Dabluz

3 to 5 people.....that's a lot of people to pile into a portable hut. I have a 3 or 4 man hut and it's comfortable with 2 people. 3 people is crowding things quite a bit. Yes....I could cram 4 people inside the hut but there would be no place to fish, no holes in the ice and the heater would be in the middle and all the baggage would be outside. I think you would be better off buying 2 pop up huts and a pair of walkie-talkies. No such thing as thermal properties when it comes to huts. They block the wind and try to trap as much heat as possible. 300 denier or 500 denier....I doubt there is any difference in heat retention. I use a 5000 btu heater and I leave it on max. It eats a 1 lb bottle of propane in about 3 hours maybe a bit less. However, I can fish inside the hut without gloves and I can loosen my coat etc when it's -20 C and windy outside. If you plan to have 4 or 5 people inside 1 hut, that mean's that everyone will be fishing outside. This will also mean that there will often be opening and closing the zippered entry. All the huts made by the major companies hold up well against the wind. I've set up mine in 30 to 40 km/h winds when alone and had no real problem. Wow....over 1 km is quite a haul. That is close to 1/2 mile. At least a 20 minute walk at a pretty brisk pace. If you are not planning to out fishing when the weather is colder than -15 with heavy winds....do you really need a pup up hut?

I only wanted to give a slight warning to fishermen about fluorocarbon line. I saw long ago that the stuff is crap. I've since then tried out other fluorocarbon lines and was very disappointed. Ok....All of my fishing is done with line from 2 to 6 lb test (most of the time with 4 lb mono) except for when I use braided line for long lining or for pike or deep saltwater fish. I have been fishing with very light lines for over 40 years. I make my own fly fishing leaders up to 18 feet long and 3/4 lb test. Yes.....350 grams. No....I don't want my line to fall to the bottom. I only want my bait to fall to the bottom and I want that when I pull on my line, the bait hops off the bottom and not drag on the bottom. If you want more abrasion resistance, use some good old fashioned Stren Original. It won the contest in the abrasion resistance test about 10 years ago. Or buy Berkley XT or other "tough line" that is harder and less elastic than Berkley XL or all the fluorocarbon lines. I don't care if someone wants to use fluorocarbon line. I just wanted to warn against all the lies that the companies who sell the stuff say about it.

Yeah....good idea....check out the sight that sells the stuff. They will be the first to tell us that the stuff is not good....lol.

Read the stretch test in the second link I sent. Fluorocarbon stretches just as much as Berkley XL. Berkley XL is about the most elastic line you can find. The 10 or 12 lb fluorocarbon was subjected to a stess of 3 lbs during the stretch test (1/3 it's strength). This is very little stress in my book. All the fluorocarbon lines were difformed and therefore weakened after such a light test and meanwhile the mono did not show any signs of stress after the tests.

I guess you didn't read the 2 tests that are in the links I posted. Sure the tests were done in 2007 but fluorocarbon is still fluorocarbon. If it had been improved, the companies would have changed the name of the product. There are only 3 companies who make fluorocarbon anyway.

I keep reading that people like to use fluorocarbon. I hate the stuff and see no reason for using it. Yes....I tried it in 6 lb test, 15 lb test and in 30 lb test. Anyway, here is proof that the stuff is junk. It is as elastic as monofilament, it has less knot strength than monofilament, it is not stronger than monofilament, it is not less visible than monofilament and when stressed it remains deformed while monofilament goes back to it's former state after being stressed. On top of that, fluorocarbon is much more expensive and casts like...... http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbontest.html http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbon2.html

oops....twice

Here in my region, all the hardware stores sell the stuff. It comes in sheets 4' x 8' and in as many thicknesses as plywood. It does not have to be very thick but I suggest 1/4 inch so that you can slightly counter-sink flat head screws to hold it in place. For the joints (in order to make it 14 feet long, you just bevel the ends at the joint. We call it "teflon" to keep things short and sweet.

The first thing I would look for is how easily you can go from a forward gear to a reverse gear. My old Yamaha Big Bear 350cc would quickly go from any forward gear right into a reverse gear without having to go to neutral. I have seen some ATVs where you have to put them in neutral gear before being able to go into reverse. This slows up operation considerably.

I bought a used pop up shelter and it has 6 or 7 ice anchors. Yes, you should install 1 or 2 anchors (upwind)in the edge of the skirt when setting up the shelter on a windy day. I've set up my shelter on windy days and have had no problems. There is a cheap shelter that can be bought for about 60 dollars but it rips easy and even 2 or 3 guys will have problems setting it up when it's windy.

No....it does not auto-add another trail. It just erases the first track of the existing trail. Well, on my old IFinderPro....that's how it works. Since my old GPS is a handheld device, I check the refresh rate according to my speed. If I'm walking in the bush, I use a slower refresh rate....a track every second means about a track for every 12 inches. I put the rate to once every 4 seconds if there is no visible trail for me to follow in the bush. Great for snaring hares. I also add a waypoint for every snare and I use the "averaging" function to make sure that my waypoint is as accurate as possible. Averaging is done by initiating a waypoint, setting the GPS immobile on the ground and letting the GPS register a bunch of tracks over a period of time. Then I press "create waypoint" and a waypoint is registered using the average of all the tracks that the GPS has accumulated.

Does the refresh rate return to it's original setting when the unit is turned off and then on again? Yes....refresh rate is important. You also have to look at the specs in the manual to find out how many tracks are recorded. If the maximum number of tracks is 10,000 per trail, and the refresh rate is 1 per second this means that your trail cannot be any longer than 10,000 seconds or 2.7 hours. Any longer than that and you have to initiate a new trail. If you increase the refresh rate, you also decrease the time alotted to record your trail.

Great news Ron. Even though I'm in Quebec, this will still have some effect on fishermen's rights and I'm sure that your example will incite other fishermen across Canada to question other similar decisions made to limit the sport of fishing.

I would also recommend a very thin braid or fused line of about 10 or 12 lbs test with a 6 or 8 lb leader that is clear with good knot resistance. Since I hate fluorocarbon (it's not true that it is less visible or stronger or less elastique or has more knot strength), I would use a good clear monofilament. I would also use a good baitcasting reel instead of a spinning reel in order to prevent line twisting when fighting a large fish.

One lure that I would add to that list is a silver flutter spoon. The best one was the Sutton but they are no longer made. There are many similar lures however. I use the Sutton 71 on 4 lb mono for brook trout. I add no bait nor any sinkers to the line. I just let the lure flutter to the bottom and then I lift it just off the bottom and I constantly twitch it. The brook trout hammer the lure.

I also like the Excalibur rotating hooks. One thing for sure, most lures need higher quality hooks. VMC, Gamakatsu, Owner, Excalibur are all great hooks. I like my hooks to be short, wide gap, very light wire. But I often use 4 and 6 lb mono so I need to use hooks that penetrate easily and quickly. My reel's brake is never very tight. I sure would like to know who makes the hooks on Panther Martins. They are extremely sharp, stay sharp, very thin yet strong and seem rustproof.

I say that you should buy the pop up shelter. When it's cold and windy, you will be more than happy to have it. Next, buy a long plastic sleigh to haul your stuff. A five foot sleigh will cost less than 20 dollars. I think I paid 14 dollars for mine about 10 years ago and it has seen a lot of mileage. I even haul it behind my snowmobile. I have a manual 8 or 9 inch ice auger. I bought it about 35 years ago and I still have the original blades. I prefer the 8 inch size because I use it for fishing for cod and halibut in the Saguenay river. Buy a second set of blades because if you hit even a couple of grains of sand in the ice, the blades will no longer cut ice. The blades are difficult to sharpen and cost over 20 dollars for a new set. If you do not sharpen your blades yourself after every outing.....forget the manual auger. Most of the time, I use an ice spud that I made myself. The blade is about 2 1/2 inches wide and I keep it sharp. It takes about 5 minutes to cut through 2 feet of ice and make a hole that is about 10 inches in diameter. It's much easier to haul an ice spud than a gas auger or manual auger. The ice spud never breaks down either. An ice spud will also quickly open up holes that have frozen over. A 6 inch diameter hole will freeze up much faster than an 8 or 9 inch hole. Yes....a heater/cooker is real handy. I use a 5000 btu heater and it's quite cozy in my 2 man shelter. When I mean cozy, that means that I keep my all of my clothes on yet I can loosen my coat and fish with my bare hands if I can warm them in my pockets every once in a while. Very little ice will form in the hole through the ice. A 1 lb propane bottle gives me about 4 hours of heat. I refill my 1 lb bottles myself. Get the warmest boots you can find and buy them large enough for you to be able to add a a thick insole between the insulated inner felt boot and the sole of the boot. I use size 11 or 12 high snowboots rated for -74F on my size 10 feet. Buy a large sized parka with hood and wear an insulated vest under the parka. Also wear headware with ear flaps. No such thing as wearing too much clothing. Nothing worse than getting cold when ice fishing. The people who do not like icefishing is due to the fact that they do not dress warmly enough. They are the sort of people who get out of their vehicles at the shopping mall and run to the door and once inside, they complain about how cold it is. When they do try to dress warmly, they still like their clothes to look trendy or sexy. I doubt very much that you will use snowshoes. I've never needed them unless I went to some small remote lakes.

For the best bang for your buck, the Garmin Legend that costs about 150 dollars is your best buy. It is sometimes on sale for 100 dollars. Yes....you will have to buy map software to increase the amount of detail but it is well worth the price to buy the mapware. You have to buy the same maps no matter which GPS you buy. There are tons of places on the internet to get free bathymetric maps to add to your maps. If you know where to look you can even get free maps and not buy the mapware. You can then download a free program like "Easy GPS" to store info in your home computer or laptop (dates, waypoints, notes etc etc).

Is it a reel with a rear drag or front drag? I usually prefer a metal spool due to less friction at the lip of the spool. Reels with front drag usually have the better drag system on the metal spool.

Is "spelt" and actual word. I thought it was "spelled". I think he spelled "spelt" rong.

Also wash them with a water and baking soda solution, rinse well and then make sure they are dry. High humidity and/or moisture on the batteries can cause a current flow from one battery post to the other and slowly discharge your batteries.

This stuff is slippery so I use a double palomar (pass twice through the granny knot). The funny part with very thin Fireline is the fact that it's hard to cut with scissors or nail clippers but small pike can cut it as easily as a razor. But that also happens with 6 lb mono. I use 6 lb mono for walleye and every once in a while, a small pike will cut me off real easy. However, larger pike can't cut it as easily as the small pike.

I would say you got a very good deal. The rod sold for close to 200 dollars, the reel close to 100 dollars, decent line sells for 45 dollars, the vest maybe 40 dollars, and the waders about 100 dollars. If you only paid 150 dollars.....that's great. About the reel......it's a great reel. As for casting only 20 feet....I doubt it. Just the leader is on the average 9 feet long plus the rod almost 9 feet means that you can cast close to 20 feet without any fly out past the end of the rod. Fly casting is not about distance. Actually, casting long distances means that you must stand up, shift your body a lot, make a bunch of false casts etc etc. This only spooks any fish within 90 feet of your boat...lol. It's much better to make a nice silent slow approach with a low profile and then a quick flick of the rod to extend the fly line. The leader will continue it's travel (9 to 14 feet) towards your target. Start with short casts using double taper fly line. You can even "overline"....meaning using a fly line size that is 1 or 2 sizes larger than what is written on the rod. This extra weight will flex the rod more with less effort on your part and you can then concentrate more on your timing, rod and arm position etc. A nice smooth cast guarantees that your fly and fly line will alight on the water just the right way.

Wow....the test results that I saw on the internet a few years ago were a lot different. Ex.; 20 lb test Fireline broke at 47 lbs. I think the test results on abrasion resistance and strength are still available.

Tip wrapping is the reason that so many braided lines are stiffened with a covering of mono. I love very supple lines like Mason Tiger Braid or the original Tuff Line. Yes, they do sometimes wrap around the end of the rod but it's very rare for me to leave any slack line out the tip of my rod. All of the new braided and fused lines are very strong. Most break at almost twice the indicated breaking point but due to the fact that they have a weak knot strength and weak shock strength, the companies have to underate them. I even imagine that rod action and the varied ways that some fishermen strike the fish causes so much discrepancy as to which is the best line.