kemper

I hope you aren't implying that I gut and chuck salmon? My thoughts as well...

Do it online through the DECALS system. Dead Easy.

I've had several saw right through 50lb PowerPro while bass fishing. Toothy buggers. Nice fish

I agree 100% Bill - would be nice if people understood "selective harvest"...

I get it Billy Bob, natural factors are always at play. I'm not sure I agree with the 95%, there are lots of examples of fishery collapse due to over-fishing (commercial and sport alike). From what I gather the majority would not support a no kill - that's understandable, I like eating the buggers too. There does seem to be some interest in altering the regulation system though. Of course, we all know that disaster what would cause... I think the biggest difference between today and our "heritage" is the sheer number of angler and commercial pressure on the stocks. Has anyone noticed the impact of the 2010 opening of ice fishing in the Kawarthas? I noticed almost immediately that panfish were smaller, I wonder how many good sized fish went home in white buckets the past 2 winters... Again, problem is not with ice fishing OR keeping fish but maybe we need to rethink the limits - 300 sunfish, 30 crappie, 50 perch seems crazy to me...

This is very far from the truth. Ontario's aquaculture industry is one of the best in the world, and most of our fish farmers are very responsible with their practices. Have you eaten an Ontario farmed trout lately? Anyone who thinks they can tell the difference is lying to themselves. True, there are MANY examples of bad aquaculture around the world. The key is to know where your fish comes from, and what it was fed. Tilapia for example, is a fish that should be avoided at all costs unless you know exactly where it came from. I'll give you a hint, the answer is often China. Agreed, the number of fish in the "eater size" range in that system is astounding. Take a walk along the shore of a Gbay or Huron trib and see for yourself. Or hang out for the day and watch people take limit after limit back to the car, campsite, trailer, etc. It's pretty clear that humans can't be trusted to do anything sustainably, and this seems to be no different. Again for the record I have no problem with sustainable harvest of any fish, the key word there being sustainable. I would think the hunters out there would raise hell if in that system you could get away with going out every day and blasting a deer without any chance of repercussion.

Agreed, I actually made a trip to your local haunt Saturday, water was coming up in a hurry though.

Watched that happen last week on a popular Huron river. Walked downstream to find some peace, caught some fish, walked back up to where a buddy was and there was maybe 25% of the original crowd left. I asked where everyone went - the CO's made an appearance and a bunch of bottom feeders took off.

I think the stocking thing goes both ways. Certainly can increase the population and if done right genetic diversity and "wild strain" can be kept in tact, but it also seems to make people think its OK to kill everything you catch.

I disagree, it simply means you aren't allowed to intentionally kill the fish for consumption. No-kill sections of certain water bodies have been successful in Ontario, and there are many examples on the West coast as well. Do some fish die? Inevitably yes, but a released fish has a much better chance at survival than one on a rope... By that logic I have to stop fishing after I have a limit because catch and release isn't possible? Trust me, the last thing I want to do is give P3TA any credit. I've spent 15 days on the water since October 1 and caught/released a whole trolley of fish, if I wasn't able to fish I'd be in the loonie bin by now... Straightforward point, taken and respected.

A good point - I've watched countless Muskies dragged in to the dock to be shown off to friends and then "released". Might as well have bbq'ed that fish because it's toast anyway...

I enjoy eating fish as much as the next guy, no question. I had a wicked Atlantic salmon fillet for dinner tonight, usually eat fish 3x per week. That said, it's almost always store bought and sustainably farmed. I did some consulting type work in the aquaculture industry so I have the benefit of knowing most of the operations in the province, but for the most part Ontario does a pretty decent job. Here's my question - If it came down to a vote, would you support a no-kill on your favourite species? What about a partial no-kill? Lake/river rotations? Tag systems (annual limits)? I'm leaving panfish out of this one, let's talk musky, bass, trout, salmon etc. I can honestly say that I would back a no-kill 100% on every species I fish, but I suspect that I'm in the minority. A more reasonable option might be an annual tag system, where you can take your limit (say, 10?) on a single day, or over the course of the entire year as you please provided you have the "tags" for the fish. I haven't thought out the logistics here, so don't jump on me for that one. Just a thought. The over-harvest that I've seen this year is worse than ever, and to be honest is sickening. Cheers,

Agreed, straightest axis for me. I built one by splining, as far as I could tell there was no performance improvement but it drove me bonkers because the tip section wasn't all that straight so I was looking at a wonky rod all day...

I wouldn't fish a spinning rod with a caster - the guides are wrong and you'll get a whole whack of weird torsion on the blank under load. If you are serious about it, get it re-wrapped (or depending on the price, just buy a new stick) and do it right. I know I would prefer to build a whole new rod than tear down/rebuild a blank, its a whole lot of work and is very easy to do wrong...

Lots of rods on the market that would do the job, but ever since I started building rods I've had a really hard time buying anything off the shelf. Some that come to mind: 10'6" Convergence Casting (Shimano) 9'8" GLoomis STR 1163 C The Loomis STFR 1474 S or STFR 1363 S could probably be wrapped as casting blanks as well...

I'm not so forgiving. That puts those two idiots in the same category as the tuna rod/treble hook crew in my books. When you're being paid to do a job, cheating is a lousy thing to do.

Sorry for the highjack... As for the baitcast set-up, I think in the right situation it's perfect. I hate freezing my hand off using a pin in the dead of winter, I can't change it up and chuck hardware with my pin, etc, etc. You need the right stick though, a 14' noodle just won't do the job correctly (unless perhaps it is spiral wrapped). I'm searching for something in the 11'6" to 12' range with lots of meat to build on.

Works great - I'm looking for a blank to build on right now for a baitcast specific rig. Huh? With the right size gear I can blast a centrepin right right across that sucker... The Niagara is a different beast however when it comes to needing length on your casts. Italo is a knob, not a great guy. April 3, 1998 Two Men Fined A Total Of $1,800 For Fishing Violations Italo Labignan, 41, of Freelton, Ontario and Henry Waszczuk, 47, of Burlington, Ontario were fined a total of $1,800 today on three charges under the Ontario Fishery Regulations. Labignan and Waszczuk pleaded guilty to a joint charge of using a hook in a manner to hook whitefish in body parts other than in the mouth. They appeared in Ontario Court (Provincial Division) in Trenton. Labignan also pleaded guilty to a charge under the regulations of failing to release a fish in a manner that caused the least harm to the fish and was fined $200. Labignan and Waszczuk are the hosts of a television show, Canadian Sportfishing. Conservation Officers from the Ministry of Natural Resources investigated the two men's fishing activities after receiving a complaint. During the investigation, COs seized a number of video tapes. The tapes, along with other evidence, showed the two men as they were videotaped fishing for whitefish in the Trent River in Trenton on November 6, 1995 using a fishing lure commonly called a jig. They caught a number of whitefish, and with the possible exception of one or two fish, the fish were hooked in parts of the body other than in the mouth. The whitefish were re-hooked in the mouth and then the fish were taped being brought in once again. As part of the sentence, the court ordered them to destroy all video footage for November 6, 1995 that may be in their possession or control. Video footage already seized by the MNR was ordered forfeited. Labignan's charge of failing to release a lake trout caught during a closed season resulted from an incident on the Trent River in Trenton on November 6, 1995. Labignan obtained a lake trout caught by another angler, hooked it onto his own fishing line, and recorded the fish being brought in. In addition, Karen Monaghan, 37, host of a TV show produced by Canadian Sportfishing called the Natural Angler of Toronto, was fined $800 after she pleaded guilty to a charge under the Ontario Fishery Regulations of using a hook in a manner to hook whitefish in body parts other than in the mouth. The court was told this offence also took place at the Trent River in Trenton on November 6, 1995, Monaghan hooked a number of whitefish in body parts other than the mouth using fishing jigs. The fish were then re-hooked in the mouth and recorded being brought in, hooked in the mouth. Monaghan was ordered to destroy all video footage for November 6, 1995 in her possession or control, and a forfeiture order was issued for the video footage already seized by MNR. Waszczuk is scheduled to appear in Burlington court on April 6, 1998 to answer a charge of fishing in a fish sanctuary, and also in Peterborough court on April 16, 1998 to answer a charge of fishing for bass during a closed season. Both of these charges are under the Ontario Fishery Regulations. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR MORE INFORMATION: Brian Blomme Communications Services Branch TORONTO (416) 314-2095

They're fun...for the first three. Small, and don't put up much of a fight on steelhead gear. Give me a 4wt fly rod and it might be a different story. They're certainly different. Seem to have more of a skin then scales...

I've been lucky enough to spend time on a lot of new water this fall - some with success, some without. All part of the process. I don't take many pictures, usually just unhook and go but every once in a while when someone is nearby with a camera... A summer-run fish - big water, incredible fight. Yesterday, after losing six in a row in only 15 minutes (best losing streak ever!) this beauty came to hand. These funky little guys are showing up all over the place this year. Recycled this one from last year, found it on my photobucket account. Not sure if it was posted before or not. My type of skyline. Sorry for chopping the backgrounds, a couple of these are spectacular but they're going to remain that way on my computer only. Cheers, Kemper

Main line (Nanofil) to swivel, to shot line and float (Ultragreen Mono), to swivel, to lead. Alot of rigging, but the heavy Nano and Ultragreen rarely break off. I find with the fast, heavy rod I use I was pulling too many hooks without a shock/shot leader of mono.

Personal experience - I have never owned a piece of Okuma gear that didn't turn into dust within a single season. I will never again buy anything that is made by Okuma. Actually, you couldn't GIVE me gear made by Okuma...

I've never crossed with anything but whole, fresh caught fish (within my limit) so I'm not sure about processed fish

that's the treatment I meant, couldn't think of the word apparently

I was heading down in December last year, five below zero and full blown blizzard. The look on the guy's face was priceless when I said I was going fishing! Asked for the licences, stuck his head in the back real quick and sent us on the way. I thought the white glove treatment was coming for sure that day...