Sorry have been away ice fishing,   as for the Blue fox spinners we had most of our success trolling and using the  Silver blade blue body,    red blade blue body and had success on a north westerly lake with silver blade pink body but feel the success was due to the fact the lake has rainbow smelt in them and the pink body on the blade resembled the smelt.       most of our trolling is done with me paddling and my son sitting at the front of the canoe,  only time he helps is when it gets windy,   we have found this to be the perfect speed.         not sure if it is because of springtime but I seem to have a lot of success ( for other species as well as trout ) with a lure with Blue in it for springtime fishing.      have also had great success    ( one lake in particular ) getting into about 15' of water and casting a jig and grub and reeling in dead slow along the bottom and getting hit after hit,   also all trout at hooked in the top of the jaw, only 1 hook so easy release.   from what I can tell there is a bug hatch going on and the trout feel this grub is either a leech or a minnow in feeding on the bug hatch.

Sterrr wrote:

Brook Trout 
19.5" May 2009

I like this.
It looks like you were just taking some casts from shore at camp to kill some time and you got yourself a nice square tail out of it!

31" walleye cedar lake 2015 caught on a chartreuse jig tipped with a salted minnow

Those are some beauties!  Those walleye are fantastic - that's a relatively rare fish down where I'm from so they really impress.

I can't imagine tying in to a 22 pound laker in a canoe...that must have been an epic battle.  How long did it take from when it was hooked to get it in the net?  And kudos for releasing something that majestic!

vanslyke wrote:

Lenny wrote:

I agree with Swedishpimple about naming lakes in public forums. I talked to a lad when I was up in Barrys Bay ice fishing who told me the secret to ice fishing in algonquin park is to drill close to shore so you can hide when you hear a plane coming.

 
Wow! That ticks me off. And then the same people who poach and harvest illegally complain that lakes "just arent what they used to be"...no kidding! Hopefully the new generation of anglers has a better attitude towards protecting our fisheries.

I spent quite a bit of time around the Kiosk access point this passed winter and you wouldn't believe the amount of people accessing the interior via snowmobile down the old rail bed. Some days in Jan/Feb when I went out there there would be 8+ trucks parked at the access all with empty double snowmobile trailers attached. Some went across the lakes (presumably to Manitou/Three Mile etc). Curiosity got the best of me and I looked on the dashboards of a couple of the vehicles and not a single one ever had any sort of 'permit' or 'status card'? Whats stopping anyone from doing this? Never once did I see Ontario Parks or M.N.R. out there..? 

Last edited by ATVenture (4/18/2017 8:53 am)

breed85 wrote:

ATVenture wrote:

Whats stopping anyone from doing this? Never once did I see Ontario Parks or M.N.R. out there..? 

If there is no one policing. There is no one to stop it.
I would recommend calling the MNR in the future and taking photos of the vehicles and license plates...

I absolutely second this. MNR is spread so thin in this province that their most effective means of policing is through other anglers and hunters reporting violations. I've reported a few instances to them in the past, and in my experience they have been grateful for the information and followed up with me in regards to the outcome.

ATVenture wrote:

The thing is I personally know a few of these people that legitimately ice fish in the interior (Algonquin natives). so I know at least ONE of these vehicles was a legitimate status card holder that snowmobiles in and fishes for Lake Trout. I know his group only use two holes per person and use normal ice fishing rods (which they are legally aloud to do). What I am un-sure of is the laws regarding permits.. Obviously they need to keep their cards on them at all times incase they get stopped in the back country, but what about vehicles? If they have no information on their dashboards who's to say they aren't a non-status holder camping or fishing illegally? Maybe the M.N.R. / Ontario Parks has a licence plate database of all the natives who fish in the winter so they can match them up that way?
I have never actually seen all these people leaving from the access, I only see their vehicles/snowmobile tracks.
All I know is all of the gates are left wide open all winter long.

I would still call the MNR if people are adhering to the rules and regulations then they have nothing to worry about should they be stopped or questioned by the MNR.
What if there is someone who is there just because they see others there.
Theyre not legally permitted to be doing what theyre doing but think its ok to do so because others are doing it.
This doesnt make their actions lawful and their knowledge of the regulations is their responsibility.
The least youd be doing is deterring those who are committing illegal acts on our natural resources from doing so in the future (hopefully).

The MNR is spread thin and they do rely and followup on others like you and I who report illegal or suspicious activity.