JohnF

We really are lucky to be here, aren't we? Happy Canada Day all. Now get outside and enjoy this beautiful Canadian weather. My good wife has even agreed to join me in the river today so we're heading out shortly. (Hey. She doesn't like early starts. I'll take what I can get. ) JF

The smokeless kind? So take me to 'em, eh. JF

I was lucky enuf to get out with Garry and get the lesson first hand. It sure got me hooked on frogs (no pun intended). Now I find myself looking for weeds instead of avoiding them. JF

Never trust hairy OFNers. Us old bald guys are fine though. I'll give you $30 for the reel. JF

Except for that determined little Rock bass I caught when we were out, the day we went like 40 miles back in the weedy bay and got both motors wound up in weeds. I set the hook so hard the little fart flew about 40' through the air. When I got him aboard the toad's little footies were sticking out the Rock bass's butt (well, they shoulda been) and the shank of the hook was stickin' outa his mouth. The hook wasn't even set. He was just wedged around the froggy. So it's not always a big fish bait. Sometimes the fish are just big thinkers. JF

I'll settle for a feisty rock bass. JF

Got no trout around here. It's either bass or carp. JF

Golf gloves. They're made to get soaked. JF

I got a 5 weight 9' 3 pc with a small arbor reel loaded with #5 floating line. Sorry, no cams at home tonight. I don't have a second spool yet. If I get into thia I'll probably go with a better setup with extra spools for different lines rather than spend more money on spools for a basic reel. Sounds like the weather is good for the weekend so I'll be out waving it around a bit. I've got the flies ready, I think. Looking forward to it. The rod doesn't seem too bad for casting. Now we'll find out if I can measure up. I might have to strap my forearm to the rod. JF

What about some of the car wax/oxidation reducers? We used to have lots of choices for bringing car paint back to life without taking too much thickness away. JF

There used to be a very wide mouthed short glass jar with screw lid that came with some kind of food product in it but i can't remember what it was. I'm gonna wander the aisles of my grocery store to see if I can find something like that. It's like a large peanut butter jar only about 3" tall. Be perfect for getting at the baits. JF

One of the few specifics I remember from my young days fishing with Dad was that he'd carve up the first Perch brought in to check for worms. He used to say that it was warm water that caused the worms in Perch. If the first fish was wormy we didn't keep any more. But they were his favourite eating fish, along with Walleye, or Pickerel as he called 'em. Next was probably Smelt brought home by the bucket full and cleaned and fried fresh in butter. They were awfully good too. JF

We need facts, son. What line are you using? Dry? Wet? What patterns? How do you expect the rest of us to learn from your mistakes unless you give us details? Seriously. I'm ready to hit the creek with my own flyrod now. After the way the bass gobbled up a bubblegum worm laying still on the bottom and a crankbait at the moment it hit the surface I'm not sure what to start with. I'd love to go dry and get to see the explosion. Guess I'll just wing it and see what's what. I was looking at the local bug life to see what might work topwater but none of them ressembled the crankbait that I caught the one smb on. Mebbe if all us flynoobs compare notes we can come up with our own rules for flyfishing. I mean whoda thunk 20 years ago that pink plastic worms would be a goto bass bait? So who says we really gotta match the hatch today. With all the ersatz critters we're using successfully with our redneck rods and reels why can't we use something equally imaginative for fly patterns instead of going for realism? I think I need one more trip to the creek and a few more decent smb's on the hook with the redneck gear and then I'll settle down to the flyrod. I've still got the flies that SingingDog sent me. They'll be my first round of experimentation. Anyway, if you have some success - sorry, WHEN you have success take some pics of the patterns cuz names mean nada to me. It's all just feathers 'n yarn as far as I'm concerned. Wooly bugger was the great hairy bully in public school, not a fly. I've got my spot picked out. The place I was in yesterday and caught the pair of 18 inchers. It's a perfect spot (I think). I can stand on the shallow side of the river and drop the dry fly over by the other bank in a light current and about 3' of water. Let it drift downstream under the shade of the trees and bushes. Lotsa back casting space behind me. I'm looking forward to it. JF

Absolutely. JF

The first one was a great figher. The second one was only good. I got them on a new 7'2" ML rod with 15# PP. They both put a pretty good bend in the rod. I've always used 5'6" or less rods so I'm not used to using that long a rod when I'm standing in the water so it took me a few extra seconds to get everything sorted out when it came time to lip the first one. I was ready for the second one. The first time the fish was always just about 2' away. JF

Yesterday we waded the river in the rain in three different spots for a total of about 4 hours. Rob caught two little bitty dinks. They were just barely bass. I got bupkis. Today I went out alone to the next spot we would have tried if we hadn't quit in the rain. In just over an hour I got two nice 18 inchers (good for the river), one on a pink worm and one on a crankbait. The pink worm I just let sink to the bottom and rest. I am not patient so this is a trial for me. But it worked. I didn't even have to set the hook, the bass did it for me. Great fight as the hookup happened at the full reach of my cast. It was fun. And lotsa fight left when I got it up to me. The second one was about 100' upriver and really had nothing to do with the crankbait. The bass took it almost outa the air. It could as easily been a stickbait or a popper. These fish were identical for size but there were diffferent markings so I know it wasn't the same fella. The bass proved once again that they aren't easily spooked by the line. I had a black leader on because there are pike in the neighbourhood and we've lost too many lures. I only saw one pike roll though. The crankbait I used is generally popular with the pike but didn't work today. I waded down the shallow side of the river and cast about 75' under the trees and bushes along the deeper side of the river into about 3' of water. Nice way to spend an hour or so. No pics as I was standing in water and probably still struggling with early season clumsiness. Didn't want to drop the camera in the water. JF

I gotta say one more thing. Then I'll shut up on this thread. I promise. It's more than reassuring to an old fart like me that so many members here are able to look objectively at this situation. By that I mean not screeching police brutality etc etc. In fact we seem almost without exception to be supportive of the police role so far. And the police handled themselves well. Far better than the media imnsho. As I said last night I'm particularly disappointed in Mansbridge. I always thought he was one of the better talking heads but yesterday he was getting way too much mileage out of ragging on the politicians and the police. I kept wishing one of the folks being interviewed had asked him which side he was really on. I get the feeling the police chief might have given the opportunity. Mansbridge may have been trying to be subtle but he could only sneer so many times that the Mayor actually called the boys in black with masks and hammers thugs before he outed hisself. There were a few moments late in the afternoon when he almost recanted. I was wondering if perhaps someone had pointed out that he was being too obvious in his zeal to embarrass the powers that be, but then he pretty much got back on form. Seems to me a more responsible position for him to have taken was to support the police actions against the thugs and hooligans and leave the government bashing for another day. I suppose now that he lives in Stratford he's okay with Toronto as a war zone. There might even be a nice raise in it for him if he stirs the pot enuf. In any case cudoes to you guys for acting like responsible Canadians and standing up for the good guys in this mess. Cop and politician bashing seems to be a reflex for many these days. It's ironic when those same people whine about why their own kids don't show proper respect for the things the parents value. JF

You'll never get consensus because politicians are involved. But even the press conceded there's probably benefits to meeting in person. Something silly like building personal relationships. Granting that, there's still the question of whether or not it's wortha billion bux, plus the cost of the damage that'll be done today and tonight. JF

Just heard a press conference with Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair. He was good. I really liked that when the press quoted erroneous "facts" he straightened them out, very forcefully. It was well done on his part. CBC cut it off before it ended. I assumed they didn't like the way it was going. I guess they prefer their politicians to sound crooked and stupid in interviews. Mansbridge still seems determined to paint the police and the politicians in a bad light over this. I want to hear one of them ask him why he's so pro those using the black bloc tactics. If we was honest I suppose he'd have to say that it's making for a great story. I'm impressed with a few of the people who've been interviewed. There was a Toronto city councillor whose name I missed who was very articulate. Fact is some of these interviews have made the interviewers and/or the press look kinda biased, or worse stupid. The police continue to handle the situation pretty well, it appears. Hopefully tonight doesn't get out of hand. JF

I'm more than a little disappointed in Peter Mansbridge today. It's almost like he's speaking out against basic law and order. I know it's popular for the media to be hard on the establishment but this goes way beyond simply "speaking for the little man" - the little man who coincidentally pays for all the tv marketing and indirectly Mansbridge's huge pay cheque - and amounts to siding with a few avowed masked anarchists who, as has been said already, have a declared purpose only to disrupt Toronto in any way possible. He was thrilled when he got Miller to call them "thugs" and is now dropping it into every second line he spouts. I want someone to ask him how he would characterize the anarchists. I suppose he might call them "entertainment". I'm impressed with the restraint the cops have shown. How hard do you think it is not to slap down some of those clowns as they taunt. I have no idea how the one cop (he looked Asian) didn't give the goof getting in his face a quick jab in the horn. It's obvious the anarchists want the police to retaliate or even take counter-offensive steps. They really just want to get things started and hope the "soft" demonstrators will get pulled into the resulting mess. Then the press can have a ball criticising the powers that be for beating up on the poor innocent peaceful demonstrators. And all the poseurs and thrill-seekers really need to rethink their prancing around in front of the police barricades and security lines. They're really just helping the anarchists to accomplish their useless ends but they're having too much fun to get it. I wonder how many of these yahoos would show up if this conference was held in the middle of the Sahara or even on the Canadian tundra. JF JF

Great point. Not to derail this thread but in answer to the salesman's argument that you can't put a promise in a contract, the Ont govt has now written it into law that real estate salespersons must put promises in writing. Maybe we need more sales type jobs to be under license. Might bring a halt to a lot of this misrepresentation that goes on. JF

You're right about not losing in the choice between Taylor & Tyler but as for Kessel, time will tell. He's still developing. One thing I've noticed with American born hockey players (and in a few other sports as well). They generally seem to have more heart than many of our Canuck players. They seem to be able to dig deeper when they need to and deliver the goods, like they have an extra little national pride cache hidden away that can push them over the top. It always worries me when we're playing an American team for something important. Too often Canadians seem ready to lose instead of expecting nothing less than a win. This isn't always endearing in the American players but you've sure gotta respect it. Kessel may be an egocentric selfish little turd but he's an American turd, and that makes him a dangerous commodity. Think of some of the other Americans who've stood out in the NHL. They may not have been the most talented or the most likeable but they sure were determined. And there are more of them every year, even though many of them have Canadian ex-pat pro players for dads. Look at the draft this year - a Cali roller blader fer cryin' out loud. JF

Hall almost sounds like he'd like the chance to play in Edmonton. There he can be the saviour. Boston is already a contender and he'd be just another (perhaps) franchise player. I get the sense he might have a little more maturity than Seguin, but that may just be the age difference. Hall sure was impressive in spring hockey though. He kinda reminded me of Jon Toews the way he took control at times on the ice. JF

Just a little warm weather hockey fun. Let's see who are the better hockey prognosticators. Will the next Oiler be Taylor or Tyler or will someone come out of the bushes? JF

Isn't the real problem here that warrantees are legal commitments, and as such are couched in all kinds of legalese that no one ever bothers to read. The sales clerk in the fishing rod store gets tired of mentioning all the disclaimers and qualifiers that are part of the legalese or he has learned that explaining the qualifiers detracts from the effectiveness of his sales pitch, so the sales pitch becomes "and it's got a lifetime warranty" which isn't exactly true. Then the buyer goes home thinking he's got a comprehensive warranty with no qualifiers or limitations (that are spelled out in the fine print on the tag we tear off and throw away) and in some cases even tries to resell the rod with the pitch that it's a "lifetime warranty" plain and simple. When you think about it rationally why would a manufacturer of an item that retails for a few hundred bucks max after all the different levels of markup from manufacturer through distributer to retailer be stupid enough to offer an open-ended no questions asked warranty? This is a product that by the nature of it's intended use is going to be at least slightly abused, even unintentionally, like when you hook into an accidental 50" muskie on an Ultralite rod. If the line doesn't break then probably the operator has used a line rated way above the rod's load limits. Of course there are going to be qualifiers on any warranty offered. Any company that doesn't do that will probably not be in business long enough to honour warrantees on older rods. Realistically shouldn't we be buying the rod for it's performance rather than how good the warranty is? After all, even a very expensive spinning rod is still only a few hundred bucks and as far as I'm concerned, if I'm going to hand over a few hundred bucks for a spinning rod I'm looking primarily for the performance and will not sacrifice any of that for a super warranty. And if I pay top buck for a ridiculous warranty at the expense of great performance I'm defeating the purpose of buying performance rods. If the very best performing rod happens to have a wonderful warranty then that's great. I can only hope the company knows what it's doing and will still be in business when I need more rods of the same calibre. The key is to not just accept the sales clerks claims about warranty. Read the fine print. Ask what limited means. Don't expect something for nothing. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it's probably not true. I don't think the disappointment should be with Shimano or whatever manufacturer is involved if the fine print said "limited". The disappointment is either with yourself for not reading the warranty terms or with the sales clerk who misrepresented the product warranty. At the end of the day you have to ask yourself which is more important to you - the performance or the warranty claims. I'll take the best performance my pocketbook can afford. Any reputable manufacturer is going to have a reasonable warranty offer. JF