I caught a whale!

September 28th, 2008

I was on the water again today with my new boat. Caro decided to join me again for some largemouth fishing. Water temperature is still 67-68 in most places and we had a very light NE wind. We missed a few nice fish on top water but I hooked a respectable one eventually with a sizmo frog. I decided to try deeper water since the water level dropped by about 2-3 feet in the last week or so. I was flipping isolated cover with a flipping tube and a half ounce weight and I wasn't getting any bites so I decided to pitch on the other side of the boat in open water. That's when I felt a HUGE hit.... The weight felt like it was a musky and I was sure my line was going to break since I didn't have a leader on but it didn't... The fish was peeling line off my reel so easy it was scary!! I had to follow the fish for awhile with the trolling motor because it was about to empty my spool... When it came to the surface I saw right away that it was a freshwater drum.. but a HUGE one! Nothing like the other one I caught before. This one was gigantic! When Caro saw the fish she didn't want to have anything to do with it. She said :"There is no way you are bringing this in the boat!" After a good 5 minutes of fighting the fish and convincing Caro to grab the net we managed to boat the fish safely. My scale was out of batteries and I didn't have a tape to measure it but it had to be over 20lbs.... I would bet anything that it was even closer to 25... Either way it's the biggest freshwater fish I have ever caught and it was a blast! We released it and when I got home I looked up the net to find out it might of been the Canadian Record!!! The biggest Fresh Water Drum recorded in Canada was 20.60lbs... Had I know I was close to the record I would've asked someone nearby to weigh and measure the fish for me! This fish made my day that's for sure. I can't wait for next weekend as we're approaching the turnover!

First trip on the new boat!

September 27th, 2008

It didn't take much time before I put this thing in the water!! I took a shower and I was on the water right away with Caro to try it... There is no way I was going to sleep even if I needed it badly from all the driving... The boat runs great and it's FAST. I wasn't even at full throttle and we hit 65mph in no time. I'm not sure i'll even try to go faster.... it's fast enough! We didn't fish a lot as I was trying everything on the boat but we managed to catch a few smallmouths... I had a giant follow my topwater all the way to the boat but she didn't go for it... We both missed a few fish but I knew I was going back on the water the next day so it didn't matter! No pictures today.

I HAVE A BASSBOAT!

September 26-27th, 2008

I decided to sell my aluminum boat for a bassboat about 2 months ago and I had been shopping for bassboats since then. After looking at thousands of ads and talking with several bassboat owners I decided to drive down to Ladoga, Indiana with my dad to pick up a 1998 19" BassCat with a 1999 Merci EFI 200hp. We were blown away when we saw the condition of the boat in person... it was even better then the pictures I had received by email! It took us 15 hours to go and about 18 hours to come back but it was well worth the drive.... I had been waiting for this for such a long time and it's now finally in my driveway!! Not sure if it's going to improve my fishing at all but at least I'll be able to try new spots that seemed to far with my 50hp. I can't wait to try it on our lakes here.

Fall turnover is almost here

September 20th, 2008

I was on the water today with Felix and Marc on his bassboat and we decided to try the same area as last weekend hoping to find some nice smallmouth but it wasn't the case... Instead we caught a few small ones again.... Most of them are in the 1-2lbs range and are definitely not what were looking for! There wasn't much wind today and water temp is still around 68. It took us most of the day to realize we had to try something different in order to catch some decent smallmouths... We decided to try a completely new spot and it finally paid off!! I managed to get a near 3lbs bronzeback almost right away. Today wasn't the greatest fishing day but at least we found a new spot and we'll have to try it again this fall!

Disappointing fall fishing

September 13th, 2008

Caro and I decided decided to try an area where I usually go for some quality fall fishing but it ended up being a disappointing trip especially in terms of size. We had a very light NE wind and water temperature was around 68 in most places. We started by casting tubes and Caro caught a 2lbs smallie on her 2nd cast. It was pretty small but it's fun to finally see some smallmouth after our largemouth trip last weekend. I was anxious to try my new jigheads and they were definitely worth buying!! I caught most, if not all, my smallies on them. All in all, we caught about 15 smallies and the biggest one was about 2.5lbs... If I had to go back I would do things differently like try different depths and maybe try to find warmer water for more active fish. Hey.. you learn every time you're on the water! Pictures should be up tonight!

Local Multi-Species Tournament

September 7, 2008

My friend Marc invited me for a small local tournament today for bass, pike and perch. The lake we fished is usually closed to boats and is only used for the beach. I had NO IDEA this place had bass. Not only is it the smallest lake it's filled with GIANT smallmouth AND largemouth. Believe it or not the largemouth lunker was 6.73lbs!!!! Had I caught this bass I think I could've retired happy. Another near 5lbs largemouth was caught and several other 3lbs+. The tournament rules weren't in our favor thought. It was one fish per person instead of a 5 fish limit so someone whose lucky could win it with only one fish and that's what happened. It's too bad because we would've had a very decent bag of bass! Marc caught the biggest pike which I though was very close to 10lbs but ended up weighing only 7.1lbs. That same pike stole 2 frogs from me before Marc finally hooked it just on the side of the mouth! We were about 15 bass boats overall and we had a lot of fun. I got to meet people who share the same passion I have for bass fishing and we might have something cooking for next year! Stay tune for more info! I forgot to take a picture of the pike but I have a few pictures of the ALL ELECTRIC MOTOR launch! lol

Largemouth Fishing Vacation!

September 3-6, 2008

My girlfriend and I rented a cottage up north on a lake I've been fishing for the past 5-6 years. The largemouth fishing there is just ridiculous... Several 5lbs+ were caught over the years and the amount of fish we catch every year is just phenomenal.

It didn't take long before Caro caught her first largemouth. What's fun about this place is that you can really improve you hook set with the amount of hits you get in a day... Bite after bite Caro was improving her hook sets and the way she was casting and working her lure. She caught about 4-5 bass the first day, 7-8 on the 2nd day and over 20 on the third day. Her hook sets are now so impressive I couldn't believe it! Both hands on the rods and she uses her whole weight to set the hook. Just like a pro! Let's just say she decided to be more careful after losing a near 5lbs bass at the boat! She got her revenge with a 19", 4lbs+ largemouth the next day! She got the fish away from a sunken tree just in time before it could wrap her line in the branches. I can't tell you how happy I am when someones catches a lunker in my boat... That bass gave her a fight she'll remember for the rest of her life!

I always like to "guesstimate" the weight of a 5 fish bag when I go fishing. That way it gives me a good idea of how good the day went and it's also the same way in real tournaments. For those who care, we had a 17lbs bag the first day, 18lbs the 2nd day and probably very close to 19lbs on our 3rd day. We caught well over 130 laremouths in 3.5 days and 1 smallmouth! The owner of the outfitter has a little contest going on so I registered Caro and her 19". I know the biggest fish caught there was 22"... her chances to win are slim to none but the owner insisted. Unfortunately, I didn't catch the 5lbs I've been looking for this year but many 3's and 4's were caught. I will post pictures of the trip soon!

Fun Family Fishing

August 31st, 2008

My uncle Jean came down from Quebec city to fish for bass with my dad and I so I couldn't dissapointed him! He usually fishes for trout and he had a hard time believing a fresh water fish could fight more then a trout. He was in for a surprise! He actually caught the first smallmouth on a brown tube and didn't say a word!! He just started laughing so we both looked at him wondering what was going on... Needless to say he was having a blast fighthing his first smallmouth! The wind picked up as the day went on so it made it a bit difficult to achieve a good drift but they still managed to catch a few fish. My uncle caught the biggest bass dragging a tube again and this time it gave him one hell of a fight! I think he'll remember this one for awhile! It only weighed in a little over 2.5 lbs but the smallmouths we catch in current always seem to fight more. My dad caught a few over 2lbs as well and we lost quite a bit as well. I think it's the first time I don't reel in a bass this year but the important thing is that my uncle and my dad did! I think they had a blast and I hope we can do it again soon and catch a 4lbs+ this time! I will post pictures tonight.

Aqua vu

August 30th, 2008

I was on a clear water lake with Jack today and we decided to test his aqua vu and see if it could help up catch more deep water smallmouth. I had been to this area before and we had seen so many giant smallmouths that decided to give it another shot. We had light SW wind but we still managed to see them in 15-20 feet of water. The aqua is really an awsome fishing tool... The strong current made it difficult to see but we managed to see a few fish with it. Most importantly we saw the bottom composition and some structure in over 40 feet of water! I can only imagine how useful it must be in a calmer lake. I'm seriously thinking of getting one for my next boat. We mainly drifted with tubes in 15-35 feet of water catching a few decent smallies but no giants were caught. I had forgotten the camera but I took one of Jack with his super phone but i'm still waiting for it! "hint hint"