Ben_Daniels

I'm still fairly new to Pike fishing but I think I'm gunna stick with premium thin wire or maybe titanium leaders. After talking to a lot of people and hearing stories of them losing pike using 80-90lb fluro leaders I'm guna be safe and use some metal. Another thing I saw this weekend was fish rolling around in the line while I was fighting them. I was using 12inch leaders and I was still seeing my 10lb test main line wrapped around pike just centimeteres away from their teeth. I think I'm gunna go grab some 18 inch leaders -Ben

When I was about 10 or 11 my mom bought cod at the grocery store and when she got it home there were still live worms crawling around inside lol she brought it back and they told her that a lot of cod are like that. To this day my mom won't buy or eat cod, she loves perch though -Ben

Nice fish!!! Congrats on the PB Bly! Thats a busy day, family fishing in the day and then grown up fishing at night lol -Ben

I used a couple of other colors... when the sun briefly came out I had to change the color up to get bit. I was fishing solo in heavy rain for the most part though...no possible way to get any better pics. If you were really perceptive you could tell the location of one of the pics lol I've used less to recognize some of SNAG's spots. It was a fairly skinny fish...probably better than 7 lbs but without a pic and no girth measurement...well lets just say I don't wanna be the stereotypical exaggerating fisherman lol. I caught a 38 that was 13 pounds at the Islands last year. This 35 fish had nothing on the one from last year as far as shoulders and belly. 2008 on the sign you say Irish? DOH...failure on my part to properly read the rules lol I'll be out there again tomorrow, but with a waterproof sign Thanks for the nice words everyone! -Ben

http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=17789 I bought my license and looked at OFC...I'm not a rocket scientist so I can't understand the Regs -Ben

Yea Tinman, good question... in the last pic or two you can't CLEARLY see OFNcommunity...could we have a ruling from a mod? -Ben

Well I got out to the Toronto Islands for the Pike opener today and it was Dynamite! I got there at about 2:00 pm and fished until 7:30. Didn't catch anything until about 4:30, but from then on it was non-stop action. I caught 9 Pike, an OOS 2-3lb Largemouth, lost 2 other Pike, and had a ton of missed follows. No huge fish, the biggest was about 35 inches and I didn't get a weight on it, but I'm guessing about 6-7 lbs. All fish were caught on size 14 Husky Jerks fished pretty fast. It rained the whole time I was there but it didn't seem to bother the Pike. In fact I caught most of the fish when the downpours came! 3 fish in 3 casts at one point! I was standing in the rain and screaming because I was soo happy. My first fish of "08! . I was dressed in good rain gear and I was comfortable so the rain didn't bother me. Didn't take pics of all of the fish because of the heavy rain...sorry Team 13! It was packed out there! I probably saw 15-20 other people fishing, which is a lot for the Islands. Met some fellow OFNers which is always nice. Well heres the pics... Shot from the ferry ride. Cool fog shot, looks like it could have been up at the cottage. First fish of '08 23 inch Pike 25 inch Pike 27 inch Pike 30 inch pike Yea the Tourney sign started to get trashed from all the rain... -Ben

Nice fish Mark! I think I saw you motoring around...My report is coming in about 20 min.... -Ben

Sorry for your loss Alex. My condolences are with you and your family. I'm a youngin like you and I'm not exactly sure how you should handle the situation, but it's really sad to hear. When you feel up to it we should hit the Islands for some Pike....Keep you head up man! -Ben

I'm gonna be there for sure! I've got my tourney sign, just picked up some size 14 Husky Jerks, some Mepps marabou spinners, and some X-Raps. Good to go! Good luck everyone! Hopefully I'll bump into you Mark or some other OFners. -Ben

Spinnerbaits, I love em! Definitely one of my favorite baits to fish. I like to use a 7'0 Medium-Heavy Rod, and a high speed Baitcaster (6:1 gear ratio or higher) spooled with either braid or heavy fluorocarbon line. Having no stretch line is key in my opinion. My favorite way to fish a spinnerbait is to make very long casts and fish the bait really fast. No stretch line lets you feel and set the hook on a fish thats at the end of a long cast. When I'm fishing the bait I don't jerk the rod tip or anything I just point my rod towards the bait and reel really fast keeping it a foot or two of water at most. This way bass that are looking up at it wont get a good look at the bait, they'll see the flash and then see the skirt below it. Great way to cover water and find active fish in clear water. From Bass opener until Fall turnover this seems to work really well. tandem willow leafs in silver for clear days and gold for overcast days is what works for me. Match the skirt to the color of the forage and your in business. Don't get stuck on only throwing 3/8 oz baits, I usually use 1/2 - 1 oz spinnerbaits in warmer, clearer water. A big thing for me was realizing that your not going to catch as many fish per casts as when you use a senko or a slower moving bait but you can make make a ton more casts with the spinnerbait and catch more fish in a given time. Chuck and wind...never stop. Gotta work for those spinnerbait fish! -Ben

Spinnerbait or Zoom Fluke

I live and work in downtown Toronto. I work as a bartender and this whole strike was irresponsible and just disrespectful. I worked a 9 hour shift and was unable to get home after my shift. I had to walk from Yonge and Eglinton to Danforth. I have totally lost respect for the ttc and I think we need to privatize the public transit in Toronto. Toronto is a major city and this sort of thing should not happen. Do you think this happens in new york or chicago...thered probably be a riot. we have ticket takers in the subway making 100,000 a year and their complaining? If we privatize the prices will go down and the quality of the service will be better. Just my opinion! -Ben

I think your better off clipping the hooks as close as your can (if a fish is hooked very deep), and leaving as little of your bait or hook in the mouth, but not messing around in the fishes gills. Just my opinion. I saw another fishing show where a guy was fishing in a tournament and all 5 of his bass were deeply hooked with tubes. he cut the line and put all the fish in his live well, when he went to grab his fish at the end of the day all 5 of his tubes were in the bottom of the live well. Those fish worked the bait out of their throat in a couple hours, as for them sallowing the whole tube, I think once the hook wiggles free they will spit it out easily, fish spit minnows and other crap out all the time, even partially digested stuff. i just don't think its a good idea to go messing around in a fishes gill area. -Ben

That's sweet! Crazy thats theres water that warm already, are those yankee smallies spawning already? -Ben

That's an awesome Tarpon Clive!!! Did you get it wading in those mangroves?(that'd be crazy) or just landed it by the shore? Tarpon are some cool fish! My best and most memorable fish has got to be this Bass I caught in Florida. I caught it in a small pond that my parents house was on. I was only about 12 but I remember it vividly to this day. I have no idea what it weighed...any ideas? I saw this fish a couple times and was never able to catch it. I finally got it to bite a 10 inch plastic worm on 6 lb test...It was an amazing moment for me. I ran back to the house and my dad's jaw dropped and he said "WHAT THE @$%^!!!" The pond this came out of is tiny, but its connected to a bunch of other ponds through underwater pipes, for flood control during hurricanes. My Dad couldn't believe that this fish came out of this small pond. -Ben

Thats awesome guys!!! I've always loved a little competition, guess it's not just me! Its funny cuz me and my brother always have our mini competitions, makes me feel like I'm fishing the Bassmaster classic or sumthing lol. Trying to hook some future tournament anglers there Mark lol, Goood Idea! -Ben

very cool pics, first time I've seen roe floatin around on the surface. -Ben

Either way I think its great that BPSBASSMAN is here to answer all our questions and back up his store (not typical for retail sales associates), hope to have a chat with you sometime when I'm in the store! O yea how come you guys never have screw in worm weights? -Ben

I guess it all comes down to personal preference....but when throwing larger baits baitcasters are definitely helpful, or when your doing a lot of repetitive casting. I personally fish more for bass and I could not imagine burning a spinnerbait all day long with a spinning reel, my arm would be dead...but like I said this is just my personal opinion. -Ben

All I know is that I've stepped on my BPS Graphite Series rod 3 times (On the guides), and it has not broken. Great rod for urban shore fishing. Regardless of anything else I'm happy with BPS for this rod alone -Ben

I'm 20

I think it gets confusing if there are too many sections....but I think a "ragand Moan" section would be good. On other messageboards I've seen having a section for this makes the fishing related sections better and with less crap. Every time someone posts something thats just complaining a moderator can just move it...seems to keep the forums cleaner and the people happier IMHO. -Ben

My steelhead rod was an 11ft Silstar IM-7...after a run in with the car door its now about 8ft. lol. I've since retired from steelheading and the rod works great for dragging tubes or fishing with leeches for smallmouth -Ben

I'm not quite sure...but I am starting to want a line dancer