solopaddler

I'm not a huge fan of salmon fishing once they've entered small trib's like that, but it is fun and a good means of harvesting eggs for the real fishing later in the fall. Many of these fish are indeed flossed, but don't kid yourself, they definitely do hit...no doubt about that, especially when they first enter the river. Floatfishing the piers/estuaries/breakwalls with skein chunks can be electrifying as well. No doubt about the takedowns there, they're absolutely savage. I'll be hitting one of the western trib's myself tomorrow....scuzzy old boots or not, they're going to be there in numbers with this rain and I guarantee you they'll be hitting aggresively.

It's already been mentioned twice, but yeah, cat hair works just fine as dubbing. It can be used as an effective substitute for a bunch of standard nymph patterns. Another great source of free tying materials is your local furrier (they make fur coats). I know they're becoming pollitically incorrect, but they're still around and usually have no qualms about giving away any leftover scraps. One of my favourite patterns for years was a strip leach streamer tied with mink fur . Be creative, you're imagination is the only constraint when it comes to developing and tying your own flies...

Nice fish way to go Bly! Can't believe how quickly they're turning colour.....

That statement is true in general, however not etched in stone. If you're talking about kevlar which really is the ultimate as far as canoes go, there are several different grades/thicknesses available. I had a 17' Swift Dumoine made with their heaviest grade of kevlar, "expedition kevlar" with additional kevlar skid plates on the bow and stern to protect from bumps. It's a custom designed solo canoe with a single sliding seat in the middle and a removable carrying yoke. I've paddled that canoe literally 1000's of km's including some serious whitewater. It's taken numerous knocks and bumps and has held up like a champ. So yes, it's certainly not as durable as a royalex (plastic) canoe, but it's tough enough for sure. The fact that it's kevlar makes it lighter which means it's easier to paddle with cleaner lines and more manouverability, plus it's way easier to carry on the portages. So....my opinion? Look for a used kevlar canoe in the 16-17' range. There's different designs though, some with more rocker are more suited to whitewater canoeing. Make sure you buy a "flatwater" canoe, generally wider of beam and more flat bottomed.

It's impossible to find "one" rod that will do everything you described, but a 7' M/H action is about as close as you'll get. Definitely agree with the choice of a 7'er for most of the reasons Raf already mentioned. As Rick already mentioned, a longer rod in the 8-10' range, is a HUGE advantage when shore casting for salmon and trout. Something to think about since you do a lot of that...(guess you might need to buy 2 rods ). As far as brands around the $100 range go, there's a glut available on the market. My choice in that price range? Hands down the St. Croix Premier. They're a bit more money ($130ish), but a 1000 times better rod than anything else in that price range with a fantastic warranty. (my opinion)

How 'bout this one? Caught it earlier this summer up at the lake...

Would just like to say that the comments and pm's from each and every one of you guys is greatly appreciated. Kareem is indeed a special person. The life he's led and the obstacles he's overcome is nothing short of remarkable, believe me I could tell some incredible stories... He's always been an inspiration to me and will continue to be one. I met with him this morning before I left for work. Although he's rapidly going downhill, thanks to a change in his meds the pain is now under control and he's much more aware of what's going on around him. Believe it or not he says he wants to go fishing this weekend . If there's any possibility of making that happen I will. Once again thanks everyone, you've been great.

Merit for your lawn? Sorry bud don't know. I said "Louis" had a grub problem, didn't say anything about his lawn... Louis, 2 tsps. of nematodes sprinkled on your cornflakes each morning for 7 days should take care of your problem!

To expand, Louis has a grub problem, doesn't want to spray chemicals (kids, dogs), so I suggested nematodes as an effective natural control.

Nice report Cliff and congrat's to Fishnsled on the nice 'ski! 45" and only 17lb's though? Wow, that's a pretty thin fish...

Beautiful pic's Joey, sounds like a great vacation.

As Louis mentioned it was a bittersweet last couple of days. Thursday Kareem was in such good spirits that we actually made tentative plans to fish one of the nearby back lakes on Friday. Another friend of mine who lives up there was going to deliver a light 14' aluminum to the lake we wanted to fish so we'd have something stable for Kareem to fish out of. Thursday evening when we arrived was picture perfect: sunny, nice temps, no wind or bugs. We all sat out on the deck enjoying the view, sharing some laughs and a couple of drinks (including Kareem). It was great. A bit later Thursday evening me and Louis went out for a quick fish and managed a couple of nice little eaters as Kareem wanted one last fish fry. They were awesome! Well, as Louis mentioned in his post our back lake trip planned for Friday moring never happened. When we awoke it was obvious that we had to get him home asap, Kareems pain had progressed to such a point that it was unbearable. After quickly loading the boat, even though his pain was intense, he still wanted to troll a bit on the way back to the landing . That's Kareem in the foreground trying to hook one last fish. As Louis mentioned he actually hooked a pretty large pike. Got a nice bend in his rod and a couple fast runs then unfortunately it bit him off. Still, he was pretty happy about it. Louis managed to hook a decent smallmouth, tried to hand the rod to Kareem to let him reel it in, but he wouldn't (wasn't his fish ). It was a tough, tough trip. No regrets though as even though it ended up like it did I KNOW Kareem enjoyed it. Just found out that he was rushed to emergency this morning.... don't think I'm going to see him again. Sometimes life really sucks.

Thanks for posting this Louis, and thanks to you as well buddy for being such good company under the circumstances.

I have Rene a couple of times with zero problems and prompt service. fishonline canada is good too...

Hey Stan, that was my thread... As far as curing the skein goes I use Pro-Cure, it's a commercial egg cure available at most tackle shops. First cut the skein into large chunks and put it in a strainer with a bowl underneath. Sprinkle the cure on the eggs and mix it through making sure all the eggs are lightly covered. They'll immediately change colour and start oozing juice (thus the bowl underneath to catch it). Put it in the fridge and let it sit for 2-3 hours then dump the eggs out on a bunch of paper towels and sop up any leftover juice. You can then put the eggs in a container and they'll be good in the fridge for around 3 months. As you saw in my thread large hooks are mandatory usually used in conjunction with an egg loop. (google "tying an egg loop" to learn how). I strictly floatfish with skein chunks almost exclusively with a fixed float on a short 2-4' lead. The salmon seem to have a propensity to come up or rise to a bait in my opinion especially when they're milling around in an estuary... Sometimes I'll use a slip float if I'm fishing deeper water off the piers for example, but even then you don't really want your bait right on the bottom. cheers

Wow, awesome fish Disco! Great report, although I'm not overly surprised about Wawashkesh. It's a beautiful lake but it can be tough (pretty good smallmouth though). On a side note I think you should marry that woman immediately, she seems like a keeper .

Thanks everyone for the support and for those who sent personal messages. This board is incredible, much more than just a fishing board. Mike

Thanks buddy, we'll have a great weekend!

1/2 an hour ago I get a call from Kareem, he said the doctors told him they weren't going to treat him anymore for the disease...he's too far gone. Said he's not going to worry about it, he's just going to live his life, and he now wants to head north with me on Thursday. I can't believe he's actually going, you guys have no idea how much I want this to happen. The timing of this phone call is really giving me pause after asking you guys for your thoughts and prayers, it really makes me wonder... Here's hoping I've got a great report for you guys next week... Thanks again, Mike

Thanks each and every one of you for the kind words and support, it's appreciated. Mans greatest cross to bear IMO is the knowledge that we're mortal and our time on this earth is fleeting. Immortality can be found through the eyes of your children, and that's where I find my solace. I realize that this is simply a fact of life and happens to everyone, but it's never happened to me before.... Anyhow, I've been brooding about this all morning and the conclusion I've come to is life goes on. I'll be leaving on Thursday to head up north with another good friend, hopefully catch some fish and share a few laughs. If Kareem is still able to we'll go to Picton in November for a couple days (maybe see some of you guys there). The guy is a walleye ace and lives for the late fall fishing out there. He usually keeps his boat docked at Tip Of The Bay from Oct. 'till Dec. 'cause he's there every week... Anyway I can only hope. Thanks again, Mike

Don't quite know what to say here except I guess it's my turn to lean on you guys.... There's 3 people in my life who would do anything for me at the drop of a hat, no questions asked. My dad, my uncle and my friend Kareem. Kareem has been there for me through thick and thin over the last 17 years and we've spent a lot of time on the water together, he's a pretty important person to me. Two weeks ago he was fishing Nipissing with his wife when he suddenly lost the use of his right arm, he thought he had a mild stroke. As it turns out he's apparantly got 6 inoperable tumours in his brain. No previous symptoms, and the guy's only 51 years old....it's just not fair! Yesterday he had his first chemo treatment and it didn't go very well, in addition they're giving him maybe 8 weeks to live. Now this isn't a eulogy, 'cause if there's anyone who can beat the odds it's Kareem, but I'm having a bit of a hard time dealing with this. I'm not an overly religious person but I do believe in the power of positive thinking and prayer, and well, I think my buddy could use some. I'm headed up to my cabin on Thursday with Louis (aniceguy from the board) and tried to talk Kareem into joining us last night...Figured regardless of how crappy he felt and what might possibly happen it would be a good thing to do considering the circumstances...Don't think he's going to make it though unless he has a dramatic turnaround in the next 24 hours. This kind of thing just rips my guts out and if it wasn't for my family I think I'd go nuts. The last couple of days my 4 year old daughter Riley has been my focus and my lifeline... Yesterday was her very first day of school ever....big day. Here she is with mommy waiting for the school bell to ring And standing in line with the other kids (man was she excited ) Mike

That shot of you with the big one looks like something from the Skeena, LOL! Nice fish Steve!

Nice fish Justin!

The more weight you have behind the reel, the less tip heavy the rod will feel. Positioning the reel further up the handle will normally counter balance the rod better, it's simple physics.

The butt cap is just glued on. Heat it up with hot water, force it off and remove any tape that's on the butt section of the blank. Easiest way to weight the butt is by wrapping lead on it (lead core trolling line stripped down works great). Build up the wrapped section with masking tape so the butt cap fits and glue it back on. Now, all that being said I wouldn't recommend weighting the butt section. Do you have backing and line on the reel yet? That'll add a substantial amount of weight to the reel. Can't believe you can't find a balance point with a sliding ring handle.... cheers