Pete Maina

Hi All, Hey, many thanks for the kind words. I'll have to forward the link to my mon ... who can then show to dad (Tex avoids all things computer ... I don't know whether to call him dad, or lucky ). I'm sure he'll appreciate the thoughts. As far as the rods, I'm really not sure why they would be one backorder, but I do know there has been some issues on that in some stores ... they are selling well as more folks hear about them and try them. I will ask at corporate. Tacklebuster: the longer rods work pretty well for both casting and trolling. We often use them for inline board rods too, but mainly as casting rods. They do make the boatside stuff more effective as wider circles and eights can be done. (Hope that hat kicks in for you Art!) Assume you mean Lake St. Claire? No, fish caught on a lake in Ontario called Longlegged. Dad and I have an all-species trip there every year. It's a real good walleye and lake trout fishery, with some darn nice muskies too. We'd never gotten any real big ones to actually bite in the past ... finally did. Pete

HI, Good luck with that EC, but if you don't win you may want to give 'er a go anyway. Great stuff and exceptional issue. You know, I really haven't heard on that deal ... I don't 'think' the guys are planning on heading to QUinte ... always a question as to whether or not the esox guy of the group will be invited or not. SUre is a tremendous fishery that I would like to try sometime. Pete

HI, Hey, thanks for all the neat responses here. (BTW, ruler was waving beyond 54 - so really was a nice one) (Thanks for posting pic Roy, er, dad.) What impresses me about the pic is the gill plate and dad's hands ... has big mitts. Anyway, luck was shining on us and a neat experience. Tennessee: was using my signature series stuff - with the 9 foot rod - comes in pretty handy at boatside. (Was a bit too cold for a kilt Terry.) Pete

Hi all, Just checked back in here after wrestling with my computer a little and phone time (Gosh I'm a computer idiot. THere is a post I was working on about my dad's big fish ... I'm to stupid to downsize a darn pic to get on there ... so, I sent it along to Roy and hopefully he'll post it up for me) ... (Get the pic Roy?) So they passed an ordinance on Gillespie eh? Does it actually scare them or just keep them awake Hmmm, I see I need to eliminate an "s" in the original post. Great to hear you got it Whopper - and are enjoying it. Thanks Great to hear Toronto (and thanks to OFC) ... love to have you aboard. Expect you'll enjoy it. Darsky, as far as individual Gillespie shows, those can be ordered through my personal website www.petemaina.com, as Gillespie's production guy and Jennifer (who runs the site) collaborate on specific orders. FYI that if you want to wait a while, it sounds as though there will be a specific DVD done on that trip alone. Thanks all. Hope to be checking in on and off here, as I'll be in this week playing catchup between trips. Best, Pete

Hi, Just a quick story here. I get a few chances to get my dad out to do some muskie fishing every year. We always have a great time, and generally fish for a variety of species on trips. While we have fun either way, a little goal of mine has always been to see my dad get a fish over 50 inches. Been close, as a couple 49 inchers. So, on the last day of a recent trip, my dad kinda jumped right over the line in a big way. Was neat to see We'd raised the big fish a few times, but pretty lazy. A weather-window got the fish moving a bit ... dad practiced with a fish about 20 pounds at boatside. And we worked our way to the bigger one. (Of course this kind of thing rarely seems to actually work, but this time it did.) We could tell by the attitude as the fish started chasing the bucktail. Dad sped up as he neared the boat and so did the fish. Third turn on the figure 8 it ate the thing and then jumped. Pretty neat deal ... laughed later cuz dad said after hooking the fish "think you should get the net for this one" With Roy's help here, hope to have a pic up Hope summer has treated you all well! Pete

Hi OFner's, Wondering if the dogsleds have arrived out there yet ... anyone seen the fall issue of the magazine? Got tremendous info on trolling in this issue for a variety of species. OFner's in the issues are Sandy Turk, Andrew Bunker and JP Bushey. Great job! Look forward to hearing your thoughts. Pete

Hey Pat, Yeah, I'll bet your eyes got a little big when she appeared. Best, Pete

Hi All, Hey Pat. Congrats man Great pic ... don't hate you at all ... better you than me. I've caught my share ... since it's still swimming, I've got a reason to try again .... but that dress, yikes It's never all good news. Serious congrats though man. So, is the strike stuck in your head a bit? Pete

Hey, good news on all of that. I'll let John know. Pete

HI OFNers, Marc had sent along a link here. So I had to stop in and see what kind of crazyness was going on. I was hoping someone posted a shot of Marc trolling in that dress, but I don't see it here. Oh well. (Pretty ugly deal when he nets a fish.) Hey Roy ... was great to see you while we were out there. Appreciate the hospitality. Thankyou. And you tell your lovely bride she's a great cook/chef/host and thank her again for me. Dunno about those boat rules of no smiling ... really hard not to laugh at a guy fishing in a skirt. Pete

Tee Hee ... love the short crotch pool system there. (Hey Roy - I've got shin guards.)

The "kilt will come out" ... Another scary modern-day midget mystery

Ah, never thought of that. Good point

Yikes Careful there Roy ... some things aren't funny. (Best wishes friend) Say, how come we never see any pics of Roy wearing kilts or anything like that? Have I missed something? Pete

You wouldn't have to worry about a gene pool. No woman in their right mind would be with a guy wearing a skirt. I believe ladies think the pink hat is sexy though. You're just jealous Thorpe ... you want a pink hat - and you know you do. If you're nice, I'll bring along one of Brian's new CD's (just released) and a pink hat for you.

Hi, Thanks for the kind wishes and yeah, I'll drop in ... after a winter filled with pink hats, dresses and kilts, how could I not ... but yeah, finally time to get busy Yikes Careful Roy ... that scares me. You have a good weekend and great season friend! Pete

She drug you eh? Poor bugger ... looks like a miserable deal you had to endure ... Certainly looks like a great trip. Awesome pics!!! Pete

Hey OFNers, I just wanted to stop in and say hi here - to offer best wishes for the upcoming fishing season (I know, we're well into it, but us northerner-muskie-dopes are just now getting rolling)!! It's raining a little here, so not in a big hurry to get out today, but expect the Maina-clan (son, dad ... possibly a brother) will be out to harrass a variety of species later today. Starting Tuesday ... official muskie ready-set-go. Best of luck to you all. Be safe and have fun! Pete

HI, No doubt on this one! Just getting out together is as much of it as anything ... at this stage, my son actually spends little of the time actually fishing ... more is spent playing with baits, minnnows, any fish that may be in the livewell, beeps the horn, asks grandpa and I questions ... great stuff Of course, being single, I won't talk too smart Pete

HI, I'm a bit late here, but Cheeseheads are like that Happy Birthday Joey Good luck this season! Pete

Ha ha ... love it! The dancing Thorpie-dude(ette) Miss MacThorpie surely does have some moves. All Miss macThorpie needs now is a nice, pink, furry hat I like the OFC kilt idea ... start a whole new trend in fishing ... the kilt nation ... always a new surprise in the boat

Ah ha! That's what I been waitin' for. (Thanks Sandy) That's quite a sight isn't it ... stubby legs and knee-high stockings Oh my ... yup, gotta hang the baits up high to be safe around this guy.

HI all, Good to see this here ... Happy endings are good. A little perspective: I work with/for Bass Pro Shops. They've been a great organization to work with overall. Things happens; individuals are individuals; not every product is exactly the same even when you it's supposed to be ... overall, I believe Bass Pro appreciates their customers very much, as they should. I know that in working with them in developing my rod & reels series and as we continue to adapt with different product, they've not only been understanding, but very agreeable to my insistance on making sure things are right before we put it on the market ... still, though it's the goal, there will never be absolute perfection. As someone who owned a lure biz and is in TV, magazine biz and ... making everyone happy all the time is impossible, it seems ... a good goal is continue to strive to make as many happy as possible. Pete

HI There, Good lord ... spend a few days away and look what happens. Well, let's see, fortunately no dancing yet ... Hey Thorpie, as I expect Sandy will report here ... that kilt you wear makes my outfit look manly

So Sandy, are you saying you recognized this Pierre guy? ... you must get that Versus station. Hey, be careful about that Sandy ... he's close to the ground certainly, but it is still a dangerous deal if you drop something all the way to the floor. Ah ha ... so Thorpie is finally out of the woodwork following a major PC overhaul ... hey Thorpie, you gonna provide a pic with that kilt? Terry needs something to work with