Leaderboard

What a crazy fall we are having. Warm,cool,cold,warm. Not a fan of this. I was out one morning and it was 0 deg. Next day 14 deg. COME ON mother nature. River has yet to start to take on it,s fall color. Still a sandy look to it. Not my fav,but have done ok for the times I have got out. More swings and miss,s,but that is fishing. I hooked into what would of been my personal best this past weekend. Float dropped,set and out it came. I was gob smacked. Holly molly. I was in awe. Had to be 30" plus and thick. I tried to hold it,but me nerves got the best of me. My rod could not of bent anymore. Silly me,try to turn and well,pull the hook. Next drift,rain starts to come down. I am thinking the old saying as I watch the float drift away. Rain makes a bite. Sure enough,float drops,set and game on. Not a single jump,just bull dogging me. WTH. Salmon? After a good fight,finally get it close enough to see and it,s a nice fresh chrome. In the net and well,he went where I like them. In the smoker. My oldest boy has been telling me I need to go with him,as he knows where the bites are. Hmmmmm,I am catching I say. LOL He likes to hit the out of the way spots. Ya,I did those a lot as well,but my knee is not the best for that. I gave in and we hooked up. Wind is howling from the north all the way during my drive. Thinking this might be a good morning with the waves crashing on shore. We meet up and start the trek. Walking was not bad til,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Carefull pop,if you slip,yer going down a steep hill. What am I doing???????? It was dark,but we both have great head lamps. Head down and watching my steps. I stop on the narrow path and shine my light on the drop off. All I was thinking was, yup,that will end my day.That was positive thinking. Once we were past the,death do us part section,it was a nice walk. Got to spot with like 2 hours til any daylight. Thankfully,I had my java and some tunes. Once fishable light arrived,it was nice to see a very nice drift. I fished the tail out,he fished that darn fast water. I could never get the hang of that,but he does very well in it. An hour pass,s and who gets the hook up? Ya,the ole man. Nice fish that was jumping around like a jack in the box. I love that. Son came down to help land . Wind never let up all morning. right in my face,rod swaying back and forth. by noon,I had enough. Was a great morning. Walking back all I was thinking ,stay to the right and do not look down.LOL We made it back safe and shared some smokey treats. I have to say,he has turned into one hell of a river rat. Hope I had some part in that. Were entered in a derby as a team next weekend. Not sure where were fishing,but I will follow. Think I have lead long enough. Time to pass on the leadership role.

All good Peter, we didn't use line counters with the oldman when I was a kid back in the 80s either. Hell, I think half the time we didn't even have a fish finder lol! Still put fish in the boat.

Better tell all the salmon guys running dipsys and the muskie guys they're wasting time knowing what depths their baits are running at lol. Although I guess if all you do is dunk worms under a float, you wouldn't have a use for one.

We teach them everything they know,not everything we know. LOL

Good deal man, I had a heck of a time on a father son trip with my middle boy a while back! Good to spend time afield with the kids. Downside is he’s learning to outfish the old man! Only a couple weeks until deer season with my oldest boy, can’t wait for that!

Salmon in the early days...Pink Ladies and counting passes of the level wind...and then we graduated to a home-made downrigger made from my Mom's old clothesline reel, counting revolutions. After that, I thought I had the ultimate in hi-tech...I got together enough scratch to buy a Lowrance X-15...fond memories of trying to change the paper roll in 7 footers on Lady O...

Lew I think it just comes down to personal preference. The first day or so I was like 'I dunno about these things!' I noticed it made my hand cramp like it never has before but that only lasted an outing or two. I find along with the bucktails it really helps with the glide baits. I fish my glides by palming the reel and using my wrist (opposed to some guys jerking the entire rod down towards the water or to the slide) to impart action. It was much easier on my wrist by using 2 fingers on the new handle to assist that rotating motion of the reel if that makes any sense. Kinda hard to explain lol. Crowman, I know some guys that use the below. I never have so I really can't comment on how it is compared to the GRASP handle St.Croix uses. That being said I'm sure any rod builder could strip down your current muskie rod and rebuild if the GRASP handle is available separately. https://www.muskyshop.com/en-ca/products/rod-reel-accessories-trolling-outdoor-grips-cork-jig-ripper

3 am can’t be Lew o’clock I go for a walk around 6 am and consider that around Lew o’clock

I hate still fishing really! I have attention issues and if have have to screw around counting and playing scientist it takes the rawness out of it and the shine comes off ive fished salmon on the big o for 50+ years and never used a line counter on a reel. planner boards, dipsies and all manner of salmon thingies just not my bag or a tool I would even remotely find interesting to each their own pass on the counter! peter

Ya gotta do something at Lew O'Clock, might as well go wet a line somewhere's

Yeah, even flat-lining or using snap weights it's the "repeatability" of a specific presentation that makes a line counter invaluable for me. Even with colored leadcore, my short memory span makes dialing in a specific number that much easier.

I switched over to the GRASP handles this year with a 9'6 Slingshot II and a 8ft Switch Blade I use for glides/jerks. Coming from a 9ft Big Nasty and a 7'6ft XHF 'The Jerk' jerkbait rod. I find the GRASP handles much more comfortable and have a lot less wrist fatigue at the end of the day, especially tossing big bucktails. It does take some getting used to though. I gained casting distance going to the 9'6 MH from to the 9ft Big Nasty. It makes the casting even more effortless. And when you're burning blades you're really going to like the GRASP handle compared to the trigger grip you're probably used to. Some guys like them, some guys don't. I was a bit skeptical at first but after a few days on the water, I'd never go back. If you're going to grab these, wait till the Odyssey as Gagnons will have 30% off St.Croix muskie gear the weekend of the show.

My 1st thought was that grip may force you to always keep your hand and wrist in the same position which could make it even more uncomfortable. I know anytime I was casting large baits for an extended period of time I liked to be able to change my hand positioning. Also looks to me like it may hinder your casting. Just my opinion though as I've never tried that type of grip before.

That's so you can beat the other guy who gets there an hour and a half early...lol

Hey, don’t get me wrong, I’ve owned and enjoyed numerous V8 powered cars and trucks over the years. Last being a 2017 Titan that probably sucked back 20 to 25 litres per 100km . The novelty wore off pretty quick though. I think people often miscalculate their MPG, either knowingly or unintentionally. I’ve never gotten close to the claims I typically hear folks make. But, yeah, they are fun all the same. At the end of the day it’s your cash.