Puckhead

Beauty report! Always dreamed of a fly in... one day! On my way over to #2

i'll second the incredible part - some great looking ski's there... Eagerly awaiting Dip's contribution!!

Good call

It still burns my @ss... lol. Thanks again for the responses folks... I think team three needs a GL bow to get back on top...

Nice fish! Would love to get one of those tanks on a line one day.

Never mind - thanks for the brilliant call on the "spot". If it wasn't for that, this wouldn't be here. Thanks for the responses guys - it was fun sharing...

Thanks Cliff - it was a great day for sure - still excited over that eye...

Finally got a chance to do this: Tacklebuster, my good friend (also his brother in law) and myself decided to hit the water bright and early. Outside of hitting some local tribs (and a 5 minute bait burner in Ottawa), I haven't been out on the softwater yet so I was pumped. Especially after these two going on the last two weeks about how good the fishing was, I really couldn't wait. Managed about 2 hours sleep before getting on the road at 4:30. Seems like the only people on the road at that time are those that wish they weren't and guys going fishing... The weather was awesome, the water was glass and we were the only boat on the water! Lines in the water at 7! Nice... 8 minutes in - tacklebuster has a fish on - GREAT START! It was my turn next: Felt great to have it on, even though it wasn't huge... And it had some kind of nasty lip fungus going on... great scrapper... Not much longer after that one, I get my heartbreak of the day: <object width="425" height="350"><param name="movie" value=" name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src=" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="350"></embed></object> The video doesn't do the fish justice - it was easily a double digit pike and clearly the best of the day. Thankfully, Tacklebuster slammed into another one to get us back on track: It went back and forth like that for a good stretch - all three of us hooking into pike. We did really well to stay out of bass spawning grounds - which was no small feat on this water.... That monster was still haunting me - all bloody day I kept thinking what else I could have done to keep him on. He could have been a PB... Mid afternoon rolls around way too fast as usual and due to prior commitments, we had to be off the water. We decide to take one last rip at a spot before going in - I had to take another shot at that big pike: Sure enough, fish on: Not what I was looking for but a nice perch none the less We are getting near the end of our final run and starting to pack it in - thanking the fish gods for a wonderful day on the water and dreaming of what could have been with that missed pike when BAM - it happens - fish on!! rod's doubled over and I'm thinking the hell with the missed pike, this thing is a monster! It just pulled and pulled and pulled. No big head shakes or anything - I figure it's so damn big it couldn't short shake like usual... Then for a second I start thinking it's driven itself down into the weeds... Uh oh... Pulling like crazy but is it just me and it's tied up or is this thing a tank? I had to get that thought out of my head, I sure as hell am not loosing this one to a bunch of weeds. Here's why it didn't fight like a pike: It was a bloody monster (non great lakes) pikeral!! All 30 inches of him and a personal best for me!! Awesome fish! The shock on our faces when that thing surfaced was priceless: Packed it up, headed home with smiles a mile wide on our faces! Tale of the tape for the OFC tourney: 33" pike 11" perch And the 30" eye. All for team 3!! Nice... (i'll get some 'bonus' inches on these soon) My conclusion for this trip: From heartbreak to a personal best, can't beat a day on the water like that! And I boy do I need to shed my "winter weight" Keerist - I should change my username to chubby hubby.... Thanks for reading...

Sorry Lew - my condolences to you and your family.

Uh oh, it's on now - got a whole pile of inches to add to our tally boys!! Had a great weekend... Will post as soon as I can!

Great Report - man, you have one heck of a skilled eye with that camera - some of your shots are just brilliant!

That is a fantastic looking fish...

Nice! It's on this weekend bro! They don't stand a chance...

Great read - thanks!

Nice job on the entry bro! Cooks has some huge rock bass...

^Good call!

Don't you mean : :D

hahahaha - no kidding...

Nice! Thanks!!

Sam, I know you are a good guy and everyone here would vouch for you and your business any day. You are simply in a dying industry to a degree. There will be some smaller local tackle shops that survive the BP type onslaught. Most won't. Essentially no one is forcing you to keep Carra going. You've seen the writing on the wall for a long time. This should come as no suprise to anyone. Don't blame the folks here for liking BP. It is simply tough for the smaller guys to compete. That's how it works sometimes and it's no different in this industry than others. If your loosing money hand over fist, walk away while you can. That's my only advice. These guys are going out because they see what's happening and surely don't want to loose another penny. It's a tough choice but many a business man abandoned a sinking ship over the years and for good reason. Only a fool hangs on to the wheel to the bitter end. Bottom line: BP provides exception CS and value. 90% of consumers will not show store loyalty if there is an incentive to go elsewhere. Having said that, with the cost of fuel, car travel looking to get at ridiculous levels, perhaps we will see a resurgence of local tackle shops - I surely hope so. It's up to the community to support local outfits and I truely hope that some of this serves as a wake up call. All the best to all our locals - it's one heck of an uphill fight and I hope you all come out on top.

Don't worry Xrap - it'll be us at the end of the year anyway...

I would change my vote if I had the chance....

Boycotts will just drive prices higher. Gas companies want you to lower your demand - They want to supply less for a higher price. It's pretty simple, you get less for your money, they supply less and make more. North America was built around driving. Once economies start to suffer due to lack of car travel, the government might do something. Until then, no one is forcing you to fill up.

Awesome report!! Looks like a blast! Great point Roy, that would be a shame...

A gun...