Perchin For MS: Fishing For a Cure

Perchin For MS is a fishing tournament where not only everyone is a winner, but where your time and money will go to a serious cause. Each team paid a $40 entry fee – half of which goes towards the Multiple Sclerosis Walk in their name, and the other half goes towards the prizes. The first event was held earlier this year on Lake Simcoe and was huge a huge success, and we want to see an even bigger turn out this year! I highly recommend that more people come out next year or donate, there really is no greater higher prize than helping other people in need.

Perchin for MS Fishing Derby was a huge success this year. In its first year, we drew in 78 teams from all over Ontario and the United States and raised $4000.00 for MS Research and Awareness!
Next year we hope to make it bigger and better. We will be promoting bigger and better this year and attending the sports show and using our website.

The tournament was more than just about the fish or the weather however. “I started this event because I wanted to promote education and awareness around MS and I thought what better way to do that than through a fishing derby.” As an avid angler and Conservation Officer who lives with MS daily, Poirier knows firsthand about its limitations, but says that unless you have a friend or relative with it, people seldom have a good understanding of the disease. “The goal of the event was also to raise a bit of money for MS and I am pleased to announce that thanks to some generous monetary donations we raised almost $4,000 that will go directly to the MS Society of Canada,” said Poirier.
Although most anglers who fished the MS Perch Fundraiser were from the GTA, others came from Owen Sound and Niagara in the west to Muskoka and Halliburton in the north and east to Ottawa. There were even some anglers from the US. Many were hard core competitive anglers who look for competitions like this to test their skills. Others were recreational ice anglers who enjoy meeting others in a fun-filled event where proceeds go to a worthwhile cause.

Not only did anglers come out in force to support the fundraiser, but so too did sponsor and individual support. “The prizes supplied by companies and individuals far exceeded my expectations. Our community really showed the true meaning of “Community” with the way they all came together to sponsor this event!” said Poirier.

Perchin for MS

Gallery Updates – Mystery Lake

In keeping with my promise to get on a schedule of updating the gallery I’ve added some 70+ photos to the Mystery Lake 2004 album, which should complete one of the greatest bass fishing galleries you’ll ever see. I’ve included three enticing photos below. Don’t forget you can comment on individual images!

View all 86 images of “Mystery Lake 2004″…

PS- I will be posting a 2010 contributor contest entry tomorrow morning!

Koppers LIVETARGET Smelt: First Impressions

I don’t think that anyone will argue that Koppers LIVETARGET lures are some of the most realistic lures on the market. Lets face it, not all lures are created equal. If you placed this lure beside any of its competition, I’d be willing to bet most fishermen would choose the LIVETARGET lure simply because it just looks better. So the big question is, do these lures just catch fishermen, or do they catch fish too?

Continue reading “Koppers LIVETARGET Smelt: First Impressions”…

Stubby Steve’s Artificial Fish Food Lure: First Impressions

Stubby Steve’s Artificial Fish Food Lure is the first ever, that I know of, lure designed to be an exact replica of a fish food pellet. You might think that sounds a little silly given all the different kinds of lures out there with photo realistic patterns, holographic eyes, and laser etched fins on modern lures. But Steve’s quick to point out that each year billions of fish are grown and distributed across the United States alone, and the vast majority of these fish are raised on fish food pellets. Think of Stubby Steve’s Artificial Fish Food like you would mom’s famous meat loaf, or whatever your favorite meal might be, and you haven’t had any for years. The next fish that passes your bait could be a short chum line away from your photo album!

These Stubby Steve’s look promising, they’re 100% biodegradable which I know we all love and appreciate in a lure. I’ve got about 10 packages which should make for quite a few rounds of testing, and hopefully some leftovers to giveaway to you. I think they’ll be a great bait here in Ontario for salmon, trout, panfish, carp, catfish, even bass. I especially like the idea that it can be combined with traditional lures to make them more effective. I’ll be putting them to the test in the next week or two and will report back with a full review!

Toronto Sportsmen’s Show: Swimbait Spoils

Today at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show I did some shopping and registered for a new fishing license. I found some pretty great deals all around, for example right now you can pick up a Quantum Cabo PT baitcaster for only 150 bucks! Unfortunately for me they’re all right handed. I highly recommend that you check out the show this weekend before all the best tax-free deals are gone. I did however spend some time culling the shops for the best swimbait deals. In the photo below you’ll find about 160 dollars or so worth of hot new swimbaits!

Pictured above (left to right): Storm Kickin’ Stick 5″ and 6″ fire tiger pattern, Storm Kickin’ Stick 6″ chrome perch pattern, Koppers Blueback Herring 5.5″ silver blue and silver green, Koppers Blueback Herring 4.5″ silver blue and silver green, Sebile Magic Swimmer 5″ smallmouth pattern. Bottom: Reaction Strike Revolution Shad 5″

USA Wins The Ice Fishing World Championships!

That’s right the US managed to keep their lead on day one to complete the two-day World Ice Fishing Championships. This is the first time the USA has managed to snag the victory and it couldn’t have come at a better time or on a better lake.

You can check out WIFC’s website for the the official WIFC results and Go North Photos for some event shots.

Obviously, the USA contingent had the home advantage as some members fished Boom Lake last year in the North American Ice Fishing Circuit (NAIFC) competition. They all knew how crappies, perch and bluegills bite. The European contestants had never seen these species until this weekend.

After Sunday’s weigh-in, Mike Boedeker of Lansing, Mich., figured he was in contention for the bronze in individual honors. He had eight fish, all crappies, on Sunday. He used a Fiska glow jig both days. He fished with the USA team last year in WIFC competition held in Poland. The typical target fish were golden shiner- and smelt-type species, he said.

Myron Gilbert, a USA team member from Brooklyn Mich., was understandably ecstatic about the win. No matter where the other teams finished, he said, they will all remember the warm reception Rhinelander gave them. “They were big-eyed” after participating in the downtown parade and seeing the thousands of well-wishers, he noted.

His key to scoring fish was to keep moving when there was no bite for a time. It’s not unusual for him to drill hundreds of holes during other tournaments where power augers are allowed. USA team members shared information gained from pre-tournament fishing the areas immediately around the zones when power augers and graphs were allowed

via Rhinelander Daily News