big-o

At first I thought it was a Quill Back... but once I enlarged the picture, you can see it's a gizzard Shad for sure.

for a hair rig I would use braid,(10 to 15 pound) it softer and not easy for the fish to detect when sucking up the corn.if you are fishing fast water make sure you use a flat style weight to stop it from rolling with the current,if you are fishing slack water a smaller wieght will do,and of course depending on how far you are casting,to the size of weight needed. Can corn works fine... it soft and won't be as durable as field corn.and if you are prebaiting an area, it cost a lot more. Field Corn I pay about $12.00 for a 50 pound bag.REMEMBER if you are not using a bait runner reel make sure you back off the drag... or in a blink of an eye your rig will be gone!!!!Baiting is realy the key to carp fishing,I throw out a few scoops every 1/2 hour or after every fish caught, you don't want to bait to much to fill the fish up just enough to keep them in the area and still hungry. let me know if there is any thing eles you need to know good luck... take some pics of your set up once your fishing,and of course the fish Phil

Heres how i would start,once you have found your spot I would prebait with hydated corn(I buy 50 pound bags of corn from our local feed mill,I pour the corn into a 20 liter pail till about 3/4 full I boil water and pour over the corn until the pail is full,put the lid on and let sit for 24 hours,you may have to add more water so keep checking. ) now the your ready to prebait,if you are fishing saturday I would start to prebait Wed. take a gallon or so of corn and spread it out where you are going to be fishing,do this wed thrus.and friday,what this does it will attarct and hold the fish in the area. when you arrive to fish put out a another gallon of corn. then thread about 3 to 4 kernals on a hair rig(do you know how to tie a hair rig??)if you do I won't bother with pictures then I'll continue

NOT A PAN FISH REPORT BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE ELSE TO PUT IT!!! I had three friends join me on the bank Saturday,On your side of the river(U.S.A.) for Carp fishing you are allowed 2 rods per person, on the Canadian side we are still in the middle ages and are allotted only one rod...we had heard from the owner of the Canadian Carp Club,Jeff that the fish were starting to turn on, so with the high wind forecast ,a day on the bank would fill our need for reel peel and and some social action. I was there first, I set up my one rod on the pod and the waiting game was on while waiting fro my buddies to arrive with the bait(Hydrated corn) I took a a few shots of a blue Heron that was also fishing in the same area shortly after 7:00 am the rest of the crew arrived and and we were set up by 8:00 am The boys relaxing Around 8:25 the bite alarm went off and the bait runner reel was screaming Drew(Bunk) was the first up and the fight was on Drew on the rod we knew this was a good fish,it gave a great straight and steady drag screaming run and stayed deep,all the indications of a good fish after a long battle Drew let the fish into the net Our first Carp of the year tipped the Scales at a even 29 pounds, a good early season Carp and I do believe an new personal best for Drew the next up was Markus, who was down from Nova Scotia for a month working in the Toronto area after an hour or so my bite alarm went off, I picked up the rod flipped off the bait runner and started to crank down on the fish... there was very little fight and no drag being taken, yet the end of the 12 foot Grays rod was pumping ,so I knew I had a fish on.... turns out to be about a 14 inch Bull head .Next up was my fishing partner RJ(Rob) this fish gave RJ a good fight, lots of rod tip pumps, lots of drag... but then it headed straight to shore trying to shake the hook, by doing this we new it would be a teenager. RJ on the rod Into the net A typical St.Lawrence Carp So it was back to the beginning of the rotation Drew with his second check out the size of the fins on this fish... they were enormous Carp have a enormous tail and fins, the large tails give these fish bullet like speed and unbelievable power, the huge fins give carp great agility and they can turn on a dime at high speeds, making them a premier fighting fish. I was busy reiteing from a break off and I missed Markus next fish,Drew has some pictures of it so when i get them I will insert them into this report I was up next ,this time I knew I was into my first Carp of 2010 another teenager, but it put up one heck of a battle I also missed the pictures of the next 2 fish... I'm sure some one as them. So with a big dinner waiting for RJ and Mark at RJ place we called it a day around 4:30. A slow day for Carp,but as we found out later, the other guys only managed to land 2 or 3 fish all day, so by those numbers we had a great day I know I have said this before,but I'll say it again,Carp fishing is a Blast, the fish put up a great battles, Long drag screaming runs, they roll they shake those monster heads... and fight you every inch of they way to the net,but it not just about the fish... it's time spent on the bank with good friends, truly one of the best social sports there is.I bring my Grandson out, his personal best fish is 30 pounds,his very first fish was 25 ponds,Give this type of fishing a whirl, I'll guarantee you will love it,if you have any questions on how to set up ,what equipment needed ,how to bait, set up your rigs, just ask I'll do my best to answer all your questions Thanks for Looking Phil

Good job on the bass Phil.... to bad the toothy critters had lock jaw.. I'm sure you'll get the next time out Phil

Hi Panfisher, we are fishing in the Rideau system in Canada Newboro,Indian,Clear,Benson,Mosquito, please tell me I'm thinking the right area. I fish there every year but have never seen SLABS like that! yep thats the lakes we fish we have been exploring these lakes for better part of 20 years,the fish are getting bigger,I think its because these big girls are hard to find...keep at it Lund SSS you will find them

Hi Panfisher, we are fishing in the Rideau system in Canada

very good friend from Nova scotia is down for a few weeks on bussness,in the toronto area, he made the trip down do do a little Gar,Carp or crappie fishing,the weather was no good for Gar, but great for Crappie.I arrived at RJs place a 7 hooked RJ's boat to my truck and headsed for our favorite crappie lake. Again this weekend we were looking for deep weeds(10 to 15 feet)we had not takers at all where we found them the weekend before,so we went into search mode.Mark was picking off Bass left and right in the deep weeds,the biggest was 5.8 pounds,caught on a ultra light set up with 4 pound test line ,a quik picture and it was released back into the deep Markus 5.8 pounds RJ was the first to pick up a crappie a monster slab coming in at 14 inches with a girth over 12 inches all the fish we caught were 13 iches and above, we kept a few for Markus to take back to Nova Scotia with him here are a few othewr shots My self pair 14 inchers RJ with a pair of dinner plates Markus with a pair of 14 inchers A group shot(so you'll know were not holding up the same fish ) we kept about 15 for Markus to take home the rest were released to grow to 15 inches,our Crappie season is winding down... Pike will be opening soon as will our inland lakers ,I'm realy looking forward to the opening of Lakers this year,we don't troll for them we jig them in deep water... what a blast

They are hard to get a hook into,you have to use a rod with lots of back bone ,braided line and replace the the standard hooks on your cranks to good ones ...hooks must be razor sharp, once hooked up never let off the pressure,if you do for a spilt second they will shake the hook and they will be gone.Rob Jackson(RJ) has worked out these details over years of trial and error. good luck Phil

Good stuff Phil , I can't wait till June on this side of the big pond to start working the weeds.I've upgraded some of my equipment this winter.. for Bass ,Curado reels St.Croix rods and a new hummingbird 977 with look down and side scan. that going to help a lot for smallies,June can't come fast enough

RJ and I hit a lake in the serch for slab crappie, this time we worked 10 plus feet of water, never hit the shallows at all, we managed a few, all cookie cutters at 11.5 inches long RJ My self We have a cold front coming in tonight,this will scatter the fish again and prolong the spawn, so by next weekend if the weather warms up they will start to school again... hopfuly I'll get that 15 incher I've been looking for Thanks for looking Phil

Thats a good haul of crappie. way to go

Its all catch and release,you can find Gar in the St. Lawrence river, we use a small crank bait with a wire leader.If you ever have a chance to cast for one of these... take it, unbelievable fight

Saturday , my fishing partner RJ and I went for Gar, the weather in the morning was perfect,no wind flat ass calm it wasn't long before RJ hooked into the first fish of the day,49 inches The release I hooked into a good size fish.. but after a short battle it came unpinned The wind started to pick up and since this is site fishing we were looking for any calm spots where we mite be able to hook up with a few more... Again I was lucky and hooked into a good fish, but again it came unpinned... RJ was doing his best to spot fish for me, he spotted a small school of about 4 fish, that scattered when they seen us, I took one of the bigger fish but I missed with my cast and by the time the bait got to the fish, it just passed over his back,you need to run the bait right by is nose to get them to take the bait,RJ spotted one from the same group,it stopped about 20 feet from the boat, it took only three or four casts then snap.. the fight was on.. and what a fight, they roll like a gator, jump like a bass and pull like a muskie, i slipped the net under the fish and it was over, turns out that this fish was the same length as his record breaker from last year, but it was shy in the girth dept 51 Inches A close up of the teeth The wind was blowing across the surface of the water... making it impossible to spot the fish... so we packed it in early and headed home... home early from a fishing trip= brownie point so only two landed, both by RJ 100 inches of fish... got to love it. Hope to get a few yet this Spring Phil

My brother Mike and i went out to one my my favorite Crappie Lakes to see if the main body of Crappie had stared to move in to the Shallows yet... and the answer is no we only managed 7 small crappie 7 Bass and a perch and a blue gill but it was a great day on the water with my brother. weather warmed up by noon and the wind died down... so it turned out to be a great day for a boat ride Mike with a nice bass.. a quick picture and back in the water she went I got out of the boat and climbed a small rock cliff and took these shots,I got this shot just before Mikes Line hit the water The rest of the day was spent looking for new Spots ,here are a few other shot from the day I'll more than likely try again for that 15 inch-er next weekend . Thanks for looking Phil

Good to see the big hens have dropped thier eggs, keeps this fishery alive.

Don't mind at all, I'm usine 1.5 inch tube pink and white the hook is a home made tube hook 1/32 once and a red sickle hook, attached to 4 pound mono, I use a slip bobber,with a split shot stopping the bobber going all the way down to the bait, I do this so i can very slowly swim the bait back to the boat,stopping every once and a while to let the bobber go upright, i dip my tubes in Gulp alive juice, we are fishing in about 4 feet of water, so i set my bobber stop at 3 feet,hope this helps

Good Job on the Slabs Kevin,Crappie are a blast to catch and better in the Pan

Since it was the Easter weekend, My fishing partner and good friend RJ(Rob Jackson) hit a local lake for Spring time crappie.The water temps were in the high 40's ,low 50's last spring RJ and my self got in to a pile of them and the water temp was in the low forty's... so we knew we were going to pound them.... wrong, in over seven hours of fishing we managed to boat 2 small Crappie one Jumbo Perch and a small pike.... not what we were hoping for.We hit every spot on the lake that has produced Big Crappie over the years... Nada.... nothing On the way home we decided that the fish were there ..but we were going to have to work hard to find them, we worked out a plan for the following day.. Sunday we were on the lake around 8:00 am... headed to the spot that had given up the only two crappie the day before... were working some weeds when Rob calls out got one.. just has he got that out the G loomis Ultra light rod buckled over and the drag stared to sing... this isn't a crappie Using the boat to help corral this monster.. RJ fought it for about 10 minutes ..when he finally got a look at it... it was about a 20 pound carp... hooked up on 4 Pound test line a 1/32 once jig...His line had about 5 pounds of weeds on it... while trying to take of the weeds the fish came unpinned.. it straightened out the hook... after a few hours of searching we finally started to hook into them, RJ had the hot stick that day landing near 60 fish including a monster 14.5 incher. I managed about 40 fish... I was boating fish... but no monsters, here are a couple that i caught,most of the ones I was getting were cookie cutters... about the same size.As you can see i did manage to get my first sun burn of 2010 This next picture is of the 2 biggest caught, that monster dinner plate 14.5 incher and it's smaller sister a 14 incher Sunday My Brother and i hit the same lake... we Stared off in the same spot where RJ hooked in to the dinner plate... but this time there was no big ones.. in fact there were no fish at all.Saturday night we had some major winds,that scattered the fish. So we had to search for the smaller groups , we started at 9:00 am and found the fish around 2:00 pm. we were into a pile of 8 to 10 inchers when i watched mt slip bobber disappear.. and the drag started to work, i thought i hooked into a Bass... turns out that I hooked into my PB crappie... a twin to RJ's another 14.5 dinner plate. As you can see by the expression on my face.. this was a monster for this part of the country. Mike was into the fish also landing many 10 to 13 inchers .. here's Mike with a 13 and 12 incher I picked up another good one a short time after 14 inches we managed to boat about 60 fish.. taking home a few for the pan.The two big ones i caught are going to be mounted together with a 12 incher and a 10 incher,here are my 2 biggest of the day going to hit the same lake next weekend.. i hope to get a 15 incher Thanks for looking Phil

I don't see any problem

In the picture section I posted a few pictures of some Long nose Gar I caught,well the person that taught me how and where to fish these great sport fish RJ(Rob Jackson)... broke the Ontario (Canada) record.I had the pleasure of being in the boat when this all went down. For the full story check out this link. CONGRATULATIONS RJ and thanks(also there is a article in the April issue of Ontario Out Outdoors) http://rjnbirdeesoutdooradventures.blog ... results=23

Bump

I'm selling 4 Mag 10 down riggers... 2 with adjustable booms and 2 with fixed booms all 4 have ball retrieves,I don't have the bases $1100.00(CAD) all 4 .they are in good shape and work great,i got these off a friends boat, he bought them new then a few years later he gave up fishing... i bought them with intentions of changing from 2 Scotties to 4 Cannons... but couldn't bring my self to take off the Scotties so the cannons have been sitting in my basement for a few years.. Time to get rid of them I want to sell all four together if possible .

Great pictures Chrome Slayer...#1 and #2 are my Favorites.... lots of great pictures on this thread

Thanks Guys,My brother and i used to fish bass all the time... then i took a couple of Salmon Charters in Oakville in the very eary 80's caught my first Salmon and so for the next couple of years I chartered a boat 2 or 3 times a year to fish for Salmon...I didn't want to fool around with small fish any more then I bought my own boat and stared fishing Salmon out of Port Hope ...what a thrill landing your first salmon... where you chose the bait set the line ,set the riggers and trolling speed... and then to to see the rod bounce in the holder then to spring up and the sound of the drag singing.... almost to much for a guys heart to stand did that type of fishing right up till about 2007... I got tired of the drive... 3.5 hours there and 3.5 hours back... i would leave Ottawa at Midnight... launch at 4:30 am.... head in around 4:30 PM, clean the fish, button down the boat and take the 3.5 hour drive back home(I trailered the boat boat ways).I started to Carp fish... I loved it... 1/2 hour from home... sit back relax on the bank... have BBQ and catch 30pound plus fish no big gas bills... I could grab a nap in the middle of the afternoon... If a fish hit the Alarm would wake me up...(somtimes ) then last Summer I got back into bass again... upgraded all my rods and reels... and started to pound the lily pads...I didn't relieze how much I missed this type of fishing. I'm realy looking forward to the end of June when the season opens up again.