MJL

All the reels mentioned work well - The Apex nowadays go for above $500 when you can find them (which is rare). If you're having start-up problems with the stanton, perhaps you can try cleaning the factory grease from the bearings (if any) by soaking them in lighter fluid and lubricating them with either gun or sewing machine oil (a light oil)...Getting them out though is a challenge. The stantons I've occasionally fished with had great start-up even in the frogiest of waters.

I have an Islander in my collection. They're light and durable reels. If anything, the miles of line and backing you need to fill it theoretically might hinder start-up but I haven't really found any issues. I Couldn't get used to the Bob James as the clicker got in the way...Works well if you cast British style with your hand below the reel.

No experience with the Sheffield

Some things that helped me speed up the learning curve when I took up fly fishing were:

1. Get a good instructor: Watching videos and reading books or mags are great but you'll often unknowingly pick up bad habits and you'll subsequently have to unlearn them before progressing onto other casting skills. Most lessons are about $80/hr. A good instructor should have you false casting within an hour with good loops. Well worth the $. I lucked out my first trip with a fly rod when I met 2 casting instructors/guides and got lessons for free. They had me casting within 30min to about 40ft with decent loops.

2. Also get advice from a tackle shop known for their expertise in fly fishing so they can help you match lines to rods and reels. Sometimes they give lessons for free. My first combo was an 8wt Sage LE matched with Scientific Anglers Headstart line - IMO a perfect combo for the beginner who can spare a few $...There are of course cheaper alternatives.

3. Practice at the park or on grass. When you're at the river, there are far too many distractions along with trees, shrubs and people.

4. Wear some form of protective eye-wear. Anyone who fishes should.

I love fly casting. It's relaxing and fun. I still practice a lot on my front lawn any chance I get.

In Toronto area

-Angling Specialties

-Lucky fish & Tackle

-FishOnlineCanada

If you're heading east, stop in at Tightlines in Pickering. The stuff they sell either tied up in bags or loose is dynamite. I've Been purchasing my roe from there for the better part of a decade - I choose not to harvest fish unless I plan to eat them... I don't eat steelhead. The eggs tie up well, fish well and are still fishable if you leave them in a wading jacket pocket for a week unrefrigerated

I guess I'm omnidextrous. I think I was a natural born lefty who grew up in a world with almost everything geared towards righties. My grandmother thought I was retarded when for the first 18yrs of my life, I didn't know how to use chop-sticks with my right hand...Tried them out with my left and within 10 seconds got the hang of it. When I write, I'm pretty much a mirror image of a lefty which could explain why my writing is so nasty - Probably the result of looking at everyone else in kindergarten class and seeing what hands they were using. For computer mice, both hands feel equally comfortable.

For spinning and centrepin reels, I crank with my left. For baitcasting, either hands feels OK. For fly fishing I cast with my right but can throw fairly tight loops to about 40ft with my left.

Welcome to OFC Tibbs

Great advice given by those before me.

Cliff...You are a mind ninja who shows no mercy. Each of these reports kills me inside knowing I still have a month to go till my schedule opens up for steel.

It's been 6 months since I last wet a line - by far the longest I've gone without fishing for as long as I can remember. Only a month to go till I'm done school. Each day I spend an hour or so building rods...It's just not the same...

Awesome report and congrats on your catch. Keep them coming. In all honesty, I play with my centrepins when I read them to get me through the day. ><(((*>

If you want to join a club to fish private water, the few of the clubs I know of for the eastern tribs aren't cheap. Annual dues range anywhere from $350 per year to how much you're willing to pay to fish a stretch. That pretty much entails fishing the water between the opener and when the season closes for that stretch of the river (In Durham region, it would be hwy 2 before Dec 31) - Most private stretches are above that. A lot of the clubs have limits on the number of members allowed to join. In terms of the private club for the Ganny, you have to know an existing member and have them sponsor you...Even then 99% of the time it's booked. You can try the club for Wilmot creek, but it's also in the neighbourhood of $350 per year.

The sad part of all of this is the privatization of our rivers and the decline in the number of available shore spots. Our fellow "anglers" before us didn't have the decency to pick up their own trash or ask land owners politely before trespassing on their land (often destroying property like fences in the process). The end result is that farmers and land owners got sick of it and we're stuck fishing what's left. On the Ganaraska, some of the farmers pooled together to form their own clubs.

As Bill mentioned, pick up a map and explore. Ontario, it's yours to discover.

Penn recently got rid of their Z series. Those reels were basically bullet-proof. I was at a fishing show a few weeks back and talked to their rep about it and he plain and flat-out admitted to the fact that it didn't pay for them to sell reels that would last forever. It is ridiculous but from their stand point I guess it does make sense.

FHR

Faulty, poor quality products don't sell a brand...Reputation does. Short term thinking on part of Penn. I know dozens upon dozens of people kicking themselves for selling their original green Abu Garcia Cardinals from back in the day. I personally don't see any great spinning reels from Abu today which can compare in terms of quality or durability to Shimano or Daiwa or even their original reels.

As Gerrit mentioned, I think outsourcing has a lot to do with a decline in quality. The older Shimano Stradics and Daiwa Emblem reels my dad and I own (which still run great) happen to be made in Japan (The origin of quality concepts like TQM, and JIT). It's rare today to find a mid-priced spinning reel at $150 and under to be made anywhere but China, Malaysia or Taiwan. You can have the greatest improvements and technology in a reel, but factor in a low to moderately-low skilled labour force to assemble them and the benefits of those add-ons is pointless (when they eventually fall apart or fail to work as intended).

For wading jackets, I wear my Simms Classic Guides all year - In winter, wear a fleece jacket underneath and/or a wool sweater. The cuffs on my jacket aren't neoprene (They're some other material) but they do indeed keep my sleeves dry when tailing steelhead. If I had to gripe about my jacket, it's hard to get chinny slime out of the micro-fibre outer layer but I could really care less.

Some features I like about wading jackets over normal jackets:

- Waterproof/breathable

- Waterproof cuffs

- Easily accessible large pockets in the front

- A well designed hood that doesn't hinder your peripheral vision

- It's cut shorter than most jackets

Thanks Dan, I know brookies love mice, but I'm afraid there aren't too many brookies big enough around southern ontario that'll take mice.....

Forget about the brookies...Go for the big double digit resident browns...The ones that prefer to eat a chunky steak instead of a sausage roll.

I don't fly fish much for anything other than steelhead, lake-run browns, carp and salmon. My friends never had much luck with mice patterns for brookies in Ontario...Labrador and northern BC/Alaska is another story - Even small fish take them there. Perhaps it has something to do with availability of the food source or the fact that a lot of our really big brookies live in large lakes where voles and other rodents usually don't get washed into the water or cross big bodies of water to get to the other side. It's of course, only speculation...Would love to see some of your flies though...Currently working on a surface pattern to get some of the local steelhead off the top.

In terms of centrepins with a drag, the only ones I can think of off hand are the Angling Specialties and River Run reels. Expect to pay close to or exceeding $1k. Both have a disc drag in them.

Islanders IMO are one of the best mass manufactured reels on the market for the price. You can find them anywhere from about $299 to $350. J.W Young Purists, Bob James (various models) usually retail for over $399. Tourney drifters and Loomis reels back in the day used to go for $230 but price has since increased the last time I saw one. Can't remember how much Okumas (Sheffield and Aventa) go for but having spent a couple hours with one on the river, I found them to be excellent reels for the price.

I would recommend taking your rod to the store and seeing which one feels right in your hands. I personally don't like using large arbor reels (like the original Ravens) or reels larger than 4.5" in diameter - I have smallish hands. Sometimes when using ultra-light centrepins, you may find your rod to be very unbalanced. If you can, try to find someone who has a few reels and take them out on the water to try - It'll save you $ in the end if you don't end up liking it.

As for places that sell them, you can check out Angling Specialties, Tightlines, Natural Sports and FishOnlineCanada...Those are the only ones I can think of at the top of my head.

Great write up and pics...Those sheepies and walleyes look awesome

Those are real bigguns! WTG

Great report and pics...I've never really gotten into walleye fishing but after seeing those monsters, I may have to give them a try next season.

Fantastic report as always.

Each report you post is a dagger to my motivation to do well at university. It's been 67days, 10hrs, 25minutes and 33 seconds since I last drifted for steel...You can probably tell, I'm a little restless for the next report.

Gavin, it's a shame we couldn't hook up for some GTA carping. There's always next year

We'll surely miss your reports from the islands and the rest of the country. I'd love to see some reports from UK especially for the barbel and tench.

If you ever decide to return on vacation for some carping, I've got plenty of kit for you to use.

Safe travels

Great report and pics. Those fish are mint. If only I had enough $ to pay for gas...

Simply fantastic

Top Angling

P.S. on a serious note to this carping nonsense, do you throw gobies back when you catch them or do you kill them to rot on shore, as much as some hate to hear it a lot of true sportsmen put gobies and carp in the same catagory

 

Last I checked carp is not classed as a sportfish in Canada, so again save a sport fish and kill a carp

I have a different view of what a “true-sportsman” really is. I do my best to appreciate and conserve our natural resources. I try to take the time to help other anglers out there on the water who look like they need it or ask for it. I spend time introducing youngsters to the sport. I give free lessons on basic fly casting and fly tying lesson. I pick up trash where I find it. I have volunteered in tree plantings. I respect all fish (even gobies) if I decide to release, harvest or dispatch them (when the law deems it necessary).

Having fished for carp for most of my life (I grew up fishing with the Brits), I see an opportunity for kids to catch something with relatively inexpensive tackle close to home in fairly good quantities – Not all kids have parents who own boats or can drive them 2hrs north to go fishing. You can even take the public transit (I do myself) to fish for carp. A 10lb carp to a kid might be considered as that catch of a lifetime. Carp can be caught in a variety of ways. Lefty Kreh (perhaps the king of modern day fly fishing) has mentioned that carp are just as exciting to catch on the fly as any species on the saltwater flats. You can stalk carp in the margins which is a lot like hunting. You can take them off the top using floating dog biscuits or bread or dry flies. You can float fish for them either using waggler floats in Stillwater ponds or trot stick floats down rivers using corn, maggots, worms, bread on steelhead sized hooks. You can sit back in the shade, prop up a rod on a stick and take a nap. You can make carp fishing as simple or advanced as you want to. All methods will work. Some of North Americas most distinguished anglers and writers – IE. Gord Pyzer, Al Linder, Doug Stange and Lefty Kreh have all written about carp fishing and their amazement to how such a fish could be neglected as a viable sport fishery.

The main argument against carp is that they increase turbidity in lakes and rivers when they feed which can decrease the amount of light which penetrates through the water column –The end result is plant life will die. Where I fish, a 50hp motor at the back of a boat doing full tilt can cause the same effects along with increased bank erosion where wakes eat away at the shoreline – Anyone out there who fishes the Otonabee will agree. Placing dams or obstructions in rivers can trap sediments above them causing even more turbidity. IMO, man has done more harm to our lakes and rivers than that of carp. With zebra mussels in many of our watersheds, a little turbidity doesn't seem like such a bad thing.

Carp have been in Canadian waters since the late 1800’s. If you enjoyed the fishing 40-100 years ago, perhaps there’s another underlying cause to a declining fishery. MNR reported that black crappies were decimating walleye fry populations in Rice lake several years ago…Carp often get the blame.

From what I’ve read in books (some dating back to the time of Izaak Walton) and seen in films, the only discernable difference in the gamefish classification is that most “real gamefish” have an adipose fin and are usually either predatory in nature or tasty to the pallet. If carp weren’t related to the minnow or sucked food items off the bottom, perhaps we would see a different means of classification. Suckers, sheepshead, gar aren’t classified as gamefish…Should we throw those on the bank?

Like the USA, Canada and parts of Africa, There are some parts of Australia which are rapidly becoming a Mecca for trophy carp angling and providing lakes for tourist anglers to fish (catch and release). Not all areas in Australia enforce this law. Contact Tony Davies Patrick (aka Globetrotter for more details) – You can google him up for contact information and/or purchase a copy of his book (Globetrotter’s Quest) for his accounts on carp fishing in Australia.

With the threat of global warming, increasing levels of pollution, exploitation and severe harvest of our resources, how many of your beloved “game fish” will survive in the future? I fish for steelhead the rest of the year and currently, numbers aren’t the same as they used to be. I always say carp are the fish of the future…When life throws you a lemon, you make lemonade.

My thoughts on carping

Great catch!

Congrats on the PB

Angling Specialties sells basic stands, motors and components. They mostly sell Sage and Lamiglas blanks but I'm sure they could order other blanks if you ask.

Mudhole and Cabelas are other options.

Catching that many fish should be illegal!

Fantastic report as always SP.

I started building rods when I was in high school. After class I would go to Angling Specialties and George would show me what I needed to do and what I screwed up on (and subsequently needed to redo). It's easier to learn having someone show you rather than reading online tutorials or going through books. Definitely have a talk with someone like Spiel who might be able to give you pointers.

As far as the cost goes, I find I can build a rod identical to the factory model for a few bucks less provided that I can get the components locally. Most of the rods I build for myself usually have stepped up components which adds to the cost; for example: Fuji SIC guides as opposed to hardloy or alconites, super sexy wood carved or woven graphite reel seats, flor grade cork from Portugal, decorative wraps just the way I want them, etc. Though I'm not a big fan of chevron or diamond wraps, you can weave whatever pattern you like on the blank without worrying about voiding a warranty. At the moment, I'm building my dream carp rod using the best components I can think of which currently is not offered in such a configuration on the market.

As for a wrapper, a cardboard box with notches cut out will do. Running your thread through a phone book will provide good tension while wrapping. After a coat of epoxy, you can turn your rods by hand for an hour or so - just don't fall asleep (1/4 turn every 5min works).

I don't ice fish so I either tie flies or build rods when the rivers and creeks are frozen over. Here's a photo of my kitchen table when I really get going.

You can try using a helicopter rig (You can google it for a description). I use it sometimes when fishing in heavy silt for carp and the mechanics behind it prevent tangling when distance casting. I can't say I have ever used it with 4 and 6lb line though - forget about using live bait with this rig.

What are you going to be fishing for?

Solo, you're such a tease with that Angspec caked in fish-slime.

Top angling!

Great report guys. Beauty fish to boot too.