Getting started.

So, things are starting to get rolling for me now. Still haven't connected with the perch, who are taking there sweet time coming in, but the bass are certainly around. Last year I was cursing this situation. This year, not so much. I fished for an hour, landed two fish, lost a couple of others. All nice fish.

Makes the rod look like a kids toy. Could fit the reel in
that 'small' mouth.

All of the action came for me on the fly rod, fishing that Rabbabou streamer of mine. Both  fish were landed in the first 20 minutes I arrived. After that, I didn't hook up on anything.

Rabbabou Streamer.

Not sure if I mentioned it last year or not, but I have noticed something with smallies and the fly rod. Despite their determination, fish 3lbs and under are not likely to present much problems on a 5 or 6 wt. As soon as the fish gets over 4lbs, things are not so cut and dry. Not the difference in two fish in the video. The first one is a decent enough fist, but could be bullied pretty easily. The second fish was much larger, and could not be pushed around at my whim. Given the wood in the water surrounding me, the fishes fight, suddenly things are not so cut and dried. Also worth noting is the effort the first fish put into getting hooked up. Its not until the third or so time it picks it up that I get the hookset.

Lure testing.

About the only thing fishing related I did today revolved around lures. Painting, assembling, testing, etc. While productive, I would have rather been fishing. The weather was once again less than thrilling, so I decided against venturing outside for long. I did go out to test out a Zara Spook I had fashioned. Never fished one before, let alone made one. Was pleasantly surprised that both my construction and technique were spot on. I'll certainly be turning a few of those out of the shop. The weather isn't looking good for the next bit. Lets hope it doesn't follow the forecast.

First fish!

So, yeah.

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No justice done to the fish by the photo. It weighed in at 3.25lbs

Things are certainly behind last year. A week is about right on. I did not see a fish on the 6th. I have heard of fish getting caught, but not what I was looking for. That being perch.

I am pretty sure that last year started of the same as this year did. With bass. Difference being, last year they were not in season right now. That being the case, there could be no real discussion of the fish, and definitely no pictures. Catching bass early season has historically always been an inconvenience for me while panfishing. That they are now far game for me all year will take some getting used to.

This year is obviously difference. Smallmouth are open all season. The reasoning apparently is the bass are having a negative impact on other fisheries. Something I surmised when I originally heard or the plan. That more smallmouth would be culled is a no brainer. My thinking was that since that was the case, than culling would have to be part of the revised plan.

This year the first fish came on a diving plug of my own design and manufacturing. Its pretty much a defective prototype. It does work ( obviously ), just not as intended, and its a finicky plug. Gotta rework the design to iron out the kinks. Maybe. Maybe I just need a better source of diving lips. Dunno. The lure does extremely well if worked very slow. It has a great wobble, and runs true. If worked to fast? It will veer off to the left and/or corkscrew. Its boons outweigh its banes by far. It's action and quirks may just be inherent to the design. More testing will tell I'm sure.

Calendar Day.

So, last year, as previously noted, May 6th was the first day I caught a fish for the season.

Today, I did not fish. I had other things to attend to. Besides, it was another shitty and cold day. Had enough of those this............ummm.............'spring'. The calendar date marking its arrival has come and gone but there has been little of it to enjoy.

Ice is melting away at an incredible pace. Once it starts to go, it goes fast. Elliot Lake in particular lost a lot of its ice over night. Lots of lakes ice free.

So, tomorrow is the 6th. Do I expect to catch a fish? I am a little leery at my prospects. I suspect I may be a couple of days off before the perch show up in droves. Not going to stop me from trying. I have a philosophy of 'you don't know till you go' that has served me well over the years. I'll put it to the test again tomorrow. And if things don't pan out, I can think of much worse things to do than walk the lake shore for an hour or so.

Another day.

2 Lakes. One covered in ice, one open.

So, I suppose I can't complain to much. When I look back at my blog at this time last year, I was pretty

much in the same boat. Looking for fish. I know it won't be long, but I'm still anxious. Today was the first day I didn't see any Pike cruising in the hour or so I put in. I put in a little more effort than usual, actually changing lures. To no avail.

I chose the open lake.

Liking this GoPro 3+ Silver. I had an original go pro and hated it. Maybe it was a lemon. Dunno. All I know is that one was in my hands for less than a day before it went back. This one, is marvelous so far. Another little toy I am testing out is a Magic Flight Launch Box.

Something else I am very impressed with. I am not going to go into specifics about it due to the nature of the product. Suffice it to say, I would recommend it to any who would ask me about it.

A day off probably would not hurt to take a day or two off.............................but I'll probably still have a look see tomorrow.

Melt

Enough ice is off a couple of lakes enough to find some space to throw some line at. It was cold, it was raining, but it was good to get out. No hits, but I did spy a pike cruising the shallows a few feet of shore just as I was packing it in. So, that was something positive at least.

MNR Zone 10 Smallmouth Bass season change.

As the title says. The season has now changed for smallmouth bass in my area. Zone 10.

It is now open  ALL YEAR. The vast majority of Zone 10 is affected, north of HWY 17, check regs for specifics. Here is a LINK. There seems to be some discrepancy between the provided map, and the wording provided under the heading "ADDITIONAL ZONE 10 FISHING OPPORTUNITIES " There it says "All waters north of Highway 17 and all waters west of where the east bank of the Serpent River crosses Highway 17. (See map)" When one references the map it shows the area to be bordered by the Sturgeon River, not the Serpent. Pretty safe to assume they meant the Sturgeon.

Not sure how I feel about this. I have been fishing under the previous restrictions as long as I can remember. Can't recall another place in Canada that has such a liberal season. I believe some places in the states may have a similarly open season, but I am very unsure of that, and can't find any quick verification.

Its no secret I am always pretty eager to get out and get my kicks with early season panfish. Hooking bass at those times is at times a pretty prevalent affair. Certainly I felt a sense of guilt when this happened, due to my previous programming under the old regs. Many, many times I have had to pack and move, or quit for the day, when OOS hook ups were too likely. Now at least I while feel a little less guilty when I do hook them while fishing pannies than I have in the past, if nothing else.

The regs up here are pretty liberal in general. Walleye are only closed for a couple of months in the spring. Brookies open Jan 1st. Close end of sept as in S.O. Pike all year. Rainbows all year.....etc. Lots of fishing opportunities in general.

I have no idea what the reasoning is behind this decision. I only learned about it when I was in the local gear shop. I would be curious to hear what prompted these changes if anyone happens to know.