Weeds

Get the Sportspal. They're great. I picked up a 50 dollar one 4 or 5 years ago. I've now upgraded to a 12 foot aluminum boat and motor but I'd never get rid of the sportspal, despite the leaks, missing ribs and sponsons. You can launch and fish them anywhere.

I appreciate all the info and opinions guys. I've gone ahead and ordered the Avid, 7 foot heavy fast. In many ways a Shimano product would make a lot of sense as I live in Peterborough and the warranty center is here. I think for now I'll stick with their reels.

Yeah, basically,. That's what I was hoping to hear. Versatility and capability. And yes, baitcasting rod. I've seen numerous posts over the years by board members like you, Solopaddler, MoooseBunk, etc, etc. Guys catching loads of BIG pike. I could be wrong but I think alot of the time it is on non-musky gear, like in your case, the MH Avid, or lighter musky gear. So I figure my typical Musky is smaller than your Pike, and from what I understand, Pike typically put up a better fight pound per pound. So providing I stay with smaller lures like you suggest; I figure I should be ok too.

Roy, it's more about getting rid of the Bling. Get rid of multiple rods, reels and oversized baits and get a single rod that works well. Besides, who needs bling when you've got a 25 year old 12 foot tinner and a 35 year old 6 Hp bundle of fury to wow the world with?

Yeah, I can see what you are saying. It's just that I've had a variety of species specific Musky rods over the past few years, a medium, a medium heavy, an x heavy and an xxxh and with the exception of the Medium they all seemed like overkill. Although I understand the argument that you want to be prepared for that fish of a lifetime. I just figure that a quality 7 foot heavy baitcaster offers a lot more versatility and if equiped with heavy braid and leader should handle pretty much any musky I'm likely to hook into.

I can't stand split grips. All crucials have them, no?

I know that it will a trade off somewhere; MH would probably be better for certain Bass Applications, Heavy better for Musky fishing. I've always been surprised how many frog rods have a heavy rating; even extra heavy sometimes.

I'm thinking about making the plunge and buying my first new "high end" rod. Hopefully it will also be my last. I've been selling off the majority of my rods in the hopes of going with just a two rod system. I've got a 7 foot ML premier spinning rod; she is a thing of beauty, a great rod for very small to medium small lures, spinners, jigs etc. I use it for all my panfishing and tossing senkos for bass. Now, I'd like the second rod (almost certainly the 7 foot, heavy , fast Avid) to be able to work all my larger Bass lures, frogs, spinnerbaits etc, etc. I also hoping it can do double duty as a light Musky rod. The majority of Musky I catch are on the smaller side, and I plan on selling off my larger musky baits and downsizing to smaller musky baits that are more appropriate for the rod rating. 3/8th to 1 1/2 ounces. In my limited experience the heavier True Musky rods are really only required when you want to throw big baits rather than a necessity for pulling in the average Musky. I understand the importance of quickly bringing in a fish rather than playing it out. I've owned Medium Heavy Rods (Bass Rods) before that felt a tad light for Musky; I'm thinking the Heavy Avid might be just about right. Any thoughts? I could save a few dollars going with the 7 foot heavy Premier; Avid worth the difference in price? Lifetime warranty on the Avid I believe.

Interesting. You can get that Trilene in 400 pound test apparently. Probably never lose a lure again. Or catch a fish.

Nice report and a great advertisement for Rapala too!

I've got a 76 6hp johnson; colour scheme sounds the same, more or less.

I'm no pro but I'm pretty sure they work fine for wacky rigging.

There are always a ton of good rods in the classified section. If you've got 100 bucks to spend on a rod, once you take taxes into account; you are getting a 90 dollar rod at best. Or you could buy a sweet used stick worth 200. How much is a compre anyway, once you add in taxes? Maybe 130, 140? Hardly qualifies as being in a 100 dollar class bracket.

I may be the odd one out on this but I had a 7 foot medium light St. Croix Premier Spinning (fast) rod and I thought it was perfect for throwing Senkos. I broke the tip off and replaced it with a 6'9 St. Croix Mojo Senko Rod, xf tip. I much prefered the Premier, although it didn't have as much backbone as the Mojo it cast better, felt more sensitive and the extra length, although only marginal, made hauling in fish equal to the Medium Mojo. If you were fishing heavy cover you might prefer a heavier action but I still prefered the 7 foot ml. I'd trade my mojo for one in a heartbeat.

Nothing doing this morning. Fished for about 3 hours before the lightning chased me off the water just before 10. May get out this evening and hit some local spots.

I guess I'll start with the stumps then. Thanks

Hi all. Like alot of you I'm chomping at the bit to get out on the opener. I haven't spent much time in the boat yet this season, last time I was out about 3 weeks back (fishing for walleye)I saw very little in the way of weeds/weed beds. I'll probably be fishing on Chemong again, last time out I came across some nice stump fields and shallow bays with a lot of submerged wood. I also located some areas that are now likely to be producing decent weed growth. Anybody have much luck/success fishing the timber for early season musky or would I be better off concentating more on weed beds. Rocky shoals? Any way to keep the bass at bay besides supersizing? Thanks.

Good for you. I got skunked on the North end of Chemong this morning. I was surprised to have the lake completely to myself.

Too Bad. I'd hoped the thread was about jet ski's.

Otonabee River is open for Carp, no?

I agree with Bill. New tires cost a fortune. With a little patience and luck you can land a set of near new tires (often already mounted on rims) on kijiji for a quarter the price of new.

Nice write up; thanks for that. Funny, I dusted off the Ugly Stik just last week and spooled it with 17 pound mono, egg sinker and Owner circle hook. I'm also looking forward to some spring carp'n. Cheers.

I'll cast another vote for the Ugly Stik. It may not be the most sensitive rod around and it is kind of heavy and whippy. On the plus side it's basically indestructable (some would call that a curse rather than a blessing)so you'll always have it when you upgrade. And when your 3 year son reaches over and inexplicably breaks the tip off your beloved St. Croix upgrade while you are sitting in your mini-van, well, you'll still have the Ugly Stik. And you won't be bitter. Not in the slightest. Not....Bitter. . Another good thing about the Ugly Stik is it makes a great loaner; you can let even young kids use it without fear of breaking the tip. I think alot of the negative experiences people have with the Ugly Stik are due in part to the fact that if purchased as a combo the reel that they pair it with is really crappy. Putting a half decent reel on, 40 to 50 bucks, leaves you with a decent and very durable combo in my opinion.

Nice fish and tatoo. Kind of freaked me out at first; for some reason I thought it might be on the back of your head.

Awesome Irish. Have a good Summer. I'd love to have a float plane someday although I could still die happily (in the distant, distant, very distant future) without one. I've gotta know; how much could somebody score a working float plane for?