How it all began..

I started this blog a few months back, and have spent a lot of time talking products and techniques, but I have shared little information about me personally. So i though I would spend some time today to cover a few 

I have three people that I can blame for my addiction to fishing. My Father, my Step Father and my Grandfather. All of them each effected my love of fishing in a different way.

My Grandfather has been retired since I was three years old, and since he was not one to take it easy, he always had jobs he liked to do. One of those jobs was to run a boy scout camp. Each summer I would get time to go and stay with him at the camp. He was not much of a fisherman but he always made sure we had everything we needed to spend the day fishing, Wether is was bobbers and worms from the dock out back, or carting us by boat to various hot spots. He always made it easy for us by having access to water and unlimited amount of free time I was able to fish all day long, all summer long

My Step-father is also not much of a fisherman. He owns a rod and reel, but the only time I have seen it in his hands was when I was a child and he was carting me off to various fishing derby's. He made sure me and my friends could always attend these derby's that were usually held out of town. It allowed us to have a great time and grew the competitive side of my fishing. For a man who is always active and like to keep moving it must have been hard for him to stand around for hours on end to watch us cast (and catch very little). To this day I appreciate the fact that he was willing to there for us

Out of the 3, My Father was the biggest influence. He loves to fish. My parents separated when I was only 4 years old (so 27 years ago) He never had much money, and when it was his weekend to look after my sister and I, the one thing he could afford was a couple dozen worms. 

The weekend always started with a trip to the coffee shop where he would grab the morning coffee (a donut for us) and then it was off to the bait shop. We were worm fisherman, a bobber, a hook and a worm was all we needed to keep us occupied for a large part of the day.

My Dad found this cool little fishing hole, just off the main road. It was an old railway bridge with a back bay that comes off the Ottanabee river. It was a pan fishermans dream, with deep pockets and small clumps of weeds everywhere.  We caught everything from perch & gills, to bass, carp and mudcats. We even managed the occasional frog and turtle. 

My first ever fishing tale grew from this very spot. My father and I watched as a couple fisherman using bobbers and frogs fought a monster bass that eventually snapped their line above the bobber. We watched as the bobber floated away, only to turn around and head back up stream, the fisherman threw everything at it, finally snagging the bobber and pulling in the 5lb largemouth that had snapped them off only minutes earlier. I have been telling that story so long now, I don't even remember how much of it is true anymore.. but it is part of my fishing heritage and part of what makes me me


I have hundreds of great memories of this area, and to this day spend time each season fishing this exact spot . Things have changed and this once run down rail way bridge is now a running and bike path that is constantly in use by sport enthusiasts and family's alike. My private childhood fishing hole is no more.. but it still draws my back and I can take a look around and know.. this is where it all began

Shoreline Angling - Anywhere Anytime

 My wife has Yoga on Mondays and belly dancing class on tuesdays.. this gives me two great windows to get in some fishing afterwork. Shore line angling is still an often overlooked way to get in some fishing when time is tight but if your like me you will want to take advantage of ever minute you have, and nothing get you fishing faster then shore line hot spots.

here are some tips to help make your shoreline trip a success.

Scout out the area

In your everyday travels keep your eyes open for good shoreline spots. Spots that can be accessed by foot and allow you to get right up to the waters edge are nice. (This means less equipment is needed, some spots may require a net if you cant get right up to the water). Weekends are a great time to scout out shoreline spots, spots that are frequently fished on the weekends are not usually as busy during the week, take advantage of this when you can.


Be prepared

In the trunk of my car you will find a small tackle bag along with a 2pc rod. This is what i call my "emergency kit" it allows me to stop anywhere anytime and fish. The Bag contains a mixed bag of lures and baits that are geared towards common shoreline species (Bass, Walleye, panfish and carp). The bag contains sun screen, pliers and a back-up pair of sunglasses. I usually carry a rain suit in my trunk as well. It is rarely needed but nice to have.

Tip: Cameras are a must, some of these shoreline haunts hold big or unusual fish, and if you dont capture them on film they become just another fish tale. Digital cameras are great, and most cell phones now have cameras built it, but both of these take batteries, and batteries die, one sure fire way to ensure you always get the picture is to buy a throw-away film camera that can be found at almost all corner stores. throw it in your trunk and you will never miss the pick of a lifetime

Know your route and when to leave

I have three shoreline spots that I like to hit on a regular basis, as you fish them you will begin to learn there strengths and weaknesses and when to move on. Many shoreline spots provide you with limited space to fish, and will hold limited fish. If you pull up to a spot and catch 3 fish in the first 10 minutes and get nothing for the next 30 minutes it is time to move on. I personally have a spot that holds 1 fish, it is on the way to another shoreline spot I fish, so I stop catch my 1 fish then get back in the car and move onto the next location (this is something I learned over time, Im not condoning just randomly catching a single fish then leaving)

Shore-line angling can provide some awesome moments and get you into spots that some boats cannot get to.  My wife uses Yoga to relax, me, I grab a rod and reel and hit the closes shoreline.

ishad, a new technique to revolutionize the sport or just another ifad

Ishad.. thi name seems a bit advanced to me, did Jackall need to get Apples permission before launching this new line of baits? Or maybe they come with an app for your iphone? All i know is this new technique has been making quite a buzz, and I want in. 

Similar to a bait i reviewed earlier this season the ishad is bucking the norm, it is a bait designed to limit movement in the water.. let me say this one more time.. it is designed to limit the baits movement in the water. The ishad technique was designed to look and act like a non wounded, non threatened bait fish. It goes against everything we have ever been taught about what makes a goo dait.. yet anglers
(like me) seem to be eating it up.

The ishad has to be one of the easiest techniques on the market today.. just cast, and reel it in, as straight and steady as you can, no jiggling the rod tip, no jerking motion, no pumping the rod.. just reel. It sounds so easy that it may even be hard.

They are fairly slender profile bait with a slightly ribbed body an ultra thin tail that gives the bait it’s only movement.  It is available in 3 sizes (the largest being 4.8inches) and close to 12 colors, but you will have to look hard to find them since they are not even available on the jackal website and most dealers I found only carry 6 or so. The body is a dense and gives you confidence that it will last for more than one fish, but the tail will be easily destroyed by the smallest of panfish 

The Ishad is meant to be fished with a nose hook jig that is also produced by Jackall. The nose jigs come in 3 sizes all fairly light and designed for the most part for the ishad. A short owner hook and weed guard finish off these tiny jigs nicely. 

As the name states the ishad is meant to be nose hooked, similar to fishing a drop shot. Just slid the hook into the hose of the bait and you are good to go. Obviously to keep the bait running straight you will want to be sure to place the hook in the centre of the hose. The small lead tip will allow for a straight retrieve and give little resistance.     

This technique is all the rage in Japan, or so I’m told. Does it sound to good to be true? hmmm, Only time will tell. But baits that buck the current trends are becoming more and more relevnt as lakes see more and more pressure pressure from anglers. Im all for new tricks and techniques and Im looking forward to giving this one a thorough workout      


Update:


This past weekend I was able to put this new technique to the test. I gave it a thorough work-over with little to no success and I gave my wife one to test out.. what better way to test a lure with no action then to pass it to a non-fisherman who will straight retrieve without thinking twice. Both of us had the occassional tap, but no significant bites or fish. Im not ready to write this one off as of yet, .. more info to come

Frog Fishing with Friends.. My Dobyns 735C and Live Tagrets Hollow Bodied Frog

What better way to celebrate Canada Day and the 4th of July then spending some time on the water fishing. Even better then that.. "frog fishing"

Recently I have added some Dobyns rods to my arsenal and one rod that I had been dying to break in was the 735C, a baitscasting rod that is perfect for throwing frogs. Today I paired the 735c up with one of Live Targets new Hollow bodied frogs, I picvked up a few of these in the off season and have been waiting to thorw them around.

The Day:

I hit the water this morning just befor 9am, the sky was clear and the temps were already up over 20. I headed right for a favourite spot of mine that looked pretty much un touched even though there was havey traffic on the lake today. In the first 30 minutes I have already managed 4x blow-ups.. all missed.. I chalked it up to me beeing a little rusty and continuted to throw for another 20 minutes without a sniff.

I moved on to spot #2, this spot was covered in line marks all throught he slop and I ccould see that parts of it had been beaten up (fish holes) but other parts looked untouched.

I worked the entire area with the frog and was quickly underfire, the first blow-up resulted in a nice 3lb largemouth and that was followed-up by a  pair of 2lbers.

each area I worked produced fish.. agressive fish.. I started to think about the first spot i hit today and began to wonder if it was rust that made me miss the 4 fish, or if the fish were just not aggressivly hitting the frog. I made a mental note to head back that way before leaving for the day to see if more sun/heat would turn the fish on. By the time I left spot #2 I had landed 5 nice frog fish

Around noon I  headed back to the spot in wich my day began. Almost immediatly I had my first blow-up and fish. The first was followed by a second, a third and a fourth. There was a drastic change in the 2.5 hours since I had left this spot initially.. was it confidence or was there a change in the way the fish were taking the frog.. I think a little of both.

My 4th and final stop of the day was a heavily padded section close to the launch. I love fishing this spot as routinely you will see the wake as a fish cahses down your frog. Spot number 4 was productive adding 2 more fish to my tally.

All in all it was a great yet strange day on the water, a few missed fish to start the day off, and for the life of my I could not get a fish to take a follow-up bait. The high skies and warm weather played in my favour.

Equipement Breakdown

The Dobyns 735c is the ultiamte frog fishing rod, I was able to cast the small Live Target frog a mile reaching sportst that had yet to see a bait today. The soft tip allowed me to place the frog whereever I wanted and the backbone easily bullied the bass from the slop. As for the frog, these live target frogs have great motion in the water and sit really low on the pause, the tail end is down similar to a popper and this I beleive helps with hook-up ration. It took a beating today but still looks out of the package new

The Final Score:

LANDED:  11

MISSED: 8

Up close & personal with: The Worlds Best Bass Frog

You need to be pretty sure about your product before you name it “Worlds Best”.  So I will be honest when I came across Ken Dauberts frog named ‘Worlds Best Bass Frog” I was a little skeptical.  But being a frog loving fool I had to take the plunge and try one my self.   

Since my fingers are already hurting from the thought of typing “worlds best bass frog” over and over again, from now on we will call it the WBBF.   

WBBF’s can be found and purchased on various fishing sites, none that most of you will have heard of before today (Strike 1 against the ‘Worlds Best Claim”). I purchased my frog from http://www.reelgoodguide.com/ (they offered a special to provided an extra pack of frog hooks with my purchase)   

The frogs arrived fairly quickly and I was able to give them a up close and personal once over.  Here are my thoughts…   



Quality & Design:   

The Design of the WBBF is similar to a older frog body designs but not to anything currently on the market. It is made up of a high density foam that is soft enough that it has some give when the fish takes it in it’s mouth, but firm enough that it will hold up to some abuse (Toothy critters may cause some damage). Due to the design of the bait and material used this frog floats well and if by chance a fish (or snag) breaks you off, you should still be able to retrieve the frog.

The legs (also known as Mega foot hotlegs) are highly flexible and have some stretch to them; the material is thick enough that it should not rip while battling a fish.  They are easily exchangeable and are a much better product in person then when viewing it on the website.  (see video below)

The Hook provided is very similar to the the hook used with the banjo minnow. They have some strength and use the same rubber band style weed-guard. The biggest complaint i have heard about this frog is the hook up ratio. Hook placement is not ideal and the fish will really have to swallow this frog if you want to get a hook in it

Options & Price: 

There are a few series of WBBF, the clone is the entry level series, it comes in 6 color options and will cost you about $10 a frog.  The paint jobs on the close series are pretty good, I own both the leopard and Bull frog version. With each frog you will receive 1 hook as well as a whack of rubber bands to run the bait weedless.  In my opinion 1 hook is not enough for this bait and 2 if not 3 hooks should be included for the price being charged.  (You can buy additional hooks in 3 packs for $4).  

The Designer or replica series is a thing of beauty but comes in at $35 a frog, this is not for the faint of heart and more of a showpiece in my opinion. That being said they are extremely well done and would look great on your shelf    

Tips:  

 There are a ton of videos on line showing the WBBF in action. It seems like a pretty straightforward bait that can easily be pulled or swam back to the boat. It appears to sit well in the water and mimics a frogs body and motion. I think like other baits (the banjo minnow) a learned technique will improve your catch ratio, but don’t expect to go out there and catch fish on every cast.  

Keep in mind this is a product review of the product out of water. I have yet to fish with it, and I’m giving my opinion on the bait as I see and feel it. Like most fisherman I have fallen victim to lures that caught way more fisherman then fish them shelves… the flying Lure and banjo minnow to name a few. Only time will tell if the “Wolds best bass frog” will join these two lures in my hall shame. I beleive naming this bait the WBBF is a long shot, not only is this not the best frog on the market today, but it is not even the best from in my tackle bag… but if you are a frog Junky like me, be sure to give one a try,  at the very least they are a cool addition to your frog collection.

Yamamoto spreads the word on Dobyns Rod

For those of you not already reading "inside line" you should check it out. Yamamoto does everything right and with their Ezine that trend continues

Currently there is a great read on Dobyns rods. The article gets into Gary's back story as well as his philosophy on rod building.. balance over weight.. it is a great read and you should take a moment to review it. Im looking forward to part 2

http://www.insideline.net/index.php/equipment/628-gary-dobyns--making-the-perfect-rod-part-i.

Fear & Loathing on the Tournament Trail: Elephant Lake

Not only was this past week the season opener for Bass in Ontario, but it was also the first event in the BTTS series. As mentioned perviously this is my first season fishing an entire tournament series (6 events) and the season opener was on Elephant lake, a lake I have never wetted a line in.

My partner and I were excited about the event but held little hopes of winning, but that being said we wanted to make sure we left the lake with some weight to help keep us in the running for the team of year (highest total weight).

The weather conditions for the day were cloudy with some sunny breaks, the temps did not get above 20 degrees until well into the afternoon.

The day started early (4am) but on a high note, we drew #5 for blast off which put us in position to get to some spots we had scoped out using Google Earth.

we started the day fishing shallow weed flats, mats and some submerged timber. throwing spinnerbaits, top water and some worms, we were able to get 5 fish in the boat fairly quickly but each fish came in under 1.5lbs.  So with 5 fish in the boat we knew it was time for a change, and made the move to a back bay on the lake to fish a little bit deeper water.

The second spot produce fish immediately .. just the wrong kind of fish.. Pike where chasing our top water baits all over the place and wasting the precious time we had left. We switched up again, moving to some deeper weed-beds just off the shoreline.

The high and low point of the day came when my partner hooked into a smallmouth that looked to be pushing 4lbs.. the fish ran under the boat and made it impossible to net, after a few minutes he quickly ran back out and caught us short-lined and with one jump threw the hook. After we slammed our hats, rods and the net down, we regrouped and tried to find a twin for the fish we just lost... no such luck

Spot number three was another set of shallow but submerged timber. It produced one fish in the hour we where there, but the fish ended up being the largest in our bag at just over 2.5lbs.

As the afternoon wore on the bite slowed way down.. i dont think we had more then 2 bites from 1p on. When we called it a day we had just under 10lbs in the bag. We were happy with our production but could only think about the one that got away.

We ended up in 10th place (7th in Team of the Year Standings) not bad for a lake we have never set foot on prior to tournament day. The winning team had a nice bag of just over 17lbs, and of the nearly 30 teams 7 teams came in with 0's.. a tuff day on the water.

Next up is Weslemkoon on July 17th,. This is  a lake we are very familiar with and hope to make up some of the ground we lost this past weekend.