The last four weeks of the 2012 bass season are bound to be busy for me. I'll be doing a little bit of cranking for largemouth and a lot of drop-shotting for those hungry fall smallies! November is a busy month for bass anglers in Niagara. We have several late season tournaments to choose to compete in if we wish. I may have an opportunity to fish the the St. Catharines Bassmasters... a local division of the Ontario Bass Federation. I also make a point of volunteering to work at the Frostbite Tackle and Guide Service Opens on Lake Erie each weekend in November. Simon and Melanie Frost are a HUGE part of why I love fishing, and helping them out is a subtle way for me to say "thanks" to them!
The 2012 bass season was an interesting one for me. First and foremost, I started this blog to share my adventures with my fellow anglers! I spent a lot of time this year improving my largemouth game despite living in an area surrounded by the worlds most intense smallie waters! I'm pretty sure I flipped more docks, trees, boats, and bridges this season than I have in my entire life... and for good reason! Caught many largies pushing 5 pounds this year! My most memorable day of fishing in 2012 has to be launching an aluminum in a small local pond I've fished to little avail since my childhood and catching well over 50 bass! I became the proud owner of a beautiful new Shimano Ci-4 this year as well, and I still love! I didn't get to fish as many tournaments as I hoped, just some small weekend events and the "Help A Child Smile Charity" on Lake Erie and Niagara River. My partner, Matt, and I didn't have a fantastic day but a lot of guys finished a lot worse than we did. It was rough, wet, tough and windy but we still managed over 15 pounds of Lake Erie small mouth! All things considered, I've enjoyed every second of this season. I got to fish with Matt in the HACS event, spend some time on the water with one of my best childhood friends Tyler Frost and his dad Simon, a Pro bass angler and Canadian Open Champion! As always, I fished a bit with my good friend Matt Kar from the Power Team Lures Pro-Staff and my aunts young nephew Travis! We have spent a lot of time wetting some lures and ripping lips together! This was the first year in many that I didn't get to fish with my dad at the family cottage, but hey, I'm sure we'll get out some time! One of this years biggest highlights by far is becoming a writer for Reno Viola Outdoors on his fishing blog! I can't wait to start working with Reno and his outdoors adventure.
Now that my season is nearly over it's time to get back in the swing of walking on hard water and drilling holes in the lake! I'm looking forward to having a great year of ice fishing! I am planning to take a trip this winter to the famed Lake Nipissing this year in search of some trophy walleye. Speaking of trophy walleye, I can't wait to get up to the Bay of Quinte. Last spring I was fortunate enough to meet Ashley Rae of www.shelovestofish.com in Niagara Falls at the Niagara Sportsman Show, and spoke a bit about Quinte. After seeing some of the Gold she has pulled through the hard water I can't wait to return! Maybe if I'm lucky she'll take me out and show me the ropes of fishing this pristine body of water. I will also be attending the Crappie Derby at Binbrook Conservation Area again this year. This is a small Saturday event that I look forward to attending every winter. It's a great day with fantastic sponsors and awesome prizes to be won! I really look forward to meeting up with a lot of the anglers who follow my blog, Facebook Page and Twitter Page over the winter for some fishing!
That's all for now, I'll report back if I survive this crazy November! I have to make it through the end of bass season before I make it to hard water, right!? I hope the ice hurries up and comes in soon! Remember to always be safe out there, fish hard and take lots of pictures! Stay safe my friends!
