solopaddler

Mostly scarfing cut any size you wish. Yesterday I was using large pre cut squares of some kind of mesh, about twice the size of spawnee netting. Have no idea who makes it, but I bought it at Kingsway in Guelph last year.

Nice fish and a beatiful fall day. Hey, at least you weren't playing bumper boats and that's gotta be worth something as well!

Well done, I'm jonesing to fish for walleye, but can't get away. Your posts will have to do for now, keep 'em comin'!

They're about to get monsoon rains up there today and tomorrow which should spread fish out throughout the system. The Notty has been fishing well, even ths past weekend, but low down in the river. Not too much happening above Monty's (until this weekend )

To add to that, large mayflies (hexagenia nymphs) can be dug out of mucky lake or pond bottoms. Use a window screen to sieve out the muck and find the nymphs. These nymphs are commonly used in Michigan by steelheaders, as well guys targeting panfish and whitefish through the ice. They're sold in bait shops over there in steelhead country, called "Michigan wigglers" they're absolutely deadly at times. I'll be bringing a bunch back when I fish the Manistee next month.

Thanks bud. That was a neat pic, would have been a great pic if it wasn't partly blurred...

Either that or an ATV. Great strory, enjoyed the read. (and beauty pike! )

Yep, night fishing is a good option. As is throwing a small banana style bait (flatfish, kwikfish). The most tried and true technique would be to throw out a handful of chum (loose salmon eggs), then drift a single under a float. Live nymphs on a fine wire hook drifted under a float are pretty irresistable as well .

It's such a game of timing. Based on the water flow graphs I figured it would be dicey, but definitely worth a shot as it would be right on the cusp of being fishable. In preparation humongous roe bags were tied, toonie sized and larger, all in charteuse. In really stained water I prefer to use oversized chartreuse coloured bags and run a tag of hot pink yarn on the hook. For whatever reason the fish seem to like the two-tone contrast.. Floats are bumped up to the 15 gram range as tons of larger shot and longer leads are needed to deal with the water volume and to get the bait down where it needs to be. No need to finesse fish in these conditions, fluoro is a waste of money. 6lb Maxima Ultragreen for tippet at an absolute minimum. Water temps are still somewhat warm, the fishes metabolism is high, and with this much water flow the battles were long and epic... The day dawned clear and cold, in fact yesterday was the first frost I've seen this year. The muck was frozen and the shallow puddles had a thin skim of ice as we picked our way along the path to the river. Nice to see finally, but a bit nippy on the fingertips 'till the sun finally peaked over the treetops and warmed up the valley. My adavance prediction was tough sledding until about noon. With the water dropping and clearing throughout the day, and the sun warming the water I figured conditions would improve as the day went on. Turned out I was right . We started at 7am with maybe 4 inches of visibility. Almost imperceptably the river was clearing though and at 11am I finally hit my first fish: a feisty 7lb buck. After that it was game on. Here's a few more pic's from yeaterdays action: Don't be fooled by the seemingly clear water in this next pic. The main flow was incredibly stained.... The only downside to the day was the turmoil my buddy Fergie was enduring. He didn't have the greatest day yesterday, his head just wasn't into it. His dad's in the hospital at the moment and not doing too well. In fact right around 2:30 when things were really starting to pick up he answered his phone, talked for a bit, and just like that our day was over. It was his sis calling asking him to please come to the hospital asap... I'm pretty sure I suceeded in relieving at least some of his stress yesterday and that's all that matters, and really, that was the objective anyway. Cheers, Mike

I agree 100%, impressive specimen nonetheless.

I've done a bunch of extended solo canoe trips, longest one was almost 4 months. On that trip I went 7 weeks without seeing another human being. So yeah, depending on my mood I love to fish alone.

Easiest type of wader to patch. Using heavy thread sew the tear in the neoprene together. Dab on aquaseal or shoe goo inside and out, let it dry and you're good to go.

More than one person has said that LOL! It's a game of timing. I knew going in it would be tough sledding, still a great day though.

I knew you were going to say that, I knew it!! LOL! Okay let's say the ghetto was the only place that you could teleport yourself to. You'd do it, c'mon admit it you freakin' chrome deprived eskimo!

That was flippin' unreal man. Wow!

The funny thing is that's not an exaggeration LOL! But c'mon buddy don't lie, you miss it. Are you telling me that if you could teleport yourself to the ghetto from your igloo in the north pole when you're jonesing for chrome you wouldn't do it?

I think perhaps if you marketed your jigs you might give silverstreak a run for his money LOL! Nice work! (if ya don't know what I'm talking about, don't ask )

What a great story, thanks!

Bizarre coincidence. I literally just walked in from the garage where I just changed the oil in my 2hp Honda with synthetic, then I saw this post.

Seeing as how this post was bumped again, I'll take this opportunity to thank everyone for all the kind replies. Glad you enjoyed it.

Maybe in my younger days I might have tried to get away without paying the fee, maybe. Not Anymore. I'm married now, have 2 young kids who depend and look up to me, mortgage, car payments, stock market crash, headaches and responsibilities ad nauseum. Why in Gods green earth would I want to put myself in a position where I might be charged with something? I wouldn't. It's totally not worth the hassle even if the charge is bogus and can be beaten.

Really? Because I've used a bunch (Orvis, Bare, Cabelas, Hodgman, LL Bean, Cloudveil) and the Simms are the only ones that havn't leaked in the first seasons use. The Bare and Cabelas waders leaked the first time I used them. That's my experience, and I fish hard, put a lot of miles on my waders. Personally I wouldn't even consider buying anything else at this point.

Awesome day Steve! That's bizarre about the Mountain Dew, but then you never know... I remember my grandfather telling me that in the war, in the trenches they'd pee on each others wounds as urine supposedly has antiseptic qualities LOL!

If your budget is that high then Simms no question. I like the new G3 guide waders. Simms warranty and customer service is second to none in my experience as well. Last year I sent them back a pair of guide boots that had been through the wringer. The soles were falling off and they were coming apart at the seams. I expected nothing as they weren't defective, just over used. Still, Simms mailed me back a brand new pair of their latest boots free of charge. That speaks volumes.

In that price range I'd reccomend either a 13 or 14' Raven IM8, or a 13' Rainshadow RX7. The Loomis Frontier line of rods are actually Rainshadow RX7 blanks, so they're worth a look as well. Whichever is the cheaper of the two, that's the one I'd buy. Also, in that price range I'd buy a factory built rod rather than have a blank built. Reason being, if say for instance the tip breaks, getting a new tip is a much easier and cheaper process. I say this 'cause the tip on my custom Raven 14' IM8 just broke and it's going to be a long drawn out and expensive process to get the new tip fitted then have it re-wrapped...