setomonkey

Hi everyone, my name is Mike (setomonkey here) and I've been on the board for a while, not sure when but it was two versions ago, so it's been a few years. Really enjoy the board, I've learned a lot and I've had the chance to meet some OFNers too. I never fished as a kid and only started fishing about 7 years ago, after a friend of mine who's fished all his life finally convinced me to go out with him for an afternoon. We fished his parents' lake from a 12' tinny and I still remember how excited I was when I caught my first fish (sunfish). Caught a bunch of panfish and small bass that day on jigs & worms, and I was hooked. Got my first rod that Christmas, along with a small tacklebox that I was sure would be more than enough for my needs. LOL. Now I've got 6 or 7 different rods & reels, and a big tacklebox that my wife affectionately (I think) refers to as my "tackle suitcase". Quite a lot more than I ever figured I'd need, but not as much gear as some guys have! Still waiting for the right time to get my first boat... I like fishing for lots of different species, but my favourites are bass, pike, muskie, & trout, though I don't do much musky or trout fishing. I travel as part of my work and whenever I can I try to find some time to fish wherever I'm visiting. So I've had a chance to fish in California, Illinois, Florida, New Mexico, & Utah (so far). This is the first and only striper I've ever caught, on a reservoir in New Mexico a couple of years ago. Mike

Too bad it was slow, but you did get out and it looked like a nice Fall day on the water... Mike

I really like the old pics, maybe because my parents didn't fish and I only started fishing as an adult (so I don't have the same history as a lot of OFNers do). Mike

Congrats, cute puppy! Our life wouldn't be the same without our dog, he gets into mischief now and then but he's a charmer... Mike

Nice fish, Rich... The one thing I never understood about bottom-bouncing is how you deal with snagging the bottom. Must happen pretty regularly depending on the rockiness of the bottom. Mike

Congrats, and thanks for the report! I hope some of the other OFNers down for the g2g did well too... Mike

That is a big 'eye, congrats! I know that you have only recently gotten back into fishing, so that's quite a way to start again... Mike

Thanks for the update, i'm looking forward to seeing the reports when everybody is back. Mike

Tony, Will this be at the Bronte firehouse like previous swills? Mike

Hmm, accent: South African? Nice to see you get your son out, hopefully he will like fishing more... Mike

Probably, I've watched a couple of fishing show episodes on sturgeon, they are hardy and can survive a lot, including being beached like that (the only way I can think of to "land" a 10'+ fish!) Mike

Out of curiosity, how big is BIG? Quarter-sized? Loonie? Mike

I would guess it's not the cold but the changes in temperature when you bring it inside. A constant temperature would probably be easier on the material... Mike

I store my stuff inside too. I just leave the line on the spools. I've switched to braided now but when I was using mono I would replace it at the beginning of each season anyway. Fly-lines are definitely expensive, you have to take good care of 'em! A buddy of mine bought an expensive saltwater line for a fishing trip he did to Cuba, used it only once and then put the reel away for a little while. I guess he didn't rinse it of all the salt or something b/c it was stiff when he tried using it again on another trip... Mike

I can't tell if they are teh same (same opinion I had in the previous boards, I think), but they are both nice pictures! Mike

chiefvail, Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, you'll see post icons there. You can tell if you've already read a thread by the icon next to it. For example, there's a different colour if there are new replies. Mike

I heard there was a river & stream advisory this morning, and saw pictures of the Don really high (not that you would be fishing the Don!) so I would think they are all blown out, and not safe to fish for a few days. Mike

Good idea, a friend of mine suggested I take her son out for fishing soon (well, next summer now) and that would be a good way to keep the rod & reel from ending up on the bottom of the lake... Mike

Didn't fish much in the Kawarthas, except for the family cottage lake. I've always found the fishing slow there, so I suppose it was an "average" year, but I had a few good days for numbers (not size). Mike

Great job guys, esp. Rick. Very smooth, considering how much happened in just the day... How long will it be before before the first tutu photo is posted? Mike

Looks okay now, bucktail, but I do think I saw your post as "buckail" too. Mike

That's about 100 posts an hour, you are one busy OFNer... Mike

I don't remember when I joined, but it was two boards ago, and I remember there weren't anything like the number of members there are now. I've definitely learned lots here... Mike

Does look like scrapes from an electric trolling motor. Seems too regular to be a result of another fish or a disease. Mike

Looks like overkill to me, how fast do they really need to go??? Mike