JohnF

Great idea. One suggestion - if yer doing it in an older vehicle carry a decent tool kit and make sure you understand the fundamentals of keeping the vehicle running. Not sure how you do a crash course on that. Hopefully one of you already has the basics sorted out. It's amazing how little it can really take to limp the vehicle into civilization where you can get a real mechanic to fix you up. Just understanding the way the systems work and being able to make a decision as to whether or not you can push it safely or not without doing big dollar damage. Back in the 60's I helped build a car (an injected Corvette engine with a rebuilt hydro behind it in a '38 Ford coupe). We did the engine, injection and tranny from the ground up and mounted it all ourselves in the driveway. This was a pretty cool car that was intended to be the tow car for a '55 CC gas dragster painted matching blue. You London guys might remember it. Anyway, Bob and another buddy left for Florida on the day we finished it (I had a job) and did fine till they got in a little street race with a GTO in Tennessee and broke a tracbar (even I thought the ripple slicks were a little much for the road), relocating the rear axle by a tad too much on one side. The GTO guys were cool about it. Bob assessed the damage, made a shopping list, and they went shopping in the GTO, came back and put the Ford back together on the side of the road. Then they drove on to Florida for some Spring Break time and drove home without incident. That Ford then went to work as the 55's towcar to Grand Bend & Sparta for a summer. The moral of the story is to be able to fix it yerself or you'll spend too many hours and too many dollars. I realize you won't be driving a ground up rebuild so it should be a lot easier to know what's what with yer van. It's so much easier to have fun when yer not worrying about the vehicle making the next town. JF

Had the same experience coming down Whiteface Mtn in NY in my old Safari van (drum brakes). I knew it was happening but I finished the run and when I tried to slow down at the exit gate I had next to no brakes at all. Fortunately I'd been doing the engine braking thang and wasn't going all that fast, but it was still disconcerting with my wife and kids in the car. I've had it happen on a track but I'm alone then. Thank Heaven for disc brakes. JF

We can do that at Zehr's if we're satisfied with wine instead of beer. But then I can just drive out of the gas bar over to the beer store without going onto the road so that's almost as good, isn't it? JF

I agree. I just started playing around with them this year in my 1-2' creek. Obviously I don't want a lot of sinkage but it surprised me how slowly I could get away with retrieving and not lose it on the bottom. The shiny flutter of mine (silver blade) was easy to follow in the water. I could see the little taps and the hits clearly. I found that I got about the same results whether I did the slowest possible retrieve or burned it. I think though that just a little faster than sink rate was optimal. I caught the biggest rock bass I've ever seen that way on a #2 Worden (same idea as Mepps although it seems closer to a #1 Mepps in size, or perhaps I got the size wrong in the first place ) and lots of dink smallmouths. I've ordered some #3 in the same style (but Mepps) with silver blade and black-dressed treble. I'm curious to see if they get as much attention as the little bitty Worden. JF

Your right on the money. The only folks who run afoul of the feds doing that are those who get too cute with it and stretch the intent & spirit of that interpretation. JF

Not having tried I can't speak from experience but my buddy fishes from his kayaks often and he says he'd like the idea of a sitontop cuz he's always hanging his feet over the edges either to fend off rocks or just to cool down. He's a wetwader type too, of course. JF

Did the little Tinkerbell minnow put up much of a fight? JF

It's the same principle as volume car sellers or folks who start flipping too many properties in too short a time. "The revenooers" see that as income and rightly so. JF

I'd have given him a bare hook with a heavy sinker. JF

I prefer them to Monte Cristos. JF

I'm with you. I've never had a Cuban yet that I didn't think was over-priced by about 300%. But then what do I know? I always thought House of Lords were pretty good tasting cigars. JF

If yer coming out of the States, check at Duty Free. I'm pretty sure I've seen them there on return trips. Otherwise, if all else fails, watch for a ritzy looking golf course and check at the pro shop. Golf courses are one of the last bastions for cigar smokers and some shops keep a humidor with cubans on hand. JF

Sponsored by Nike? JF

The toothed monsters are gonna bankrupt you. JF

Betcha the reel works better on yer rod than it would on TJ's. JF

Most of mine are from less than 3' of water. Of course there's hardly any spots on my river where the water's deeper than 3'. Actually, that's a deep hole for us. JF

Get picture hanger wire and then unwind the strands. A friend of mine makes his own leaders that way. It works. JF

Stop being logical. Soon you'll be saying things like "A man really only needs one rod and reel." Sheesh! JF

If you can wait a couple of weeks my sone is leaving shortly for a cottage holiday at the top of the Bay of Fundy. He'll be back in about 2 weeks and perhaps he'll have some info for you. As for time, as Jocko said it's a hard day's push to get to Edmundston NB in a day from Stratford but then a pretty easy drive from there so if you don't want to blow yer brains out driving you might want to figure on at least a two day trip. I'd be tempted to go via the American side on the way out and Canada-side coming home. Personally I'd do some sight-seeing on the way out and drive up the coast from around Boston, hit LL Bean at Freeport and check out Bah Hahbah and some of the other ocean towns along the way. There used to be a ferry running out of some port along there that might be worth investigating too. JF

Or a scattershield. JF

Just look for the items billed at a buck. JF

I yap a lot. but I'm bigger than you and will chain myself to the tiller so whither goeth the boat, so go I. Where you go is up to you. You name the time. I'm free until I teach again in October, with a few short commitments in between times. JF

With my luck the lid would come off and I'd smell like Bass bait for the next week. The neighbourhood cats would all be trying to lick me. JF

I've smelled the stuff that they soak their 3" leechs in and that's enuf to put a hungry dog off a gutwagon, so I'm really glad fer yer wife's sake you don't douse yerself in it. Mebbe I'll just git me a pail of whatever looks tasty and soak everything in it. My problem is that I do most of my fishing wading and it's a tad awkward carrying a pail of bait let alone changing stuff in 4' of water without spilling. JF

Isn't it Gulp that makes the squirt bottles in Garlic, Crayfish flavours etc? I'm sure I've seen Dave Mercer squirting his baits liberally with something, or mebbe he was just washing their windows. JF