dave524

I'm getting up there too, my first spinner was an Airex " Spinster " made by the outfit that made the Lionell Model Trains, it was a pretty heavy clunky thing, that would have been late 50's, about 64 I was working on a farm during school and bought an J.W. Young " Ambidex ", got it cause everyone had Mitchell 300's and thought this was way cooler, used it a lot of years. Also mid sixties I got a Michell 308 and a top line Heddon ultralight rod, still use the 308 on small streams for resident trout. Next came a pair of Zebco Cardinals, a 3 and a 4, probably my favourites of all time. Unfortunately, lost the 4 on a vehicle breakin while off on a river with my centrepin rig and replaced it a Daiwa Whisker Tournament. The Daiwa is a great old school reel as well, good drag and casts a mile, excellent line capacity for its size as I am mainly a steelheader/salmon guy any more. Prefer to use my older stuff, not the gear junkie of my younger days, figure my gear says a little about who I am and where I've been over the years. Edit: missed one, there was a also a larger Ryobi spinner in there, wasn't really a fan although they were reputed to be a decent reel, used it with 12 lb line for heavier stuff .

Looks like a Delfin Alligator in the bottom right of the first pic Those things are legendary on spring spec lake trips, for me anyway. I could go spring spec fishing with those and EGB's and never want another spoon. Nice haul.

If you can find any of the original Delfin " Alligators " the true silver plated ones with the red stripe on one side, beg, borrow or even steal them, they are that good. This doesn't incude the knockoffs or other spoons manufactured under the same name.

how times have changed , thirty years ago the Moon River was very common in the top walleyes entered in the old Molson's Big Fish contest, fellow where I used to work won it once with a fish from there, a seventeen if I recall.

Extinct in Canada, endangered in the U.S.

I wasn't going to reply as my recollections are quite dated, circa 82-84 when a buddy was stationed at CFB Trenton and lived in Belleville. I'd fish musky opener weekend with him there and I would return the favour with salmon fishing later as he got hooked on them during a stint at CFB Comox, think it was. Our best action was near the channel were the Moira River exited the lake , hit a couple of teens on live suckers on a quick strike rig. Also in addition to fishing the lake we fished the Moira River between Stocco and Belleville, mixed bag there, I do remember getting a real good walleye about 7 and some nice largies and a smaller ski as well in the river. What I remember the best about Stocco, was the absolutely huge fish the my buddy had follow casting the previously mentioned weed bed off the island out from town, it followed and went under the boat to appear as a log on my side, probably the only time I had " buck fever shakes" while fishing. I truly believe it would have gone over forty. That same year, at least according to the then " Molson's Big Fish Contest " results, Stocco was the best lake in Ontario for big musky producing 7 of the top 15 or 20 fish, think they were all over 40. If I was looking for trophy class fish I would choose Stooco over any of the Kawarthas, seems there is something about the habitat or the genes. This time of year there is a massive rock that was referred to as the "Elephant's Back" basically mid lake, not sure if it actually broke the surface but was very visible as a huge smooth rounded hump just below the surface with deep water all around, buddy said it was a prime area for trolling later in the season but as we were there opener we focussed on shallower areas. The gar were mentioned, they were there by the hundreds, every time we high speed motored we would constantly see pods of 6 to 8 just lazily sunning themselves a few inches below the surface . Good luck, wish I was going, I wouldn't expect good numbers but the possibility of a truly great fish exists .

I get up start the coffee and look at the weeping willow in the yard, if that looks fine I grab a coffee and walk to the end of the street, Lake Ontario is right there If it looks good hook up the boat and it's 2 minutes to the launch If the lake starts flat takes a while to get rolling and usually get a few hours in anyway.

ditto on the pvc tubing and test caps when I had a full sized pickup and open box I travelled with my 13 foot 2 piece float rod in a case in the box and then when on the river I could fit the case in the cab of the truck and lock it up, at 80" it fit in a non extended regular cab. Get the wife to sew up some rod bags though vibration is a killer on blanks, guides wearing against the blank if put in unprotected.

While researching the stocking of brown trout in a river in Haliburton that I was very familiar with I found this: http://home.cogeco.ca/~sparkysfishin/Stock%20Lists/Minden%20Haliburton2008.pdf very interesting as it names specific lakes and since it is 2008 data maybe this would be a good winter of even next spring to do a little exploring. Maybe this guy Sparky has other lists, looks like official MNR documents with better detail than total numbers for a district.

Fall steelheading

Lots of former ones here http://ontariolures.com/ontariolureslist.html

Grew up fishing Erie in the late fifties, it was good, sixties were going downhill. seventies were a complete bust, rapid improvement in the eighties, for 20 years now it has been a fish producing machine. I assure you Simcoe never sunk to the lows of Erie, I would be optimistic.

That has been my experience too on smaller Haliburton Lakes even in summer. Take a temperature profile, you are going to find the thermocline before 40 ' and temps in the high forties at 40'. Always did better at trolling 40 to 50' feet down there and don't forget given a equal number of fish at 40' and 80' , your graph will make it look like there are 4X's as many at 80 compared to 40, do the math on the area covered by the cone of your transducer.

Isn't it close to half a century

Got them about the same time frame in Erie tribs in Norfolk County. The Pinks were the result of a couple of accidental stockings of a single age class back in the 50's, an accidental sewer discharge and an engine problem on a float plane from what I understand on Lake Superior, had to dump them, so intially you would see them only in odd years but a smaller run otherwise in even years as they became established. They were intially raised to establish a run in Hudson's Bay, couldn't figure out the logic in that plan Too bad all stocking plans don't pan out so well with a few thousand fish in a one shot deal.

If you're intending on using flurocarbon line, go with the bigger reel for the larger spool diameter. The stiffness and higher memory of Fluro makes it a pain with a small diameter spool.

wasn't really a fan of Focus, but did like their guitar player, played this album incessently in the late 70's, Jan Akkerman's first solo effort after Focus. kinda a fusion thing

love those mooneyes, great time on a light 4 wt flyrod, June seemed to be the best month for them on flys. Have to make a mental note to try them again, just haven't done it in a while. Always thought they looked like miniature tarpon

That's good advice. Learned to cast in the fifties with dad who was a tournament caster, he won the TAHA tournament in 3/8 and 5/8 ounce bait at the CNE before there was a sportman show. Old direct drive Langleys and Inglis made Shakespeares, don't cast any harder than needed to reach your target at first , initial spool inertia, spinning too fast is difficult to control, as your thumb becomes more educated you will be able to feather the spool and drop it on target more precicely with heavier overhand cast.

I've a seen a few true Blue Pickeral out of Erie in the late fifties fishing with dad, they resemble a sauger in characteristics more than a walleye. Small, rarely over 3 pounds, kinda mottled appearance and bigger eyes in relation to the head. Dad took his pickeral trolling pretty serious back then, his standard rig was an old Pflueger Rocket trolling reel with a light wire line , 3 way swivel with a weight off the bottom and usually a Gibb's T spoon or a Junebug spinnner baited with a worm out the back and a early Shakespeare rod, fished out of Port Colborne. Yellows were caught mostly trolling and Blues were usually still fished in deeper water and through the ice.

Yeah , it takes woment till 65 to realize that guys had it right all the time easy to care for hair, comfortable clothes and especially comfortable shoes

I needed heavy wire once for a high amp draw mobile radio, quick solution, CTC had booster cables on sale, cut the clamps off, was probably cheaper than buying it by the foot at a shop.

Oh a few will come in and get upstream on a heavy rain and flood conditions, then few days after they are pretty well stranded in isolated pools when the water drops, just not my cup of tea. I live a 2 minute walk from where it goes under Olive St.

The pier at the foot of Elizabeth by the old pumphouse and the dead end roads at Place Polonaise and further west at the radio towers all will produce fish in the spring and fall, off shore wind is best as the water temps drop then. The harbour at Fifty does get a run of perch in the spring and surprising there is a pretty good population of largemouth bass in there as well. A few wayward Kings and browns to be found in the harbour in the fall as well. The Forty Mile Creek would get a run of salmon and bows when I first moved here in the 80's but the water is so low anymore that is finished, maybe if the lake comes up a couple of feet and a good rain. Your boat will be fine for the excellent spring fishery here, riggers are not necessary, then.

grab the flyer when you go into Costco, often they'ii have them for $10 off the 4 roll deal, stock up then.