Waiting for ice and pleasently surprised!, ** PICS ADDED**

We have been patiently waiting for ice like everyone else so are passing the time shore fishing when we can. Since Sunday was not too cold we figured we would try a couple hours fishing before the big freeze came.

Knowing the fish wouldn't be too active, we purchased some medium sized minnows to go for either pike or perch. When we arrived, there was another fisherman there who had gotten there about 15 minutes before us and was throwing a husky jerk. He had come from another area over the bridge which he had fished for an hour without any luck and had not caught anything here yet. We walked a bit further down the dock and got set up.

Not even 5 minutes in, Glenn gets some nibbles and fish on! Great start! A small hammerhandle pike around 18" and released. Glenn casts out as I get set and cast out as well but as soon as I start reeling in the slack, Glenn gets another fish! More weight to this one at about 23" and since I cleaned out my freezer giving fish away for Christmas to my family, we decided to keep it.

I was a little annoyed since I hadn't had a bite and Glenn's got two fish in already so he let me sit out for a few minutes before he casted. I didn't get a bite then but in a few more minutes I did and fish on. A bit bigger than Glenn's so kept it as well. We proceeded to catch and keep 2 more pike as they were progressively getting bigger. All of this happened in about 45 minutes and then the fishing slowed a bit. The other fisherman that was around had moved along the docks trying to find fish but I didn't see him catch anything and eventually left.

Fish kept stealing my minnows or biting short for about 1/2 hour and then I eventually hooked one. A nice 28" pike but as we had kept 4 fish already and I could tell this one was full of eggs, we took a picture and let her go.

The wind started picking up and the temperature was dropping so we called it a good day around 3pm as I also had lots of fish to clean. I don't have my camera at work so will upload some pictures either tonight or tomorrow.

Wow.. Well done! Sounds like a blast...

Lots of action in such a short time.

Good for you getting out on shore and giving it a go.

Nice job sounds like fun , I was pike fishing last weekend on Saturday caught 1, where were you fishing?

Sounds like great fun, glad you guys got into some pike. Thanks for the report

Live bait wins every time, over a lure that is imitating the same live bait, unless fish are feeding so aggressively that they'll smash anything. imo

We were fishing in the St. Lawrence River.

Sounds like a great afternoon Nicole. Can't wait to see the pics!

Awesome!

Hope I see you guys this winter.
Cheers!

Here are the pics.

2 on the ice for Glenn before I caught anything!!

Waiting patiently...

and the reward!

Glenn staying warm...

The 28"er we released...

Ready for filleting...

(Notice the new fish cleaning station which I got for Christmas. Makes life more easy in the winter rather than using the kitchen table.)

Great report and pics as always Nicole. Thanks for sharing. Good on you guys for getting on the fish. Will we see you on Simcoe this winter?
Nice fish cleaning station BTW.