Syn

Two suggestions

Medium heavy for pike/musky??? I think you better make sure by taking your reel with you to the store and mounting it to the rod and checking for rod flex with the line threaded through. I use a medium heavy IM7 Daiwa 7' for mostly smaller pike 30" and big bass and there is PLENTY of rod flex when the pike suddenly freaks out when it gets near the boat, probably a bit too much flex. Had that rod for about 5 years now, serving me well, but I use a heavy rod for lures over 1.5 oz. Medium heavy is the sweet spot for the majority of my fishing, but heavy rod is better for bigger pike 35+". Also have you given some thought to what weight lures you are going to throw. A 1oz is fine with most medium heavies, but if you are going for bigger pike/muskie with big lures weighting 1.5oz to 5oz I think you are going to wreck your arm and maybe the rod. If you are hoping to catch bigger pike and muskies 35+" I suggest you check heavy rods that can handle bigger lures and bigger fish. I like the long rod handle for pike so I can butt it against my stomach when fish fighting, takes all the stress away from my arms. Personal preference I guess. Mind you, you can catch a muskie using a barbie kids rod, but I can't imagine how long that took to fight. I stopped looking for brand name as much as looking for features for the price and warranty. If you can find a IM7 or better with a great reel seat and fuji or better guides that sounds like a good deal for $80 and taxes. Line is very important too. Found power pro to be great for pike, but I use a fluorocarbon leader 80+lb too. Pike can cut through power pro quickly I have learned! I heard the recoil guides make a lot of noise with braided line so I'm not sure if those are the better option than sic guides. btw I looked up the compre since we seem to have a lot of fans here, $128+taxes at Lebarons so it might be out of you budget if you can't find it cheaper.

Possibly make one for yourself if you have the torch and parts from home depot? terry "it is real simple to make one too you take an old propane torch and unscrew the flame end find an old BBQ and cut the black hose off that has the end that attaches to the 20lb tank now shove the tube that the flame end was attached to on the old torch, into the hose and put a clamp on it one fully functional refiller with a cut off valve on it too" from this thread: http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38995

Set it, and Forget it!--Ron Popeil Dial-o-matic drag

I loved berkley mono too back in the day (early 90's) and use to fish with it a lot. I felt Berkley line jumped the shark when they started making "sensation" and "ultra thin". Felt like I was buying rubbers not fishing line. The ultra thin was ok ( sensation not so much) but I think they changed the formula of ultrathin in the mid 90's. Mostly using braid for pikies and flouro (bass/panfish) now.

After reading that part I decided to go check my tackle bag. Luckily I kept the gulp (I switched back to powerbait less messy) in a bubble wraped envelope that I had around. This is what I found....nice. IF I did not have the envelope all that crap would be on my gear and fishing clothes. I had the lid closed on TIGHT. I guess it just seeped out over time??? pic1 pic2

I think the anglers are only allowed to be human. sorry.

I just watched the Tridrag video VIDEO It has front and rear drag and looks super smooth. Take that front draggers lol. You adjust the front drag to the strength of the line then use the rear drags for fish fighting. Freaking awesome. 2nd fishing thing I've learned today.

Worm Dangler: The shimano symetre is also rear drag eg SY2500RJ and an awesome reel. Spirex does not have the infinite antireverse (super stopper II) which is unfortunate. Spiel "To the best of my knowledge rear drag designs typically incorporate smaller drag washers thus making them less efficient and less durable than the larger washers of front drag reels." Aww that a heartbreaker to learn. No wonder front drag is more popular. Learn something new everyday. Thanks guys. limeyangler: thanks for the rear drag models link. Multidisc drag sounds like the way to go. Thank God for Shimano reels. TWIN POWER CI4 RA I think I just fell in love.

Ok we already know baitcasters are the work of the devil with their rod guides being on top and the majority being right hand retrieve :lol: So I won't even go there (except for musky fishing). Anyhow since I started using rear drag spinning reel, I find them 10X better than front drag reels. With rear drag I just push a button and the spool pops off so I can switch quickly without having to waste time unscrewing the spool, risk loosing the small washers and cap and having to retighten the drag. On a rear drag I can quickly adjust (or fine tune) the drag lever depending on how hard the fish is fighting without having to reach in front of the reel and twist the cap which is awkward when fighting a fish. OK the rear drag reels weight about 1.5 oz more for a 1000 series and 0.5oz more for a 4000 model, but imo the pros outweigh the cons. Yet I've only seen a few rear drag reels.

What about a gps tracking unit. That thing is very small and easily hidden on a boat. would this work?

Usually when I go rod hunting, I bring my reel and ask permission to seat in on the rod and thread the guides. Then I get my loyal buddy to hold the line while I judge the rod under tension. Went to BPS last summer helping my buddy pick his first higher end rod and I had my work glove on because he spooled powerpro. This gave him a great indication of how much hookset power vs rod flex he was comfortable with.

Thank you kindly good sir. I will drink a beer to you! :D

outdoor canada

As a kid I had an awesome telescope $10 Canadian Tire rod. I would walk around the house and flick it open to full length as if I were a ninja. The guides were were misaligned to hell but who cares, it was all about style.

A one piece will give a slightly more uniform flex and probably more strength by not having a joint. Will this really matter for bass and trout fish? unlikey. I've never had a rod break on me at the joint (thin walled upper piece) but Ive heard it happen to others with their $100+ 2pcs rods. Once in a while while casting your top piece also gets cast because the joint looses off during the day. After the initial WTH just happened moment, I usually thank god that the line did not break or else I would have lost the top piece into the drink. Since then I've roughened up the bottom half that gets inserted with some sandpaper and it rarely comes off now. If I had a 7ft one piece I guarantee you 100% I'd break off the tip with something silly like a ceiling fan, doorway, or simply walking through the woods. SO I always get a 2 piece.

Maps here: http://www.algonquinmap.com/download.html. The canoe and exploring map book (free pdf) looks really useful. Might want to consider borrowing a hand-held GPS with compass loaded with http://www.ibycus.com/ibycustopo/ free topo map.

Three dumb things I did about 15 and 30 years ago. All done in Europe. 1) While on holiday fishing from a rocky ledge in the Mediterranean caught a cool looking bright red fish. I lipped like a bass and it presented its high back spine, so I thought it would be a handy place to grab the fish from. I'm holding the fish from the spine making it look like its floating horizontally. My uncle comes around the corner and is yelling it me to let it go which I did. Found out it was a scorpion fish and the spines are highly poisonous. 2) My cousin and I got bored fishing from a concrete pier in 40 ft of water. So we went back to the house and sharpened the ends of two broomsticks. We went back to the pier dived in and there were 5 foot in length white/silver fish about 30 feet away. We thought we were going to throw spears at the fish while underwater. For some reason physics in real life does not work like it does in cartoons. 3) Thought I would be a good idea to pull myself down to the bottom of an anchor rope and explore the bottom rocks. So I pull myself down to about 25 feet, my ears are killing me from the pressure and its dark and suddenly I'm less than an arms length away from a moray eel with a head that's bigger than mine and I'm frozen with fear watching it, its looking back at me and its taking large breaths. Thank god it was not in a bitey mood. I surfaced quickly and had a pounding headache for the rest of the day. Wonder if it was the bends? I just realized I've done more dumb things for fish than dumb things to impress women.

I wouldn't have bought $20 Banjo minnow pack lol or those crappy insensitive red white bulb bobbers. When I switched to thill shy bite long bobber it made a world of difference at catching trout. I would rebuy shimano reels and high modulus graphite rods instead of cheap rods and reels. Also I would buy Powerbait. Wasted too much money on regular plastic. If I could go back in time I would have told myself to buy and use more spinnerbaits rather than buy crankbaits.

I got sick of using gulp because it dries up by the end of the day and its hell to get off the hook when it does. I did not find it any more effective that using their Power Bait formula which I like much better because the plastic is firmer so it does not tear as easily after multiple catches. Now we have to buy a container to hold the gulp because the bucket it comes in is so cheap that it leaks. No thanks. PS Gulp liquid smells worse than cat pee especially on a boat in 30 cel sunny weather.

It was posted yesterday by TJ. You can post pdf links like this: http://www.ontariofishing.ca/schedule.pdf

oh sorry I should have expanded. D2T= Devcon 2 ton epoxy (the 30 minute not the 5minute) http://www.hhq.com.au/store/images/pt_24433.jpeg Another very popular one is the dick nite topcoat epoxy. Pros and cons to both epoxies. Tons of info about it in the hardbait subforum at tackle underground forum.

This is good news to hear. Also I just realized I should put a sticker on the inside of my tackle box with my name and phone #.

What epoxy clear coat do you prefer for the lure? I'm a bit partial to D2T. btw saw this great painting tip using a plastic bag and airbrush. http://www.tackleunderground.com/community...768eaa310ea1f86

Holy frig thats a huge walleye! Congrats on your PB.