kemper

Ever fished the 3 piece XST? Its a complete beast...built one last year

I over power/over line everything. To each their own... My float rods are spooled with 14lb main and never less than 6.6 lead. I just finished a 9wt spey rod that I'm running 12-15lb leads on, and my bass/pike gear almost never sees a line less than 30lb.

No problems beating chinnys with your trout stick Misfish - just don't over-line it and you will be fine.

I'm running a Hardy on my spey rod right now...not exactly the tool for the job but has no problem holding the skagit tip, 30lb running line, and 150 yards of gel spun backing. So far, no complaints!

I've been having an absolute BLAST with cohos the past couple weeks. This time of year, nothing beats them! For the most part our rivers aren't wide/deep enough to give chinooks the space they need to show their power, but the smaller cohos sure put on a show. They are also more than willing to take a swung fly...which is awesome.

Mike stop fleecing chinooks. On second thought, at least you used the body after you squeezed the roe...

Got a bad case of booteritis eh Bill? I caught a few cases myself this weekend, worth it to sort through to the cohos though!

I've had nothing but awful experiences with Okuma Bill - thought I haven't tried a pin from them. Bought a very expensive baitcaster that was repaired on warantee once, and replaced completely twice. It never lasted more than 3 days on the water between these failures, complete rubbish.

I've been waiting for this one - fantastic Mike

You keep bringing up the Oak, which is a put and take fishery.... That huge dam with the lake above it a mile from lake Ontario kinda puts a damper on any successful spawning. I'm not saying its a reason to kill em all, but doesn't it make sense to harvest stockers that wont spawn over wild fish that have a chance? Just a thought

Also, nothing legal about snagging a fish and keeping it. Had it been legally hooked I would not have said anything.

The fish did go back, but after the double gill hold it was bleeding badly and certainly went belly up

Another thought - I would 100% back a no-kill on the rivers from August to 4th Sat in April. Of course i would also support no kill fishing period, for every species, but I realize that isnt a popular idea.

Wouldn't bother me at all if it was banned. Until then, I'll continue to selectively harvest 1 or 2 fish a year that are edible and provide roe.

I watched someone shank a handsome brown, pushing 10 lbs. It immediately got the double gill grab and was tossed into the dirt. Of course I was the idiot when I mentioned it needed to go back in the water... I had watched this fish swim past my feet about 2 minutes earlier and thought too bad, you'll never make it past the barbarians upstream.

I was going to enjoy weighing in on this one (economics nerd) but there's not much left to say, Art nailed it. The fact is, there is no human element in these decisions - unfortunate for those involved? Yes. Does it go both ways? Absolutely.

Up to your old tricks again eh Bill You should see the slaughter, worse than I've ever seen.

I've got the same problem with a casting rod I bought this summer. In fact I can't stand it to the point that I'm going to tear down the handle and re-build with cork.

The reel is a Hardy - not exactly the tool for the job but I got a deal I couldn't pass up. Likely I'll end up building a lighter spey rod and swap the Hardy on, and buy a heavier reel for this set-up. I would really struggle with a rear grip that short on my float rod...I would think it would be really hard on the wrist because there is nothing to anchor under your forearm?

Generally, if I can see them I just keep walking or find another river. Exception being stacked up fresh run fish that attack even in the clearest water - that can be an absolute blast.

So I wasn't the only one that noticed....

Thanks! Length might be a bit deceiving, overall too long for a float rod in my opinion... Tapes out around 24 inches with only a 5.5 rear grip reason for the length is my natural grip width is fairly wide.

Thanks, man. Next project is a lighter one, for those times when chucking an entire turkey isn't needed. If I really get into this game a sage might be in the cards... But until then I can't turn away the excellent price and product I get from batson.

PM me when you have some time - I'm heading into my 5th year in Guelph and I had the same questions when I started.

Generally I don't fish much in January, unless we have a mild winter like last year. I keep busy by building rod (or 3) that I probably (certainly) don't need.