Author Archives: Michael

Big river post-spawn smallmouth

July 12, 2014

My legs were burning today! Fighting current for 14 hours does take its toll. Fortunately, I do have some exhilarating fish and tales to show for it. On Friday evening after work, I arrived at the spot, a grassy point shown to me by a friend. Read more

Algonquin Provincial Park Trip and some Ontario bass fishing

July 6, 2014

Last weekend, some friends and I portaged into one of Algonquin Provincial Park’s many back lakes. Trolling a crankbait to howling wolves, jumping lake trout, diving loons, and a rising sun. That was the highlight of my weekend and undoubtedly one of my favourite fishing experiences to date. Read more

Not your typical bait fish

June 26, 2014

Walked around the corner from home to do some bait catching for an upcoming trip to my friend’s cottage. Half the submerged shopping cart seemed good place to start! I focused on the slack water just upstream that shopping cart. I started with a #12ish hook but I wanted some smaller creek chubs, so I tied on a #22. Read more

A carp to remember

June 9, 2014

No matter how long I fish or how many fish I catch or fail to catch, there will be always be those special fish that will remain forever etched in my memory. This evening I had the pleasure of creating a new memory of the sort. Read more

Maybe I should start bringing a bird call

June 7, 2014

Went back out this weekend for another Simcoe Saturday. Bright and early I found myself peddling to my spot in near-perfect conditions. I made a quick pass around the area, in search of last Saturday’s fish. To my dismay, my screen was quite blank. Read more

End of May bird presents

June 2, 2014

Nearly 6 hours into my fish on Simcoe, searching for fish that were no longer around, I spotted a bunch of birds off in the distance. I decided to join them since it would more exciting than my current activities of skunkage. Read more

Local lake hammer handles

June 2, 2014

Spent yesterday morning and this afternoon fishing pike with a kayak buddy or two. Nothing crazy, just some fun little rockets. My friend has got some kind of a knack for these things. All on the same lures too. Even after I tried a whole bunch of different things he managed to out-fish me each time. Read more

Wendy and friends

May 29, 2014

I had a chance to take the newly acquired Hobie Outback for a peddle on Lake Simcoe after work today. Despite some reports of the whitefish changing locations in the warming weather, I still found them in the same area. It wasn’t gangbusters, but it was a slow stream of interested fish bringing me to 3 for 4 in about 2 hours of fishing time before sunset. Read more

Fatty drum at the outflow

May 21, 2014

I had the chance to take the Tarpon out after work to the outflow. What I immediately noticed was that the water was covered in dead flies. There were no flies buzzing around, but the entire surface of the water was covered! Read more

More surprise whitefish

May 18, 2014

A slow start to the day with three fish in four hours had me just about to write the day off and call it quits. However, the calm conditions were just too inviting for me to do that. I decided to pick up the anchor and try some different depths. Read more

Spring kayak fishing on Lake Ontario

May 17, 2014

It’s been a different kind of April. Last year I spent the spring looking for steelhead, suckers, and carp in Lake O’s tiny tributaries. This year I spent quite a bit of time zipping up the dry suit and paddling along Lake Ontario’s bland shoreline. Read more

Slow morning on Simcoe

May 16, 2014

I wanted to get a nice and early start today before the usual midday wind picked up. Unfortunately, the fish and I weren’t on the same page. From 5:30 am all the way to 9 am all I managed to accomplish was losing one whitefish under the yak and landing one 26″ laker. Read more

Catching Them All

Michael Verdirame's journey of fishing.