# Caught my first nice largemouth!!



## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

I was with my son at a small lake just a 2 minute walk from my house in Brampton. I'd seen carp and panfish swimming around in the past and thought there probably wasn't anything else in there. Well, just for kicks we went fishing and I threw on a lunkerbait rubber worm, cast it out and at 3pm this afternoon hooked into this beauty(see pics) I didn't have a scale with me but i'm guessin' she was ~5lbs. Pretty awesome surprise, and I'm sure there are plenty more hiding in there...Anyways, I released her to fight yet another day.
This brings back many fond memories.. fishing was always a favourite past-time with my late father and I, so now I'm so glad to be out there fishing with my son.
peace,
C

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v95/gtrchris/2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v95/gtrchris/largemouthprofessorslakejuly72009.jpg


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## Bruiser (Oct 23, 2008)

*Nice*

Sounds like Heart Lake!! The north end of the lake down the hill where all the reeds are is a great starting point for largemouth. In the fall its even better for topwater action. I live 2 minutes from there as well and I had a picnic table down at that end right at the end of the trail where you could fish and play acoustic guitar all day (especially during a weekday) and not be bothered. The largest I've pulled out of there was 3.8 pounds. The kids do well to on light tackle. Worms, spinner baits, texas rig and any weedless setup during the summer months work good. When fall hits and the weeds start to die off I've found any Mepps #4 in all colours retrieved at a medium rate will get the bigger ones looking to put on the feed bag for the winter.

Great catch! Next time bring your acoustic while the kids fish. A bobber and worms will work for the panfish and will let you kick your feet up and relax.

2 great hobbies, guitars and fishing. Life doesn't get any better than that.kksjur


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Bruiser, Awesome! thanks for the tips on fishing... we love Heart Lake too! we've only caught small ones so far, but with your tips maybe we'll get lucky and catch a few worth bragging about!!! 
BUT, believe it or not this one came from Professor's Lake on the south shore.
Cheers,
Chris
p.s. ditto that, music and fishing are a great combo- kinda like Rock Bass!! HaHakqoct


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I fish therefor I am.

Fish worship. Is it wrong?

Great story, thanks.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Stonesy (Oct 7, 2008)

Two minutes from your front door? You lucky dog! 
I'm gaga for fishin and gits.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

looks like about 3 1/2 lbs judging by it's size in relation to your hand. that's quite a respectable bass this far north. if you really wanna have fun use spinnerbaits configured like this:









i like 3/4 oz. with the biggest hammer finish willow leaf blades i can find. light colors for clear water, dark colors for dark/muddy/deep water. they will also attract musky and pike. i did all my fishin well south of here, but my best luck was shallow weedy areas, with a med retrieve, maybe 12-18" below the surface. try this trick - everytime you release a fish, give it a little kiss and say "go back and get your grandma" sooner or later you could stumble upon a fish who understands english, then you'd be battling one like this:


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

Try a black Jitterbug after sunset for a real thrill.


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

danbo said:


> Try a black Jitterbug after sunset for a real thrill.


gotta have a strong heart for that one. it took me quite a while before i developed the self control neccessary to avoid freaking out and jerking the plug away from the fish. i was kinda partial to the spence scout, and my secret weapon, but the jitterbug works well too. 

*secret weapon:* take a really huge stick fish lure like a rapala, but the cheap ones work just as good for less money. i used to use the floating ones for surf fishing. break off the bill with a pair of pliers. change the treble hooks to a size similar to a normal bass plug. fish it like a zara spook.


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

I'm partial to my 9wt flyrod & poppers in the stumps myself. The joys of kayak bassin! :smile:


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Jitterbugs rock. We used to be able to toss them between boats at the local marina before they got all pissy about us fishing there. Being a marina there were lots of shaded areas under the boats, and edges between light and dark, shelter and exposed, deep and shallow, weeds and rocks, so that right at dawn and dark, the bass would smack those jitterbugs with everything they had.

I've trolled them behind a slowly paddled canoe too, lots of movement, fun to hear that slap when the fish hits the water.

Peace, Mooh.


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## Bruiser (Oct 23, 2008)

*Close*

Me too. My inlaws live on Panorama and you'll see me the odd time out the on the Professors Lake parkway side at the bottom of the playground doing some casting. I'm a serious angler and run this website to help promote Ontario Fishing Lodges:
www.ontariofishtrips.com (Sorry for spamming admins)

All of the articles on there have been written either by me or a couple of my buds who are pro anglers. Check it out and if you ever plan a trip way up north to one of those resorts contact me first.

Cheers,
Bruiser:rockon2:


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Wow, Thanks for all the props and tips guys..hey wait a minute isn't this a music forum!!
Seriously, thanks for everyone's contribution:smilie_flagge17:

Bruiser, I'll get in touch when we have some time to get out for a fishing trip.

chezzyridr-my God look at that fish!!..you must fish down south somewhere I've only seen bass that size down in Florida or on my Pro Bass computer game!


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

danbo said:


> I'm partial to my 9wt flyrod & poppers in the stumps myself. The joys of kayak bassin! :smile:



at one time i could put a 1/2 oz spinnerbait in a coffee can from about 50-60 ft almost every time with a baitcaster. but somehow, with a flyrod, all i ever managed to do was hook myself in the neck, ear and side of my face.


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Man would I love to get into fly fishing-that would be a blast!

cheezyridr...fishing question for ya-would you use 3/4oz spinner baits in the north-(like in the lake I'm fishing at) or would you size down a bit-maybe 1/4 or 1/2 oz?
thanks,
C


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i don't like 1/4 oz baits because the crappies and sunnies get em. for me i use the weight in relation to the size of the blades and how deep i want to fish. i swap blades when i can, because i like big blades. up here smaller would probably be better. 

btw, i pulled that pic off the net, i have never in my life seen a fish that big in person. the only places i know that grow 'em like that is florida, or castaic in california. my personal best would have been about 7-8lbs. i don't really know because i was on my motorcycle that day, and didn't want to put the fish in my saddlebags.


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Ah, you had me going on that trophy bass pic! 
but still to get one 7-8lbs is still pretty darn impressive!
Had a blast this evening at the lake using jitterbugs-caught a pile of rock bass and a few smaller largemouths. It's prettty thrilling when they smack the lure right out of the water!kksjur


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

The Pop-R is another killer topwater lure.
My all-time bass getter is a safetypin spinner with a jighead & Power Minnow..it's basically weedless & can be slow-rolled right near bottom through weeds & sunken wood.
OFN is a cool website, Sexyloops is another for flycasting tips.


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

oops! .............


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## danbo (Nov 27, 2006)

http://www.great-lakes.org/graphics-2/Berkley/rev-09-17-07/Berk_PBFW_BeetleSpinMullet.jpg


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Thanks Danbo...I'm going to see if I can find one of those Pop-R's or a beetlespin.


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## Eric1623 (May 20, 2009)

Congrats on the catch and great photo's!


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Eric1623 said:


> Congrats on the catch and great photo's!



Thanks, and glad you enjoyed them.:smilie_flagge17:
C


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Here's another beauty caught Aug 1st at Island Lake CA on a Lunkerhunt tube bait. This one's a little smaller than the Professor's Lake Largemouth, but boy did she put up a fight!
I have stunned look on my face because my 7 year old is trying to figure out how to snap a pic on my cell phone LOL!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v95/gtrchris/islandlakebassAug1st.jpg


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

nice fish. the colors look healthy. was it shallow water?


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Hi cheezyridr, 
Yes she was a gorgeous olive green colour, much darker than the one I caught a P'sL, and yes it was shallow water-Island Lake ranges from very shallow to about 8 feet max.-it's a great pike lake as well.

We're just headin' up to Deerhurst for a few days, never fished there before, but I hear there's some good pike and bass fishing as well...should be a blast.:smile:
C


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)




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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

*August bass fishing*

Hey boys,
Here's some pics of a few bass I had the pleasure of catching in August(including one I caught this morning!)- each pic has a few details-when, where and the lure used.
Enjoy!
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v95/gtrchris/bass from summer of 2009/


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Never got out this weekend....crap!

Looks like you had some great luck and caught some nice fish. Where is that Proffesor lake?

I see your about to cook up that bass, how do you do it?


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

hi Bevo,
Yes, August has been a great month for catching fish, mostly because I've started waking up early to hit the lake-usually by 6am(I'm just one minute away from Professor's Lake) it's located in Bramalea on North Park Drive between Bramalea Rd and Torbram Rd. 
As I found out the biggest mistake I made all summer was to go fishing in the middle of the afternoon-my son and I still caught some nice fish but we would have done a lot better had we fished in the mornings and evenings-like most experienced fishermen do.kqoct
The pic of the fish in the kitchen is one I caught on vacation in Huntsville-the only reason why I brought him home as I wanted to snap a pic of him-it was pitch black outside at the time and I was planning on releasing him, but by the time I got him back it was too late. So, my wife ended up gutting and freezing him until our return home. Ideally it would have been better to cut the bass into fillets( removing most of the backbone), but we didn't have a sharp enough knife at the resort. Regardless, on our return my wife cut the whole fish into steak size portions and fired them in batter-it was really tasty I must say. But honestly I really have no idea how to cook fish!...ITF i'll have to invest some time into finding a few good fish recipes.
C

p.s.

While the fish was still alive and flopping around in the kitchen sink,my son and my two nieces fondly named him Benson. When they found out what had happened to Benson they gave him a full fledged funeral-including music and a eulogy to boot........Man, did I feel guilty!


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## John Bartley (Jul 23, 2009)

Ummm...yup, Jitterbugs are great, but for those who have enough self-discipline to NOT move the rod after casting, try a Hula-Popper just at dusk, close to shore near a weed bed. Cast to the edge of the weed bed and just let it sit......don't touch it for a whole minute, maybe longer. Once the ripples from the plug landing have cleared, gently take up the slack and give the plug just enough tug to make it pop ONCE.....then wait.......and do it again. If there's a bass in the weeds he'll try to inhale your popper.... My sweetheart and I used to do this in Mississippi Lake near Carleton Place - lots of fun!

cheers

John


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Nice to live so close to the water..hang on I live 1K from the resevior at Duffrin and Finch, wonder if there is any fish in there?

I feel for your kids, I am a bit of a Veggie and don't like meat..don't even like to kill spiders. I feel bad when my girls like to keep the fish, they always laugh at me and in stereo repeat after me "poor thing"

Going to look up that hula popper..thanks


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Yes indeed! Hula poppers are great..though lately I've been having good luck with a Heddon Torpedo-great surface plug.
Cheers
p.s.
I've heard Dufferin reserviour has great carp fishing- if you're into it you can catch a pile of them on cornmeal-they're great fighters!


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/LetsFish/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_165643.html

Found this cool site with all the local fishing spots around here. Looks like lots of fishing in Toronto!


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

gtrchris said:


> I've heard Dufferin reserviour has great carp fishing- if you're into it you can catch a pile of them on cornmeal-they're great fighters!


add in some maple syrup or pancake syrup to the cornmeal. 
in s. carolina they have what they call "pay ponds". i don't know if you have them here? they work like this :

fri nite, you drive to the pond and pay $20 ante up. every hour you pay a smaller fee to "stay in"

the pond pays for the biggest fish every hour, and for the biggest fish of the evening also for the most fish caught every evening. they only count the carp. it's a social thing like poker. a bunch of guys go on a fri or sat night, build a fire, roast hot dogs, drink beer and fish for carp. it can be pretty crowded sometimes. i once saw a guy go home with $800 total winings in a night. in 95 that was good money for a night of fishin and drinkin.


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

John Bartley said:


> Ummm...yup, Jitterbugs are great, but for those who have enough self-discipline to NOT move the rod after casting, try a Hula-Popper just at dusk, close to shore near a weed bed. Cast to the edge of the weed bed and just let it sit......don't touch it for a whole minute, maybe longer. Once the ripples from the plug landing have cleared, gently take up the slack and give the plug just enough tug to make it pop ONCE.....then wait.......and do it again. If there's a bass in the weeds he'll try to inhale your popper.... My sweetheart and I used to do this in Mississippi Lake near Carleton Place - lots of fun!
> 
> John, Thanks for the tips-just for kicks I threw on a hula popper early this morning, cast it out and let it sit there-not more than 5 seconds later this one smacked it hard.
> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v95/gtrchris/bass from summer of 2009/Sept1largemouthprofslake.jpg
> ...


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

You guys have to try deep sea fishing next time you go south.
i'm as amateur a fisherman as anyone, but after going deep sea fishing once in Miami a couple years ago, i'm totally spoiled for fishing in freshwater.
The boat guides down there really know what they're doing. My wife got the 48" barracuda I was after while I was battling seasickness-crazy sucker practically jumped into the boat. The 36" amberjack fought me every foot of the way up from 150' of water over a shipwreck. Pound for pound, they are one of the best fighters you'll get.









Man I was fat back then....


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

kksjur
Those are some nice fish-I'd love to get down south and catch a Barracuda or Amberjack. Congrats on the catch!
C


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## Bevo (Nov 24, 2006)

Nice fish guys and girl...

You look what I called married, not fat..momma is taking care of you at home!Nothing wrong with that, unless your sea sickness made you lose 50 pounds that trip...


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## gtrchris (Apr 1, 2007)

Was out at Creditview yesterday afternoon-there are 2 small ponds located up Hwy 10 south of HWY9. Caught two nice bass and 1 extra surprise!










Happy fishin'
C


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