LostLure

The price of minnows, it’s cheaper to buy the little assed hooks and catch your own…and just hope that the damn Goby’s leave the bait alone. I should follow your lead, Smerch, but the last time I tried I gave up after accumulating a small pile of the little f**ckers. The Pine Martens were ecstatic with the buffet at least 😂

I’m pretty sure that they have leeches too, if that’s what jellies your donut.

Only thing missing is a group of buddy’s. Nice setup

Welcome to the group 😊. Salmon are running the whirlpool periodically, I’ve seen a couple caught there the last week. The whirlpool is in FMZ 20 (if you didn’t know?), so the Pacific Salmon like chinook etc are open all year there, if you’re planning on it being dinner, make sure you have a Sport class license as Atlantic Salmon are catch and release. I only say this as the last time I was there the OPP were around checking licenses and catches.

I think they’re grossly overestimating just how many people are going to use it. I live a 3 minute walk from the beach, I’ve honestly no idea how they’re going to work out the logistics of putting that much traffic down Arthur Street, I’m not so sure that anyone else has and it’ll become a nightmare for locals who live around this area. On a positive note, getting into Toronto for Leafs and Jays games will be easier, and if they construct a pier into to lake to launch the craft from, the structure might attract some fish.

Trying to get the wife interested in occasionally joining me out fishing. Obviously I don’t want to take her to some of the bank spots I frequent, far too much climbing and clambering haha. The problem is, she’s expressed her lack of interest because she’s never caught anything (I could have told I her know people who consider themselves serious anglers who haven’t caught anything but a sunburn, but that seemed counter productive). A point I understand and can emphasize with. One place I frequent is fairly accessible, and you could spit on a hook and catch all the panfish around there. The other option being St. John’s, which is purposely build with accessibility and ease of fishing from the edge of the pond. Question to you people of experience, is St. John’s worth it, or over fished? I know that C&R pond fish are smarter than their wilder relatives, just by being caught so much, but is it somewhere that’ll be an easy introduction and hopefully inspire some interest?

As a mazer, the local honey supply has definitely been affected. Don’t want to curse myself, but also a distinct lack of wasps and hornets, I live up the north end and normally they’re a daily annoyance.

Out nice and early to scope out a few new places around Gibby. Not too hot as the sun was only just rising. The wind was being, shall we say, problematic. After nothing to show for the locations best suited for my Baitcaster, save for a hard fighting Smallie; for those curious, this young lady clocked in at just over 2lb (very likely one of this year’s early hatchlings), I moved on to my final scouting destination. Sending out a few search baits to get an idea of what I’m working with, I came to the conclusion that a lighter touch was needed. As one often does, I have a few “customized baits”. The one being thrown was a red dot, clear egg, with a plastic minnow threaded to appear as if it’s trying to nibble at the egg. My intention that a bass sees a 2-for-1 meal opportunity and take the bait. As I cast towards my target, the wind blew up and completely snared my line into the bush next to me. Annoyed, I put my rod down to begin untangling the disaster around me. Pulling the line free, I lost the minnow (living up to my name), however the egg was secure. Frustrated, I tossed the hook and sinker to allow me to finish untangling. As it happened, the very obvious 4/0 circle hook going through the egg, and sinker went into the water about 5 feet in front of me. I had just finished reclaiming my line and was about to start reeling in my line, when suddenly my drag was going as some mystery fish quickly fled the scene with my bait. Fighting it back, and the occasional glimpse made me believe a not too bad size Smallie. Upon landing this fish, I quickly discovered that it was a very young, male baby largemouth. The fact this little fella was so small and feisty, after taking such a poorly presented bait, that it made me wonder if this was the first time he’d ever been caught? Does anyone else think they’ve been the “first time” for one of your catches?

Fortunately, the hooks used were small and unbarbed (you can’t hook a Gar inside the jaw, only use tension to create a tangle and if you’re insanely lucky, maybe hook the outer lip to help keep the tension, as soon as the leader and line separated the tension was lost), so wouldn’t become embedded when the Gar spat the hooks and leader. Typically, I’ll use a Palomar knot as I fish braid on my Baitcaster, but I’ve been looking for a slightly less fiddly knot due a a partial disability in one hand. That was my first and last attempt at the Berkeley Braid Knot 😂

Welcome to the area 😊 Don't restrict yourself to just the boat, there’s lots of good bank/shore fishing around these parts. The Twelve system is full of entertainment from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Good luck

I’d heard they’re fighters, but honestly Smerch, was not expecting it to be from 0-100 from the go and without rest. Most fish, getting them hooked seems to be the challenge, it seems that fighting this guy is going to be the biggest obstacle to landing him. It’s easy to see how they can be a challenge to fish for.

I’m thinking about which live bait would be best, at the time nightcrawlers was what I had to work with, but I’m grateful for the suggestions. I’ve heard leaf worms make excellent live bait when the fish are pressured or the bite is slow. And that’s an awesome video about the rope lures, much better than trying to quickly and carefully untangle a mess of hooks without hurting the fish.

Coincidentally I have been looking how to make these. I’m also practicing tying better knots 😂. I was making good progress while he was fighting away from me, but he suddenly turned and charged in my direction. I’m frantically picking up line and I’m just about to get in front of him, when he did that instant 180 and accelerate that long tubular fish can do. The sudden whiplash on the line left me reeling in nothing but mono. I’m also pretty certain my steel leader and improvised rig is resting somewhere at the bottom of the pond, after the Gar used it to pick his teeth after the meal I offered 🤣. As you say, there’s always next time, and now I know I’ll be ready for him. Thankfully, I find a great deal of fun in the chase. I’m fairly confident that I’ll get him one day, maybe I won’t ever, but when I do, it’ll be so much sweeter for all the near misses.

We all know that every fisherman has their own fishy tale, and their own Moby Dick. Gather around and get comfy as I tell mine. And for the sake of tradition…. Call me Ishmael, Following the advice of a more experienced angler, Smerch, I concocted my own “Gar Rig”. Consisting of a 30lb steel leader, attached to 2 3/0 octopus hooks, either side of a treble hook. Due to the solid bone plating inside their mouths, my best hope was creating a tangle and one or more hooks pierce the lip to create tension. Topping the steel was a simple surface bobber, with the aim to keep the bait suspended in the top 6 inches of the water, where the Gar can see it and strike. Finally, a small supply of nightcrawlers to provide an irresistible meal. Heading out nice and early I setup at a different location, but near where I had spotted Gar previously. My spinning rod was setup ready to rig with bait and cast, meaning I would be sticking to working crankbaits along the cover with my Baitcaster (without success I might add). As the sun began to peak over the trees, I resigned myself to another skunk and started to reel in my line, ready to pack up. Ah, but this is where our story truly begins…who should show up, trying to look like an innocent piece of driftwood? The markings on this Gar are unmistakable, and stunning. And this time, I was ready for him. Threading a worm through the hooks in a way that allowed it to move without being able to free itself, hopefully creating a delicious looking target. My line went out, and I was thankful for Gar having bad eyesight, as I crawled the bobber past my target and pausing the bait about 6 inches in front of his nose, before crawling a little further away and pausing again. I flipped my bail and held my breath. The 5 seconds it took felt like hours. With a splash my line flew off my reel, my eyes searching for when the bobber reappeared. As soon as I saw that the Gar had stopped to chew, I closed my bail, preparing to set the hook (hopefully). The plan worked perfectly and by the time the Gar knew something was up, he was snagged. The fight was sudden and intense, the drag on my reel was getting a full workout. “Thus, I give up my spear.” There was only one failure, and it was the knot from my line to my leader 😔. Once again I am bested by my personal Moby Dick. Until another day when we meet again. May you all have more success than I.

I seem to do quite well at that spot, for both Smallies and the Largemouth. Although, I’m noticing that the cast:catch ratio is dropping and the size of the fish are getting smaller. One of the largemouth I caught this morning was female, so I’m assuming that the larger guys I was pulling out before last week have migrated on and the kids are growing up and starting to follow them; with a few stragglers that I’m picking off with a football head jig and a tube. The Gar looked about 80-100cm from my view. When I saw it, I didn’t have the tackle to take it on, so I was faced with the choice of switching out my rig to put some steel on a minnow and bobber (and probably miss him while he slipped away), or teasing him out with the rig I had while I took pictures for prosperity (while desperately hoping that it didn’t actually go for my bait and bite my line off). He’s a smart fella, I only ever see him when I’m not ready for him 😂

A rather nice morning out around Martindale Pond, which was nice considering the forecast and this my first proper day to spend fishing in awhile. Landed a few early morning Largemouth and one diddy little Smallie, who maybe was too sleepy to put up much of a fight lol. Only one worth taking a picture of (below), but I did manage to capture some nice pictures of a spectacular Longnose Gar, shared below. It seems that perhaps the big guys are moving out to deeper cover and the annual pause for bass season from the bank is upon us 😂. hope everyone is doing well and keeping the skunks at bay

Mmmm, admittedly I haven’t been there for a couple of years, but I don’t remember it being there. These years of biting through line have finally caught up with me and I’ve finally gone mad from the mercury poisoning 😂

One of those rare days where I was out “fishing”, but not so interested in hunting the fish down. Went out to Henley Island purely for the stretches of water without too much issues with casting room, while I was breaking in a new reel and rod. As I was there I noticed the rare occasion that the gate was open, and headed to take a look at the place with the decent bank fishing access…. to find this trailer parked there for no other reason, it appears, than to block access to fish from 😑

No offence was taken, and I hope I gave none. I can certainly sympathize, only last week lost a rod to an unidentified fish.

Losing is part of the game, my friend. Sometimes I just have to respect the fish besting me. As I’ve said before, there’s always another day and another chance for a photo op; I’m sure we’ll duel again and that’s why I love throwing my line out. Sorry to hear about the diagnosis, especially the meds not playing nice. If you’re not aware, cannabis beverages don’t contraindicate (react badly) with most meds (I say “most” because I’m being responsible and acknowledge that there might be some that THC/CBD does react differently.)

These spam/scam websites and technology is getting pretty advanced these days. They can pull all kinds of data and dial in scams for specific audiences. Last week the Old Town Sportsman yaks were on a special offer; sadly I’d already spent the $200 they were selling for. I’m cool I missed the deal though. It turns out that I’m related to this really wealthy guy that just died, apparently he’ was a prince of some place in Africa. All I had to do was send $1000 to his lawyer to get my inheritance of $250,000. I’ll stick to the advice my momma gave me, that she got from her momma. “If it seems too good to be true, it most likely is. Trust your instincts and walk away.”

If anyone is lucky enough to be getting on the water today, may you have more luck than I. A warm and humid morning seemed to be my downfall, or maybe the fish are also taking the day off 🤷‍♂️. I finally acknowledged the skunk when a huge Pike showed up, after only being able to entice him to follow my lure but not bite, I accepted defeat and bid him farewell until another day. Now to actually get ready for the day with family. However you spend your day, I hope it is an enjoyable one. Happy Canada Day everyone 🇨🇦😊

I take what I can 😉😂

Absolutely 😁 I can sneak right up on them out of the bushes. One of the poor guys is in therapy still convinced he was abducted by a bush 😂 on a serious note, I’d own so many of these tops with the inbuilt gator and the hood. I naturally despise skeeters, but have to tolerate their existence as them and the bass go hand in hand, these tops are a godsend though. maybe I should make one out of “pond camo” and see if that improves my numbers 🤔😂

Sounds like fun Smerch, I’ve noticed the Carp are starting to come around from the spawn (especially around the green ribbon) and are getting a little bitey. Lots of people are surprised by the Gar. Gonna have to dedicate some time to him to share the pictures this week; I think before schools out and I’m competing for morning spots lol. Hope you have a productive day on 12