Fishing Report September 6th, 2012

With the impending rain, I decided to get out last night for a short fishing trip down to the Forks of the Thames. I got there about 8:30 and left at 10:00.  We used hot dogs.  I caught a white bass around a pound in the first couple of minutes and thought, great they generally travel in large schools and we would be hitting white base every cast. No suck luck as he was clearly the only one in the area. My next catch was my first Spiny Soft Shelled Turtle. The one was big, at least half a meter in length. She was released without incident. (That brings my Thames River Turtle species count to 4: Snapping, Spiny Soft Shelled, Painted and Red Ear Slider) That was it for my night of catching.  My daughter who was almost asleep at 5 to 10 jumps out of her chair and her reel starts screaming.  This fish pulled off well over 100 feet of line before she turned it. After her initial panic, she settled into the lift and reel down rhythm.  After a good 5 minutes she pulled in and released a nice sized carp ( 8-9 lbs) It was then off the home. I know she's telling every kid at school this morning about her monster fish.

Fishing Report September 1st, 2012

Well it was the last night of the full moon, so I thought I should get out and get fishing.  We went down to the Forks of the Thames at about 8:00 PM.  My son likes to come and watch but not fish.  I fished away from shore for a bit and didn't get anything, then we noticed a lot of carp only 5 or 6 feet away from the shore.  So we decided to bring in the tackle.  I was using hot dog pieces on hooks.  Shortly after we pulled in a 5 lbs catfish. Over the next 45 minutes I got a number of bites and hook up, but nothing ever got the shore.  About 9:45 I got a monstrous bite and the fish pulled out almost 200 feet of line before I could turn him.  We fought for about 6 or 7 minutes with a number of close calls, including him wrapping my line around a branch. Luckily we got him in and it was a nice 10 lbs carp.  After releasing the fish we were out of hot dogs and my tackle was really tore up, so it was time to come home.  I hope to get out at least once more this long weekend.

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 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 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.

Weekend Report

I only had a short time on Centre Island in Toronto on the weekend. We tried a number of location but nothing was happening.  At our last spot we saw a number of good sized carp (7lbs range) swimming along. They were not interested in feeding.

Next time out there, I'll make sure I have more time and a variety of baits.

It was a nice morning and the Jays game in the afternoon was awesome. I'll definately do it again, but I think I'd do a night game.

Weekend Fishing

The plan this weekend is to get out to Toronto early Saturday morning and take the ferry over to Centre Island. We plan on doing some carping over there and then catch the Blue Jays game at the Roger's Centre in the afternoon.

Hopefully we'll be able hook into some big Lake Ontario carp.

Secret Carp Bait

I like to fish for carp. I've caught them on a lot of different baits, but the one that always brings them in is bread. I work a small dough ball in my hand until it is a little sticky. Just use the white parts, the crust isn't as good. Cover the hook completely, or you can use a hair rig.

The secret ingredient I use on my bread is vanilla extract. A few drops in a sandwich bag with the bread will make the bread smell irresistible to the carp.

I like to use a perch rig with two hooks covered in bread. It takes a little while until the carp zero in on the bait.

Happy Carping

Fishing Report - May 29th, 2012

Hit the Forks of the Thames with my daughter.  Lots of ducks, lots of geese, little bit of fish.  I got one carp (7lbs)  It was a nice night with the temperature gently going down.

Long Weekend Report

I fished a lot this weekend, in a bunch of different places.

Saturday night I fished Black Creek while visiting, a couple small sunfish. We did get a boat ride on the Niagara River, which was very cool.

Sunday I fished Hamilton harbour for a bit, lots of gobies and a nice sized bullhead.

Monday I hit the Thames and pulled in a nice 10 pound carp. I've never fought with a fish for so long. It took me 10 hard minutes to land it and my arms were like rubber. Awesome fish though. Carp are definately heating up in the warm water.