Hooked on Fishing with Wil Wegman

“I’m not really a joiner ... you know, going to monthly meetings and just talking about fishing ... not sure if that’s for me”.  I have heard this many times from anglers over the years and admittedly this was actually how I felt as well before joining a fishing club in 1995. Since then I have become a strong proponent of the whole fishing club scene.  I have come to learn that these clubs don’t just offer their members some great fishing opportunities and an educational component to help make them better anglers,  but that they are also responsible for an incredible number of fine conservation projects, youth initiatives and community events.  The list of fishing related clubs below was created to simplify your search if you are interested in joining a club. Not all are strictly focussed on fishing, and although every effort was made to include all those within the watershed, we may have inadvertently missed a couple.  If this is the case, please supply details and we will be happy to include in this list.

Beaverton and District Conservation Club (BDCC)

This club was formed in 1988 to address local resource conservation issues and provide support, input and assistance to conservation efforts.  Their membership reside around the south east side of Lake Simcoe (north Durham Region), and their efforts are directed towards rehabilitation to aquatic systems that flow into the south east basin of Lake Simcoe.  Activities have revolve around community based fund raising and local resource improvement projects.  The club supports and assists various government agencies in their conservation mandates that focus on maintaining and improving Lake Simcoe water quality.  The BDCC has a direct affiliation with the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and meets the first Wednesday evening of each month at the Legion Hall in Beaverton.  For more information contact member and former president Larry Wickett at: lbwickett@rogers.com

Simcoe Bass Anglers (SBA)

This club is one of several belonging to the Canadian Bass Anglers Federation (CBAF).  Their  goal is to create a gathering place to teach novice and seasoned anglers the fine art of competitive bass angling. With about 50 members whose motto is  “Camaraderie and Friendly Competition”, the SBA members meet from September to June and during the summer at their tournaments. They get together on the second Thursday evening of each month at the Shoeless Joe’s restaurant on Woodbine Ave. just south of Mount Albert Rd.  The CBAF also holds seven Inter-Club events involving all chapters, giving non boaters the chance to fish with boaters from all over Ontario.  The club is affiliated with OFAH and involved in community and conservation projects, including the recent perch tagging effort written about in last week’s column. “ New members are always welcome”, says president JP DeRose “and we look forward to another fantastic year on the water”. For more information on the Simcoe Bass Anglers and CBAF please visit:  www.cbaf.ca

South Simcoe Bassmasters (SSB)

The SSB is a affiliated with the Ontario BASS Federation Nation (OBFN) which is one of about 50 federations around the world belonging to the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. They meet at Shoeless Joe's, 100 Dissette Street in Bradford ON the first Tuesday of every month.  They have guest speakers who share their knowledge on a wide variety of fishing topics. The SSB was founded on the basis of: Learning, Sharing and Ethics to educate and instruct the finer points of "Competitive Bass Fishing". Like most OBFN clubs, they run several tournaments every year in a Boater, Non Boater format. New members are welcome.  For more information www.southsimcoebass.com

Georgina Sportsmen's Alliance (GSA)

Since 1988, this OFAH affiliated club has completed various conservation related projects throughout the Town of Georgina. They have constructed bass and pike spawning beds in the Keswick Marsh, made a boardwalk and viewing tower in the Holland Marsh Provincial Wildlife Management area, built and installed duck nesting boxes, are involved in project purple, and green up clean up events.  Spring and fall yearly fishing trips to the Temagami area are planned by the membership. When needed the GSA addresses Town Council on issues relating to hunting and fishing.  The members of the (GSA) share a concern for healthy forests, a clean Lake Simcoe, abundant fish and wildlife and the right to enjoy them. The GSA meet monthly in Georgina to share information and ideas. For More information about the GSA contact president Rob Hare at 905-989-7672.

The Aurora Bassmasters:

A founding member of the OBFN, this club has a slogan that states “More than Just Another Fishing Club”. Members compete in about 10 club tournaments every year but also run two Lake Simcoe based open events – the pike tournament and transfer in May and the Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open in late October.  All OBFN club tournaments help anglers gather points to qualify for a provincial championship in late August with opportunities from there to compete on a much larger scale in the US through the BASS Federation Nation program. The club also has a very strong conservation mandate,  performing several projects over the years ranging from fish habitat creation to roadside clean ups to an ongoing bass tagging research project on Lake Simcoe. They meet the first Wednesday evening of each month in Newmarket at the Optimist Hall. For more information president Dave Meadows recommends anglers check out their site at:www.aurorabass.com

Pefferlaw Anglers Club:

For over 30 years this group of volunteers has considered themselves more of conservation club than an actual fishing club. They have been involved in partnerships with the MNR on several conservation projects over the years ranging from raising young walleye to a recent adult walleye transfer. The group is based out of Pefferlaw and the president Brian Guildford can be reached at 705-437-1276.

Barrie Bassmasters:

One of the most active conservation clubs in the watershed, the Barrie club has performed several fish habitat enhancement projects in Kempenfelt Bay. They are also the host club for the OBFN’s Junior Bassmasters and Barrie Bassmasters  president Gerry Heels is also the youth director of the OBFN responsible for the Juniors. www.barriebassmasters.com

Orillia Fish and Game:

Since 1947 this club has represented like-minded outdoor enthusiasts and sportsmen from the area, who dedicate their time and money in the interest of conservation. They own, operate and maintain the George Langman Wildlife Sanctuary located at the 14th Concession of Oro-Medonte Township. As well, the club has a tree Farm with sighting-in range, pond and picnic area at Bass Lake and 9th Concession, and the Conservation Education Centre opened June 27, 1994 at George Langman with a 6 Km nature trail that is open to the public. For more details, president Ted Duncan suggests you check out: www.theorilliafishandgameconservationclub.com

Barrie District Anglers and Hunters: This Club is also non-profit organization dedicated to the responsible use and protection of our natural resources. They work closely with many other organizations towards this goal. This is also one of the few clubs in the Simcoe watershed fortunate enough to have their own property ... a beautiful site located on 243 acres of land just north of Barrie Ontario, in the Township of Springwater. They can be reached through their website at:  www.bdhacc.com

Twin Lakes Conservation Club: This Conservation club is actively involved with conservation and environmental protection projects. Stream restoration and rehabilitation, wildlife protection and rescue, environmental protection projects like tree planting, garbage pickup, public educational seminars and they sponsor Youth Environmental Award program.  They have also set up the Orange Tagging  program to track yellow perch on Lake Simcoe and Couchiching. They meet the first Monday of the month at 7pm at Georgian College, 825 Memorial Ave, Orillia. Their president is Warren Howes and he can be reached at: whowes@rogers.com

1. Seek out steeper sloping shorelines. Fish like close access to deep water.

2. Avoid really shallow, beach-like shores with sand bottoms.

3. Look for irregularities in bottom composition. Hard, light-colored bottoms meeting up with soft, dark ones can be like a fish-holding magnet.

4. Multiple depth changes, however slight, within a relatively short section of shore can attract fish.

5. Try wading — whether with waders or shorts/shoes (to avoid zebra mussel cuts) — to be able to cast out to deeper water.

6. When fishing from docks or piers, don’t ever step onto the dock before fishing each side thoroughly from shore. Bass and panfish often hide alongside, and you’ll spook them by walking overhead.

7. When deciding what lures to cast from the dock or shore, think of the entire water column. Think top-water under low light, mid-depth with moderate light and deep for mid-day under sunny conditions. Use lures that you can cast far, are shaped to travel swiftly through the air and have some weight to them.

8. Fan-cast the entire area systematically within all the different depth presentations to really cover the water thoroughly.

9. Learning all the fish-holding structures within casting distance of your dock can be a real advantage for the Lake Simcoe cottager. Snorkel around your casting area to learn and memorize exactly where all the big rocks, logs, branches, weed patches, waterlines and any other submerged objects are located; bass and other fish will be holding next to these objects.

10.  Dawn, dusk and even the pitch black of night can be prime times to fish shorelines and docks, because many fish move into shallow water during these periods.

  Bonus Tip: Have fun and relax! The beauty of shoreline fishing around Lake Simcoe is that you can kick back and wait for the fish to come to you, regardless of your age or skill level. To achieve this, many shore-bound anglers utilize live bait presentations such as worms or minnows. Others have gravitated to “do-nothing” techniques with artificial baits such as a five-in. Trigger X Flutter Worm rigged “wacky style” (i.e., through the middle) onto a 1/0 Octopus style Gamakatsu Hook.  

  Finally shore-bound anglers may want to revisit the drop-shotting technique we covered in depth in the 2010 Summer issue of LSL — still available on our website and tailor-made for shore fishing.

Take the Lake Simcoe Ice Fishing Pledge!

Oct. 23, 2010 — Orillia — The most incredible victory in the history of Canadian Bass Tournament Fishing is beginning to sink in for Mark Moran and Joe Muszynski. The tournament team won Canada’s most prestigious one day bass tournament and did it with a new all time Canadian record weight for the five heaviest bass ever weighed on Canadian soil. Their weight for the 2010 Bass Pro Shops Lake Simcoe Open of 31.50 pounds of smallmouth bass topped the previous record of 30.35 lbs.

For their record win, the duo took home the guaranteed $25,000 for first place, an additional $20,000 for the Toyota Truck Record Payout, $5,500 for the Shimano Pay to Play bonus and $2,500 for using a Minn Kota electric motor and running Humminbird electronics. Their $53,000 total cash payout is one of the highest in the history of tournament fishing in the country.

The BPS Lake Simcoe Open hosted by the Aurora Bassmasters began as the “Crackle Cup” in 2001 as a late fall tournament that would capitalize on the incredible smallmouth bass fishing opportunities that Lake Simcoe offers at this time of year. Total weights over 28 pounds soon became the norm as the tournament grew in popularity. In 2007, Bass Pro Shops Canada became the title sponsor and have since attracted other sponsors that help provide payouts seldom seen anywhere else in Canada.

MNR biologist Brad Allan weighs one of more than 200 big bass brought in at sampling station behind the weigh-in stage.  Volunteer Melanie Quinn of Fleming College helps out.

How the Winners Did It:

Mark Moran, 43 from Port Perry and Joe Muszynski, 32 from Barrie caught their oversized bass in 30-40 feet of water.  “We caught around 20 fish during the day; I was using a green pumpkin tube jig on a 3/16 oz weight and drop shotting a custom hand poured black and white minnow bait. We moved fast looking for fish on our Humminbird electronics and then dropped the baits down on them”, Moran revealed.

Muszynski explained, “It was the most incredible day a bass angler could ever ask for. In my career I have won Team of the Year titles, a Classic Championship and some other one day tournaments but winning the BPS Open is by far my greatest accomplishment.  I have a deep passion and respect for this body of water and to set the record with all the great Lake Simcoe anglers fishing this event; well it’s very special to me.  The BPS Lake Simcoe Open is a standalone event and I think everyone agrees it is the biggest tournament in our country.  The industry support and preparation are phenomenal and that along with the amazing bass fishery of Lake Simcoe is what makes this event such a huge success.

MC Dave Mercer interviews Joe Muszynski (left) and Mark Moran, winners of the tournament and holders of a new Canadian record.

The 2010 BPS Lake Simcoe Open, had a full field of 100 teams with some of Canada’s finest anglers. Orillia hosted record crowds at the free weigh-in show who watched team after team weighing in some of the biggest smallmouth bass on the planet. Facts of Fishing star, Dave Mercer MC’d the event which was broadcast live on the websites below.  He also fished the tournament with JP DeRose of the WFN’s Gettin Schooled with JP.

The Yamaha Big Fish award went to 12^th place team of James Paluch and Shaun McKay who caught a monster 8.05 smallmouth that earned them $4,000,  plus an additional $1,000 for Berkley Trilene 8lb Test prize ... the first time this has ever been awarded anywhere in Canada. This Big Fish weight is currently being explored by tournament officials as a possible record for the single heaviest bass ever weighed in during a Canadian tournament.

Behind the Weigh-In Scene:

Back stage the Lake Simcoe Bass Tagging Research crew were busy measuring, tagging, taking scales and spines (for ageing) all the bass before they were transported to the Shimano Live Release Boat for transport and release back to the lake.

This award winning research program coordinated by the Aurora Bassmasters and supported by MNR’s Community Fisheries and Wildlife Involvement Program has collected data from this and other bass tournaments for the last five years. Collectively over 1,300 bass have been tagged and released.  Anglers who catch a tagged fish ... like the one caught by Rob Hyatt during this event, are asked to report the number and details to MNR. The phone number and individual fish ID numbers are on each tag.

*Total: $55,300 in Registered Payouts to 20th Place – not counting bonus prizes below

S- Shimano Pay To Play = $5,500; YBF Yamaha Big Fish =4,000; B Berkley Over 8 lbs =$1,000

HW- Hidden Weight= $1,000; BBL Berkley Bucket Largemouth=$1,000, R= Rapala 36^th Spot award

To view more photos, the complete standings of all 100 teams, or to see a recap of the exciting weigh-in, please visit: www.simcoeopen.com.

Sponsors of the 2010 BPS Lake Simcoe Open include:

Jack Link’s Beef Jerky, BoaterExam, Ontario's Lakes Country, Toyota, Tracker Boats, Yamaha, Northstar Marine Insurance, Berkley, Humminbird, Minn Kota, Shimano, Rapala, Maple Toyota, Mustang Survival, Musky Graphics, Advanced Taxidermy, CSFL, and Bass Pro Shops. A special thank you to all the dedicated volunteers who helped make this event such a success. We appreciate all the assistance from various bass club members, Junior Bassmasters and the dedicated MNR staff who ran the sampling station.