MJL

Here's a review from 2004

http://tackletour.com/reviewshimanocalcuttatedc.html

Merrell Gore-tex XCR hiking shoes (Chameleon II, I think). I bought mine at BPS on sale for $85 but I haven't seen them at that low price since I bought them last fall. They usually retail for around $150 at Coast Mountain.

The absolute best pair of shoes I've ever worn in terms of comfort and features. Totally waterproof and highly breathable.

Underneath I've got a pair of seal skinz waterproof socks in the event that water does penetrate my shoes. I always have dry feet at the end of the day.

You're not alone with the gridlock

I left my house at 3pm to go to school for a mid-term exam downtown scheduled at 6:30. The TTC ride was deadly. From my place near Kennedy & Finch, the ride to Leslie & Finch took roughly 3hrs (Which on average usually takes 20mins). Called a friend and found out that classes were canceled. l ended up waiting for my dad to pick me up at a nearby plaza for an hour - No way was I going for another 3hr bus ride. Took another hour to get home from there. Overall a wasted day spent on the TTC when I could've been surfing OFC.

It's going hard here in Scarborough...I'm dreading the trip downtown tonight for my mid-term exam. Why did it have to snow today?

Wilsons will be moving shop from their current shop at Front and Church to the new location on Queen. I think Jim was planning to have it done by the end March. From a couple posts on other message boards, I think Wilsons may also carry items like float rods in the future. Even with the move, it's still about a 10min walk away from my school which is nice.

Jim Veltman from the Toronto Rock was my gym teacher in high school

My friend brought Russell Oliver (cashman!) from Oliver Jewelry to class for his presentation.

I saw Global TV's water-cooler mascot in front of Sam the Record Man at Yonge & Gould. He gave me a free coupon to something I can't remember.

Jim Bamford Superintendent of 42 division Toronto Police services (retired) is my uncle's neighbour. I moved 100 large concrete slabs into his backyard in the summer of 03.

I fished with Steve Davis, snooker God, for carp...Or at least someone who had an AMAZING resemblance to him.

I paid $113 Canadian for a Shimano baitrunner from BassPro in Michigan as opposed to around $165 (before tax) at BassPro in Vaughn. The box even says the warranty center is in Peterborough, On.

Go figure

Perhaps Canada can't compare with the quantity sold in the US. Hence the prices are higher to maintain a similar profit margin.

Totally awesome flies

I've seen the site before but I still get the same feeling of amazement each time. It would be bittersweet to hook a fish on those flies only to have it mangled or snagged on a log. Most of the flies I tie can be done in 5-10 minutes at most. After that I just don't have the patience to tie something that would potentially be destroyed.

Thanks for the link

Greg, post your intro into the personal ads section of the papers and see what you get

I'm sure there are ladies that dig a 60hp motor

Welcome to OFC

The Nikon D40 is a great camera. My dad just got one for himself but I've been going nuts with it on macro mode the last few days - I never had a camera that could take great pics up close before.

For image quality, I've been happy with my Canon and Nikon cameras

Pics taken with the D40

The Ravens with the custom reel seats have been out for quite some time. Great additions to their product line IMO.

I bought my IM9 the first week it came out back in 2001 (I think) and other than guides breaking off, I'm happy with how it has survived some of my stupid wrong doings - Ex: whacking on the Humber bridge hundreds of times; Trees; basement ceiling; yanking on snags; high sticking; chain link fences; subway doors; bus doors; street car doors. I'm currently in the middle of rebuilding it and swapping the guides for Fuji high-framed SICs'.

I also use the line and beyond the odd phantom break above the leader, I like how it has performed in 8lb - 6lb is too stretchy for me as a mainline. Their fluorocarbon leaders have also performed well over the years.

if that's the case i better make sure i have all my gear with me ...

I've been told that there's a whole stretch of tackle shops in heaven that sell gear at prices cheaper than Cabelas and carp gear without customs or import tax on them

There's fish in heaven. Which fish wouldn't want to be caught by great anglers like Izaak Walton, Lee Wulff, Ted Knot and countless numbers of great anglers and people from the past? To the fish, it would be a privilege.

I never got to meet either of my grandfathers. They died long before I was born. If anything, they lived in tropical places with great fishing (Guyana and Mauritius) which probably explains my facination with deep sea fishing, coconut water, bug sprays and sunscreen.

I do fish with my dad quite a lot. He was the one who bought me my first rod, Was there when I caught my first fish and drove thousands of miles to my fishing spots over the years (before I got my licence). He was my camera man in some of the harshest weather known to man. And he paid for lunches, bait, Fishing Show entrance fees and most recently the fishing reel of my dreams (we are hiding the bill from my mom).

Here is my dad

Leaning into a nice carp

Father and son

I just stick my plano boxes into an old school backpack or a hiking pack depending on what I'm carrying. If it gets dirty, I spray it down with a hose and hang it in the yard to dry.

Planos all the way for me now ... got at least a dozen of em ... and soft bags to carry em in (4 at a time) . I'll never go back to the big bulky tackle boxes

Totally agree. I haven't used a tackle box in quite a number of years. The only thing they were good for was for sitting on. Beyond that, Planos all the way. Way more versatile than any box.

have no idea what the spits are

The spit is a piece of land that juts out into lake Ontario. Pack light because it's a long hike end to end. Better yet, hire DSN for the day as that's around his home turf. He accepts donuts and cookies as payment for a half a day trip and dinner for a full days guiding...Of which I have yet to pay for last seasons adventures...

Double post

You can always try fly fishing the islands for pike. Ample room for back casts in a lot of the places and if it gets windy, you can move to another sheltered canal. The problem with fly fishing around Toronto is the pedestrian traffic although in March, I'd imagine it would be lighter than in summer. The spit is another option - Kilometers of shoreline to fish and open if you have waders.

Humber for steelhead and suckers is another option.

I didn't find anything I really wanted at the show but I did walk around for 2hrs getting free samples from all the different smoked meat/sausage vendors. I can still taste honey garlic venison right now and I was there Saturday

Scared me a bit there!! Thought someone hacked into my computer and rigged a radio staiton to it ,that I can't turn off.

 

Or I'm picking up raido stations on my laptop some how.

dsn

Stop browsing dirty porn sites and you won't be picking up spyware

Come to think of it, most of the people I fish with who I met on OFC look younger than 18. DSN, Victor and Greg (formerly Grilw) would be a pedaphile's dream. I've been 16 for the last 7 years at most bars and anywhere where you'd need an ID.

I use a 10' Shimano Convergence (8-17lb) with a 4000 Shimano Stradic loaded with either 8-10lb mono or 30lb PowerPro. I get relatively good distance. Depending on how much you would like to spend, The Sage 3113mb is another great pier rod that loads up and launches spoons and lures nicely (11'3"). Haven't tried the one made by Raven (Specialist I think?) but it looks and feels nice in the store.

I was also toying with the idea of using one of my carp rods but they are significantly heavier than any salmon/steelhead rod out there. I casted 124 yards of PowerPro for kicks with a 12' 3.25lb Grey's X-flite carp rod and a Daiwa Tournament big-pit reel...I'm not a great caster either...I doubt you'll need that kind of distance for salmon/steelhead (or have the arms to cast all night) but boy is it fun watching your rig disappear into the horizon. Buzz-bombs will certainly go a long way with carp gear. That's one option if you want pure distance.

Both are world record fish

The one in lickmyarmpit's pics is the World Record Common Carp while the fish in the vid that CCMT posted is the World Record Carp

Both stunning fish.

I absolutely didn't need to see that link right now. I'm studying for an exam tomorrow and tonight all I'll be thinking of are bones and tarpon. Great link.

Here's another link with a few movies on it. The one titled "Running down the man" is in my mind, one of the coolest fly fishing video I've ever seen. Fly fishing and dune buggies DO mix.

http://www.drakemag.com/pages/film_2006.shtml