Rock Bass Opener

I went down to Labatt's dam on Saturday,  after picking up a dozen minnows from Angling Sports on Adelaide. It was about 10 AM when I got there.  There was one other fisherman and his son on the other side of the river. It didn't look like they caught anything.  I fished from 10 AM until 12:30 PM. No trout, but I did hook into a bunch of rock bass. They ranged from 6 inches to 15 inches and maybe a pound in weight. They were not what I was looking for, but 10 fish are better than nothing.

The water level was really low at the dam. You can see the gravel and rock at the base and it looks less then a foot deep there.

Trout Opener

As you already know Saturday April 28th is the Zone 16 trout opener.  I've never been a real trout guy and I've only ever caugh one wild trout in my life and it wasn't targeted.  That said I think I'll grab a dozen minnow, some perch rigs and try my luck at the river tomorrow.  I doubt I'll catch anything, but it's still good to get out there and fish. I'll probably hit Labatt's dam mid morning.

Good luck to all the real trout fisherman tomorrow.

Secret Fishing Handshake

What is with all the secrecy around fishing? Sure, there's magazines, news articles, blog posts, etc. but if you look an angler in the eye and say "what are you fishing with?" he's liable to punch you in the face, or worse: give you bad advice.

There's this operating theory that too much fishing pressure is going to reduce our sport to farming worms to be thrown into rivers. While I see the impact as a valid concern, fishing isn't the new yoga or anything like that, when I'm out on the water I see maybe a few other anglers.

From a competition standpoint, I can reason it out a little bit. I mean, if I tell you my secrets, and then you catch a 48-incher, but I only get a 24-incher, I'd be pissed. But until that happens, let's talk, about fishing, tactics, success, failure. This sport is fun, and if we don't keep the information flowing, future generations will be less and less interested in maintaining it.

A Sporting Desire

Mark's been on my case to write something for the blog, which is fair as I've been busy with backyard projects, home brewing and other stuff.

Ultimately, it comes down to this: I'm not a big fan of fishing in the pre-season. Bring on the game fish!

That being said, looks like my first opportunity is Walleye starting the second Saturday of May (Ontario, Zone 16).

Now... can I fly fish for them? On what kind of fly? Maybe I'll break my fly rod in on Walleye, even though I have yet to catch a Walleye! :)

Lost My Skunk

I went out in the rain tonight, since the fish are already wet. Rebecca, Charlene and I hit the forks of the Thames.  With hot dogs on steel leaders and 1/2 oz sinkers we went after catfish. Only one was caught. A 3 pound cat on Charlene. (no picture because of the rain) I am very pleased that I have wiped the skunk off my new rod. I was getting a little nervous.

Upper Thames Watershed in Level 1 Low Water Condition

Taken from the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority web site.

While most people enjoyed the past winter’s lack of snow and warmer overall temperatures, one impact of the unusual weather is becoming evident in the Thames River and its tributaries.

The Upper Thames River Low Water Response Team (LWRT) has declared that the Upper Thames River watershed is in a Level 1 Low Water Condition.

Low water conditions are evaluated by looking at several indicators, including precipitation over the past three months, and stream flows over the past month.

Precipitation from January to March was well below the normal range across the watershed. By the end of March, stream flows were also significantly below normal for this time of year.

“We had a really unusual winter,” said Mark Shifflett, Senior Water Resources Engineer at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority (UTRCA). “Precipitation was below normal and temperatures were above normal, so any snow that we had melted quickly. The result was we had no significant accumulation of snowpack in the Upper Thames watershed this winter.”

The melting winter snowpack typically feeds into rivers and streams in late winter and early spring, contributing to high flows at this time of year. Flows usually drop in the summer.

“There is concern that these dry conditions may continue and worsen in the summer months, when water demands are higher,” explained Mark.

A Level 1 Low Water Condition is part of a three-tiered advisory system used in Ontario to inform the public of local low water conditions. Level 3 is the most severe low water advisory level.

The Upper Thames LWRT includes representatives from agencies and industries across the watershed, including municipal government, the UTRCA, and several provincial ministries, as well as the local golf course, agricultural, and aggregate sectors.

The Upper Thames watershed includes the communities of Mitchell, Stratford, and St. Marys in the north, and Woodstock, Ingersoll, and London in the south, as well as surrounding rural areas and smaller communities.

Still have the skunk on

I went out a couple of time Easter weekend with my new rod Charlene.  I tried a number of areas to get some catfish but turned up empty.  I am assuming that the combination of the weather, bait and location were not what the fish were looking for. I tried bacon on the bottom at Springbank, warm water discharge at Greenway and the Forks of the Thames.  No nibbles at all.

In good news I watched Derek play with his new 3 segment Live Target lure. The swimming action was great, just like a fish and it kicked around and did a 180 when stopped on the retrieve. It looks like that could be a devastating lure come bass season.

I need to get something soon to get the skunk off my new rod. The weather looks decent for Saturday. I'll have to give it a try.

Fishing Rights Erroded

"Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty—power is ever stealing from the many to the few"
~Wendell Phillips

Our fishing rights are being erroded! Every day we see new threats to our recreational activity and for some their livelyhood. Here are 3 stories from just this spring that will change the way we fish. Some of these are just test cases that will allow other municipalities to put severe limits on our fishing.  If the city of London goes ahead with their Forks of the Thames revitalization plan, we must make sure that our fishing rights are guarded.


1. Loss of fishing grounds in Woodstock, Ontario
Southside Pond Lost

2. Loss of fishing grounds in Toronto, Ontario
Toronto Harbour

3. Loss of bait fish in Ontario
The MNR is looking at severely restricting the use, harvesting and transportation of bait fish.

Keep vigilant, talk to your MPP and city councilors, make sure they know that our fishing is an issue we will vote on.

Ghetto Fishing Show

The Ghetto Fishing Show is a YouTube series based in London, featuring all sorts of great fishing spots. It is very cool and I've watched almost all of them now. Hopefully there will be a fourth season.

Ghetto Fishing Show