BioLite CampStove™

Our Scout group received our BioLite CampStove™ yesterday. We have been waiting for months for it. It didn't take us long before we had the package ripped open and the stove fired up.

BioLite CampStove™

First impressions are the materials are of a good quality and the item is well made. The exception that the carry case is a thin nylon bag.  If it were by personal equipment I would look for a hard case to protect the screen or a least a heavier bag. The base seems very stable on flat ground. 

With one sheet of paper and some twigs we got the fire going. As soon as the heat hit the copper probe the thermal-electric generator started up the fan which really got the fire going.  The stove gave off a lot of heat. After five minutes the LED turned to green which meant we could charge our device via the USB port on the stove.  We plugged in an iPhone in and it began charging.

One the fire was done, the device cooled down quickly.

Overall I was very impressed with the device.  We'll be putting it to good use and better testing over the next few months. 

St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass

This spring I bought a St. Croix Tournament Legend Bass rod. (6'8" Medium power, extra-fast tip)

I've been fishing with it for about 4 months now. I've caught a wide variety of species on it and I am very happy with the rod's performance. I have it paired with a Shimano Symetre 2500.

Look: The rod looks great. I love the blue colouration and the split grip. My only complaint is my reel no longer matches. 4.5 / 5

Feel: It is very comfortable in my hands. Cast and retrieve is very easy and the rod is perfectly balanced.  The only concern is when fighting a fish I have to change my grip higher up the rod to get the full power from it.  With wider gripped rods that aren't split you can grip below the reel. This one I have to choke up on.  It is not a major issue, but on a long fight it does tire my arms out more. 4 / 5

Sensitivity: This rod is extremely sensitive.  You can feel a fish cough.  When dragging tubes on the bottom you can tell what the bottom is composed of.  Loose sand feels different than packed sand, which is different from dirt, which is different from mud. You can tell round rocks from angled rocks.  One of the side effects of the sensitivity is fish bites become amplified. Early in my use of this rod, I was pulling the bait out of the fish's mouth because I could feel every little thing. Now I've learned to be a little calmer in my hook sets. 5 / 5

Power: Speaking of hook sets, this rod has power to spare.  I've dragged in decent sized carp and catfish on it without issue. It feels very powerful and sturdy bringing fish in. I'm not sure I'd use it to hunt 40 lbs Lake Trout, but for what I fish it has excellent power and flexibility. 4.5 / 5

Casting: The rod is fairly stiff, but it does flex on the cast.  For casting distance and accuracy I would say it performs as expected, which is to say good but nothing spectacular. 4 / 5


Overall: This is the first premium rod I have owned and I can see where the extra money goes. It looks and performs great. I'm sure my next rod will be a St. Croix and I would recommend this rod to anyone who asks. 4.5 / 5

Where Have All the Good Bass Gone - Part 3

I had written to the Thames River Anglers Association (TRAA) about the perceived lack of bass in the Thames River in the London area.

I received a response back that indicates that bass catches have been decent this year and in the recent past.  The exception being in the South Branch by the Pottersburg Creek pollution plant.  Apparently there was a change in their outflow which destroyed the bass fishery in the area.

They assured me that bass fishing was still good.

The TRAA say "The weather patterns of late remind me of 1986 when we had all time low water levels which combined with the high heat created algae blooms which lead to the sudden decline of the bass fishery. That is why our group was formed in 1986." This information makes sense given the weather.


Randy Bailey of the TRAA continues, 

"One of the other reasons I see is the exploitation of the bass fishery and blatant disregard for the regulations. Case in point, I reported 2 gentlemen to the local CO and tips line who were fishing on Rebbecca Road. The two of them had 14 smallmouth on a stringer and they were all in the size range you are talking about. The best part is the local CO busted both of them a week after the tip and confiscated their gear as well as a hefty fine." It is good that the offenders were caught and charged

I heard that overfishing was the primary problem with bass populations before.

I have received information from a few sources that say the bass fishery is still in good shape in the Thames River. I hope this is the case.  Now all I have to do is get out there and find them.


I'll continue to monitor the situation and post any additional information I uncover.

Where Have All the Good Bass Gone - Part 2

The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority got back to me regarding the questions and comments I had sent them about the lack of smallmouth bass in the Thames River over the last few years. I'll copy their followup to me below.

"FYI - sampled two locations between Hwy 7 and St. Marys today - water temperature doesn't seem to have much effect on my fishing success. Sm bass were fairly abundant at both with at least 4 year classes observed. At one time we had at least 10 lbs. of bass in the bucket with three that would have been pushing 3 lb. Good news in terms of bass population but bad news in terms of water levels. We are normally only able to catch the smaller ones, while the bigger ones escape to deeper water that is non-existent this year, and it's not even the middle of July yet! This could make them vulnerable to a variety of types of predation."

It would seem, that the smallmouth populations are doing okay in the North Branch outside of the city. I'm still convinced there is a problem with bass inside the city limits. I'm going to continue to contact relevant groups to see about this.  I'd like to be able to land large bass within London again.

Bread Bait Ideas from FishToronto.com

Toronto area Carp will take bread from the surface, off the bottom or even suspended mid-water. The local Carp all along the Toronto waterfront clean up a lot of bread thrown at the waterfowl by the kids at the duck pond, and across the Harbourfront parks. Learning to use bait that your local fish routinely come across as a free food source is a key tactic for sight fishing Carp in shallow waters. My friend Blair is the absolute master of free-lining a bread crust, while sight fishing for Carp in the margins here in Toronto. Blair routinely lands big Carp on bread crust like no one else I have seen.

But what about using hair rigged bread fished at distance on the bottom? Bread doesn’t have a very good reputation for this style of fishing and I hear the same complaints time and again.

Read full article...

Fishing Report - July 12, 2012

I went to the Forks of the Thames last night for a couple of hours.  Tossed in some bacon. I caught a small bass and a large snapping turtle. Both were returned to the water.

Where Have All the Good Bass Gone?

When I got back into fishing 6 years ago, smallmouth bass were abundant in the Thames River. I fished from Plover Mills to Komoka and every trip usually produced at least couple of small bass.  Sometimes we'd get 10 or more on a trip. Sometimes was would get larger smallmouth upwards of 16 inches. Bass were abundant in both branches of the river.  Excellent areas in town included Highbury Ave and the North Branch, the dog park on Hamilton Road and Thames Park downtown.

For the first couple of all areas of river produced bass. As time went on there were less and less bass to be had.  Since 2010 I've only been able to catch less than 10 bass in the river and they were all small (8 inches or less). I fish the Thames River at minimum 50 times per year and usually more. I try a variety of locations, techniques and tackle. I've been successful in other locations where bass are present. There is a problem with the bass population in the Thames River within the London City limits.

To address my concerns I emailed one of the aquatic biologists at the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. The person I emailed returned my email right way, acknowledged my concerns and shared with me that he has received additional concerns from other anglers.  In addition he said he was going to start gathering some baseline data. He shared that water quality bethos sampling had remained stable and good for the last decade or so.  It does not seem to be a water quality issue. Also they have not "noticed any significant habitat changes, which fish communities tend be more responsive to and indicative of."

When I receive more feed back I will post for everyone to see.

Another fish kill feared

By RANDY RICHMOND, The London Free Press

After a brief rainy respite, rivers and creeks in the region have returned to the "worrisome" low levels that may have led to the recent fish kill in Pottersburg Creek, scientists warn.

"We've got levels in mid-July that we usually have at the end of August," Mark Helsten, a senior water resource engineer with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority, said Tuesday.

Read more...

Fishing Report July 10, 2012

My daughter and I hit the Forks of the Thames after dinner tonight. We were down on the dock from 7 - 8:45 PM. We used worm and bacon on perch rigs for some lazy fishing. On the worm we landed a white bass and a small sucker. (both in the 1 - 2lbs range) We switched to a piece of cooked bacon I brought.  Thanks to the Ghetto Fishing Show for the tip. In the 30 minutes we fished the bacon, two fish annihilated the bait. The first was a small carp (3lbs). Carp normally play with their food, this guy hit so hard and fast I assumed it was a giant bass being eaten by a pike at the same time. The next fish was a 5lb catfish who hit and ate with normal catfish gusto. All fish were returned to the water no worse for wear. The cooked bacon really cam through for me. I can't wait to try it again!

3lbs Carp

5lbs Catfish

Fishing Report July 8th, 2012

My friend from Burlington came down today and wanted to do some urban fishing. What place is more urban than Labatt's Dam.  I cast in with a perch rig and worm and right away land a small rock bass. My friend is using a hook and weight on the bottom and is getting nothing but snags. I throw in again and get a nice 2lbs channel cat.  Across the river there are some guys starting to smoke crack, so it's time to move on.

We go to the Forks of the Thames next. Over the next couple of hours shooting the breeze my friend snags 2 little bass. About 8 inches. These are the first bass I've seen in this area in a long time. Needless to say they were put back with care.  I manage a small turtle that was let go with harm or trouble.

Not an awesome afternoon fishing but it was good seeing my friend.

Power of the Angler

I was reading an article on FishingFury.com (I recommend you check them out) and I came across a graphic that blew my mind.  I'll let it speak for itself.

Fishing Report - July 3, 2012

I'm battling bronchitis, which has kept me away from fishing for 3 days. I went to work today, so I figured I'm well enough to fish.

We hit Dorchester for all of about 10 minutes before thunder storms rolled in. On the way back to London things started to clear and we decided to hit the forks of the Thames.

We went down to the dock and I was casting a perch rig with dew worms on it.  In the hour we were there I caught two 5lb channel cats and a 4lb carp.  Not bad for a what the heck excursion.

I hope to be better soon and start hitting the water after work more often.