Milty

when steelheading on the rivers,..anglers only use nets until they are experienced/skilled enough to not use them or need them,..if the fish is close enough to net,..it is close enough to tail,..,..goes hand in hand with experience and skill, the more inexperienced the angler,..the longer you will have to play that fish, using a net saves no time at all,..also the type of net makes a huge difference,...there is also no need to beach a fish,..it seems to be implied that a fish will thrash around more if its not in a net on the beach,..well the argument was you can bring it in faster so it will have more energy, ..wouldnt that then imply that the fish will thrash more on those rocks and mud that you innevibly have to set it down on to untangle the mesh from all the thrashing,...its not overly difficult to tail a steelhead and remove the hook with your foreceps (although there are always exceptions,..big water like the niagara being one), keeping it in the water,...if you need a net, use a rubber one,...again talking exclusively about steelheading on the rivers here!!!

Love to compare my education level with either one of you,....Who is calling who the hothead? I made a simple comment,..and got attacked from all sides,..I dont back down,..Becasue I have balls and I know what Im talkin about,..,..if you guys could read you might just realize that,...make some valid points if your going to comment!!! done with this...Over and out!!!

HAHAHAHA,..no problems in the 'GETTING LAID' dept over here,...bu thanks for the concern,..sorry bout your luck..lol,..hope things pick up for ya... Ken,...where are you...LOLOLOL

good job on your secret spot,..but was it really secret or closed? just curious,..no offence,...but many people dont know the new changes,..or the feeders off limits.....seems hard to beleive of any 'Secret spots' left,..unless its private land or the long stretches of the notty or saugeen for year round open season,...everytime i go out,..there is someone fishing the wrong side of the bridge or up further,...NO accusations dude,...really,..just hope you know your reg's,,...if you want to respond with a slam ,...be my guest,...just tryin to help though!!!

Who's yellin,..i was only tryin to help ,...im sure people got upset at the idea of barbless hooks at first and no live bait,...its comin ,...best get used to it!!! just one of those things that seperate the .... from the .....lol bottom line is that using net on a small creek to land a chromer is unsporting, uncessesary and the science says unhealthy.!!! done,...done and DONE!!! not one comment to rubut had any vailidity,...i thought this was a fishing site,...?? Facebook is there for the rest!!!

In case you thought a 'bad' word,..ignoramace is one that practices ignorance,..who is one that is uninformed,..and i do beleive you brought that up yourself,..ironic that you proved it yourself!!!

And if the net was the way to go for the health of the chromers,..you would see every single fishing show about sheelehading using nets to land them,..in my experience watching shows in ON and BC on the rivers,...whether fly or floating,..nets are rarely used except for big fish from a boat,.....if there was one single benefit,..you can guarantee the sponsers are all over it and the hosts would be using them,...!!! catch my drift!!! but then agin maybe they are just lazy!!!

dude talk about ignoramace...steelheaders dont carry a net due to laziness????,..thats an joke,..most steelheaders are by far the least lazy fishermen out there,....the ones you see 30' from the parking spot are the lazy ones and the ones usually with the nets,....grant it there are only a few steelheaders on this board,...I can tail a fish as easliy and fast as i can net it,..but it doesnt smash around hittin the steel rim and that cheap poly net scrappin off all its slime,...back up your claims, becasue the facts say you are wrong!!! ,..get it,...you got issues,..callin yourself 'stealheader',..ignorance in the fact that they are STEELhead',..no theft involved...lol...and im not bashing the nets ,..if you feel the need to use one,..use the right right one,..whats wrong with that? As for your comments about the lift,..apparently you or anyone else can only help by attending the lifts,...give your head a shake!!!

This is tailing,..not beaching,...same pic i was reffering to,..but im sure you can see the difference!!

BTW,.dude,..my gear, except for pin is bottom of the line,..my rod costs $75,...I aint one of THOSE steelheaders,.so carful before you jump to conclusions and Make an ASS out of U!!!

dont use one,..dont need one...lol,..not afraid to get my hands wet!!!...lol!!! Nice reference on the gucci ..LOL!!! If your fishin trout like specks in a lake way up north that I know Dan C does,..then Im quite sure he would be usin the right net of he is releasng,..if not,..i dont even know what to say!!! As for the lifts,...gimme a break on how things are down here....poaching and snagging and everything goes and noone says or does crap!!!,...lets introduce Atlantics again,..that should work 100 years after they became extincint,..out water is much cleaner now!!!!...

Beach is a figure of speech,...it even rhymes,..that fish never hit the beach it was tailed, as u can see..hook out and released,..and BTW,.i never said to beach a fish....sorry for the confusion!!! I would agree that a fish flopping around in the mud and rocks is bad bad for sure,..

Who said anything about beaching....ever hear of tailing?? ...AKA sporting???..check your reading before you jump to your conclusions,..and BTW,..anyone who can afford a pin can afford a net,..assuming they need to use one,...get your facts straight first dude,..as you may just not know what your talkin about!!! IMHO in my earlier more NAIVE days of river fishing,..I once netted a salmon i had fought for a minute or 2 before she was really ready,...in a trib ,..and she thrashed around in that cheap poly net so bad that she popped her own eye out,....that fish would have died guarenteed,...and it was the cheap net that would have caused it,....just a peronsal experience,...and one that backs up why YOU DONT SEE STEELHEADERS WITH NETS!!!! as for FF.net,..not sure what your beef is,..i know the analness that can be observed there,..but really,..its a site dedicated to preserving the fishery,.not such a bad thing!!!

For steelheading, for one its a sporting thing,...2 for C&R its a help the fish live thing,..all nets are not created equal,..if anyone has ever been to a fishing store,..and looked at the differences in nets and intended purposes,...they would realize the Poly nets vs the rubber are for different reasons,..but I know i dont have to explain all of this...

ok,..no worries,...its up to you how much you want to harm the fish,unless of course you arent returning it to the water.....after all its within your rights when you pay your $29 for a license.....just do everyone else and the fish a fovour and get a proper net for them steelies, if you feel the need to use one......fair enough ???...its a sad sad day when you cant take a helpful hint...regardless of all the kudos you get from your friends on this board,..it doesnt change the harm you may be doing becasue you dont want to do it right,...becasue you see guys at the peir hurting the fish,..does thast make it right? How many steelheaders do u see with a net? there is a reason,..do some research if you dont know what I mean,...on a creek that size,..there is absolutely NO need!!!

nice work on the jigs,...not so much on the nets though,...unless your in niagara,..no nets...lol... or its cheatin them chromers!!! ...I think that spot is full of PB's this week,...

that was awesome,..thanks for sharing,..as for the local,..I was thinkin it was a spot I knew on the notty,..just goes to show you trees are trees,..and very well put,...everywhere in southern O that holds steel is holding steel,..why some guys get there knickers in a knot over backgrounds is beyond me...if you know enough of how to catch these fish and what the background looks like,...you will know where to go and when,..backgrounds or not,..quite simple I think.

Nice work Dobee,..great shots,...Huge buck in the last pic,...cheers!!

Got out today with DMASSE and BOWSHEP,... -8 when we got there at 8:00 am but warmed up to 0 by noon, actually got a sunburn for the first time this year...lol......Dmasse was hittin em all day, I got my PB for a buck and a hen..... ,... and shep lost a couple,...all in all was a great outing,...the fish in the pics measured 29" x 17" for Me and 31" x 16" for Dave,...no pics of my Hen as they cam batts died but she measured 29"x16",..also saw a couple OFC members in CCMT and BLY,...look for their post later.... Heres 3 pics of my male.... And Daves Big Fish of the day.... Ken Helping Dave beach this piggy....

PM sent

Excellent report, thanks for sharing!!!

nice work on the double dig's,..nice to see you got into some good action with notta crowds... the last one you were holding looks pretty decent compared to the others...were you using chartruese roe bags? reason i ask is that im tying up for monday, water should be nearly back to normal by then,...how was the fight on? any jumpers?

LOL

If the Nottawasaga River is not too far for you, it is a world class steelhead fishery. It is however a larger and one of the more difficlt river to fish if you are not experienced with rainbow fishing. The river is open year round from just north of Hwy 89 (where the notty meets the boyne) all the way down to the mouth of the river in wasaga beach. However the reg's have changed and I beleive the section from the boyne to the pine is now C&R only ,..but from the Pine on down is a 2 fish limit for sport license. As already mentioned, the best method is float fishing but if you are unfamiliar with this and dont want to put in a few months learning (providing you have no guide), then I would recomend using a lite wieght spinning rod with a little length (9') or so, and a line rating of 4-8lb or so and use a flourocarbon or flouro coated (to save$$) line in the 6lb test range. Small spinners and spoons work when the fish are aggresive,..bright colours especially pink for spinners work well. As for float fishing, in the absence of you spending a few hundred$$ on a centre pin, and learning to use it for weeks or months, you could use a long ultralite rod (12-13') (4-8lb line rating) with a spinning reel, spool up with 8lb mono, atleast 100 yards, get some balsa floats in 4-5g range and some flourocarbon tippet,.. 6lb drennan is great for the notty, small split shots, small swivels and small #12 hooks. As for bait, roe, wetflies and pink worms work well. the best time to head out is basically now until end of april and from october through december. Use the hyrdometric charts to see water levels, best fished a few days after a storm or melt and the water is dropping back toward its normal level. Notty steelies generally range from 4-6lb although there are some 10lb+ fish to be had and IMHO, are the best fighting fish lb for lb with lots of aerials especially in oct and nov. As for eating them, try and release as many wild ones as you can and the fish over 4-5lb dont taste as good as the 2lbs, IMHO. Hope this helps and good luck!!! once you catch a couple steelies, you will be addicted for life!!!

Nice work,..good to know East is fishable now...