JoshS

Wow, that's a steal especially with the free shipping... I love that reel for light musky and pike. If I didn't have a massive list of other things fishing related to buy I'd get a second one. Surprised no one's jumped on it yet.

Interesting shot, I like it. Nice pigs!

Good on you for getting out there and keeping us posted!

Yeah, I use it for the heavier baits. It's not bad for the price. It's fairly heavy if you're looking for an all round pike rod though. For all round use I'd get a 7ft mh.

I use a 6'6 mh v-rod with a 250 calcutta for jerkbaits and such, a 7'9 h st croix mojo bass with a curado 300 nice for big swimbaits, and a 7'6 mh crucial flipping stick with curado 200. braids 50+ and 40-50 lb fluoro or steel leaders.

haha... "That's a HOINKER". That's a new one, hog meets pig? Looks like a fun day, thanks for the vid!

BEAST!!!!

I love reading reports and so thought I’d contribute and throw one up here. Last week we had some great warm temps (not for the ice fishing guys!). Friday Jan 6th, 6degrees, little wind… knew the fish would be active. I had arranged early in the morning to meet a friend at the water after work, with anticipation of finishing work kind of early. I finished later than expected, just before 4, and ran down to the water and was casting just after 4:20. Only had maybe 30-45 mins but it's always worth it. First spot, no sightings. However, this is a one or two cast spot on the way to the better spot and my confidence was still high. A cast takes a long time this time of year because of the speed you work your baits so one cast an area is by far all the time I had. I met my buddy at the next spot who said he had a follow from one of the biggest pike he's seen down there, "well over 40 for sure with huge shoulders". My first cast on the new spot, slowly twitching my jerk bait that seemed to slowly sink perfectly, I hook up. It stayed down, had some big slow shakes and I knew it was big. Got the fish to the 8ft cement wall I was fishing off and noticed I had a massively fat fish that looked to exceed the 40in benchmark. Perhaps my biggest pike ever... And according to my friend, a chance it was the fish he had seen earlier. Also noticed he had one treble in, barely hanging from the corner of his lip. Ohhh no. As I approached the ladder to climb down to land him, and man were my knees shaky! Guess what? He shook me off way to easily and slowly swam away. My knees instantly hit the floor, I dropped my rod and stared into nothing for a min or two speechless. I was so discouraged, that this 33 incher I got a few casts later seemed like nothing and I tried to shake the hook so I didn’t have to land it. Couldn’t shake it off so landed it and changed my opinion on him so took this "stunning" pic: Sorry about the blurry pics! The next day was calling for the same temps but windy. I slept in and planned on getting a few afternoon hours in. I got out around 1 and drove down to the same spot to meet my friend who informed me he had seen nothing in over an hour of casting. Without even wetting a line, I then decided to make a move to another spot I’d been thinking about. We ended up getting some lunch, taking our time and got to the other spot and casting around just after 2. An hour into it… no fish sightings. I’ve only fished this spot once a few years ago and have yet to catch one here but knew it would be a good place for big fish to roam until spawn. Also, the sun was high, winds howling and conditions weren’t in our favour, despite the warmer than usual air temps. Think it got up to 8 degrees that day. Then, I noticed the wind made a slight change to the NW and some clouds rolled in, or could it of been that prime time (aka evening bite) was approaching that, sure enough… We nailed one! A high 30s fatty that looked like it swallowed a basketball! A beauty open water January big female. My friend kept saying this was the fishing gods consolation for the lost monster the night before, I said they are going to have to do a little better than that but what the heck I'll take it. Few casts later, and 30 meters or so along the same breakline ,this fat mid 30s inhaled my jerkbait: Fishing gods were doing ok now Again, sorry about the extreme blur, not easy on the eyes I know. All fish were super chunky. Funny how on the second day we saw zero follows, just two bites. I was expecting more. The day before, my friend had seen multiple follows. I think this time of year you get shorter feeding windows for these fish and at times they just shut off. I’m constantly conflicted on where to fish close to home on the warm days of winter… Steelhead, pike or casting for browns. I know the ice fishing guys don’t like it but next weekend is looking pretty good LOL! Wanna try some big suckers on quick strike rigs and floats next. Hopefully I'll sneak out mid week on one of these warm days coming up, however I'm almost positive some spots are iced up now. Until the ice fishing bug hits me hard (bound to happen), I'm loving these warm winter days for open water. The spots are not big secrets but please don't mention, thank you. Thanks for reading.

Nice sized crappies!

Wow, crazy temps. Was just thinking about how last weekend was picking pike out of open water in light jacket.. miss that.

They sell loose roe as well. That link MJL provided looks like better stuff but I'd look into getting some off someone with a little extra to give like msp's offer... The stuff sitting cured in jars doesn't produce like fresh roe, it will work fine if the river is high and the bite is hot however.

Thanks Ron!! I've been kicked out of the harbour before wondering what the hell the reason for that was. Thanks for putting in the work for everyone!

Man you have no idea I cannot wait! Dream come true

Thanks for the responses and the insurance breakdown Craig. Looks like the deal is going down Thursday if Rizzo doesn't beat me to it!! After fishing out of tin boats for years, finally going to have that casting deck to stand on!

Thanks Roy, I agree, this is just some last minute logistics. I've bought some time and have the guy holding it for me until the planned trip down to get it this Thursday.

Hey guys, I posted awhile back about a how I was shopping for a used boat. Well, I've been shopping (aggressively) for a few months, missed out on quit a few good ones, and have finally almost settled on this: http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/boa/2544032803.html I'm pretty sold on this one.. I got the marina to knock it down to 6k and all the engine tests check out and boat in good condition. What do you guys think? This is my first boat purchase... It's not the 4 stroke, 17ft I was looking for but I'm thinking I can get some use out of it and sell it and upgrade with little depreciation loss in the next few years. I'm also shopping for insurance today but don't know too much about it. Do you guys recommend Actual Cash value or Agreed Value insurance? Any recommendations on companies to go with and things to look out for? Also looking for good boat storage in Toronto because I live in an apt with no garage. I fish everywhere so location would be best close to home (live downtown College/Bathurst for the time being). The majority of my fishing will be done on kawartha lakes, quinte, GB, simcoe etc.. If anyone knows of anywhere good, pass it along. Thanks everyone.

That Tracker looks like a good deal too but I've just heard so many horror stories about Trackers... Good point on the papers Irish, thanks. Anything else you can think of please let me know.. info and tips are greatly appreciated.

Spoke to the owner, seems legit. The family is selling off their Dad's possessions and wants to get rid of it. Anyone have any experience with this particular boat? I think it's a 171 Millentia but not sure. Thanks for the replies

I think you need to have a few reels for different applications. If it's your only musky reel, you might want something more well rounded. I have a curado 300ej and it's nice for smaller baits and handles musky well.. although nothing over 45" on it yet... yet!

WISH it would rain here in Toronto to relieve some of this humidity, the week is looking like it's going to feel around 40 everyday.

Hi guys, I've been looking for a boat for a few weeks now... most good deals go quick and I've lucked out a few times. SO many options out there and considering I'm new to the boat game, my head is spinning! Anyway, I came across this one and would like to hear some valuable opinions... http://dayton.craigslist.org/boa/2492536970.html According to the seller, the boat was used rarely, stored inside. It's in Dayton Ohio, 7 hrs from me in Toronto so not that bad a drive. Seems like a steal but would love to hear some thoughts from more experienced boat owners....

Ahh poor Eugenia.... I remember fishing it a few years back it wasn't what it used to be, or from what I heard even close! Really unfortunate when this kind of stuff happens to what was once a gem of a lake.

Hey Chris, I had the exact same issue with a cheaper portable unit. Call Hummingbird out of North Bay (1-800-461-9500), ask for George and he should be able to help you. In my case the transducer was the issue and they shipped me a new one the next day at no charge (it was under warranty). If it's not under warranty, they will probably sell you one at cost. Needless to say, give them a call. They provided some of the best service and I was up and running with a new transducer within 48 hrs. Great service and they didn't even want my money for shipping!

Nothing beats a top water musky in my books. Nice catch

Beaut!