Mike Pike

That's darn sporting of you, Tracker, and all the Habs fans who posted a 'congratulations.' I'll certainly try and remember this when the shoe is on the other foot, as undoubtably in sports it will be. Cheers!

Hey Marc Thorpe, what a terrific post and a great reminder! Ya know, I've taken my daughter and nephews fishing many times in the past and I usually don't take my own rod so I can just concentrate on the little ones. But my emphasis has always been on the 'fishing.' I really haven't thought about the other aspects of taking children out to the great outdoors like you mentioned in your post. The fun of collecting fish and just enjoying the wonders of a stream or lake is something that I think we as adults forget sometime. I've got my niece and nephew coming up for a visit next month and you bet that I'll also include lots of fun nature time along with our fishing time. Funny thing is, I think I'll enjoy it as much as the kids will!

Funny how so many of us remember owning a Cherrywood. Must be because of that distinctive red colour. I remember having a Cherrywood when I first started fishing back in the late 70s and I still remember some of the fish I caught with it.. including my first bass on that reservior in Binbrook. I dunno about the rods now but I'll bet they're probably starting what will be lot of other people's fond fishing memories.

Hey, those small horsepower tourneys are great! Don't know if there are any more out there but I really enjoyed participating in the Reel Fishin Competition years ago when it was around. As far as gaining fishing knowledge, I felt like my fishing learning curve increased dramatically during my two tourney seasons! But I see tournaments as more of a progression for people who are ALREADY fishing. As others have said, I think just getting a rod into a kid's hand and starting 'em fishing for fun is the best way to grow our sport. Cheers.

Just a thought.. I wonder if the graphite characteristics( harder or more brittle )which makes these rods so sensitive is also its undoing because they tend to break easier?

Enjoyed the show Steve and some real beauty cats you guys caught. Gotta love that catfish run in the Grand. WTG.

Once bass season opens, I fish the Grand in the Kitchener, Brantford and Caledonia area myself Egg. It can sure be challenging. I wonder what you mean by fast water. Most rivers set up as: 1) ripple( fast and shallow )followed by 2) run( a bit slower and deeper ), followed by 3) pool( slowest and deepest ). This pattern repeats itself all along most rivers. I'm guessing you may be challenged by the ripple areas and my advice would be to move down to the runs and pools. Again, this is just a guess. In the runs, you can cast spinners( like Mepps Aglias )and toss plugs( like Rapalas ). Toss 'em upstream and as you retrieve your bait, it'll work it's way down the run as it's coming towards you. Be sure to cover all the areas of the run as well as the pooling area( s )you see. If it's live bait like a worm you're fishing, just keep adding split shot a foot or so up from your hook 'til you feel your presentation ticking the bottom every now and again. Cast upstream and retreave slightly along the drift so there is no slack in your line. Same thing if you're fishing with a float above your bait. The faster the current the more split shots you'll have to add between the bait and your float to help keep the bait down infront of the the fish. Remember, ajacent to all that quick water are current breaks with slower water. Don't ignore those areas. Goodluck.

Wow, what an adventure Moosebunk!!! Terrific story and even more incredible pics! What a time y'all must have had. Thanks for taking the time to share that one with us. My vote for "Post Of The Year!" Now, I'm gonna go back and re-read it.

Slumlords! You sure do hear about more bad ones than good ones. Too bad it's forcing you to move out Joey 'cuz moving is such a pain! Better luck at your next place.

Hey Tony, I caught the show on the weekend and didn't even know it was you until I read this thread!!! Well, how cool is that!??? Congratulations Bud! Some beauty fish you caught and an you came across really good on camera. You have a good nature and attitude about you and I commend you on your stream rehab work with the club. You definately deserve that spotlight with Aaron. Congratz.

Thanks for the repsonses all! Golfisher, as Hooked said, I was primararly looking for a good flouro leader choice fishing migratory trout in what is a really snag infested harbour/river. I usually use 4-feet of leader on a 3-way rig there so you can see if I have to re-tie 2 or 3 times in a day, how quickly I'd go through a 25 yard spool. I think I'm leaning towards biting the bullet and buying the 6lb Seagar flouro leader line anyways because if it's the difference between catching a fish and not, it's worth it to me.

Thanks for the responses guys. The tackle tour stuff was amazingly thorough. But here's what I'm wondering. A 250 yard spool of Berkley Vanish flouro is about $15 while a tiny 25 yard spool of Seagar flouro cost even more!!! I was wondering what the difference would be. I guess my question stems from watching Charlie Wray on the tube this morning who said that flourocarbon line as a leader is NOT the same as a proper( expensive )flourocarbon leader, but unfortunately he didn't go into any explanation.

That is one angry bassturd.

It's been a pretty tame race considering it's Bristol. I DO like the look of those COT though. Kinda look a little old school with that rear spoiler. Oh well, 20 laps to go. Gonna go watch.

Ok, so I want to start using flouro for a leader( I know, I know, what took me so long, right? ). Anyhoo, I noticed that there's your flouro line by Berkley( which is relatively inexpensive )and then there is flouro leader line by companies like Seagar( considerably MORE expensive ). The flouro leader line was sold in lengths of like 25 yards, which I could see myself going through on a single morning at Port Dalhousie. Sooooo... what's the difference? Do any of you guys use the Berkley for your leader or do you go with the more expensive stuff?

I woulda hung up on 'em loooooong before they got into that much detail. Remember, if something sounds too good to be true... Your parents will waste their time and gas.

What a great report there TBayBoy!!! That was a terrific read and some great pics to go along with your tale! Thank you.

Thanks for that Hooked. A bit out of my way but I may drop by. It's a shame when a tackle store closes but, honestly, I thought they had closed a long time ago. They never really promoted themselves and being tucked away up there on the east mountain, I think most of us had forgotten about them.

Ya, that's why the Leafs had one of the highest payrolls in the league before the salary cap! Kordic for Courtnall. Good one Stellick!

Goodluck and keep at it Mike. Sandbanks is one of my favourites too and I always try for a site along the river. Love fishing the river and have caught pike, walleye and bass depending on the season and year. Now if I'm not mistaken, one year( about 6 years ago )I was able to book a site a week BEFORE they had the park opened officially. In otherwords, no staff or services. Hardly any other campers there too so I had my choice of sites! It was awesome! I don't know if they still do that but you may wanna ask 'em if you were thinking of an early spring date. Cheers!

Great travel pics and commentary Lew. Thank you! My daughter went to college in Ottawa and she raves about the city and the things there are to do there. She's big into jogging and biking and says there are terrific trails there. Scenery everywhere!

I dunno, I think the guy who did the fillet in 30-seconds wastes a lot of meat. I wouldn't let him fillet my catch. I'd prefer to take more time with it and cut around the ribs. IMHO.

I wish there was a solution other than closing fishing areas. Most of us have seen a lot of shore fishing areas closed to us. It almost seems like it's getting to be more and more like places in Europe.. unless you have the bucks, you can't find any public areas to fish. We don't close our schools when the schoolyards are filled with wrappers and garbage, nor do we close our roads when there is too much junk in the gutters. Sorry, just the words of a frustrated shore fisherman...

Wow, that was awesome Gerritt! This was a terrific post and it helped me enjoy last night's game and festivities even more. Thanks for taking the time to put it all together. Must have been great being there. Cheers!

As a temporary fix, Hooked, I can personally vouche for the cayenne pepper which was mentioned earlier. I just mix mine up with some red pepper flakes as well. I had a dog that kept dumping on my lawn in a couple of different places. So, I mixed up some red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper and sprinkled it where the dog would do it's business PLUS I sprinkled a boarder all around my lawn. I did this every couple of weeks for a few months and the offending beast never returned.