Labour Day 2011

I looked back at pics from last years Labour Day long weekend and the first thing I noticed was that the weather was very similar, overcast, rain and wind. The second thing I noticed was that I only have a pic of one small bass from that entire weekend. Either I didn't fish, or in a year I have become a better angler, whatever the case when I compare it to this weekend, it was much better then last years.

As the colder weather approaches and as we get deeper into fall, the action should start to heat up. Heres hoping for a furious fall fishing season on Rice Lake.

More Rice Lake Bassin'

Another summer weekend has come and gone and once again I made the most of my limited time on the water.

As fall approaches, I value every hour on the water. This weekend there were a few large bass to be had and numerous smaller sized ones. Oddly enough, the smaller bass came on Saturday in warm, sunny conditions and the larger ones were bagged on Sunday in difficult, overcast and blustery 30 km/hr winds.

My bait of choice should come as no shock to those of you that read my blog, yes it was a Slammer. The Slammer continues to produce both quantity and quality in all types of weather conditions and certainly does not disappoint.

With the Labour Day Weekend almost here, I am keeping my fingers crossed for both weather and big bass. Hope everyone stays safe on the water this coming long weekend.

Releasing 3 Bass - 10+ lbs

After a great day on the water there is not better feeling then releasing large fish back into the lake in hopes they will be caught another day. Please practice Catch & Release.

X Factors

When you combine the hottest drop shot bait on the market with a favourable moon phase, you get great results. The two X Factors I am speaking of are the XZone Lures Slammer and a full moon. With the full moon occurring on Saturday night I thought today might present some better odds as the moon was going to be at 100% that evening. As all avid anglers know, the window surrounding the full moon can present a great time to be on the water fishing. Now add in the XZone Slammer and you have the recipe for lots of fish catching power. Saturday the weather was absolutely amazing. It was sunny, hot and humid. I hit the water at around 6 am and fished one spot for a little over 3 hours as the action was so intense. Caught close to 20 fish in one spot. Managed to bring many fish to the boat and lost a few other big ones as they spit the hook boat side.

The Slammer was once again bringing quantity and quality to the boat. The key was color though. Certain colours definitely produced better then others and I found myself switching back and forth several times. Fish were caught in less then 10 FOW. It was also critical to keep moving around. Worked the area hard with the trolling motor and the hard work payed off.

What made this weekend more rewarding was the fact a large tournament was taking place on Rice Lake and they say it is over fished and pressured. Just goes to show that a little local knowledge and patience can yield some quality fish.

Water Level Causes Slow Bite

With recent flooding in the area, the water level in Rice Lake went up quite drastically a couple of weeks back as the locks were opened and water poured in. Needless to say, this old dog got taught a few new tricks as the bite was extremely slow. The rising water levels moved the bass shallower into cover and onto structure. Spots that held bass in previous weeks were not producing. I now know to move shallower as the water level rises and deeper as the water level falls. Shallow water bass become less spooky and more aggressive as the water level rises and deep water bass become much more scattered and less aggressive as the water level rises. The opposite holds true as the water level drops. The only thing that remained the same was the fact that the only bait working were Slammers. As the bite slowed, I had to try other baits like Senkos, Cranks, Topwater and Tubes, yet none of these were producing fish. Understanding water levels is an important factor in helping an angler catch bass as conditions change.I am now going to put a marker at the waters edge that way I can quickly notice how the water level changed in relation to the marker. You learn something new every day.

Hot Weather Bass

With the current hot spell we are under, water temps are starting to get into the 80's and the smallmouth bass are moving to deeper structure. They can become difficult to catch at this point in the season but it may be worth the effort to fish for them and limits of large smallies can reward the persistent and patient angler.

Yesterday I hit the water for a couple of hours and a large number of smallies were found in deeper water. The water temperature at 6 am was already over the 80 degree mark. After 2 hours I easily reached my limit and was culling smaller sized fish. My bait of choice was an XZone Slammer. These baits continue to amaze me. I tried a new color for the first time yesterday and this color worked great. In addition to about 20 bass I managed 3 walleye and a handful of panfish.

Smashing The Bass With XZone Lures

I first got some of these baits at the end of 2009 and I fished them in the fall with limited success as dropshoting was a new technique to me. As I have fished these baits more and more over the last couple of years, I have become very comfortably with finesse fishing the drop shot rig. All I can say about XZone Lures is that they are simple amazing. I used to have favourite go to baits but they quickly become extinct. The Slammer has an incredible fish catching power that no other bait can even come close to. When I pick up a rod rigged with a Slammer, I have 100% confidence that with a bit of patience I will be able to put a good number of decent sized fish in the boat. Since the opener the above statement has proven to be 100% accurate. The action has been quite hot and the bite has not slowed down at all even with a few cold fronts going through. The bass seem to be up shallow and water temperatures are optimum for metabolism. As the water temperature rises into the 80's in the dog days of summer, the bass will move to deeper water and suspend and then I predict the drop shot Slammer rig will absolutely kill them. Looking forward to a prosperous 2011 season thanks to XZone Lures and the Slammer.

Bass Opener

The long awaited Bass Opener occured this past weekend and I was able to get out for a few hours early on Sunday morning. I wanted to make the most of my limited time on the water and all I can say is that the action was fast and furious. I managed to catch a dozen bass in just over 2 hours and lost a couple of absolute monsters. All fish came between 9-14 FOW just outside weedlines. All fish were caught on XZone Slammers.

Lowrance Elite-5 Gold

Since I bought my boat at the end of 2008, I have found my stock fishfinder located at the console to be a little sub-standard and lacking in quality. It is a monochrome Lowrance X67c model. I recently purchased a new Lowrance Elite-5 Gold color fishfinder/chartplotter form Radioworld at the Fishing Show and I can't wait to install it and try it out this summer.

The new color Elite-5 Gold fishfinder/chartplotter brings high performance and high color to on-the-water enjoyment in every way, and without a high price. You enjoy incredible precision and functionality, in addition to a spectacular new view.

This bundle includes a custom 2GB Navionics Gold micro SD card with Gold coastal/offshore coverage of US and Canadian waters along with coverage of the Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, the Bahamas and over 125 major Canadian lakes.

The brilliant 5 in./12.7 cm, 480x480 pixel SolarMAX™ 256-color TFT display has unmatched screen brightness, contrast, resolution and viewing detail at wider angles and in bright sunlight. Adjustable screen and keypad backlight improves usability and visibility day or night.

The 500W RMS sounder reaches depth of 1,000'/305 m with its dual-frequency 83/200 kHz Skimmer® transom-mount transducer with internal temp sensor and up to 120˚ of wider sonar coverage. Unique TrackBack™ feature offers immediate scroll-back to review multiple pages of fishfinder history.

The internal 16-channel GPS antenna provides great WAAS+EGNOS+MSAS precision for navigation. And an external antenna option is also available for customized applications. A waterproof microSD memory card slot is fully compatible with Fishing Hot Spots® Pro USA, LakeMaster®, and Navionics® mapcards in the micro SD format for U.S. anglers. Built-in memory allows for up to 3,000 waypoints, 100 routes/100 waypoints per route and 100 retraceable plot trails/up to 10,000 points per trail.

All of this, packaged with easy-to-use menus with Advanced Mode to expand features selection. An all-new case/mounting design provides for easy one-hand tilt/swivel view adjustment, removal and re-install - even fits same cut-out for previous 5 in./7 cm models for in-dash installations. And a new uniplug 1/4-turn connectors are compatible with earlier Lowrance uniplug installations to simplify upgrades to any new Elite model.

SLAMMERS

When you are looking for a soft plastic that produces Smallies, not only in numbers but also in size, I recommend using Slammers made by Mark Kulik of Strikezone Tournament Baits. These baits are hand poured and salt impregnated. They come in a variety of colours and mimmick everthing from minnows to gobies and leeches.

One thing I can say with confidence is that SLAMMERS work like no other bait. With some patience, these baits put quality fish in your livewell . If you have never tried theses baits, I highly recommend them. They have produced Smallies like no other bait I have ever tried. Colour seems to be key. Here are a few caught summer of 2010.

New for 2011 this year, Mark has added to his product line and added Mini Slammers, Leeches, Shiver Shads and Swammers, a swimbait version of the Slammer. He now also has baits out in bubblegum colour which works great when using Senkos for Largies. Can't wait to try the bubblegum colour Slammers out on the Smallies as soft water season is approaching fast.

Strikezone Tours

I ended the 2010 fishing season on a high. A few days prior to the 2010 bass season closing, I got the chance of a lifetime to get out with Mark Kulik, owner of Strikezone Tournament Baits, to hunt some Lake Simcoe Smallies. Every once in a while in life, people ask you to desrcibe an event with one word, but I truly can't as there would be way to many to sum up this once in a lifetime experience, it really was priceless.

I was excited leading up to our outing as Mark told me he has never been skunked before and he said he didn't plan on starting on our outing. This excited me as there have been numerous times I have gone out on Rice and been skunked so knowing that we were going to catch fish made me more excited. He also said we would probably catch between 20 and 30 Smallies so I was like a kid waiting for Santa the night before Christmas.

I met Mark at the launch and right away we started chatting about what we were in for. We screamed across the lake at an incredible rate of speed and it was exciting, as I have never been in a bass boat before. It wasn't until later on that I realized it wasn't all fun and games as I was getting a dermabrasion in the face as it snowed a few times during our outing and the snowy ice pellets felt like getting needles in the face but boy was it worth it.

As for Mark, all I can say is that he is an incredible angler and a great person. He is down to earth and he obviously is someone that gives back to a sport that has made him grow. He was a great teacher and told me many things that I hope will improve my fishing ability next season and for many years to come. Learning little tricks, subtleties and general fishing practices from him was priceless.

Soon after we got to our first spot we put our lines in and it was only a few minutes after that, that I hooked into the first fish of the day. A solid way to start. As soon as the fight was on, I knew it was a good one and when I finally got it to the boat and Mark put the net on it, I was all smiles as I saw it.

The rest of the day was simply amazing. We hads spells were we caught 2 or 3 or 4 fish then it was quiet for a short time and then it picked up and we caught a few again and so on and so on. During the day I was dropshotting Slammers and also some of Marks new baits that are due to be out for next year. All I can say about these new baits is that they work. They put big fish and numbers in the boat, enough said.

I was also lucky enough to use Marks gear for the day. I am a Shimano guy and I know some of you are probably rolling your eyes, so to try out his St. Croix rods was a real treat. I was also lucky enough to use some of his brand new SIMAX rods that he is now sponsored by and they are really great. I found them to be very sensitive and extremely lightweight.

It was a great day and I lost track of how many fish we caught but I would say easily between 25 and 30. They averaged around 4.5 lbs and the biggest ones came in just over 6 lbs, a new PB for me. It truly was a day I will never forget. Most of them came between 15-40 FOW.

In conclusion I would once again like to thank Mark for an unforgetable day and I would also like to thank Tai and Kawartha Anglers for everything they have given me.

Monday, May 24, 2010

It was nice to just spend a few days relaxing this past long weekend with my wife and daughter. We all made the trek up the cottage to take in Mother Nature's early summer weather and soak up some sun. As usual they were wrong with their prediction of rain for Saturday and Sunday . The weather was amazing on all 3 days. While at the cottage I had to resort to dock fishing as family and chores took priority over going fishing in the boat. My dock adventures yielded high numbers of fish but not the ones I was after. The first fish I caught on a grub was a small 12" catfish, then I probably caught close to 50 Rock bass with some chunky Sunfish thrown in. When I finally did make it out on Monday morning I wanted to make the most of my time on the water and I was eager to catch some walleye and panfish.

I hit the water on Monday morning hoping for the best as I was limited to only a few hours tops. First stop the spot where I lost the monster last week but nothing so I moved on to Margaret Island. Was ripping a Rapala X-Rap in Hot Steel through the weeds and was able to hook up with one small walleye in the 13" range. That was it for there. Tried another couple of spots and no walleye to show for. I did lose some grub tails a few times so I assume walleye nibbled them off on short strikes. I worked weed edges, I worked the scattered stuff with various baits but only managed one.

I now decided to move shallow to try for some panfish and came onto a large school of bluegills, perch and sunfish. I was hoping for some crappies to be mixed in but nothing. Site fishing for panfish can be quite fun and I really did enjoy it. Managed to catch a dozen perch and kept them for a shore lunch. Kept a few bluegills and sunfish in the livewell for a pic or two but the were released as the blues were very dinky. The sunfish were surprisingly very big, 9-10" range.

The reviews were mixed from the guys out on the lake. Lots of small ones being caught, to nothing at all. Nice to know that these small ones can only get bigger in time thanks to the new slot size regulations.

Why do the weekends always come and go so fast?

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Well I finally made it on the water on the morning of Sunday, May 16th and I was only on the water for 2 hours, 8:30-10:30am. In my two hour fishing window I tried throwing crankbaits, jigging grubs, and drop shotting artifical minnows. I did not land any fish. I did however hook up with something that I new was pretty big. After fighting for a few minutes on 10lb Vanish, I was able to see what it was and it was a huge walleye caught in 7 feet of water. It came up to the surface and I grabbed the net and put it down as there was still some fight left in this Walleye. I was drop shotting an artificial minnow and when I was able to see it, it was enormous. As I reach for the net to have it ready to land, I momentarily lost tension in the line I think and it was gone. I put this Walleye at around 7-8 lbs+ and in the 27"+ range, it was a BRUTE. I was right at a spot which happened to be a point off an island. There were some weeds in this area and it transitioned into a rocky bottom towards the shoreline. It was so disappointing to lose this monster. It would have been out of the new slot regulations but would have been the biggest Walleye I have ever caught.
On Saturday night I continued with the dock fishing as the Wobbly Pops kept me on shore and I did catch a total of 6 Rock Bass, 2 Bluegill, I lost one small Walleye and caught an even smaller one which I put at around 12-13 inches.
The weather on Sunday was great, light winds and blue sunny skies. Thankfully most of the work at the cottage is now done so now it’s finally on to spending more time on the water.

Sunday I trolled a few weedbeds off Margaret Island with other boats but we all came up empty. This spot has produced in the past but not yesterday. It was a great weekend for working and fishing. I definately want to venture farther on the lake and try some proven spots. My new NAVIONICS is working great on te water. The long weekend can't come soon enough.

Advanced Taxidermy

I got the long awaited phone call on Monday afternoon to tell me that my fish mount was finally completed. Naturally I was very excited to see how it turned out and I couldn't wait to pick it up the following day.

Having been to Advanced Taxidermy only once before to drop my order off and having seen their booths a few times at various shows, I knew they did great work but I was still very excited and anxious to see how mine turned out.

All I can say is WOW! When I got my first look at it, it was better then expected. The picture does not do it justice. It truly is a work of art and a masterpiece and it brings back great memories of me catching it last summer on Rice Lake. If you are considering a mount, either replica or skin, then look nowhere else besides Advanced Taxidermy. Thanks to James and the crew for their dedication and fine craftsmanship.

www.advancedtaxidermy.com

Boat Prepped And Ready

With these awesome early April temps, I am wondering if Mother Nature is playing a cruel trick on us or whether they are here to stay. Regardless of what the case may be, I decided to take advantage of the warm weather. I pulled my boat out of the garage and got her ready for an upcoming Crappie session. The boat fired up right away on the second try. It definitely helps when you prep your boat correctly for the long Canadian winter.

My boat is a Legend 16 ft Prosport SC with a 20 hp and a 45 lb Motorguide Wireless Trolling Motor. Meets my fishing needs perfectly. Can't wait to hit some water this week for Crappies and then the joy of trailering it to its permanent summer home on Rice Lake.