fri july 13 /sat july 14 /sun july 15

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fri july 13 harbourfront

Miguel and a father and son from hong kong and myself fish for 4 hours for carp.
Did not get skunked but you can call us Gobi Wan Knobi.
worse expectations had been high cause Vanna had hammered 3 carp out on thursday while i was at city council...and lost a couple.

sat july 14 don river and harboufront

i went to the mouth of the don river and fished for 6 hours i got one small carp 7lbs maybe
met Vanna and Miguel and the father and son and a mother and daughter all fishing harbourfront....again it was gobi land....no carp were caught .

Sun july 15 toronto islands and harbourfront

Vanna , Miguel and i go to Toronto islands....Miguels first time there....
we start at centre island pond, then the canal between centre and olympic...carp were there just not eating....no bass....we went over the bridge to the boat house then the church then snake island....we were frustrated to say the least...where now...its starting to rain lightly...
i decide that a tent would make for good cover and we should see if the rain gets worse b4 going anywhere....well as you all know the heavens openned up and dumped rain like fom a fire hose.....after the storm we went back to where we were fishing and there were three families of bowfin...yes Ken bowfin....the males were supervising their families of about 50 offspring each....the little ones would make like a fish ball or globe and swim tight together while dad guarded them....if things appeared safe the balls would unravel and the little ones would follow dad around ...they would hit the surface gulping down insects washed by the rain into the lake....i was fascinated and too blown away to really fish for them...
Vanna caught one of the adult males and we took pics and put him back....then we scooped up the smaller ones for a pic and put them back....then we just sat and watched....it was awesome.... after we walked towards wards island for the ferry...we saw a few lage 4 to 6 lb lg mouth bass cruising...but not fooled by our presentation skills.Miguel catches his first non gobi fish a perch .
we get to the ferry and they close the door as were 10 feet from it....we had to wait for an entire run....city union employees....anyhow politics aside we got back to the harbourfront and started carp fishing....wham i hammered off 9 gobies in 12 minutes....gobi wan kenobi
gobi hunter is my name.

i sightfish a monster top end 30 pounder...only to be called away as Vanna has a carp on....
he needs the net....i net it for him walk away find the carp....he has one on again ...this one he loses....i go back find my target...Vanna has another carp on and he lands this one....
i am frustrated that i a m the net guy now and not getting to fish....but i find my target again...she is such a monster that she's hard to miss....i get her to take and the battles on ...
i was having so much trouble keeping her in the slip and not having her run way out into the harbour....she was in control and i was along for the ride....the fight went 10 minutes and i was dragging her slowly to the wall...so i had passerbys get me help....as the guys aerrive with the net she takes another run and the hook lets go....i have obviously played her wrong in the final moments....the audience of about 40 people are frustrated with me too.
they wanted pics....they had watched her repeatedly pulled to the surface by me so they knew she was a monster....they did not like the fact she beat me ...but she certainly did...
15 minutes later i got another one on and landed her..... we went to put her back and a lady taking a pic stepped on me...a little distraction but enough that i lost focus...the carp burst forth and took the net with her....i was limited by a wire fence and could not reach her...she swam away with the net over her head....not to be seen again.....she was strongly swimming away but i fear she may not be able to free herself from the net....my net was short handled to carry around the islands alll day and my hands were covered in carp slime....but i failed to wrap the wrist cord around my wrist...lesson learned....we had a rod broke by Vanna as well....his third broken rod in two weeks...telescopic rods...crap. i told him it was legal to fish again and he didn't have to hide the fact he was fishing...but he likes his telescopic rods and they are part of his fishing identity as far as i see it.
so we ended fishing week with a bang....the hot weather seems to be challenging for us...
the rain a rebirth of fishing activity.
i have taken a couple days away from fishing....i smelled like fish...looked fishy and i think i was going a little fish crazy....too much heat,sun and bright light last week.
i will get out again soon.

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while trying to get the net back we caught and landed a tent from the harbour...go figure...

[MuskieBait]

If only I have an aquarium to keep one of the bowfins...

Bowfins and snakeheads act so much like each other...still amazed. Last year I saw a male guarding fry too. Very cool to watch. I don't have the heart to catch a guarding male anymore.

Very good carp fishing guys! Strangely, I never catch a carp from there...I must be doing something wrong...maybe I'll come learn from you two one of these days...after my trip I'll be available in mid-August.

[tangledline]

Vanna had never caught carp until june 13 of this year....now he is doing very well....he gets more hook ups then the rest of us ....but he is still losing many of the battles....obviously in part due to his insistence for using the telesccopic rods.....
he is awesome to fish with....he also feeds alot of birds from his hands....he is definitely in touch with the fish and birds....always observing their beauty and their activities....

he exudes passion and a love for fishing

[MikeH]

Blair and I encountered the same huge swarm of Bowfin on Saturday, in exactly the same place. I managed to hook one of the small ones using a 3/4 inch pink rubber shrimp dipped in cod liver oil. We watched them for about 30 minutes.

[jwm]

Wow amazing post! The photos of the young bowfin are fantastic! They look in perfect health and I'm glad to see them doing so well.