Jonny

Maybe sex and fishing don't mix. In fishing you're talking about an altogether different kind of trophy. If guys can argue that bass fishing is not really fishing, I'm sure they can argue that a scantily-clad cutie shouldn't be allowed near a fishing boat.

There ya go. There's no © so feel free to modify!

Get one now! Available as a transparent 2" x 2" transfer for the windshield of your car, truck or boat, or 4" x 4" opaque for application on a painted surface. Let others know you're a member of a select group of elite fishermen. Impress friends and strangers alike.

Insect repellent doesn't work well for deer flies. In my younger days a friend and I walked three miles over rough country to a little trout stream. It was hotter'n hell - no wind, sun beating down, and the banks overhung with brush and trees. The trout were biting but the deer flies were killing us. We were using a white cream repellent at the time - McCurdy's (not sure of the spelling). It was good for mosquitoes and black flies, but a regular application wouldn't stop the deer flies. So we lathered the stuff on so thick that our arms and necks were white. The deer flies left skid marks before biting. It's really hard to make a nice quiet worm presentation when you're defending yourself against those critters. We had used bread bags to pack our lunches and when they were empty we slit them up one side and put them on our heads under our ball caps to protect our necks. Man was that sweaty, but it was the only thing that kept the deer flies off! *** What really bugs me nowadays is those little flies (about a third of the size of a deer fly) that hover around inside the boat and bite the hell out of bare legs and feet. Even a high-speed run with the boat doesn't seem to get rid of them. They land and bite again and again and again, and they're too fast to swat. They're gray with dark tiger stripes --- what are those things called?

Northern bass must taste different than southern bass.

I'm halfway thinking the lead-off post for this thread is a troll. I haven't seen that term used on this site, but on other discussion boards it means a controversial statement that's purposely thrown out there to see who bites. A common characteristic of a troll is that the person who instigates it stays above the fray and doesn't participate in the fireworks. If it was a troll, nicely done, Clofchik.

Yep. For fight, nothing is as "boring" as pickerel. Struggle to get straight to the bottom, that's about it. No that I don't enjoy catching pickerel, but if the fight is the thing being talked about, pound-for-pound a bass can way outfight a pickerel any day.

Any fisherman who disses bass has gotta be nuts. Great fight, surface action, and (though I can't hardly believe it, a news flash for some) bass is really good eating. Every bit as good as pickerel and pike, and to me a damn sight better than any trout. Pan-fried bass fillets are excellent fare. Fishing crappie is like fishing perch - it can be fun, and they taste good - but they're little fish. They're a good filler when nothing else is available or nothing else is biting.

Great price for PP. I'm going to try mine out on bass this afternoon and if it works well again (which it should), I think I'll pick up another spool or two.

First I've ever heard of lake trout in Nipissing. How would they get past the Chaudiere Dam?

I prefer nicknames. If somebody wants to find out more about you, that's easy to do by private mail. But that leaves the choice up to the individual. Not that there's anything wrong with posting your full name if you're so inclined.

The internet makes everything easy. I shouldn't have asked the question. When in doubt, look it up. Then again, some entertainment value might have been lost.

Didn't need to see that!

Ah yes, my bad. Thanks for the reminder.

That flexibility is really important when skinning fillets. Other than that, you could practically use a hunting knife to fillet a fish.

From an Ontario gov't website: The 40-60 cm slot is particularly important, as other lakes in the area have a 43-60 slot. By the way, I hear conflicting stories. If a C.O. checks the length of your fish, is it with the fish's tail in a natural position, or is the tail squeezed out to maximum length? I tend to measure the bottom of the slot with the tail squeezed out and the top of the slot with the tail natural, just to be on the safe side... but if I were sure, that wouldn't be necessary.

I have a hard time remembering how exactly. Just that the tip ends up sometimes being where I don't expect it to be. Filleting with a 6" has become second nature I guess. I can use a longer knife and not cut myself if I'm careful, but dollars to donuts if I'm doing a number of fish I'll forget and I'll catch my fingers somewhere. Like I said, maybe it's just me.

Sorry, talkin' through my hat earlier. The Rapalas and Normarks I have are 6". I find those are plenty long for filleting even large pike. I was digging through some old knives and found an "Uncle Buck" 7" that I had forgotten about. It has a bone handle (simulated, I think). I remember now that this knife was too long for me as well --- I would catch my fingers with the tip when filleting. So it's been residing at the bottom of a drawer for years! Nice knife, so I'm toying with the idea of cutting off an inch and re-shaping a new point. I wonder if that can be done with any success? It's no samurai sword, so maybe it would work. The mention of Henckels not having a sheath --- don't throw away any old Normark or Rapala cases. I have a Normark that nestles quite happily in a Rapala case, and I have a boning knife that fits an old cut-back Normark case. You might find that a Henckel will fit a case from another knife. Filleting knives come and go. I've found a couple at campsites, launches, etc. where people have forgotten them. I've probably left the odd one behind myself.

Cool. Your avatar has me wondering too. It looks kind of like an African woman holding up laundry. And she has WWI flying googles on her head. Am I close?

27, sunny and light winds up here. I hate thuderstorms. We have a lot of big trees and the high wind gusts sometimes worry me.

I bought a 9" Old Timer (Schrade) with a green rubber handle --- it felt really good in the hand. The first time I cut myself with it, I thought I was careless, the second time, same thing. I used my regular 7" Rapalas and Normarks in between and had no problem. Tried the Old Timer again... same thing. The 9" blade was just too long for me to handle properly, it seems. I gave the knife to my brother. Your experience might differ from mine.

I've found Rapala and Normark knives to be fine. While you're at it, pick up a "Speedy Sharp" sharpener - works really well.

If she's really serious, tell her to mind her own f'in business. And if you have a lunchroom, bring a can of Brunswick sardines and eat those "baby" fish in front of her. The smell alone will imprint itself on her mind. Oh yeah, if she likes lip gloss, tell her the sparkly sheen comes from ground-up fish scales (herring or sardines, can't remember which). True.

In all my years of fishing I've only been hooked once (with the barb buried), and I hope never to repeat that experience. My brother-in-law from Alberta and I were fishing a lake in the Gogama area. It was mid-morning when I caught a 4 lb pike, trolling with a Canadian wiggler. While I was trying to untangle him out of the net, he thrashed and a hook went into my middle finger, covering the barb. There I was, with a hook from the front treble in my finger and the back treble in the thrashing pike's mouth. I grabbed that pike with my other hand and squeezed the bejeezus out of him until he stopped. Seemed to take a long time. I don't think I've ever squeezed that hard. We got the pike off and removed the lure from the snap swivel. Pulling on the hook with the barb buried was useless. So there we sat, dead in the water, contemplating the sudden end to a beautiful day, a half hour ride back to the landing, packing up, and an hour's drive back to town to get to the hospital. The only alternative was to have my partner cut out the hook, and I sure didn't want to have it in me any longer than necessary. I had one of those half-moon keychain razor knives (brand new) in my tackle box. So I put my finger down on a paddle, turned away my face, and my brother-in-law got to work --- good thing he wasn't squeamish. He cut a long slit, deep enough to free the barb. The hook hurt so much I didn't really notice the cut. Out came the hook, then application of liberal antiseptic from the first aid kit, and a couple of band-aids. By the time we had a pickerel shore lunch in the late afternoon it wasn't throbbing much any more. But I must say, the whole thing caused me to actually go faint for a while - shock I guess. Surprising how traumatic a buried hook can be. Needless to say, I carry a sharp razor knife ALL THE TIME now when fishing. That strangled pike got the worst of it - he ended up as boneless fillets in the frying pan at home.

The cameraman most certainly makes a difference! Rule #1 - BRING A CAMERA Rule #2 - USE IT It's surprising how often those are ignored or forgotten. After that, it's a combination of the camera and the cameraman!