craigdritchie

Nice ling. I love them - you cut the fillets into little strips and cook them skin-side-down in a casserole dish in the microwave ... just a little butter and garlic salt ..... the stuff comes out like lobster! Awesome eats!

Fluorocarbon is one of those funny things in fishing. I think if a person really believes in it, they will catch more fish. Not because of the fluorocarbon per se, but because the person feels more confident when using it. That, in turn, means they will fish more effectively, and pay closer attention to every little thing they do. That is what catches more fish. I love fishing for smallmouth bass with topwaters, and my favourite topwater of all is a particular colour of Rebel Pop-R. It's the standard white bait in G-Finish, with a light blue back. I also use Pop-Rs that are white all over, without the blue back, but they don't work nearly as well. That obviously makes no sense at all, since - if you think about it - the fish can't see the lure's back and have no idea if it is blue or not. It's entirely in my head. I know this. Yet, to this day, I catch more fish on the ones with the blue back than on the plain all-white ones. It's just me. Something about the pretty paint job on the ones with the blue backs just inspires me to pay closer attention, and as a result, I fish more effectively and catch more fish on them. Crazy, but true, and I think fluorocarbon is no different. Where fluoro is concerned, I personally hate the stuff. In my experience it's fragile, it frays like crazy and is even less durable in cold weather - exactly when I would appreciate having a little edge. Thanks, but I'll stick to mono, which is expensive enough as it is. But if it works for you, then go nuts! Everyone has their own little confidence items .... for many, fluoro may be it.

Sirius is pretty good. Radio came with the truck, so not sure what to say there. I like that there are no annoying commercials to speak of, except on the Howard Stern channel and even then, they're not very frequent. Sound quality is awesome. I think it's worth the $15 / month.

I had one too - seven-foot Avacado Series medium action spinning rod, with a Mitchell 300 and 8 lb Royal Bonnyl, my reward for working 10 days straight, 10 hours per day, at the Toronto Sportsmen's Show in 1978. I used that rod and reel for everything .... crappies under docks with jigs and a float, walleyes on Mepps spinners with a worm, largemouth in slop with weedless spoons, smallies on topwaters, even steelhead and cohos, when I would skip school and spend my days at the Humber and Credit. I caught more fish on that single rod and reel than I can even begin to remember. Of course it was waaaay better than the Blue Series rod my buddy had :-)

Back in the 70s I was given a tour of the Abu Garcia rod manufacturing plant, back when they still made their rods in the USA. Old timers might remember that back then, the fishing rod lineup started with the entry-level Blue Series rods. Above them, and priced about 50 percent higher, was the green coloured Avacado Series, followed by the upper-level Brown Series rods. Remeber them? If not, you may be able to google it. Top-of-the-line, if you had the money, was the prestige Black Series. All rods had similar guides, reel seats, cork grips and metal ferrules, so the colour of the blank was how you told the serious guys from the beginners. Problem was, they all used exactly the same blank - just painted different colours. Cheapie Blue Series rods sold for $19.95, while top-of-the-line Black Series rods were $49.99 to $59.99 - big money in those days. The only thing different was the colour. No one wanted the crappy Blue Series rods. Everyone spent more money for the otherwise identical Avacado, Brown or Black rods. Nothing's changed today.

People won't buy tackle that they already own. So the guys who sell this crap have to keep inventing something else you can't possibly already own .... then convince you that you just can't live without it. All for the incredibly low, low price of just $179.95, no less. What? How can you even begin to call yourself an angler unless you have an IM-19 Titanium Garry Two R's Signature Edition Pro Graphite 5'9" Rock Bass twitchin' stick, complete with micro Magnum Guides and multi-piece compound grip made of real genuine not-to-be-imitated synthetic foam? Perfectly made to balance the all-new Solopaddler signature series reel, with 127 ball bearings hand-made by Swiss craftsmen and pre-loaded with the all-new 1.4 lb. test Spectral Carbon Wonder Filament, utilizing the latest in micro-polymer technology to make a line you can't even see! English translation: the same reel we made 15 years ago, but now it's orange and silver, and the same rod we sold in the 60s for $19 but now it's $200 and has a handle made up of old bicycle grips. Line up!!

If you're willing to dress for the Arctic, and have a long-handled net, there are usually a few pike hanging around the ship canal at this time of year.

Thanks for the background, Bob. Like I said, never even heard of it till this morning.

I don't think anyone could argue that Bob is the goods. In 10 years of working with the guy I never once saw him as anything other than a complete and total class act who would often go out of his way to help others. Most people have no idea of how much time (and money) he gives up to help different charitable groups all over Canada - often anonymously. Bob, and Wayne, are two people I will always have nothing but complete and absolute respect for. Most TV show hosts only take, take, take. It's all about how much money they can make and how much free sponsor crap they can stuff in their garage. How many other TV hosts give their own money back to help fish habitat projects for everyone's benefit? Bob and Wayne, through their Fishing Forever Foundation, have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years to fund all kinds of community fisheries improvement projects, and I can tell you that a good chunk of that cash came out of their own pockets. I hope the mods won't mind me mentioning that you can learn more (or make a donation yourself) at www.fishingforever.ca. Bob Izumi is awesome. Stoty, I'm sure you had a great time with him and I hope you have the pleasure again. We should all be so lucky as to spend a day on the water with a guy with that kind of character, and who can catch big fish with that kind of consistency.

I had never even heard of this show. Interesting idea of putting underwater footage into a fishing show. According to their website: "This one-of-a-kind program captivates viewers from a fish-eye perspective ...." I wonder if they realize that Bob Izumi was already broadcasting their "one-of-a-kind" idea beck in the early 90s when he added his Fish-Eye View segments to the Real Fishing Show? Those underwater sequences, mainly shot by Rick Matusiak, were so far ahead of their time it was just scary. Fish-Eye View .... fish-eye perspective ...... hmmmm. Sounds familiar to me.

Absolutely! You can clearly see the manufacturer's logo on an outboard - not so much on an I/O. It's all about advertising! Joking aside, the move towards four-stroke outboards in smaller boats (under 25 feet) has more to do with lower production costs and greater weight savings (which equals fuel savings) than reliability. For example, a 3.0L I/O, at 130 hp, weighs almost twice as much as a 135 hp four-stroke outboard. On the same boat, the outboard takes up less interior space, uses less fuel, and is easier to tow. In the case of a used boat, reliability comes down to how well the thing was maintained by the previous owner. Paying a marine mechanic a few bucks to look it over and give you an unbiased opinion is money well spent.

If the boat will rack up a lot of hours trolling, then I would agree that an I/O is the way to go provided you're okay with the amount of interior cockpit space the engine doghouse eats up. It will be quieter than an outboard, and you won't find yourself inhaling exhaust fumes when you troll downwind. The 4.3L, in either a Merc or Volvo platform, is a very reliable engine; if anything does go wrong, then spare parts are widely available and cheap. An I/O is obviously a lot heavier than an outboard, but if you plan to leave the boat in the water that's less of a concern. Most of the early oil-injected outboards are fairly reliable, but definitely not in the same class as today's four-strokes. I would not touch an OMC Ficht engine at any price - they are notoriously unreliable and parts are becoming harder to find. Who needs the headache when there are plenty of reliable used Mercs, Yamahas, Suzukis and non-Ficht OMCs out there in the same price range? If I were leaving a boat in the water, then yes, I would definitely paint it with an antifouling product. Interlux ACT is a good bottom paint designed specifically to repel zebra mussels and freshwater algae.

I don't have it but from what I've seen of people around me, this flu seems to last about three weeks.

Thanks for the vote of confidence Sharkbait. I can teach you how to cast into trees and get massive tangles, but that's probably about it. I have a lot of experience getting birdsnests. The reel in this picture is an old five-inch Stanton, one of the first batch that Lorne Green brought into Ontario from England. It didn't have any handles, and you retrieved the line by batting it with your hand. It had a knurled rim to facilitate this. Great idea, at least till you had a fish peel line on you. Then, the knurled rim felt like a saw blade on your skin - especially in really cold weather. The grayling were tasty, especially after they were cooked.

I love old photos too. Here are a few scanned from old slides. Opening day on the Ganaraska. Slide mount is stamped 1980. I think my friends and I saw about a half-dozen other people all day. Definitely not like that now! Looking pretty grizzly in this one from 1988. I figured Al Lindner had a beard, so I should grow one too. Bad idea. It came off pretty quickly. Credit steelhead, circa 1990. Muskie, October 1991. Nice mullet under that hat. Self-portrait with a couple of Arctic grayling kept for shore lunch, early 90s. Brookie, mid 90s. In Quebec with a couple of friends and some brookies that were definitely not catch and release, mid 90s. Steelhead, about 2000 or 2001. If time permits I'll see if I can scan some more. I have about 15,000 fishing slides, dating back to the late 70s, and there are some real gems in there. Craig

Glad to see you're back at it, Mike. Once things warm up a touch, we should sneak off to my secret, pristine steelhead spot so you can give that reel a proper workout. (and before anyone complains about me giving away their secret spot, c'mon ..... everyone knows about Bronte)

Where did I say that? Did you even read my post? I give up. This is like talking to a plant.

The kids don't get it, Grimace. They haven't been disappointed by this team for as many decades. Nor do they appreciate how many "franchise players" have come and gone since 1967 .... all without results. Chance - yes, those guys are all grandfathers now. That's my point. Heck, I still remember Dave Keon being the guy who would bring the cup back to Toronto. He was a great player too. Sittler played on teams WITH Lanny McDonald, Borje Salming, Ian Turnbull and Mike Palmateer. And yet? No cup. If that team couldn't win (playing against weak, post-expansion teams in the 70s) then this bunch of amateurs hasn't got a snowball's chance.

I thought that was Mats Sundin? Or Wendel Clarke? Or Darryl Sittler? Or Borje Salming? How far do you want to go back?

Keep buying those jerseys and hats .......

Yes. Well in this house, the 'mindless minions' sleep on the nice warm bed all day while Mrs and I haul our butts out to work. I think they're on to something.

Perhaps, but at least they have the brain power to do it.

I like cats. They're far more intelligent than most people I meet.

I agree. I am confident they will soon be tied with the Islanders.

Once again ... is this the sound of people jumping off a bandwagon that I hear? I said it back at the beginning of the season, when the rest of the city was busy planning the parade route. The Loafs are awful, and as long as guys keep buying hats and jerseys and stupid car flags, pumping record profits into the team year after year, nothing will change.