Dabluz

Think about it. Do you really need GPS on your sonar unit? Usually, what a fisherman searches for is structure. There is visible above water structure that can almost always give you an idea of where to wet your line. Depending on what type of fishing you want to do and for which species, you can easily spot with your eyes, good fishing areas. I always look for that odd visible feature that is like nowhere else on the body of water. An island, a large rock just out from shore, a rock face, a rocky point, weed beds, rapids, inlets and outlets etc etc. Or, you can just slowly roam about and spot fish on the sonar. Up here where I live, finding fish on the sonar means brook trout since there are no other species of fish in most of the lakes. I have a GPS but it is a handheld model that I also use for hunting and even finding lakes near the lumber roads that criss-cross all over my region. I often bring along my GPS in case my sonar shows me interesting structure surrounded by fish far out from shore. I can then register waypoints and be able to quickly find that structure again. I have been using sonars since Hummingbird brought out the 3004 in the 70's and GPS units that only showed my trails and waypoints on a white blank screen. Fishing from shore, I would surely buy a sonar that I could cast out on the end of my line in order to see depth and bottom type and maybe a few fish. I have yet to see if a GPS or a sonar has been responsible for catching more fish. From what I have seen, the Helix 5 with down imaging seems to be what I would buy. While ice fishing, my old Humminbird 3004 would detect brook trout almost crawling on bottom and my old Lowrance flasher unit from the 60's shows me smelt passing under my ice shack.

I got sidetracked for a while. Strangley enough, after getting a nicer boat I did not go fishing as often. Was in a new blues band. I'm having a very hard time with this site. It is extremeley slow. I type stuff and sometimes takes a minute for each letter.

My son just bought a bowmount trolling motor with I Pilot. Which good reasonably priced sonar with down imaging and GPS that is compatible to his trolling motor should he buy?

If anyone needs help getting information for any of the ZECs, I can help. One thing for sure is that if you want good fishing, the ZECs further north are your best bet. I worked on the ZEC Martin Valin for about 10 years and the fishing is great. The guys at the gate are helpful. They are the ones who enter the fishing statistics each night. Some lakes open late in the season to ensure excellent fishing for brook trout. There are only brook trout and no other species of fish in this ZEC so excellent fly fishing all summer.

Wow.....quit fishing.....unfathomable. I have a couple of brothers-in-law that no longer do any fishing. I introduced them to fishing and they seemed to love it but after a few years, they just quit. I see few friends take up fishing, buy a boat or canoe and then after a while, they just seem to quit going. But after 65 years, very hard to understand. I'm 69 and started fishing for brook trout in streams when I was about 3 years old. At 5 years old, I was fishing on my own in the nearby creeks for chub and fishing with my dad who went fishing often. I like to eat fish and I keep most of the fish I catch. When I go on a trip, I always pack some fishing equipment. After all of those years, I finally have a decent boat and a good canoe. I also do a lot of icefishing. I hope to be able to go on fishing for at least 10 more years. I love to go fishing. I know a lot about fishing and I am considered a good fisherman. I could have become a ;guide but I was afraid of losing my love for the sport by turning it into a job.

Why do you have a radio in your boat? Have you ever heard the racket a radio makes by sending vibrations through the hull of the boat? Stick your head in the water and find out.

Any welding shop can fix this. Should cost between 40 and 80 dollars.

Wow....only 1 red light in Ontario. Here in Quebec, trailers must have 2 red running lights with brake lights and signal lights.

did you check to see if there is fishing line accumulated around the propeller shaft?

I would visually check the reels and tighten all the screws. There should be no wobble in the spool or handle. Take the side piece off the reel and apply reel grease to the interior. Don't spend any money on them. If they still make noise, throw them away. You can buy a Phleuger President 2000 for 80 dollars. You will be pleasantly surprised. Keep your eyes open for good deals. There are lots of them. I recently bought a Stradic 1000 FJ for 120 dollars the other day. I've tried many 50 dollar reels that I paid 20 or 25 dollars on sale and they do not last long or they are not smooth or the braking system is faulty. However, I do have some more expensive reels that are still working like new after 20 years. I don't have the budget for 200 dollar reels but 80 to 100 dollars will buy you a great reel. Baitcasting reels is another matter. You will have to spend more for a decent one.

Get a Sportspal canoe.

Summer brook trout is my specialty. This is the best time of the year to fish for them because they all concentrate in the best part of the body of water. In small lakes like in the photos, the first place to fish is where there is something special in the scenery. When I go exploring for brookies, and looking for that special place in a small lake does the trick. An ordinary roundish lake that has a big rock somewhere on the edge....this is where I start. A small island, something off coloured in the scenery, a stream, different vegetation etc. During the summer, the oxygen in the top layers of water can be too low for larger fish. You will usually have to fish in more than 20 feet of water. If there is a small stream flowing into the lake (there usually is) fish this area far out from shore. Don't anchor in the flow of water but off to the side. You don't want to scare away the trout by lowering an anchor on them. Start deep at 40 to 50 feet deep. Next thing is to use finesse gear. No line should be above 4 lb test. If you have a good reel, use 2 lb test clear mono. If you can find 4 lb test fluorocarbon.....leave it at the store.....the stuff is crap. Next....add a high quality extra sharp size 8 hook to the end of the line. I like the Gamakatsu octopus hook. Hook on the head part of a large nightcrawler and let the end of the hook stick out of the worm. Sharp pointy objects are not part of the trout's vocabulary. That's it.....nothing else. Cast out to where you think there are trout, leave the bail on your reel open and watch the line flow out over the water as the bait slowly sinks to the bottom. When the line quits moving....your bait is on bottom. Close the bail, recuperate the slack line and slowly but deliberately lift up the rod tip to lift the bait off the bottom about 12 inches. Lower rod tip and watch the line flow out till the bait is on bottom again. Don't worry, you will rarely hang up because the bait lifts up off the bottom. When you see your line flowing out on the surface, you have a fish. Not for those who want to release fish because the bait and hook will be deep.

I just sold my 14 foot Espadon Cartopper. Yes, it was a good 48 inches wide and exactly 14 feet long. Maximum size motor was 10 h.p. and it ran a good 30 km/h with only me and a bit of equipment. I used it for about 6 years and it was great. However, too small for more than 2 fishermen and their equipment. Difficult to stand up in but 2 guys could carry it a pretty good distance. Not recommended when the waves have white caps. Since I already have a 14 foot Sportspal canoe, I decided to buy a larger wider aluminum boat. Now I have a 15 foot Princecraft Resorter and 30 h.p. motor. Big difference in comfort , interior space and ability to navigate when the waves have white caps. Lots less rocking motion too.

Here in my region, the Live Target smelt (the small one) is fantastic for landlocked salmon. Walleye love them too. There are smelt in all of the large bodies of water in my region.

Live Target lures sell for 14.99 in my region.

There are other alternatives. In such a situation, I would use a very thin titanium leader or why not a bottom bouncer.

I hate fluorocarbon line. The worst was Vanish and the second worst was Seagar. I've tried many and I just can't trust any of them. I am a light line fisherman. For fly fishing, I have even gone down to 3/4 lb tippets with size 26 flies. I have been using 2 to 4 lb mono for decades and I know light line. When shore fishing, I have pulled out logs with 4 lb test mono that had all kinds of lures and other goodies stuck to them. Right now, Berkley Sensation is my favourite. It's a co-polymer line with great characteristics. You want to catch fish.....finesse is the trick. A thick fluorocarbon line gives off more vibrations than a fine mono. Try using a small high quality hook baited with the head of a big nightcrawler on 2 to 4 lb mono with nothing else on the line. That's right.....nothing else on the line. I can tell you all this because none of you fish in my region. I don't tell anyone in my region this. I especially like 3 lb mono but I have to order it from Europe where finesse fishing is a must.

I had a 14 foot tinny Espadon Cartop14 made by Princecraft and maximum size of motor I could use was 7.5 h.p. With the 7.5, it would fly along at a good 25 km/h. I put a 10 h.p. motor on it after reinforcing the transom with 2 very large 3/4 inch panels. I used a 2 h.p. gas motor or my 32 lb thrust electric for trolling. There are no bodies of water in my region that prohibit gas engines.

Here in Quebec, using lights is legal. Using lights is illegal only for salmon fishing but salmon fishing after sunset is illegal anyway. I worked as a conservation officer and almost everyone I encountered were under the impression that using lights when fishing at night was illegal. I've fished a bit for walleye after night fall and I found that lights actually hurt the fishing. I just use lights in the boat for tying knots, unhooking fish, etc etc.

The cheapest downrigger weights I can find in my region cost 50 bucks. They are plain round lead balls.

Believe me when I say that finesse does work. I've been fishing walleye for over 60 years and I have seen many examples of one fisherman catching walleye on almost every cast while someone else in the boat is catching next to nothing when the only difference is in the size of the line. I've seen when only the use of a snap instead of tying directly to the jig was the reason between zero strikes and many strikes. 12 lb line lets off vibrations when moving through the water. 4 lb line lets off 3 times less vibration. A 1/16 ounce VMC wacky jig drops à lot slower than a 1/4 ounce jig. You can't feel a 1/16 ounce jig with 12 lb test line. Casting the smallest size Live Action smelt imitation on 12 lb fluoro is impossible to do. I've been using 4 lb mono for walleye for over 40 years and I rarely lose a lure except jigs. Yesterday I was fishing in the Peribonka River that has a rock bottom. The river was formed by eskers and the bottom is all loose round stones. Real nightmare for jig fishermen. I lost only 1 jig in 4 hours of fishing. I also caught my limit of walleyes. The trick is to not let the jig sit on bottom but to lift it immediately off bottom but keeping the jig very close to bottom.

I just bought a used boat and it has a manual downrigger on it. I've never used a downrigger before. From what I have read, a 10 lb ball is the one to buy first.

If you want to consistently catch walleyes.....down size. I use 4 lb test clear mono. I like Berkley Sensation.....it's a copolymer that is very strong. Do not use any snaps or swivels.....tie directly to your jig. Do not put plastic on the jig, just the head of a large nightcrawler. Any colour of jig is good as long as it's black. I also like marabou feathers on the jig. Use the lightest jig for the conditions. VMC makes some great jigs in 1/16 to 1/4 ounce.

Good stuff. Makes me want to buy a camera to put on my head and show the nice walleye and brook trout I catch in my region.

I make my own harnesses. I've never found a decent harness for sale. I buy the highest quality hooks I can find. I much prefer short shanked hooks and I use the real snell knot for all 3 hooks. I often add a bit of distance between the blade or blades and the hooks. I found some beads that are perfect. They reflect light just like a walleye's eyes or a cat. I found them in the sewing department at Walmart and bought all the beads. I put a small metal bead before and after the clevis. I also use the best ball bearing swivels I can find. I don't sell any harnesses but I do give some away. They would be too expensive to sell anyway.