solopaddler

Actually what happened was the ice in Florida cracked and broke tonight under the weight of the oppression crushing the Leafs. They couldn't breath let alone skate and had to be saved by local paramedics and a team of off duty SWAT members attending the game. Sad really....

Me too. I decided to give it a whirl myself and so far so good. It's "maybe" a tad bit thicker than some of the other braids but fishes very very well.

On another note, how 'bout them Leafs? Maybe we could combine the two topics and get a really interesting discussion going.

I just stepped outside 15 mins ago, saw them and was wondering. Thanks Gerritt, very cool!

Exactly who was that directed at?

Winner winner chicken dinner!!

It's not.

Anything that old from the early to mid seventies is worth keeping as a keepsake, but will have long since lost it's strength. It's graphite.

I've had several replaced but I've never dealt directly with St. Croix. I've always just brought the broken rod into any tackle shop that carries St. Croix rods.

Only problem is there will be nothing left to lift unless you're helping dropbacks return to the lake.

My mistake. The backplate of that reel sure looks like an automatic, but it isn't. It's a standard single action reel.

As per the label on your rod it's an 81/2' 6-7wt. A good all around rod for both trout and bass. You won't be able to use the lines or the leaders, they'll likely be pooched after all these years. You may be able to rejuvenate the lines a bit by removing them from the reels, stretching them to attempt to remove the memory and cleaning them thoroughly with armour all. The first reel is kind of neat...it's an automatic fly reel. More of a novelty item than anything else. They were mildly popular with the masses when they first came out but never really caught on for obvious reasons.

I'll disagree with Dave on this one. I believe he likely was correct back when baitcasters were inferior. These days I see tons of guys using baitcasters for floatfishing on the river and they seem to be holding their own quite handily. Most guys will still use 12-13' blanks but have them custom tied with a spiral twist to the guides. The most popular albeit expensive reel for this purpose seems to be the Calcutta TE's. Super smooth and light and you can cast light rigs with them a mile.

He was born under the sign of the fish, how fitting.

Many of you may have followed Chris's ordeal earlier this winter on the board when he was in the hospital and in pretty rough shape. Today I had the opportunity to meet and fish with him for the first time, and while the catching wasn't so great, the fishing sure was a lot of fun. It was just a gorgeous day out there today! He's a fine young man and I'm very glad to see he's on the road to recovery with such a young family at home relying on him. I'll be looking forward to getting out with you again bud! We put a few miles on the truck today in search of fish and was very glad to see Chris pull one out in the bottom of the 9th with this silver beauty. Well done!

Just kidding Steve, Bill's a great guy. At some point we should definitely fish together!

Or we can head out together without Bill, he's a pain in the anyway.

Sometimes the melodrama on this site make me want to gag.

Nice fish buddy. I rarely fish out that way, but I'm looking forward to seeing you tomorrow. Is a rape whistle on your wading jacket standard issue for fishing out there now?

That's my goal in life. The plan is working to perfection.

Picked up my new float rod yesterday and once again Spiel has outdone himself. It is truly a thing of beauty! It's a 13' 2pc CTS blank rated 4-8lb. Handle was built precisely to my spec's. Wood components in the handle had an astounding amount of green in them when Chris had the block of wood turned down and I think it looks phenominal. Old English bronze reel seat fittings match the wood perfectly I think. At my request there are also two matching wood accents in both the fore and rear grip. I requested an oversized version of a western fly rod grip for my foregrip. Chris turned the cork to perfection. There are some teeny flaws in the cork (really good fluoro grade cork is impossible to find), but beyond that, it's the nicest foregrip I've seen on a float rod. Overall very subtle and classy, I love it. I am so over the plethora of composite inserts most guys are putting on their handles these days. That candy cane look is just so last year! Guides are titanium frame Fuji SIC with dark brown main wraps and two subtle turns of metallic copper trim. Everything blends together seamlessly. Thanks buddy, you da man!

Wow

Man you've got a good memory! I totally forgot about that. Here it is. The video clip is in Bill's response if you scroll down a bit. Freaking hilarious! http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=33378&st=0&p=354389&hl=Back&fromsearch=1entry354389 The killer bush bash trip was this one: http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45979&st=0&p=491425&hl=Chapleau&fromsearch=1entry491425

Y'know what Rob? I think you could make a handsome living writing script for a fortune cookie company. You have a gift.

X3. Cut off the treble and add a tiny split ring. I can't understand why so many lures don't have split rings, it's a pita.