Bite My Lure !

Musky Leaders

2011-11-03T13:11:00.001-04:00

There's alot of Musky leaders out there to choose from. My best tip would be if your only fishing Musky a few times a year with your pike or bass rod and aren't casting bigger musky lures you could get a few wire leaders. Make sure to get at least 50 Lbs test leaders something that can handle a bigger fish. Only thing with wire leaders is that after a few fish your leader is all bent and mangled, your stuck changing leaders more often. Now, if your a big Musky fisherman, I would consider you do make your own leaders with snap swivels and fluorocarbon line. I use 275 lbs test snap swivels and 80 lbs test fluoro.

I'll make my leaders any where fron 12-15 inches when im casting, if I was trolling I would make them 18 inches or plus. I use the canoe knot for my leaders, it's a strong and very simple knot to tie. Here's a ''How to'' video on the canoe knot.

Fall Musky at the Ferry

2011-11-03T11:00:00.000-04:00

Went down to the Ferry to try my luck for an hour or so. Started casting a 7 inch Kickin' Minnow(White), maybe 20 casts in Wham! set the hook, Fish-on! Fought him for 45 seconds to a minute and then, nothing.....I switched my bait to a walleye colored Kickin' Minnow after missing that Musky. About 25 casts later right in front of me she hit again but this time there was no getting away. Once she was in, took a few pics measured it and right back in the water in less then 2 minutes. Probably around the 10 lbs range.

36 Inches

It Only Took One Cast

2011-10-16T19:38:00.000-04:00

Woke up pretty early this morning and decided to head down to the Cumberland Ferry to try my luck at some fall Musky. Got there and saw someone right in my favorite spot jigging for Walleye. I decided to start casting off the big rock that's right beside the spot. It only took that one cast, as I was reeling in about half way back, she hit viciously...I jumped off the rock and started reeling him in slowly, gave a few good head shakes then I was close enough to gill plate it. Wow! She weighted just under 15 Lbs and measured 39 Inches(where the tail ends). Was definitely a 40 Incher but couldn't get an exact measurement as half the tail was missing! I'll be back for the bigger Musky that ate his tail...

My first Musky at the Cumberland Ferry

2011-10-13T19:36:00.000-04:00

Went down to the Ferry to try my luck at some Musky. After half hour of casting I was getting frustrated as there was weeds flooding all over and on each cast I had to take them off. I decided to switch rods and to start jigging for Bass or Walleye. As soon as I starting jigging right in front of me, in like 5 feet of water, Wham! I was sure it was a huge Walleye, but after an 2-3 minute fight I saw it for the 1st time and realized it was a Musky. Took a few more minutes but finally got her in...Weird how Ive been fishing for Musky all year there and nothing, and then I catch one jigging for Walleye.

34.5 Inches & 8.5 Lbs

Cumberland Ferry Channel Catfish

2011-09-30T20:00:00.000-04:00

Went over to the Ferry for an hour or so before picking up the wife. Fished for Musky the first half hour then switch over to Bass and Walleye. Was fishing right beside the pillars when I hooked something pretty nice. I was sure it was a Walleye as it was wanting to go right to the bottom. After a few minutes of trying to get it up to the surface I saw it was Catfish, nice one too! Measured 23.5 Inches and weighted 4.6 Lbs, a new Personal Best.

Bass & Musky Fishing on Moose Lake

2011-09-26T19:57:00.000-04:00

Headed over to a friends cottage for the day to try and catch some fall fatties. Started the day pretty good as we were on the dock ready to go and my buddy Dan spotted a Bass. I took my rod and made a few cast towards it but nothing. I happened to look down for some reason and spotted a Bass in his nest beside the dock pillar, dropped my wacky worm, gave it a few twitches and Wham! Fish-on! While I was fighting the fish another one came out of under the dock and was wondering what was going on with his friend. I landed the fish took a few pictures and put her back then tried to catch the other one that was around but no luck.

17 Inches

Then we got in our kayaks and strated our run. I was alternating between bass and Musky. Would fish for Musky near breaks and when I would see a dock I would switch over to Bass. Caught this guy fishing right under a dock.

Later in the afternoon I started fishing abit more for Musky when this guy hit right next the a dock. Wasn't much of a fight as I horsed him in with my Musky rod.

17 Inches

Caught one last little guy before docking up. I ended up catching 6 Bass and 1 Pike, not a bad day at all. Ill be back later this fall to hunt down the Musky.

Hiking Around Meech Lake

2011-09-24T22:00:00.000-04:00

Went hiking today around Meech Lake, Decided to bring a rod and try some spots on shore. We caught a couple small Bass but nothing big, till this huge perch decided to bite my wacky worm. Biggest perch I have ever seen and caught.

12 Inches

Musky Fishing on the Rideau River

2011-09-20T21:49:00.000-04:00

Went out for an evening run with the Fishin' Pigeon and one of his friends. Had about 2 and a half hours to blast a few spots. Didn't end up cathcing a Musky but I hooked a Smallie on a 7 inch Kickin' Minow. She messured 20 inches and maybe weighted just under 4 lbs approximately.

Remembering 9/11

2011-09-11T21:46:00.000-04:00

Decided to go out with the fishin' Pigeon again. Launch in Wendover and made are way to Clarence Point for some fishing. On our way there we stopped at a few spots to try our luck. I ended up catching a pike while the Pigeon caught a smallies. We met up with some friends later on, one had his kayak and the other joined us in the boat. Was a very slow day but the weather was so nice that we couldn't really complain.

Oh Yeah, by the way did anyone loss there car in the water lately?

I found it!

Fishin' Pigeon on Fire!

2011-08-24T21:21:00.000-04:00

Went fishing with a friend of mine on the Rideau River. Didn't catch many fish but the ones we did catch, or should I say the ones my buddy caught were real nice. They were all 3 lbs and up. Was a slow day for me but always enjoy being a net man for such a show.

Musky Mayhem! (Part 3)

2011-08-18T21:00:00.003-04:00

Once again we made the road trip to our little secret river. This time with no trekking to do. I spoke with the property owner where we fish from and he gave us the thumbs up to cross his field, right to our spot. As soon as we unloaded the car it started raining really hard. We sat in the car for 40 minutes and let the storm blow by us. Once on the water it took a little while before the action started. My buddy caught the only one of the day. I on the other hand had 4 fish-on! but they all spat the hook right at the kayak. Was a frustrated day for me. I'll be back!

Cumberland Ferry

2011-08-14T20:45:00.000-04:00

Had a few hours to kill so packed up my stuff, picked my fishing buddy up and off we went to the Cumberland Ferry. We didn't catch anything super big but still had a blast with what we did catch. Got a half dozen fish!

Bass Fishing on the Rideau River

2011-08-08T20:00:00.038-04:00

Friend of mine gave me a call and invited me to go fishing with him a few days on the Rideau River. He was pre-fishing a section of the river for the up coming SEBO(South Eastern Bass Open). Caught alot of bass but nothing that would win you a tournament. We fished alot around docks and also hit up a few drop offs for smallies. Our best day was a bag of 5 fish that weighed just under 12 lbs.

Oh yeah, I also managed to catch a nice healthy Pike!

Musky Mayhem! (Part 2)

2011-08-02T16:00:00.003-04:00

We decided to go back to our little honey hole, but this time we launched from a different bridge hoping we would not have to do much trekking. Got out of our kayak a few times but nothing like last week. We only had one stretch that was pretty bad to Cross, but after that smooth sailing. We ended up catching 6 this time. Stay tune for part 3 of Musky Mayhem, coming soon!!!

Mid 20's

31 Inches

34 Inches

27.5 inches

31 Inches

Musky Mayhem !!!

2011-07-27T22:00:00.250-04:00

Started the day off way to early for my liking. We got up at 4:00am, ate breakfast, packed the rest of the stuff into the car and headed off. We made a pit stop at Tim's (Coffee & Donuts) before hitting the road for a while. We arrived there at 6:00am and were on the water by 6:30am. We had looked at a map and figured that it was 2 km to where we had fished last fall(Read Story). We were gonna fish all the way down and on the way back only fish areas where we had caught fish. After the first bend in the river we realized it was pretty shallow(less then a foot) so we got out of the kayak and pulled them for awhile.

We continued walking, still getting in and out of the kayak to paddle along weedy areas where there was maybe 6 inches of water.

We would get to some opening where the water was 5 feet deep, but packed with Lilly pads of the shore line and cabbage right under the surface. Each cast was bringing in a whole bunch of weeds. We try to fish it abit but decided to continue with our trek. I though this was gonna never end, we kept on walking and walking and walking. Going over old beaver dams, bridges, paddling thru more weeds, walking thru little streams, when will this end!

After 1 hour and 45 minutes, a sign of life. We came up to this nice big pool of water witch had a great big rock on the right hand side.

As soon as I paddled towards to middle of the pool, I knew by looking at the sonar there was fish here. There were multiple drops and big clouds of bait fish all around these drops. We had finally found a pool of water that was more then 5 feet deep. The deepest spot was 10 feet in this pool. It didn't take too long for the action to start. I was casting right beside the rock and Wham! Fought him for a while, but as soon as jumped out of the water and shook his head a few times my lure shot out of his mouth. After taking a look at what he did to my spinnerbait, all twisted up and bent the trailer hook, I took out the musky rod and started fishing with a 10 inch Kickin' Minnow. Shortly after I get another bite, 4-5 head shake and nothing......He let go! We decided to let the spot calm down and move on to the other pool. This is where we both caught our first one! This was my 1st Musky ever caught! She measured 34.5 inches & weighed 8Lbs 3oz.

32.5 Inches

We continued along to the next stretch of water and recognized the bridge in the water.We were close by to where we had fished last fall. As soon as we got there, my buddy starts casting right against the cement bridge and Wham! his second one of the day.

29 Inches

We took a little break on the bridge to stretch out and eat abit. Made a few cast on the other side but no luck. Packed up and started heading back to where we had launched. We stopped and fish both pools on the way back. This is where I caught my second one. It was pretty beat up along the tail. Battle wounds, I would think.

31.5 Inches

We fished the last pool till 2:30PM and from there had a 1 hour and 45 min walk back, without much paddling. Wow! What a day, next time were gonna try another launching area. Less walking = More fishing.

I have to say though it was well worth the trek!

1st Annual Josh Murdock Open

2011-07-23T19:06:00.107-04:00

A friend of mine organized a little Bass tournament on White Lake in Arnprior this weekend. It was a one day event from 7am - 4pm, with three different time slots you could weigh fish. For every time slot there was a 1st (100$ Gift card at Sail), 2nd (35$ Gift Card at Sail) & 3rd prize (15$ Gift Card at Tim's). The Big Bass of the day prize was 350$. Not knowing the lake I started the first 3 hours close to the weight-in and pounded weed beds. Half hour in caught a 11 ounce bass, that I later weighed in to take the lead with 25 minutes to go to the first weigh-in. Obviously didn't stay in the lead to long when a few boats showed up to weigh theirs fish.

For the afternoon a baseball teammate of mine invited me to fish in their boat. We adventured abit further on the lake hitting up the shore line where there was drop off and docks. I caught a little bigger fish this time on a jig tipped with a 5 inch Shadalious. That was it, till we had to go back to weight in for the second time slot. Once in I took a look at the leaderboard and decided to keep my fish for the third time slot and try to win that one as two fish were bigger then mine in the second time slot.

2 lbs 2 oz

Late afternoon we tried our luck with Texas rig's in some weedy areas. My buddy Phil caught a little guy on a lizard. we both weighed our fish for the last time slot but no luck. I ended up leaving with the ''DINK'' prize, witch was the smallest fish weighed. I won 5$ at Tim's and a bottle of Wiser's. I had a blast and will be back next year to try my luck.

First Bass Of The Year!

2011-07-21T12:00:00.000-04:00

Went down to the Cumberland Ferry this morning to try my luck at jigging for walleye. Had a few small bites in the first 30 minutes but couldn't seem to be able to hook them up. Finally set the hook on one and wasn't even a walleye, it was a 12 inch LargeMouth Bass. The first one of the year, Yeah! Caught an even smaller one a few minutes after.

Pike Anyone?

2011-07-03T23:45:00.022-04:00

Decided to do a little road trip with my fishing buddy's Dan & Manny. We drove up north for about two hours then parked in an abandon field and launch our kayaks. The spot looked so nice it was sure to produce fish, and it did not disappoint! It all started when Manny hooked up the first fish of the day about an hour in. Gave him a good fight before he was able to land him. Not even half hour later Boom! another one on Manny's line. This one was abit bigger then the first. Did not get a good picture of that one as it wiggle free out of Manny's hands. Then Dan hooked up two within an hour. Finally I caught one on a big Seeker shad. Thanks boys for showing me your spot! Can't wait to go back!

35 Inches

Approx. 37 Inches

33.5 Inches

Low 30's Inches

23 Inch Walleye

2011-06-28T17:13:00.002-04:00

I went out fishing at about 11am at Remi Lake near Moonbeam, Ontario. It was overcast. I was really excited to get out for the first time this year. I wasn't expecting much because of the time of day. I was fishing for about an hour and I didn't get a bite. It was really windy so I started drifting towards the mouth of a creek and then bang.......I hooked a 23 inch walleye!!!

What a way to start the summer vacation!!!!!

Story sent in by : Grant

Fishing At The Cottage

2011-06-26T20:30:00.077-04:00

Went down to the cottage this week-end to put the boat in the water. Didn't get it in till Saturday as Friday it rained all day long, non stop. Once on the water Saturday we started trolling an area where we thought would be good spot for walleye. Took a little while but finally hooked one up! Nothing big but it was a sign of life! About an hour after catching the walleye, my dad hooked up a smallmouth bass. Gave him a nice little fight before I was able to land him. We headed in for the morning...

13.5 Inches

15 inches

We went back out for an evening run. I loss a nice smallmouth right off the bat. After that nothing all evening until we came back into the little bay where my cottage is. I tried a few cast close to some fallin' trees under water and this little Dink! bit my jig.

On the Sunday we hit the water around 7am. My dad got a bit early but lost it close to the boat, we never saw what it was. After that it took 2 hours before my old man caught a white fish. Nothing big came out this week-end, but I'll be back!

Nick's Big Pike at Petrie

2011-06-14T14:25:00.000-04:00

Went down to Petrie Island today for a few hours with my fishing buddy. I decided to launch the kayak and try my luck. My buddy Nick fished from shore as his kayak is in florida. Didn't take long, about half hour in Nick caught this nice pike. We estimated it around the 30 Inch range. Nice catch Nick!

Rock Bass

2011-06-13T20:47:00.000-04:00

Caught this little Rockbass at Petrie Island today. Another species caught this year! Looking to catch 15 differents species this year. Im currently at 6. (Walleye,Rockbass,Perch,Bullhead Catfish,Channel Catfish and Pike)

Snapping Turtle

2011-06-13T14:54:00.001-04:00

Was just minding my own business fishing along the culvert when I heard something move in the bush behind me. Went to take a closer look and to my surprise found this pretty big snapping turtle trying to make his way down the hill to get to the water.

For more information on the Snapping Turtle visit :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapping_turtle

Petit Pike At Petrie

2011-05-25T19:58:00.001-04:00

Had a few hours to kill so decided to go down to Petrie for some fishing. Didn't take long before I had a small pike on the line. Wasn't to big but still a blast catching them! Later on, my friend Nick also caught a little DINK!

Another Outting at Green's Creek

2011-05-19T18:00:00.034-04:00

Decided to give Green's Creek another try today. We had a much better day then a few days ago! I caught 3 Bullheads and 2 Channel Catfish my buddy Nick caught 2 Channel Cats. All the Bullheads we have been catching out of the creek have been between 10-14 inches. The catfish have been abit bigger ranging from 15-25 inches. On this outing we caught some nice catfish...Also caught a 3.9 Lbs Catfish but he got away before we could snap a picture!

22 Inches - 4.4 Lbs

21 Inches - 3.2 Lbs

Greens Creek Fishing

2011-05-17T08:00:00.020-04:00

Went down to Green's Creek for some Bullhead & Catfish today. Was a slow day today compared to the other outtings we had there this year. Caught a few Bullheads and a Catfish. This spot as been producing alot of fish this year. I was suprised by how the bite was not on today! Oh, well I'll be back.

19 Inches - 2.8 Lbs

Perch at Petrie

2011-05-15T21:25:00.002-04:00

Caught this litlle guy fishing for catfish. First perch of the year, hopefully not many more to come....

Another species off the list, trying to catch 15 differnet species this year.

Squirrel

2011-05-11T22:55:00.000-04:00

These pictures were taken at Green's Creek. Was fishing for catfish that day when this little bugger caught my attention. Took a few snap shots!

For more information on the Squirrel visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squirrel

Raccoon

2011-05-11T21:01:00.000-04:00

Was fishing Green's Creek today and saw this little guy wondering around. I got pretty close to get theses shots and he didn't seem to mind being on camera. I think it was sick or dying as he didn't move alot and was not afraid by the presence of a few fishermen near by.

For more information on the Raccoon visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racoon

Big Day for the Birthday Boy!

2011-05-11T19:35:00.038-04:00

It was my friend Nick's birthday today. He decided that fishing would be a great way to spend his special day. We headed down to Green's Creek to try are luck again. It started off slow but really picked up in the afternoon. A few of are friends came and joined us abit later. It was one after another for a little while then it slowed down for a bit. We pulled out 24 Catfish, everything was between 15 and 19 inches. The birthday boy caught 10. It was a great day for fishing!

Petrie Island Panfish

2011-04-30T21:40:00.013-04:00

Called up some friends of mine to see if they wanted to get their kayak wet for the first time this year. We decided to hit Crappie Bay at Petrie. Fished for a good 2 hours but got skunked. Found these two dead fish in a small pool of water. Was still a great day to get out on the water.

Windy day at Greens Creek

2011-04-28T20:00:00.043-04:00

Decided to try a spot I have known of since I was a kid. It's a little creek off the Ottawa River. We got to the spot and there was a mini wind storm going on. Trees were falling right, left and center across from us. It was pretty intense. We rigged up are catfish rigs, casted and the waiting game began. We ended up catching a bunch of catfish. On the walk back to the car, we saw this pretty big tree hanging over to path just waiting to fall.

Last Outing on Open Water for 2010

2010-12-22T20:00:00.001-05:00

Yep! Call us crazy, but we figured there was one last boat run on the St. Lawrence for walleye. Was a mild day in the forecast, temperature hovering around 0 degrees without wind shield factor. Got dressed with about a dozen layer's and ready I was. My friend Matt had been the week before and caught 65 Walleye. Well, we beat that by 14 Walleyes, catching a total of 79 Walter's. Everything was between 18 and 23 inches long with big belly's. We caught half a dozen that were between 24 to 26 inches, in the 5 pound'er range. All in all, Great day!

1st Ice fishing Outing of the year

2010-12-20T19:00:00.043-05:00

One of my good fishing partner's gave me a call today, asking me if I wanted to go ice fishing with him on his Birthday. It's been a traditions of his that goes back many years. We headed to a little feeding hole he knows of on the Ottawa river. There was already someone set up when we got there, so we moved abit further down and drilled a few holes here and there. We were jigging little spoons tipped with a minnow. About an hour in, Manny hooked up a nice 22.5 inch Walleye. Well I guess the fish god's sent him a Birthday present this year!

22.5 Inches

Fall Walleye on the St. Lawrence River (Part 2)

2010-11-25T19:32:00.003-05:00

Yup! That's right we went back to the spot on the St. Lawrence, on an even colder day then last Sunday. We did abit better then last time and caught 16 Walleyes and 2 Smallmouth Bass. We fished the same technique, jigging off bottom nice and slow. We ended up keeping some walleye like last time. The smallmouth my buddy caught was a fall fatty, measuring in at 19''.

19 Inches

Petrie Island Crappie Fishing

2010-11-23T18:00:00.000-05:00

With nice warm November weather in the forecast, a friend and I decided to take the kayaks out one last time. We were going to Petrie to fish for Crappie. I have caught some before but never really fished for them, so I went and bought my self some tiny crappie jigs to rig up on my ice fishing rod. I was also going to test the new fish finder I installed on the yak. We hit up Crappie Bay, didn't take to long to find schools on the sonar. We caught about a dozen of them, I had a blast and will definitely be going Crappie fishing again!

The BIG one of the Day!

Fall Walleye on the St. Lawrence River (Part 1)

2010-11-21T20:00:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine decided he wanted to show me a good fall Walleye spot on the St. Lawrence. Packed our stuff and got dressed for the occasion. Its was a cold day all around but definitely worth it. We caught 15 Walleyes between 3 guys. It was mostly Rich, my buddy's friend that caught them all. He had a horse shoe up his, you know what! We were jigging off bottom with big jig heads & smoke colored tubes. The biggest was the first one of the day :) Measured 26 inches & weighted 5.10 lbs.

26 Inches & 5.10 Lbs

Crankbaiting For Fall Walleye

2010-10-28T16:06:00.000-04:00

Haven't been out fishing much lately, so headed down to Petrie for half an hour or so. Decided to try a lip- less crankbait in the culverts, retrieving it real slow so it bonces off the bottom. Sure enough 10 minutes in Boom! Another nice Walleye from my little honey hole. This one was 21.5 inches long!

21.5 Inches

Common Garter Snake

2010-10-23T12:38:00.002-04:00

This little bugger sneaked up behind me while I was fishing the shore line at Petrie Island. Tried not to scare him too much, while graping my camera. Took a few good close-ups before scaring it away.

For more information on the Common Garter Snake visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_garter_snake

Great Blue Heron

2010-10-21T08:53:00.001-04:00

Fished all summer long at Petrie Island and saw a bunch of these every time out. There is a big population of the Great Blue Heron at Petrie Island. There are channels that u can easily access by Kayak or Canoe that hold alot of these birds.

For more information on the Great Blue Heron visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_blue_heron

Small River Musky

2010-10-17T20:00:00.111-04:00

Went for a little road trip with a few boys, to this little river that holds alot of musky at this time of the year. I remember a few years back going for the first time and it was a money spot. We caught 5 muskies and 1 pike. Every thing was between 25-35 inches. Biggest fish that year was a musky of 6.2 lbs. Couldn't wait to hit that river with my kayak. Got there early morning around 8:30, walked through a field for abit and...Oh, that's no good! The bridge we used to fish from was complete under water and was creating a water fall effect.

I launched my kayak and worked my way up stream for about an hour. Fan casted both side of the river all the way down, turned around and started trolling in the middle all the way up. Got back to shore and graped something to eat. While I was eating, one of my friends got two straight hits right in front of him with 5 feet of line in the water, both times the fish spitting the lure out. He took a break from the spot, and two of the other guys moved in for the kill. They pounded the spot with cast after cast for about 30 minutes and nothing. By that time, I had launch upstream and just crossed over to fish the other side of the bridge. While on the other side, my friend moved back in where he missed his hits earlier, let 5 feet of line out right between a rock and a little weed bed, Wham! She was hooked this time. Measured 34 inches and weight in at 8.8 lbs.

After that I got back in the Yak and trolled upstream for a little while, I turned around and fan casted the shore line all the way back. We decided to call it quits at that spot and try another spot close by for an hour or so. Nothing at that spot came out of the water not even a bite. I'm wondering if the water level hurt us this year! Oh well, at least someone caught something. Nice fish Serge!

Fall Musky

2010-10-16T20:25:00.000-04:00

Decided to go back to a little river my brother and I had pounded about a month ago...This time with my buddy Nick...He definitely had front row seats to a pretty good musky show...Although this snaky river that opens and narrows and opens and narrows--km after km--was heavy in current(sets of light rapids every few hundred meters), fishing it wasn't too hard...We would paddle up current and drift down, paddle up, then drift down, over and over...Structure easy to figure out. With very little weed beds and no major points, we mainly fished the sunken trees that made up the shoreline...And almost exactly at moonrise this afternoon, under a massive log, I found this 47 1/2" fall fatty...With her average sized-head (for that length), I was particularly impressed with her protruding stomach; a real porker.She hit a fire-tiger #8 Buchertail in line spinner, fought hard and was released after not too much more than a minute of being out of the water.Here are some pics...

Story sent in by : Dan

Northern Pike (Personal Best)

2010-10-14T22:20:00.003-04:00

Went for a quick run with my fishing partner, Dan. Launch at Cumberland Ferry. Since the wind was blowing in are faces, we trolled the shore line towards Rockland. Stopped after reaches a little weed bed and started drifting back slowly and casting the weed lines. Nothing, all the way back to the ferry. Crossed over to the other side and worked a massive weed point for awhile, Nothing. After that we started into this little channel and worked are way out. We were right over a nice bed of Coontails. Just as we past the mouth of the channel she hit at 5 feet from the Yak, took a run right underneath the kayak forcing me to put my rod in the water so the line would not rub against the side of the kayak. Once landed she measured 33 inches and weighted in at 8.5 lbs. What a fall beauty!

33 Inches & 8.5 Lbs

What a day......

2010-10-13T20:00:00.118-04:00

Started the afternoon at Petrie Island. Caught this nice 16 inch Largemouth right off the bat. Continued down the river and caught this little snot rocket. After those two fish hit, nothing for 2 hours.

My buddy Dan called me and wanted to go at a spot we tried earlier this year. He picked me up at Petrie and we headed down to Beckett's Creek. Saw the sign saying ''Beckett's Creek'' and then saw a dirt road leading to the water, Perfect! Launched and started casting away. Not even 30 minutes in our run, I see a car pull in where we were parked and this guy is screaming for something. Dan reels in and paddles full blast to shore to see what's going on. Well, apparently we were on this guys property and he wasn't to happy. He was on the phone with the tow truck company when Dan got to shore. Apparently had already called the cops. What a guy! We were trying to explain to him that we saw the sign for Beckett's Creek and there was a turn off right after, so we decided to go look down the road to see if it would lead us to the creek. There was no sign that said it was private properly and no gate keeping people out, so we figure it was a boat launch. The guy wouldn't even listen, cutting us off every time. When all was said and done, he cancelled the tow trunk and told police not too come down! Ended up extorting 40$ from Dan, to let us go. Wanting to fish so bad, we stop at Cumberland Ferry to fish from shore. Within 5 minutes Dan hooks this mid 20's Northern Pike.

I took a few pictures and went back to fishing, while Dan was releasing his fish. ''Oh my god! Musky HUGE! Ya....Ahhhhhh Did u see that! I was just doing figure 8 in 2 feet of water when I saw it come up. Caught me by surprise, I froze for a moment. Let the spot calm down for about 15 minutes and then it was Dan's turn. Woooo Big Musky just followed my lure. Saw it twice but no luck hooking it.

Fishing Petrie Island

2010-10-10T20:00:00.000-04:00

Decided to launch the boat at Petrie today. It was nice taking a little break from always kayaking. Fished for about 5 hours and caught nothing, well I caught nothing that is. My buddy Nick on the other hand caught a Pike and a Largemouth. Congrats on your biggest bass this year, Nick!

Low 20's

15 Inches

Petrie Island Trifecta

2010-10-06T20:25:00.004-04:00

With rain all day in the forecast, I decided to hit the shore line at Petrie till it started coming down. Went to my HONEY HOLE and used my magic lure. Within a dozen casts I caught a 23 inch Walleye. Then switch spots and caught a second fish. It was your typical Petrie Island bass, it measured 15 inches.

As the day went along, a window opened up around 12:30, it stopped raining. Left a message to one of my fishing buddy, to meet me at Petrie if he could. Got there at the same time as him. We hit my HONEY HOLE again, well I hit it again and Don hit it for the first time. Within 10-15 minutes I completed the TRIFECTA by catching a Northern Pike right at shore side. He hit in a foot of water, almost swam right on shore to grap the lure.

Then not even other 15 minutes goes by and Don catching a nice walleye. She was in the low 20's range. We decided to switch over to the other side. It looked like Don had a other fish on. ''It's a pike, it's a pike'' Good job Don, I said. Then it spat the lure out.....We stayed there for an hour till it started raining

Petrie Island Walleye

2010-10-04T19:00:00.005-04:00

No wasting time on this guy! Got at Petrie, launched and started casting right away near shore. Got to the first culvert and casted a few times in it with no luck, continued along the shore between both culverts, no luck again. Got to the second culvert casted right in it........Wham! Hit like a bat out of hell! While reeling this guy in I got sucked in by the current near the culvert and had to go threw it. Once on the other side I finally landed her. She measured 26.5 inches, didn't get the weight, had been awhile she was out of the water so I wanted her back in there as quick as possible. She had a BIG belly, to bad it was empty!

26.5 Inches

Also caught this little guy later on.

15 Inches

Painted Turtle

2010-09-30T10:25:00.001-04:00

Was out Kayak fishing during the summer and saw ton's of these turtles all over the place. They are the most common turtle in North America. Got a few nice pictures I would like to share with you. I might have walked in, or should I say paddled in on someone!

For more information on the Painted Turtle visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted_turtle

Fishing Knots

2010-09-30T10:00:00.003-04:00

Sharp hooks and strong knots are a big key to catching fish. You should always retie your knot every time out. Also sharpen hooks twice a year, depending on how much fishing you do. Better safe then sorry! Here are the main knots I use when I go fishing.

Click on the picture to view

1. Palomar Knot

2. Clinch Knot

3. Double-Uni Knot

4. Canoe Knot

The bobber fisherman uses a slip bobber for casting and general handiness, and stops the bobber from running up the line by using the Slip Stop. It has the advantage that the stops moves readily over the rod guides, but grips the monofilament nylon tightly that it will not slide over the line. It should be made with about 5 inches of nylon, usually the same diameter as the line itself.

5. Slip Stop Knot

Grosse Palette à Petrie Island

2010-09-22T21:44:00.004-04:00

Went Downtown today to try out the Rideau falls. I launched right beside the Prime Minister's house paddled maybe 5-10 minutes and started casting close to the falls. So much wind and waves that I was getting pissed off, so I park my self on the Island close by and fished from there for a while. After 1 hour and 45 minutes decided to go back home. Once home I realized that 2 hours of fishing was not enough so went down the hill and launched at Petrie. Caught this guy on a T-worm.

I crossed over to the other side and whipped out the Reed-Runner. Started casting the weed line and this little ''Fouet'' hit.

Was getting really frustrated with the wind blowing me everywhere, so I started heading to shore when Dan called me. He had an hour and a half between guitar lessons so he decided to come join me from shore. Not even 5 min after he got there, I casted right in front of him close to the culvert and WHAM! We were sure the Bass was at least 20 inches after seeing it jump out of the water. Once landed she measured 19 inches & weighted 3.10 lbs. What a beauty!

Texas Rigging

2010-09-16T13:00:00.002-04:00

Did the same old routine, pounded the weed line with my spinnerbait all the way up the river until I reached the channel on the right hand side. Crossed over and pounded the mouth of the channel, nothing! After seeing a friend catch a pike on a weedless frog the other day, I decided to try a Texas-Rig for the 1st time. I was actually in the same spot my buddy was, when I caught this nice 30 inch Pike.

She hit twice, before I could get her hooked. Got another hit after that in the same spot but couldn't set the hook. I crossed over to the other side and started hitting up the lilly's when, Wham! This guy hit hard, had no problem setting the hook! She weighted 3.5 lbs & 19 inches long.

Had a few more bite but had trouble setting the hook. Will be trying T-Rigging again for sure......

Bass Solo Anyone?

2010-09-14T15:11:00.004-04:00

Went out musky fishing all day with Moose, had to take advantage of the temperature, and well who am I kidding, Im addicted to fishing...So both of those combined=fishing all day!

We were on the water for about 8 hours, and for the first 4, nothing, not even a token pike, then all of a sudden, Moose catches one, misses one, and I land one(all small pike). From nothing in 4 hours, to 3 fish in about 5 minutes...and it didnt stop; with Moose missing something very nice sized, (low 30" esox, not sure if it was pike or musky), landing another tiny pike, and myself finally reeling in this 5.10lbs, 23 1/2" largie. And even though it was caught on big gear with 80lbs test line, the fight was great, she jumped twice, with at least a triple axel one time too

The lure was a Joe Bucher slopmaster, a single-blade(#8 colorado), single hook spinner bait. And although I was fishing for musky, I was pleasantly surprised to see this beauty at the end of my line.

Story sent in by : Dan

Cool & Rainy Morning Walleye

2010-09-09T12:07:00.007-04:00

With a cool and rainy morning in the forecast, made my decision last night to hit the water at Sunrise. Got up at 5:30am pack all my gear and headed for a quick breakfast of champions at McD. Was on the water for 6:25am. Started paddling up the weed line where I usually go and saw this Carp floating there. Took a few pictures. I was battling the wind again, but not as much as yesterday! I decided to go straight to my walleye hole and cast the day lights out of it. Not even 10 minutes in, I get a bite about 10 feet for my kayak, set the hook and nothing, so I cast back about 15 feet and not even three turns of the reel and Wham!!! She took me for a 2 minute ride before I landed her. I have to say that is the nicest fish I have ever caught. She measured in at 30 inches & weighted 8 lbs.

Carp was 33 inches long

30 inches & 8 lbs

Solid Day On The Water

2010-09-02T17:00:00.005-04:00

Had a bit of time in the early morning to kill, so strapped-on the kayak to the roof of the car, drove down the hill to my home turf (Petrie Island) and away I went searching for fish! Well fish is what I found.....I landed 8 fish (4 Largemouth Bass/15 - 16 - 17.5 - 18.5 inches & 4 Northern Pike/ 2 snot rockets - a mid-twenties and a 27 incher. Was out there for 3 hours and the whole time the river was calm, no wind what so ever. It was nice for a change did not have to battle with the wind, as I have no rudder on my kayak. Was casting the weed line close to shore and letting the lure pull me slowly along as I retrieved it.

16 inches

15 inches

17.5 inches

18.5 inches

27 inches

Cumberland Ferry

2010-09-01T22:00:00.004-04:00

Got a call from my buddy Dan, wanting to go fishing. We decided to launch at the Cumberland Ferry, as it was only a few minutes away from my house and that way we could fish abit longer. Was cast & retrieving the weed line with my new Reed Runner(Black & Orange). Got to this nice little weed patch where I started pounding the point with cast after cast, that's when she hit. Nice healthy 31 inch Northern Pike! About 20 minutes later, Dan also caught a Northern in the mid-twenties. We also caught a few snot rockets along the way.

31 Inches

Mid-Twenties

Rainy Morning = Good Fishing

2010-08-23T21:40:00.004-04:00

Got up this morning and saw it was raining, perfect! Called a good friend of mine that I hadn't seen in awhile and told him to come down with his kayak so we can go fishing as soon as the rain would stop. Got on the water at around noon, and started casting the shore line while my buddy was trolling the weed line. Within 45 minutes, BANG! A 25 inches Walleye weighing 5 lbs hit my friends Cotton Cordell (Big-O). The wind was making things really hard so decided to go into the channel for abit. Still trolling around the weed lines, and look who catches another one! This time it was a 35 inch Northern, weighing in at 8.5 lbs. I on the other hand got skunked!!!

25 inches & 5 lbs

35 inches & 8.5 lbs

Day At Work On The Water

2010-08-10T16:16:00.005-04:00

Got the call Sunday night that I had Monday off, so I decided to spend it on the water. Did A morning run from 7am till noon. Got 6 or 7 bites but nothing was hooking on, till I entered this little channel were I caught a 19 inches walleye. Came to take the picture and camera said 'Recharge Battery Pack'. Thank god I didn't land something big, I would have had no proof! Went back home to make lunch for 'The Wife' and do abit of house work. That keeps her happy! Recharged the camera and off I go again. Stayed on the water from 5pm to 8pm. This is were the action began.....Caught 9 pike! Three of them were between 25 and 30 inches, one was 24 inches and five SnotRockets around the 15-20 inch mark. Also landed another nice 24 inch Walleye. Casted so much that I think I have 'Fishpal tunnel'

24 inches

Approx. 20 inches

28 inches

27 inches

26 inches

Keep your fishing spot CLEAN

2010-08-08T19:34:00.004-04:00

Was doing alot of shore fishing at Petrie Island at this one spot. One day I realized how dirty and filthy it was. I had a rice cake bag so decided to start picking up stuff. Filed my bad pretty quick but found two minnow bag so used them to put trash in them. Picked up close to a dozen plastic bottles, Tim Horton's cups, worm container's, tons of fishing line, even hook and broken lures. Take a look at first picture. Told my self from now on I always bring a plastic bag when I go fishing to pick up trash and keep my spot Clean. It came in handy next time I returned about two weeks after I picked up more trash from the same spot.

Two weeks after

Will The Musky Bite?

2010-08-07T12:54:00.005-04:00

Hit the water early this morning around 6:45 am. I Casted and retrieved along the bank where I raised a massive Musky last night. Hit the beaver dam for a good 30 minutes, casted about 30-45 times but nothing. Was fishing with a Reed Runner with a trailer hook topped off with a white 4 inch twister. Continued along the same bank till I got to two weed bed points forming a channel into a small bay off the river. That was the HOT spot! Started off by catching this nice Bass, then caught two Blue Walleye 10 minutes apart. The second one was a beast measuring 28 inches and weighing 6.8 lbs. I also missed another Walleye and a Bass. Wow! What a morning.....

17 inches

21 inches

28 inches & 6.8 lbs

Raised a 'PIG' of a Musky

2010-08-06T22:04:00.004-04:00

Went out this afternoon for a couples of hours to try my luck. It was a nice cool day compared to the 30 degrees and plus we have been getting. Caught 2 pike around the 25 inch mark. Got off the water around 2:30 pm, went home and took a power nap. At around 5:30 pm, since to Yak was still on the car, I decided to go for another run. Hooked another pike, this one measured in at 28 inches. I also missed a bass, witch spit my lure while it was showing off his acrobats. But, as the title says....I raised a big fat pig of a musky right beside a beaver dam. It bumped my lure right at the Yak and boiled right under me. All I heard was 'thump' right on the kayak and saw this massive green silhouette beside me. After seeing my buddy catch a 45 inch Tiger Musky, I'm sure this beast was pushing 50 inches. Let the spot calm down for abit and hit it again but nothing. Guess what I'm doing tomorrow morning? The Hunt Continues..........

28 inches

First Run With New Yak

2010-08-04T19:45:00.003-04:00

A good friend mine just got a new Elie Fishing Kayak. This thing is awesome. Has everything you need for fishing, it's GREAT! The good news in all of this is that I inherited his old Pelican Kayak. Yeah! Decided to go for my first run with my new Pelican. Caught these two Largies casting & retrieving along the shore. They were between 2 and 3 lbs.

15 inches

14.5 inches

Petit Pike

2010-07-29T12:00:00.003-04:00

Went with my buddy Dan to hunt some Muskies down. We hit up this new spot of his where you don't have to do so much paddling. I was just casting along to weed bed when this token pike hit. She measured 27 inches. Thought it was maybe a Musky. Would have been my first one! Oh, well! I'll have to wait another day!

Good Old 5 to 7

2010-07-27T21:00:00.003-04:00

Wook up today at 5 this morning, as my wife gets up at that time to go to work. I had the day off.(Lucky me)So decided to go out till around 7am. Got there at 5:30 and started casting. The water was so calm you could see all the minnows jumping all over the river. Right at around 7 is when I caught this nice 15 inch Large Mouth. At around 4pm that same day was sitting at home doing nothing and decided to eat a little something and head out again, for the evening 5 to 7. She hit at 6 o'clock sharp. Gave me a pretty good fight too! This one was 16 inches long. They both weighed around 2.6 lbs.

16 inches (caught in the evening)

15 inches (caught in the morning)

Mini Walleye

2010-07-26T17:30:00.012-04:00

Went to my favorite spot yesterday! Again! Was jigging my spinner bait in the 2nd culvert right in the corner where it drops off to a deeper pool when she hit. She's was just a little 17 incher about 1.5 lbs I guess. What I found funny is that the Asian guy was almost begging me the give it to him. I told him that I only practice catch and release! He was a good sport about it, as he still took the picture for me.

52 Inch Musky

2010-07-25T15:08:00.005-04:00

We got on the water at 3pm sunday and hit our spots from last weekend. Things were slow but we did raise a large fish on the same spot as where we raised a pig last weekend. We spent the night in Wendover so we could be on the water bright and early monday. After waking up to rain, we took our time and launced in a mist at 9:30am. Buck joined us and the three of us strapped down our Wetskins and started pounding the weedbeds. After a damp morning, the sun came out at 12:30pm and she hit....... She hit a burnt Buchertail off a weed-knob right on a main-river point. She fought hard, like a tank... she boiled, she jumped and landed on the tip of my yak god-bless her. She made our hearts beat faster than they have beaten in a while.....

Story sent in by : Manny

LargeMouth Bass

2010-07-25T13:42:00.006-04:00

Decided to go down the hill from my place to Petrie Island again. Went to the spot I always go to (1st culvert) and started casting a spinner bait. Cast for about 30 minutes and was about to give up on the spot and then she hit hard right at the shore line. It measured 20 inches long and weighed in at 3.9 lbs. Not much of a fight, but a hog!

Bass fishing at Bate Island

2010-07-24T19:00:00.006-04:00

Just came back from Bate Island, off the Champlain Bridge. I've known this spot for a few years now. Doesn't produce big bass but your almost guaranteed at least a few small ones. Went with a friend of mine and caught at least a dozen and missed probably another half dozen. Everything was between 5 to 12 inches long. Nothing BIG, but beautiful spot to relax and enjoy fishing!

Shore fishing at Petrie Island

2010-07-21T19:33:00.007-04:00

About a month back, after work I decided to go fishing at Petrie Island for an hour or so. I went right to the 1st culvert and on my first cast, something hit my SpinnerBait as soon at it landed in the water. I set the hook to fast and missed it! The very next cast it hit again and this time I brought it in. Nice 4 lbs Walleye! Not even 20 minutes after was reeling in and did a figure 8 in front of this rock hole and BANG! Thous a Bass! A nice 2.6 lbs Largemouth. Not bad for an hour of fishing.

Buck Loves Musky

2010-07-14T20:17:00.010-04:00

Thunderstorm warning in the forecast, PERFECT! We wanted to be there before it hit or until sunset, witch ever came first. Thunderstorm did not hit but the Musky did... We were happy to see our buddy 'Buck' catch his first Yak-Musky, a nice one too! She hit a buckertail(black/orange/black) right over a rock pile. Right on Buck!

Story sent in by : Manny

Massive Tiger Musky

2010-06-23T10:54:00.011-04:00

I went kayak musky fishing with a good friend of mine on the Outaouais River yesterday evening. Are plan was to cast and droll the shore line all the way to a spot where the previous day his brother had a fish follow his lure. He wasn't sure if it was a pike or musky but he knew it was big. Well let me tell you it was massive. Chances are it was the same fish as muskies are known to be territorial predators. It messured in at 45 inches long. Wow!

Pileated Woodpecker

2010-06-23T08:45:00.003-04:00

Was doing some shore fishing at Petrie-Island a few years ago and took these nice pictures of a couple of pileated Woodpeckers. They were pecking away at the electrical pole. Zappppp!

For more information on the Pileated Woodpecker visit :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pileated_Woodpecker

Fishing Rules & Regulations

2010-06-23T08:30:00.000-04:00

Plan on fishing in a different province ? Don't know what are the rules and regulations. Check out the natural resources web-site of Ontario or Quebec. Please follow all their rules and regulations. Don't forget to check for size and limit restrictions. Good Luck!

Click on the flag

Ontario

Quebec

Fishing The Ottawa River

2010-06-22T12:00:00.002-04:00

These are just a few pictures I had on my old blog. They were taken a few years ago. My friend and I went test out my dad's new boat at Petrie-Island a few times. These are a few of the fish we caught!

2007/10/25

2 lbs - 7 oz

2007/10/25

3 lbs

2007/10/31
3 lbs 3 oz

Late Season Bass Fishing

2010-06-21T16:00:00.003-04:00

This smallmouth bass was caught a few years back on a small peanut lac, late in the season. Was fishing from a canoe casting the shore line when it hit. Gave me a good 5 min fight at least. This is my biggest bass so far in my angling career.

2007/11/11

3 lbs 10 oz