Muskoka Outdoors

It is time for something new...

The Muskoka Outdoors Blog has landed at its new home! With a shiny new Content Management System (CMS) at the helm, it is my hope that I will be better able to promote the pursuits of fishing, hunting and conservation to a local and worldwide audience. Consider taking a look around by following this link.

The Ontario Conservation Officers Association has recently published the second edition of their $20 wild fish and game cookbook.

If you are looking for some unique tastes for your next wild game meal-consider supporting the OCOA’s fundraising initiative. The non-profit organization will use portions of the proceeds to benefit youth outdoor programs and college bursaries.

For more details read the post from Outdoor Canada’s Editor, Patrick Walsh.

From my early days as an angler, I have always been intrigued by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) fishing records. To be honest, they always seemed to be out of reach for a local angler like myself. The what was until a recent announcement by the IGFA to open an ‘All-Tackle Length Category‘ in their record books.

This mean any large fish that you catch and release could become an IGFA length record!

You do NOT need special certification or a specific type of fish scale. Essentially, all that is required is that you catch and release according to the IGFA rules for this category and take specific photos of the fish on an IGFA fish measuring mat.

This opportunity not only encourages a quick release of a trophy class fish (for someone else to enjoy), but also increases the chances that an angler’s name, and released fish, could make the IGFA record books because the entry requirements can practically be met in any boat – anywhere.

Here are the current IGFA records for some common freshwater fish that may be lurking in a lake near you. When you catch one – let me know.

Current IGFA All-Tackle Length Records

The IGFA fish measuring mat

Bass, largemouth  Micropterus salmoides 48 cm
Bass, smallmouth  Micropterus dolomieu  34 cm
Carp, common  Cyprinus carpio  55 cm
Catfish, blue  Ictalurus furcatus  73 cm
Catfish, channel  Ictalurus punctatus  60 cm
Grayling   Thymallus thymallus  25 cm
Grayling, Arctic  Thymallus arcticus  37 cm
Muskellunge  Esox masquinongy  76 cm
Perch, white  Morone Americana  21 cm
Perch, yellow  Perca flavescens  18 cm
Pickerel, chain  Esox niger   39 cm
Pike, northern  Esox lucius  68 cm
Salmon, Atlantic  Salmo salar  64 cm
Salmon, Atlantic (landlocked)  Salmo salar  46 cm
Salmon, chinook  Oncorhynchus tshawytscha 53 cm
Salmon, chum  Oncorhynchus keta  48 cm
Salmon, coho  Oncorhynchus kisutch  53 cm
Salmon, pink  Oncorhynchus gorbuscha 39 cm
Salmon, sockeye  Oncorhynchus nerka  35 cm
Trout, brook  Salvelinus fontinalis  34 cm
Trout, brown  Salmo trutta  51 cm
Trout, bull   Salvelinus confluentus  51 cm
Trout, cutthroat  Oncorhynchus clarki  44 cm
Trout, lake   Salvelinus namaycush  74 cm
Trout, rainbow  Oncorhynchus mykiss  54 cm
Walleye   Stizostedion vitreum  52 cm

The crew at the MyNature app company have created 2 very handy apps that could help anyone, with a smartphone, to identify the things they see in the wilds of the great outdoors.

Specifically, consider purchasing the MyNature Animal Tracks App and/or the MyNature Tree Guide App. Both applications make it easier for the user to identify tree or animal tracks by prompting for general characteristics and getting more specific after each response. Think of them as ‘techy’ field guides for teachers, outdoor ed instructors, anglers and hunters and outdoor fanatics.

What you might not know is that Kari Murray and I conspired together to pitch the next potential app for the MyNature programmers. Developed with permission from MyNature apps, we hope you get a laugh from the video and consider purchasing their ‘real’ applications. (The Quicktime file is 4 mb)

Here is an opportunity to win some prizes with one of your ice fishing pictures. The administrators over at the Maine Fishing Forums are running an ice fishing photo contest.  Your photo can be of fish that was caught through the ice during the 2010 or 2011 fishing season. Details like the following are also required:

Your name/address/fish info like length/girth……and yes where caught. Weight if known…….lure or bait used and the story of the catch.

Consider visiting the blog Northwood Wanderings to catch all the details and submit your entry.

Muskoka Outdoors will be hosting our own ice fishing photo contest soon.

Hard Water Fishing Coming Soon!

Find some time during the winter break to visit Canada’s largest marine marketplace in the Direct Energy Centre located at Toronto’s Exhibition Place. The 53rd annual boating event starts January 8 and ends on January 16, 2011.

What particularly stands out about this event is that it is also on the site of the world’s largest indoor lake. This sets the aquatic stage (of 1,000,000 gallons of Lake Ontario water) for events like:

• Wakeboard & Wakeskating WOWfest – Boarders and skaters crank up the volume for a spectacular show of grinds, tricks and flips
• wakeboard lessons
• FREE ride in an inflatable boat, canoe, kayak, or paddleboat
• Duma the waterskiing and boat-driving dog

The angler will also find this show to be a worthwhile endeavor. Not only will there be bass boats to look over, but an angler will be able to view the Great Canadian Fish Tank. It is a 40ft x 8ft aquarium filled with 5,000 gallons of water and stocked with native Ontario fish. Daily fishing demonstrations and seminars by Canada’s top anglers deliver a rare underwater view of how fish react to and strike at various types of bait, lures and fishing techniques.

More Show details

SAVE $3 when you buy tickets online!
Available here November 1st through midnight, January 7th!

Click here to order tickets!

When:
January 8 to 16, 2011
Saturdays 10 am to 7 pm
Sundays 10 am to 6 pm
Weekdays 11 am to 8 pm

Where:
Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place
100 Princes Blvd.
Toronto, ON M6K 3C3

www.TorontoBoatShow.com