MJL

I don't have the luxury of owning a boat or fishing from one often but when I fish from my canoe (and plan to get my feet wet often), I wear Columbia water-shoes These ones They come with mesh uppers and drainage holes in the sole. I've never gotten sunburned while wearing them.

I can see it now...Salmon season at the pier Target acquired...Yellow Kayak within 30 yards and closing! Ready! aim! Launch cleo! Nice catch btw

Tag on another few minutes for tolls and border crossings...It's especially bad on long weekends.

Awesome...She's thinking outside of the box!

Thanks for the report. I haven't fished there for a number of years but I do remember the sign about avoiding bass/pike fishing. At least you got into fish and had fun. There are other fishing opportunities in that pond. There are also crappies, bullheads, carp, perch and silver bass (or white perch can't remember). Catching fish in summer on ice fishing gear must be a blast.

You can make boillies out of pretty much anything provided that they can bind together into a dough when you add eggs. There are lots of recipes on the net (some better than others though). Technically you could use food colouring if you wanted to, to get them different colours. I find that various ingredients and/or flavourings (like scopex, strawberry, pineapple, etc) also add colours. I stopped making my own boillies when I figured out it was just as cheap to get quality boillies from the local shop. The last 4-5 years, I've been using boillies with formulas developed to provide a high nutritional value to the fish and have been doing well in most of the waters that I fish (even ones where they've never seen boillies before). I can't explain why but perhaps fish know a good thing when they see it. The ones featured in the pic are some that my fishing buddies from the UK gave me during their trip to Canada last year.

I also had fun at Cabelas. The store layout with the fish tanks and ponds + all the stuffed animal exhibits was impressive. I couldn't believe the sizes of some of the trout they had swimming around (bows and brookies). To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the amount of fishing inventory they had in stock but in all fairness, I was looking for some very specialized items that were not bass/walleye/musky related. What surprised me was the fact that PowerPro in the US retails for much cheaper than in Canada. I bought a couple of 300 yard spools of PowerPro for $25 each. In Canada, 150 yards retails at most local tackle shops for almost the same amount after tax...Go figure. Also didn't see too many deals or items priced below what I normally pay back at home. I also brought my camera with me but unfortunately it died after taking 2 pics of the fish tank...There's always next year

I don't have the dimensions of the 6500b on hand but if you have those sliding rings as your reel seat, it should fit. I've heard complaints that the reel foot of the 6500 was too long to fit inside the reel seat and others have complained that it was too fat to fit into the reel seat hoods. In either case, you would want to make sure that the reel would be able to fit into the rings before you buy it. Boillies are round baits made out of eggs, cornmeal, oils, flavourings, etc and boiled to make them hard. They're good when fish are rejecting corn. They also shine in areas with gobies and other small fish which eat corn and bread. Here are a few pounds worth of mine...Currently getting them packed for my trip to the St. Lawrence.

Great report and pics. Looks like a very scenic place be and relax. As far as the Shimano baitrunner is concerned, I've been happy with my 4500b. It's about the right size for use on most carp rods. The 3500b will go well with most salmon/steelhead rods. My only gripe with the reel is the poor line-lay but if you're not distance casting, you won't notice it very much/if at all. If you opt for the 6500b, take your rod with you to the store and make sure it fits...I know of a few cases where the purchaser bought the 6500 and found out it didn't fit the reel seat on his rod. Smooth drag and very durable...Never had a problem with the baitrunner feature on my reels. Hope this helps

Sounds like you had a great day out. Those are some big crappies. Shame about the poor water quality though...Do you think it has to do with pollution or is it something natural. I remember fishing there once a few years ago and can't remember if it was a fully enclosed lake or part of the Grand river system.

Great report. Glad all your hard-work paid off. You certainly deserved it. Loving the pics.

Does this mean you don't need you Shimano GTE-B anymore? I'll gladly take it off your hands. I might join you this week with my centrepins and float rods.

Nice work with the outrigger Cliff. Cool use of foam! Nice to see your daughter having fun fishing. That's what it's all about. When she's old enough to paddle the canoe by herself, you've got the perfect system to bait up your carp swims...I would imagine that canoe would hold quite a lot of corn before it starts to sink. No need to spend thousands on a remote controlled bait-boat when you've got a canoe and an able bodied kid.

Never really noticed whether or not smallies that I've caught had black spots on their tails. The ones that I did keep for shore lunch were filled with those black parasites. Provided that you cook the fillets long enough, they add extra protein to your meal...Yum! They don't really bother me all that much...When my friends ask me whether or not they're parasites, I just tell them I pre-seasoned the fillets with black pepper...Ignorance is bliss.

Congrats on the new set-up Beans. Hopefully you'll be able to Christen it soon. On a side-note: With a 1.5-2lb test curve, I would be a little hesitant to throw a fully loaded method feeder at distance. Beyond basic ledgering, it looks like a great rod for stalking and float fishing.

A few years ago I did some inquiry about spraying WD-40 on lures and came up with 2 answers 1. WD-40 contains fish oils and some natural ingrediants that fish find attractive. No clue to the truth of this. The good folks at WD-40 never replied to my E-mails. 2. One book by Bernie Taylor, "Big Trout - how to catch them", stated that trout do not have the chemical receptors to detect WD-40 or understand what it actually is. Hence it is a great way to mask negative odors on lures - EG: Cigarette smoke, human sweat, etc Then the question remains, why not just use commercial fish scent to do both? I've never tried WD-40 on lures as a scent. On the recommendation from a good friend of mine, the way to clean caked-on salmon-egg juice off a rod was to use WD-40. I sprayed a little on the blank to see the result...In the end, the chemical ate a little into the epoxy finish and left a gritty surface film (even after I quickly wiped it off with a paper towel). IMO, a chemical better left for squeaky garage doors. I thought WD40 was a cleaning solvent rather than a lubricant or corrosion resisting agent. Ever spray rollerblade bearings with WD40? They seem to rust 3X faster than normal. I stopped using it long ago...I found it always left a gritty surface film behind which I would have to wash off with water and dish-soap anyway.

Great report Rich That's a nice carp...The bass aren't too shabby either.

I've had them live 3-4 days in a cooler bag with only an ice pack. They would've lived longer if I didn't stick a hook into them.

You could also make a comparison to your wife by saying "You spend so much $ on make-up when you're already so beautiful" That has gotten me out of a ditch more than once

I normally hook mine through the body near the sucker...Hooking it through the sucker is next to impossible with all the squirming they do.

They come off easy. Almost like getting a mini suction cup off your skin. I pull mine off with my hand. Fishing leeches don't have the teeth that medical leeches have.

The ones that tackle shops sell (ribbon leeches I think) can't get through skin. I actually induce suction onto my finger so I can stick a hook into them - Otherwise they just keep squirming. I normally stick the hook through the fat end near the sucker.

Congrats!

Not Islander...AngSpec! I’ve always bought the best gear that I could afford…Or almost afford and set up a financing plan with the tackle shop (interest free of course )…I also fish quite a few days more than the average weekend warrior (that’s my justification for high-end gear and I’m sticking to it). IMO, whether something is “quality” really depends on whether or not the product meets or exceeds the user’s needs and/or expectations. For the person who may fish a dozen times per year, a BPS combo may be all that he/she needs. Case-in-point: A newbie certainly wouldn’t utilize the full performance of a high-end, ultra-fast action fly rod that pros like Steve Rajeff or Jerry Siem would get out of it – In some cases, it can even hinder their learning curve. Beyond price, a newbie probably wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between a Loomis GLX and a $36 Rapala special anyway…Usually they’re just happy to be outside catching fish. BPS and Rapala rods and reels are a good alternative to those who just want to wet a line and could care less that their rod doesn't have 65+ million modules of graphite, Fuji SIC guides, Flor grade cork from Portugal or a reel seat made of the same carbon-fiber used in Ferraris. Buy what you need or what you can afford. People after-all were catching fish with twigs back in the stone age. As far as buying fishing gear for the significant other, more often than not, they would rather you save a buck and not have to pull a Lorena Bobbit on you for blowing $300 on a new reel...Members like BLY may think differently though (hopefully for CCMT's well-being)

They should be fine in a cooler with ice. I've had them last for 3-4 days in a cooler with only an ice pack...They probably would've lasted longer if I didn't impale them with a hook.