OT: Fishing (and other outdoors pursuits) this Off-Season?

HolyCrap

Registered User
Oct 2, 2015
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One of my car club pals just lost his fishing partner to marriage and is after me to go on his annual Muskie trip to Black River , he caught one that was featured in the Muskie Magazine two falls ago .I stopped fishing years ago because I don't eat much fish I but who eats muskie anyway ? so Covid permitting I'll be heading there this fall I guess .
Go for it. You’ll have fun. You don’t have to eat the fish to enjoy the sport. I’m basically a live release angler other than on trips up north or ice fishing crappie. Always let the bigger ones go. Muskie are a blast but are the fish of a thousand casts but a huge reward when it happens. Just handle those big girls with lotsa care. Good luck.
 
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Cams

Registered User
May 27, 2008
1,475
569
Windsor, ON
One of my car club pals just lost his fishing partner to marriage and is after me to go on his annual Muskie trip to Black River , he caught one that was featured in the Muskie Magazine two falls ago .I stopped fishing years ago because I don't eat much fish I but who eats muskie anyway ? so Covid permitting I'll be heading there this fall I guess .

There is a pretty well known (or so I am told) Musky tournament near me every summer out in Belle River (home of Tie Domi), about 1/2 hr drive east of Windsor, on Lake St. Clair. Have never gone to check it out, but it brings boats from both Canada and the US.
 

Randy Randerson

Registered User
Jul 28, 2016
10,637
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Hamilton
There is a pretty well known (or so I am told) Musky tournament near me every summer out in Belle River (home of Tie Domi), about 1/2 hr drive east of Windsor, on Lake St. Clair. Have never gone to check it out, but it brings boats from both Canada and the US.
Musky used to be "the fish of 1000 casts" but apparently they are absolutely rampant through St. Clair and parts of Erie now. I get some ads for a particular St. Clair charter company and they are constantly pulling out 40"+ fish....makes swimming in the lake a little less inviting.
 

Cams

Registered User
May 27, 2008
1,475
569
Windsor, ON
Musky used to be "the fish of 1000 casts" but apparently they are absolutely rampant through St. Clair and parts of Erie now. I get some ads for a particular St. Clair charter company and they are constantly pulling out 40"+ fish....makes swimming in the lake a little less inviting.

Most of the time is water is quite clear (not Caribbean clear), esp in St. Clair, but if it is even a little choppy, the silty bottom kicks up and makes it so you can see your toes any deep than calf deep. and knowing there are big musky, pike, even pickerel have nasty teeth makes it interesting at times. I've seen some big (maybe carp?) fish swim by my legs when I was at a beach with my wife, and she was out of the water really fast!
I know we have pretty big commercial perch/pickerel fishery in western L Erie. St. Clair has a lot of musky and bass fishing is very good from what I have heard. I actually recently watch a couple videos on YouTube where a guy dropped a waterproof camera in the Detroit River and the amount of fish swimming by it was shocking to me.
 
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cannucky

Registered User
Aug 18, 2011
1,933
890
Spent 10 years in and around Lansing Mi and 5 in Windsor , St Clair is clear on the Canadian side and mostly a stagnant cesspool on the US side which the Muskie love , the currents swirl the crap that way , only thing in that region that works that way really lol , The fish my buddy caught on the French River was in the 60" range using a beavertail lure the size of a muskrat , second big one he's caught up there 5 years ago he caught a 56" that was the fattest Muskie I've ever seen a picture of , should be a fun trip either way .
Oh and to tie it back to hockey Yzerman used to live around the corner from the bosses house I used to stay at when down that way and the Russian 5 lived on the old canals in St Clair Shores .
 

cannucky

Registered User
Aug 18, 2011
1,933
890
Funny story on Lake St Clair , we were out sailing after dark one night and overheard a distress call from a sinking yacht , they were well out of the shipping lane and the lake was way down so dozens of people kept telling them to get out and walk to shore lol
 
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Randy Randerson

Registered User
Jul 28, 2016
10,637
3,445
Hamilton
Most of the time is water is quite clear (not Caribbean clear), esp in St. Clair, but if it is even a little choppy, the silty bottom kicks up and makes it so you can see your toes any deep than calf deep. and knowing there are big musky, pike, even pickerel have nasty teeth makes it interesting at times. I've seen some big (maybe carp?) fish swim by my legs when I was at a beach with my wife, and she was out of the water really fast!
I know we have pretty big commercial perch/pickerel fishery in western L Erie. St. Clair has a lot of musky and bass fishing is very good from what I have heard. I actually recently watch a couple videos on YouTube where a guy dropped a waterproof camera in the Detroit River and the amount of fish swimming by it was shocking to me.
Apparently the introduction of the round goby invasive species had a radical effect on Lake Erie in particular. They're a small but aggressive fish that competes with the young of all species including the bigger game fish and forces them out of protected areas into places theyre more likely to get eaten. So smaller numbers of fish are making it to like 6" long, but as soon as they make that size the goby's become easy prey and everything supersizes...so less fish but dramatically more trophy size fish
 

Wafflewhipper

Registered User
Jan 18, 2014
14,114
5,694
Mostly stay around home, day trips, from where I live I can hit any ATV/SXS trail in NB. I can walk from my house to a river to fish trout, easily most are a foot long. Not a fan of Trout though so I don't fish there much. I'm a big fan of Salmon, I can be in Miramichi in 2hrs. One of the best spots on the East cost of North America to fish those giants.
Nice :)
 

Confucius

There is no try, Just do
Feb 8, 2009
22,107
7,082
Toronto
Anyone interested in a season long fishing derby? Post your biggest catch by species over the course of the summer.
 

Confucius

There is no try, Just do
Feb 8, 2009
22,107
7,082
Toronto
Sounds really cool to me. I am going in the morning for Perch maybe i can get it started :)
I plan on going the long weekend. I spend most of the summer in honey harbour, so I'll be hooking Pike, then smallmouth and largemouth. There are Muskie but I don't fish for them but maybe I'll give that a few trys as well. lol!
 

Optimist

Wendel and I
Feb 16, 2015
1,226
2,030
Ontario Canada
Lnip22.jpg
 

Wafflewhipper

Registered User
Jan 18, 2014
14,114
5,694
I plan on going the long weekend. I spend most of the summer in honey harbour, so I'll be hooking Pike, then smallmouth and largemouth. There are Muskie but I don't fish for them but maybe I'll give that a few trys as well. lol!
Oh yeah if you get geared up for musky you will be hooked. The gear isn’t cheap but nothing good is :)
 

Confucius

There is no try, Just do
Feb 8, 2009
22,107
7,082
Toronto
Oh yeah if you get geared up for musky you will be hooked. The gear isn’t cheap but nothing good is :)
I don't like trolling, that's the problem. I'm waiting on a swimbait rod, I figure I'll go after them similar to how the guys in Florida fish for largemouth with large shiners.
 

HolyCrap

Registered User
Oct 2, 2015
5,008
5,673
I don't like trolling, that's the problem. I'm waiting on a swimbait rod, I figure I'll go after them similar to how the guys in Florida fish for largemouth with large shiners.
Swimbaits are a great big fish bait. You can fish it fast and fish it slow.
 
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RealisticLeaf55

Win it clean for J.T
Sep 28, 2010
4,319
1,436
A place
There is a Bass at my fishing spot, big honker. Almost snagged him last year. Snapped my line in the weeds. I have a new garlic butter and chili olive oil recipe.

I will catch him.

I will cook him.
 
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justloveleafs

Registered User
Mar 12, 2021
1,096
849
Paris Ontario
I grew up on the Rideau River, where I swam, catch lots of fish etc..,

All stopped when one of my best friends buddies, decided to kinda showboat and dive into this area that was really deep.,

He was the most popular guy in our school. He never came up. Got caught up in weeds apparently.

I never fished or swam in the Rideau ever again, affected our whole school

Then, I went to Florida to train and I got into the ocean life.

Ocean is probably a lot more perilous, than lakes ponds, streams and lakes, but
 
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