solopaddler

What you are using is not fluoro, it's a hybrid. None of the so called "fluorocarbon" mainlines are any good imo. Not supple enough, and more importantly any tiny nick and they'll likely break.. Just another gimmick. It has zero benefits over standard monofilament. As far as true 100% fluorocarbon goes it's fantastic as a leader material. Edit: I answered your question without checking..apparantly AbrazX is 100% fluoro. I don't think it's possible to have 100% fluoro that's actually supple which is what they claim. In any case I'd either stick with what's worked for you before or try using Power Pro with a fluoro leader.

Nice fish dude, but yeah for gawds sake learn how to ID your fish LOL! The steelhead and the pink are both atlantics . Living in the soo you should be aware that the rapids sees a huge run of atlantics. Peaks in July but you'll find the odd one there almost any month.

Indeed, thank you sir that was a pleasure to read.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/cookiecoco.asp

Nice pike buddy! So....you hope FHR is slaying "strippers" on the east coast?

That's the rub. Burke gambled big time with that trade and put a lot of pressure on the team to succeed now. Tough to watch as a Leafs fan if they lose... The game itself was a good one, Price stole the extra point. Was at a high price for the Habs though. I really can't see them making the playoffs with Markov out 'till after the olympics.

A bit further away, but in the grand scheme of things not that far, is the Mississagi river. Just west of Blind River on the south side of the hwy there's a waterfall that slows the fish migration. It's on reserve land so you need a reserve lisence. You can pick one up right on 17 though and they're cheap. Very good spot but it can be popular...

Are you saying a girth measurement is skewed to the heavier side when the fish is lying flat in a boat because the skin is stretched? Seems logical.

John Gierach's books are the stuff of legend. If you're an angler and you havn't read his works you're missing out.

That's a no brainer. The Bow river flows right through the city and is a world class trout fishery. October is great, lots of big fish and very few people. Get a fly rod and learn how to use it. http://www.bowriveralberta.com/bowriveralb...yfishexpect.htm

HAHA! Actually I noticed that in the picture too. It's a trick of lighting or something, the door has a frosted design on it, impossible to see in. (or so I thought. ) Thanks bud. It's water access but on a mainland point though... Johnny that's not the right answer but I like the way you think!! (Anyone remember those old dirty Johnny jokes? ) Thanks Jay! As far as the boat goes who knows? I'm amazed they went to the expense and trouble to fly in the first time. For all I know they'll never be back. But if they do come back they'll never find my boat anyway.

Not a chance Field And Stream would print something false.

Thanks captain that makes sense! Thanks Billy that makes sense too. But....now I'm confused LOL! How do I keep the bird dry like the captain suggested and measure it like you said? I'm guessing put the bird in the pot then pour oil in instead of water to measure? (Thanks for the offer of a cooker. I've already got one up there though....)

Jack is a charmer Simon, you done good.

You got it buddy, help is always nice.

I knew someone would ask about the waste. It's quite an ingenious system actually, Mcgyver would be proud. The waste goes directly into an incinerator (homemade I might add). Liquid is taken care of through a filtration system that involves weeping tile and a ton of sand and gravel... The incinerator will need to be fired up only once in a blue moon...it's quite large. Thanks for the cooking tips!

Well last weekend for the first time in a loooong while Jo and I had a weekend to ourselves. (Thanks mom ). We had initially pondered the possibility of a lightning trip somewhere tropical, but with money a wee bit tight we headed north instead. We love it up there anyway. The view from the deck when we arrived was magical: A bit cool and misty, but perfect weather for stoking up the stove and opening a good bottle of wine. Some of you guys may remember my issue with the cached boat? Apparantly the MNR has a problem with cached boats in my area and I found a sticker on it in mid August saying it had to be removed by Oct 1st or it would be seized by the crown. This was the weekend to deal with it. I had first thought I'd just drag the thing back out but had a change of heart. Instead I bought several cans of brown and green paint to camoflage it and decided to hide it a bit better. Snapped a quick pic of the initial work in progress: I didn't get a pic of the finished product as Jo was pestering me to hurry up. (She spilled half a can of paint on her good running shoes and was pissed. ) Needless to say it looked great though. If they find it now more power to 'em, they can have it! Beyond that we did a fair bit of fishing. As per usual once my lake turns over the walleye scatter and are generally tough to catch. Over the years I've discovered a couple of post turnover spots that always seem to produce at least a few. One such spot is a deep flat in 35-50' of water. Using heavy 3/4-1oz jig heads with stinger hooks tipped with dead 4-5" shiners every drift across the flat produced one, sometimes two fish. They weren't big, but man were they tasty! Once again amazingly no pic's LOL! Not sure what was with me last weekend but I'm blaming it on Jo distracting me. Every year sees a few more improvements at the camp, there's always something to do. Earlier in the year we built an electric rail system to haul our gear up the steep hill to the cottage. It's not something I really need yet, but my parents, both pushing 80 can certainly benefit. Besides that a new propane stove was installed, this one with a small oven. Works great!: A new propane hot water heater (actually an RV model) which now services the shower and the kitchen and bathroom sinks: What's nice is there's no pumps involved, being off the grid the simpler the better. The water is pumped from the lake to a holding tank on the hill behind the camp. It's then gravity fed to the water heater and cold water taps. We've actually got better water pressure up there than we do at home. When I opened the camp this spring it looked as though someone had taken a sledge hammer to my shower liner...it was in a billion pieces. Being cheap I lined it with some leftover cedar I had under the cottage. So far so good. Now the coup des gras. For the benefit of all current and future female guests I present a sparkling new outhouse complete with flush toilet. (Mega brownie points my friends....mega ). Next year the roof needs to be done and a new sleep bunkie is on tap...as I said always something. It's a labour of love though. Headed up over thanksgiving for one last trip and to close up for the season. I think we're gonna try deep frying a bird while we're there. Never done it before but heard it's good. Anyone have any tips fire away. Have a good one, Cheers, Mike

At my age with two kids 3 and 6 years old I know I will. It's all good though I'm not complaining.

How about yourself? Congrat's are in order no?

I must be getting old, don't know how I missed this thread. Big congratulations, your wife is definitely a keeper.

Unlike some people my life doesn't revolve around the computer screen. Sometimes things slip by me, what can I say? He definitely got me that's for sure.

Wish I had time to drive to Red Lake. Have a great time Connie, you made the right choice.

Amazing fish. Even more amazing the guy's been musky fishing for 7 years and has 11 fish over 50" to his credit. Also kind of funny he doesn't own a car, only his fishin' boat that he drives to work LOL! Over the last 7 years he's logged 4500 hours on the water and put 25,000 miles on his boat. If anyone deserves success it's this dude. But...I'll bet he's sung that Brad Paisley tune a few times.

One of these days when you least expect it I'm gonna get you back for that.

My favourite place in the world, thanks for the images.