WOW!
Today marks my 1st Anniversary of retirement from Dofasco (and my Blog's first birthday). I haven't missed the old place but I sure have missed many of the people.
It has been one hell of a ride and a real blast. Probably the best year of my life. I am really glad I started this blog as it is a great reminder for me of how much I've done.
Bring on Year #2!!!
Tornado!!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Worked at Bass Pro today and was exposed to something new for me. This picture was taken by Bernie from the front window of the store!!
Two tornadoes actually past by and the one did some very serious damage to about 60 homes just behind the Mall!!
Worked at Bass Pro today and was exposed to something new for me. This picture was taken by Bernie from the front window of the store!!
Two tornadoes actually past by and the one did some very serious damage to about 60 homes just behind the Mall!!
Cooch...... A Tough Day!!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Lake Couchiching was the fourth stop in the BPS Associate Fishing Series. This would determine the top 10 teams to qualify for the BPS Classic next month. Paul & Terry weren't available for this tourney so I invited my fellow BPS associate and French River buddy, Bernie Zweerman (Professor "Z") along for his first taste of tournament action. Bernie is a Walleye specialist and was looking forward to focusing on bass for a change.
I left the house at 3:00 am with boat in tow and picked up Bernie outside of New Market. We arrived to a beautiful sunrise at the launch site in Orillia just after 6:00 am.
There were 18 boats for this tournament and excitement was running high as many were on the bubble for qualifying for the Classic.
Blast off was at 7:00 and we sat back to catch a shot of everyone taking off and to let the water settle down a little.
Those who had pre-fished the tourney had found it to be a tough bite and it proved to be an extremely tough day for us. We first tried a shoal that had been good to Paul and I in the past, but nothing was happening. We moved on to the narrows between Cooch and Simcoe and worked the weed edges to no avail. It was a fairly calm day so we made a run to Strawberry Island on Lake Simcoe where there were some good drop offs and structure, but came up empty handed again. By noon the winds were picking up and we bombed back to Cooch to work the North end of the lake. Things were starting to get scary as the big "S" word started to loom larger!!
We got about 2/3 of the way up Cooch when we spotted four people in a boat that had broken down. The rear cowling was off and one guy was paddling with futility. Bernie and I looked at each other and knew what we had to do. (It is against the law not to help a stranded mariner). We approached them and they told us that their I/O had seized. They needed a tow back to their marina which was located near Casino Rama (you could see the hotel on the horizon). It took us about an hour to tow them there. We were having a bad day anyways and maybe we could also use this as an excuse if we got skun%#* 8O)
You can see my balaclava thingy in these two pics. Its is made out of some sort of light UV resistant cloth. I may look a little gay, but believe me it is very effective in keeping the sun from reeking havoc with your skin and keeps you cool at the same time. That little rag cost me $20 in Florida but is worth every penny!
After we returned the stranded mariners back to their marina, we returned back to some more futile fishing. We eventually returned to the same shoal that we started at in the morning , arriving at 2:15 pm with 45 minutes remaining in the Tournament!! I finally picked up my first and only keeper (over 12") at 2:30pm to avoid the BIG S!!! I've never been skunked in a tournament yet and narrowly avoided it once more. All of a sudden the action picked up as I caught another smaller bass, the largest Perch I have ever caught (see below) and a Rock Bass. The feed was on, but unfortunately time was running out.
I pulled the trolling motor out to move and do one final pass over the shoal and low and behold "Where is my trolling motor prop?????" It had spun off somehow. Too late to change it, so I power back to the other side of the shoal to do one last desperate drift. Unfortunately, I miscalculated and end up heading for the shallowest part of the shoal and my boat hull starts banging on the rocks. Now I am in panic and melt down mode (it wasn't pretty) as I struggled to push us off with my paddle while Bernie tried to use the handle of the net to help as best he could. We finally pushed ourselves off and managed not to sustain any significant damage.
We made it back in time for the weigh-in, but only had the one fish (1.86 Lbs) to finish a disappointing 15th.
No matter the result, I still had a great (and eventful) day on the water with Bernie, something we'll probably talk and laugh about for years.
The good news was that you only use your best 3 tournament weights to qualify for the Classic and I ended up finishing 4th overall for the season and Paul and I will be fishing the Classic on Pigeon Lake on September 9!!!
Can't wait.
Lake Couchiching was the fourth stop in the BPS Associate Fishing Series. This would determine the top 10 teams to qualify for the BPS Classic next month. Paul & Terry weren't available for this tourney so I invited my fellow BPS associate and French River buddy, Bernie Zweerman (Professor "Z") along for his first taste of tournament action. Bernie is a Walleye specialist and was looking forward to focusing on bass for a change.
I left the house at 3:00 am with boat in tow and picked up Bernie outside of New Market. We arrived to a beautiful sunrise at the launch site in Orillia just after 6:00 am.
There were 18 boats for this tournament and excitement was running high as many were on the bubble for qualifying for the Classic.
Blast off was at 7:00 and we sat back to catch a shot of everyone taking off and to let the water settle down a little.
Those who had pre-fished the tourney had found it to be a tough bite and it proved to be an extremely tough day for us. We first tried a shoal that had been good to Paul and I in the past, but nothing was happening. We moved on to the narrows between Cooch and Simcoe and worked the weed edges to no avail. It was a fairly calm day so we made a run to Strawberry Island on Lake Simcoe where there were some good drop offs and structure, but came up empty handed again. By noon the winds were picking up and we bombed back to Cooch to work the North end of the lake. Things were starting to get scary as the big "S" word started to loom larger!!
We got about 2/3 of the way up Cooch when we spotted four people in a boat that had broken down. The rear cowling was off and one guy was paddling with futility. Bernie and I looked at each other and knew what we had to do. (It is against the law not to help a stranded mariner). We approached them and they told us that their I/O had seized. They needed a tow back to their marina which was located near Casino Rama (you could see the hotel on the horizon). It took us about an hour to tow them there. We were having a bad day anyways and maybe we could also use this as an excuse if we got skun%#* 8O)
You can see my balaclava thingy in these two pics. Its is made out of some sort of light UV resistant cloth. I may look a little gay, but believe me it is very effective in keeping the sun from reeking havoc with your skin and keeps you cool at the same time. That little rag cost me $20 in Florida but is worth every penny!
After we returned the stranded mariners back to their marina, we returned back to some more futile fishing. We eventually returned to the same shoal that we started at in the morning , arriving at 2:15 pm with 45 minutes remaining in the Tournament!! I finally picked up my first and only keeper (over 12") at 2:30pm to avoid the BIG S!!! I've never been skunked in a tournament yet and narrowly avoided it once more. All of a sudden the action picked up as I caught another smaller bass, the largest Perch I have ever caught (see below) and a Rock Bass. The feed was on, but unfortunately time was running out.
I pulled the trolling motor out to move and do one final pass over the shoal and low and behold "Where is my trolling motor prop?????" It had spun off somehow. Too late to change it, so I power back to the other side of the shoal to do one last desperate drift. Unfortunately, I miscalculated and end up heading for the shallowest part of the shoal and my boat hull starts banging on the rocks. Now I am in panic and melt down mode (it wasn't pretty) as I struggled to push us off with my paddle while Bernie tried to use the handle of the net to help as best he could. We finally pushed ourselves off and managed not to sustain any significant damage.
We made it back in time for the weigh-in, but only had the one fish (1.86 Lbs) to finish a disappointing 15th.
No matter the result, I still had a great (and eventful) day on the water with Bernie, something we'll probably talk and laugh about for years.
The good news was that you only use your best 3 tournament weights to qualify for the Classic and I ended up finishing 4th overall for the season and Paul and I will be fishing the Classic on Pigeon Lake on September 9!!!
Can't wait.
Middle of the Pack
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Balsam Lake, 3rd stop in the Bass Pro Associate Fishing Series. Paul and I were out to better our poor performance at Balsam last year (5.68 Lbs). The forecast was good although the winds were already blowing at 7:00 blast off.
Some of the boats hovering before the start.
The guy in the back of this boat is Alex "Pony" Ponikarovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It proved to be a tough day. We picked up a couple of small Smallies off a shoal at the start. The wind was getting hard to hold the boat in any position so we moved up into the back of North Bay where we picked up a couple off some old bridge pilings. We then moved up near Coboconk and worked some good looking weeds and stumps and picked up a couple of more which allowed us to start culling. We had a pretty rough ride back to a few shoals in the main lake where we spent a lot of time rocking & rolling. We couldn't improve our catch although Paul had a real good one on for a few seconds.
We weighed in only 7.04 Lbs. (which was better than last year) which put us in 9th (out of 17 boats) which was still middle of the pack and our worst finish so far this year (2nd & 4th previously). We were only one "kicker" fish from being in the money. I am still sitting 3rd overall with one more event to go (Couchiching) to qualify for the Classic.
4 of our 5 fish
We were bouncing back across Balsam in the big rollers when I heard a thud sound and asked Paul "What was that"? We didn't see anything and continued on. Later when I was checking the livewell, it had collapsed on one side from the banging!!! Luckily all the pumps and drains were still attached and functioning!!
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When we got back to Paul's, I took Evan to McDonald's while Paul went to pick up his trailer as they were leaving for Gananoque Thursday morning.
Balsam Lake, 3rd stop in the Bass Pro Associate Fishing Series. Paul and I were out to better our poor performance at Balsam last year (5.68 Lbs). The forecast was good although the winds were already blowing at 7:00 blast off.
Some of the boats hovering before the start.
The guy in the back of this boat is Alex "Pony" Ponikarovsky of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
It proved to be a tough day. We picked up a couple of small Smallies off a shoal at the start. The wind was getting hard to hold the boat in any position so we moved up into the back of North Bay where we picked up a couple off some old bridge pilings. We then moved up near Coboconk and worked some good looking weeds and stumps and picked up a couple of more which allowed us to start culling. We had a pretty rough ride back to a few shoals in the main lake where we spent a lot of time rocking & rolling. We couldn't improve our catch although Paul had a real good one on for a few seconds.
We weighed in only 7.04 Lbs. (which was better than last year) which put us in 9th (out of 17 boats) which was still middle of the pack and our worst finish so far this year (2nd & 4th previously). We were only one "kicker" fish from being in the money. I am still sitting 3rd overall with one more event to go (Couchiching) to qualify for the Classic.
4 of our 5 fish
We were bouncing back across Balsam in the big rollers when I heard a thud sound and asked Paul "What was that"? We didn't see anything and continued on. Later when I was checking the livewell, it had collapsed on one side from the banging!!! Luckily all the pumps and drains were still attached and functioning!!
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When we got back to Paul's, I took Evan to McDonald's while Paul went to pick up his trailer as they were leaving for Gananoque Thursday morning.
Crazy Kids
Saturday, August 1, 2009
I had a great day with Maddy and Miranda on Saturday while we waited for their parents to get home from New York. We first stopped off to see Chris McAllister and his wife Katie and son Colin who were up from Dallas, Georgia to visit with Chris' Mom Norma. I spent a lot of years coaching Chris in hockey. He is a great kid (not really a kid anymore) and is now a Vice-Principal and Athletic Director at a High School in Georgia.
We then went to see G-Force in 3D at the show. Wow, $62 for 3 admissions and a couple of bags of popcorn and two drinks!!!!!
After the show I took the girls to see a couple of the houses where their Dad grew up. First stop was our first home on Leduc Street in Hamilton.
And then to Smithville to see our second home.
We had a great day and they hung in all night until their parents and Nana got home from New York.
I had a great day with Maddy and Miranda on Saturday while we waited for their parents to get home from New York. We first stopped off to see Chris McAllister and his wife Katie and son Colin who were up from Dallas, Georgia to visit with Chris' Mom Norma. I spent a lot of years coaching Chris in hockey. He is a great kid (not really a kid anymore) and is now a Vice-Principal and Athletic Director at a High School in Georgia.
We then went to see G-Force in 3D at the show. Wow, $62 for 3 admissions and a couple of bags of popcorn and two drinks!!!!!
After the show I took the girls to see a couple of the houses where their Dad grew up. First stop was our first home on Leduc Street in Hamilton.
And then to Smithville to see our second home.
We had a great day and they hung in all night until their parents and Nana got home from New York.
New York, New York
Thursday, July 30 to Saturday, August 1, 2009
While I was packing at the French River for my trip home, Chris was getting on a plane in Buffalo with Terry & Mandy heading to New York city! It was the kid's 13 wedding anniversary and they were celebrating it in New York and asked Mom if she would like to join them!!
It didn't take her long to say YES!! She has been talking about going to NY for some time now.
One of the much anticipated stops was Tiffany's ...........
..............along with Macy's, Rockefeller Square, JC Penny's Grand Opening, etc, etc......
There was a trip to Central Park and drinks at Tavern on the Green.
They stopped in Little Italy for a bite to eat.
I picked up the Crazy Kids from Mandy's Mom on Friday night on my way home from Bass Pro. I got a call late on Friday from Chris saying "I'm okay, but I'll let Terry tell you the story"!!
It turns out that she tripped on a curb in the rain at Times Square and went "splat" flat down on the sidewalk. Terry had a couple of Officers call for an ambulance and the attendants spent 45 minutes with her ensuring that she was okay. They wanted her to go to the Hospital (Bellvue) and she told them NO, that she was going home the next day. Terry thought that they might take an earlier flight out the next day, but Mom toughed it out and shopped all the next day before leaving to catch their scheduled flight!!!!!
They sent me this picture the next morning to reassure me that she was alright. I think she was putting on a game face for me.
They got home early Sunday morning (2:00 am) and Chris and I spent most of Sunday afternoon at Grimsby Hospital and found out that she had broken the upper part of the humerus bone. (We have since found out that she may have a broken elbow as well). The nurses were all coming in and high fiving her for toughing it out to finish her shopping!!
The kids took great care of Mom while she was away and she can't wait to get back to finish her shopping!!
While I was packing at the French River for my trip home, Chris was getting on a plane in Buffalo with Terry & Mandy heading to New York city! It was the kid's 13 wedding anniversary and they were celebrating it in New York and asked Mom if she would like to join them!!
It didn't take her long to say YES!! She has been talking about going to NY for some time now.
One of the much anticipated stops was Tiffany's ...........
..............along with Macy's, Rockefeller Square, JC Penny's Grand Opening, etc, etc......
There was a trip to Central Park and drinks at Tavern on the Green.
They stopped in Little Italy for a bite to eat.
I picked up the Crazy Kids from Mandy's Mom on Friday night on my way home from Bass Pro. I got a call late on Friday from Chris saying "I'm okay, but I'll let Terry tell you the story"!!
It turns out that she tripped on a curb in the rain at Times Square and went "splat" flat down on the sidewalk. Terry had a couple of Officers call for an ambulance and the attendants spent 45 minutes with her ensuring that she was okay. They wanted her to go to the Hospital (Bellvue) and she told them NO, that she was going home the next day. Terry thought that they might take an earlier flight out the next day, but Mom toughed it out and shopped all the next day before leaving to catch their scheduled flight!!!!!
They sent me this picture the next morning to reassure me that she was alright. I think she was putting on a game face for me.
They got home early Sunday morning (2:00 am) and Chris and I spent most of Sunday afternoon at Grimsby Hospital and found out that she had broken the upper part of the humerus bone. (We have since found out that she may have a broken elbow as well). The nurses were all coming in and high fiving her for toughing it out to finish her shopping!!
The kids took great care of Mom while she was away and she can't wait to get back to finish her shopping!!
French River
Monday, July 27 to Thursday, July 30, 2009
I left Monday for a much anticipated Musky trip to The Lower French River at the invitation of Andrew Marr, one of our Bass Pro leads. I picked up co-worker Bernie Zweerman in New Market and we made our way to Hartley Bay on the Lower French where my boat was launched. Andrew was at the dock to greet us along with his buddy Mike Short and Mike's Dad Bob. We found out that Mike had caught (and released) a 43" Musky the day before. Andrew led us out to the Ochtwan Hunt Camp of which he is a member. The group has been in existence since the 1880's!!
The camp is located on a small island (see green arrow on map) in Wanapetai Bay, home to some very large Muskies!!
We fished most of the water that you see in the picture.
View Larger Map
The camp was fabulous!!
Something right out of a Red Green episode. It had so much character and history. There were pictures on the wall of some of the early members from the 1800's!!
The kitchen was huge and well supplied. They hire a culinary chef during their hunt week in the fall!!
There were 5 bedrooms n the main cottage and a bunky that slept another 6. Bernie and I stayed in the bunky. This was the view from the foot of my bed!
Here are some of the highlights:
Its great to have a tall guy like Bernie around when you catch "Tree Bass"!
My best fish of the week, a 30" Pike.
Bernie with a nice Pike!
On Day 2, our Walkie Talkie went off and we knew that Marr had lit into a big one. Andrew nailed a 45" Musky, but by the time we got there it had been released. I asked if they got pictures and they assured me they had, but to my amazement, they were taken with a film camera (just like Mike's 43"), so I will post them once I get them. I can't believe people are still using that old technology!!!! 8O)
On Day 2 we went downriver to the Dallas, a major set of rapids downstream.
Our Official Group Picture!
Bob, Mike, Andrew, Bernie and Me
We beached the boats and hiked to the down side and fished from shore.
Bernie spotted a Massassauga Rattler, the first one I've ever seen (and heard!!).
Bob started things off with this nice Walleye.
Marr nailed a beauty Walleye in the fast water.
Mike wasn't far behind , landing this pretty fish shortly after.
Mike and his Dad spending a bit of quality time together.
Andrew and Bernie trolling by some interesting rock structure
Andrew pulled in this nice 35" Pike.
Andrew monitoring Bernie's filleting skills. That's our Bunkie in the background.
A dragonfly bumming a ride!
Bernie with a monster!
Bernie is a Walleye specialist and taught me how to use a few different setups. This was the best I could muster on a worm harness !!!
We spent two great nights out on the dock watching satellites, meteorites and the Milky Way...
...............while Bernie, Andrew and Mike fished for walleye and catfish off the dock.
The rocks reminded me a bit of Sedona during sunset.
Mike was a workhorse in the kitchen and we ate like Kings the whole week!!
Some great conversations, better than expected weather, awesome surroundings, great company and some hard fishing made for an awesome trip!
The only sour note happened while I was attempting to tarp the boat for the ride home, slipped and fell sideways into a real stinky ditch and just soaked myself (picture to come). Thank God I had spare clothes!! The good news was that I didn't soak the side that my wallet and iphone were on and I didn't hurt myself (except for me ego).
A great trip with a great bunch of guys and some fabulous scenery.
Thanks for the memories boys!!
I left Monday for a much anticipated Musky trip to The Lower French River at the invitation of Andrew Marr, one of our Bass Pro leads. I picked up co-worker Bernie Zweerman in New Market and we made our way to Hartley Bay on the Lower French where my boat was launched. Andrew was at the dock to greet us along with his buddy Mike Short and Mike's Dad Bob. We found out that Mike had caught (and released) a 43" Musky the day before. Andrew led us out to the Ochtwan Hunt Camp of which he is a member. The group has been in existence since the 1880's!!
The camp is located on a small island (see green arrow on map) in Wanapetai Bay, home to some very large Muskies!!
We fished most of the water that you see in the picture.
View Larger Map
The camp was fabulous!!
Something right out of a Red Green episode. It had so much character and history. There were pictures on the wall of some of the early members from the 1800's!!
The kitchen was huge and well supplied. They hire a culinary chef during their hunt week in the fall!!
There were 5 bedrooms n the main cottage and a bunky that slept another 6. Bernie and I stayed in the bunky. This was the view from the foot of my bed!
Here are some of the highlights:
Its great to have a tall guy like Bernie around when you catch "Tree Bass"!
My best fish of the week, a 30" Pike.
Bernie with a nice Pike!
On Day 2, our Walkie Talkie went off and we knew that Marr had lit into a big one. Andrew nailed a 45" Musky, but by the time we got there it had been released. I asked if they got pictures and they assured me they had, but to my amazement, they were taken with a film camera (just like Mike's 43"), so I will post them once I get them. I can't believe people are still using that old technology!!!! 8O)
On Day 2 we went downriver to the Dallas, a major set of rapids downstream.
Our Official Group Picture!
Bob, Mike, Andrew, Bernie and Me
We beached the boats and hiked to the down side and fished from shore.
Bernie spotted a Massassauga Rattler, the first one I've ever seen (and heard!!).
Bob started things off with this nice Walleye.
Marr nailed a beauty Walleye in the fast water.
Mike wasn't far behind , landing this pretty fish shortly after.
Mike and his Dad spending a bit of quality time together.
Andrew and Bernie trolling by some interesting rock structure
Andrew pulled in this nice 35" Pike.
Andrew monitoring Bernie's filleting skills. That's our Bunkie in the background.
A dragonfly bumming a ride!
Bernie with a monster!
Bernie is a Walleye specialist and taught me how to use a few different setups. This was the best I could muster on a worm harness !!!
We spent two great nights out on the dock watching satellites, meteorites and the Milky Way...
...............while Bernie, Andrew and Mike fished for walleye and catfish off the dock.
The rocks reminded me a bit of Sedona during sunset.
Mike was a workhorse in the kitchen and we ate like Kings the whole week!!
Some great conversations, better than expected weather, awesome surroundings, great company and some hard fishing made for an awesome trip!
The only sour note happened while I was attempting to tarp the boat for the ride home, slipped and fell sideways into a real stinky ditch and just soaked myself (picture to come). Thank God I had spare clothes!! The good news was that I didn't soak the side that my wallet and iphone were on and I didn't hurt myself (except for me ego).
A great trip with a great bunch of guys and some fabulous scenery.
Thanks for the memories boys!!
Still in the Money!!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The second stop on the Bass Pro Associate Tournament Tour was Rice Lake. Paul was able to fish this one, so I took the boat to Bass Pro with me on Tuesday and went to Pogger's house after work. Rachel was already in bed when I got there, but I spent some fun time getting caught up with Evan's latest adventures at camp etc.
Rice Lake was not very high on the confidence scale. I've only fished it once before in our tournament there 2 years ago and Terry and I struggled all day and only came in with 7.08 Lbs. for a poor finish. Rice is like a home lake for a lot of the Associates so the cards were stacked against us. Our goal was a top ten finish with 18 boats entered. We tried a totally different strategy this time and shot the 20-25 miles to the other end of the lake, up the Otonobee River almost all the way to Hastings! We were on the water for 25 minutes before we wet a line! While others were targeting Smallies, our initial strategy was to work the heavier weed areas for Largemouths.
We had marked about a dozen spots on the GPS that we wanted to try. The plan was to start at the top of the lake and work our way back through the day.
We stopped at a good looking spot and worked the pads and quickly put two in the boat. We worked our way through a few spots and by 10 am we had our five fish limit and spent the balance of the day trying to cull out the smaller ones.
The lure of the day was a Watermelon BrushHawg. While we continually changed up with various presentations, the BrushHawg consistently got the hits. We did a good job of landing everything we hooked. The afternoon proved a little frustrating as we were unable to cull any of our smaller fish as the day wore on.
Surprisingly at weigh-in, others were not doing as well as we expected. We thought that it would take 16 - 18 pounds to win, but in fact the winners only weighed 13.56 Lbs. We weighed in at 11.52 which was good enough for 4th place and $150!!!
More info here: http://www.rogercraig.ca/bps/2009/20090722rice/rice.htm
We picked up some Swiss Chalet with some of our winnings and chowed down with Andrea, Evan & Rachel back at their place. Chris had sent an old cell phone for Rachel which turned out to be a great hit with Rachie.........
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It was great to see Evan and Rachel again. Rachel is growing up so fast!
The second stop on the Bass Pro Associate Tournament Tour was Rice Lake. Paul was able to fish this one, so I took the boat to Bass Pro with me on Tuesday and went to Pogger's house after work. Rachel was already in bed when I got there, but I spent some fun time getting caught up with Evan's latest adventures at camp etc.
Rice Lake was not very high on the confidence scale. I've only fished it once before in our tournament there 2 years ago and Terry and I struggled all day and only came in with 7.08 Lbs. for a poor finish. Rice is like a home lake for a lot of the Associates so the cards were stacked against us. Our goal was a top ten finish with 18 boats entered. We tried a totally different strategy this time and shot the 20-25 miles to the other end of the lake, up the Otonobee River almost all the way to Hastings! We were on the water for 25 minutes before we wet a line! While others were targeting Smallies, our initial strategy was to work the heavier weed areas for Largemouths.
We had marked about a dozen spots on the GPS that we wanted to try. The plan was to start at the top of the lake and work our way back through the day.
We stopped at a good looking spot and worked the pads and quickly put two in the boat. We worked our way through a few spots and by 10 am we had our five fish limit and spent the balance of the day trying to cull out the smaller ones.
The lure of the day was a Watermelon BrushHawg. While we continually changed up with various presentations, the BrushHawg consistently got the hits. We did a good job of landing everything we hooked. The afternoon proved a little frustrating as we were unable to cull any of our smaller fish as the day wore on.
Surprisingly at weigh-in, others were not doing as well as we expected. We thought that it would take 16 - 18 pounds to win, but in fact the winners only weighed 13.56 Lbs. We weighed in at 11.52 which was good enough for 4th place and $150!!!
More info here: http://www.rogercraig.ca/bps/2009/20090722rice/rice.htm
We picked up some Swiss Chalet with some of our winnings and chowed down with Andrea, Evan & Rachel back at their place. Chris had sent an old cell phone for Rachel which turned out to be a great hit with Rachie.........
.jpg)
It was great to see Evan and Rachel again. Rachel is growing up so fast!
Crazy Kids
Saturday, July 18, 2009
We finally had the Crazy Kids over for an overnighter. Chris took Miranda and Maddy to the show to see the latest Harry Potter movie while I was at Bass Pro. When I got home we had a good visit and they brought me up to speed on their adventures at camp, Miranda's boyfriend!! and all the other latest developments. We then got down to playing some very competitive games of Bingo! We all designed our own Bingo Cards and picked our own numbers. I found a free Bingo application for my iphone that would randomly pick the Bingo numbers and also keep a record of called numbers to verify a Bingo. We played a couple of full card games for Toonies which Maddy cleaned up on. A lot of fun. We'll have to do it again.
The next morning they greeted me with a String Shower.
Between work, fishing and working on the basement, we haven't seen much of them. It was great to have them around.
We finally had the Crazy Kids over for an overnighter. Chris took Miranda and Maddy to the show to see the latest Harry Potter movie while I was at Bass Pro. When I got home we had a good visit and they brought me up to speed on their adventures at camp, Miranda's boyfriend!! and all the other latest developments. We then got down to playing some very competitive games of Bingo! We all designed our own Bingo Cards and picked our own numbers. I found a free Bingo application for my iphone that would randomly pick the Bingo numbers and also keep a record of called numbers to verify a Bingo. We played a couple of full card games for Toonies which Maddy cleaned up on. A lot of fun. We'll have to do it again.
The next morning they greeted me with a String Shower.
Between work, fishing and working on the basement, we haven't seen much of them. It was great to have them around.
Sooooooo Close!!!!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Today was the first Bass Pro Shops Associates Tournament of the season. This is a 4 Tournament Series that culminates with the top 10 teams qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops Associate Classic.
The tournament was held on Sparrow Lake and there were 14 teams (boats) entered. Blast Off was at 7:00 am. with the weigh-in scheduled for 3:00 pm.
I was without either of my regular partners, Pogger and Terry couldn't make this one, so I was fortunate enough to team up with Greg Butchart, a fellow Bass Pro Associate who was also without a partner for this tournament. Greg was the guy I put on the 5 1/2 pounder last week at Lake W.
We had a good game plan and by 9:00 am we already had our limit of Bass (5 over 12")!! We would spend the afternoon culling out smaller fish as we caught and replaced them with bigger ones. We made our way over to the backside of an island which had a nice weedy drop off. All of a sudden I've got a nice fish on (at least 4 Lb.), but before you know it he does a classic head shake as if to say "Oh no you don't", and he shook me off. I must say it was a thing of beauty as he flared his gills and walked across the water, a mental picture that I won't soon forget.
We made several more passes along this spot. Greg gets a nice one on, that we get right to the net. He takes one more pass and "ping" it breaks his line!!! This is another 4+ pounder!!!
Another pass and I get a huge fish on a dinger! This is a HUGE FISH and I'm yelling right away for Greg to get the net, Greg is right on it, we both get a good look at this pig and its in the 5-6 pound class, when all of a sudden "Ping"!!! We have probably just lost a total of 13 to 14 Lbs of Fish which would have pretty much guaranteed victory!!!! We both just sat there in shock! My knees were shaking. Knowing that we had probably just blown our chances of winning the tournament, we had to pick ourselves back up and try to get back on our game. We made a couple of more passes and then moved on planning to come back later after the area had settled down again (we did return later, but the bite had shut down).
We shot to the top of the lake in Maclean's Bay and got on fish again. Greg pegged a beauty smallie watching it come out of a clump of weeds and stopping his retrieve just for a moment and watched it inhale his jig and immediately set the hook beautifully, this puppy wasn't going to get off.
We continued to cull our fish and headed back to the south end of the lake and fished the river near the launch. We saw our co-worker, Hung Tran and his partner working the docks ahead of us. What we didn't know at the time was that they had had a tough day and only had 2 fish in their livewell when they got back to the river with a half hour to go. They pegged three fish off of the docks, the last one which we watched. What we didn't realize at the time was that we were actually watching Hung and his buddy Charlie beat us with that fish!!!!
At the weigh-in we were shocked to see how much others had struggled. Some of the favourites didn't even come in with a full bag (5 fish)!! Our bag of fish weighed in at 11.60 Lbs. Hung weighed in 11.72 Lbs. and also beat Greg's 3.52 smallie by 0.14 Lbs. (less than 2 oz.) for Big Fish and a $100 BPS Gift card.
My biggest of the day:
One of Greg's smaller ones.
It was funny to think that we actually watched Hung beat us. He's a great guy and it was nice to see him win the first tournament that he entered. He walked away with $400, while we picked up $200 which was not too bad considering we figured we had blown the day with those lost fish.
Our biggest 4:
Charlie and Hung's fish:
All in all a great day on the water with a bunch of great guys. Pogger will have a bit of pressure on him in the next tournament on Rice Lake in two weeks!! 8O)
More pictures and results are here.
Today was the first Bass Pro Shops Associates Tournament of the season. This is a 4 Tournament Series that culminates with the top 10 teams qualifying for the Bass Pro Shops Associate Classic.
The tournament was held on Sparrow Lake and there were 14 teams (boats) entered. Blast Off was at 7:00 am. with the weigh-in scheduled for 3:00 pm.
I was without either of my regular partners, Pogger and Terry couldn't make this one, so I was fortunate enough to team up with Greg Butchart, a fellow Bass Pro Associate who was also without a partner for this tournament. Greg was the guy I put on the 5 1/2 pounder last week at Lake W.
We had a good game plan and by 9:00 am we already had our limit of Bass (5 over 12")!! We would spend the afternoon culling out smaller fish as we caught and replaced them with bigger ones. We made our way over to the backside of an island which had a nice weedy drop off. All of a sudden I've got a nice fish on (at least 4 Lb.), but before you know it he does a classic head shake as if to say "Oh no you don't", and he shook me off. I must say it was a thing of beauty as he flared his gills and walked across the water, a mental picture that I won't soon forget.
We made several more passes along this spot. Greg gets a nice one on, that we get right to the net. He takes one more pass and "ping" it breaks his line!!! This is another 4+ pounder!!!
Another pass and I get a huge fish on a dinger! This is a HUGE FISH and I'm yelling right away for Greg to get the net, Greg is right on it, we both get a good look at this pig and its in the 5-6 pound class, when all of a sudden "Ping"!!! We have probably just lost a total of 13 to 14 Lbs of Fish which would have pretty much guaranteed victory!!!! We both just sat there in shock! My knees were shaking. Knowing that we had probably just blown our chances of winning the tournament, we had to pick ourselves back up and try to get back on our game. We made a couple of more passes and then moved on planning to come back later after the area had settled down again (we did return later, but the bite had shut down).
We shot to the top of the lake in Maclean's Bay and got on fish again. Greg pegged a beauty smallie watching it come out of a clump of weeds and stopping his retrieve just for a moment and watched it inhale his jig and immediately set the hook beautifully, this puppy wasn't going to get off.
We continued to cull our fish and headed back to the south end of the lake and fished the river near the launch. We saw our co-worker, Hung Tran and his partner working the docks ahead of us. What we didn't know at the time was that they had had a tough day and only had 2 fish in their livewell when they got back to the river with a half hour to go. They pegged three fish off of the docks, the last one which we watched. What we didn't realize at the time was that we were actually watching Hung and his buddy Charlie beat us with that fish!!!!
At the weigh-in we were shocked to see how much others had struggled. Some of the favourites didn't even come in with a full bag (5 fish)!! Our bag of fish weighed in at 11.60 Lbs. Hung weighed in 11.72 Lbs. and also beat Greg's 3.52 smallie by 0.14 Lbs. (less than 2 oz.) for Big Fish and a $100 BPS Gift card.
My biggest of the day:
One of Greg's smaller ones.
It was funny to think that we actually watched Hung beat us. He's a great guy and it was nice to see him win the first tournament that he entered. He walked away with $400, while we picked up $200 which was not too bad considering we figured we had blown the day with those lost fish.
Our biggest 4:
Charlie and Hung's fish:
All in all a great day on the water with a bunch of great guys. Pogger will have a bit of pressure on him in the next tournament on Rice Lake in two weeks!! 8O)
More pictures and results are here.
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