MJL

You got the last one partially right Craig...It looks like PRIME trout bait

The little ones appear to be baby Atlantics. The mouth doesn’t seem to extend past the eye and the spots don’t seem to go very far below the lateral line. Only 1 spot on the gill plate. Rough guess though. Here’s a link http://www.loughs-agency.org/conservation/content.asp?catid=360 The brookie is a beauty Thanks for sharing Clive.

You can try adding + (plus sign) in front of the words you are trying to search For example, if I wanted to find posts about steelhead and spinners (both words) type in: +steelhead +spinners I prefer to take the post preview off and go by looking at the topic names instead.

Well done Dan

Edna the trout, wasn’t hooked in the mouth By an unethical, immoral snagger Her belly was slit, and her skein was unzipped With a stainless, blood-soaked dagger Edna’s mate from NY State swam up the Ganny to spawn A Chambers creek strain Who can pull like a train Didn’t realize Edna was gone Mitch Phinney the C.O. With charges in tow Walked up with tickets in hand With the poacher now caught And justice now sought The Court ruled a fine of 8 grand

Bellissima! I don't have any experience fishing in the Soo (or Lake Superior tribs for that matter). Pikeie, Doc Sal, TDunn and Troutologist can help you a lot more than I can. For my mainline, 10lb Raven (in smoke grey or green) matched with 5-6lb Maxima Ultragreen leaders has landed many a jumbo steelhead from the Niagara for me. So long as the bait is moving at a fair pace, steelhead don't seem to mind smashing it even with a slightly heavier (and more visible) leader...It may be different where you're fishing so carry leader materials in different strengths and materials...As far as fluorocarbon leaders go, I like 6lb Drennan Fluoro as well as the 6.6lb Scientific Angler fluoro for the big water & clear water situations when I need it. The Scientific Angler fluoro is certainly more supple than the Drennan fluoro and will aid in the presentation of your bait (I still find it fairly abrasion resistant too in most cases) HTH

I’m sure she’s thankful for that tasty treat She looks quite thin and needs some meat Without some rain the rivers won’t rise A significant factor towards her demise It’s great to see you give a helping hand There are not many bugs crawling from the sand An incredible journey for a fish to make Hopefully soon she’ll be in the lake

WTG Laz!

I’m LMAO…The commentary is brilliant!!! I’ve been watching it over and over during lunch. Fantastic video…Love it!

Thanks guys for the comments…The pics were mostly taken by FrozenFire (Canon DSLR) and Jet (Waterproof Olympus) with a few from my Panasonic super zoom (which I did nearly dunk for the 3rd time)…The poem clicked the other night coming home from the river while half dazed and listening to Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven on the radio.

Simply priceless Dan...Thanks for sharing

Great thread Simon...Really love the pics and especially the vid...You must be so proud to be in the midst of raising a fishing monster who will eat, breath and live fishing for the rest of his life I hope you don't plan on having grand kids in the future... Girls what?

Where am I going, I don’t quite know Into the valley where the cold creek flows Is my boss cross because I didn’t show? Anywhere, anywhere, I don’t know Drifting a float along a seam Floating a river of emerald green Flashes of chrome and silvery dreams Hoping a take from those unseen The float pops under and line peels off the reel Torquing the rod for that one tight feel Gasping and sweating for a moment’s steal Thinking and mumbling, “this can’t be real” Reality beckons and I’m tired and wet Excitement and relief, wipe off that sweat Into hand like a now tamed pet And back into water for freedom’s set Friends amidst a flurry of fun Setting hooks and landing some Hoping and praying for one last great run Leaving quickly when our misses rung… Hope you enjoyed P.S Many thanks Jet and Ant for all the rides to the rivers on all those early spring mornings (and subsequent late nights) this season - Hard to ask for better fun. And Solopaddler for your never ending generous words of wisdom…Really appreciate it

As Roy mentioned, pet stain remover should get it out. My friend had a similar problem except with salmon. I can't help but think back to that Seinfeld episode...

Great reportage and pics rob...well done That water looks absolutely gorgeous...My Mikey senses are tingling!

Great report Marko...Congrats on the mirror...You caught a nice redhorse too (the sucker looking fish)- They're a pretty rare catch for the Lake O tribs I fish for steelhead. Hope to hook up with you this season for some Grand river carping action.

Always had a pleasant experience with CO’s…Most still think I’m too young to own a license The ones I’ve met have been super cool…They’ve even pointed me to where I could get into some better fishing to salvage my day. I'm usually checked either once a year on the rivers or once a year fishing for carp in the Kawarthas...Pretty surprising how far in they hike to some spots.

Well done guys! One day I'll have to join you to get into some - I'd be tempted to try getting them on my ice rods from a canoe.LOL They a pain to clean up? They do look quite tasty

Very cool thread...I'm currently in the market myself for a switch rod. I no longer can cast single handers very long without aggravating my wrist (old injury). Good to know the St. Croix Imperial is a good performer and they're relatively inexpensive. At the moment I've got a Meiser switch at the top of the list to build but I'm always looking for alternatives. Just wondering what kind of line systems you're planning on running with it (or for those who already own a switch - Skagit, Skandi, regular long belly fly line?)

Beauty fish Love the red stripe on that buck...Great catch!

But it's still fishable when you've got baseball sized roe bags and anaconda sized pinkies

Totally awesome Pete Well done guys!

With Facebook, if you want to increase your online 'cool' status, under 'relationships' select 'married to' or 'engaged to' and pick Barry It'll also make Barry look cool should he have Facebook too Don't worry, the wife won't care...She'll actually be for it because it's the cool thing to do

What’s your point? Jim Butler has never seen me with anything other than a 7ft spinning rod on our local rivers tossing spinners. Henry Lee from Cobourg hasn’t seen me use a float combo since I was a teen opting to use his custom wooden plugs or flutter spoons instead in the trench. They spend tons more time on the rivers than either you or I (Though last spring and fall I was out 4-6 times a week before work, after work, nights and weekends – Fishing was too good to pass up) I’m certainly not limited to just using spinning reels when it gets windy…That’s my point. I can use a spinning reel pretty much everywhere I use a centrepin plus more (at least in terms of efficiency for bottom bouncing and lure chucking). If you re-read my original post, I mentioned that for sheer versatility, the spinning reel is the way to go. As far as teaching newbies to use a pin on the river and answering questions for people who post them on a forum; they’re the ones asking for help. Centrepins are a sexy topic on the net…More people talk about them for steelhead on this board – Basic statistics. The more people who ask about which centrepins and float rods to get, the more I will reply to them with my own opinions…If someone’s asking about what spinning reel to get for steelhead, I tell them what spinning reel I recommend. I’m certainly not the one telling them they need to get a pin to catch more steelhead From what I gather, the last few posts of yours revolves on trying to prove the hypocrisy amongst anglers who use centrepins VS not using spinning reels…We get it…I prefer to use a centrepin for float fishing because of its efficiency and fun factor (As I stated in my 2nd post – I’m sure others feel the same way). It certainly doesn’t mean I’m a slave to the pin when I want to catch a lot of fish. I’ve always felt it was the angler who catches the fish, not the tackle. Tackle only enhances the skills and knowledge an angler already possess. Great anglers IMO are flexible, adaptive and receptive to new ideas regardless of the tackle they use. It’s obvious that your perspectives on float fishing are based on a limited knowledge base and experience. You have no idea what you’re missing out on. With that said, you can pick away at various small points of my posts and selectively ignore or fail to consider others as you have done…From my own perspective, a lot of your arguments or points either directed at me or other board members lack substance related to the topic. That’s all I really have to say about that. You’re an angler who’s obviously passionate about the sport and I respect that…I, like a bunch of other people feel like you’re coming off as arrogant, ignorant and unwilling to accept new ideas As far as the net goes…That one’s Victors…He felt more comfortable using a net than tailing it (or at least trying to multiple times). I’ve never harvested a steelhead in the 20yrs I’ve fished for them. I don’t believe in killing fish just for roe or keeping for the sake of keeping…But that’s just me.

I can do both: go to total lock down in an instant and do long drifts…Not sure if you have the skill yet to do it though I never suggested that only newbies and pros can use spinning reels...Quite the opposite...Given practice and ingenuity, anyone can achieve the same results. On top of that, you also have the versatility to switch up to lure chucking or bottom bouncing. For long drifts with the spinning reel, I usually have an open bail and feather the line as it comes off the spool to control the speed at which line flows off the reel – You can also control speed at which line goes off the spool by varying the distance at which your finger is away from the lip of the spool…I almost always cast directly across from me or slightly downstream. In faster flows I sometimes cast a few feet upstream to ensure my bait is close to bottom throughout most of the drift (but never enough to not be in contact with the float). Manipulate the angle of your rod to control slack and lightly mend if required (similar to trotting a float with a pin)...Continue on with the drift for however far you want to fish. The limper the line, the easier it is to do (6-8lb Silver Thread is my favourite). As with centrepins the longer the rod, the easier it is to do. Should a fish take the bait, trap the line against the spool with your index finger and set the hook (At least that’s how I do it) – Close the bail and proceed to fight the fish. You may question “don’t you lose fish when you gotta go through all those steps especially when you have to close the bail?” I personally don’t…Usually when you hook a fish, they usually headshake for a bit which gives you enough time to close the bail and reel in whatever minimal slack there may be. The 6.1 ratio on my Stradic makes it easy (Especially with a 4000 size reel). One other method which I’ve seen was with BBNotty’s son. He manipulated his drift by opening and closing the bait to create a seamless drag free drift – He also controls slack on the water by adjusting the angle of his rod and casts across or only very slightly upstream to make sure his offering is down near bottom throughout the drift. The day I fished with him, he actually did end of catching 95% of the fish out of all the anglers that day which were almost all pinners.LOL There are a few different ways to get a good long distance drag free float. Pick one that you’re comfortable with and practice. Why do I use a float reel? - It’s fun to use and more efficient than a spinning reel - My first ever centrepin (a 3.75" Hardy Silex replica) was given to me for free as a kid by my early steelheading mentors who were English (and also machinists). They made it for me and taught me how to use it at no charge - My $800 custom AngSpec was also free (Why not use it?) Why don’t I use a spinning reel for float fishing 100% of the time? - As I said, a float reel is fun to use and efficient - I do use a spinning reel when it’s blowing more than 25 clicks - I do use a spinning reel off the pier for chucking spoons - I do use a spinning reel to bottom bounce. Usually use either a 9-11ft Med-light or med action rod for fast water or an old 10'6" noodle rod in slower or shallower water as seen in the background of this picture)...Sometimes fish spook from the sight of even clear floats...Gotta adapt. - I do use a spinning reel to toss spinners (Usually with a 7ft Shimano Compre spinning rod as seen in this picture) - From time to time, I still do take a spinning reel out to float fish with if there's only enough room for 1 reel in my bag (I was a poor university student at one time who had to take the bus everywhere - 2000 Stradic matched with an old 13' Loomis...float fish, bottom bounced and spinner fished with it depending on what stretch of river I happened to be fishing as well as the conditions) My 2000 and 4000 Shimano stradics get a good work out during the season. I like variety so I also fly fish and swing large streamers for steel but I guess that wasn't part of the question... As an aside Why don't I use a spinning reel + 13ft rod 100% of the time? I wouldn't mind getting stuck using a spinning reel...A 13ft rod however might be a great choice for float fishing, it isn't always the best tool for the job for other steelheading disciplines(In case you may be wondering)...For my fishing, I worry more about the action and physical abilities of the rod I'm using than the reel...But that's just me...Anyone who fishes with me knows I use whatever tactics work the best for the conditions given...And No float fishing isn't always the best. In my opinion, learning a variety of different skills makes you a better angler...Of course that's just my opinion.