Dabluz

You can get a 32 lb thrust electric motor for about 60 dollars if it is on sale. The one I got was at Canadian Tire. Yes....a larger electric motor is recommended. With a large electric battery, when you go slow, you will consume the same amount of energy than a small electric motor. However, with a stronger motor, you will be able to move faster when there is current or high winds. Get a real deep cycle battery. If you cannot remove the caps on the battery to check the level of the liquid.....it is not a deep cycle battery.....no matter what is written on the damned thing. Real deep cycle batteries are very expensive (a good 300 dollars) but there are batteries out there that seem to do a good job in that departement. From what I have heard, Optima is a good battery. I have a Demon and have been using it for 2 years now and it is still in perfect condition. I almost lost it the first year by trying to use a Motomaster battery charger to charge it. Get the largest battery you can find. The higher the reserve capacity the better. Reserve capacity is marked in minutes. 200 minutes means that the battery can give you 50 amps for 200 minutes before going dead. A 30 lb thrust electric motor at full speed consumes about 30 amps. Calculate 1 amp per lb of thrust. Going at half throttle will consume about 1/2 of the energy but going full throttle will not make you go 2 times faster. So you rarely need to go full throttle except for emergency situations. Most battery chargers are not made to recharge deep cycle batteries. Right now, I am using a charger made by Schumacher that is sold at Walmart's. Very inexpensive and works marvelously so far. Get the 10 or 15 amp mmodel. Also get a hydrometer to check the specific gravity of the liquid in each cell and buy some distilled water to top off the cell. Top off the cells before charging but do not add too much water....it will increase the charging time. Do not discharge your battery. Even deep cycle batteries can get damaged from repeated discharges. If you want to use your battery for 2 days....use it sparingly the first day because the longer a weakened battery is left partially discharged, the more damage will occur. If you plan to do outings that last 2 days....buy 2 batteries. You will save in the long run. Do not expect your charger to recharge your battery as fast as you had consumed energy. Using a battery for 2 hours at 30 amps will take at least 10 or 12 hours to recharge. An intelligent battery charger varies it's output according to the charge state of the battery. Keep the battery super clean and dry because dirt and humidity will cause and electrical leakage between the terminals. An inflatable boat takes a bit more energy to operate because every slight wind makes it move a lot therefore the electric motor is needed more often. I do not believe the "maximiser theory". Everyone knows that it takes a certain amount of energy to move an object. I don't see how using less energy can make that object move just as well. Yes, some electric motors are better made and probably use electrical energy more efficiently.

I have a 14 foot aluminum boat with a 7.5 h.p. outboard. I rarely have to go for more than 20 minutes to get to my fishing spots. I am quite happy with my tiller style outfit. I don't like to troll. I fish most of the time alone. Every time I fish with other groups of fishermen using tillers or console type boats, the guys using tillers catch many more fish than the guys using console type boats. Sure, there are guys who do catch a lot of fish with their console style boats but they are rare. If I did most of my fishing by trolling and using downriggers on big water where I have to travel longer distances, I would most definately buy a console type boat but other than those conditions, I would use a tiller. If it's only a question of being out of the wind or battling rain in your face with a tiller, there is always a way to modify your tiller type boat and install a windshield and even an overhang to keep the rain off your head.

There are lots of good fillet knives other than Rapalas. I use just about any knife for filleting brook trout to cod. I often use a Henckels butcher knife and it does fine. Yes, I still have 2 different sized Rapalas but the smaller one that I use on brook trout is getting quite thin from being sharpened so often over the past 25 years. My next buy will be something a bit better.....probably a Henckel's.

Cabela's has stuff but ships via UPS to Canada which doubles the price of goods. Nobody in his right mind in Canada will order from Cabela's.

This happens all the time with Canadian Tire. Last week, I wanted a life vest that was on sale. They did not have it in the Chicoutimi store yet it said they had one in the inventory. I called the store a few days later and talked with the manager and told him that they should have stock on hand when there are sales. He then told me that the stores sells only about 4 of the expensive type inflateable flotation devices per year. I said that this is normal because I have only seen the cheaper 120 dollar one since the beginning of the year and that they should have them on display in the spring when fishermen are shopping instead of mid-summer when the weekend fishermen are out buying cheap stuff for a few days of fishing. Right now, even the choices in coolers is limited. I live in the middle of the best brook trout fishing in the world and I have to drive 2 1/2 hours to Quebec city to get decent hooks, Panther Martins, 4 lb test line etc etc. Only a couple of independantly owned boutiques sell decent small spinning reels for trout fishing. Nobody sells premium quality fishing line. Sure I can get Power Pro, Fireline, Berkley XL and XT but if I want premium quality line, I have to order some from Europe. So I order my hooks from there too. Of course, sales of premium quality items is close to zero....you can't sell what you don't have. Therefore, most fishermen accept second or third best.

Don't worry, you can depend on the drag of any decent reel. Rods are intended to catch any fish....so do lines, hooks etc. Ok....a larger fish takes more time to subdue when using light equipment. Yes....it's better to back off the drag a bit when the fish is close to the boat because of 4 things....the reduced shock absorption of the mono due to it's shorter length and also for the fact that the angle of the line in relation to the rod and reel increases the amount of pull that it takes to make the drag do it's job, fish close to the boat often make sudden moves, there are also common mishaps like the fish going under the boat, falling out of the landing net, line getting tangled with another person or object etc etc. I have also noticed that not many people pump the rod in order to bring the fish closer to the boat. By pumping the rod you can actually reduce the drag on your reel yet still apply the same amount of pressure on the fish. There is not much difference but the difference can be very easily noticed when fighting a fish. With the reduced drag, you don't have to reduce it still more when the fish is close to the boat. A good drag is important to me. I use very light line and have been using light line for over 40 years. I never use mono over 6 lbs test. Most of my fishing is with 2 to 4 lb test mono because the technique that I use requires me to be able to make long casts with hardly any weight on the end of my line.

Canadain Tire does not sell battery chargers for real deep cycle batteries. Just ask at the desk and they will tell you this. Yes, their chargers will recharge car batteries and even nautical batteries. However, the nautical batteries that Canadian Tire sells are a hybrid type batterie that is a cross between a starting battery and a deep cycle battery. For many years, I used an electric motor exclusively. I also went fishing very often. I also thought that I was doing a good job on recharging my batteries because when in the Air Force, I spent a while at the battery shop and recharged aircraft batteries. Real deep cycle batteries are usually not sealed. You can normally check the acid levels and specific gravity. You also have to use chargers that recharge deep cycle batteries. You can find battery chargers for deep cycle batteries at Walmart. They are made by a company called Schumacher. They are surprisingly inexpensive and work marvelouosly. They also give you the voltage of the battery very accurately and also the percentage of the charge. You can also leave the charger running because they will go into a trickle charge mode that keeps the battery topped up without damaging it. I bought the 15 amp one that recharges small, medium and large deep cycle batteries without overcharging them.

I like the yellow ones.

Yeah....but what will happen during a thunderstorm!!!!!

I use a transom mount electric for my canoe and 14 foot aluminum. If there is no wind, it works fine but I would prefer a bowmount with foot controls because even slight winds make the bow of the boat move from one side to the other so I spend more time controlling the boat than fishing. Yes....a bowmount is more expensive but they allow you to constantly fish. On top of that, it's a hassle to have a gas motor and electric motor both mounted on the transom. Either the props can come in contact with one another or the steering handles come in contact with the motors.

With a spinning rod, I like to use the largest curly tail I can find and stick it on a 5/0 hook. I also cut 2 grooves in the curly tail....one on top and one on the bottom.....so that the point of the large hook will be more easily exposed during the strike. I hide the hook point inside the top groove in the curly tail. The bottom groove is made so that the shank of the hook will easily sink into the cury tail. As you can see, the 2 grooves are not exactly opposite one another. The bottom groove is a bit closer to the head of the curly tail. It's an inexpensive lure and will not hang up on anything. I've caught many pike using this cheap set-up. Best colours have been either white or yellow. Actually, I have never tried any other colours so maybe orange or red would be good too.

For casting crank baits over 1/4 ounce, I only use baitcasters because when using a spinning outfit, the line gets tangled in the hooks about 30% to 50% of the time. When using a baitcaster, the lure rarely tumbles when travelling through the air like it does with a spinning rod. When the lure travels like an arrow, that also greatly increases casting distance. Yes, I use different rods when casting different lure weights. For the very light lures (around 1/4 ounce), I use a pistol grip style baitcaster....a 6 foot Berkley Lighting rod. My baitcasters are loaded with braid in 18 to 35 lb test. For lures under 1/4 ounce, I use a spinning outfit and 4 or 6 lb test clear mono. I have no favourite crankbait, they all cast well. Here in my region of Quebec, the minnows are rather long and slim so my crankbaits are the same.....Husky Jerk, Smithwick Rogue, Cotton Cordell, Ripplin' Redfin, Canadian Wiggler, Rapala Shad Rap, Rapala X-Rap etc etc.

I agree almost 100% except for one point.....fluorocarbon. The invisibility has not been proven and using heavier fluorocarbon does affect lure action a lot. On top of that, I have been very disappointed in the knot strength of fluorocarbon. It's either hardened mono or tieable steel or titanium for me. I haven't tried kevlar yet. For bait fishing or when using inexpensive lures like big plastic baits on large pike hooks, I stick to hard mono like Berkley XT and not care if a pike bites me off. I found that the pike that do bite me off are usually the smaller pike anyway.

Actually, you use a perfection loop at the end of the short piece starting at the nail knot and you have another perfection loop at the start of the leader. The loop to loop connection allows you to change leaders according to the size of the fly and wind conditions. Under slight wind or calm conditions when using a size 20 fly or smaller, I often use leaders up to 18 feet long and a tippet strength of 3/4 to 1 lb test. It's great for those real big brook trout who wander around near the middle of the lake sipping tiny flies late in the summer. It's mostly a matter of spotting one feeding, paddling out in a canoe without making the slightest noise and casting delicately in front of the fish. I use the Ritz method of making my fly leaders.

I would trim back the fly line about 6 inches and make a new nail knot with a very short section of 20 lb test mono and add a perfection loop about 2 or 3 inches from the end of the fly line. It's evident that the outer coating on the fly line is cracked and water is soaking into the core of the fly line. I also grease the end of my floating fly lines with a silicone grease.....the stuff that you use to waterproof leather boots. When fishing with very long fine leaders and tiny dry flies, I even grease the leader except the last 20 inches or so.

I use very light line (2 to 6 lb test) so my hook set is about a 2 out of 10. When using braided or fused line, my hook set is more of a sweep because I know that a hard sudden shock will break those non-stretch lines very easily. I have never found that bass were hard to hook. I find that walleye are a lot harder to hook. Many of my walleye throw their hooks when in the net but I rarely lose any walleyes before getting them in the landing net. However, bass do tend to open their mouths when fighthing. Walleye keep their mouths closed tight until they get in the net. The easiest fish to hook are brook trout. They never open their mouths....I often have to pry their mouths open in order to get at the hook. I have to add that I use very fast action rods.

If you want your fly to sink a bit faster, you can use a fluorocarbon leader. To fish nymphs like wooly buggers, you cast but you keep the rod pointed to where the leader or line has entered the water. When the fish picks up the fly, it will hook itself. Using a floating line for river fishing is great because you can vary the length of the leader according to the depth of the water.

I also say it's an Atlantic salmon. Here where I live, we catch a lot of landlocked Atlantic salmon and they ressemble the one in the photo.....when caught in a river system. Out on a large lake, they are silver coloured.

If you are going into bear country, bring along someone who can't run very fast and spare underwear for yourself.

There are many rods that would do a great job. I would go more with a 7 foot medium weight extra fast action rod. As for the reel, you don't have to spend all that much money. A Stradic is over kill in my opinion. A Symetre is just as good. Expensive spinning reels don't cast further or give you better hook ups or better drags than other reels costing between 70 and 125 dollars. Yes....more expensive reels may be a bit smoother to operate but when reeling in only 15 to 30 feet of line when vertical jigging, the difference in smoothness is not noticeable.

I just did some repairs on mine today. It's close to 35 years old and the seams were starting to crack and leak. I brushed the seams with a brass brush on my drill and then slapped on some LP glue advanced premium. I will be using the canoe early Friday morning (trout opener in my region). I'm also thinking of installing a yoke and the new type of seats instead of using the foam seats. However, I have modified my foan seats so that they are twice as high as they were by adding an extra foam seat under the one I am using now. This way, I still have the back rest yet I can sit higher. As for the yoke, I always bring along 2 paddles so when I do any portaging, I tie them into a "V" and add some foam where the yoke sits on my shoulders. I got rid of the sponsoons long ago and I doubt I will install new ones. I have a trick for those who like to lay their rod across the canoe when still fishing. I add foam rubber tape on the gunwales to protect the rod. It also prevents the rod from sliding when there is any wind.

Tackle bag and waterproof....does not exist. A tackle bag is made for easy access to tackle. This means that it is not sealed. You can just put your tackle bag in a plastic bag if you want it to be waterproof. I have no doubts that a bag like the one at Cabela's is about as waterproof as you can get because I have a similar one and everything stays nice and dry inside the bag. When I close the zipper, it's hard to deflate the bag so it's about as air and water tight as anything I've used so far. There are seal-able pockets in the sack for important papers and small items like a camera. As for fishing tackle, it's made to go in the water and whatever is inside the trays will stay dry if you don't leave the lids open. Now....if you want to go canoeing and you need to carry stuff that needs to stay dry, there are lots of options but don't look for them in the tackle bag department. There are household containers that are air-tight. Maybe a cooler could do the job for you. The 5 gallon plastic paint bucket with plastic cover is another good inexpensive solution.

In my region, walleye opener is a the end of May. I (and a bunch of others) will be fishing a bit upstream in one of the rivers that flows into the Lac St-Jean. Water depth is from 10 to 1 feet. Many use bottom bouncers with a crawler harness but I prefer using 1/4 ounce jigs baited with nightcrawler. I've tried plastics and they just don't work for the walleye in my region. If I do any trolling in the river where I go, I catch landlocked salmon and a few walleyes. For trolling, it's any good minnow bait that does not go very deep or even large streamers on fly rod equipment. The landlocks are in the fast flowing parts of the river where there is a maximum of 5 feet of water. The walleye also frequent this part and their numbers increase as night starts to fall.

Do not buy automotive type fiberglass. Yes....canoes are made from that cheap stuff but they have to be painted with an epoxy paint to make sure that the fiberglass does not come in contact with water because polyester resin does absorb water. It is not made for constant immersion in water. Buy epoxy resin. On top of that, with epoxy resin, you have more time to work with the stuff because it takes about 30 minutes for this stuff to get hard. Epoxy resin has no trouble sticking to polyester resin and is much stronger. Depending on the tear, if there is a hole or not, the width of the tear I would use a thicker cloth. If it's just a crack, a very thin cloth will do fine. You could use a thicker cloth for the inside of the canoe and a very thin cloth on the exterior in order to get a nicer appearance. Epoxy resin is expensive but from what I can see, you won't need very much.

You should just pick your own. I fish for brook trout all the time and I use the biggest juiciest nightcrawlers I can find. I only use the front part of the worm. The part with the head. I just thread my hook through the worm, starting at the point where it was cut and then expose the point of the hook about 2/3 of the part that was cut and let the tip of the worm move about freely. The worm is pushed up over the knot on the Gamakatsu hook and it looks like a leach.....nice and straight. It's way better than bunching up a small worm on the hook. If I don't get a bite within 30 minutes (which is very rare), I change the worm for a fresh one. When anchored, I cut up the tail end of the worm into 3 or 4 pieces and throw them in the water around my boat or canoe. It doesn't take long for trout to crowd around me.