I can't even put into words what an amazing 3 days of fishing I had this Victoria Day Long Week-End ...Totally made up for the fishing that never occurred on my Birthday. I spent most of last year using lures trying to catch BIG FISH and I totally forgot how fun 
and exciting it can be to use worms and a bobber and catch some feisty panfish. In my attempt to get my OFAH (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters) Avid Angler Award this year from their Ontario Angler Awards Program (you need to land a minimum 5 different species of fish from their list that are a minimum length of their requirements - thus why you'll see a measuring tape above the fish in many of my photos) I decided to start SMALL and get the "easy ones" out of the way and help build my numbers....so out came the bobber and worms this week-end and the FUN! So PANFISH is what I wanted and panfish is what I received ....much to my delight !
and exciting it can be to use worms and a bobber and catch some feisty panfish. In my attempt to get my OFAH (Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters) Avid Angler Award this year from their Ontario Angler Awards Program (you need to land a minimum 5 different species of fish from their list that are a minimum length of their requirements - thus why you'll see a measuring tape above the fish in many of my photos) I decided to start SMALL and get the "easy ones" out of the way and help build my numbers....so out came the bobber and worms this week-end and the FUN! So PANFISH is what I wanted and panfish is what I received ....much to my delight !On Saturday my husband suggested a location just outside of Smiths Falls in Jasper at the Kilmarnock Lock and after my line hit the water I realized this would absolutely start to be one of my 
new HONEY HOLES (OK...this term makes me giggle..but it is what it is...and this is a Honey Hole :). We ended up heading out later then anticipated due to getting some home stuff done...and I was a bit worried that we'd missed the prime of the day...1pm is a bit late....OR is it? We started on the upside of the lock and we could see panfish everywhere right at the doors to the lock so quickly the worms went on and in went the line...it took approximately 1 minute for the first fish to attach itself to my line and thus began an afternoon of excitement. That first fish was a fantastic Black Crappie that measured almost 11"and was absolutely big enough to become a notch for my avid angler awards, which set the day off to a wonderful start. I spent the next 3 hours of the afternoon LOVING the beautiful sun after so many days of rain and catching 18 additional panfish including Pumpkinseed and Bluegill.
new HONEY HOLES (OK...this term makes me giggle..but it is what it is...and this is a Honey Hole :). We ended up heading out later then anticipated due to getting some home stuff done...and I was a bit worried that we'd missed the prime of the day...1pm is a bit late....OR is it? We started on the upside of the lock and we could see panfish everywhere right at the doors to the lock so quickly the worms went on and in went the line...it took approximately 1 minute for the first fish to attach itself to my line and thus began an afternoon of excitement. That first fish was a fantastic Black Crappie that measured almost 11"and was absolutely big enough to become a notch for my avid angler awards, which set the day off to a wonderful start. I spent the next 3 hours of the afternoon LOVING the beautiful sun after so many days of rain and catching 18 additional panfish including Pumpkinseed and Bluegill.
On our way home we decided to check out another location that had been touted to my husband, by a connection, as a very sweet spot for fishing..so we stopped at Edmonds Lock. It was a beautiful spot and FULL of potential. After checking out the top of the Lock I went over to the drop looking down to the bottom and literally squealed out (hey..there are some girly traits I just can't help ) as I could see TONS of HUGE fish swimming at the bottom of the lock...(bigger then any fish I'd ever seen close up)....these guys were 30-50lbs EASY! After some speculation and research with my trusty Ontario fishing print out..it appeared we had come upon a large group of CARP. We left inspired to see such HUGE fish close up and determined to do some research on Carp fishing and return on Monday (as it was a long week-end :). Monday came quickly (after a belated birthday get together on Sunday for myself) and we were ready to go back to Edmonds Lock (with Corn for the Carp in hand) and see what we could land. We started at the top of the Lock which looked perfect for some larger catches, so out came the lures....it took only a few minutes for my husband to start getting some Pike bites and one that was on the li
ne and jumped off before he got it out of the water. I wasn't as lucky and there weren't many bites on my line...I did get a great size yellow perch on my line (I was using my newly purchased Rapala Clackin' Rap...which I aquired with some other new lures at the SAIL store in Ottawa the day before)...but it just didn't stick and got away ..It was a bit of a let down because it was big enough to absolutely be another OAA entry. We decided to finally go down and chum the water at the bottom of the lock with the corn we brought and see if we could get the massive Carp to take in a hook (as they're suckers...the don't really bite...it's a crap shoot trying to get them to inhale the bait and then get them on the line). Geeze it was PAINFUL to see these MASSIVE fish just swim by (close enough to touch) and not be able to get them on the line...we spent an hour or more...but alas gave up with the intention of doing more research and honing our skills on Carp Fishing for another day!
ne and jumped off before he got it out of the water. I wasn't as lucky and there weren't many bites on my line...I did get a great size yellow perch on my line (I was using my newly purchased Rapala Clackin' Rap...which I aquired with some other new lures at the SAIL store in Ottawa the day before)...but it just didn't stick and got away ..It was a bit of a let down because it was big enough to absolutely be another OAA entry. We decided to finally go down and chum the water at the bottom of the lock with the corn we brought and see if we could get the massive Carp to take in a hook (as they're suckers...the don't really bite...it's a crap shoot trying to get them to inhale the bait and then get them on the line). Geeze it was PAINFUL to see these MASSIVE fish just swim by (close enough to touch) and not be able to get them on the line...we spent an hour or more...but alas gave up with the intention of doing more research and honing our skills on Carp Fishing for another day!All in all it was a WONDERFUL long week-end! I was delighted to get out and get some fishing in and get some (OK A LOT ) of sun and fish! Was happy to have an entry for my OAA (which has now been accepted and my certificate and decal is in the mail). I'll post about my amazing Tuesday later....maybe one of the best days I've had in years :)
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