Canada 2010

It has been a VERY long time since I posted and I wanted catch the world up to speed on our fishing adventures.  Back in 2010 we made our annual pilgrimage to the Big Rideau with 4 guys.  Stephen Peters, Jon Bartholomew, Jim Ritter and Mike Frederick.  This year we went when the water was much hotter and the fish were harder to find.  We still had a great time and caught a few good fish.

Gardner Lake Produces!

Saturday morning we took my Grandfather’s boat down to his slip at Gardner Lake for the season.  He keeps the boat here because he can easily get in and out using the dock.  I forgot my camera so I had to resort to the cell phone.  In about 3 hours each of us had about 8 fish.  My Grandfather was trolling with his Rapala SR5 while Jon and I casted the white jigs.  Jon was using a larger 1/4 ounce jig with a 3″ grub twisted tail and I was using a 1/8 ounce jig with a 2″ tail.  The pickerel were going crazy in about 7.5″ of water.  Grandpa picked up a really nice 19″ walleye as well.  We caught pickerel, yellow perch, sunfish, walleye and  largemouth.

This pickerel created a crazy picture by trying to jump out of Jon’s hands just as I took this shot.

Learning To Fish The Connecticut River

We have been trying to learn how to fish the Connecticut River this spring.  I have been driving up and down the river looking for good areas.  A few weekends ago Jon and I decide to just get on the water and start casting.  We launched in Windsor, CT just under the 291 bridge.  The launch was nice with plenty of parking.  A bunch of guys were there shore casting for the shad that are running up the river right now.  We headed north to the point were the Farmington River dumps into the Connecticut River.  Immediately we were onto a school of small Striped Bass and we landed 5 before we moved on to a different area.  Drifting down the opposite shore we hooked another 2 Stripers which were a little bit bigger.  At about 9 am they completely stopped biting and we spent the next 3-4 hours trying other stops before calling it a day.  Here is the only picture we got from that day.

Our First Trip To Canada Together

About a year ago J.T., Jon and I took a week off from work and headed north for our first big fishing trip together.  After about a 6 hour drive we arrived in Portland Ontario.  We stayed at a place called Len’s Cove that offers cabins with heat and kitchens, docks and boats for rent.  Jon has been going to Len’s Cove with his family and friends for over 20 years and he knows exactly how to find the fish. For the next week we went on a fishing assault!

Here is a map of the lake

And a link to Len’s Cove

http://www.lenscove.com/Home.aspx

And Most Importantly….FISH

It was a great week and we already have our next trip to Len’s Cove booked for August 2010

Welcome to Spooled Reel!

Welcome to Spooled Reel!  3 guys 1 shared passion for fishing.

From left to right: J.T. , Jon, Stephen

We started this blog to share our love for fishing with all of you.  For all of our lives we have been pursuing fish anywhere we can and any way we can.  We are searching for the next spooled reel.

The Fishermen

Stephen Peters:  Stephen grew up in Columbia, Connecticut learning to fish from his grandfather.  He lived across the street from J.T. and they grew up fishing together.  At an early age he fished Mono Pond and Columbia Lake in Columbia and Watchaug Pond in Charleston, Rhode Island.  His saltwater experience includes years aboard his grandfather’s boat off the shore of Rhode Island and years of pier fishing in the Gulf of Mexico in Naples, Florida.  Stephen and his sister Elizabeth both attended college at Bucknell University where Stephen met his wife Kelli and where Elizabeth met her husband Jon Bartholomew.  Stephen now lives in Manchester, Connecticut just around the corner from both J.T. and Jon.

J.T. Lauer:  J.T. grew up in Columbia, Connecticut learning to fish from his father.  He lived across the street from Stephen and they grew up fishing together.  J.T. honed his skills fishing in a canoe on Mono Pond and on his family boat  in Columbia Lake.  After attending college at Sacred Heart University J.T. moved to Manchester, Connecticut and he became addicted to fly fishing.  J.T. can be found roaming the Farmington River with his fly rod in hand almost every weekend.

Jon Bartholomew: Jon grew up in Hellertown, Pennsylvania fishing with his family and high school buddies.  Fortunate to have a family pond stocked with pickeral, catfish, and bass Jon spent countless hours casting Rapalas day and night.  During trips to Canada he would primarily use a 3″ white grub on a jig head and his tackle box is stocked with these still today.  He is also an experienced trout fishermen spending most of his time growing up on the Saucon and Little Lehigh.  He prefers a black and gold Panther Martin but will switch to live bait if the conditions warrant it.  Jon brings extensive international experience to the group as he has been to Canada over 20 times.  After attending college at Bucknell University Jon married Stephen’s sister Elizabeth and moved to Manchester, Connecticut.

We hope you enjoy our blog as we share with you our stories, hints, tricks, reviews and most of all our love of fishing.