Garry2Rs

I think they sell them at Vaughan BPS for 6.99 for 11 in sizes 2, 4 or 6.

If BPS has them at 11 hooks for $7.00 that would be a great buy for most people. I paid $5.99 for 6 at WalMart.

My plan is to try and get three boxes of 50 when I go south.

A few months ago I was searching on-line for them at tackle component suppliers, but Mustad make hundreds of hooks...Without the actual model number it was tough sledding.

Garry2R's

I was at Wally World for a few things and strolled through the fishing department. No surprise that! But what did surprise me was to see six-packs of the new Mustad KVD Elite treble hooks. These hooks are just showing up for sale in US on-line stores so to see them in a chain store in Peterborough was a shock!

The hooks are Mustad's ultra-point, triple-grip bend in a 1-extra strong, 2-extra short shank version. KVD has said that he changes the hooks on some lures, especially the stock ones on his Red Eye Shad rattle baits. However until this year the hook he changed to has been his secret.

Ckick to see them.

I use rattle baits a lot, they are a great bait anywhere you fish and will catch virtually everything that swims. Every company makes their own version, but no matter what brand you choose, the problem has always been that it's very hard to keep big fish on.

On his web-site KVD said that he has been replacing the #4 standard rattle bait hooks with #2's from this series. The 2X-short design makes the hook about the same length, but is stronger and wider in the base. To try them out, I bought a six-pack of #2's and another of #4's. My idea was to change the hooks on three of my favourite Summer bass baits. Ones that I feel have some hook-up issues.

My test baits would be a Strike King rattle bait, a Kooper Live Target in the Bluegill crank bait series and a Rebel Pop "R." I tied three scraps of feather to the new tail hook of the Pop"R" to replace the dressed standard hook.

Yesterday Buck and I put the boat in the closest lake and went for a ride. To give ourselves the best shot at both types of Bass we chose a long bay with a rocky shoreline and subsurface weed beds, that ended in a log and stump filled marsh.

Unfortunately I left the camera at home...blush...but I can tell you that we thought we had hit the Apsley Grand-Slam when we hooked a SMBass, a LMBass, the WGSP(Rock Bass) a Perch and a small Musky all on the same Rattle bait!

For those of you who know the area, I suppose that we should have gone trolling for a Walleye at that point, to make it a true grand-slam. But because, sporting-wise, I consider Walleye to be as exciting as rubber-boots I never thought of it until we were back home.

When we changed lures we went on the catch a 2.3 LMBass and a 1.5 SMB on the Bluegill pattern Live Target and a very nice 3.5 LMB when the Pop"R" spit water over a sunken log.

What they say about the hooks being sharp and holding on tight is true! The best SMB. gave an unexpected wiggle and the golf glove took the hook points up to the bard, but saved my hand...You really do need pliers to remove them most of the time.

These might not be the best hooks for every lure, but on these three baits I like them a lot.

Garry2R's

I have used the Kopper perch, bass, smelt and sunfish patterns successfully in the Kawarthas.

I was Mugged by the Bait Monkey and my wallet was stabbed to the tune of $60.00 at CTC on Wednesday.

Looks like an inboard to me...How about the rubber skirt on the outdrive has a hole in it?

Great advice!

Basic tools and a spare set of bearings in the truck is cheap insurance. I trailer long distances and have a spare hub and bearing set. The cost was only about $65.00, but the one time I needed it, it was priceless!

Garry2R's

The Shimano reel is a good lower end model and Shimano is easy to deal with for service. If you like the action of the rod the BPS combo looks decent.

On the other hand, I tried buying cheap spinning reels for awhile, based on the idea that "better" spinning reels don't help your cast.

The problem turned out to be that these cheap reels had cheap plastic parts in places like the anti-reverse etc.

Once broken, House-Brand and Off-Brand reels had no parts available to fix them. Cheap Name-Brand reels weren't worth the postage required to ship them.

I like Shimano Stradic's but the Saro's will save you a few dollars. Since I never throw anything heavier than a Senko worm with mine, I would put the reel on about a ML Shimano Cumara or Crucial rod. You might like a slightly different action, depending on what you do with your spinning gear.

This outfit will cost three times what the BPS outfit will be, but it's the good stuff and you're worth it!

Garry2R's

In my opinion Rice is also too big for two guys in a 12 footer.

If you are interested in coming this way, you can PM me for some small lakes in the Peterborough area.

Garry2R's

I think it's time to move on.

Move toward the light, there are beautiful, light weight, super-smooth reels waiting for you...grin.

i hear ya. the bait caster even 'feels' better then the spin caster, although the callista is wrong handed for me, it feels comfortable reeling with my right hand. kinda feels like soneone else

The reel isn't wrong handed...Spinning was invented by the French.

That should explain why it is backwards...HAHAHA!

I use 20 pound mono with my Yum Buzz Frogs.

When I get hit, but don't hook-up I assume that it was a Dink that grabbed a foot and pulled the frog under.

If I have the presents of mind, I stop reeling and let the frog sink...I had a client last year who did this while I was watching.

The strike was from the smallest of three bass that were following the bait.

When the frog sank/hung in the water, the largest fish, a five pounder, swam up and sucked it in!!!

Our friend Curtis, from this board, is a small lake/pond expert. He said that his best fish are all coming on the dropshot now...

Garry2rs

Last week I took a GL3 Spinning rod into Shimano Peterborough.

The cork fore grip had come loose so that the reel was sliding forward in the reel seat. A little glue would have solved the problem, but they called the Loomis man down from the office. He took my address and gave me a receipt for the rod. I'm pretty sure he said that Loomis warranty claims were handled by Shimano USA.

A few days later a cardboard rod tube was delivered to my door.

Inside was a brand new rod. Maybe I'm just lucky, but I have never had a problem with Shimano or Loomis warranties...even for Frontier rods. That said, I have paid small surcharges for non-defect repairs or upgrades at times.

Garry2R's

Well guys, I'm smarter now!

I will instruct anyone I deal with to label return items as warranty repair etc.

There are only two things that cause a backlash.

Number one is the spool turns faster than the bait is taking the line out.

Number two is the spool keeps turning after the bait has hit the water.

On the side of your reel opposite the crank is a magnetic brake. This brake moderates the speed of the spool especially at the start of the cast so that it doesn't out accelerate the bait...To get started turn this on all the way.

Under the crank handle there will be a knurled knob. When this is tightened it applies pressure to the end of the spool shaft. This pressure will slow the spool at the end of the cast so that it stops when the bait stops.

To get started, tighten this so that when you release the spool the bait settles to the ground/water and the spool stops.

You are now ready for your first cast. Turn your wrist slightly so that the reel handle faces up at a 45 degree angle. If you chose to use the wrong handed reel, you will have to have the handles facing down, so be careful not to foal them on anything.

Pick a spot that is up at about a 45 degree. Something like a cloud in the sky or the top of a tree will work nicely. Make a cast toward that object...This high target will compensate for the time between when you think about releasing the spool and when your thumb actually moves.

Try to keep you elbows down, stretching your arms out will not add distance to your cast.

You will soon get the timing, but use the cloud trick to get started...

The cast should go out in an arc, then the bait will die in the air and fall to that water with no tangles in the line.

The cast dies in the air because you are using too much braking and you can back each brake off a little once you become comfortable with the mechanics of casting this type of reel.

If you get in the habit of stopping the spool with your thumb as the bait reaches the target, in time the friction brake might be loosened off all the way and completely replaced by your thumb. The magnetic brake can be backed off until you see loose line on the spool or hear the line flapping during the cast.

You might use extra mag.brake casting into the wind etc. but that is part of the next lesson...GRIN.

Good Luck

No wonder we can't seem to grow any 10+ pound bass up here.

Damn bird loves!!!

HAHAHA

I have often said that I like Shimano reels and that one of the best thing about dealing with Shimano is the fact that they are right down the road in Peterborough.

I do however own a few Quantum and Ardent reels as well as the Shimanos.

Recently I had a problem with one of the Ardents. The clutch lever, for the free spool, cracked and was going to break off. I called Ardent, in Missouri, and asked about Canadian service.

The good news is that the service technician told me that Ardent had identified this part as a weak link and had replaced the lever with a new part. They were also retrofitting this new part into all reels that came in for service. If I would send my reel in, they would do the repair/up-date "free of charge."

Last week I mailed the reel to them and a couple of days ago it came back.

Now the bad news...My reel came back as a new reel. I had to pay GST on the reel, a brokerage fee, and GST on the brokerage fee.

When I complained to UPS, I was told that if I could produce the proper paper work, I could claim the GST, on the reel, back...but the lions share, their brokerage fee and taxes, was unrecoverable.

So my friends...If you are sending anything out of the country for service or repair be sure that the company you are dealing with understands our tax situation and labels everything as your property being returned.

It is possible to weaken your line by not wetting it when pulling the knot tight. However to have it happen over and over suggests that the fluorocarbon line is faulty.

Last winter I had to break off a deep snag while using 20# BPS fluoro. Between line stretch and the strength of the line, I couldn't do it! I wound-up putting the motor in gear and using the boat to break the line!

Shimano has a long history of building quality reels and of providing good service. They constantly win I-cast best in class awards for their reel innovations. The fact that they have their Canadian office in Peterborough might be more important to me than to others, but do any of the other big brands even have Canadian offices?

A guy who fishes 5 times a year might not need a top of the line reel, however he probably wants something that will last a long time and can be repaired if necessary.

I believe that the Curado gives an angler a lot for the money and others must agree. I read once that it was the #1 choice of weekend bass tournament guys. At about $200.00 it's not the cheapest, nor the most expensive, but it has all the good stuff and is easy to use.

I have a collection of broken reels that there are no parts for, or service on them requires more than they're worth, in international postage...none of them are Shimano.

So yer saying I shoulda been wearing a teeshirt with a few less fish marks on it????? I don't think it would have been quite enuf frankly. Perhaps if I coulda instantly shed about 40 pounds, grown some hair and not been with another old fart ......

 

JF

John;

I'm trolling for mid-week clients...SHHHHH

HAHAHA

Visuals???

Look at Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes Benz, form follows function.

Perhaps you could add some flame decals.

Training tip for young single guys:

Girls soon get bored at the cottage during the week.

They spend they time sunning on decks or rafts.

Clean shirts and a shave might be in order...

Nice report John.

Here are some pictures...

Let's do it again, when it cools off a bit!!

Garry

Although covered by different pattens, the fibres that both Powerpro and Fireline are made from are almost the same. Both will not hold dye, so they all fade very fast with use. The white line called Crystal is simply a non-coloured version of the regular line.

As far as visability is concerned, in my opinion, the translucency of Crystal only exists in the mind of the advertising agentcy.

However, I don't think it matters to most fish. Perhaps on tough days a fluoro or mono leader helps with slow presentations, like drop-shot etc. On reaction bites like Spinnerbaits, or Crankbaits, I think the fish are chasing the lure and the line means nothing.

I tow my 18.5 bass boat, fully loaded with gas and gear behind an old Dodge Ram 1500.

I always tow in OD and have done so for 300,000 klm. with no problems.

I have replaced a Cat-converter and a power steering pump, but the old 5.2L (318CID) engine is stone axe reliable and still going strong.

On the downside...It is hard on gas...15 MPG. or less.

I am due for a change and would like an SUV this time. Right now I am leaning toward the Toyota Highlander. Honda's are rust buckets, for long term owners like me, and in the past I have found Nissan seats too small and quite uncomfortable.

I don't go "Off Road" although some of the boat ramps I use might challenge the 32 inch wheel set...grin. I really like the idea that it is Camry based. My last car was a Camry and I'm sure it was the best car I ever owned! Not flashy, but well laid out and completely reliable.

You can double the strength of the Uni Knot by simply going through the hook-eye twice.

Bearing in mind that ten pound Crystal is only about the diameter of four pound mono, any ten pound fluoro or mono leader will give you some bite-off insurance when you pick-up an incidental Pike. However I don't have much faith in any non-metal leader of less than about twenty pounds for toothy critters.

Garry2R's