Dabluz

300 dollars for gas for the 7.5 ??? Wow....I think I filled my gas can about 4 times last year and I went fishing 3 or 4 times per week. My longest run is about 15 minutes.

Yes....it does help to buy from small independent owners. Yes they buy their gas from Shell etc but they have the option of buying from the one who sells their gas at the lowest price so in effect, the independents make the big companies compete one against the other for his business. Independent owners do not have the fancy gas stations because they do not have the big companies who want exclusivity by offering to modernize the gas stations owned by the independents. Yes....it would hurt the big companies to boycott all the gas stations that are not run by independent owners. Yes, it would hurt those who lease the big name stations but that's how business works. Here in my region, there are a lot of independent owners. The gas prices are much lower than in Montreal or Quebec city. The big companies will even lower the prices at their tanks in an area in order to force the independent owners into bankruptcy. Here is where the apathy comes in. Not enough people actually care about how much they pay at a gas station. For them, it's all the same everywhere.

Yep....most definitely go with the very light clear mono, size 6 Gamakatsu Octopus hook and the head of a large night crawler and nothing else. If you do add a split shot, put it on at least 24 inches above the hook. It's got to go deep and slow. Panther Martins are my favourite brook trout lures. They are the first things I use. Small minnow imitations also work good but they also have to go deep so use sinking models.

I have an Olympus. The picture quality is disappointing. Also, lots of pictures are yellowish. Another thing, my camera uses XD cards which are harder to find and are more expensive. However, the camera is well protected from the elements and takes quite a bit of abuse. My daughter was given a Canon and even though it is an expensive model, the picture quality is great.

I used to work in an area called a ZEC here in Quebec. There were quite a few dumps in the beginning. All were the work of cottage owners who did not want to haul their junk to town. Some of these dumps got quite large even though the oldest cottages dated from only about the 1950's. When I first arrived in the region I'm living in right now (1968), people from the region who went hunting or fishing with me found it strange that I picked up any garbage I found in the bush. Ok, I did not pick up anything made of metal or ordinary paper but I did pick up plastic and glass bottles....as much as I could carry back to the vehicle. Yes....people litter less than before. It's mostly the younger crowd that litter less often. I don't mean those that are under 20 years old because they leave lots of junk when they party in some secluded spot but those that are in their early 20's to 40's. Once, I was very disappointed when I went fishing for a weekend with a group of fishermen from a fishing forum. Before they left, they threw their garbage in a pile and put it on fire. I was the last to leave so I put out the fire and put everything in plastic bags and put it in the garbage when I got home. I would have thought that at least this group would be more aware of littering but I got a good lesson there. Everyone in the group were from a big city. Now, I set the rules straight when we get to the campsite....no burning of garbage. If it can be hauled in, it can be hauled out.

I also believe that nature cannot be owned. That large plot of once public land was for many years protected by the public with public funds. This means that everyone participated in the management of this land. It was not given away to anyone. It may have been leased to lumber companies at one time, mining companies have surely surveyed this area, trappers have most certainly trapped at one time in this area. Natives hunted this land to provide food. Canadians protected this land from invaders. Hunters and fishermen demanded laws to protect the animals that inhabit this land. Now....all of a sudden....it belongs to one person. It's his personal paradise now. That is not right. If it had not been protected....it would not be a paradise....it would be a wasteland or a garbage dump for some big city. I don't mind someone owning the land but the public still has a certain right to continue to enjoy this land and most certainly to enjoy the part of this plot of land that is public. I've seen many lakes in my area become encircled by private land. Only the land owners can now enjoy these lakes now. It's getting to a point where even huge bodies of water like the Great Lakes, the St-Lawrence Seaway, our ocean coasts are becoming less and less accessible to the public.

Good places to look for fallen antlers is where the deer bed down for the night. This means real heavy cover where the deer spends a lot of his time.

Make sure that your battery charger can recharge deep cycle batteries. If not, your batterie will lose power over and will last maybe 1 year. Canadian Tire and Sears, do not sell battery chargers that will fully recharge a deep cycle battery. Ok, Canadian Tire seems to sell one but it is quite expensive. I had to buy a Schumacher recharger at Walmart to be able to recharge my deep cycle battery. Yes...a real deep cycle battery...with the caps that come off so that I can top up the liquid in each cell. The good part is the fact that the Schumacher battery chargers are quite inexpensive. Next part is to find out how many minutes of reserve your battery has. If it's 200 minutes of reserve, this means that it can give you 50 amps for about 200 minutes. A 50 lb thrust electric motor at full speed consumes about 50 amps. I don't believe the hype about "maximisers". What a maximiser does is consume the battery intermittently....meaning pulses of amps instead of a constant amperage. However, energy is energy. It takes so much energy to move an object. If you push that object intermittently, you are not using as much energy and the object does not move as fast. Does your new electric trolling motor have a variable speed or does it have 5 or 6 speeds? What size boat will you be pushing? If I was going on a 4 day fishing trip, I would not trust only 1 battery. Yes, the lower the speed the less energy will be consumed. However, if you use up your battery on the first or second day, you still have a 2 day period where the battery will not be recharged. This waiting period is not good for the overall life of the battery. It takes much more time to recharge a battery than it does to discharge it. Yes, you could recharge the battery at 20 to 50 amps but the recharge at this rate will cause overheating and create bubbles on the plates of the battery. These bubbles do not allow the plates to be fully immersed in the acid bath and will even cause damage to the plates. If you have a big strong lead-acid battery (over 200 minutes of reserve), you could use a 10 to 15 amp intelligent charger and it will regulate the optimum recharge rate. Another thing you could do is buy or rent a small portable generator to let you recharge the battery at the end of each fishing day. You will have to let the generator work until the battery is fully recharged which can take up to 12 hours or more. So...use the electric motor on slow speed only, for as short a time as possible. If you have any wind, take advantage of that wind to help move the boat or even drift with the wind when possible. Luckily, brook trout just love slow moving baits.

I would most definitely rent the place. The land is probably already claimed anyway. There is not much land that has not already been claimed. There are new laws here in Quebec concerning this issue. If they do want to mine the area, there is not much you can do to stop them and if they decide to move you, you will be amply compensated. Environmental laws are way stricter than they were 20 years ago.

Here in my region, the Citica 200E was 250 dollars last year. I went to the store the other day and saw it at 150 dollars while the Curado (G series) is at 180 dollars. I was hoping to buy a Curado 50E for around 100 dollars somewhere on the internet but they are selling for about 130 dollars plus 30 dollars for shipping so I settled for a Citica 200E at 80 dollars. I have other baitcasters...some lefties and some right hand. All are pretty good. I just sold a Cardiff 101 and will sell a Calyx 101 that I only used 2 or 3 times. I may sell a Daiwa Procaster Z 103HL (leftie) but will probably keep the Procaster X 103H which has the handles on the right. It's the one I most often use. These old models of Procasters are great reels and are very hard to find now. They were near the top of the line in their day. I bought them "used" on ebay. I also have an old Bantam Mag with the handles on the left but I will probably keep that one for fishing with a pistol grip style of baitcasting rod. It's great for casting 1/4 ounce spinner baits. Anyway, all the fishing stuff is more expensive where I live. Everything is more expensive. There is little competition for the sellers except from the large department stores and these places don't sell higher quality items. I rarely even see people using baitcasting outfits in my area and if I think about, I might have never seen anyone using a baitcasting outfit other than a buddy of mine who I initiated to fishing a few years ago. Most are trout fishermen who only dabble in fishing for walleye or landlocked salmon so they all use spinning equipment in the 3000 size. It's even hard to find any fishing line under 6 lb test. Not much demand for finesse style fishing outfits and even less demand for baitcasting equipment. The average fisherman up here buys 60 dollar reels or cheaper and the same for rods. They then load the reels with 12 lb mono and use it until it rots. The fishing is too easy I guess. Every year, I see hundreds of people coming out of Walmarts and Canadian Tire with those 50 dollar combos. They seem to prefer buying new combos every couple of years.

Actually, you don't need to buy any maps or software. You can make your own. There are free programs on the internet explaining how to make your own maps for Garmin GPS units. Sure, it takes time and some fiddling around different sites on the internet but it is quite simple. Yes, it's easier when you can use SD cards in the unit. This means that for Canadian maps, you can use 1:25000 scale maps instead of the 1:50,000 scale maps that are now sold for Garmin gps units. You have to have a home computer and if you want to use aerial photos or simple drawings, you will also need a scanner. For those who want nautical maps, there are lots of free ones on the internet too. There was a time when I had a Garmin 45. This is an old unit with 8 sequential channels instead of 8 parallel channels and the screen only showed the tracks on a blank screen. The old Garmin was great for going into the woods and coming back out by following my tracks. All other functions worked very well but no map on screen. I was going to hook it up to an old Palm Pilot and use the screen on the palm pilot to view the maps. But, I got a Lowrance IFinder Pro plus an SD card with maps of a good part of Eastern Canada for 80 dollars. The maps dated from 1994. I've been using that ever since. It even came with a computer cable, a 12 volt car lighter cable and an external antenna. The first thing I did when I got the GPS was go to the Lowrance site and upgrade the internal software.

It's ok.....I am already planning things out with somebody on this site who lives in the U.S. Thanks for the offers. Imagine this. Last year, the Citica 200E sold for 240 dollars here in Chicoutimi. Right now, I can get one for 150 dollars plus 15% sales tax. Even if the shipping costs are around 20 dollars (which I doubt very much....USPS is way cheaper than Canada Post), I'm still saving 50 dollars. Or 150 dollars if I consider last year's price. Where is the free trade agreement? I may have to buy a part for my bowmount electric motor. Here in Canada it's 78 dollars plus shipping. If I was in the U.S., I could get the part for 28 dollars plus shipping.

Hello. I want to buy a reel from Gander Mountain. They have a special price for a Citica 200E right now. Unfortunately, they do not ship to Canada. I hoping that someone on this site who lives in the U.S. could forward the reel to me here in Canada. The way I will work out the transaction is that I will buy the reel via Paypal and put the american address for the free shipping. Then the person who receives the reel will contact me and tell me how much shipping will cost from his address to mine and I will send him a U.S. Postal Money Order. The person does not have to send the reel until cashing in the money order.

It's the one I still recommend if a person is on a budget. They are just as fast and accurate as the newer models but with fewer options. Yes, the options are nice to have but in no way do they make the machine better.

Wow....a video is an excellent idea. And a good sound. Even just a sound recording would be ok.

I have a Cardiff 101A (handle on the left side) that is almost new. Only used a few times. No boat rash because I put my reels on the rods only when I get to the fishing site. I like the reel but I prefer the handle on the right side so I don't use it. It is loaded with new braided line (Tuf Line I think....I will have to look) about 20 lb test. Casts great and very silent. Comes with box, instructions, parts diagram and maybe there are even a few small parts in the box too....not sure. Anyway....70 dollars shipping included or 60 dollars plus shipping.

In 1996, my house was visited by robbers and they stole my firearms. Anyway, the insurance company covered my losses. To replace my old Savage 67 pump, I bought a Remington Magnum Express 870 (3 inch chamber). This is the black model with synthetic stock. It was way better than the old Savage but I only shot a few rounds out of the 870 because I was too busy fishing in the fall to go duck hunting. I sold it along with 3 choke tubes last year for 350 dollars. It was in mint condition. The new owner is very happy. I even sent it to the motel where he was staying so he could use it while on his fall hunting trip. I still do a lot of small game hunting but I have a 28 gauge Remington single shot with a legally chopped off barrel. And I still have my Winchester model 59 12 gauge autoloader with a fiberglass barrel. It's terribly light and fast.

For those who catch walleye at night....what time at night? I just can't seem to catch anything once it gets real dark. I can catch a bunch from my boat or canoe in 8 to 4 feet of water until sunset and then....nothing....as if somebody turned off the switch.

You will need the side motor mount so that you can put the paddle into it for steering. I've been using my 14 foot pointed Sportspal for over 30 years and I still love it. I lent it out once a couple of years after buying it and the guy punctured a hole in it. I don't lend it anymore. I fixed the hole with aluminum sticky tape and it has held for close to 30 years. Yes....my old Sportspal now lets water seep in a bit. I will have to seal it up with some Lepage PL Premium glue. I paid 279 dollars for it and I guess if I total how much it cost per day of use, I would say about 25 cents per day on the water. I prefer the foam seats. I just double the bottom of the foam seats so I'm a bit taller in the saddle....lol. Sitting a bit lower is more stable and when you have a lower profile, the fish do not see you as well. I do a lot of fly fishing for brook trout and my casts don't have to be long. The higher you sit, the further away you have to cast.

Hi Chris. Lots of good info here. I also do not recommend a 3 1/2 inch chamber. 3 inches of chamber is lots. Yes....the 12 gauge is the all purpose shotgun. A 28, 20 or 16 gauge shotgun shoots pellets just as fast as a 12 gauge and for the same distance and at full choke all will put 75% of their pellets within a 30 inch circle at 30 yards. The only difference is the number of pellets, and the weight of the gun. Yes....you have to consider how much you want to pay. Yes, it's nice to have a fine grade shotgun but you get so worried about scratching it that it can remove some of the fun. The 870 Remington with the black plastic stock and 3 inch chamber, variable choke tubes is still a good buy. I forget the model name but every gun store has a few of these in stock. Yes....these pump action guns will get smoother with age. I guess they are not as good as they once were but I doubt they are not all that bad either. Only the people who have had problems speak out. The 99.9% of those who have never had any problems never gripe about their buy. Yes, you can buy a rifled barrel for the 870 with no problem. Try out the smooth barrel at the rifle range to see if you really need the rifled barrel. If you don't like cleaning a shotgun after every outing, buy a single shot 12 gauge. However, you will not get the variable chokes etc. If you love to take apart and clean your guns after every outing then you could buy a semi-auto. For waterfowling, the pump action 12 gauge shotgun is the most popular by far.

I see lots of them here in the Saguenay region of Quebec. I guess there is a dealer in the region that sells lots of boats. I've never heard of anyone complaining about their Misty River boat.

When I want to fish slow and I don't want to use a steel leader, I just use a 5/0 worm hook and rig it up weedless with a 6 inch white curly tail plastic worm. You have to make slits on the bottom and top of the plastic worm so that the hook point will expose itself easier. Casts great with a good baitcaster and if the pike bites it off, I lost maybe a dollar's worth of equipment. I use 18 to 30 lb test braid. I may use larger braid (50 or 60 lb) in the future but for now, the 30 lb test braid seems to work fine. The bright coloured curly tail is easy for me to see in the shallow water and when it disappears, it's because it's hidden in a pike's mouth...lol. Yes....large suspending minnow baits like Husky Jerks or Smithwick Rogues work great but they are expensive so I use a knotable titanium leader. The single strand 25 lb test titanium leader is 0.010 inches in diameter which is the same size as good quality mono.

Well....I have been fly fishing for close to 40 years for brook trout and I do fly fish for walleye, pike and landlocked salmon. I have a 7/8 outfit for most of my fly fishing and it does very well. I modify old double taper lines so that they end up being more like shooting lines (I shorten the front end and cut them to about 30 feet in length. I use an oval mono backing that serves as a shooting line. When fishing large bushy pike flies and tandem streamers, it's a lot of work with the 7/8 rod. This is when I use my 9 weight rod and the difference is like night and day. Yes, the rod may be a tad heavier but I don't have to force my arm to get the large flies where I want them. A 9 weight line, whether it is a sinking line or a floating line weighs the same. Ok, the sinking line is a bit thinner but I don't use a sinking line when fishing for pike. I don't use sinking fluorocarbon leaders either....I want my bug to stay close to the surface because the pike are in shallow water. I will use a sinking tip weight forward line for walleye and landlocked salmon. The only time I use a full sinking line is when trolling for landlocked salmon or nymph fishing for brook trout in more than 15 feet of water. Yes....you can use a heavier line on your rod and it does make the rod load up faster. Maybe a 7/8 weight rod with a 30 feet of size 9 or 10 fly line followed by a shooting line would work too. To make the fly line, you have to experiment a lot in order to cut just enough fly line to get good casts. I like to have all of the fly line in the air when casting large bushy flies. That way, only the shooting line will shoot through the rod's eyelet. I started doing this a long time ago. There was no internet then and I don't even think that I even read bout anything like that in the few fishing magazines that I bought. I love the oval mono shooting line because it is not wimpy like 30 lb test braid that some people use as a shooting line but I find that it gets too tangled up. The mono stays straighter and slips through the eyelets a lot better. I make my own flies and I often use 3/0 and 4/0 siwash hooks tied in tandem if I want flies over 5 inches long. I make my pike flies big and bushy.

Big question! My bowmount electric motor does not work. I took apart the motor and everything looks ok except for one big thing....2 magnets on one side of the cylinder that houses the brushes and the armature (coil) are loose. The magnets on the other side are glued in place. So, instead of buying a new part for about 60 dollars, I have decided that if the company can glue them in, so can I. Since the motor is apart, I ordered some new brushes, brush springs and a bearing that goes into the brush holder assembly plus 2 new "O" rings. I will start buy buffing the glue off the magnets and buffing the interior of the center unit (cylinder) to give the glue a good hold. Now the question. What glue should I buy? It will be a metal to metal job. There is not much stress on the magnets but I don't want them to come unglued.

If it's for bass and/or pike, skip the 8 wt and go 10 weight. 8 weight is ok for trout and some bass fishing but is not big enough to cast large floating bugs or large streamers. Yes, get a decent outfit....especially the rod. I've been using a 14 dollar large arbour graphite reel for many years for pike. There are some awfully strong rods on the market. Here is a video of a 10 weight fly rod being put to the test If you do buy an 8 weight and you like it.....come back to this posting and laugh at me.