Millhouse2020

Thanks for all the info everybody. I do appreciate it! So far I have found a couple decent looking charters near the Papagayo Hilton where we are staying. Papagayo Sportfishing and North Pacific Tours. I will have to do some more work to narrow it down. Big Cliff, you got mail... I`m really looking forward to the chance to spend a couple days fishing Costa Rica. :-) Cheers, Millhouse

Hi everyone, My wife and I will be attending a wedding in Costa Rica in February and since fishing Costa Rica is on my bucket list I#m saving my nickels and dimes for a day of inshore and a day of offshore fishing with my wife. Im looking for recommendations on charters for anyone who has fished there and had a good experience. We will be staying at the Hilton Papagayo Costa Rica Resort & Spa on the Pacific side on the Gulf of Papagayo. I have found a couple recommended charters on trip advisor but thought I would ask here in case anyone has any good info they can share. Im really looking forward to this opportunity. Any information you can share is appreciated, thanks all. Cheers, Millhouse

Thanks for the input guys. I guess I will have to get me some 80lb braid to go on the new Calcutta.

I was wondering what the muskie hunters opinions were on the minimum lb test of line they use when muskie fishing. I know fisherman these days generally use braids between 65-80lb test, maybe even 100. Does anyone use 50lb test line? I would think for casting especially the smaller diameter line would give you better casting distance? 50lb string is pretty tough to break as well, especially if you have a good leader on the business end.

Thanks for the tips. I don't have downriggers so we did flatline troll. I have some dipsy divers I can use to get the baits down further and plan to experiment with those. I would like to try fishing the north channel since its not as far to travel as south bay. A fellow I spoke to a while back says he does well in the north channel off of Okechobee (sp?) road. I didn't get any further details as to where he puts in. I don't know if there is a marina there like at south bay. If so, I would want to put in there. How do you find the commercial nets? I understand there are some in the area but not sure of location since i have never fished it before.

I'm wondering if anyone has had any success with Rainbows in Lake Huron, specifically around Manatoulin Island and the North Channel? If so, any suggestions on presentations? I would like to take my fiance out again soon once our wedding is over. She keeps saying how much she enjoyed our rainbow fishing trip in south bay last year and I would like to make sure she catches some more. Last year we had a great day trolling driving crankbaits. Not bad for 2 rainbow fishing newbies. Cheers,

X 2!!! Good to hear your are OK and not missing any bits and pieces...

I have bought from "The fishin hole" before http://www.thefishinhole.com/ Prices on a number of items were very competitive. They had the best price on a mustang coat at the time I bought for my fiance. This was a while ago however, over a year ago Im sure.

I had been reading there newsletter emails and checking things out for quite some time. I finally made an order a while ago and they shipped within 5-6 days. Problem is I will get them tomorrow I hope since I had them shipped to a relative in the US who is attending my wedding this weekend. Will try and post some feedback next week when I check everything out. Prices were great however stock changes all the time so you need to keep on top of what they have available.

Congratulations! Good to hear mom and baby are both doing well

X 2 for me!

Nice work! Im salivating just reading this...

Provided you can afford it without issue, I don't think you will regret going bigger in boat size and HP. If I hear boat owners say anything more often than not, its I wish I would have gone 1-2 feet bigger... Whatever you decide from the selection you listed Im sure you will be delighted and have many years of fishing pleasure. I'm excited for you!

I would have to add my 2 bits for Trout Lake, lots of those in Ontario alone. I would say I have seen the name Long Lake several times as well... Interesting question. I once fished on Wabatongushi Lake (sp?) its near Wawa. I was told it translated to "no-fish lake".

I've said before on this forum that I have watched this fisheries decline for a number of years now. The good old days of walleye fishing are long past on this lake right now. If people are still catching fish, its because they have the equipment and technology to be able to do it. I can recall many years ago that if you could not catch walleye pulling a crawler harness, jig & spinner or rapala, you may as well just go back to camp and play cards for the day because the fish had lock jaw. I was out on opening day this year near Lavigne and saw only a handful of boats around the hardwood islands. This place used to be teaming with fisherman every opening weekend. I can even remember MNR boats patrolling the waters with armed officers many years ago on opening day. I'm certain the decline in the walleye population has made it very hard for the lodges around the lake to keep people coming back. Not to mention the exchange on the US$ has hurt their business as well. How can you have a Canadian wilderness fishing experience with so few fish???? Gill netting has hurt the population of fish immensely in the lake in my opinion. It has been know for some time that some in the native community net plenty and do not report their catches. How can netting be monitered properly if people are not following the rules. Sport fisherman don't take anywhere near what the gill netters do, heck there seem to be so fewer of them from what I can see. Gill netters also have plenty of by-catch. I dont even want to know how many healthy bass, pike, muskies, whitefish and whatever else gets killed along with the walleye catch. I know of some fisherman personally that have witness these fish left on the shoreline of iron island after the gill netters had gone. Very little is truly being done to manage this. Add to the above the rise of cormorant population in the last 10 years and you have a lake struggling to maintain is formerly healthy balance of fish. It has been a shame to watch for me because this lake is where I first learned to fish and hunt and I hope to see it return to what it once was. The slot limits have helped somewhat but it has not been enough to ensure the future of the fishery IMO.

Deadbait fishing is common throughout Europe and is the generally preferred method of catching BIG pike. For some reason a lot of people in NorthAmerica shun this type of fishing, not sure why. I love using bobbers for all kinds of fish, its fun and most of all very effective. You cannot use just any bait, regulations can vary throughout the province. Suckers would be fine anywhere. Where legal, oily fish like smelt, ciscos or herring would be best, they give off more scent and pike love them. For large baits, you would likely want to switch to some type of quick strike rig to get the best hooking potential. Its basically a rig designed to suspend a bait horizontally with a hook in the front (usually head) and one in the back (usually behind the dorsal fin). Pike normally strike a bait sideways and this allows you to set the hook immediately instead of waiting for the fish to swallow the bait if you were using only one hook. Hope this helps.

For fishing deeper structures with a spinnerbait, I do like a single bladed colorado in a 3/4 to 1 ounce weight or heavier if possible or depth is over 20 feet. Although the colorado does create more lift than the willow leaf, it spins better at slow speed and will spin well while sinking or helicoptoring down. Willow leaf blades don't do this as well and a double willow sometimes will not spin at all when falling. I'm sure the Idiana blade would be a good option for this as well and certainly better than a willow leaf type blade. Don't discount deep diving crankbaits either. They will slay pike if you can keep them from snagging. In fact if you can get the baits hitting the bottom or other structure its a great attracting and triggering technique for pike.

Funny but some board members would consider that day a bust since you didn't catch your intended species. I on the other hand feel very differently. Nice catch!

I took the wife to a disco at the weekend. There was a guy on the dance floor giving it everything he had; break dancing, moon walking, back flips, the works. My wife turned to me and said, "See that guy? 25 years ago he proposed to me and I turned him down." I said, "Looks like he's still celebrating!"

I have fished lake Nippissing, especially the area near Lavigne since I was 4 years old. I have watched the walleye numbers dwindle significantly for the last 15 years. In the past 3 years, we certainly catch more sheephead/drum than we used to. They used to be a more rare occurence in that area of the lake however now we catch them on every other outing. They are fun to catch after the excitement of hooking the mother of all walleye evaporates after you see the fish. It is a bit disappointing for me to watch a once glorious walleye fishery become what it is now but I still hold the hope that the fishery will bounce back. I was out for opening day this year and counted a handful of other boats where we were fishing. I recall as a youngster seeing dozens and dozens of cedar strip boats lining the same shoreline. On a side note, I have cooked drum and they are excellent table fare when prepared right. Try the poor man's lobster recipe. - Fillet the drum boneless - Cut fillets into thin strips - Boil in vigorously boiling salted water until cooked, the strips should curl up - Enjoy dipped in shrimp cocktail sauce with beverage of your choice Cheers

Great report! Im counting the days till I can hit the west arm again for muskies. I just have to get my little wedding out of the way first... LOL

Thanks guys, the plan was to stop in at both if my fiance will let me. I think I have decided on a Calcutta TE over the Tranx for my new muskie stick and I was going to pick that up at JB's. I figured BPS would have the best price on the holders but if they are out I will see if JB's has any. The local shop had one but they wanted $50 so I figure i will save the $10 each if I can. A penny saved...

I did not know they were harvested for their caviar. They are definately a primitive fish that has survived with little change for a very long time. They can breath air, like the snakehead. To me they closely resemble a coelacanth which a 400 million year old fish thought to be long extinct until a specimen was discovered in 1938 off the coast of south africa. Aparantly the locals had caught them periodically for some time and thought nothing of it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowfin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelacanth

Im on my way to Toronto tomorrow and was going to stop in at BPS to pick up 2 of them. I hope there are some left for me...

Great for Marc! Well done, a true and passionate sportsman