MJL

I thought that was common knowledge Mike

Probably the least expensive option for quality blanks you can find in the market (Great value IMO)…I built 1 of the old RX7 float blanks for a close friend 5yrs ago (2pc, 4-8lb) – Bill Batson told me it was the predecessor model to the current RX7 and the newer blanks are slightly faster in action. Had a chance to play around with the 13’ RX8 blank this summer and tie on a few guides. Ran a line though it and felt pretty fast and powerful compared to most other blanks on the market. I’m currently looking for a 2pc rod myself (for trib hopping) and may consider building the RX8 or the new 13’ St. Croix Avid when it comes out (Both blanks are under $200CAN I believe without shipping or other fees).

Your tracking looks a lot better than what I’ve experienced in the past with Canada Post, Fedex and UPS. A lot of the time the estimated date of delivery is off by a day or two (I’ve had packages arrive a day earlier too)...If you see the package going away from Kitchener (like to some distant city on the opposite side of the province), I’d be worried then - same if it's been in the holding center for more than 2-3 days. I’ve tracked packages sent via UPS from NY State go up to Toronto, then to the Scarborough UPS store, then go back down to the border to Buffalo, then to Kentucky, then back to Toronto and then to my door in a span of 3 weeks

Beautiful picture Paul. I've been seeing a good variety of birds of prey while I'm out steelheading but they always seem to fly off as I'm reaching for my camera. 2 weeks ago I was fishing alone in the bush off the beaten path at night...Turned around and a pretty big coyote was behind me sniffing my backpack on shore...Really amazing how much wildlife is around even near urban centers

When ordering components, try to find items locally if you can…Ordering long, heavy, expensive or flammable items from the States may be quite costly in terms of shipping, brokerage, customs and other hidden fees. I mostly deal with Angling Specialties when purchasing components (I live 3min away from the shop)…If I want something they don’t carry, I try to order from one of the Canadian vendors like John Collina http://www.jccustomtackle.com/ or http://www.rodbuildersupplies.com/index.php If not, Mudhole down in Florida has been great getting stuff but be aware that shipping can total to 25-65% of the price of your items based on how they ship it (Fedex or USPS or how big the box is that’s being shipped to you) http://www.mudhole.com/ I’ve also dealt with Mark Crouse from West Virginia in the past (aka Munich Rod Man). He is one of the greatest thread weavers on the planet. His website is down but his contact info is available if you google it up. He stocks European float blanks (Like Harrison, MSC and Tusk) and builds them for Erie trib steelhead. Also has a variety of metal/rubber butt caps and can turn you a custom reel seat, butt cap, handle if you want. Rod building is really easy if you’re a patient person who is pretty detail oriented. You can make your own rod tying stand out of a few pieces of wood…If you have no hardware tools whatsoever to make a stand, a cardboard box with 2 notches cut on the sides would suffice…You could also use a telephone book to run your thread through for tension. You can hand turn your rods after applying epoxy if you don’t have a motor (you could also build your own motor out of a BBQ rotisserie). Have some light sandpaper on hand (I like using 3M scotch-brite in grey or maroon) and some brushes to apply epoxy (I prefer small medical spatulas or bodkins better but brushes are probably easier for beginners to use) With cork, you have 3 options: a) Buy pre-fabricated handles and glue onto the rod or b.) glue your own cork rings together onto a mandrel, then shape them on a lathe and then assemble onto the rod or c) glue them onto the rod and then turn. For a beginner, I’d recommend buying a pre-made handle off of a rod builder and taking a reaming file to it and gluing it on…Saves you from buying or needing to build your own high speed lathe to turn it. BOF from the Float board builds rods and I think is around your neck of the woods…You might be able to get some tips and components off of him too. Learning off somebody in person is a lot better than watching internet tutorials IMO. It’s a fun and really addictive hobby once you get into it. I loved getting scrap blanks and factory seconds and piecing them together with hack saws to make fly rod blanks…I also used to salvage old float rod blanks and refinish them for cheap or turn them into something totally different and build them for myself. For me, I love the variety of components and options (like thread colour, decorative wraps, etc) you can use to build rods just for yourself to your own preferences. Haven’t built full rods for quite some time due to my allergies to epoxy but I’ve been playing around with other finishes like varnish, Permagloss and some clear coat adhesives and I’m hoping to be at it again this winter. Last year I built a float rod for myself out of a used scrap blank for pretty cheap (at least compared to one brand new) - Definitely won't see another one like it on the river Go for it provided the wifey lets you use the kitchen table

Sounds like a Witzke custom rod with maybe a clough…Ouch! All the best to the guy in finding it. I'd be pretty devastated too if I lost a couple of my own rods…Witzke’s rods are usually very distinct and identifiable with decorative cork handle inlays (I've seen his rods with brass, wood, sometimes even tiny flies suspended inside bubbles of hard resin put inside the cork handle) and decorative thread weaves on the butt. I had the pleasure of fishing a custom Witzke 13’6” Sage baitcaster in the whirlpool last year and it was truly a work of art. Might not have the sentimental value as the original rod but there are a couple rod builders in Canada and the US I know of who should be able to reproduce the look and feel of the original rod given a few specs and an idea of what materials were used.

Congrats! Beauty fish Nice catch to the both of you (if you know what I mean )

Sweet fishing Kemp, nicely done

Looks like you're out of luck fishing the Kawarthas anytime soon unless you plan to ice fish for them in the new year. Kawarthas are closed to fishing for all species at the moment. Regulations for FMZ-17 "Closed to angling for all fish species (including bait-fish) from Jan.1 – Fri. before 4th Sat. in Apr. & Nov. 16 – Dec. 31, except where noted as an exception" New regs are supposed to be in place in the new year. Might wanna give ice fishing for carp a try if you're really desperate. You can try giving a harbour or rivermouth around Lake O a try if it's close by...Might be a little crowded with the steelhead guys though. I usually find once the salmon enter the rivers in the fall, they push out the carp from normal holding spots and drive them out into the lake. Good luck in your quest for gold.

I'm in the same boat...banned from using the fridge for worms, leeches and maggots (roe is still ok but pushing it). My sister found the escaped worms (about 2 dozen super jumbos) in a bag of carrots...I tried to tell her that the carrots didn't come pre-washed from the grocery store but to no avail

I’ve only fished with 1 guy who had the Ross Flow – Haven’t used one or played with one myself…Quirky reel design, you can pop the spool off and switch the handles to the other side if you ever decide to retrieve with the other hand – No need to respool the other way (great if you get tired and are ambidextrous ). I own a few Ross fly reels and they’re quality pieces for the price (Cimarron and CLA) – Not sure how their float reel would compare. If it were me, I’d go with either an Islander or a Raven SST if you can afford something in the mid priced range. In the end (in most cases), you won’t be spending more by buying a more expensive but quality reel that will last and perform to your needs. I’m more partial to Islanders mainly because I’ve had one for ages, abused it and it’s never let me down.

I feel your pain...One season I tried to do the hardware thing the entire fall, winter and following spring I blanked on a bunch of trips during the winter and early spring On the bright side, I've never caught so many larger trophy fish in one season Keep at it...BELIEVE

Ya gotta start picking floats off trees at the end of the season . I normally go for the Riverwoods and customs and leave the Drennans behind for the others (can’t see them anyway) Got 5 boxes worth of floats in total…1 box of floats just from this spring and early fall …If in the middle of the night you see a strange figure climbing up a tree on the far bank, please don’t try to shoot it

If you can find one, the ugly black LEEDS reels used to sell in the neighbourhood of $100. The tolerances were pretty poor and it wobbled when you spun it but those reels started many anglers onto using the centrepin. They also mashed up your hand pretty bad when a fish took you for a run cause the machining was pretty poor You could probably pick one up for $50 now. I’d recommend saving up and getting something like a Raven or an Islander – You could probably get either used for $200-$250. Buy once and there’s no ‘need’ to upgrade to something better later on. I put ‘need’ in quotations because there will always be a ‘want’ for another reel

Not overly familiar with the Brantford area but 2 shops which sell them not too far include: - Natural Sports in Kitchener http://www.naturalsports.ca/listings.php?category_id=7 and Angler's Outfitters in Woodstock

Is that link of the reel you bought? Or perhaps the wrong link? You may want to reconsider that purchase if you're looking for a float reel...If you bought it, you purchased a fly reel...Fly reels are totally different from centrepin float reels. With that said, a lot of guys up fishing Lake Superior tribs spool mono onto their fly reels and use them for bottom bouncing.

Incredible report Moose...A great read to start off my morning with. Totally agree with the felt soles...They suck clinging onto anything but the cleanest algae-free gravel and rocks. Stunning fish all-around. Congrats guys!

That's the best news I've heard in a while ...Probably will ship them in sometime in late Dec or Jan. From what I gather, it's only $30US to get work done on them. Took the waders for a test drive today (My parents dropped me off at the river and went to the flea market for a couple hours in the afternoon ) The left neoprene bootie still seeps after smearing aquaseal in every imaginable spot On the bright side I caught 2 fish which made getting a little wet OK Thanks guys for the comments

Beautiful fish Andrew...Nicely done Thought you would've been out today with the other guys...Ran into them today...F1 is done for the season

Yes this is true. From the Ask a CO web-page http://www.outdoorontario.net/AskMNR/mnrfaqfish.html Question 124: What should a person do if they were to hook a walleye that would definately not survive if released due to the way is was hooked? Is it up to a C.O.'s discretion or must it still be released?... Asked June 28/00 Answer from the MNR I am assuming from the context of your question that the walleye that you were referring to was in some way illegal. Otherwise, its butter and flour time! The answer, if the fish is illegal (out of season, under or over size, over limit, illegal gear, etc.) is that the fish must be immediately returned to the water. By regulation, this must be done in a manner which causes the least amount of harm to the fish. Even if the fish were dead, it must be returned. It's rare to deep hook steelhead with spinners but it does happen occasionally. 95% of the time they hit the spinners and turn, hooking themselves usually in the corner of the mouth. A lot of the time, I don't even really set the hook because they're either already air born or steaming off down river before I realized what has happened.

Could speed tying roe bags be the next Olympic sport? I’d spend 30 minutes of my life watching it and cheering on some of Canada’s finest As for the bags that the lady was tying up with the machine, in chartreuse or hot pink, I’m sure they’d be deadly in stained water…Could save you from needing yarn for added bulk and silhouette fishing double double When I tie bags, I usually sit in front of the TV and watch the hockey game…Doesn’t matter if it takes me 10 minutes to do a few dozen bags or 3hrs to do the same amount…I’m there anyway watching the Leafs get destroyed

Here's the machine in action. As for the way I tie roe bags, I have one of those orange Melnak Bait makers for tying bags up with. I got one for Christmas when I was 12-13. I threw away the metal gate thingy and just use the hole in the orange plastic base. Put your sack material over top of the hole, put eggs in the middle, shove the eggs down into the middle of the hole with a finger and the mesh or scarfing folds up nice. Grasp the sack material just above the eggs, twist once and tie off with spider thread a couple times. Cut or snap the thread off and cut off excess sack material. The guys at the local shop have a roe tying table and do it this way...They've got 50 holes on their table to put mesh and eggs over which speeds things up even faster. Sure faster (at least for me) using the baitmaker base to fold the mesh up than trying to fiddle around with it on a flat table or the palm of your hand. As other guys have said, it's a lot cheaper to tie up your own bags and far more versatile.

Congrats Laz. Earlier this week Fidel was saying to me he was thinking of taking you out to try to get you into some fish...Glad he did Once you hook your first one, there's no stopping the urge for another, or another Steelheading is like an addiction which can't be cured...My own life has been spiraling out of control mainly because of my need for chrome steel

I’ve been getting tons of PMs and calls lately asking how I’ve been doing. Haven’t posted many reports lately. I’ve been busy fishing quite a bit this fall (more so than the last 3-4 years) and repairing waders (more on that later). Been averaging 3-4 trips a week since mid-September for steel. I don’t get the car for very long during the day (plus I’m busy with other stuff) so a lot of the trips have been either to a few local tribs for 1-3hrs during the day (usually after 9am or after lunch) or during weird hours like 11pm through to 4am in the morning. Bummed a few rides with Kelfun for some 12-14hr fishing sessions on the weekend which are always fun - Really appreciate it dude I figure I might as well fish whenever I can, wherever I can Some pics so far from this fall Took Victor salmon fishing in September a few times to try and get him his first ever one. He hooked into one (one that hadn’t been filleted yet) and fought it like a champ. He finally landed 1 after 2 years of trying. Managed to get into a decent run of small cookie cutter sized brownies on cobra sized dewies on one trip Chrome steel is what I love fishing for the most (tied with fishing for carp of course). They’ve been fighting beautifully this fall – All the ones I hooked into went air-born and fought crazy hard…Hard not to love October/November steel. Had a couple days this fall with amazing numbers of fresh fish but with mostly low water in the rivers and lack of rain, fishing has been a little tough going (especially the last couple weeks) – Managed to land some fish on most trips though with a couple blanks here and there during my midnight fishing sessions (starting to really learn more about fish behaviour at night now). Casting your rig into a tree on the first cast of a trip (and obviously having to re-rig) was vital to pleasing the steelhead gods in giving up some of their steelheading mojo Got the car for the day this past Wednesday and managed to do an 8hr session (sister didn’t need the car and she filled it up too ). Tough fishing but got into 8 gorgeous fresh chrome hens throughout the day from 4 rivers (2-8lbs). Fishing wood and other snags and sacrificing some terminal tackle was key. Here’s one: With all this fishing I’ve been doing, I think I’ve finally destroyed my waders. A month ago, other than the odd patched hole on the inseam, everything had been just fine. The last 3 weeks, I’ve had to repair a new tear, seam or hole after every trip . Water still seeps in some places I already tried sealing up from the inside or outside. With 6 years of hard use, I can’t complain. My jacket and boots are going too but still have another season or two in them. Hard to ship them in for warranty (If I still get any) when there’s chrome steel to be had in the rivers 1 pair of Orvis ProGuide II breathables + 2 big tubes of aquaseal + 1 mini tube of aquaseal + 2 tubes of Loon UV wader repair + 1/2 roll of McNett’s Tenacious Tape = Leaky Seams on both legs which were fixed with a shed load worth of aquaseal Pinholes in the same spot on both legs near my shins – I couldn’t locate them exactly but the seal seems to be working Toes were seeping on both feet but fixed up Inseam of both legs have holes due to wear and tear and a roll of discarded barb wire I tried jumping over but never quite made it – Combo of Loon UV wader repair and Aquaseal. The left side was much worse. The heels were leaking on both neoprene feet…Aquasealed the outside The left side still leaks…Aquasealed the inside this afternoon and I’m praying it still doesn’t leak this weekend – May not be repaired in the end. When you can’t locate the source of the seeping…Aquaseal and tape the hell out of it . Already have copious amounts of tape and aquaseal on the inside. Another one which might not be repairable. Had a run-in with a submerged Rapala J-13 (Fire-tiger) on Wednesday (I’ll get to filling in the holes with tape and aquaseal tomorrow) Quite a few other parts on my waders not seen in this report had to be repaired Lots of memories standing, sitting, kneeling and falling into the river with those waders on. My biggest problem is finding a new off-the-shelf pair which fits me right (I’m in between S and M for most companies and am either too big or too little in some places for MS ) – Also a little strapped for cash at the moment which doesn’t help either…The ones I have don’t fit me perfectly but they’re the closest fitting ones I could find that are really comfortable. Anyone have any thoughts or reviews on the Simms G3 or any other breathables with some durability? Reinforced legs are a must... Must be Mikey-Proof . I’ll probably order a new pair for Christmas. Hope you enjoyed

Great pics from both parts. Nicely done guys. Stunning fish all around