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Author: Hooked Magazine
By Carl Shier The Royal Life Saving Society The May long weekend has traditionally been considered by many as the unofficial start of the Canadian boating season. The Canadian Safe Boating Council has been promoting safe boating practices since 1992 and the Lifesaving Society is proud to be their partner in reminding boaters of a few key practices which need to be followed when heading out on the water. Wearing a lifejacket should not have to be legislated into existence. It should be a best practice whenever the boat leaves shore or is in motion. Evidence proves lifejackets (PFD’s) save…
By Carl Shier The Royal Life Saving Society It’s hard to believe that people still need a reminder about the dangers of thin ice and cold water. Each year there are people who ignore these risks. Some pay the ultimate price in their loss of life. It has become a dangerous time of year for avid outdoors enthusiast. We recognize that people will venture out on to lakes, rivers and bodies of water for a variety of activities during the winter and early spring months. I can be counted in that crowd of people who enjoy this time of year.…
For those who like things visual, fishing a top water lure of any type can produce action that is as exciting as it gets! Top water lures work on a multitude of fish, both salt and freshwater. There are optimal conditions, like calm, relatively clear water but you would be surprised how often they can be effective. Brent Kruger, the “Fishin’ Magician” has guided for years on Lake of the Woods, and loves to introduce young people to the sport of fishing. Kruger says top water is one of the best ways to get young anglers to buy into the…
Many trends and mindsets that originate over the open water season eventually transform on to the ice scene. There was a time when walleye anglers had a hard time putting anything on a jig besides a shiner. Today, soft plastic and water soluble soft baits have traction with the walleye crowd. The soft plastic replacing live bait trend has slowly gained a foothold on the ice walleye world. Just like open water, soft plastics will never replace live bait but they are a great compliment and with certain situations and applications, work much better. For ice anglers, many of the…
By Shel Zolkewich I spent lots of time as a teenager fishing from the Gimli pier. Our quarry was walleye but occasionally there was a surprise on the end of that pickerel rig. A dreaded mariah! To get it off your hook meant having its long tail coil around your arm. They would get thrown back immediately, usually with a few choice words. Technically, they’re freshwater burbot. But they can also be called lawyers or coney-fish. Down in Minnesota, the go by the name eelpout and there’s even a weekend festival to celebrate the species. Even if anglers can’t agree…
BY HOLLY URBAN So there I was, one eye open, dressed in several layers thanks to mom, and heading out of the cabin before dawn with my dad, the dog…and of course a fishing rod. This was the beginning to many summer days as a kid. I had the best intentions to catch a fish on every outing, but even if the morning fish turned into the dog and I sleeping on the bottom of the boat, it was still a fond memory of time spent fishing. I truly believe my time spent at the lake; camping, fishing, hiking is what started…
Rumour has it there were several UFO sightings on numerous lakes after sunset in the cottage country in the Whiteshell and Nopiming Provincial Parks over the last few years. Well, you might want to call that ‘UFO’ an ‘ Unidentified Floating Object’ and be happy to know that it is actually a new fisheries sampling tool hard at work assessing fisheries populations on your local waters. We call that tool Silver! In the spring of 2010, Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship – Eastern Region Fisheries Branch, initiated a series of new field programs targeting most of the road accessible…
The cat’s more than halfway out of the bag on this one, with amazing catches coming in from all over Western Canada and Ontario the past couple winters. Spoons are nothing new, that’s for sure. But handfuls of winter jiggers have been quietly refining a new spoon jigging method, centered on large, lightweight flutter spoons traditionally used for trolling. About three years ago, I started jigging with flashy, slower-falling baits for lake trout on Georgian Bay, Lake Simcoe and a few other large, inland lakes in north-central Ontario. They’re easy to fish, in a league of their own as far…
By Shel Zolkewich Appetites soar while we’re outdoors. And nothing tastes better than a hot meal served on the ice during hardwater season. These simple suggestions take you from brunch to sundown, even if it’s one of those days when the bite is elusive. Make things easy by prepping the night before and using disposable cooking containers that can take the uneven heat of your woodstove. If you want to make an investment, the Coleman Instastart Stove Oven has the cooktop with all know and love combines with a spacious oven. For something on the smaller side, Jetboil makes a…