Pikeslayer

Vince, I have a mooching reel. You are welcome to it. PM me if you want it. Simon

Hey All, Thx for the birthday wishes! Seanshine, you are the ultimate Son. Love you buddy I love birthdays; DB, thx for dinner!

Cliff, Forget the damn thermostat. Check your pm.

Oh Oh! Seems somebody might be getting a little obsessed now? Dan, let me know if you want to borrow any equipment, rods, reels, dipseys, secret vinnimon spoons etc. I'm right off the highway on your way to the launch. I'll be stripping the boat on Monday and transferring to Seguin next week for some homeless pike. BTW, Mom said thanks (actually 'Praise The Lord - Food!!!'). She's selling the fish so she can put a door on her shed for the winter. Thx for making that happen Dan. Cheers, it was a blast!! Simon

Do this; <iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_JyIxxOhYiY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Don't do this; <iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VJv8zWpRbdY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Try to pick a non peak time. Maybe pracitse on a weekday in the middle of the day?

What an awesome day Cliff :thumbsup_anim: My birthday's comin soon. Should I ask for an ATV?? Looks like retirement is suiting you my friend. Cheers, Simon

Thx everone. Gone shopping.

Well, the last couple of weeks have been kind fishing wise, but expensive on lost gear . My latest casualty was my Sanyo HD camera/video recorder. So, I am really interested in looking at/purchasing the GoPro system. I know a few members here use them and I like the quality of video/photos posted. Also, I like the idea that I can strap the camera to my head so I won't lose it . I went to the GoPro website but cannot find any local dealers in the GTA. I'd really like to physically see this unit before laying out the $$$$. Can anyone provide any further information/advice?? I am rather anxious to move on this. Thx to all in advance of you assistance. Slayer

Hey Mike, Sean & I truly enjoyed your company and it was our pleasure to have you as a guest. Well, when a new friend shows up at one's home with a few pounds of freshly frozen walleye and a couple of bottles of Cattle Boyz (Thanks Mercman) , what is one supposed to do? Here's a cold Heinekin, sit down and relax and I'll prepare a gourmet dinner for you. BTW Mike, those shrimp were prepared from a prized recipe of which I know only 3 members on this board are in possession of (Thanks ______). In retrospect, that was our best day on the water in a couple of weeks (LO has been a little challenging this year) and it's always fun to have an LO 'rookie' on board. We always get to see something interesting on first time hook ups. For the rookies out there; the biggest learning curve is avoiding the natural tendancy to set the hook, you don't have to. Example, see the chinook in the fish box (last picture) with the broken neck . And to top the day, the 'adventure' on LO was quite the 'event'. As Mike mentioned, it was great day weather wise. Flat water all day, a bit of cloud a bit of sun and a brief shower in the bluezone. We were 10 nm (18 km) off shore when we called rods up @ 2:30. Shoreline was clearly visible and no cause for concern. About half way in, the horizon was rapidly turning grey and rain gear was donned. 2.5 to go and the winds came up (30 knots according to sailflow when I checked @ home) day turned to night, and the temp dropped 10* C. Life jackets donned, air horn in Sean's hand and safety box at the ready. 1 nm to go and the rain came in sheets and visibility was maybe 100 m. Bilge activated, nav lights on. Sean's eyes were 6 - 10 o'clock, Mike had 2-6. The last 20 minutes into port was somewhat tense. I was confident in our vessel and crew (all experienced boaters) but concerned about the other boats heading to port (like the one 'tard comin in hot @ 2:00 without lights). We had to rely on the GPS to get us back to port and it was a relief to see the channel into Promenade. Just as we pulled into port, the rains subsided and we found: the double ramp occupied with a charter unloading clients and fish (that was okay) and an unoccupied boat tied off to the other side (this was definitely not okay). We're soaked to the bone, temp was 14* C and ten minutes later, a couple of come strolling throught the parking lot (from their nice dry car?) and casually launch their boat. Words weren't necessary. Three sets of eyes glaring pretty much said everything. We were finally off the water and heading home @ 3:30. By 4:15 we were dry and hydrated (well Mike wasn't hydrated as he had a 5 hour drive home). Goodbyes @ 4:30 and nappy time by 5:00 . Mike, we had a great time wrapped into 24 hrs and Sean and I are happy to call you our friend. Looking forward to the Musky hunt in the near future with you and Paul. Regards, Simon p.s. Saturday's trip with Vinnimon & HTHM turned out be another 'priceless' day. But we're not talking about that .

Brian, When releasing dipseys + leader + spin doctors + flies, you have to let them 'creep' out. A very slow release. I don't let them out by free spooling, set the drag so the resistance of the water against the dipsey pulls the line of the reel. Typically, a 150 ft release might take 3-5 minutes depending on your boat speed of 2.5 - 2.75? If you release too fast, everything is free falling and twist is inevitable. If running SD without dipsey, you need to have a 4-6 ft. leader between main line & SD. For what it's worth, I use only SPRO swivels on all LO set ups.

Greg, Your idea of increasing the drag is going in the right direction, but don't over tighten. When your dipsey is running at your desired length, test your drag setting by pulling your line in front of the reel. Try to 'feel' for 10-20 lb resistance and set your drag accordingly. Also notice in that video, that before they pull the rod out of the holder, they are thumbing/releasing/adjusting the drag before they pull the rod and then adjust the drag after. bTW, I use Scotty Orcas (quick release) for my dipsey lines. I'm not familiar with the downrigger clips to line method, but I'm pretty confident that if you can get the right drag tension in the holders, you can eliminate that process. Remember, you want thump, zip, thump, zip zip, thump zip zip zip. Not ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing for 100's of feet (I know that sound is sexy) If you have fighter on, you might typically adjust your drag +/- a number of times throughout the fight. Hope I'm being helpful.

Hi Greg, Are you using a snubber between your dipsey and leader/fly? This is a must when running with braid or wire and should reduce the amount of bent hooks. Also you might find this YouTube video (not a fan of the sound track BTW) of interest. It does show the appropriate amount of drag you want on the initial strike. Notice how the rod is 'thumping' and peeling line in short bursts vs peeling line continuously. http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y40/nflboy07/?action=view&current=bigdproductions.mp4 (courtesy of 'Big D'). I'm not sure how to explain this, but when we are fighting the fish, we make them 'work' for every foot of line but never try to 'brake' the fish. Does this make sense? Simon

He was a good man and a fine Canadian.

I don't think any Ontario fish could hold up to your home waters. I'll have to ask my aunt to cook me up some of that pouched cod. Sound pretty yummy.

Selective harvest works for me Brian. Salmon 12 lbs & under and are better smoked ( my personal preference ). Bows less than 10 lbs are great baked simple with lemon, dill and butter. All of our harvested fish are put on ice immediately and cleaned/gutted on board within 15/20 minutes and put back in the ice box. Dressed at home same day and anything not on the menu within 24 hours is flash frozen and vacuum sealed. Bigger/mature fish is equivalent to eating a 10 yr old chicken. Not nice. Just my thoughts/preferences. Cheers, Simon

That will work :thumbsup_ Albert. BTW, we managed to put about 40 lbs (5 fish) in the box today. Sorry bud :wallbash:

So this retirement thing is working out very nice so far :whistling:

Yeah Cliff, Congratulations My psycho abilities tell me there is a celebration in the very near future. See you in about 10 days my friend. Best regards, Simon

Thx, for the post Dan. It brought a few tears as I have lost two brothers. Both too young. You have reminded me how important maintaining positive relationships with my surviving brothers (2) is. Time to pick up the phone. Regards, Simon

x2

Hey Geoff, Justin Beiber just came out with a new line of fishing gear. Your girls will love you for it!

Whew! 18% buyers premium, then don't forget HST. I registered anyways and have a few items targetted.

Love to hook up Geoff, but I'm learnin salmon fishing this weekend. Simon

Can anyone recommend any books, videos or DVDs on how to catch lake Ontario salmon? I have some fellow OFC members booked on trip trades this weekend and would like to at least look like I know what I'm doing. Any tips on lures and tackle would be helpful too. Would worms and bobbers work? Where would be a good place to rent a boat? Do you need a license? Where should I fish? It looks like a kinda big lake out there! GSP thingies would be appreciated. Any help is greatly appreciated and advice (no matter how bad) is welcome. Thx in advance, Slayer

Hopefuly those lonely wet shoes find a good home.