Gregoire

That is classic. It would also be fun to have one rigged up while musky fishing. When you get back to the ramp just tell people you were slaying them, and show them the rod.

You want might want to phone in or send an e-mail to make sure that they have the parts for the reel to be serviced. There was a post on here not too long ago about shimano changing their service policies.

Wow...that is one of the most intelligent posts I have read in a while. You make a really good point. We complain about buying cheap products, but not about the price. It is possible to buy reels that are made in north america, they are just more expensive, so most of us don't want to spend more. Same with rods. The manufacturers are just giving us what we are asking for, a lower cost item. I think the blame here should go to the consumer, because we want the impossible. Low cost products that are made of high quality materials. Also people say that things were built better back in the day, but they also cost a lot more, people just had a lot less stuff so they could afford to spend more. I, like a lot of other people fall for the more is better lifestyle. Heck, I own two finesse fishing rods, and I will probably only use them 5 times a year. There is a price to pay. As a society we want to own more things. In order to afford them they are made cheaper...sorry for the rant.

Wow nice catch! Congrats

Great topic as I was wondering the same thing. I would also want to know what pound leaders are used, as I have a patriarch 9525 rigged up with 3 pound red power pro. I'm guessing I would have to use a pretty light leader on this rod as well, just to be able to match up to the small diameter of the power pro.

What a hawg! Congrats

I'm pretty sure if you pinched the tail that would be over 9 inches.

Not today

Was that in the St. Lawrence? Is that an american eel? If so it's nice to see them. When I was a kid we used to catch them all the time around Lancaster. Apparently they have all but disappeared. Thanks for sharing.

Congrats on the catch. We were out Friday. Got a 22 and a shaker. It was slow for us. Going on Monday maybe we'll head deeper.

I would go with an ugly stick rod and a shimano reel. Th only reason I don't recommend the ugly stick combo is I find the reels are very poor quality.

I would think that if its in a net reach under its gills while you unhook it. I would think the best way would be to tail it while its in the water and use pliers to shake the hook loose.

also if you are having trouble getting the drag set properly try adjusting the spool tension instead of the drag.

Congrats on the PB. I second easing off on the drag. When using Dipsy's your drag should be as loose as it can be...you may have to play with it to get it just right.

I would think for flipping and pitching Fluoro would be a better choice as is sinks vs mono which floats. Also the stretch in mono may make it harder to pull fish out of cover.

Check out the tiny lite from basspro as well if all you are looking for is a lightweight reel.

that just proves that stick baits work..nice pic

Wow nice ski

Congrats...now prepare to become obsessed.

Thanks for the report, and for bringing up the next generation of anglers.

I don't think that the general feeling is not to donate to kids sports, rather it is that if they want to fundraise they shouldn't just sit outside a business and ask for it; they should do some type of fundraising. In my experience there are many things that an organization can do to raise a decent amount of money. The sad part is that it is probably the parents who are too lazy to organize it so they just decided to ask for handouts. I take issue with the lesson that this type of request teaches our young people. As was pointed out a lot of this stuff is not for essential things, but rather for luxuries, like matching track suits, or numerous tournaments. I would sooner buy a kid a pari of skates that give them money outside a LCBO so that they can buy a team tracksuit. I could go on a longer rant right now, but I will just end with the fact that sometimes it seems that kids are most interested in how good they look, rather than how well they play.

Being a coach I understand how hard it can be to pay for everything, and see why someone may take the easy way out when looking for fundraising. However, I agree that kids should have to work for the money. It may create more work for me as well in terms of coordinating delivery, tracking money and inventory, but the lessons learned are worth it. Personally I would not just donate money to a sports organization. Donating to a charity is a different story.

Awesome report. Thanks for sharing. Those videos are priceless. The only problem I see is from now on your kids will expect the fishing to be like that whenever they go out with you.

Great hat

That's funny because we have had nothing hitting on the spoons, all on flies.