Canuck2fan

For the number of spoons I lose every spring going after pike, I don't think it really matters if they are a knock off or not. EXCEPT for the couple of bucks I can save on each one by buying the knock-off.... So I don't see the problem here at all. Do you own shares in Acme? LOL The spoons are probably made in the same factory in China anyhow. Hopefully the third shift will crank up soon and start selling them at the dollar stores. I would really get behind a program like that.

Welcome Splashopper.... My name is Canuck2fan and I am a fishing addict.... How you will know you have the dreaded disease of fishing addiction is when you base your tiling price quotes on how many reels it will purchase. Or it might simply be when you offer your wife a deal she can have that shoe closet when you get an equal sq footage for a fishing gear storage room.... Also if you have more than 4 Steelhead rods and are actively looking for more take warning. If you sole criteria for purchasing a new vehicle is if it will hold all your gear, your fishing buddies and tow the boat that would be a sign... The signs are many but by being on here you will find out how to deal with all.

You have a very good point about packaging. When I got out of school in the early eighties I worked at a plastic factory. One of the mags out for the industry at that time was bragging that Union Carbide at the time was selling over a million lbs of garbage bags a month (world wide)..... in the next issue someone wrote in who said "They shouldn't be bragging about that because it takes the same amount of crude oil to produce that plastic as it does to make the equivalent weight in gasoline..... I remember a few of the guys in the plant who knew the chemistry behind plastics agreeing with the statement..... Sort of blows your mind when you think about it, and how oil is a finite resource.

As Irishfield told us GAS IS CHEAPER than the summer of 05 so I don't know what everyone is whining about.... Everybody is much better off financially now than then, because we have the mighty Tories those fiscally prudent managers looking after us with all their tax cuts, and even minimum wage as increased to 8.75..... On a serious note I will be sure that I invite some buddies when I go this year to help share the costs. Who am I kidding no I won't bother doing that because when I want to go I will just GO. Besides everybody knows if it ain't thunder and lighting I am at one lake or another fishing on Sundays..... all they have to do is call Saturday night and they are invited till the car is full.

I think a lot of people stop in spots that put the police at risk because they are freaked out at getting stopped. What is worse though is that the cops seem to accept this and get out and start writing even if they could be in danger. Driving 101 should tell anybody with half a brain it isn't smart to stop just over the crest of a hill and leave your car partly on the road. It is also not exactly brilliant behaviour to stop just 15 feet the other side of an overpass yet you see cops writing tickets in these situations all the time. If the motorist pulls over in such a spot the cop should direct to a safer area...... Seriously is any ticket worth dying for? Another one I have seen twice this week since the storm is that the person stops like 20 feet from a corner hidden behind a 6ft bank of snow you come around the corner and there is the cruiser the cop and car that was pulled over taking up half the road and you have no idea they are there..... I driving a van could see but the clown behind me can't so he started honking his horn. I think the cop who bumped his head on the driver's window when he stood up was going to shoot me.... till I pointed behind me. I don't know what he said to the guy when he walked over but I bet that horn doesn't get used for a year or so.

We used to catch tons of frogs to go fishing up north when I was a kid. We had special boxes built for it and everything. We would give a box or two to the camp owner where we parked the truck and he would wave the parking fee saved about 120 bucks each vacation that way. One time we forgot to hide a box well enough in moss so it got a little too much sun. We decided to use up those frogs one morning. So all morning long the bass would take the frogs and move them out of their territory because they smelt so bad..... It was a lot of fun watching your float go about 25 ft but we could never get a hook set with those frogs, because the bass were just relocating them. Could I still use them as bait? Probably if nothing else was working.... especially now that I can't use crayfish anymore due to the new regs. Leeches are just as effective and a lot easier to store though.

I want one that is an awesome invention....

Since you are even asking you know what you should do....

YES their site is old tech and pain at times to find just what you want. That being said if it saves me 20 to 30% over Cabelas or BPS when I have to order online I can handle a little work..... Also no PST is a big plus and no OUTRAGEOUS brokerage/handling charges like the other two. In the store I have had MUCH better service at Lebaron's than I have ever had at BPS in Vaughn.... I am more likely to pick out what I want in either store though, so I don't really care what the staff acts like for the one or two times a year I need their help.

In case any wives are reading this. I bought a lot more than that and it only ran me 15.72 with tax due to the great sale prices.... that should help LOL.

I saw some stuff and thought it was a good deal for 109.00 total. But then the 59 dollar shipping, tax, handling and general molestation of my nether regions fees made me cancel the order. I can likely do much better during the spring spectacular at BPS or the no tax at Lebarons next month.

I really like the lugs on my neoprenes. I never slipped in them except one time I was trying to get out of a river at spot that was about 1 ft too high and muddy won't make that mistake again LOL..... Other than that they have been great both in the water and on land.

Reminds me of this little story that made the rounds years back.... A Helping Hand Sometimes, life throws us a helping hand when we least expect it. A few weeks ago, I was rushing around trying to do some last minute Christmas shopping. I was stressed out and not thinking very fondly of the weather right then. It was dark, cold, and wet in the parking lot as I was loading my car. I noticed that I was missing a receipt that I might need later. So mumbling under my breath, I retraced my steps to the mall entrance. As I was searching the wet pavement for the lost receipt, I heard a quiet sobbing. The crying was coming from a poorly dressed boy of about 12 years old. He was short and thin. He had no coat. He was just wearing a ragged flannel shirt to protect him from the cold night's chill. Oddly enough, he was holding a hundred-dollar bill in his hand. Thinking that he had gotten lost from his parents, I asked him what was wrong. He told me his sad story. He said that he came from a large family. He had three brothers and four sisters. His father had died when he was nine years old. His mother was poorly educated and worked two full time jobs. She made very little to support her large family. Nevertheless, she had managed to skimp and save two hundred dollars to buy her children some Christmas presents His mother on her way to her second job had dropped the young boy off. He was to use the money to buy presents for all his siblings and save just enough to take the bus home. He had not even entered the mall, when an older boy grabbed one of the hundred dollar bills and disappeared into the night. "Why didn't you scream for help?" I asked. The boy said, "I did." "And nobody came to help you?" I queried. The boy stared at the sidewalk and sadly shook his head. "How loud did you scream?" I inquired. The soft-spoken boy looked up and meekly whispered, "Help me!" It was then that I realized that absolutely no one could hear that poor boy cry for help. So I grabbed his other hundred and made a run to my car.

I used ufile and already got my refund can't argue with that....

I am waiting till the spring spectacular starts after the 29th.... I will probably go after March 6th to trade in a couple of reels. If you haven't been though plan on spending more than a couple of hours LOL.

An old Chinese gentleman gave me this cure and if you believe it I think it helps... so it goes with most home cures. Take a tin of coca cola (not diet) pour it in a microwaveable glass or mug and heat in the microwave until very hot. Drink with 2 tylenol cold and sinus or cold and flu tablets before going to bed. Wake up able to slough through the next day... I am a very light sleeper and when I have taken the above I sleep deeply which I believe helps more than anything.

Yeah now somebody from P3TA is going to come on the site, see the picture and go not only does this guy fish, but he doesn't buckle up his dog in the car..... Just what we need MORE controversy LOL

I have to disagree with keeping the fish alive to improve their taste at the table. I find especially with trout and salmon that killing them right away stops certain enzymes and acids from building up in the fish and affecting the flavour. Keeping the fish cold whichever way you do it is of paramount importance too. For the folks who think that bass always taste muddy, keeping them alive on a stringer or in a live well might just be part of the reason. But then again I could be wrong..... maybe some of the scientist types on here could jump in.

Any salmonoid or trout gets bled right away and if the water is cooler than the air I put on it on a stringer to bleed out in the water or leave on the ground whichever is colder. Killing and bleeding a female definitely helps to keep the roe in better condition. Smallmouth that I am going to keep I kill and scale right away (dang that magic fish scaler works great). Perch I leave alive in a basket in the water as it doesn't seem to affect their taste, but I might try giving them a quick death to compare this season) Pike I don't keep and I am not lucky enough to go after walleye anymore.

I think the biggest problem you face over many other posters is that you live in the U.S. where your prescriptions and health care are not paid for by the government. That makes a HUGE difference.... When my dad "retired" from his full time job he would have lost his medical coverage for my mom so he worked out a deal where he worked to cover vacation times which worked out to about 2 weeks every 6 to 8 weeks. He also worked 2 Saturday mornings a months which none of the young partiers wanted to do anyhow. That allowed him to keep on the medical plan until the insurance company made his boss let him go. By that time though they only had to go 5 months till my mom was 65 and she got her prescriptions paid for (at that time it was about 6 grand a year....) Perhaps you could find something part time with another employer that would give you help with your medical coverage? Maybe Obama will win down there and get you some medical coverage.... It is amazing though how you can adjust to making less. I still make less than half of what I did in 94 and live just fine.... I made a decision to have quality of life over quanity of material things. I went from working 7 days a week 60 hrs minimum to working no more than 30 hrs a week (even though I work 6 days). I might not have the latest and greatest gadgets but I am more content than most. You pick your priorities and remember not having the expenses of working helps a lot. Good luck with what ever choice you make and if you get fishing post some pictures.

I never thought of doing that till you mentioned it. I just compared the Vaughn and Detroit flyers and I am not happy to see the HPR rains suits when you buy both pieces are 80.00 dollars cheapers in Detroit. Seems like the suppliers are doing their part but that BPS with their own stuff is still trying to maximize profits at our expense.... Everything else I was looking at though is within 10 dollars either way. I guess the old adage it pays to shop around is true, even with the same company LOL

I agree with that.... Won't Lebarons also have their no tax event around the sportsmen show? Making their deals even sweeter and they will usually price match too won't they?

Looks like an easy visit on the wallet a couple or three of Pflueger Presidents, rain suit, 2 BPS Wally Marshall Pro Series Crappy Rods, 100 bucks or so on assorted tackle and line.... OH and if in moment of weakness might slip and grab a set of breathable waders. But for 70 bucks how can you go wrong even if they last a couple of seasons. Thankfully my income tax return should be back soon LOL.

Sorry for your loss. Even though you did the right thing by not making her suffer anymore, it still sucks having do it. Sounds like you have tons of great memories though!!

I would agree with some of what you say but blaming the difference in prices on our health care system is a non starter to me. Our UNIVERSAL health care system is cheaper than the American system (which is not universal btw) as a percentage of GDP so that ain't the problem. Whether it is paid for by taxes or individuals it COSTS more per capita in the U.S. for health than it does here, and that has to be figured into what products cost in both countries. So it can't be the reason things cost more here if anything that should make them cost less here. Or if you are right and it does then no economic theory I have ever heard of works.... Also, the only reason we had ANY CAR plants left here is because of the competitive advantage our public health system gave the big three over having to pay the astronomical private insurance rates in the U.S. Without that our plants would have been closed in the 70's.... Now that the U.S. unions have taken over the cost of health care you will continue to see plants here close and be moved back to the States. The strong dollar hurts too. As for where and why the manufacturing jobs are going overseas. Ask the INVESTORS/OWNERS who buy stock in the companies that are moving those jobs off shore.... The sick thing is most of those investors are the pension plans of the workers who are selling off their OWN JOB by allowing the pension plan to fund this kind of globalization.... I wonder if we will wake in North America before it is too late?