OhioFisherman

Glad your back on! Great pictures and report! Like to see the kids outside fishing!

Robert, what will the reel be used for? Most reels of the same model come in a range of sizes and retrieve ratios. A model number like a 100,1000 usually denotes a smaller reel, 200 a midsize, good all around reel, maybe not suited for bigger fish, eg., muskie, salmon. Most of the guys I fished with used old style Shimano Curados, dependable reels with few or any issues. They redesigned the curado last year I believe, I haven`t heard of any issues with the new model, price went up, comparable to the high end revo. Most use the 200R/H-201LH. Like cars a matter of preference on the brand, and usage it is intended for on size and gear ratio. Faster retrieve reels eg., 7 to1 are usually intended for burning a buzzbait or spiinerbait, slower ones for cranking deep diving lures, crankbaits, slow rolling a spinnerbait deep. I don`t need any more reels, I got enough to take me out the door, if I was going to buy an all purpose reel? a Shimano 201L/H around 6 to 1 gear ratio. Just what I consider a good all around reel, lots of opinions on different brands though. House brands like BPS, Cabela`s? No experience with them, and I don`t know many people that buy them. You will get some more opinions, that was just mine, all my baitcastera are older Abu`s or older Shimano`s.

Robert, this is just my opinion, Abu seems to have a lot of quality issues with new reels. The old ones seemed bullet proof(60`s-70`s maybe the C-3`s). Some of the later models seemed to have repeated problems and didn`t stay in production long. I have a lot of older Abu reels but would be leary of buying one of their new models until it had been around awhile. It seems the Revo series was designed and priced to compete with? say the Shimano Curado? Just seems odd the issues with some of their reels, in the 60`s and 70`s Abu pretty much owned the high end freshwater reel market.

Real hard to beat a Mcdonalds filet!

Great pictures and report! LOL and no black and yellow?(er, gold!) Hats off to Dad, nice fish!

Nice hat! I like the mellow rock myself. New waters are fun, it`s a game like any other, but you are outside playing it. LOL lost some good fish myself, the muskie bump is always fun.

Doesn`t look like the buffalo I have seen, they looked more like giant suckers. Hmmm Rudd? looks like a baitfish. A link on Rudd http://www.kdwp.state.ks.us/news/fishing/a...ecies_list/rudd

Sorry Lunker, watched my grandfather and dad die at home from it, mom lost an eye to it a couple years ago, and my father-in-law has had cancerous growths removed twice. Just a horrible way to go.

Our laws in Ohio are confusing, yours probably can be also, here is an example of one of ours. "Fish caught by legal angling methods (such as bluegills caught by hook and line) may be used for bait." I am pretty certain if I had a 8 inch walleye on a hook as bait there would be words exchanged, not that I would do so. Here the regs say, http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/wild_resou...29/Default.aspx

We arrived at a camp we went to on the Georgian Bay one time as another group was ending their stay. They had caught some nice bass and were showing us them, one about 19-20 inches had teeth marks from the gill plates back, just cut up from were a muskie had grabbed it while the guy was landing it. He said the hook wasn`t in the ski, but it wouldn`t let go until he got it along side the boat, just opened it`s mouth and swam away. Saw some huge fish up there years ago.

One of my friends had a Triton that would do 84mph gps speed, like a 225 or 250 on it. Just doesn`t impress me a lot, to be competetive in tournaments it helps to be able to reach spots quickly but seems like overkill and driven by sponsers in a quest to get people to spend more money. The tournaments would still be fun if they had a 60hp limit, the idea is to see who is the best fisherman not the fastest? Just my opinion that money eliminates competition not increases it.

LOL Norm, you need smaller ones, less pressure on the back! Go gobie!

LOL no they aren`t, even the ones on perch. I have caught steelhead with with small perch in their bellies, go figure. We used perch at times for bait on the Georgian Bay year ago when I was young, don`t know if it is still legal but was back then up to the first barrier, dam, falls. Never caught anything on them but pike and a bowfin once. Even suckers didn`t work well for me up north, although I have had good days on Lake Erie using them as a thought, the suckers run up the river, the walleyes run up the river? Food maybe try it? Emerald shiners out of the great lakes seem to work anywhere, ok for all species if you can keep small fish away and it is legal to transport them. Silver shiners a bigger minnow, broader wider profile also work, but harder to come by here. Golden Shiners also work everywhere I have tried them and they get big, just my opinion if you are stocking a pond Golden Shiners are the bait fish to put in it. They get big enough so most species won`t deplete them, you should be able to maintain a spawning population. Seen them in ponds here bigger than the bluegills and the bass in the ponds averaged a bigger size. Creek Chubs and darters also work well but darters, dace run small. Creek chubs get big. Used small shad once, 2-3 inches didn`t have any luck and never bothered with them again, but they seem to be everywhere and in a lot of fishes bellies.

On smaller waters we divide the lake, river, into six thru 10 areas sometimes, 1 boat in the area for 1 to 1 1/2 hours depend on the number of boats. We also impose different size and limits always a larger size than the legal minimum and a lessor limit than the law allows say like 3 bass instead of 5. We played for more serious cash though, 60 to 100 per boat.

A lot of farm ponds are stocked with bass, bluegills, cats, and minnows around here. The minnows are usually the first thing gone from the pond, fish usually like to eat soft ray fish first, bait fish are soft ray, no spines in the fins, easy meal. Smaller fish smaller spines, seen a few pike get themselves in trouble trying to eat bluegill and perch tail first. Spines opened up and fish was lodged in their throat choking them. Very small bluegills or cats don`t seem to be a problem for bass, I have used small bluegill for bait in ponds around here with no signs of minnows. Never used small cats, but cats will also eat small bluegills. Never seen a bass or cat with one stuck and choking? smarter than a Pike? Less aggressive? better eye site? I have seen baits made to imitate bluegill and cats. Pike and ski`s seen to attack anything bass, walleye just need to know which end to start on. Some species aren`t legal for bait, before you try check the local regs. Big fish eat smaller fish.

LOL Stuntman, unless you want to be one, those boats are best suited for farm ponds or very small lakes on calm days. Just my opinion that the wake from a cruiser going by might put you in danger. You don`t normally see boats of that size on Lake Erie around here, even on calm days when I am fishing around the river mouths for steelhead. Tow vehicles are an important part of the safety thing, mass, a bigger heavier vehicle is going to be less affected by a sudden sway or pull from a lane change or blowout. The boats you have pictured are light and probably fine to pull, but if something bad happens? I have a 17 foot aluminumn ever pulled in with anything smaller than a Pontiac Grand Prix, 1985 v-8. The current tow vehicle is an Astro van, just guessing about the same mass but smaller engine.

Gerritt, I wouldn`t be sure that just sheet metal screw would be a good plan for a seat. Ok for mounting lighter items with no stress,but a human on a seat might be too much.

HDTV? High dollar toilet valve?

The sky is falling? Artem get a fishing regulation book they should be available where fishing licenses are sold. Usually seasons are closed during the spawn but can vary. Most should be open now. A lot of baits (lures) will work, some are good for a variety of species. If you are new don`t go overboard and buy a bunch of stuff you may not use. A simple in line spinner like a Mepps will work, a hard bait like a rattle trap, soft plastics, 3 inch grub on a ball head jig. Different species have different habits, areas they prefer, food, but a lot of cross over. Squid? Like a tube? Small tube lures will catch fish, the fish have to be there though.

LOL not even going to try, I can`t get them to walk right.

I get them in the chimney and under the soffits also, I take room fogger, I think it is for fleas and ticks but will kill the yellow jackets as well. Attach a can to a pole with cable ties, push the soffit as much as I can without damaging it to make a gap. Take the can, it has a locking on, and set it back up by the gap. Sometimes it takes two cans a day apart and is best done as near to dark as you can, they should be all in the nest at dark. I use the poles I use for cleaning my chimney, like 6 foot sections with quick connects any sort of stiff long pole should work though. Keep a garden hose with the water on nearby in case you tick them off. They don`t like flying thru water to get you. For a chimney just drop a can down it for a couple of days near dark, mine has an outside clean out to get the empty cans, you might need to check where your is to do this. If you get them out try putting some moth balls in the soffit.

Congrats! Make it a life sentence! Big goof? I thought that was me?

LOL I have the kids little mermaid rods in the barn. No answers, I don`t fly fish and don`t fish for Salmon. Steelhead don`t seem hard to catch on bass tackle. LOL wait till you spend 40 grand on a bass boat and can`t catch bass? Seen guys do it. 5k for a fish dinner seems pricey.

Wife`s cousin is coming up from Texas with the family and staying a few days, rest of the family coming over Monday evening for a cookout.

Great pictures, I have to go on vacation to see anything but European Brown Squirrels. There doesn`t seem to be any others left around here. Saw a chipmunk in my yard a couple years ago, don`t know where it went, only once, very few squirrels of any kind, even the browns. Lots of birds some pretty ones, the Purple Martins get active everytime someone is cutting the grass, it stirs up bugs and they fly around eating them. A lot of Buzzards, trying not to feed them! Had a chipmunk in a cabin we rented in Pointe Au Baril had to make a trail of grapes to get it out the door, it liked them, don`t know if they all do.