Getting back into fishing.. in Toronto!

[ATF]

So I just came back from a cottage trip at a friend's place at Halls Lake (near Haliburton). I went shore fishing for bass with a mepps Aglia #0 and some corn. There's a few bays and points which seemed promising, and had quite a bit of fish (albeit, mostly small!) activity.

Managed to catch a wonderful 2 lbs rock bass, and released a whole bunch of smaller ones (I'm saving them for next year ). Another bigger bass snapped my line, unfortunately, but gave one hell of a fight.

I want to thank Giuga10 for his advice. It really worked and had a great time! I'll try to knock the barbs out of my spinners next time around, as I had to keep a few small ones I would have rather sent on their way due to the ridiculous damage the barbs did to them.

On to a question: I assume if I want to attract mostly the larger ones instead of the smaller bass, I should up the size of my spinner?

[MuskieBait]

(09-03-2013 09:42 AM)ATF Wrote:  I went shore fishing for bass with a mepps Aglia #0 and some corn.

Managed to catch a wonderful 2 lbs rock bass, and released a whole bunch of smaller ones (I'm saving them for next year ).

I want to thank Giuga10 for his advice. It really worked and had a great time! I'll try to knock the barbs out of my spinners next time around, as I had to keep a few small ones I would have rather sent on their way due to the ridiculous damage the barbs did to them.

On to a question: I assume if I want to attract mostly the larger ones instead of the smaller bass, I should up the size of my spinner?

Size #0 Mepps is really small. Great for panfish or small trout fish, but 4-5" juvenile Largemouth Bass will not have a problem swallowing these spinners. If you want to reduce mortality, upsize your spinners, or at the minimum the hook size. Switching out the tiny treble hook for a larger single hook will also help to release these fish faster and with less damage.

If it is any indication, on Friday and Saturday I was fishing for small muskies with #5 Mepps and large spinnerbaits with #5 willow blades. With the #5 Mepps, I hooked 4 Largemouth Bass between 1.5-2lbs, and 1 Largemouth Bass that is around 3.5-4lbs. With the large spinnerbait, I hooked a 1lb Largemouth Bass...but this is probably an exception since the fish can barely fit the lure in its mouth.

Size of lure also depends on location. In highly pressured locations, you likely have to downsize. In less pressured areas, you could probably get them to hit anything.

[shawarma]

Sounds like i need to stock up on some Mepps and add them to my tackle box. Bass are a ton of fun.

[ATF]

(09-03-2013 02:07 PM)shawarma Wrote:  Sounds like i need to stock up on some Mepps and add them to my tackle box. Bass are a ton of fun.

I swear they were going crazy for them. The only problem I have with them are the barbs.

[shawarma]

Downside to pounding to those barbs back is they can fight their way off those hooks abit easier.. but eh.. a good challenge is part of the fun!

[ATF]

Yeah, but I'd rather lose a fish I'd be putting back than damage it to the point of no return.

[MichaelAngelo]

(09-03-2013 11:33 AM)MuskieBait Wrote:  [quote='ATF' pid='10122' dateline='1378215736']
With the large spinnerbait, I hooked a 1lb Largemouth Bass...but this is probably an exception since the fish can barely fit the lure in its mouth.

Reminds me of that ice fishing time when we were watching that little bass try and eat our shiner... that was approximately equal to itself in size. Oh little fish, so eager to grow.

[jan]

(08-06-2013 09:50 PM)alex_fish Wrote:  ATF? automatic transmission fluid?

If you do plan on going to grenadier pond during the week, let me know, I am close by and could join you during my lunch break.
It's only an hour, but still something.

If you guys would be up for it I would be happy to join.
I got a day off on Thursday next week and would be up for Grenadier pond and the Humber bay park. But also just for an hour during lunch since it's a 5 min bike ride to High Park for me.

Looking forward to meet you guys.