First time on Lake Champlain

May 11th, 2010

I was out with Ben today for my first time on Champlain. Coming off a big cold front we knew it was going to be a hard day on the water. The water had dropped down to 47 compared to 57 the week before... We started flipping anyways and although it was a slow bite we still managed to get a few largies in the boat. We moved around looking for warmer water but it wasn't until the afternoon that we were able to finally get temps over 50. The fish were very tight to cover and they were not going to chase anything... we really had to put it in their faces if we wanted to get a bite. We explored the lake a bit for smallies just to see if maybe they would've been more cooperative. We were able to locate a nice flat where I caught a small one and Ben had a giant follow his jerkbait but nothing more. Seeing as the water was warming up we decided to go back to see if the largemouths were more active.

It was nice to finally be able to fish lake Champlain... Conditions were tough but I got to see the huge potential this lake has. I am looking forward to my next trip there and hopefully we'll get higher water temps and better results!

What a start for 2010!

May 1st, 2010

Marc, Caro and I were on Lake Massawippi for not only our first trip of the year but it was also our first attempt to catch a lake trout. Water temps were ranging from 46 to 50 depending on where we fished and we had a no wind in the morning and maybe a 5km/h S wind in the afternoon. We casted hair jigs, crankbaits and jerkbaits for most of the day but only found bass so we relocated often. I got tired of casting my jerbait so I decided to troll a bit seeing as it was a very popular technique. After only about 5 mins, I hooked this big laker and the fight was on! It took a few minutes before we were able to see her but I knew I had a decent fish on the line. We forgot the net but thanks to Marc we were able to bring her in anyways. She weighed in just under 10lbs and she was back in the water after a few pictures. We will definitely be going back to this beautiful lake this season and I will be there next year again for the opener.

Almost ready for 2010!

April 26th, 2010

It's been over 2 months since my last update.. I spent a lot of time and money on the boat to make sure the upcoming season will be problem free. Finally got the boat back for good this weekend but there is still a bit of work to be done on it. I had the obvious tune up done, a little repair on the hull, got a new trolling motor and a new set of tires for the trailer. I still have some minor work to do with my electronics and I should have new seats in a few weeks. Hopefully everything will be ready by the time bass is open in QC!

I managed to get a test drive yesterday and everything ran smooth!! I really wanted to try the new Minnkota and what a difference! It's obviously more powerful being a 101lbs thrust but it's also much quieter then my motorguide was. I'm confident it will help me a lot when i'm fishing thick vegetation this summer.

I have also completed my "rod collection" for this season and it's one hell of an upgrade compared to last year. I'm happy to say I will be fishing exclusively with St.Croix rods this season. I have 11 technique specific rods ready to catch some big bass!!

Nothing is planned so far for the next few weeks but I might be able to squeeze in a trip to Champlain or Massawipi before I get my new seats.

Water temps on Louis were ranging from 53 to 57 yesterday!! We should be way passed the spawn by the time bass opens in late June.

Econ-O-Bass Registration day!

Feb 21st, 2010

We had a blast at the Econ-O-Bass meeting today. It was nice to see everybody again and talk about fishing. We were already at 40 teams by the end of the day with some very good teams registered this year. The competition should be very interesting even if the best anglers will be fishing with either their son or their wifes. The season should start very soon with some walleye fishing in March and some Bass and Trout in April. CAN'T WAIT!

You can see pics of the meeting on fishin-Canada.net (http://www.fishin-canada.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=3053&PN=1)

Part of the Fishin-Canada Pro-Staff team

Feb 7th, 2010

I am now officially part of the Fishin-Canada.net Pro-Staff. I would like to thank Mike and the fishin-canada crew for letting me be part of the team. Fishin-Canada is one of the few good Canadian fishing website with a quality forum where people can exchange and talk about fishing. We just created a new french section on the forum and I will try to be as active as possible and maybe even recruit a few guys to get it going!

I am looking forward to representing Fishin-Canada both in french and in english for 2010!!

B1 Registration & Fishin-Canada Swap and Sell

Feb 6th, 2010

Although there was no fishing involve, this was kinda of a big weekend for me. It started saturday morning at 5:45am for my B1 registration. I wanted to send my registration as soon as possible to secure a spot in the top 50. I ended up with #4 which is not bad considering at least 30 people were up trying to the same thing!! Now I know I will be launching with the first wave. For more info about the Berkley B1 visit Fishin-Canada.net .

I then proceeded to the first ever Fishin-Canada Swap & Sell at the anglers club in Lachine. It was nice to see the guys and finally be able to talk about fishing. I was also there to pick up a few orders I had placed for next season. I don't think I've ever bought this many lures before but at least they are all the same color now... or almost! I think I won't have to buy any tubes for the next 2 years with this order.

A few pics of the meeting:

More gear!

Jan 13th, 2010

After adding a few new rods to my arsenal, I decided it was time a little upgrade for my reels as well. Thanks to some buddies, I was able to find a few good deals on some pretty decent reels!

For baitcast, I will be mostly using Revo's next season. I now have 2 Revo Premiers, 1 Revo STX, a Shimano Curado, a Daiwa Zillion and a Pflueger Summit. I'm looking at maybe adding a Revo Winch to the line up but I think I could probably start the season with what I already have.

Now for spinning I was very impressed with the Pflueger Supreme XT... I honestly think that for the price those reels are hard to beat! I just purchased 2 of them and I can't wait to see how they will handle those mean brown fish! I have a feeling I might add 2 more of those yellow reels to match my new St-Croix's!!

I've also added 2 new rods to the collection. A 7'3" MH St.Croix Avid series that I will be using for pitching and a 7' H (Slop n' Frog) St.Croix Legend Tournament which i'm still debating if i'm going to use for froggin or flipping... Perhaps both, only time will tell!

My next acquisition should be 1 or 2 finesse rods for wacky, drop-shot and tubing. Yes... I need to have multiple tube rods!!

St.Croix Rods Pro-Staff

Jan 12th, 2010

I did it!! It was a lot of work putting my sponsorship proposal together but thanks to M. Ben Woo for all the tips and advice I was able to officially seal the deal last night. I look forward to represent St.Croix on and off the water for 2010!

Thanks to Jean-Martin Landry for giving me the opportunity to join the St.Croix Team. I was already a big fan of those rods but this sponsorship deal will allow me take it to the next level for 2010!

New gear for 2010!

Dec 16th, 2009

It came to my attention this fall that my equipement (mostly rods) might have to be upgrated if I ever want to take bass fishing to the "next level". I've already started shopping and added a 7' M (Tube) St.Croix Legend Tournament to my arsenal. I haven't caught a fish on it yet but it's by FAR the most sensitive rod I have ever had.

I couldn't wait till Christmas and I decided to give Caro her gift in advance. A brand new St.Croix Avid Pearl Series. She is so happy about it that she's already been practicing her flipping skills in the basement. By next season she should be ready to flip some thick mats with me and hopefully catch as many largemouths as possible!

If my budget allows me, I should be adding a few more "blue rods" in my rod locker for next season. I just can't believe how light and sensitive these rods are... I can only imagine how sensitive the St.Croix Legend Extreme series rods must be. I will also be looking to upgrade my trolling motor and perhaps my electronics as well. I have also added a few new revos (premier and stx's) and if everything goes well, I should have a new Stradic CI4 for my St.Croix.

Soon I will start going through all my fishing gear and sell a lot of it. I should have a few rods and reel for sale and tons of baits as well.

New rods and more fall fishing pics!

2009 Season Wrap-up!

Dec 16th, 2009

I have been slacking off big time on the blog.... The end of the season was so exciting I didn't even get the chance to sit down and update my blog. Thanks to some friends I was finally able to break the 20lbs mark not once but twice this fall. We had a 20.7lbs bag and another close to 23lbs with a 6lbs lunker. Late fall has been has been simply awsome... To my surprise most smallies were caught fairly shallow and they were quite active for the water temps we had. Last fishing trip this year was on Dec 5th with Caro.

I was fortunate enough to meet some very experienced anglers this season and they have helped me improve my game big time! I still have a lot to learn especially about largemouth but i'm confident that next season will be even more amazing.

Plans for 2010 was to fish Superbass, Econobass, Berkley B1 and most of the local tournaments I can find. Superbass has been put on hold for now so the plan is to get familiar with new bodies of water such as Massawipi, Ottawa River, Morrisburg, Champlain, Richelieu, 2 mountains and Memphremagog for a possible 2011 Probass Canada Series.

Here are a few pics from our last few fishing trips this fall :