Toronto Islands Pike Opener 2011

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you’ve probably read countless stories and reports from the Toronto Islands during pike season. Well, the season is upon us again my friends and I was lucky enough to get out early on opening day (saturday) and fish with Ed F in his brand spanking new Lund boat docked on the islands. We were on the water before 9 and hitting pike before 9:30. It was a truly amazing start to the season and I look forward to what should be an amazing fishing year!

This was a “trip of firsts”- the first pike fishing day of the year on the islands, my first fish landed this year, which was also the first fish landed in Ed’s new boat, and also the first fish I caught on a swimbait (a reaction strike slow sink Revolution Shad). That’s a lot of firsts for one fish! Even though swimbaits were working really well for me best lure of the day was still the Rapala Glidin’ Rap.

Also, we’re thinking about putting together a small gathering on the islands for all of our local readers so register for our forums and get involved! More photos from my trip after the break- all photos credited to Ed F.

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Rapid Evaporation of Boiling Water in Yellowknife (-30C)

People often ask how cold it gets in Canada, here in Toronto it’s not so bad, but in the Northwest Territories and in the Yukon it can be unbelievably cold. So cold that you could throw a cup of boiling water out your window and it would turn to snow before it even hit the ground.

Dave Mercer – Bassmaster Elite Emcee

B.A.S.S has announced their new official emcee, Toronto’s own- Dave Mercer! No doubt if you’re and avid reader on this blog you know who Dave Mercer is, and you’ve probably seen plenty of episodes of Facts of Fishing, or the FYI series. We’ll get ready to see a whole lot more of Dave next year as he is now the the new front man for Bassmaster Elite Series. I think this is a fantastic move for the Bassmaster series and a huge accomplishment for Dave. Congratulations Dave, we can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next year!

“We are so excited to bring Dave Mercer on board,” said Jerry McKinnis, an owner of B.A.S.S. “He has a tremendous following through his Facts of Fishing television show, and has a charisma I believe fishing fans are going to love.”

“This is a dream come true for me,” said Mercer. “At one time I used to dream about fishing the Bassmaster Classic. Then, after I fished with some of the Elite Series pros and realized how good they are, I altered my dream to emceeing the Classic! I never imagined it would become a reality.”

Dave’s first appearance will be at the Bassmaster Classic in New Orleans and can be seen on ESPN2, so mark your calendars!

via ESPN with more from Facts of Fishing

“BIG FISH” Artshow For Local Artist Charles Weiss

I first met Charles Weiss at the Toronto Sportsmens Show here in Toronto earlier in the year. Unfortunately due to my limited schedule I missed some good photos of his booth and showcasing some of his amazing work.

Charles is an artist in every respect, he creates amazing paintings of scenery, fish, illustrations, and perhaps most what most impressed me- his carvings of trophy fish over 40″ long!

If you’re in the Toronto or GTA and looking to see some wonderful fishing inspired artwork then I would highly recommend going to see this showing. Check out charlesweissart.com website for more great art.

Where: Bluffs Gallery 1859 Kingston RD. Scarborough, ON
When: November 4-16 (Mon-Fri 9 am – 5 pm / Sat. 11 pm – 4 pm )

Springwood Cottages

A few friends and I spent a weekend at Springwood Cottages in the Land O’ Lakes region of Ontario, about 4 hours from Toronto. This beautiful collection of cottages sit on the shores of Kennebec Lake, and deep and rocky lake home to Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Northern Pike, and Sunfish. Springwood offers affordable cottage resort getaways with something for the whole family, read my review for more information.

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Mystery Lake 2004

Mystery Lake is a secret location only a few hours from Toronto, this small private lake holds big Canadian bass, and some seriously mean muskellunge. Our good friend Mike Westlake has a cottage on this lake, and was nice enough to invite us along on multiple occasions throughout the season.

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