solopaddler

I'm guessing that a lot of you guys have heard the story of Pit's accident already, but it kind of hits close to home for me. A former NHL great, he fell through the ice on his snowmobile and drowned on Sunday. Pit lived on a water access island by himself on the lake my camp is on in QC. It was my buddy Mike who was behind him on his machine who saw the accident happen and reported it. Mike emailed me last night to tell me which was how I found out. Over the years I'd gotten to know Pit fairly well, fished with him, and drank with him on occasion. He was an amazing character with a true love of life. Always had a huge stogy sticking out of his mouth and a big smile on his face. I'm old enough to remember how incredible he was as a player especially for the Hawks with Jim Pappin as his center. Rick was very right with his post about putting things in perspective. Pit was only 64, but a lively and vibrant 64 and looked years younger. Definitely a shock to see him pass, especially this way. R.I.P. Pit, you'll be missed!

No Dan, this is the biggest fish you'll likely ever see! "Each year, a few people were drowning or disappearing mysteriously in Huadu's Furong Reservoir. It was not until recently, when the son of a government official went swimming in the reservoir and was drowned, that the secret was revealed. It is a 3 metre long man-eating catfish whose head alone is 1 metre wide! After cutting up the catfish, people were surprised to find the remains of another man inside! Swimming in the reservoir is now forbidden because it is feared another similar man-eating catfish is still lurking in the waters."

You are one seriously demented (and funny) dude!

Another short but sweet report. (my body is fading fast ) Fished today with my friend Paul (Paulus on the board). We've been steelheading together for years but rarely get out together anymore because of distance and family obligations. What a blast we had today putting a lot of miles on the truck in search of fish! While we didn't set the world on fire anywhere we did manage to scratch out a few fish at each location. First trib: Paul used the "low down and dirty" technique to put this nice little fish on the bank: I managed to get in the act : Things were surprisingly slow so it was off to trib #2 Upon arrival I tied on a white jig and managed to subdue this brute of a male brown! That was it for me, but no complaints. Paul hit a couple of fish but those shots are on his camera... Trib #3 should be easily recognizable . Time was getting short when we arrived with only maybe an hour of light left.. Still we managed a few. Paul got in the act first with a couple of brownies: Then it was my turn: It was a pretty decent day and as always a lot of fun with Paul. 'Till next time bud! Cheers, Mike

Always a good number of both darker and more chromy fish in most rivers this time of the year. Just the luck of the draw...

New pin is sweet buddy! (BTW Adam is likely going to contact you to discuss the release mechanism you tried to describe the other day)

Short report as I just walked in the door and have to get my gear ready for tomorrow (strike while the iron is hot as they say ). Once a year my uncle joins me when his ailing back will allow him to. He's the man who got me started steelheading almost 30 years ago, and these trips are always special ones for me. Of course he picked a brutal weather day to do it: high winds and heavy wet snow all day long made for some tough conditions. We stuck it out though, and while unfortunately my uncle didn't land any (he lost a few though) I managed a bunch of nice fish. Almost all came on the jig today, not surprising since the river was teeming with shiners and the fish were keying on them. Many strikes came the second the jig hit the water before the float even cocked. Twas a good day! Cheers, Mike

Cool. Don't you sleep Dan?

Well done Bill. If you can fish the Saugeen successfully under those conditions you can catch 'em anywhere.

Sorry bud, but don't agree. Fishing is fishing it's all good. Yeah I do a lot of steelheading but I'm not fond of being labled a steelheader. Don't like to be pidgeonholed like that, I'm an angler. Versatilty is the mark of a great angler. One fish isn't any more worthy than another. (Nice post Rich)

Why do Scots were kilts? Because the sound of a zipper opening scares the sheep away. (sry couldn't resist )

Way to go Joe, that river can be a tough nut to crack at times.

My guess is it might have had something to do with who started the thread 2 years ago.. Maybe, maybe not. If not then I can honestly say that keeping the mans memory alive in some very small way 'aint a bad idea. I'm from Grimsby .

Glad to oblige Carole . And I can relate. Joanne left Friday morning for Collingwood with her girlfriends (spa weekend). It's my weekend to watch the kids and both are sick as a dog, noses running like taps and inconsolable 'cause mommy's away. I figured I'd make them a treat this morning so whipped up some homemade blueberry pancakes slathered with maple syrop. My 5 year old is just staring at her plate with an angry look. My 2 year old just whipped his entire plate onto my seisel rug. I need help! LOL!

Awesome Ben, just outstanding!

Days like today separate the men from the boys . Well done guys!

Thanks bud! That comment there deserves a response but I'm holding myself back here LOL!

Thanks brother, and yeah the commentary was pretty funny at times . I'll tell you one thing though...the technique really works. Fish were landed in 1/4 the time compared to normal techniques.. I definitely learned something.

April 2-5 is already booked.

For those who havn't seen part one of my report here it is: http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=25658 Part two is the real meat of the report. I won't bore you with my ramblings, it's primarily pictures and video clips. Enjoy! Lower River Chrome-a-thon I've got a good friend Karl who lives in Cadillac, about 30 minutes east of Wellston. A few years back him and his dad Leon designed and built the now highly regarded Hanson centrepin. He's a true master in the art of steelheading and knows the Manistee like the back of his hand. A good man to know... Prior to our trip we had made arrangements to fish with Karl in his friend Jon's jetboat on Friday. Jon is an ace in his own right making his living guiding full time on the big river. Unfortunately this left Jay to his own devices as it's next to impossible to fish 5 in a boat... Didn't hamper him much though, as Jay had a good day as well (I'll let him tell his story though). Prior to our trip Karl had said the river was glass water clear and to tie small subtle stuff. No problem. Here's a picture of my idea of small and subtle compared to Karl's : Fortunately for me the fish didn't seem to care. They were fresh from the lake, hot and hungry. As mentioned in part one fish in the lower river relate to "artificial" current breaks as it's somewhat wide, deep and featureless. Pretty much every single branch, log or tree that had fallen into the river held a pod of angry steelhead in the seam behind it. Being in a boat there were many occasions where we were loathe to pull anchor and follow the fish so we had to stand on them and work them back to the boat in the heavy current. Quite a feat as these fish were incredibly strong and powerful. Because of the very clear water I started the day using 6lb fluoro for tippet. I then bumped it up to 8lb and still lost a few fish. I finally settled on 6lb Maxima Ultragreen monofilament and had no further issues. It's waay tougher, stronger and abrasion resistant than fluorocarbon and frankly finesse wasn't required. As is the case most of the time when steelheading, presentation was the key. I'll now let the pic's and videos tell the tale: Dave with a nice one. Karl in action. Yours truly battling a steelhead and the result. Dave in action. At one point I hopped out of the boat onto a sandbar and managed to hook a fish. Karl with a nice cromah! Couple videos of Karl in action: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICmF9gfvXRs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICmF9gfvXRs&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICmF9gfvXRs&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O63ipNd6UuU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O63ipNd6UuU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O63ipNd6UuU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> We had several double headers on the day and at least one, maybe two triples. We certainly didn't suffer either. Here's the uber cool Jonny cookin' up our lunch right in the boat. (I supplied the steaks, it was the least I could do ). More chrome: What an incredible day! You'd think we'd have had enough right? Wrong! At the end of the day there was still a bit of light left, so with the chrome fever still running hot Dave and I said our goodbyes to the boys and raced over to the mouth of the Little Manistee where it spills into Manistee Lake. There was one lonely sentinel standing on a sandbar in the lake off in the distance. As the sun began to set steelhead began to roll and jump all around us. It was an excercise in futility though, none could be enticed.. We retreated to the comfort of our lodgings to meet up with Jay and plan tomorrows assault. The MOTHER Of All Cold Fronts ~ Jay Perseveres After our stellar day on the river we talked things over and we all agreed to try and procure a guide/boat for Saturdays fishing. As Jay can attest to there were some fish to be caught up top, but nothing like the numbers we hit in the boat lower down. A quick call to Ray Schmidt and he had one of his guides lined up for us for Saturday. Sweet! We were pumped, and I was especially happy that Jay had agreed to the plan as I really wanted to see him have a good day. Unfortunately for us we had neglected to check the weather forecast. For those of you who wonder whether steelhead are affected by fronts the answer is emphatically yes. While most of Southern Ontario experienced heavy rains last Saturday from the same system we were subjected to a wintry mix of snow sleet and ice pellets all driven horizontally by the 50km winds. Lovely . Still, we were there to fish and fish we would. Bundled up as best we could we helped our guide Steve launch his boat in the pre dawn darkness: Fishing all the same water we had the day before we struggled. Staying warm was a full time job and motivation was tough at times. Still I did manage a few bright chrome fish : After a particularly long period of silence Steve suggested we run into the town of Manistee for some hot coffee. Smart guide . The ride over was bitter cold, and the boys received the worst of it: Here we are approaching Manistee: After consuming several gallons of scalding hot coffee we once again hit the river. Of course as soon as we walked outside a veritable blizzard hit. Driving snow with stinging ice pellets mixed in, my hear sank. I had been hoping all day that Jay would hit at least one fish. Under such brutal conditions things weren't looking great. Still, Jay surprised me as we motored back to the river in the squall. A maniacle gleam entered his eyes, he pumped his fists and shouted "I'm gonna catch a fish now!!" The lad has spunk and the fish gods seeing this smiled down on him . Literally the very first decent spot we anchored at after his loud proclamation he hit the fish of the day! Here's a video clip of almost the entire fight. At one point if you look closely you can see the fish cartwheeling waaaay off in the distance. We were in a somewhat protected oasis from the wind here, but you can still see the snow falling. It was an epic battle and a true testament to Jays perseverence. Well done my friend! <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtD1TNaP0Q4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtD1TNaP0Q4&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtD1TNaP0Q4&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> And a still shot of the triumph: We fished hard for a couple more hours after that. Actually managed several hookups but each one came unbuttoned after short furious runs and jumps. Perhaps that was fitting. With darkness falling and the temperatures dropping further it was time to go. Steve sped up the river at hyper speed just as the skies opened yet again and the snow began falling in earnest. Steve's got a beautiful jetboat but I do believe the lad needs a windshield! That night back at camp we celebrated our trip with a few adult beverages and some steaks on the bbq: Ahhh it was nice to be warm! All in all a truely outstanding trip! Jay and Dave were perfect company and I'd share a drift with either one of them at the drop of a hat. Thank you gentlemen for making this trip a huge success! 'Till next time boys! (On a side note Saturday was opening day of the rifle season in Michigan. Driving home I think we were the only vehicle on the highway without a deer on the roof LOL! Cheers, Mike

HAHA! Yep! (I'm actually not "off" on Thursday/Fridays. I'm usually at home watching both kids...sometimes I get a reprieve though )

Before I get to part 2 of the Manistee adventure, here's a couple of browns I caught today. Didn't fish for long, it was ccccold! My old bones can't take it anymore LOL! Numb finger, frozen toes, roe bags freezing solid if left exposed to the air for more than a couple minutes... Lots-o-fun! Now the surprise bonus! Hunched deep into my jacket with the hood up (no peripheral vision), I flicked my float across the river and just as it was about to drop, this guy flew into it: What an epic battle . A nearby angler asked if I was fly fishing . After several knuckle dusting runs I managed to slide him onto the gravel... He then proceeded to PECK the c@#*p out of me when I tried to unhook him LOL! A nearby angler came to my rescue and held the critter still while I performed the removal. The little pecker (and I say that in the literal sense) then flew right out of the guys hands straight at my face!! That was enough for me, shortly afterwards I packed up for home. Memorable outing though.. Cheers

My guess would be no LOL! Siglon might be okay for the guys who strictly finesse fish and/or fish places like the east trib's mostly, but for larger flows I don't like it. If you must use it bump up to 12lb, it's still very thin.

I've been lured into trying Siglon on more than one occasion because so many guys swear by it. Never again. Frankly imo it's garbage. Never have I used a mainline that consistently broke above the float like Siglon LOL! It has terrible abrasion resistance, and is just too limp too effectively run on a centrepin imo. Each to their own though Best performing line and value for your dollar is 12lb Raven in the low vis green, it's great stuff. Drennan Super mono in 8lb is incredible if you can find a source, but pricey.