Dabluz

I use the same technique as Raf. The lures have to be large. The really big pike often try to steal the walleyes on our chain. Difficult to say what are the best lures and I would even say that which lure to use is less important than the size of the lure and depth you will be trolling.

You probably got your stuff through UPS. That unnamed fee is what was charged by UPS for the extra trouble to take the parcel to Customs Canada. Always get your items shipped via USPS. USPS and Canada Post work hand in hand and most small parcels with low value do not even go through Customs. UPS makes a lot of money by sidestepping all parcels through Customs.....no matter is there are custom charges or not.

No bass of any kind in my region but there are lots of pike. I almost always fish pike as if I was fishing largemouth bass. I stay away from heavy jigs but I do pinch on a big split shot in front or on the shank of a huge hook that I embed in a huge plastic bait. The only very large plastic baits that I can find are 6 to 10 inch curly tails. Since the diameter of the curly tails is large, I slice grooves in the plastic so that the point of the hook (rigged weedless) is easily exposed when I strike the pike. This is the time of the year when only pike fishing is still open in the back lakes in my area.

I'm in the same boat as a bunch of others. I've tried Vanish main line and leader material and Seaguar leader material. Both were very disappointing. However, I'm sure that there is better stuff on the market. Maybe I might get an idea of what to buy the next time after this thread has petered out.

I see that many fishermen are using very strong fluorocarbon....stuff like 20 to 40 lb test. I can't see why. I don't know many rods that can lift a 20 lb bag of potatoes off the ground or pull a 10 lb fish right out of the water. OK, I can see someone using heavy braid because the stuff does not absorb hard sudden shocks unless you use very strong braid but why the strong fluorocarbon.....except where there are toothy fish around. But since 20 lb fluorocarbon can get cut just as easily as 20 lb mono and is less or similar abrasion resistant as mono...I prefer using very fine 4 lb size flexible 49 to 54 strand wire leader in 10 to 15 lb test. Yes, this stuff costs maybe 10 times more than premium fluorocarbon but I do a lot of pike fishing and the extra fine wire leader never gets cut. However, it does get damaged and must be replaced. Lure action is great and visibility is almost nil. Just like fluorocarbon is almost invisible.

As for the difference between fluorocarbon leader material and fluorocarbon main line, one is harder and stiffer than the other. Since fluorocarbon line is already quite stiff, it can be used as leader material.....depending on needs of the fisherman. It's much stiffer than monofilament leader material so maybe a fly fisherman can use longer yet finer leaders for some situations. However, when a fly fisherman uses long fine leaders, it's usually for dry fly fishing and since fluorocarbon sinks, it is not useful at all. In any event, ordinary mono as leader material is terrible for most fishing situations. What I find strange is the fact that most places only have 2 fluorocarbon lines and leaders....they are Vanish and Seaguar. From what I have read and experienced myself, these 2 fluorocarbons rate rather low when compared to other fluorocarbons on the market. I have little faith in fluorocarbon and since it sinks too.....that is another fault in my opinion. Ok, some people will say, "How about a sinking leader for nymph fishing?". I say that when your dragging bottom with a sinking line, I like the idea that the nymph is just above bottom and not dragging on the bottom.

When I'm fishing an area I already know, I don't use my sonar. When casting to shore, I don't use my sonar. When fly fishing, I don't use my sonar. When I'm slowly moving or drifting with a bottom bouncer, I do not use my sonar. I guess the only time I use my sonar is when I'm trolling and I use it just to make sure that I'm trolling at the depth I want to troll or for scouting out new territory. Whether the unit indicates fish or not does not change anything because the fish could be just some sucker or catfish or maybe even a sportfish....but is it feeding or not? Anyway, there were tests done with divers as to what a sonar really sees and the conclusion is that the sonar sometimes misses fish, sometimes does not see fish, sometimes adds more fish than there really are and often marks ordinary objects as fish. Yes, fish most definately move away from boats....anyway....brook trout do. As a conservation officer in a territory where there are only brook trout, most of my work was to meet people while they were fishing....and take fishing statistics after looking over their permits etc. First off, we would look at them from far away using binoculars. We could see if they were catching fish or not and how many lines they had in the water. Often, the fishermen were not catching any fish or the fishing was slow. As we approached them in our outboard, almost every time, they would start catching fish. If there were 3 fishermen in the boat, everyone would have a fish at the end of their line. After a while, it was easy to figure out that our approaching boat pushed fish towards their anchored boat. We even did not mind intruding on the fishermen because we knew that our approach would improve their fishing for a few minutes. When fishing.....silence is golden. I always catch more fish when alone.

Yes....minnows do grow all year but faster during the summer. However, do not forget those tiny minnows in the spring are now small minnows at this time of the year. I have found that walleye are very particular as to the size of the bait you use. I always seem to have more luck using a smaller bait for walleye. I rarely use any plastic on my jigs. I prefer just using 1/2 (the head part) of a night crawler on a 1/8 to 3/8 size jig. I've got a cardboard box full of soft plastics and I very rarely use any of them except maybe for pike.

http://www.tackletour.com/reviewfluorocarbontest.html http://www.sportfishingmag.com/techniques/...test-23589.html

I did a lot of "van camping" and....yes the dampness is a problem. In any event, the interior of the van will quickly get to the same temperature as outside. Might as well reduce the dampness by opening the windows and the back doors for the night. There are no bugs at this time of the year anyway. In the morning, you can always start up the van and turn on the heating, listen to the radio and get dressed after a few minutes. It's nice to get into warm dry clothes in the morning. This is my favourite time of the year for wilderness camping/fishing. Temperatures at night in my area are around the freezing point at night.

I've read a lot of independant tests on different lines and Vanish is the worst of the lot. What surprises me is the fact that Berkley still makes and sells the stuff. It's still on their internet site. I bought a spool of 6 lb test about 5 or 6 years ago and went brook trout fishing with the stuff. It took me about 5 minutes to find out that it had all the faults you can find in a fishing line. Not one redeeming quality. It was even as visible in the water as my clear mono. My 4 lb test mono was much stronger. I sent it back to the company and wrote a note that I liked Fireline but could not find any 6 lb test Fireline in my area. Anyway, Berkley sent me back a new spool of Vanish and a spool of 6 lb test Fireline. I then took the new spool of Vanish back to the store (I still had my receipt) and got my money back. Sure I cheated, but Vanish is a cheat too. I have done a lot of internet search about fluorocarbon lines. Stretch tests, strength tests, abrasion tests, knot strength tests and even visibility tests and everything I've read points to the fact that you have to be quite stupid to use the stuff. Sure, the 50 to 100 lb test fluorocarbon leader material is tough and maybe less visible but your lure looses all of it's action. I tried 25 lb test Seaguar leader material (because I got a free spool in a box of goodies that I won) and it's weaker than 15 lb mono. Yes....I know how to tie knots. I've been fishing maniac for close to 60 years.

I remember canned bacon. It was "back bacon" and it came from Denmark. It was high quality bacon. I was just a teenager at the time and wondered why didn't a Canadian company offer canned bacon. Canadian bacon is about the best in the world....anyway, it was the best at that time because it was leaner than bacon from anywhere else.

Another alternative are the small plastic packages that are almost impossible to tear open and then you end up spreading the stuff more on your fingers than on the HD.

If it's only 30 dollars difference then go for the CiticaE for sure. If it was a difference of 60 to 100 dollars maybe you could say that there is a difference. I don't own a CiticaE or even an old Citica. However I do own some older reels that I bought "used" on Ebay: Daiwa ProcasterZ H103LA, Daiwa ProcasterX H103A, Diawa MA15-2B, Shimano Bantam TX 101 Mag, and they all work very very well. I also own a new Shimano Cardiff 101A and new Shimano Calyx 100A. But I can tell right away that the CiticaE is way smoother, faster, easier to adjust, easier to take apart for cleaning and lighter than anything I have right now except for the 2 reels with graphite bodies that I have which weigh about the same as the CiticaE. A CiticaE at the local fishing boutique sells for 190.00. This is way over my budget so I have to stick with the reels that I bought for under 30 dollars on Ebay. BTW, you won't find anymore used Daiwa H103's on Ebay for under 75 dollars. Before buying a reel, think very carefully about whether it's going to be one with the handles on the left or on the right. Like almost everyone else, I cast with my right arm and crank with my left hand when spinning and even when fly fishing. But for baitcasting, I prefer the handles on the righthand side of the reel. Sure, I have both types and use both types but for real fast cranking, my right hand is faster than my left hand. Since I am old enough to have used level wind reels when spinning reels were unavailable, all the level wind reels had the handles on the right and maybe this has influenced me a bit. When casting, I still turn my wrist so that the spool is vertical and the handles are on top in order for the spool to spin only on it's main bearing. And "YES", doing this with a reel with handles on the right does give you more distance and fewer backlashes. I fish much more often with the Procaster X H103 than any of my other reels even though the Procaster Z (lefty) has more bearings. I never use the graphite body reels anymore even though they are a bit lighter.

I doubt you could even make one at that price. (What does OEM mean?)

I'm pretty sure that there are lots of instructions on how to make a motor mount the internet. I still say that the fastest and easiest way is just to buy one anywhere Sportspals are sold.

I suggest a Shimano CiticaE baitcaster for your rod. This is the 2009 model of the Citica and it's about as close to a CuradoE that you can find but for 100 dollars less than the CuradoE.

I've tried some of those jigs with soft minnow bodies made by Storm. Yes, the walleye seem to like them but the hooks are too heavy to my liking. You really have to strike hard to sink the hook past the barb. Since I usually use 4 or 6 lb mono on a fast action medium light rod, I have not had much luck hooking walleye with those jigs. So far I get better results using 1/8 to 1/4 ounce bare jigs baited with a nightcrawler.

Yeah....I know that it was just a bit of elbowing that you were doing. I'm sure that you have seen the beautiful reels and lures that are for the European et Japanese market. This stuff does eventually trickle into the N.American market. I think it's mainly due to the fact that the retailers are at the mercy of distributors. The distributors are always at least 1 year behind in trends and of course they do stick to what has been successful in the past. It's a question of inventory versus cost of acquisition multiplied by sales. The retailers have the choice of either not stocking a product or having to invest heavily in order to be able to order certain products. All distributors demand a minimum order. If you want to stock Rapalas or certain fishing lines.....you have to invest a lot. If you want to order expensive premium lines from overseas you have to pay a lot for stuff that only a few will want.

You should all do some internet searching for topics like "abrasion tests", "strength tests", "elongation tests", "knot test for different fishing lines", "visibility tests" etc. Do not accept any tests done by the manufacturers or anyone associated with their products.....they are very biased. There are independant test results on the internet. You are all going to be very very surprised. And then quite angry by the fact that the good stuff is hard to get. However, Europeans and Asians have access to the good stuff. You will also find out that there are only a couple of companies that make monofilament and even fewer companies who make "dyneema" or "spectra" which are the same thing. You will even find out that there are 3 types of Tuff Line. The best one is the hardest to get. You will also find out that braided line also comes in 18 lb and 35 lb and premium mono is available in 1 lb and 3 lb and 5 lb test.

Sorry....I have no photo right now but I can get you one for tomorrow night. I use the original motor mount that comes with the Sportspal canoe. I'm very sure you can buy one anywhere Sportspals are sold. It's clamped in place with and tightened with wing nuts. You will find that a 30 lb thrust electric motor is too fast for trolling....even at the lowest speed setting. My 9 lb thrust was a bit too fast too. I sold it for 50 bucks and bought a new 32 lb thrust motor for 60 bucks. I regret selling the old 9 lb thrust but the 32 lb thrust is perfect for my 12 foot aluminum boat. Yes, the 11 foot Sportspal has very limited space so you really have to skimp on what equipement you want to take aboard.....especially with a partner. Here where I live, there are very few large bodies of water....it's all small lakes and ponds and 99% of the fishing is for brook trout. Everybody up here has a canoe. I never see any 11 foot Sportspals anymore. The 14 foot (actually less than 14 feet) weighs about 10 lbs more. When I bought my Sportspal, the square back version had not yet been invented but I don't regret it. The square back version is a bit shorter and heavier and you still have the motor directly behind you. I remember that for the first few years, Sportspal canoes in my region were rare. People's eyes really popped out when they saw me lift the canoe directly off the ground and walk with the canoe with upraised arms. For portaging the 11 foot Sportspal, there is a way to cross the oars so they act as a yoke that fits on your shoulders. I even remember that each of the oars had a small hole so that they could be bolted together while they are fitted tight inside the canoe when portaging. I used to do a lot of portaging but not as much these last few years.....I'm 62. But 10 years ago, it was nothing for me to portage for 8 to 10 hours to get to some remote lakes and spend the night camping and then coming back out the next day. I could carry everything I needed and not have to go back and forth carrying equipement overland. However, there was no question of me bringing back any added weight.....like fish. I used 2 paddles tied lengthwise inside the canoe to form a yoke. The rod cases could be tied inside the canoe and bulky items like extra clothes and sleeping bag could be stuffed into the compartments at each end of the canoe. The Sportspal canoe is a Canadian invention. I remember my dad buying an 11 foot Sportspal when I was a kid. He paid 119 dollars for it. I think that the 14 foot model did not exist then. It had a darker bark colour and I think that the aluminum was 1 piece....therefore no leaks. I'm pretty sure there was no keel either. Not much fun to paddle alone and that's why there were oars. You pushed forward when using the oars.

Thanks for the response. Cocaine!!.....not a bad idea but I don't know any users. From what I have read, no one has lost a rod. I won my rod holder (along with a bunch of other stuff) in a contest. I used to always hold my rod when trolling and I still do like to give extra action to my lures when trolling even though trolling is not my favourite technique. But now that I can just sit, control the electric motor, munch snacks and smoke....trolling is a bit nicer now. I think that I will just remove the plastic crossbar so the rod will sit deeper in the holder. If I ever do end up trolling a lot, I will buy a rod holder that locks the rod in place.

I hate fluorcarbon. I've tried it and hate it. Look at all the abrasion and strength tests and you will see that fluorocarbon is junk. There are even test to see if it's less visible than mono and it even fails at that. I use mono when jigging for walleye. For shallow water jigging and small jigs, I use 4 to 6 lb mono. For deep water jigging (over 30 feet), I use 4 and 6 lb Fireline. When fishing for pike, I use 20 to 40 lb braid....usually Mason Tiger Braid or Tuff Line (not the Tuff Line XP or the Tuff Line Plus but the stuff that is hard to find.....just Tuff Line). I make my own wire leaders of extra fine 49 to 54 strand braided steel wire that I buy from a buddy in Europe. It's very expensive but is flexible enough to tie knots in it and the 12 lb stuff is finer than 4 lb mono. I often use it when trolling for walleyes because it prevents losing an expensive lure due to a pike attack.

Lifetime warranty....you pay for that and you don't need it. I've been fishing for over a half century and I have broken 2 rods on fish during all of this time. One rod was an ancient hollow fiberglass rod that I broke when I was about 17 years old and the other was last year at age 61 when I broke a 15 dollar IM7 graphite rod that I bought at Walmart on liquidation. The rod was a "Renegade" and I had been using it heavily for about 7 years. I also loaned it to a guy who had never fished before. I have a feeling that he knocked it pretty hard on the side of my boat because it snapped real easy on a small pike. As for the warranty issue, I have had 2 rods replaced by Berkley and these rods did not have an unlimited warranty. The first rod was an old hollow fiberglass rod (Curt Gowdy Signature rod) and I broke it when trying to twist it. Berkley sent me a new rod and after 3 years, I sent it back and told them that the rod was no good. They then sent me their new model called "Lightning Rod". Yes...it was 1984. I still have that rod but I broke it when I rolled my snowmobile. It is now a short ice fishing rod. The other rod they replaced was a Series One steelhead rod that I bought at a flea market. When I got home, I saw that the tip was cracked lengthwise. I sent the tip to Berkley and asked to buy a new one. They sent back the tip and a whole new rod for free. Now I've got 2 Series One steelhead baitcasting rods. One is 8 1/2 feet long and the other is about 6 inches shorter and therefore a bit stiffer...lol. I don't buy rods because they have a lifetime garantee. I buy a rod according to my exact needs and budget. And since I have been fishing a long time, I can feel almost right away at the store if the rod will be ok or not.

Not for me either. My worst fishing days seem to always coincide to when there is a full moon. And another thing, after sundown, I have caught close to "zero" fish in over 60 years of fishing. Ok, fishing for catfish is another thing but for trout, landlocked salmon, walleye and pike....fishing when it's dark has not been good to me. Ok, I have caught lots of bass when fishing at night but where I live, there are no bass. I haven't been bass fishing in close to 30 years. I sure miss it too. I have caught a few pike after sundown and I have had walleye bump into me when I was wading and I have caught a couple of brook trout when fishing with a small float but other than that.....I prefer waiting until daylight. It's not that I don't try. I always get off the water when it's pitch black but after the sun has passed the horizon, I should profit from the last bit of light to pack up and go home.