Author Archives: Michael

Florida, Trailer Park Boys, and Parrotfish

April 9, 2015

For some reason or other our annual winter Florida excursion did not happen this past holiday season, so we had to make up for it this spring. This time, Ken and I traveled in style via airplane rather than the usual Toyota Corolla. Read more

Springing into action

April 1, 2015

Dragging the kayak from its winter slumber to its new summer home atop my vehicle is an event I look forward to all winter long. There it remains, until next winter, ready to propel me to new fishing adventures on any whim. Read more

On the ice, in the dark

March 30, 2015

As dusk fell on Lake Simcoe’s icy expanse, the moon’s silvery glow began to take hold. The wind calmed and an absolute silence settled in its place only to be broken, yet again, by the roar of my Jiffy auger. The night was approaching and I was back, drilling another hole, in search of a fish that had captivated my late ice fishing endeavors. Read more

Some fall-time fishing

December 1, 2014

Aside from catching my first gizzard shad, I wanted to share some other highlights of my fall-time fishing. While most of my hours were spent in the kayak, I did spend a few sessions chasing steelhead in the open sections of Lake Ontario’s tributaries. Read more

A freak day

October 17, 2014

There was a lot of surface activity yesterday morning. Just as in spring, the gizzard shad were making splashes. A species that had disappeared for the summer had returned in numbers to the outflow. I haven’t been able to catch one fairly, until today. Read more

River fishing for salmon with spinners and crankbaits

October 13, 2014

It is a longstanding debate here in Ontario whether tributary fishing for Chinook (King) salmon can be done legitimately, without employing snagging tactics such as lining. Many anglers doubt the willingness of a pre-spawn Chinook to hit a lure once they enter the river. Read more

Trying for some fall-time muskie

October 10, 2014

There’s a lot of buzz about muskie turning on in the Fall and I wanted to see what the hype was all about. I was planning on making this trip with Ken this weekend, but work upset the plans. Instead, I had a day off mid-week that I could work with to visit Ken’s favourite muskie spot. Read more

Kingsanity

October 7, 2014

Over the past three years, fishing has meant quite a few different things to me. It has been a means to a multitude of ends. A means to adventure, exploration, solitude, and learning. A means to connect with something real in a world of invented entertainment. Read more

Some more alone time on Georgian Bay

October 6, 2014

With the salmon just beginning to make their appearance at Lake Ontario’s tributary mouths, I made one more camping trip to Georgian Bay before I would be swept away by salmon fever. Things began exactly as they did on my previous trip and I had camp set up by nightfall. Read more

Long drive, short darter

September 1, 2014

A road trip of over 800 kilometers yielding a life list entry of under 2 inches. Sometimes the smallest fish can be the most rewarding. Following our recent trip down to Pensylvania and New Jersey, Eli wanted to have a piece of the action. Read more

Some alone time on Georgian Bay

August 12, 2014

Georgian Bay is quite the destination here in Ontario. It’s a massive bay of Lake Huron with swiss-cheese-like shorelines studded with countless islands, shoals and channels. It could take well over a lifetime to explore the limitless bays and back bays of this geographical marvel. Read more

Big catfish, tiny sunfish, and eels

August 5, 2014

There was a great deal of diversity planned into this road trip. From obscure sunfish, to voracious catfish this would be one to keep us on our toes. After an endeavoring drive south, Ken and I found ourselves poking around a salty, sandy area of Sandy Hook, NJ, for some tiny new life list entries. Read more

Catching Them All

Michael Verdirame's journey of fishing.