Muskoka Lakes, Ontario

#catch26 #catch2026 ***NEW PB/FAVOURITE SPECIES ALERT!*** #catch26 #catch2026 ***NEW PB/FAVOURITE SPECIES ALERT!*** HOLY ****! Was just fishing for bass this morning. Was a great morning with one smallie and a couple of rock bass but just then at the weedy area, thought I was caught on some lilies until a big surprise happen by pulling alone. Turns out, this beast of a gator pulled and I was totally caught off guard scared of losing this pike on a dropshot rig. Thank the Lord for landing this apex predator of the lake despite the rough process. Even scarier, given it never wanted to give up easily, it tired to nearly bite me and almost successfully. Yet, I finally beat my previous PB (which is 2.25 lbs) from last year by measuring it to 3.18 lbs (if you remove the net weight). Overall, one of the best mornings I ever had by surprise when it was just a chill and fun morning turned into a big event with this beautiful yet bada*s creature. Safely release and swam strong. Very speechless by the time of posting this. Also some bonus catches prior to this incident during dawn sunrise.

#catch26 #catch2026 Note: this post was from yesterday evening during my first day here on my overnight trip on a Muskoka 5 star hotel. Another bass bites the dust. Kicked bass once again with another smallie. Was slow this late afternoon but before leaving at end of 6pm, manage to figure out how to catch em. Will be going for canoe/kayak fishing tomorrow once more and see if I can catch my first ever pickerel/walleye or a bonus lake trout and pike as an alternative. First time here in this new lake in Muskoka at my hotel dock.

Small catch on lake Muskoka

Ol' lake Joe recovered from it's heat stroke on Canada Day and showed me it's true potential this Sunday. There were smallies everywhere, numerous small ones near shore, but many chonkers roaming the open lake. I started the day going a different route and very quickly found fish eager to eat. A few dinks to dispel the skunk later, I moved on to deeper waters to search for lake trout, the main reason I drove over 2hrs. The first big mark I saw turned out to be a decent smallie that showed zero hesitation and slammed the Gshadz. As I scanned the waters traveling between notable features, I found some large marks cruising above a bowl. After trying what I had tied on without connecting, I tried tossing a wacky rig senko. It felt ridiculous to do this over 50ft of open water but the different presentation drew a lot of action! I immediately had the larger bruisers fighting over it and a bite happened so quickly I didn't get a good hook set. These fish are so smart that they almost always immediately go for the surface to jump. I managed to land a couple of decent ones, but lost what looked to be a 4-5lb smallie... Action for the rest of the day tapered off with some more dinks as my FF showed more than 27C/81F

Main event on Ol' lake Joe! New species unlocked finally! After paying through the nose for parking at Simcoe and getting skunked, and whiffing my shot on Canada Day, I have finally caught a dream species, albeit small specimens. With these guys being so small, it was no wonder the big swimbaits I had only had their tails nibbled last time. Ned rig came in clutch again! Next stop, Simcoe laker large enough to weigh.