cram

Pigeon -- btwn a topraider and a weagle....which do i want to throw?

I would bet the average salary of my friends is around that #, but my 30-34 yr old teacher friends make 50-60.

Rounding out my musky gear this winter (may pick up some stuff at the fishing show), and wondering if anyone has suggestions... Topwater -- i have never used topwaters for musky, and feel like giving it a try. Does anyone catch muskies on topwaters. I have had some surface strikes on suicks and bobbie baits and it is exhilarating.....but strikes are pretty rare. If so, any preference btwn prop-baits, walk-the-dogs, or creepers? My thinking right now is to get a topraider or super topraider. My lake is pretty oligatrophic (deep, rocky, not a ton of weeds)...much of my fishing is along the rock piles, points, islands, and the few weedy areas on the lake. Double-bladed in-line spinner --- most of my spinners are clothespin style spinnerbaits (mmbaits...awesome lures if anyone is looking for some), and i rarely use inlines with exception of a mepps marabou that i throw early in the season. Are the big double blades really better or is it a fad? And, are the double-cow girls the very best of this family, or were they just first? Nets - trading my cradle in for a net. Are there any cheaper versions of the foldables? I don't mind paying for quality, but the stowmasters seem AWFULLY expensive for a net.

I lived in toronto for years....friends who were single teachers couldn't afford to live in (or near) the communities they taught in.

Do lakers taste substantially different from different fisheries? I have some friends who call them greasers and absolutely hate them, and others who think they're great. One of the big differences seems to be where the fish come from (ie. simcoe vs. more northern fisheries)

We should pay teachers way more and make it a more desirable profession -- attract better people. I know lots of very smart people who would have gone into teaching if it didn't pay peanuts. (the pay is actually very good in some communities, and absolutely horrid in others....depends on your cost of living, i guess)

Some stuff to think about.... - do you know that the teacher was standing at the front of the class "teaching" this, vs. stating a personal opinion to a student in a side discussion? Doesn't make it right, but there's a big difference. - if she had said that bull fighting is cruel....would it be as controversial? - "teachers" are one of those disciplines where they all get lumped together based on the wrongs of a few. Its funny how many on this site villified anyone who made comments about autoworkers because of a few people (just because some of us take advantage of the union Bull, don't paint us all with the same brush!!)...yet we do it to teachers. I don't get that.

if the OP is looking for ammo.... - fish have the simplest brains of all vertebrates - most of their "processing" happens in the brain stem, whereas ours happens in the actual brain (frontal lobe? neocortex? I forget). - they are incapable of pain and emotions the way we experience them. Most of their reactions are instinctive. That's all you need to know. That said, the teacher shouldn't be villified and burned at the stake. There are a LOT of people in the world who share her views.

What if a teacher in Switzerland suggested that Catch and Release is a good idea? Would he/she be villified the way this one is here?

Man - we have a pretty self-centered view here. Everyone here is for fishing and C&R, but lets not tar and feather the lady for having an opinion. There are others in the world who wouldn't agree with our views. Doesn't necessarily make them evil or idiotic. She may come from a country in Europe where everyone is taught that it is torturous to Catch and Release. I don't agree with it, but i *get* the thinking behind it. Also -- Rick, fish may not have emotions the way we have emotions but fish do get "stressed". Its hardly impact-less to catch fish (especially some species). Doesn't mean i won't do it (i absolutely love fishing) but its not like she's saying the world is flat. Also -- what's with all the teacher hate? Kind of painting all of them with one brush, isn't it?

Prepare to get hooked. Since becoming a "musky fisherman" i have consistently caught only one nice one a year (probably on 5-7 weekends per), so LOTS of fishless wknds fishing....yet still absolutely love it. 3/4 of my fishing is now for musky, despite rarely catching anything and having a truly excellent SMB and walleye fishery at my disposal.

This guy knows his stuff. Great advice.

I have heard the tackle industries (www.tackleindustries.com?) rods are pretty good. That guy's business seems to be around selling really high quality knock-offs for a great price (i like his bulldawg-style lures better than the real thing). Not sure what his rods are based on, or who sell them.

I fished with a heavy berkley lightning rod for my first years of musky fishing and it was fine (great for standard musky baits...a little light for mag bulldawgs atc). You needn't go overboard with rods for musky....you're not fishing for walleye, so sensitivity and finesse isn't an issue (i laugh when i read ads for musky rods describing sensitivity). Get something that looks well made, durable, and has solid guides. Weight can be an issue if you plan on casting all day for multiple days....otherwise, don't sweat it. Some advice... - if you plan on fishing with spinnerbaits and bucktails, consider a longer rod (easier to cast further, and do figure 8's at boatside) - if you plan on fishing with jerk baits (suicks etc), a shorter stiffer rod (easier to impart the action) - for crankbaits and plugs it matters less... And, for the casual fisherman, either rod will be fine for all applications.

why can't they do USPS or fedex? Is it because of the C02?

Anyone received theirs yet, and seen what kind of brokerage charge UPS is tacking onto these babies?

Rear drags are impossible to fine tune (to the level of a front drag) and to me are less durable.

capitalism is a good thing....many of you have jobs and freedom because of it.

Met that guy on my lake (we were both throwing musky lures at the same spots all wknd so pulled up to one another to say hi) and he gave me one. Great lures.

Really sorry about your kidney and the mixups that have caused you a lot of pain, but i really doubt a more capitalistic healthcare system solves your problem. The most profitable markets are still going to be the major centers like Toronto. At least in our system the gov't incents doctors to go set up in rural areas. I mean, i love the north and rural areas and would LOVE to live there if i could.....but i doubt it draws more doctors.

Guess what i'm saying is they likely had time to recognize it as a dog when it ran away.

That dog looks nothing like a coyote. There are black coyotes, but they certainly don't look like that. I'm sure there was no malice intended but it was a bad shot. Not sure what the controversy is? Also not really that great that they let the dog run back into the woods (they probably realized what it was afterwards)...

In all seriousness though, this looks like an environmental catastrophe that's pretty much forecasted unanimously by scientists on both sides of the border. The only disagreement is whether the economic impact of locking the canal is justified relative to the environmental impact. Obviously we think its justified....but its pretty hard for a president in his first term of office in one of the largest economic meltdowns in history to say "hey, lets lock down a pretty vital economic freeway". Not saying its justified, but it is hard. He could be measured in the history books as the guy who ruined the great lakes, but i bet he prefers that risk over the near-term alternative if he does lock the canal.

Made me laugh my ass off. THanks for posting.

cormorants? Only major change that i know of in recent years, unless the commercial fishing quotas have increased or commercial fishing has just pushed the pop to a tipping point. Not saying the smelt vs. perch dynamic doesn't exist....but what is driving that?