Muskoka Outdoors Network

So, there I was, loading my all my fishing gear into our aluminum boat, when grandpa walked onto the dock with a slight glimmer in his eye. He asked if he could go with me this time. Without hesitation, I said sure. He smiled as he said, “Let me get my gear.”

I was looking forward to using some of my new ‘birthday money funded’ tackle.

When he returned, I noticed he only carried an old, lime green, fibreglass, fishing rod and a matching metal tackle box. As he stepped into the boat, he placed his antique gear (at least it was to me) beside my huge 6 tiered tackle box. He whispered some kind of ‘smart’ comment about my gear under his breath and proceeded to laugh about it.  I didn’t bother to ask him what he said. It was nice to have him along.

After we pulled away from the dock I asked him where he wanted to go. As if anticipating my question, he suggested we look for a shoal that he had not trolled over for many years. He pointed to a general direction across the lake and I cranked the throttle on my 15 HP Evinrude.

“I don’t recall exactly where it is but I will tell you when to stop.” he said.

I remember thinking that this could get very interesting…

Sure enough, after a few minutes, he told me to slow down. His eyes were double checking some points on the the shore and correlating them with some points from an old memory.

The fact that we were in middle of lake did not seem to worry him.

“Let’s troll here.” he said as he reached for his tackle box. When the lid flipped over in his box. I laughed inside. All he had was a rusty Williams Wobbler that would would run shallow in the depths I thought we were in. He snapped it onto his aged leader and casted behind the boat to start his troll.

I reciprocated his tackle selection by opening up my tackle box and picking out a large-lipped, Sinking, chartreuse Rapala and casted behind the boat. I left the shallow running spoon section closed in my box. This lure was going to go deep because I ‘knew’, at these depths, a spoon would not cut it.

That’s when the lesson began.

Grandpa started moving his fishing rod back and forth at random intervals.

“The fish will strike the lure when my rod is moving toward the back of the boat”, he said.  Intrigued, I started doing the same thing.

Suddenly, it hit hard and fast. That old shoal grabbed a hold of my lure and did not let go, Within seconds my line had snapped and the smell of reel grease permeated the air. An expensive birthday lure was now lost to the lurking shallows of a hidden shoal.  Grandpa started laughing and started to bring in his line.

“I should check it for weeds”, he said

His spoon only had a small weed fragment on it. Like it had just grazed the tops of the weeds on his shoal. He looked at little disappointed.

“It seems to be shallower than I remember”, he exclaimed.

I swear he was trying to rub it in.

After he had casted his line out again, I opened my tackle box and meekly put on a Williams Wobbler. Grandpa continued to show me some trolling techniques over his shoal. We did not catch any fish but it was time well spent.  Several years later I returned to the general area with a fish finder.

I have yet to find Grandpa’s shoal.

The hardest part about fishing is waiting for the fish to bite. Most times, the fish don't have to show up for a fishing moment to be remembered. Fishing can be great because of the people your share the moment with.

CTV's annual fishing derbies will take place across 5 Northern Ontario communities this year.  Entries cost $100 per hole and this allows the ice fishing anglers the opportunity to win big cash prizes and outdoor equipment. Last year's Elliot Lake winner won $20,000!

CTV Ice-fishing Derbies are to be held in:

Timmins on Feb. 19 - on Porcupine and South Porcupine Lakes

Temiskaming Shores (New Liskeard) on Feb. 26  - on Lake Temiskaming

Elliot Lake on February 26 - on Elliot Lake

Temagami on March 12 - on Net Lake

Kapuskasing on March 12 - on Flemi Lake

Follow this link to download ice fishing derby registration forms from CTV

Ontario families (and Canadian residents) can fish license free in Ontario this weekend.  This happens only twice a year and there may be special fishing events occurring in your area. Visit the Ontario Family Fishing Weekend (OFFW) events page for more information.

The closest event to the Muskoka area is the 6th Annual Ice Fishing Tournament on Kempenfelt Bay in Barrie.  The details are as follows:

Date: February 19, 2011 (12:00pm-3:00pm)

Location: Kempenfelt Bay

Host: Simcoe County Canadian Home Builders Association

Details: PRIZES IN EXCESS OF $50, 000!

Registration Fee: $85 (INCLUDES HST)

Contact Sheila via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call (705) 728-5030

Visit the event's website to view a full list of prizes or to register

Join Orillia's Trombly's Tackle Box for their 23rd Annual Outdoor and Fishing show this weekend, April 8-10 2011. Visit their hunting and fishing store and interact with outdoor gear representatives to talk about what's new in 2011. It is their biggest weekend of the year and you might walk away with a deal because many items are sale priced!

Follow this link to visit Trombly's website for their sale flyer.

Trombly's Tackle Box
595 West Street South
Orillia, Ontario
L3V 5H7
Tel:705-327-3474
  Fax:705-327-1440

Find Ontario's best fishing lakes with stocking information - fast! Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources has recently released a new and highly informative fishing website. You are going to want to check it out.

Within seconds of visiting the new site, I was able to search for my favourite area lakes and check to see if there is any stocking information available. With the new system, Ontario anglers will be able to target and look for potential lakes to fish (using a familiar google maps interface), find fishing license issuer locations, purchase online licenses, find lake access points, review area-specific fishing regulations and more.

I am very excited about this tool. With the site's vast amount of specific fishing details, new anglers should be able to find lakes, with the species they want to fish, without having to rely on information from seasoned anglers (who sometimes give out little information). Making it easier for all anglers to find the information they need could act as a catalyst advance sport fishing in Ontario for generations to come.

Nice work Ontario MNR!

A sunset is often better than the fishing in Northern Ontario. Photo taken on Long’s Lake in Englehart.

Butt Lake.

Not exactly the best name for a lake. You had to pick your words carefully when trying to explain to others where you were fishing.

Strange name aside, this Algonquin Park Lake sported some excellent lake trout fishing and beautiful scenery. It also holds a hidden gem. Actually, it was more of a diamond in the rough. In a deep bay of Butt Lake you will find (or at least you could when I was a kid) a piece of fishing structure, we called,

The Stump.

The stump was an old, gnarly pine log that stood vertical (and somehow anchored) in the dark depths of lake’s bay. Only about a 12 to 18 inches (depending on the water level) of the wooden marker was out of the water and after spending some time just off it’s trunk you would find out why the lonely icon grew on you.

One reason was that the fishing at the stump was fantastic. It was always a sure thing. I remember as a kid watching fish after fish rise from the dark fathoms of its branches. They were like flashes of bright silver dodging ‘in and around’ the foreboding branches. Occasionally, the stump would remind us of his reign over the fish in it’s territory. Echoes of disappointment would ring out across the lake as the big fish always seemed to get hung up somewhere in the deep, branch-filled waters. I would not be surprised if its branches were decorated with rusty jigs and spoons.

The second (and most important ) reason why the stump meant so much to many anglers was the natural way it would draw anglers or every race and creed in close proximity to it’s fish filled branches. It was not uncommon to see 8 – 10 canoes anchored by the stump.

Everyone got along.

Nobody cared how close the other anglers were in their canoes. Nobody got mad or claimed ownership of the clear fishing waters.

Fishing with everyone there was fun!

It seems to me, the World needs more stumps. Something that draws people together with a common focus and with exciting rewards.

I propose World Fishing Day for 2011 be held at ‘the stump’. Invite your grumpy neighbour or upset warlord.

*For those of you checking your Algonquin Park maps for Butt Lake - its name has since been changed to Ralph Bice Lake.

Plan your next fishing trip to Muskoka, Haliburton or Parry-Sound with these 2011 fish stocking lists from the Ontario MNR. Download the PDF's to see if your favourite lake has recently been stocked.

Download the Bracebridge area fish stocking list here (includes Huntsville Lakes)

Download the Haliburton area fish stocking list here

Download the Parry-Sound area fish stocking list here

For more details on more Ontario lakes, you can also use the Ontario MNR's online fishing map tool. It is helpful in confirming what fish species are found (and stocked) in lakes you may have never fished before. Use the map system by following this link.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources have recently released the 2011 fishing regulations. Take some time to download and look through this year's regulations. Follow this link to view the regulations in PDF format on your computer.

To coincide with this year's regulation release, a video (below) summarizing how to use easily navigate the regulation document.  The regulations have been known to be 'wordy' instead of practical.