The Storm Kickin' Saga

Last week, a package was handed to me. Contained within was gold, lots of gold... and apparently rumblings of this being limited gold.

As I've rambled about before, I've heard great things and had great success with the Storm Kickin' Stick. The only problem is mine was stolen, due to a faulty leader--more on that later.

I've searched the interwebs for an online supplier, and both Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's list them, but not in the black and gold colour of tasty little perch. As such, I've been growing more and more concerned that I might not hold a shilling's worth of gold ever again.

Alas, Mark called our local tackle Guru, Steve, over at Lambeth Rod & Tackle (link unavailable due to, well, no website) and Steve called his Storm rep to put in an order. Steve asked for 6, the Storm rep said he had 4, so Steve ordered them, and Mark and I bought his stock.

All's well, right? Well, not really. I mean, what's it mean that Storm only has 4 of them?! Are they still producing more? Do I hold in my hand the last 3 (I took the majority of them from Mark) precious lures?

These questions and more burn at my soul, but until my supply dwindles down, I'll abide my fate and catch all that the Storm Kickin' Stick will allow.

If you're so inclined, call your local tackle shop now, and put in a request. If they have none, tell them to call their Storm rep and put in a request. Kicking lures are great, and I've been told they're a closely guarded secret of pro anglers. Well, you too can hold the power of the kick, call your tackle shop now!


Finally, in the words of Forest Gump: "... and that's all I have to say about that."

First Catch of the Year

The weather was good today so I decided to hit the Thames for a couple of hours. I saw a few people fishing, not much was biting but I did manage one sucker for the afternoon (About 2 pounds).  The kids had fun building forts on the banks.  Their biggest regret was not bringing string to practice their lashings and knots.

I Won a Prize

A couple of weeks ago I enter a contest over at the FishingFury.com blog. I won and the prize arrived yesterday. It was a selection of KIWI products. I'm going to try them out at cmp next week.  Thanks to FishingFury.com for the awesome gifts.

I've been following their blog for about 4 years now. It is great and I encourage you to check it out.

My Greatest Day of Fishing

My greatest day fishing was August of 2009 when my family was camping in the Kingston area.  We went down to Lower Brewer's Lock to get some sunfish for the kids.  We took 3 rods, perch rigs and 18 worms.  The sunfish were plentiful and we stopped counting at 100 catch and release in the first hour or so.  The sunfish kept up like that all day, including some big ones.  We spent more time unhooking fish than having our rods in the water.  The only time we stopped was for the steak and shrimp lunch my wife prepared on the BBQ. When we got tired of the sunfish many hours later I started to target bass.  2 cast with a tube jig against the far shore and I had a 3 pounder on the end.  After many, many bass and hundreds of sunfish we had to call it a day.

The fishing and memories were so good, I'm thinking of doing a 6 hour drive just to fish it once more on a weekend this summer.

License Renewal

I renewed my Fishing License today online. Can't wait to get out and start catching this year.  I might try to get out Sunday as the temperature is set to hit 11+ degrees.

The new online way of renewing is very easy and convenient. A lot of local tackle stores are no longer offering licenses because of new government rules about having Internet access and dedicated phone lines.

Bait Bucket List 2012

This year I'd like to try a few different/new things fishing.


Fishing from a boatI fished from a boat in 2011 for the first time. (A sinking paddle boat with a hole doesn't count) I was looking after 8 kids on our Cub houseboat trip, so my boat fishing was limited to about 30 minutes on the last day. I'd like to get out on the water for the whole day and just relax and fish. I'm thinking of doing a charter this year.

Using less live bait this year
It's no secret that I like to use live bait. Sitting on the river's edge with a perch rig and a box of worms is a great day for me. I want to try some more active fishing this year.  My most successful year in terms of numbers of bass was 5 years ago when I threw nothing but artificial lures.

Trying more hard body baits
When I do use artificial lures I prefer to use tubes and jigs and inline spinners.  This year I am excited about try some Live Target lures and some Storm hard body baits. I'm going to work on retrieval technique and see what I can make the lures do.

Catching 2 new species of fish
I don't care what they are, or where they are, I want to try and target and catch two new species of fish this year. Learning to catch new fish will allow me to employ new techniques in my everyday fishing.

Catch a really big catfish
I've caught lots of 5-6 pound catfish in the Thames. This year I want a 15 pound+ fish. I may have to take a couple of road trips further down the Thames or out to the Grand River to catch this fish. I can't wait to see the rod straining against this monster.

Fish Toronto Harbour before a Jays game
I haven't been to a Jays game in nearly 20 years. This summer I want to take my son to a game and before the first pitch, we'll get our lines wet along the lake front. I've seen some pictures of nice fish pulled out of there.

To catch more bass this year
The last few years have been poor for catching bass.  A couple of small one here or there. (Exception: some of the big ones I pulled out in Perry Sound) I am going to target them as of June 23rd.  I've got a couple places in mind to start. Hopefully with the new lure selection and some research I'll get my fill of bass this season.

Learn and break down and clean my reels properly
Armed with online instructions I'm going to be tearing down my reels before spring hits.  I'll clean, grease and oil them and put them back together.  It should be fun and will preserve my equipment longer.

Species I have caught

• Bluegill
• Pumpkinseed
• Bullhead
• Channel Cat 
• Largemouth Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Rainbow Trout
• Carp
• White Sucker
• Redhorse Sucker
• White Bass
• Sheepshead
• Northern Pike
• Rock Bass
• Perch