Go Fish

Opening day of Bass Season, and our fishermen took to the Lake.

With success.  They practice catch-and-release, and were just delighted to land these beauties.

This should put an end, too, to their lament that the sport is called "Fishing," it is not called "Catching."

With over 300 miles of shoreline, and deep deep water, Lake of Bays is home to trout, bass, and (now) pike. The latter were introduced by people who did not give any thought to the consequences of transferring species from one body of water to another, and once into the lakes, it is hard to remove anything. As anyone who has tried to spoon dissolved sugar from a cup of coffee can attest.

This is why there are constant warnings about not using live bait in certain lakes, in only buying bait locally, about cleaning off the hulls of your boats if you use them in different lakes. The inadvertent introduction of species has given us a whole list of invasive things in Canada.

Lake of Bays is still home to beautiful native species, like these bass. We all need to work to keep it that way!  So think before you toss anything into a waterway, be it bait or the boat you just enjoyed on a southern lake with zebra mussels...

Look at the smiles on Dave and Mike, as they proudly show off their catch! 

There are many fishing derbies that take place in Muskoka. If you're in the area on July 14th, the Dorset Kids' Fishing Derby is on. For kids ages 12 & under accompanied by an adult. Lots of prizes & bait provided. $2 per child. Kooky winning categories like "funniest fishing hat". Register 9:00 to 9:30 a.m. behind Northern D'Lites. Judging 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. & prize ceremony at 11:00 a.m. Bring your own pole. Rain date is Sunday, July 15.