Basic Maintenance
Change the oil, clean the air filter, check brakes and the tire pressure and give your ATV a good bolt inspection. Put the machine on a stand and wiggle the wheels and axles to make sure the wheel and suspension linkage bearings are tight. All of Redline’s rentals are thoroughly inspected before they are taken out for a trail ride. For some more informative ATV maintenance tips – check out this link from Off Road.com.

Hunt Responsibly
Pay attention to signs, and only use the ATV in areas that are designated for ORV use. Check local regulations, and invest in proper maps (forest service, topographic and the like) that show public and private property.

Take special care to avoid trespassing on private land.

Be respectful when you run into other hunters.

Whatever the access rules, stay out of swampy, muddy marshes and meadows in which your machine will do extensive trail damage to cross. Yes, mudding is good fun, but save that for designated riding areas. When hunting, cross the land with minimal damage and focus on the hunt.

Drive into the hunting area before hunting hours open, and walk on foot during season hours. This will increase your chance of success and minimize disturbance to the area.

Keep your weapon in a scabbard or case. This will protect it from mud and dust.

Please check out Redline Outdoors for your next ATV or fishing adventure at www.redlineoutdoors.ca

Ian's 19.5 inch Smallmouth Bass

Thanks for your photo, Ian!

Here is the fish that Ian caught in Baysville this past July. His notes are after the first photo:

Ian's 3.3 lb Smallmouth Bass

“Decided to go fishing for an hour after dinner at the dam, about 2 min walk from my house.  Was going more to practice with my baitcaster, did  not think I would get much.  Rain held off for the hour temp are dropping.  Was 30 ish all week today around 21.  Put on a Bandit 100 series crankbait in perch, 10 or so casts later nice fish on…Weighed in a 3lb 3 oz on my new digital scale.  Not a monster but after a hard month I was very pleased

This fish was caught in about 1 foot of water right beside the rapids, exact same spot I caught my PB 6lb smallie in early July.”

Thanks for the photo Ian!

The initial debate going through my mind was should I teach technical aspects like knots, fish biology and lure selection or allow the kids to fish with minimal discussion right from the docks? I chose to skip the technical and get the students fishing right away. It was the right choice because most of the students had never fished before.

Keep The Gear Simple
The camp provided closed-faced reels, bobbers, and several dozen worms. I added barbless hooks to the mix to ensure quick release of any fish caught and for safety when hooks are being pushed around by newcomers. To maximize fishing time with these students (I had a new group every hour until noon), I pre-tied swivels and hooks and checked drag setting on the fishing rods before the kids arrived.

Closed-faced reels may not look ‘very-cool’ to anybody who watches the pro’s, but new anglers do not usually know that there are different kinds of options available. The simplicity of the push button to release the bail will allow students to drop their bait over the dock or experiment with casting.

Teach Respect (for others, the fish, and the hook)
Space is going to be required to spread excited new anglers out. For safety and courtesy reasons, remind the anglers to stay in the space they are given. This will be tested when someone starts hooking into a school of panfish. When this happens, remind those encroaching in on the ‘lucky spot’ to wait patiently until the angler moves on or gives permission. As well, take a moment to tell the lucky angler that it is OK to move on and allow someone else to experience the joy of catching a fish. They might find they get more satisfaction from watching – at least, I do.

Show the students the difference between a barbless hook and a barbed one. Stress the importance of the presence of a barb and how it relates to increased difficulty when removing from a person’s body or a fish’s. Remind new anglers to check behind them when they cast and I asked our students to shout, “Casting”, to warn anglers walking by them. For a graphic short video on the importance of hook safety – Watch This

Enforce to the rookie anglers the importance of a quick release and to handle this fish as little as possible. Show anglers, as fish are caught, where to hold fish to reduce injuries from teeth and or fins. Initially, most of the students wanted me to release their fish, this was a perfect opportunity to point identifying marks for fish identification.

-End of Part 1-

First, choose something that mimics the colour, size and shape of the natural prey your target species feasts on in the body of water you are on. When was the last time you saw chartreuse baitfish while you were freshwater fishing?

A shiner coloured minnow crank - a good start.

If fishing is slow on your first ‘natural’ pick, be sure to experiment with other colours. Let light conditions and/or water clarity dictate your next pick. If the water is murky or they sky is overcast move to a brighter colour like chartreuse or bright orange. When water conditions are clear and the sky is bright – try shades of blue, browns, or green.

These are just guidelines. It has been this blogger’s experience that the way fish react to your lures is far from predictable. When in doubt about what colour to use – experiment. Take time to try everything you got and forget the rules and systems often read about or seen on TV. My tackle box has cranks of various colours. The colour of your lure is just one of triggering mechanisms built into its construction. Vibration, flash and silhouette also play significant roles.

On day 1 of a recent sunny fishing trip on a local Muskoka lake, I started with a natural looking black-topped and silver-white bottomed minnow crank bait. My partner chose to start with a chartreuse coloured bait. Within four casts, he had landed a nice pike. Upon switching to a second bay, he pulled in another nice pike on his first cast. My natural looking lure had no hits. This all changed when I switched to a lure with similar colours (not shape) as my fishing partner’s. Colour in this case ‘trumped’ shape.

The second day of our fishing trip, I started again with a more natural coloured silver minnow crank bait. My partner, again, started with his chartreuse coloured lure. After a few minutes of fishing, I had landed two nice walleye. Things did not start to happen for the other angler UNTIL he switched to a silver coloured crank.

If you are deep water fishing, keep in mind that at greater depths, lack of light penetration makes a colour debate a mute point. Colours can not be differentiated if there is no light to reflect or absorb.

Colour can impact your fishing success, but not to the extent that it will benefit the angler to change a lure every second or third cast. Fish will not be caught if a lure is not in the water.

Many thanks to Tom who sent me this photo of a muskie his father caught in the west arm of Lake Nippissing, Ontario. The 50-inch monster was caught on a 4-inch plastic swim bait. Wow!