River Rat

been running bearing buddies on two trailers for over 10 years....and they are both second hand lte 80's and early 90's. no issues yet RR

I have a Fisher Modified V alminium....all welded, no wood anywhere. I researched and sought out this particular boat because I wanted a bass boat style, but aluminum not glass. I absolutely pound this boat with extream predjudice and a regular basis. Busting ice, bashing stumps...back country bush fishing with push poles and gas masks! I was on Rice today since sun up and the 52 inch shaft of my 80lb Maxpro was out of the water more than it was in.....rough ride ? kinda.....but I'm a big boy, I can take it. I do alot of camping, shore banging, swamp jumping, slop fishing and som of the launches I use are not glass friendly. Many of the gravel roads I travel to get to these lakes would sand blast a gel coat clean off......you should see my trailer! Glass is pretty.....glass is fast....two things that are low on my list of priorities for now. Idealy, I would love a 20ft glass boat also for bigger water but I wouldn't give up the alminum. RR

actually sheilded bearings are the worst. They are sheilded, not sealed.....the water and small particles (floating sediment in even clear water rivers) will penetrate fairly easily upon complete imerrsion, but will not come out as easily......kinda like an old spare tire.......especially if you dunk on purpose, you need your head examined IMO......what possible reason whould one have for intentionally placing a high tolarance, precision made pc of equipment in a river....I'll never know. Just cause you did it for years doesn't make it right, or smart.......I've only run float reels for 25 years so what do I know ? Back in the day, shielded was all we had so cleaning regularly was a must. if your bearings are grease packed...you will notice a problem the second water gets in there, or cold weather. Oil packed will still give you headaches just not as fast. Either way, if they are shielded...what ever gets in will have trouble getting out. Like solo said, you have to get the old crap, oil, dirt and grease out with a good solvent and then, get the solvent out....drop of good sewing machine oil will get you going again...go to fabric land, they have some good stuff there. Trust me, judging from the thousands of pictures SOLO posts on boards all over the place, SOLO knows how to clean a bearing!!!! I am running Japanease ABEC 7's ceramic hybrid, non sheilded bearings. Technically, they require no lube and water has can flow in and out easily if you are a dunker. They cannot corrode and smooooooth isn't even the word to describe them....you get what you pay for. These bearings will be available istandard in ALL Kingpin 478 and 450 reels for the fall 09 season. Up-grades will be available for previous models for a nominal fee. I had a tip 6 years ago to invest in gold at under $300oz and didn't do it....kick my self now. This year I am making up for by investing in these bearings! ......better than gold baby! RR

wow....nice Lantics. I'm getting my fork tail fix in June....can't wait. RR

I got into the crappie real good last Monday afternoon...took day of for steelhading and went out and pounded crappie in the afternoon...back out this sunday and fished all day for 4 crappies.....at least I have some in the freezer! RR

dude, just replace the cable.....the reason it is binding up is corrosion. This means the braided strands are breaking down....if that cable breaks at full speed, you could die. The motor smahes to one side and you get tossed from the boat if you are lucky. Assuming you don't wear a kill switch, the boat will circle over and over again till it kills you. I googled horror stories about cables letting go under power. You simply don't want that. spend the $200 and get a new cable.....I did mine last year in under an hour. Got it at port Credit Marina. Rack comes off with 4 bolts, hub comes out with 3 bolts.....a kid could do it. Cheers RR

good stuff Jim RR

wow....I forgot to pull the plug last night on a livewell full of crappies. Thanks for the reminder! RR

I learned by asking since I was by my dads side at the age of 7 and still to this day. Putting time on the water is the ONLY way to learn steelheading. The internet is mechanical, river time is magical. I fished beside two of the best bug boys in all the east tribs for two years (litterally hundreds of hours together) until I had earned the privillage see inside the bug boxes and start talking real shop....You see these guys around. dead of winter, 20 guys in a slow pool and one guy is hammering fish. That's kinda club I want into bro........now I spend 50% fishing artificials. This time of year, closer to 100%.....p.s. I still love chinny scrape! Most guys will help you out if you ask but there are some who won't warm up to you right away. Observation is everything. Try walking the creek through the week without a rod. I find I will tell a guy (without a fishing rod) on the river anything but if a guy strolls up all decked out like a pro ? I get real quite all of a sudden. Look me up if the fall. RR

all of the above are places to start....if its carbed, there are rubber membranes that pump fuel and can stretch from pressure (closed air sytem) RR

well, REDWING was the importer / distributor for POWERPRO until very recently 1 + 1 = 2 RR

opener is an institution.....get together with the boys, drive the rivers and party. Fish are a bonus......its a catch up with the old boys and I wouldn't miss it for anything. it's the annual "drug awareness" weekend........good times. RR

MSP, that's exactly what anyone who has never seen the power of the internet on a fishery first hand would say. I head up to the area 2 or 3 times a year and OK, not a ton of meat hunters but every year there are more guys that just show up.....every pocket and seam has been hit. There is a mis conception that it's huge water so it won't crowded and over fished....there used to be tons of fish on the east coast too....and the west coast ? ...come to think of it, did they even open the Thompson up for fishing this year...last creel report I heard was that 4 fish returned to spawn that HUGE system. Sorry guys, I guess I am old school.....it used to be that you had to earn info like that by either going there yourself and putting in the time or befriending someone that goes and eventually pry it out of them as you become good fishing buddies. It seems too many people don't build friendships the old fasioned way anymore....I see groups of internet anglers that meet in parking lots all over great lakes north america for the first time to travel in groups of 4 to 8 laying the boots to fish in concentrated numbers based on a web site they got info from. I have been on simcoe after certain posts and seen 60 boats in a one acer area for perch....80 huts in an area for whitties a day or two after a postthat someone beat on them. I used to do opener for bass on Deerock lake, never more than a handful of cars, they did two tournament there in 2007 and for the 2008 opener, there was at least 60 boats on the lake the night before ready to go for opener....I had to sleep in the car cause every island was JAMMED...... you guys should keep that info for people who have earned it, and share back. Personal friends....is there such a thing anymore ? RR

oh ya, that web sie was float fishing . net......not stout fellow ?????

wow.... that's alot of info. I can see how some recent "look at all the fish I caught and exactly where we were" posts may have inspired you to share what looks like 30 years of angling experience with thousands of total strangers but geez guys.....this is getting crazy. I have seen this before of stout fellow.NET, when I was a mod on that board. During that time the board was getting an average 3500 unique hits per DAY. Guys would post pics with backgrounds and the whole place would be a write off the very next day, and the rest of the week and in some cases, forever. Tons of meat hunters would lurk on the board and converge on the areas where the runs were concentrated. The runs are now in serious trouble and the internet is the place to go find new areas for harvest. I am just talking from experience, I obvously have no authority on the OFC board and it's my opinion only. I would be interested however in the stats on unique IP's that view this site daily......sometimes when people make a post they figure it's only going to be read by the local regulars etc and don't realize how many people will see the info they have made public. It may be a good idea to let everyone know how many people see these posts. Anyway, what can I say...thanks for the info. I head up there a two or three times a year already for a 3 or 4 day weekend with the boys. I guess this year I'll drag the boat and stay for the week. I will likley see you out there scratching your head wondering where in the hell all these boats came from. jus sayin RR

I've fished coburg in the fall when it loked just like that....all the guys and nets I mean. Just another day on the the east tribs good work everyone RR

I have been stopped tons of times....I have two CO's numbers in my cell. Our Local guy is Mitch Phinny out east. He knows a snagger from an angler. Mitch walked me out to the P lot on Wilmot just to makesure I had my license in my wallet,,,he had seen my licence the weekend before and knows me by name but he had to check just the same. To the guy that was nailed for snagging and fighting a fish in the santuary........I too have had a rainbow blast up into that sanctuary. WITHOUT hesitation, I straightened down and pulled out. You may have been fishing below the sanctuary and that salmon may have been hooked in the mouth, but the action of snagging includes flossing and lining and you can be charged with snagging no matter where the hook lands. The act of fighting a fish is considered "fishing" and "fishing" in the sanctuary is not legal. The CO's I have talked to, do not ever just walk over and nail guys....the hide in the bush, observe and make notes. If they saw you specifically targeting one or a group of fish in clear water, and jerking a red devil through the pod with less than 12 feet of line out....this is jigging, flossing, lining, snagging...what ever you want to call it...this is NOT angling. Back in Bowmanville in the late 80's early 90's it was common to see chinnies, browns, bows and the odd laker caught legaly on spoon, spinner, hotshot, kwikfish etc....it was easy to tell a snagger from an angler though more by presentation than choice of lure. I remeber fishing the gooyear dam before it was a sanctuary.....OMG, every fish was trapped below the dam and no ladder there to get em over...it was a ZOO and a slaughter. Then in spring the Mill pond was like the mecca of all barriers around here......thank god these slaughters have been stopped...for the most part. Keep in mind that 100% of the guys that CO's walk up on while fighting fish in sanctuaries tell them this fish hit in legal water and swam into the sanctuary. 100% of them say that. Witnesses are good in 1993 but these days everyone has a cell phone and every cell phone has a camera for stills and or movies. Remote cameras are cheep and easy to install and CO's can cover more area with technology than they can with trucks and $.90 per litere gas......... If you are fishing close to a sanctuary, be ready to snap off.....if you are running red devils in Bowmanville creek still, PM me and I can give you some tips on better places in the area to hook em on spoons that time of year, and it's a blast! Cheers RR

wow Mike......great report, hours and hours of prep time. Sounds like you are black listed at the boarder for some reason. I never get checked (knock on wood!!!) and I cross all the time. Then again, I never bring meat across and I try to stay away from white powder while packing for my trips. My buddy had a case of burgers one time and spent three hours in the line for a $20 meal......I was held for an hour once for crossing illeagaly (waded across a river to the US side) as they ran my name through interpol! .....glad they didn't check my pockets!!!!!!!!! You didn't mention what rod you were using with the 15lb main and 8lb lead ? I am curious because I am looking for a good big water float rod but not a spey conversion if I can help it. Speys are heavy and stiff when you hook smaller fish they aren't much fun but they have the backbone for the big boys. I'm looking for a rod I can run 8lb when I need to but still have fun with the scrappy 4-6lbers. Looking at your pics with the viscious bends back into your cork, you aren't running a spey, that's for sure. RR

I'd love some notty water conition info too....a PM would be great. Blown ? Brown ? Fishable ? I will share guys, PM's only. Cheers RR

Hey boys, good stuff. You should have cut out the bridge pic though....trib one was a ZOO this morning and I guessing that shot had something to do with it. Anyway, it's a zoo all the time these days! The HI VIS line thing isn't to look cool at all. I use it exclusively for mending and avoiding obstructions while fighting fish....especialy on larger flows. There are alot of old schoolers out there that think hi vis line is for kids, and flouro leaders are overkill.....I've been floating for 25 years (makes me an old schooler I would say) and I am willing to try ANYTHING before I decide if it's good or bad. Being able to see the line on the water helps to know when and how much to mend specifically when you are fishing an outside seam. This line has also saved me countelss fish from scraping me off on sharp rocks, tree limbs etc...... That reel color, perhaps is about looking cool........but it's a cool looking reel isn't it ? a little loud for me but kinda neat alll the same. My Kingpin is a special color BLOOD red, deep and rich looking. Normally I run black reels but the color selection KINGPIN offers is simply un-matched......I'l get some pics soon..... (without bridges and stuff!) Cheers RR

ya me too...looking forward to a full report. GPS co-ordinates not nessesary, pics work just fine for me. Cheers RR

I spent over $4000 getting graphs, chips, networking cables, chargers, and trolling motor....then went and bought 2 optima DM31's for over $700.....then placed an order for over $2800 with Shimano in the same week. I was going to buy a 4 wheeler but I figured I would gear up the boat for bass season with the money I had and wait a year and see if the price dropped.....then the US exchange kicked in a 28% increase. At least my jeep can get almost anywhere the 4 wheeler would have. RR P.S. it's an expensive hobby if you do it right!

you can dump all the smolts in the breakwalls you want....Johns numbers are proof that it doesn't work. Penn raising is the best way to imprint and have a higher rate of return. The charter boys out east lake O are taking matters into thier own hands. The MNR stocks 25,000 chinnies off the bowmanville harbour boat launch every year. This year they have approval to take 5,000 of these smolts and leave em in a penn that they guys got together to fund and build. If the motality rate stays low, next year they are penning 10,000. It has been proven up and down the north shore of lake O that penn raising works. The penns for Port Darlington cost $800 each to build. The return numbers of the 5,000 fish will be monitored of course but the return rate is stagering as compared to breakwall dumping. The fish survival rate, size on return and over all quality is also un matched by any "dump smolt" efforts we have seen so far. The problem: we need more dedicated volenteers. These penns have to be monitored daily for water temp and disolved oxygen levels. Automatic feeders need to be filled and serviced daily and morts removed and logged daily. I'm not a huge fan of the chinnies. In my perfect world we would be hooking wild bows, Altlantics and browns all day long like we did back in the 80"s (bows n browns anyway) but it ain't gonna happen without tons of volenteers with strategic plans regarding stream re-had, and penn rearing. The charter boys need the chinn dogs to make a living. That is why they have gotten of thier ass'es and done something to protect thier fishery. That's why I have volenteered to help out....I know that this project will work because the people running it have something to lose. I get my Atlantics fix a couple times a year and I travel very far to get it. It would be great to see them in my local water but without the volenteer groups and penn raising, I just can't see it happening. I'll leave you with a fact that may help us all see the bigger problem: three years ago, stout fellow.NET group got together with the CLOCA people and organized and Oshawa creek clean up......we dragged out 32 shopping carts and litterally TONS of debris from hypdermic needles to fire extinguishers, bikes...bags, timmies cupps, water bottles...you name it..........the next year we cleaned out 27 new shopping carts from the same stretch of river and whatever else we could find.....we skipped a season so I can'timagine what she will look like this year. We have more problems than just stocking isues and return rates. RR

Breadfan and Greenhell seen em 5 times....Metali%$inca ! RR

Thanks Guys, any more info out there would be great but this is a place to start. Cheers RR