Dabluz

Drying off the floating transducer is a good idea. As soon as the bottom of the transducer is dry, the battery is not being drained.

In my area, the limit is 6 walleye. No slot limits.....which is a shame. If I can catch my limit, I will keep it. However, I do release the walleye that are over 20 inches long. If I have some walleye filets in my freezer, I tend to release most of what I catch and keep a small one for lunch when I'm camping. As for giving away fish, I don't do that very often unless it's for someone really special. Last year my sister in law was dying of cancer and I gave her some fresh walleye filets. I also give a few filets to my mother-in-law so she can eat fresh walleye (about 2 times during the season). As for the rest of the gang, they can just go fishing if they want walleye. It's hard to answer the poll due to the fact that my "keep rate" varies.

About 2 nights ago, I was loading my buddy's new Fuego baitcaster that he got for Christmas at "Le Baron" by mail order. I noticed that there was a missing screw in the side plate. He thought it was normal to have a hole there but you can see that there are threads in the hole. "Le Baron" are notorious for selling their demo items by mail order and then replacing the demo item with a new item. Now, we'll wait and see what kind of service they give.

Gouin Reservoir....lots of walleyes but small in size. Slot limits are unheard of here in Quebec. Most of the time, I hear "put back the small fish and keep the big fish". I guess that someday, someone is going to wake up. However, you can have a lot of fun renting a house boat. If you want large walleyes, go to Ontario where there are slot limits. You can eat walleye until you burst and have fun catching and releasing large walleyes.

Your rep has distorted the facts a bit. Yes the colour of red disappears quite quickly in the water column. It just turns "black". The object no longer reflects red. It gets darker and darker as it sinks deeper until it turns "black". Red mono does the same thing.

Here in Quebec, a large portion of the population eat their french fries with mayonnaise or Kraft salad dressing. Almost all hot dogs are fried and not "steamed". To fry the hot dogs, they are split open before placing them on the grill. The hot dog buns are also heated up and flattened on the grill. Actually there are 2 types of hot dog buns. One for steamed hot dogs and the other for fried hot dogs. I had a fast food restaurant for a while and the american tourists just raved at how good the fried hot dogs were. The usual added ingredients are cheddar cheeze, ketchup, fine chopped cabbage, fine chopped onion, relish, mustard or any combination of these ingredients. Then the hot dog is slipped into a wax paper wrapping and french fries are added to the package before it is closed. Yes, the vinegar and mayonnaise, plus a big tooth pick is nearby to complete the presentation.

The main trick is to keep your equipment light....meaning, fine line, small hooks, very little weight. Start off real early in the morning close to shore in about 10 feet of water. I've caught big brookies in 2 feet of water. If no fish, then go out further from shore. Sometimes, you can find brook trout in 50 feet of water, especially in lakes that have a population of smelt. We are not allowed to use minnows where I live, so I use night crawlers. I usually fish with 4 lb test clear mono. Not the fluorescent mono but "clear". If fishing in less than 20 feet of water, I use no lead weight. It takes about a minute for the bait to settle to the bottom and then I raise it up no more than 4 inches off the bottom. Then I slowly raise the bait and let it settle back down. Some good places to look for brook trout are usually on the north side of the lake where there is more heat from the sun. If there are large rock faces or large rocks on shore, fish in front of them. These rocks heat up during the day and transmit the heat to the bottom of the lake. This increased heat activates insect activity. In a lake, trout roam parallel to the shore so you can cut a series of holes leading out from shore and then you move from one hole to another. Don't fish very long at each hole. If there is a trout, it will bite right away. When using minnows, I prefer a small single hook embedded just behind the minnow's dorsal fin. Keep the bail on your reel open and let the trout run with the bait. When it stops running, it will swallow the bait. The reason it is running is that there are other trout nearby trying to steal the bait. If the trout do not run, then there are no other trout nearby. I sometimes use flutter spoons about 2 feet above my bait. Yes, the bait does sometimes get tangled but a flutter spoon can often attract trout from further away. Keep noise to a minimum. No snowmobiling. If it's a sunny day, do not let your shadow cross over your fishing hole as this will frighten brook trout. If you fish a lake for the first time.....look before you fish. Pick out the most noticeable aspects of the lake....rock faces, islands, outcroppings of rocks, small bays, inlets, outlets, narrows, points and visit these spots first. This is also good during the summer.

I live about 2 1/2 hours north of Quebec City. I often go brook trout fishing through the ice in May in the Monts Valin area just north of me. The altitude is about 3000 feet and the ice stays until June in most of the small lakes. It's usually only in the early morning when I can go fishing because by midday, there is a lot of slush on the lakes. I always take my snowmobile (longtrack) to get to these lakes. There are no trails to the lakes and during the summer, the lakes are very hard to reach. The ride out on the snowmobile during the midday can be tough. The snow may be deep in some places, it often caves in under the snowmobile. I bring along a hand operated winch. But, it's worth the trouble. The brook trout are numerous and large. It's also fun being able to stretch out on the snowmobile (shirtless) and get a tan while ice fishing. It can also be a bit dangerous. The ice near shore is quite thin and if I get off the lake too late, there can be open water that I have to scoot across on the snowmobile. During the night, it gets very cold and this open water freezes up.

Instead of the 10 or 12 lb P-Line, I would recommend a 10, 14 or 15 lb test braid. You will get more distance and have a stronger line. Most 20 lb test braids have a breaking strength of about 37 lbs. So, even a 10 lb braid is much stronger than the 12 lb test P-Line and be even a bit thinner and lighter. 10 lb braid is about the size of 6 lb mono. 20 lb braid is about the size of 12 lb mono. The thinnest braid is Tuf Line Plus....but it's very hard to find. It only comes in the colour white. Mason Tiger Braid is also very thin but due to it's construction, the outer braided layer often gets damaged when tying a knot. Otherwise, it's a great line. In the tests carried out with 20 lb test lines, Tuf Line came out on top of the braided lines. Tuf Line XP (the most common seen) has a coating on the fibers. So does Tuf Line Premium. But the Tuf Line Plus is pure spectra and very very supple. The thinnest and the strongest line is Fireline which is not a braid. 20 lb test Fireline tested out way over 40 lbs. After it has been used for a while, Fireline gets more supple and casts even better. However, it does fray after a while and you have to reverse the line on your reel.

I had 2 Mitchell 300's and most of the people I fished with had Mitchell 300's. I saw lots of broken bail springs. Also used (grooved) line guides too. I only saw one broken handle. But I often replaced the old style spring loaded handle....you remember the one that all you had to do was pull on it so that it would fold towards the spool and take up less space. Anyway, when fighting a strong fish, the handle would sometimes pop out of it's place and fold up. I replaced those handles with the screw type folding handles. I think that Mitchell was the only company who made a true left handed spinning reel. The line used to wind on in the opposite direction. Many parts were not interchangeable between the right handed and left handed reel. You left handed guys using spinning reels today have no idea how nice it is to use a real left handed spinning reel. Imagine wanting to pull on your bait or lure without closing the bail. All you have to do is stick out your left forefinger and lift the tip of your rod....the line hooks on to your finger right away. When it's time to open the bail, the bail opens from the right side. If you want to add a bit of extra braking power, all you have to do is place your left forefinger against the edge of the spool. Do you remember when Berkley even sold preloaded spools that would fit on an adapter on the reel?

I don't see the reason for getting a power handle for a reel that already has a handle. I always pump my rod and reel in the slack. A power handle will just mean that I will reel in at a slower rate due to the increased circumference of the reeling action. Maybe a power handle for retrieving crankbaits with a reel having a very high speed gear ratio would sound reasonable. But then, you no longer have a very high speed gear ratio if your hand must turn a longer circumference for every turn of the handle. Why not a smaller handle? This way, a person could really whip in line when he lowers his rod tip after every pump of the rod.

I'm thinking of buying a line counter that I can attach to my fishing rod. Has anyone tried them? What are your opinions about them? Which is the best clip on line counter?

Early season brook trout fishing in lakes. Start out fishing on the north shore of the lake. This area gets more sunlight and warms up faster. Fish over black or dark bottom. This stuff is full of insects that have been waiting to hatch all winter. Large rock faces or large boulders in this area also accumulate a lot of heat and transmit it to the bottom of the lake thus increasing insect activity. If you are fly fishing, the best fishing starts quite late in the morning. Keep your flies small. Size 18 to 14 dark grey emerging or dry flies work best. If you want to use nymphs, use large ones because there are lots of large swimming nymphs like dragon fly nymphs at this time of the year. Anything large (size 4 to 8) that is ugly, dark coloured, bushy works good. These things resemble all sorts of large insects and even small crayfish. Use a floating line and a leader just long enough to reach bottom. Then twitch the nymph on or close to the bottom. I like to use 2 to 4 lb test good quality mono on a small spinning reel, a number 10 or 8 Gamakatsu Octopus (black) hook baited with the head of a large nightcrawler. Put nothing else on the line. Not even a swivel. Cast it out and let sink to bottom while letting out line. You will see the line going out till the bait reaches bottom. Then, tighten up the line and lift the rod tip about a foot to lift the bait off the bottom then lower the rod tip. Recuperate the foot of line on the reel and repeat. Don't worry, you wont snag on bottom if there is nothing else on the line. If you see some new weed growth sticking out near shore and there is a dark bottom, this is a great place to fish. Fish at the mouths of small streams. Often, these streams have warmer water than what is in the lake. Also, many insects are swept into the lake. Noise, most definitly scares brook trout. If you want to use a motor, use an electric motor, otherwise paddle your canoe and keep the noise on the bottom of the canoe to a minimum.

I'm a lousy driver. I haven't had any accidents. I manage by just avoiding accidents and being thankful that others manage to avoid me when I do something wrong.

There are lots of them in the Walmart store in Chicoutimi Quebec too.

Line size ....... depends on what size fish you are targetting. An all around nice line would be 10 lb test Fireline. You can add a small swivel to the end of the Fireline and use a fluorocarbon leader. Hook size ..... you will be surprised at how small a hook you can use. When using a small minnow (2 to 3 inches long), I mostly use size 8 hooks. Get the best hooks you can find. Lightly hook the minnow just behind it's dorsal fin. When the fish bites, let it take out line if it makes a run because when it's swimming fast, it is not swallowing the bait. At the end of the run, it will swallow the bait (usually head first) and then slowly start slowly swimming away. This is when you strike the fish. For pike, I also like to add a trailer hook. Therefore, I hook the minnow (usually a large minnow) through the lips with the single hook and then stick the small treble hook near the tail. I wait for the pike to swim away from the hole before striking. This way, either one or both of the hooks will catch in the corner of it's mouth. Pike will often hold on to a bait for a long time before swallowing it and other times, they swallow it quick. In any event, it's best to wait for them to start swimming away before setting the hook. It's been many years since I have used live minnows because in my region, using minnows (dead or alive) is illegal. However, in some places during the winter, we are allowed to use frozen smelt.

Brook trout fishing through the ice is my specialty because where I live, the lakes are frozen until mid june and close to 95% of the waters in my area only have brook trout. First, use the thinnest mono you can handle. I alway use 2 to 4 lb test mono. The best so far has been 3 lb test Tectan Premium. With 2 and 3 lb test mono, I use only a very small high quality eyeless no 10 VMC hook and expose the hook point for a good hookset. Nothing else on the line. I use the front half of a nightcrawler. The rest of the night crawler....I cut into small peices and throw them in the hole. If there are minnows in the lake, I often use a small "flutter spoon" like a Sutton 44 and I slowly jig the spoon using 4 lb test mono. The baited hook is on about an 18 to 24 inch 3 lb test leader below the spoon. Don't jig it to vigorously because you will get a tangle. Put a tiny split shot about 4 or 6 inches above the baited hook. As for fishing depth.....that is a good question. In some of the lakes I fish, there are smelt in the lake. The trout are almost always at 40 to 60 feet deep. However, they do come into very shallow water under the ice too. Sometimes there is only about 12 inches of water under the ice. However, start out close to shore early in the morning and cut a series of holes going out into deeper water. It is safe to say that anywhere from 10 to 15 of water is an average depth for most situations. There is very little food for trout in water over 20 feet deep except when there are smelt. Noise turns the fish off. Do not cast your shadow over the open hole. Fish near the mouths of creeks and rivers. Never hesitate to cut some holes close to large rock faces exposed to the sun. Rocks heat up and conduct the heat into the water and the insect life is more active. Fishing around rocky islands close to deep water is also very good. If you want to use a sonar. Turn it off....it scares brook trout. You don't need it when you are fishing anyway unless you like to look at a straight line on your screen all day. Chum the hole with bits of worm every now and then. Change your bait every 30 minutes. A fresh worm does wonders. Change your bait after every bite or fish. Move your bait to attract fish from further away. Cut as many holes as you can and move from one hole to another. Usually, trout will bite almost immediately. Use a very fast action rod. Soft rods do not set the hook well enough. Brook trout have a hard mouth. Brook trout are often quite small and what happens is that with a soft rod, the trout's small initial inertia makes them harder to hook.....it's easier to hook a sunken log that a floating leaf. If you are allowed to use more than one rod, you can use tip ups but one handheld rod will outfish 5 tip ups anyday. There have been some other good suggestions stated in the previous responses so it's good to experiment with lots of different techniques. Have a good selection of lures, hooks, weights, line on hand.

One day, I was adjusting the chain and spring assembly on the back door. A strong gust of wind opened the door and the chain broke. The free end of the chain whipped my left eye. I went to the doctor and he told me that the clear covering on my eye had been sliced open. I had to wear an eye patch for a while. It healed up 100%. As for punches in the eye.....yeah....lots of them....I gave and got many. I played a lot of hockey and other than the fights, there were also extra stuff like elbows, sticks (but no pucks). Then there were things like snowballs, baseballs, branches and I think even a bare "boob" (maybe not....that would have been something to remember).

If it came fully loaded "like in the photo" you got a great deal. ATVs don't depréciate much. The 450 Foreman is about the best there is. The only thing I don't like about the Foreman is the fact that you have to put it in neutral before putting it in reverse. It slows down tasks like plowing snow.

You've got a great ATV. I've got an 88 Yamaha Big Bear. As to which is the best ATV, that's impossible to answer. It's like asking which is the best car or pickup. I suggest you buy a Clymers or Haynes Honda ATV manual at Canadian Tire. It will only cost about 10 bucks but you will be able to do a lot of your own maintenance. I know nothing about bikes or ATVs but I have taken apart and rebuilt 2 bikes (78 Honda CB400T and 83 Yamaha Virago 920cc) and my ATV just by using the manuals.

For hard water fishing, I also stay away from wearing gloves or mitts when I'm holding my fishing rod. When it gets around -10 or colder, I will wear thin wool gloves. If the bite is very slow, I set my rod on my plastic pail and watch the rod tip while my hands are in the pockets of my parka. There is no magic formula. All depends on temperature, wind, type of fishing equipment used, etc, etc. However, the big thing is to have 3 or 4 different pairs of gloves and mitts to cover any situation and lots of hand towels to keep the hands dry. I have a bit of N.American Indian in my blood. That means that I have a few more fine blood vessels close to the surface of my skin. This has kept my hands warmer than the average fisherman over the years. But a few years ago, I found that even after fishing on some cold days of summer, during the drive home, my hands would start to itch like mad when they got warmed up in my vehicule. I found out a bit later that I am diabetic. This means that I was experiencing the first symptomes of loss of blood circulation. I'm taking pills now and my blood sugar levels are great. I have no numbness in my hands or feet but I do realize that I am not as immune from the cold as I used to be. It now takes only a matter of minutes for my hands to get cold and they tend to stay cold for a longer period before warming up again. Same goes for my feet. For any of you guys who have athletes foot, jock itch, slight numbness and easily get cold feet or hands, I recommend a check up to see if they have a bit of a problem with blood sugar levels in their blood. Since being on medication, all of those symptomes have disappeared.

I've been using the uni-to-uni knot for the past few years and it has bee superior to the blood knot. The perfection loop is a good knot to learn but it is quite weak. The dropper loop is about the handiest knot a fisherman can use but it does weaken the line a bit. For fly fishermen, the best and the strongest knot is the little known George Harvey Knot. It's way stronger than the turle knot, way easier to tie and it's even smaller than the turle knot. However, when you want to retie your fly, you have to use nail clippers to free the knot from the fly. You can find the George Harvey knot on the internet. For the past 10 years or so, I have been using eyeless bait hooks that I buy in Europe. VMC makes a great hook. They are incredibly sharp, fine and light yet stiff and strong....but expensive. There are a variety of snell knots that work equally well with these hooks.

I prefer the egg shaped lead weights with a hole through the middle. The line does not get wrapped around the sinker an it slips through the sinker easier. After I have cast my line, I leave the bail open on my reel and tuck the line coming from the spool under an elastic band that is wrapped around the handle of my rod. This way, there is enough resistance for me to see the rod tip move when a fish bites yet the line is easily freed from the elastic band when the fish moves away with the bait. When there is no current, just inflating my worm with a very fine hypodermic needle (the ones diabetics use) is enough to keep the bait off bottom. When there is current, I add a small homemade ball of cork with a hole through it. The line is held in place in the cork with a toothpick. My next trick will be to use a real cheap floating lure to keep the bait off bottom. One of those cheap floating lures that you can find at a dollar store. This may act as an attractant to the bait. I will just slip the line through the eye of the lure and jam the line in place with a toothpick.

It's below freezing here in my area at this time of the year. I still do a lot of shore fishing for brook trout in the Saguenay River. Staying warm and dry takes first place on the menu. Even for sitting down, you don't last very long sitting on a big boulder. So far, I have been doing pretty good with neoprene gloves and big mitts that the guys who work for mining companies wear in the far north. I bring along a pair of wool gloves and fingerless wool gloves too. I also bring along a few small dry thick cotton towels to dry my hands. I don't care if I may look a bit wierd but I wear a full snow suit and -74 C snow boots too. No such thing as being too warm when the temperature is on the average of -3 during the day and the constant 10 to 30 mph wind.

There was a while there where I was eating lots of smoked trout and salmon. I was even smoking the trout and salmon sold in grocery stores....you know the inexpensive stuff at about 1.50 a lb. I was letting them soak for a long time in fancy brine mixtures and smoking them a long time in the smoker. Too much of that heavily smoked fish is hard on the stomach. Since I went to a more delicate smoke flavour, I really got to like it that way. Everybody who tastes my smoked trout and salmon really like it that way too.