stop people from tobogganing down the hill towards the water . 

 

 

The water levels have been all over the place lately. The river was so low last week guys were having trouble launching boats into the upper. 

14 hours ago, Duncan said:

I picked up a night vision scope ( just a cheap one ) here in China. When I get back home I will see just how good it is .

What are those worth ? Watched some amazing videos of guys boar hunting at night with those scopes.

3 hours ago, fishingking said:

They look yummy...I've made just about everything with the venison...I have one recipe for sausage that's simple and my family and all my buddies love it...and a running joke about how my mother in law likes touching my sausage 🙄🤮

Looks amazing! 

8 hours ago, Tyler0420 said:

Do you season them before sealing?

Yes they are all seasoned prior to vacuum sealing. Just take them out of freezer and right onto BBQ

Decided to go with venison burgers over sausages. Family will eat them more often and save money on casings. Made a 9lb test batch and they turned out better than expected. 9lbs made me 28 burgers on the thickest setting on my burger press. 

Congrats! Perfect shot. We tagged out as well in Niagara on the Lake. Only bow here as well. Already excited about next year! 

52 minutes ago, Markster said:

Hey Darryl,

its been awhile since i had sausage made, but if i recall correctly i think it may have been 50/50 meat to pork fat. Others may know better. I know it should be cold, almost freezing before the grind.

as far as the other 2 questions, collegen is what we used, but i really don’t remember the size. I don’t know the difference between the casing we used and the alternatives.
if you want pepperettes made, let me know and i’ll pass you the number for larry, the guy that i use. His pepperettes are fantastic.

 

Thanks Mark! Appreciate help 

A few question for you guys who are sausage makers.  We are making venison sausage this year for the first time. 

1) what venison to pork ratio should we do? 

2) what type of casings are easiest to work with? 

3) what mm size casings for standard size sausage ? 32 to 35 mm? 

Thanks!

Did you cut the perch open and look for weights and fillets? LoL

I don't think it will be an issue. Fish don't swim around with lead weights in their bellies, and they had sole possession of the fish right up until weighing time. We are so liberal in Canada that they would probably get off here, but not in the U.S. punishments will be considerably higher over there as well 

Filled one of my tags this morning at around 730am. I have just been missing this guy the last few days by minutes. Watched him eat for over 5 minutes before he finally turned and gave me a shot. Hit both heart and liver and he buckled after only 20 or so yards. Now have a doe tag to fill next