Fishnwire

No, I haven't had that problem. I usually close my bail by hand.

The whole point was to achieve perfectly spooled reels. Simply adding a full spool's worth of backline minus 65 yrds wouldn't really work because the Fireline is a much smaller diameter and wouldn't fill up the rest of the spool perfectly. I'd have to estimate how much backline to maximize each reel...pain in the butt and I'm bound to have at least one screw-up in ten. Eliminating the guess work was what I was trying for. I could see how 65 yrds of regular mono wouldn't last a season, but we're talking Fireline here. When it breaks it almost always breaks right at the knot...you don't often lose more than a couple of inches at a time. It doesn't fray easily and the flouro leader takes most of the abuse anyway. 65 yrds is plenty for my purposes.

The biting doesn't really bother me. It's the buzzing around the face and ears and the sensation of them landing and crawing around on the skin. This product doesn't seem to address that. If we want to spend time outside in the bush in the spring we've just gotta suck it up, I think.

Almost exclusively smallmouth bass. Occasionally walleye. It's snag central where I go so I like being able to put a rod with a snapped line or broken hook down and just pick up another, rigged and ready to fish. I try to avoid a lot of tying line in the boat. Of course, there are applications where the 8lb is not ideal...but it's generally a good all around compromise in my experience. No, I don't bring ten rods in the boat with me. I have a couple for camp guests and a couple specialty rods I use from shore or the dock or when I bush-whack it into a side lake. I have found that 6lb Fireline, while sufficient for smallies, doesn't hold up against toothy critters like pike and big walleye as reliably as I'd like. They're around a lot of the time, and I find I have a better chance of landing one with 8lb Fireline than I would if I was using smaller FL or mono. The bass don't seem to notice the difference in diameter, especially when a flouro leader is employed. Basically, I'm totally sold on 8lb Fireline. It's obviously not right for everyone in all applications...but works well for how I like to fish. That's why I spooled every spinning reel I own with it.

Last year when Crappy Tire had 125 yard spools of Fireline on sale for $15 I bought six of them. This year I wanted to spool up 10 spinning reels with fresh 8 lb test line. I figured about 65 yards (half a factory spool) on each reel would be sufficient for my purposes. I wanted to backline each reel with whatever cheap mono I had laying around, so that when I added the Fireline, I'd spool them with the perfect amount of line on each. I've got about 6 different models of reels...each wiith slightly different size spools (and gear ratios)...the two problems I had to overcome were as follows: 1- How do I know exactly how much backline to add to each reel so that the 65 yards of Fireline top off each (different) spool perfectly? 2- How do I know when I've added 65 yards of Fireline...leaving another 65 off the same spool for the next reel? Here's what I did. I bought a Rapala line counter at Crappy Tire...it works well if you keep tension on the line running through it. I took the first reel and added 65 yards to its empty spool. I then cut the Fireline (knowing I had approx 65 yards left for the next reel) and spooled up the rest of the reel with mono backline, until I achieved the perfect amount of line on the spool. I then opened the bail on the reel, and reeled up all its line onto an old bait reel I have. I then reeled the line off of the first bait reel and onto a second one, and finally reeled the line back onto the spinning reel...achieving the correct backline-first, Fireline-ontop arrangement. I repeated the process 10 times. I used the 6th spool of Fireline in its entirety on a baitcaster I use mainly for trolling...but employed the same process to ensure it was backfilled correctly. Phew! But like I say, I have perfectly spools reels and was able to get two out of each pack of fireline. I was worried the line would twist with all that spooling and unspooling to different reels, but it seems totally fine. I'm all done now, and I'm really happy with how things turned out.

I'm fairly certain Irishfield is right. If you go to court and just a fine is imposed (and paid) you generally get your stuff back. Don't poach and you've got no worries.

If you don't mind cleaning a lot of fish for a little bit of meat...they taste fine. Try keeping and cleaning a few before you commit to a bucket-full. You may find they're more hassle then they're worth. Like I say, if your patient, and good with a fillet knife (and sharpener) then go for it.

Most COs are good...some of them seem to have an attitude like if you're on the lake or in the bush, you MUST be doing SOMETHING illegal...they just have to look hard enough to discover what it is. I guess they get jaded after a while and begin to think everyone is out to screw the system.

Exactly how do you avoid paying every penny of the taxes you owe?...because I always pay all of mine. I didn't know I had any choice. I'd have kept the dead fish if I was at camp and didn't have to transport it...dropping it down the hole does no one any good. I probably wouldn't have bothered to admit to doing so in a public forum though.

EVERYTHING up to and including Justice is just so freakin`metal!!!!!!!! The stuff from the Black album on is really good...they`re still one of the world`s greatest bands putting out amazing music...but the first four (studio) albums are so much better it`s like comparing two different bands. Seek and Destroy is just about as good as it gets.

I looking for some general info on trolling involving the use of things like planer boards and dipsey divers. I've never used either, and don't have downriggers. Mainly I troll (flat-line with mono) a couple of small lakes and a medium sized river for pike and walleye. I do OK using plugs and pickeral (lindey-type) rigs, but was wondering what is involved in(and what are the advantages of) using all that stuff I see at Ramakko's in what appears to be the trolling section. Is it worth messin' around with that stuff? (What do they even do?)...and do I need to be set up for downrigging to employ them? THANX.

You know you're addicted when evertime you're packing up your gear at the end of a day's fishing, you're already thinking about when and where you'll go next. That's what I do.

Somebody mentioned that all of us would accept huge salaries/bonuses if we were offered them. That is true, but not entirely relevent in this case. Who do you think it is that decides on the compensation of top execs? Top execs do. Those guys are giving THEMSELVES those bonuses, and we all pay for it as end consumers. That's a problem. Another thing that people tend cling to is this notion that "top talent" such as these CEOs and executives are in incredibly short supply, and must be paid hansomely if you want to attract and retain them. I think that's nonsence. Anybody who's worked for a living knows that going around with an attitude that you are somehow irreplaceable is nothing short of a delusion. Everyone is replaceable. There's nothing super-human about those guys. Sure, some of them are really smart and worked hard to get where they are. But we all know that in the real world, a lot of people get where they are because they're friends with the right people, or have done an effective job of snowing (with Bull and butt-kissing) the right people. We've all had at least a couple of bosses that fit this description. Am I right? If these people were actually doing a good job, I might feel differently; however, look at the state of things right now. There's no way they deserve it.

I don't have a power auger, but I do have a power trimmer and chainsaw. They don't get a lot of use each year, I mix up a couple of gallons at a time, and it usually lasts at least a year. I always mix my 50:1 with stabilizer...it's cheap (in small amounts) and that way I never have to worry about running my engines dry at the end of the year to add gas with stabilizer...I know it's already in there. Also if I have mixed gas left over at the end of the season I know it's been stabilized aswell. How much gas do you burn in your auger in a season? How much more would it cost to add stabilizer the whole time? That's how I think about it.

I'd start by setting up a way of trying/testing it in your yard or garage. At camp I have a 2x8 nailed between two trees on which I mount the motor and an old 55 gallon plastic drum under it half filled with water to run the motor in. Drain out any fuel or oil and replace. Pull the plug, wire brush it if its gummed up, put it back, and give it a try. I'm an electrician, not a mechanic so if somebody tells you I'm wrong, they're probably right.

What did you use to get 'em that deep? Were you trolling or drifting? If you don't mind me asking.

If he is alone and he's actually fishing with all those lines...he's taking an awfully big chance. If a CO approaches him he's screwed. He's obviously less worried about fines than I am. If he was on some backwood lake I'd assume he's poachin'...but to do it out in the open where a million people can see you? Maybe he's doing some sort of testing or maintainance. Who knows?...maybe he's just a bonehead with a huge set of stones. I've never understood guys who attempt to fish with a bunch of extra lines. If the bite is not on, a dozen extra lines probably won't help...and if they are hitting, one line (maybe two) is all you can effectively fish with. I understand that it's good to cover a lot of water when trolling...but managing 6 rods by yourself can't be very relaxing or enjoyable.

I would try the original point of purchase to start, and go from there. I brought two broken Loomis spinning rods (on two separate occasions) back to where I bought them. They sent them back to Loomis and were replaced with new rods. One time they deemed it a manufacturer's defect and I only had to pay the shipping, and the other time they deemed in my fault and I had to pay for the rod at cost...about 2/3 the original purchase price.

I think that's Bill Dance

I could have mentioned that I was able to make contact with the owners of the French River properties by speaking with the local marina operator, who happened to be a friend of mine. I'm not sure if there's a marina anywhere near the property you're looking at, but you could try speaking with whomever the owners may have done business with in the area. Sometimes businesses keep contact info on their clients for years. I dunno...I hope this helps. Let us know how things go, and good luck!

I keep fish to eat about 3-8 times a year. About half the time it's because the fish appears wounded and live release is entirely unlikely. The rest of the time it's because I have company at camp and they want a fish fry. Maybe around 2% of my catch ends up on the table. I only keep fish if I plan on eating it within a day. I NEVER, EVER, EVER take fish home just to put in my freezer. Some people can't seem to tell the difference between fresh and frozen fish, so if they want to keep fish to freeze...that's fine for them. Like a lot of people though, I sure as heck CAN tell the difference (regardless of how it's packed) and wouldn't waste a fish or a fillet by letting it spend so much as a couple of hours in the deep freeze. Just like in an army mess hall, anglers should keep in mind that they are free to take all they want (within legal limits of course)...but better be darn sure to eat all they take. If you've ever cleaned out your freezer and discovered forgotten fillets that are now ruined...remember them the next time you're debating whether or not to harvest a landed fish. I had a bunch of laker bones stuck in the back of my throat when I was about 7. My Dad plucked them out with a set of needle nose pliers while I was blindfolded to surpress my gag reflex. I still eat fish...but it HAS to be totally boneless. If I'm chewing a piece of fish and detect a bone, I immediatley spit out the entire mouthful.

I hope your able to track down the info you're looking for. There were 4 properties on the French River that I noticed had not been used in several years. I was able to contact the families that owned them (3 of which were Americans) but despite the fact that the properties remain unused to this day, none of the owners were even remotely interested in selling. Most of the buildings on those properties are in need of maintainance but the owners would rather have them decay than sell. Funny, eh?

I find it really funny when the original poster has something along the lines of "in my opinion, anyway" right in the sub-heading of the thread...but people still feel the need to jump all over and personally attack the guy, as though he doesn't have the right to a different opinion.

Like I say... Everyone is entitled to fish within the regs. That's not what I'm talking about, so anyone who brought that up is obviously trying to pick a fight where there isn't one. I'll continue to believe that pictures of live, healthy fish which were potentially released look better than pictures that show dead or possibly needlessly stressed fish. Take a look at any decent fishing magazine and it will be obvious most of their editors tend to agree with me. I'm aware fishing is inherently harmful to fish...and I accept that. I know I am guilty of harming and killing them, and other than trying to minimize the effects...I'm OK with that. I've enjoyed a fish fry or two in my time, I can assure you. It's just I feel pics that show fish being harvested are not as appealing as those that do not. Simple as that. Tight lines to those that agree and those that do not.