How did your soft water season go?

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River Monster
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How did your soft water season go?

Post by River Monster »

With the soft water fishing season slowly coming to end, I was just curious how everyone faired out. We had an interesting spring with very high waters and it seemed overall water temps seemed to be lower than average.

Personally I had and pretty decent season. I ended up getting 3 PB’s (walleye, musky and Bowfin). all PB’s three while targeting other species. And my first tiger Musky, it was tiny but still counts.

Bass fishing I found tough this year, had a few days with some good numbers, but for the first time in about 5-6 years I didn’t break 4lbs. (I did get one over 4 but it wasn’t in season so I don’t count that). I also fished the Rideau River which I find the bass are on average smaller than in the St. Lawrence.

Fished a tournament for a second year in a row only to finish with the exact same weight and same spot in standings.

I learned a few new techniques, learned a few new things, tried out some new equipment, met some new people, didn’t lose to many lures and had no injuries. I’m looking forward to doing it all again next year
- Rick Ozga
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lape0019
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by lape0019 »

Lol Rick,

We may have ended up in the same spot, but this year we won a leafblower and still managed to beat Shawn. The Dufour's managed to be a whole lot better this year though. And at least you caught more than one fish on tournament day this time.

I found it a tough go early in the season and the numbers were not as high as I would have liked. Since I fished. 90% of the time with you, I found it about the same.

I got to fish out of an Rt188 which was pretty sweet and also met up with a few new people from this forum. I am looking forward to getting a few more people out for a friendly fish next year.

The highlight for me this year fish wise was the PB Muskie I caught. I still can't figure out how I landed that on a 2 power Dobyns... And the other highlight was going bass fishing with my son. 2 nights in a row during our vacation we went out after dinner and put some nice fish in the boat. He had a blast and even told Grandpa he couldn't come. It was really funny since we were using his boat. I hope to get out a few more times with him next year. He seems to have the patience to spend more than a few hours bass fishing now so I imagine it will happen more often.

All in all, I can't complain.

Adam
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tbone1088
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by tbone1088 »

Well it was a season of highs and lows for me. I found the bass and walleye fishing to be difficult this year. Spring time was especially tough, the fish just weren't where I expected or hoped they would be. Musky fishing however, has been awesome so far. last season there were too many blowups near lures and not enough hookups, so this year I decided to stick with larger lures and impart less action on my baits. Bingo! Hooked into about 20 or so pike this year, 3 muskies in 4 trips,and landed 2 of them(Next year I work on actually CATCHING the fish.... LOL) All musky were in spots that get crazy stupid fishing pressure so I am proud of those numbers for sure. I'm hoping the fall walleye run will pick up, the numbers are nowhere near what they were last year, or the sizes for that matter. Both the rideau and the ottawa rivers are running much higher than usual for this time of year, I think this is scattering the fish along the shorelines and pushing them in so shallow that they spook easily and are hard to catch.Hopefully the water drops and the fish come back... when I find the mother lode you guys will be the first to know lol ;) :) :)
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Jimmy_1
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by Jimmy_1 »

It was real hard to get out for me this season.

With a new baby in January and 3 other kids and lots of family and other commitments it was tough.

I did manage some nice carp out of the Rideau (even getting Fishin Mission on his first one!)
Got out a few times with Dano, always a good time and a stellar guy! I managed a 46" musky on an outing with him.

Looking forward to ice season Dano!

I caught my PB gar from shore. Lucked out with a 48"

The other handfuls of times I got out was very uneventful. Spent time washing lures as I had only a 2-3 hour window and was relegated to shore.

Hoping 2015 will be better, more adventures and the chance to wet a line with some folks I haven't had a chance to but am dying to get out with!
(They know who they are!)
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TheMaverick
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by TheMaverick »

A hard season it was,
Lessons in humility learned,
Never take your time on the water for granted,
Make the best of every outing.

The fishing was somewhat of a rollercoaster ride,
Bites far in between on hot sunny days,
Fluctuating water levels made rivers puzzling dilemmas,
With the occasional overcast days producing never ending strikes.

The other side of the coin,
Team 28 won’t ignore that Fish-Hawk has been very active,
New members constantly joining with valuable input,
Old members making appearances,
New friendships, with more to come.

Looking forward to 2015…..I don’t walk on ice, time to buy!
If fishin ain't your mission, then you can kiss my Bass!
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lapointeric
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by lapointeric »

I spent the majority of the spring/summer taking care of our newest member of the family.

I did manage to sneak out once or twice in the kayak, just for sanity, didn't catch much, not even worth mentioning.

THEN I finally got out in the fall.... caught my PB walleye, and 2 hours later shattered that PB with a beast of a walter. Made up for the entire lost fishing season.

Hope you guys all had a great year.

E
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Oneeleven
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by Oneeleven »

Well after finding FH while searching Google for urban areas to shore-fish, my summer exploded. I'm so glad I found this site and it's members, and the knowledge I've gained, and friendships that have developed, are invaluable. <3

To think - back in June, I had no idea what a 'plastic' was, and didn't even know what a lunker was :mrgreen:

Now that I've mastered the palomar knot, learned the difference between 'wacky-style', and 'texas rigged', how to pitch, (working on this one..) work the weedline, work a trolling motor, and discovered a penchant for braid and a baitcaster over mono and spinning gear, my fishing-love has taken over my life a tad. (I'm sure you all know what I'm talking about.... :? )

My wallet has sure felt many-a-bite this softwater season; :( but it was all worth it. Not all days were fruitful (The Rideau hates me - this I know...) but some were just truly amazing, exciting and I loved every single second. Fish-feast or famine - rain or shine.

Is it Springtime yet? I just can't wait 8)
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fishin mission
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by fishin mission »

I did manage some nice carp out of the Rideau (even getting Fishin Mission on his first one!)
Got out a few times with Dano, always a good time and a stellar guy! I managed a 46" musky on an outing with him.

Looking forward to ice season Dano!
Ya Jimmy and thanks for the first carp for me had a blast and thanks for the compliment i always enjoyed your company and look forward to taming the big girls this winter at lake x The 46" musky was a sweet finish to that day! Bring on the ice!,,,,DANO

My season consisted of my first carp with Jimmy at canal x lol and a 26 pounder from the st-lawrence river ,first gar pike,first salmon (16lbs) and several good outings most memorable ones were the days where the water was like glass didn't do so well on the bass this year but never really targeted them a lot. Got some good walleye numbers this year more than previous years.
Had a few outings on the Ottawa river and saw on 2 occasions pike in the 20 lb range one tried to take my bass away from me lol was an amazing sight played him for a bit with a bass that looked like chopped meat after he was done with it.My season came to an abrupt end last weekend when some douche bag decided to rip the outboard off the back of my boat even though i had a motor lock and 2 chains on it so if you are running that motor and i see you on the water and recognize my marking that only myself would know i pitty you buddy because you will be reading about me in the front page of the Sun "Thief drowned by man who got his outboard stolen"........will be on the water this weekend one last kik at the can then ,,,,ice ice baby!!,,,,DANO
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Jimmy_1
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by Jimmy_1 »

You know Dano,

I am getting hitched on a rainbow stocked lake on the QC side next summer.

I'm sure yourself and other lads will bring boats with electric motors only and try a few casts.

LOL!

Not me...wifey would KILL me.

Headline "Angry wife disembowels angler husband on wedding day"
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almontefisher
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by almontefisher »

Jimmy_1 wrote:You know Dano,

I am getting hitched on a rainbow stocked lake on the QC side next summer.

I'm sure yourself and other lads will bring boats with electric motors only and try a few casts.

LOL!

Not me...wifey would KILL me.

Headline "Angry wife disembowels angler husband on wedding day"

That could be true Jimmy but you would at least have one last fish with a smile on your face.

As for my season it was one of my best in years I think. Caught many many bass in many many different lakes and different sizes. I dont think I was skunked in any outing I was on or either was my boat and that is always my end goal of every outing. Had a new PB Smallie at just over 5lbs, biggest largie was almost 5lbs and caught many pike this year with the biggest at 37". Not one musky, walleye, perch and only a handful of trout this summer season. Focused mainly on the bass cause you know its all about the bass....

Biggest thing this year for me was having the pleasure of taking a few people out fishing that do not see a boat often or this area of Lanark County..had many a good chuckles and will never forget the massive perch Lili caught during the F-H get together..that thing was huge!!. And of course the awesome f-h BOVT which will continue I think into a FHBOIFE or ( fish hawk board only ice fishing event ).

Cheers all and tight lines for next season and fast auger blades for the upcoming hardwater season!! BRING IT ON!!
Fishing isn't a matter of life and death....
It's much more important.

ORWL
RJ
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by RJ »

Some weeks good, some weeks great! We're very lucky to be set up in Eastern Ontario to explore so many options as the seasons move along.

One thing I would say was down was the Laker fishing in comparison to prior years but I did only spend 3 days on em all season.

RJ
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zippyfx
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by zippyfx »

I had a good season.. My focus was to target multiple species... In total I had 25 Ontario and Quebec species (including micros); 11 of which were lifers. I also caught 8 salt water species this summer.

Things I was happiest with:
- 53 inch sturgeon out of Montreal (about 30 lbs) (lifer)
- 17 lb carp out of long Sault (personal best)
- 9 lb channel catfish (Personal best) out of the madawaska
- great sculpin; just a neat fish
- quillback rockfish another neat fish
- redhorse silver and short; been waiting for those for a while; I find mangage a nice 4lb silver

Things I missed out on:
- longnose gar
- greater redhorse
- salmon; I missed the window this year but next year for sure
- more pike & musky; I did not spend much time targeting them this year bug I got a couple of outings left so maybe one will payoff

I got the variety I wanted but missed the size of some of the species.

I have BoQ trip planed in two weeks maybe I'll get a PB walleye and best my 8 1/2 lbs.
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Brian
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by Brian »

My season went pretty well. Certainly I boated more fish (and better fish) this year than last. Quantity was very high for most of the season with quality being sporadic as usual. I was pretty excited for opening Bass, as I started to make my own plastics and scents over the winter. They seemed to work quite well. Things slowed down a few weeks ago and the last couple of outings were all quality fish and low quantity.

In retrospect, I could have gotten out fishing a lot more if I wasn't such a fair weather person. Perhaps I'll be more tolerant of the rain next season... we shall see.

The best day (ever) I had was actually in the spring, Pike fishing with a buddy... we got rained on 4 times, but each boated over 30 pike in the day, in various sizes. As a bonus, the same day we hit a school of plate sized Crappie... we kept a few for dinner:

2042

I fished a lot of lakes that I hadn't been on before as I've only been back into fishing for two full summers now. Still lots to try in keeping within my 1hr each way driving limit.

It was certainly a season to remember!
- Brian
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Mick
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by Mick »

I had a great season. Started out targeting walleye opening weekend at Cardinal which was new water for me. First time out wasn't so hot but I did figure them out and managed to get some nice fish. I go on two guy's weekend events a season - both targeting walleye. Our first event was in June and we managed to do quite well on the numbers. That trip resulted in big walleye for me and a 90 dollar bottle of scotch as a prize :D Eventually moved on to bass fishing. Did well everywhere I went except the Ottawa river out of Rockland which is my personal nemesis (god I hate that place :evil: ). The best outing of the year was a trip to Muskrat where our 5 best fish weighed a little over 20 pounds. What a day that was!!! On the fall guy's walleye weekend I had 70 walleye visit the boat in one day which is a new vessel record....not bad for 2.5 hours from Ottawa - you don't have to go way north to pull those kind of numbers off. I didn't manage to fish any shootout events this year but did make it to RJ's megabucks event. We didn't win any money but we had an OK day numbers wise with a couple of low 3s being our best. Lots of fun had there. Still hoping to get out one more time to the Larry, hopefully the weather co-operates this weekend.
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Re: How did your soft water season go?

Post by Moosebunk »

Still going... but da Bunk hit a Funk! :?

Spring was weird. :lol: What little walleye, steelie, laker and crappie fishing was done was poorer this year than last, but still OK. Gar was good though, but the 50's were a little skinnier this year from last. Summer was incredible!!! Just a Laker Bonanza. Pushing 300 of 'em with a couple dozen over 20 pounds and a new PB. Slave and Athabasca and Nipigon in one season, 22 days of sunrise to sunset fishing. Fall has been kinda tough and can't seem to get things going. Plenty days to fish in the short weeks to come though, hopefully something changes.
River Monster wrote:I learned a few new techniques, learned a few new things, tried out some new equipment, met some new people, didn’t lose to many lures and had no injuries. I’m looking forward to doing it all again next year
Right there with ya too bud. You look at the season in that sense and anyone and everyone doing the same had a great year.
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