castgame

the salesman at le baron claimed that a telescopic rod is not as good as a one-piece (clearly) but better than a two-piece, because it is essentially a one-piece construction with no single point of stiffness to dampen sensitivity. this is a pretty interesting thought. anybody have anything to add to that? i was really surprised at the feel of the rod in my hand. it was a little stiff at the butt for an ultralight, but it did feel light and whippy throughout and quite nicely balanced. i also like that i can simply collapse the rod with the reel on, tuck it into its case, and be ready to cast in less than a minute if the situation arises.

no issues but have you liked how it's worked? sensitivity, casting, ease of use... i'm mostly going to be trolling, casting spinners, and bouncing bottom with a jig with it, and plan on targeting mostly brookies, though probably lakers as well and the occasional smallmouth too.

i just went in to le baron to pick up a new ultralight rod for portaging trips (recently broke my nice little fenwick hmx 5'6", d'oh!). ended up picking up a shimano voltaeus ultralight which seems like a sound choice (and for $30 not a bad bet) but the salesman got me looking at the shimano exage telescopic series. it felt nice in the hand and the carrying case is a major bonus, but i'm hesitant to buy one as i've no experience with the design. any OFC'ers using one? or other similar travel rods? any feedback would be appreciated!

thanks, that's very good advice. can you provide a link to this "other board" or is it some sort of shady secret?

the inescapable trouble of debating with the uneducated. no doubt we'd all like to see a viable, thriving sport fishery for these giants. but until their stocks are brought back from catastrophe, i have no problem speaking up about my opinion on the matter.

fair enough, the information isn't brand new. however, since that article's been published, the tuna fishery has accelerated and the stocks have further declined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_bluefin_tuna#Threats "Overfishing continues despite repeated warnings. In 2007, researchers from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)—the regulators of Northern bluefin fishing—recommended a global quota of 15,000 tonnes (15,000 long tons; 17,000 short tons). ICCAT then chose twice that number, later dropping it to 22,500 tonnes (22,100 long tons; 24,800 short tons). Their scientists now say that 7,500 tonnes (7,400 long tons; 8,300 short tons) is the sustainable limit. In November, 2009 ICCAT set the 2010 quota at 13,500 tonnes (13,300 long tons; 14,900 short tons) and said that if stocks were not rebuilt by 2022 it would consider closing some areas.[3] The fishing industry continues to harvest 60,000 tonnes (59,000 long tons; 66,000 short tons) tons yearly." anyway, didn't mean to highjack the thread. but this is something i consider to be a serious problem and a matter of principle, and what kind of person would i be if i didn't speak up? just putting in my opinion, is all.

Always boggles my mind the amount of outdoors enthusiasts with zero regard for the sustainability of the species they enjoy or the environment that provides all of this for us http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060724-bluefin-tuna.html I wouldn't want to be part of this process, but to each their own I suppose

i'm surprised it's not the near-extinction of bluefin tuna that's bugging the crap out of you?

loser votes for the winner's political party this coming election. that one burns

My dad downrigs mostly on Owen Sound but the old bugger needs new rods and reels and won't give up the ones he's got. Right now he's running the ones he got from Walker Downriggers, which are a nice configuration but the equipment itself is less than top-notch quality. I want to get him a nice rod and reel combo similar to the Walker because he likes the reel mounted on the underside of the rod, with the eyes down. Anyone know of a good option? He likes Shimano, so if they've got a fitting product, that'd be best. But anything if you know of it would be a big help.

here's a thought: with 200+' of line out, 20lb mono might be a stronger system than 80lb braid, due to the stretch/dynamic nature of the mono. that stretch absorbs a lot of energy that is otherwise transferred straight to the knot or wherever the weakest point may be. not that i've caught thousands of kings or even many over 25lbs, but i've never broken one off even using as low as 12lb test! of course, the dynamic nature of mono also makes setting the hook more difficult so you probably lose some fish before the fight starts, but i wouldn't be surprised if you landed more, as others are saying, with stronger hooks/swivels and good monofilament.

not that i have any love for one of the worst green-washing, near-slave-labouring (domestically and abroad) cutthroat big boxes in the game, but this is a dumb article written by dumb people. the world needs many, many times more protected marine habitats. the entire scientific/conservation community is painfully aware of this. nothing about this donation even approaches anti-angling support. read critically.

this is a really excellent version of this song

really? it's been consistently cold these last weeks and on the channels, you're no more than 20m from land at any time. go with a buddy, check the ice, wear a survival suit, bring a whistle.

something very appealing to me about walking down the street with an auger in my hand

yeah, i don't get how they figure they can kick you out. if i can be there in a canoe when the water's soft, what's the difference on ice? seems like a lot of bluffing to me. i'd like to have that convo with the cops, actually. let me know how your island excursion goes! pm me wed night so i don't have to organize a party

i've had stradic 1000s since i was a kid. never let me down. perfect for stream fishing, steelheading, hardwater... very versatile size. a reel's the sort of thing you buy once a decade. spend the cash, get the good one, maintain it well

great post, thanks! especially this point: this is something more people need to come to understand for sure

i wasn't serious about being the first can the police tell me to get off the ice? is there some sort of municipal bylaw? the fish are in season and the ice is (preumably, i'll check) safe... how can they kick me out? same question about grenadier pond. i know the pond's posted 'no access', but how is that enforceable? where were you fishing that the ice thickness changed so quickly? is it because of current in the channels? i was thinking by the rcyc...

live in the city and got to thinking, those channels have to freeze... anybody ever tried it or heard of it? or am i going to be the first in a century

http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442627582&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302734229

i got skunked fishing what i think is a pretty good splake lake these last couple of days. i was mostly jigging cleos anywhere from 15-35 fow, moving around a lot. i tried in close to shore in about 10 fow for a bit but gave up on that quick. i think i started late in the day both days--around 10am. splake are most active just after sunup i imagine?

my full bell rant would take an hour to write out. to sum up: 1) they put my in two contracts without notifying me i was in a contract (how can i be in a contract without a single record of my consent?!) 2) they just recently mailed me a new modem because my old one (which i have to rent for an absurd amount of money) was malfunctioning. it came with some setup instructions which i ignored because i didn't need them, but in with that literature i just noticed a small paragraph stating that i had two weeks to mail back my old modem or incur a $75 penalty. are you kidding me?! never thought to mention that to me on the phone, any of the three people i talked to about this?! good luck getting that money from me. if they insist, i'm cancelling my account, leaving any unpaid balance, and switching providers immediately.

so the ice was about 5"-7" yesterday and probably another 1"-2" thicker today... so pretty solid. wish i had some pictures of splake for you all, but i jigged little cleos (blue and silver, green and silver, gold and orange), white grubs, and drop shotted gulp minnows for two days and only had five little perch to show for it! another couple guys got into a few 14" or so splake, but they had tip-ups and minnows going. maybe they just didn't want to hit artificials, or maybe it was my presentation?

we saw no sign of bear but the trail in had at least three sets of wolf tracks--two adults and a cub. i think that was a first for me!