diggyj

I did my usual early morning fishing on Saturday and hit my go to spots. They quickly produced fish in size and numbers. Once again bait of choice as always was the XZone Slammer, colour to be determined by individual user.  /funny  Fish are coming in 8-12 FOW. Big fish of the morning was a pretty good largemouth that weighed 4 lbs 10 oz. Action was non stop for about 3 hours.

Sunday morning I headed out early again and the fishing was epic. Probably the best morning of fishing I have ever had. I kept catching one after another from one of my hot spots. I also caught a bunch of fish on a Swammer rigged on a football jig. Again, colour to be determined.  By experimenting I have been able to figure out what colours are getting fish to strike and which ones are not in the same spots. The fish were very aggressive and hammered everything thrown their way, the Swammers were getting hammered. Thankfully I had both the Slammer and the Swammer in the same colour on hand. Hard to say but there came a point in time where I just had to quite as I was getting tired of catching so many after another. Actually got tired of re-rigging rods as these buggers can twist and tangle your line pretty good. Nice to see that the hot spots are still producing a week after a tournament.

The big fish of the morning weighed in at 6 lbs 12 ozs and again was a largemouth. Smallies were decent but nothing huge but I am sure I would have bagged one if I fished these spots longer. Can't wait for this upcoming weekend.

 

Well first of all I had no idea that there was a tournament on Rice Lake this past weekend. I wish I had known so I could have made plans to watch the weigh in from Hastings as I have never seen one and would have enjoyed it. Anyways, maybe next time.

 

As for my experience this past weekend, I can say that I experienced two very different sides of tournament angling.

 

Firstly, I was fishing one of my hot spots when a tournament boat pulled up and to my amazement it was someone that I consider a friend, someone that was fishing their first tournament and someone that is a member of this board. I continued to fish for a minute or so and then asked them if they wanted me to leave and their response was that I could do whatever I wanted to. I continued to run my trolling motor away from them and when I got far enough away from them, I started my motor and slowly pulled away from them. This whole process lasted no more then a few minutes. I respected them and just moved on. Hope they did well on that spot and lets keep it our little secret. 

 

Now later in the day the situation started out the same as I was once again on one of my spots when another tournament boat pulled up within 10 feet of me and said I need to leave right now and if I don’t they would be casting their jigs into the back of my boat. You can insert their “F BOMBS” wherever you want. I kindly said excuse me and said if you are going to threaten me and treat me like crap I am not going anywhere. I remained calm as their verbal assault continued and at this point in time I made up my mind that I wasn’t going anywhere. The wind was non existent and I was also stationary. I however got the last laugh as the circled and trolled really close to me. A few minutes later I caught a decent bass and I think that made them mad as one of them said you “B”. They put on their life jackets, fired up their boat and stormed off right next to me making huge wake which gave me a good ride on the bow. If I was out of order, I would like someone to tell me so, that way I know for next time. I would have left on my own accord within a few minutes but when you pull up dropping bombs and threatening me, well then I’m sorry we can fish next to one another and I am not going anywhere.

 

As for the fishing, it was OK. Generally the bass I caught were smaller. All my spots seemed to by occupied with tournament boats. Caught a lot more Crappies this weekend as well as a few small walleye. I enjoyed my time on the water despite that overzealous attitude of one individual.

 

 

 

 

 

If this is what tournament angling is about, then I want no part. I would like to fish a tournament on Rice Lake sometime but if you have to deal with clowns like that then forget it. I am out there for fun. I understand they might be making a living and are looking for a CASH but just because you have a bigger and better boat doesn't mean you can treat the average angler like a piece of dirt.

 

Dirk

 

Finally got on the water last weekend for some bass fishing. Was hoping it would be good as we were just coming into a full moon phase but I did not expect to have the weekend I did. On Saturday I only managed some dock fishing between entertaining and chores. I caught one decent largemouth from the dock. Total of 7 all together



On Sunday morning I got an early start and in the span of about 4 hours I caught 30 bass of various size. For the most part they were all small with a few decent ones thrown in. It was alot of fun catching them one after the other and I couldn't keep them off the end of the line.





These 2 largemouth weighed in at 4-11 and 4-14. couple of nice HAWGS pulled from a depth of 7 feet.

I went out later in the afternoon and again in the eveining and probably caught another 20 bass.

Sunday night was just as hot as during the day. Even caught one walleye just under the slot while slowly dragging a swimbait.

Then on Monday I went out again and caught 25 more bass in 3 hours. Again most fish were small with a few tanks in the mix.



A couple of the largies caught and the next picture is of the monster of the weekend. I weighed it twice, once just after being caught and it came in at 7-11 then I weighed it later when I took the picture and it weighed 7-9 so either weigh a 7.5+ lb largemouth. Was quite a brute. I caught it from the sam spot I fished the previous day, actually one of my goto spots. It slammed the bait, I set the hook and the fight was on. After a short time there was just dead weight on the end of the line and I keep pulling and pulling and kept adjusting the drag as I did not want to snap it off. Needless to say when I brought it in, it had a few extra pounds of weeds around the line and fish so it made for quite a challenge but it was not fighting or swimming as I brought it up due to that.



Finally the last pic just to compare the size to the biggest smallie caught on the day, althought it wasn't that big by any means, a decent one though.



All fish were caught in water between 6-12 feet. All fish came from a total of three different spots. All three of these spots are goto spots that will produce fish all the time. I have never caught this many from there but the fish were definitly active all weekend. All fish were caught on either Slammers or Swammers. Swammers were cast out and cranked back slowly dragging bottom like a tube or fast enoguh to stay off the bottom. Slammers were rigged dropshot style and were cast and retrieved and dunked in weed pockets. As for final numbers I would say that I caught about 75-100 in total. 5 rockbass, 1 crappie.

All fish released from livewell unharmed. Already getting excited for this upcoming weekend.

Dirk

Went to the cottage this weekend with the family. Saturday during the day I was teaching my daughter to fish using her new TOY STORY rod from Walmart. She actually managed to catch her first 2 fish, both decent smallies. Had a blast watching her real it in and ask me for help.



My wife snapped a couple of photos for memories then they were released back quickly, otherwise I never take OOS pics.





I went out on Saturday night for about an hour. Caught some perch and a smallie but no walleyes. Trolled and casted and jigged.







Sunday morning I went out from 7:30-9:00am and up until 8am I onlky managed a perch, a rockbass and a smallie. I moved to a new spot at about 8am and I was told the bite would pick up at 8am and it sure did. I caught 4 eyes in the next hour and a smallie and various panfish. The eyes were small though. All released. Again I trolled, casted and jigged.



Dirk

With bass season being closed on Simcoe until the end of June, I wouldn't recommend you lay them on the ground for pics like that. They should be released immediately and not even taken out of the water if possible.

Dirk

Went to the cottage yesterday in hopes of opening it up soon and start the soft water fishing season. There is no ice around where I am located. Bring on the Crappies.

Dirk

Simcoe has some smallies that will blow your mind....stories of 30+ bass over 3lbs in a day between 2 guys are not uncommon. But of course you need a fair sized boat to fish it.

My last time out on Simcoe we boated 30+ bass over 5 lbs each.

Welcome to the board.

Dirk

INTERESTING FACTS

The moon rises and sets at specific times, according to what phase it is in.

The new moon rises and sets at approximately the same time as the sun.

The first quarter moon rises at mid-morning and sets at midnight. So it's at its height around dusk, not in the middle of the night.

The full moon rises at sunset and sets at sunrise. The full moon is the only moon that will be overhead in the middle of the night.

The last quarter moon rises around midnight and sets around mid-morning. So unless you're a late-owl, you've probably never even seen this moon.


For those fishermen and hunters who enjoy fishing and hunting at sunrise and sunset here are the absolute best dates to be on the water at your favorite spot.

These are the Major or Minor Solunar Periods that fall near the times of Sunrise or Sunset during a Full or New Moon.

It has been documented that when this condition exists fish will bite on anything they see or smell. Limits are almost guaranteed provided there are fish in the vicinity.

It’s no secret that fish and game tend to feed during dawn and dusk (sunrise and sunset). What amplifies the activity is the effect of a moonrise or moonset plus the specific monthly

periods of New (dark) and Full (light) Moons.

When the times coincide with a moon-rise or a moon-set the action can be spectacular. Finally, a change in the local weather coinciding with the periods will further enhance the activity.

NIGHT FISHING

When you fish during the day, bass can see all your moves and as a fisherman you need to be as natural as possible and be quiet and stealthy. This means we need to be invisible by using a trolling motor or an anchor instead of stirring up the water. Bass can see the action of your lures and the colours that you have chosen.

At night bass feel secure under the cover of darkness. Night fishing hides our mistakes and makes it easier to trick them with our devious ways. At night they don’t see but they are willing to accept baits even if they don’t look or feel natural. Their color vision goes down at night and you need to make the strongest presentation to them. The best color at night is black because it’s presents the darkest, most contrasting effect, and a silhouette so to speak. Another factor to watch out for at night is the current moon phase.

Even when the stars and moon are out there is still enough light to see what you are doing. After you have done it long enough, you will realize that when you reel your lure in and you raise your rod tip up and hold it up to the sky, you can see how far your bait is hanging off the end of your rod, and whether or not you are all tangled up. Believe me that has happened many times.

My 2 biggest bass on Rice Lake. The first case was at the beginning of August of 2009, less than 2 days after the full moon (96% Waning Gibbous).

The second case was in early October of 2009, less than 2 days before the full moon (97% Waxing Gibbous). Both of these smallmouth bass were caught using a Jitterbug surface lure. There is something about fishing in the dead calm of night and listening to the distinctive gurgling sounds the Jitterbug makes as it paddles across the surface, just waiting for a splash and explosion from an unsuspecting fish. My best luck has been around midnight at this time of year. By that time of night the water has settled down and is completely calm and the fish have started to feed. On both occasions I remember feeling a thump and you felt weight on the end of the line and you crank back and set the hook and enjoy the fight and memory of a lifetime.

Night fishing for bass will be something I continue to do for many years to come.

Dirk

Went up to the shack late in the morning on Saturday and hit the water around 1 pm. Fished for a few hours and all i could mange were a couple of rock bass, a tonne of perch, some were in the 10-12 range and a couple of walleye in the 16-17 inch range. I didn't catch any bass which was shocking. I tried numerous spots and numerous depths but nothing worked. Went out again after dinner and again only perch and rock bass this time. Temps were 67 F.





Again I was using a Slammer but since even they were slow, this is one of the few weekends were I had to try out other stuff. I was throwing X-Raps and other Rapalas in blue and white and firetiger, Strike King 3S and 4S I believe in Sexy Shad colour, top water buzzbaits, Zara Spook, Tubes and Senko's but the only thing that produced even though not much were Slammers......

Water temp on Sunday morning was 61 F and the temp outside was -1 C. It sure was chilly waking up and had a fire going to keep me warm Sat night. Sunday was a complete right off, I managed 1 crappie, 1 rock bass and 2 bass, again no smallies which was shocking to me. I tried shallow and deep, drop offs, rocky ponits, weeds and just about every piece of tackle I owned but came up pretty much empty. The only thing great was the weather. Can't catch them every day.



Dirk

On Thursday I got out with Mark Kulik to hunt some Simcoe Smallies, and yes he is the owner of Strikezone Tournament Baits, maker of the SLAMMER. Every once in a while in life, people ask you to desrcibe an event with one word, but I truly can't as there are 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. We chatted about fishing, family and many other things and I really enjoyed spending the day with him. 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.



This was the first fish of the day and it was caught dropshotting a Slammer.

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. SECRET...Hush Hush

All I can say about these new baits is that they work. The 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 under 6 lbs. It truly was a day I will never forget. Most of them came between 15-40 FOW.

The only regret I have is that I didn't get a few more pics. I guess when you catch that many you keep thinking the next one will be bigger and so on but I only got one, which was the first of the day. Mark took a pic of the biggest one I managed to catch on his new SIMAX rod. Waiting to get it emailed.

Dirk

Heard a rumour about someone catching a 10 lber in Rice Lake last weekend. He wasn't in the tournament. Just a regular guy. Rumours were confirmed when there was an article and picture in a local paper.

Here is the pic. Anyone know him? What a HAWG! /blink


By diggyj at 2009-07-13

Dirk....