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Welcome to my web site, Freshwaterphil.com. I'm just another fishing addict. Like thousands of serious anglers, I'm passionate about my favorite pastime, and love to share tips, tricks and information with anyone from amateurs to professional fishermen.
I live in the city of Montreal, which is in the Canadian province of Quebec. Canada is blessed with millions of lakes, rivers and streams, there are a few hundred thousand in Quebec alone. Living in the Southwestern section of the province, I also have the privilege of fishing in Ontario quite often.I've been fishing since the age of 3, but only got into serious angling in my twenties, when I started having kids. Today, my boys all share my passion for sport fishing, I try to take them along as often as I can.
As Montreal is an island, I typically fish surrounding waters of the St Lawrence River and it's tributaries, as well as the Outaouais River. My boat is docked on the Ontario side of Lake St Francis, which is less than 1 hours drive from Montreal, and home of some of the hottest bass fishing in this part of the country.
I consider myself a multi species fisherman. Whether I'm casting topwater lures for a early morning or evening bite on a calm lake, still fishing with boilies or soaked corn for carp, trolling for walleyes or night fishing for channel cats, their is nothing more that I enjoy than the soothing / calming effect of the water, interrupted only by the adrenaline rush of a hookup and the ensuing battle.
Game fish
Bass
Each species has it's specific thrill. Largemouth and smallmouth bass are very numerous, grow to decent sizes and offer some of the best pound for pound action of any freshwater fish. Their willingness to take a huge variety of lures and baits on a multitude of setups makes them easy to catch. They are among my kids favorites as well, and as we often top 50 bass per day, they don't have enough time to get bored. My favorite bass lures are Rebel Pop-R, Arbogast Jitterbug, Heddon Zara Spook Jointed floating Rapalas and Rapala Countdowns.
Northern Pike
Northern pike are another favorites with my kids. As with most kids, seeing a big fish with lots of sharp teeth, has an effect on them that no other fish does. Though most pike around the area are under 6 lbs, there is always a chance for some 15 lbs as well. May favorite technique is drifting live minnows under a bobber or popping cork, but I'll also cast for them using Rapala X-raps, Countdowns, Smithwick Rogues and red and white spoons such as the Daredevle.
Walleye / Pickerel
Though walleye aren't the best fighters, they are a great eating fish. This makes them once of the most sought after species of game fish in the waters surrounding Montreal, and are abundant in the St Lawrence and Outaouais rivers. During the spring, I catch bigger walleye trolling worm harnesses and shallow running lures, or casting deep divers such as the Wally Diver and smaller Rapala countdowns. Later in the season, I shore fish for them using small to medium minnows at dusk. Walleye feed year round, so they are easily caught through the ice as well.
Big bottom feeders
Still fishing for species of big bottom feeders such as carp, catfish and sturgeon, is both relaxing and exciting. A quite relaxing outing goes from "zero to sixty in one second" as soons as the baitrunner starts screaming. I typically use medium 6.5 foot Rhino rods for carp and channel cats, and a heavier catfish rod for sturgeon.Carp
Carp fishing is gaining popularity in Canada. Though most practicing the sport of carping are Europeans, many native born Canadians such as myself have joined the craze. Carp are bigger and stronger than most other freshwater species around here. Their shear numbers combined with them being a species that is caught shore fishing in public waters, make them easily accessible to all. I do much of my carp fishing in the world famous Long Sault region of St Lawrence River, Canada's carper Mecca. Every year, hundreds of international anglers fly in to fish these carp filled waters, located about 1 hour's drive from my house. I typically used corn nibblets as hookbait or boilies set up on hair rigs for bait. Heavy chumming is essential.
Channel Catfish
Channel Catfish are abundant and quite easy to catch when they're feeding. During the spring, they are very active, then in the summer, they tend to start feeding when it gets dark and throughout portion of the night. I fish them using live or dead minnows, typically in 4-5 inch range. Though they aren't the prettiest fish, they pull quite hard, especially when they are in strong current, due to their big heads and strong shoulders.
Sturgeon
The rivers and waterways surrounding Montreal are filled with sturgeon. Most are under 50 lbs, though they can reach up to 200 lbs in this part of the Canada. Sturgeon fishing is my newest craze. I've only caught a few since I started targeting them in 2009, hope to land some big ones in the future. These prehistoric fish pull hard and give a great fight. I fish them using a stiff 7 foot rod with a 50 series reel spooled with 65 LB Power Pro. The setup is a 3/0 hook tied below a large puck sinker, stopped with a swivel about 18 inches aboves the hook. Bait is 2 - 3 large worms hooked as a "worm ball".
Panfish
Panfish include the species that most of us started catching as kids, due to their abundance and willingness to aggressively take live bait. I started all my kids on Perch, Sunfish and Rock Bass, as at that age, numbers are more important than size.Sunfish
Probably the most abundant species during the warmer months, sunfish virtually guarantee non stop action for my kids. They make learning how to cast and how to set the hook tons of fun. We have both bluegill and pumkinseed sunfish around Montreal, I typically use a small #10 or #12 hook with a split shot and small piece of live worm for bait.
Perch
Perch are another species that are very abundant in our waterways. They are agressive 12 months a year, colder months are usually better for Jumbo perch which occasionally hit 1 lb. I typically set my kids up with the same rigs are for sunfish, but switch to live minnows when ice fishing for perch. Though perch are supposed to be a great eating fish, I have no patience to clean them.
Multispecies fishing
These are the species that most of us don't target, but end catching incidentally. The St Lawrence River and it's tributaries are filled with big drum, gar, eels and bowfins to name a few.Though I've taken hundreds (possibly thousands) of fishing pictures over the years, I've put together the following slideshow of my "greatest hits":
I spend a lot of time researching fishing related ideas online, and have many friends in the industry, ranging from professional fishing guides and outfitters to tackle dealers to bloggers and other members of the online fishing community.
A quick tip if you're planning on fishing in the southern Ontario area: Many fishing charters set sail on Lake Ontario daily, and there are a great deal of Toronto hotels that are a stone's throw away. A lodge is hardly ideal in a big city like Toronto, but rest assured there are more than enough excellent accommodations that should suit your needs!
If you have any questions, comments or need some information, I'll be more than happy to get back to you.
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