Fishnwire

JP Jonny...I can't use the quote function as proficiently as you, so I'll have to clear up what I was saying without it. I know "Commerce and sport are not separate issues.". But some people are more corcerned with short term commercial growth than the long term enjoyment of the sport. As far as my politics go...I'm not a commie or something, but you don't have to be to recognize that a lot of the time the government doesn't always make the best policy decisions. Do you agree with the current government's stand on gun regulation? Separate forum or not, they do make mistakes, right? I'm just asking why people are so eager to asume that expert minds have made brilliant decisions as far as sport fishery management goes. "The governement says me taking a certain amount of fish from a particular body of water every day won't hurt the fishery. They MUST be right." Does that sound right? "stuffing your freezer," may have been going a little far on my part. But you did mention your freezer having "several feds in it." Why is it so hard to resist putting (possibly stuffing...sorry) more fillets in there if you're next few meals are taken care of? Like I said before, go ahead and keep your legal limit of fish. I have no problem with that. But if you think that doing so on a regular basis doesn't have a detremental effect on other's ability to enjoy the sport, you're deluding yourself. That whole " Sorry if that sounds more passionate than respectful, but that's how I see it." was quoted from your post. I didn't mean to disrespect you when I said it, but was attempting to find commen ground. I apolagize if that wasn't clear. I know nobody who enjoys doing so will "lose a night's sleep" over keeping their legal limit of fish. Nor should they. Every licenced angler who feels the need to do so should be able to fish for, and keep, their legal limit of fish on any occassion. I would vigerously defend their right to do so. However, if they try to tell me that a lot of fisherman doing so doesn't have a negative impact on the fishery, and by extention, other's ability to enjoy the sport, I'd know they were wrong, and wonder why they couldn't see more clearly. Honestly, I don't want to get adversarial. I keep fish for food, and I know that a percentage of the fish that I "live release" end up perishing as a direct result of their encounter with me. I guess my point is that I'm aware that I'm having an impact on the resource and I try to minimize that impact. And I sure don't go around thinking that harvesting my limit of fish (let alone fishing itself) on a regular basis doesn't affect fish stocks.

Most of what you said I don't have a problem with. However... Like I said before...The regs were not designed solely with the well-being of the fishery itself in mind. They are (at best) a compromise between what is best for the fishery and what best facilatates commerce. Like it or not, Capitalism is king in this country and certain people's economic self-interest will always trump what's best for the whole. Saying "I don't break the regs, therefore I'm not a strain on the system," is a little like saying "It's not my fault those kittens I stuffed in a sack and threw in the river don't know how to swim." It's kind of funny how people have such blind faith in the government's ability to properly manage the fishery...do you have as much faith in that same government to properly spend your tax dollars? I do not. Secondly, as far as having to "bite your lip" to avoid slaughtering a "big breeding female" or not keeping fish when your freezer is already full...Do you want a freakin' hero biscuit? Not keeping the big breeders, and not stuffing your freeezer full is a no-brainer. Sorry if that sounds more passionate than respectful, but that's how I see it. Lastly, if the prospect of spending a day pursueing the sport of fishing and not catching fish you can stuff your freezer with is "too much trouble"...maybe you should consider a different pastime. Angling is not for everyone, maybe you're one of those people.

When using Fireline, I like to get on the opposite side of the snag and pull on the line with leather gloves. I find it will either come loose, snap at the knot or, more often than you'd think, it'll bend or even break the hook and up it comes. The leather gloves are a must if you don't want to cut your hands.

If the pressure of many anglers catching and keeping fish didn't have a detrimental effect on fish populations than why do so many of us prefer fishing in remote locations, as apposed to in the middle of town? Why do fly-in lodges stay in business?...why not save the expence/hasle of transporting yourself and your gear into the middle of nowhere if fishing pressure didn't make any difference? The reason people are eager to fish in waters that experience little or no fishing pressure is because the fishing is better there. Period. The more fish that angler A takes from a particular body of water, the less fish that are there for anglers B through Z. We all know this and pretending otherwise is just silly.

Don't give up on your dreams. That said, have a back-up plan, dude. Planning on being a pro hockey player is a little like planning on winning the lotto.

If a smaller lake sees hundreds of anglers fishing dozens of times each year, and each of those fishermen attempted to catch and keep their limit every time they went out, then no...I really don't think the lake could "handle it". You would no doubt see declining fish stocks in that scenario. Would the lake be wiped out? No, but you'd start catching less and less fish. The lake my camp on is so remote that it is basically private. No one other than myself and my guests have wet a line there in ten years. A lot of the time, the fishing is nothing short of spectacular. I could probably keep a lot more fish than I do before I would start to see an adverse affect of the fish populations, but I'm not going to take that chance. If I kept half my limit half the time I fished I'd slaughter somewhere around a hundred fish just in a summer by myself. Who can eat that much fish? I'm from Sudbury but lived in Missasauga for 5 years. I don't think the attitude toward C&R is that much different north or south of Barrie.

Dropping one in the lake intentionally wouldn't be my recommended method of disposal...but I don't think you're doing any real harm in the grand scheme of things. Will you employ a safety chain/strap in the future?

That is the exact method I was hoping I'd see when I started the thread. I once saw an 80 year old Native guide on the French river clean pike that way but couldn't remember the specifics...it was 20 years ago. You lose a little bit of meat but what you retain is truly boneless. Some guys have a funny idea of what "boneless" means. Nothing is worse than chewing away on a nice fish a freshly cooked fish and encountering a big ol' bone. It always makes me want to spit out the whole mouthful. Thanks again.

Thanx

Anyone know where I can download a video of how to easily clean pike boneless? Thanks.

I'm glad someone out there has a little more faith in the M&R than I do. We all know government makes mistakes in policy, why are you so sure they're not making a huge one here? Part of the reason the regs are set as they are is to facilatate commerce...Tourism, guiding, the amount of money spend on the sport as a whole might decline if stricter limits were imposed. The regulations are not set out to be the ideal to maintain fish stocks but a compromise between what is best for the resourse and what is best for the angling community. You could conceivable follow the rules and regs your whole life, never once contravining the law, and still be a huge burden on the system, negatively impacting others ability to enjoy it. That said, anyone who thinks there's something inherently wrong with keeping a couple of appropriately sized eaters over the course of the season might want to think about giving up the sport...or at the very least give up the OFC.

People are obviously free to keep whatever they are legally entitled to. However, I know that for me, killing fish is far from the "soul purpose of fishing." I would argue that anyone who thinks that way is not really all that passionate about the actual sport of fishing. I fish because I love fishing. If I was never allowed to harvest another fish in my life I'd still fish every chance I got. Also, feeling that you have to keep fish everytime you go out just to prove something (as at least one poster indicated) is really quite silly, as far as I'm concerned. Let me get this straight. You feel if you don't harvest fish people will assume you and your fishing partners are gay? As far as "the 'granolas' will be screaming animal cruelty"...they will regardless. You seem to be saying we should harvest fish to keep them happy. That doesn't make much sense...they never will be and since when have you advocated doing anything to keep that group "happy"? Who cares what they think anyway? Like I said, there's not much that can be said to guys who like to frequently take their legal limit of fish. They're legally entitled to do so and have no doubt already heard about the benefits of catch and release more than once. For whatever reason, they're not buying into it and it's unlikely they ever will. There's no use judging others or getting angry with those who practice the sport differently. Life's too short. I set the catch and release policy off of my dock and out of my boat. If you don't agree with my policy, you're welcome to fish elsewhere...where I have no say in your C&R policy. That's just how things work.

Unfortunately, some people will never see the connection between keeping a lot of fish and declining fish populations. Some of these people also seem equate throwing a good eater back with going into their freezer and throwing away a perfectly good steak. The second they've boated that fish they feel they own it...and I guess they do. One time my buddy and I were ice fishing for crappie and and ol' timer came along and startesd talking to us. he told us we were wasting our time trying to catch crappie there, because they had all moved on years ago. "We used to catch 'em by the 5 gallon pail, garbage bags at at time." he said. And then had the nerve to say, "Now they're all gone. I don't know what happened." Unfortunately, there's no law against being stupid.

Did you mean to say that smallies are "such a poor fighting fish" or walleye? I have never heard anyone refer to SMB as being anything other than excellent fighters...arguably one of the best pound for pound fighting fish in the lake. Walleye, on the other hand, don't fight worth a darn until you get above 3 pounds or so. That's the reason I release the bass I catch but occasionally keep a small walleye or two. Perhaps some people feel the same way. Decent size pike are fun to catch, but I find anything under about 22" a pain in the butt to clean, and I don't like the idea of harvesting one over about 26"...so my comfort zone is pretty limited. I'd say pike, bass, and walleye are all different tasting but equally paletable. But I guess it comes down to each person's taste.

That sux. Your boy seems tougher than most his age. He went through quite an ordeal but came out with a smile on his face...good for him. Mending a busted limb is pretty much part of growing up it seems. At least for kids who don't spend all day/everyday inside in front of a computer. Missing part of the season is hard to take, but it won't be long until you're both back out on the water. Perhaps a Dad-funded trip to your local tackle shop one of these days might help make the wait a little easier to take. I'm pretty much positive at least one of you will enjoy that.

Sometimes I get to my camp ( on leased CN land) that way. The train leaves Sudbury Wed, Fri and Sun, and comes back Tues, Thurs, and Saturday. I just tell them I want off at mileage 21.5. The conductor/engineers are pretty good and often manage to stop exactly at the trail to the camp. You're limited on how much stuff you can bring...and you can't bring gas. I'm not sure about the canoe. When did you want to go? If you want to get off at my place I could probably loan you a canoe. If you want to look it up it's in Robert's township at mileage 21.5 from the train station at Capreol. It's on the Vermillion river.

I fished for the last two years or so with nothing but Fireline. I love it. Like another guy said, there are pros and cons. Also, different brands of braid perform differently. If you don't like your initial exposure to, say Fireline, try Powerpro...or whatever. One thing to remember is to bring a pair of leather gloves. Trying to free a snagged line by wrapping it around an ungloved hand is a sure way to get a nasty cut. Don`t ever use your rod as leverage to pull up a snag either, you`ll almost certainly break your rod first. I probably straighten out the hook more often than I snap the line when pulling on a snag. I use 8 lb for bass and walleye, and 20 lb (with a steel leader) for pike. That's it. Late last year I started using 4 - 8 foot leaders of Seaguar twelve pound InvizX with the 8 lb. I like it and will continue to use it when the bite is off at all and you need work for 'em...when they're hungry they don't seem to care. That said, the addition of the flouro leader makes the overall breaking strength of your set-up LESS than that if you were using braid alone. Braided line (Fireline anyway...I have no exposure to anything else) holds up remarkably well against toothy critters and abrasive structure all on its own. For me, the flouro is all about stealth. I use small barrel swivels (with no snaps) to join the braid to flouro. You indicated price is not a big factor so buy good swivels. The key word is SWIVEL. If they don`t spin well, you`ll get a lot of line twist. With short enough leaders the swivel rarely gets wound onto the bail or through the eyelets, so it`s not a big problem. The flouro is a bit of a pain in the butt...it doesn`t always lay on your bail nicely, having to tie an extra two knots, etc...so I only it when it`s making a difference. I usually try the flouro to start with, and if the bite is on and I need to re-tie for some reason, I`ll not bother with the leader. If I notice I`m getting less hits I`ll go back to it. Like I said before, if the fish are hitting fairly well, the flouro doesn`t seem to make a big difference. I would buy a small amount of some flouro about 150% the (rated) line strength of your braid. I find the braid is inherently stronger and if you use flouro at or below your braid strength the flouro is too weak. When it breaks it`ll almost always be at the lure knot or the knot connecting the flouro to the swivel and mainline. Try it out and then go from there.

Beer of course. But what about spits? Nobody else likes sunflower seeds?

That is an amazing area. My best friend from high school and his family own that marina. They'll take good care of you, that's for sure. Saying that navigating the rapids of the Badd is "a bit tricky" is a little bit of an understatement though, in my opinion. You had better talk to some locals about the details first, know how to pilot a boat, and have a spare prop just in case. That said, it is definately a place you want to see and spend some time at.

I'm just gonna go to bed, because I have no idea what you're talking about, friend. What does 15lb mono, 50 lb Spider Thread and 16 lb whatever (?) have to do with 8 lb Fireline. Why do I want to strip line off my reels by hand, and won't that line be unusable once it's laying on the floor in a pile? I want to put the correct amount on them in the first place, thereby eliminating the need to strip line off, and ensuring a perfectly bailed spool. Also what is this "miracle" you refer to? You totally lost me there. Seriously I'm not trying to cheese anybody off here. I just can't understand what you're trying to say. It's probably my fault, but if you take a second to read your posts...they're not exactly made up of the clearest or most coherent sentences I've read on OFC. I swear I'm trying to avoid ruffleing any feathers, and I appreciate you trying to help me out, but I really can't follow what you're trying to say.

I appreciate you trying to help a dumb, half-buzzed simple guy...so try to have patient with me. However, I'm confused. You seem to be describing a method of removing a certain amount of line from a reel. I want to add a certain amount. Also, I don't think I could maintain any real accuracy estimating a three foot distance between my hands, 65 times...if I'm off by 3 inches each time that's over 16 feet. Now instead of 65 yards I've got a little under fifty, or as much as 80. I must not be understanding what you're saying. Probably my bad. Also, while I'm aware that a variety of lines are available at a wide range of prices, I did indicate that my intention was to utilize Fireline. If I was using $3 per 500 yrd mainline, what would I use for backline? $1 per 5000 yrd stuff? No, I would just spool the whole reel with mainline. Once again, it must be my beer-buzzed-brain missing your point and not your fault at all. Thanks for trying though.

I keep a couple (maybe a few) pike in the 22"-28" range each summer. My father-in-law will take them home from camp and eat them with my mother-in-law. They don't mind the bones. I'm aware there are ways to clean a pike boneless, but I haven't bothered to learn. I really should. Does anyone have a link to a really good how-to vid?

CT would like me more if I just spooled 'em all with the whole factory spool. I was trying to suggest a method of avoiding that. If you ever see Fireline for sale for $3...let me know. I have to admit I didn't really get the drift of the rest of your post...couldn't quite follow what you were trying to say. Sorry, I've got a couple of beers in me. I really like the idea a couple of guys mentioned about reversing the Fireline next year, or whenever the service end gets nasty. The buried end will be like brand new line. Thanks.

The knot joining the backline to the Fireline is under so much FL that it should not impede casting. How far do you cast?...because I know I can't manage a 50 yard plus that I would need to before the backing knot becomes an issue. If INCO hadn't just announced that I'd be laid off for at least two months this summer, then maybe I'd feel like dropping about $250 just on line for spinning reels. Actually that's not true. Even if I was still getting fat bonus cheques I probably still wouldn't do it. If the 6 ft flouro leader is all that I will need to replace all year...why wouldn't the 65 yrds of Fireline behind it be sufficient? Like I said, how far do you cast?

It almost certainly is a grounding issue. However, do have own or can get access to a voltmeter? Whenever I do electrical troubleshooting I like to know that my source is OK before I go too much further. Check the harness at the truck end first. If you're getting 12 volts there then move on to checking that all your grounds are good, your connections are solid and that you don't have a break in the conductors anywhere. Good luck. I'm a licenced industrial electrician and I avoid doing automotive/marine work whenever possible. Chassis grounding is a pain in the butt.