Dnthmn

Enjoy the Danvise. It is actually a better vise than the zephyr. I have hear it get a few bad review but they were all from people who did not understand how to adjust the jaws properly. Here is a video that should help you get the most from yours. I hope it proves useful. http://www.hatches.tv/play.php?vid=339

Going out on a limb here but try getting a small cooler with a tight fitting lid and rig an aerator on the side of it with a hole drilled for the hose. I've done it for make shift live bait wells in boats during warmer seasons. I'm just not sure how well it will hold up to the cold. Maybe there is someone else here who could speak to that. As for the rough ride...Yes, you will have some casualties.

Ain't family great!! Thanks guys.

Slowpoke, Let me know if your interested and I'll let you try my vise. It's a Zephyr EZ-Rotary. Retails for $49.99 from a local shop, if they still carry it. The Danvise is actually about $130.00 in Canada. We can meet up for a coffee or a wobbly pop and I'll bring the vice and some tying materials for you to test drive it.

Wow.

Here'e the link. http://outdoorscard.mnr.gov.on.ca/english/...p?tid=&s=19

Got back from bringing my Mom home a little while ago. She had been at our place for the past week helping us take care of our son because daycare was closed this week and work wasn't. After we got all of her stuff into the house I figured I would round up my ice fishing gear and bring it back to my place so it was on hand. As I was rounding everything up it hit me that this will be the first time I go fishing since my Dad passed away back in October. Things just aren't going to be the same without him

Good point. I was going to argue that the same sentence could read If your line is strong enough... Bigsmallie actually made the argument for me by saying that his flouro leader helps him retrieve tubes. Sorry guys, I'm not trying to be an & I was not trying to knock braided line. After re-reading my first post I understand how that may have been miscommunicated. The two points that I was attempting to articulate are: 1. As long as your connections are good it does not matter how many/what types of line(s) you have connecting your fish to your reel. If you play the fish well you will land it. I've had salmon straighten/break hooks while I was running 8# Berlkey XT on my noodle rod and spinning reel. 2. Whatever set-up you are the most confident in is the set-up you should use. If you are confident in your rig then you will fish with confidence and IMO play any hooked fish better than if you are anxious about your knots holding or worried about your leader breaking etc. Interesting tip about the wet dishtowel by the way. I think I'm gonna give it a try on one of my UL rigs for crappie and perch this spring. Cheers.

From my point of view the benefits of using braid versus mono or flouro, for the most part, only exist before the fish is hooked. The increased sensitivity and non existent stretch are going to help you detect the fish and plant the hook when setting. After that I feel we have the same chance of landing a fish regardless of what type of line is connecting it to our rod & reel. The abbraision resistance of braid is preferable if you fish areas that contain alot of submerged rock or trees that fish will tangle into but I mostly fish in areas where that is not an issue. I use a mono backer to save money and have not run into any problems. Ultimately what ever your preference is, then that is how you should set up your rig. Cheers.

Congrats. Enjoy your new fishin buddy!!

Next time you re-spool back it with a little bit of mono rather using the tape. If the black is from the tape then that should solve your problem.

Not from lake Ontario simply because I don't get to fish there very often but I eat fish from Erie all the time. here is a link that might interest you. http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/guide/index.htm The PDF version of the guide for lake O is about halfway down the page. Enjoy.

What else can I say...

Thanks Guys, I have a couple in my vest pocket that got badly kinked because I have yet to pick up a leader wallet (cooler got pushed up against the vest and the leaders were folded in half). Since I don't use them very often it hasn't been an issue for me but if I can save myself the money of buying some new ones for when I do want to toss out some dries that would be great. I'll leave them stretched out for week or two and see what happens then try some heat. I was already figuring they were a lost cause anyway.

My turn to ask a question!! Will this and the trick with the heating vent and the weight work if the tapered leader is kinked? or just coiled? If they can be straightened after being kinked that would be a good bit of knowledge to have!!

Wrinkly as in it looks like a tight bend/fold was put into it when it was coiled? If that's the case you're out of luck. Head to Canadian Tire and pick up a few small spools of Stren Magnathin in 4# & 6#test diameters and use that for your leader for now. As long as your not tossing a big pike streamer or a #22 dry fly these will function just fine. Also, let me know some more information so I can more easily point you in the correct direction. Info that will help me advise you is: Length and weight of rod. species of fish you will be targeting Type and size of flies you plan on using, ie: #12 nymphs, or #18 dries etc.

You would not go wrong hiring Ian to teach you to cast. He's a great guy, will keep you laughing the whole day with his stories and is absolutely worth the amount of money he asks. That being said, book him early... like now. There is also... http://www.thefirstcast.ca & http://www.grandrivertroutfitters.com and I can also put you in touch with a few guides that I know through London's fly fishing club. You will undoubtedly have to travel part way to meet up with any of them. Don't forget to look for a club in your area as well.

Wish I could say the same. My shift is ending in about 20 minutes. Then I'm going home to have breakfast with the family, get another half dozen flutter spoons painted and then crashing. Happy New Year

Hi Marcus, You have the basic idea but the real answer will depend on your application and you have quite a few options available to you. If you are new to fly fishing and are just learning I suggest you head to the fly shop and pick up a couple knotless tapered leaders. Tippet material and various diameters of fishing line/leader material are used for making your own leaders and it can get pretty confusing. Personally I mostly fly fish for Steelhead/Salmon in the fall/winter and bass & panfish in the summer. I usually don't use dry flies so I generally never use a tippet. My leaders are a length of flourocarbon or braid off the spool that I keep in my vest pocket. For everything except panfish I tie my leaders at least 1 - 1.5 times the length of my rod up to about 15 feet as a maximum. For panfish I've gone as short as 4 - 5 feet attached to a floating line, but lets face it, pumpkin seeds and blue gill aren't the smartest fish in the water and from my experince don't spook that easily. Brush up on your knots for attaching lines together such as albright special, double uni & blood. Also once you get it down using a nail knot to attach the leader to fly line is a great way to go (my personal favourite). Tip on getting cheap tubes to help with the nail knot - dollar store q-tips with the ends cut off. Keep about a dozen in your vest. Check out this site for info on the knots http://www.knetknots.com Since I generally don't use them I cannot give you a whole bunch of information on tippets. I know that the tippet size is dictated by the fly size for a better presentation. Here is a chart to use as a guideline. http://www.killroys.com/charts/tippet.htm Hope that helps a little. Also check out http://www.talkflyfishing.com. There is a ton of info on fly fishing there and a great bunch of people willing to help you out. Cheers, Dan

Stuck at work tonight so either leftovers from yesterday or sandwhiches

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone. johnnyb - My boy is 22 months. He's still not too sure what's going on yet, but he'll get the idea within the next few years. Right now I make it a point to hold him in my lap and drown some shiners or wax worms at the campground we spend our summers at. It's awesome seeing what his reactions to the blue gill and other pan fish are going to be. Last summer when I showed him fish we caught he would either poke them then get scared when they flopped or kiss them

Jigger already said it but I have to agree, R-Bends are no problem. Go to your local electrical/electronics supply store and buy some shrink wrap tubing. Cut a small piece and fit it onto the wire at the bend, heat it with a a hair dryer or heat gun and your casts will no longer be fouled by your connection moving on the wire of the bait. Someone else mentioned tubes as well. In brown and smoke coulours filled with a round head jig they work wonders on water that contain goby's. These are one of my "go to" baits for bass on Lake Erie. Lastly if you are going to fish worm style plastics don't forget about employing the carolina rig, especially in weed beds. Just shorten the leader if casting from shore. Good luck and tight lines. Dan

My God I feel old. I was alive when motorola came out with the first 8 bit processor!!!! Good name for a Techie though !!!

Vanna show him what he's won!!!!!!!

Hint: Would you like to buy a vowel? Vowels! We don' need no stinkin' vowels!!!