Mike Pike

Good place to eat and good place to do a little carpin'. If I went to Belgium, I stay there the whole time!! Thanks for posting that Craig. Hope you're enjoying yourself over there!

I've always enjoyed Justin's writing. His posts and pic here were some of the best ever!

Hey Pikey, the stretch from Cambridge to Paris is the biggest elevation change along the Grand River. Lots of rapids and fun paddling along there. So if you can paddle your canoe back up river, you're a far better paddler than me! lol

Another River Rat! Welcome aboard.

I have that same postal code problem from time to time, Rich. Dunno why. But if you e-mail Carpkit, the fellow in Milton will e-mail you back and probably help you with your problem. A very good fellow to deal with. Or if he has the pod you're looking for in stock, you can probably arrange a time to pick it up at his place. Very jealous that you have a swim behind your house. I have Main Street in Hamilton behind mine! lol

Thanks for that heads-up Dog. I'll look for 'em as well as FlatRaps that Sauce told me about. Just thinking about wading for bass at this time of year kinda warms the heart! lol

Thanks kindly for the advice Guys. I've checked the websites of some of the rods mentioned, written down the models, and now need to go and get 'em in my hand. Very appricative of everyone who took time. I never mind spending money on good gear, as long as it's a well researched and well thought through purchase. And thanks for the advice on the Flat Raps, Sauce. Haven't fished 'em yet but their nice shallow running depth sounds like something that will suit me well.

I just checked the St. Croix site and looked at those Eyecon's and there a 7'6" slip n rig that looks like I should check out. Again it talks about bait rigging as you said which would be good as that's my back up when wading rivers anyway.

Sorry, spinning for sure. Budget not really an issue. I'm single. lol

I love wading the Grand and Speed Rivers in the KW area for bass. Lots of great ways to taget the fish, but one of my favourite ways is casting jerkbaits when conditions permit( areas with less weed, etc. ). I have a good arsenal of Rapalas jerkbaits and they are pretty light and don't cast very well when I use some of my other river rods, which are generally too stiff. So I was gonna shop for a rod specifically for this task. HuskyJerks and some deep diving cranks cast nicely, but I'm usually not using these as they snag on bottom of the shallower stretches I fish. So, light, floating jerkbaits are my usual go-to and would like your advise on the type of rod I should be shopping for.

I agrea Moxie. And I'm tired of everyone in the media yesterday telling me; 'Relax, people, it's just one game!' I AM relaxed. I'm not the one anazlizing a game with Norway for 24 hours after the fact! No, YOU relax!

Cootes is a uniformly shallow bay with few features and few fish. There are so many other places where you'd have much better luck and much better shot at fish that I wouldn't bother.

Terrific idea JJ! I'll bet it works better than the goverment's 'Do Not Call List.' What a joke. I'm on the list and I still get just as many telemarketing calls as I did before.

So little parking around Simcoe and what there is you have to pay for if you're an out-of-towner. Nothing says 'Welcome' like that. Parking has really become an issue on Simcoe come ice fishing time, unless you don't mind driving out onto the lake to park. Rather than deal with the hassle, I discoveried the great winter fishing available on the Niagara year round. So now, the Niagara region gets the most of my time( and money )over the winter.

Yup, definately same with MasterCard. I ordered some carp fishing books from England, and I hadn't recieved them for a couple of weeks. When I e-mailed the company, a woman e-mailed me back to say she would look into it, and I heard nothing from her for a week! I then called MasterCard and they refunded the purchase for me and asked me just to let them know should I actually recieve my books.

Good observation Vance. And I thought it was just me... lol Fishing reports and responses seem to have lessened over the years, here and most other boards. I still continue to check in but don't stay around near as long as I used to. The thing is, even 'general' fishing information is on the decline, like chats about techniques, tackle and such. I hope this changes and I'll try posting more myself to try and become part of the solution( and not problem ). My two cents.

I just wanted to say thank you to the guys who took the time to review the Eskimo for me. Very much appreiated and I think my cousin has decided to make the purchase confidently. Thank you again.

My cousin was looking at purchasing a portable shelter for this winter. He was looking at some pop up huts by 'Eskimo' but I couldn't offer him any details or advice on 'em, other than their website and some youtube vids. Does anybody have one? Any pros and cons you could pass along? Thanks in advance.

Yikes, I guess we now know the long term effects of working in outerspace!

Nothing says; "I don't REALLY care about solving your problem" like an overseas help centre. Cuz what company would want to hire local and have to pay miminum wage! Heck, how would they be able to give their executives riduculous bonuses then!

Buy low. Sell high. $50 please. ( holidng out hand )

I preffer plasma myself, and enjoy the movies and all the sports I watch on it. My advise would be to go for a bigger screen this time, Davey. I was glad I did! Remember you don't need to sit back far away from the tv with these screens, so room size isn't an issue. And I have never heard anyone say; "Man, I wish I had gotten a smaller screen!" lol

A couple of nice ones you guys hooked into there, Rich. I like the way you guys adapted then were rewarded.

Wow, me thinks 'nice' would be an understatement. Thanks for sharing that catch with us Lew. She's a real beaut! The smile on your face says it all! Oh wait... lol

Hey Snagalot, I believe spring is the time to hunt perch off the pier in Dover. This may be a better time for views on the beach. Just sayin...