Garry2Rs

I would stick with Humminbird or Lowrance/Eagle. That way you know who is going to service it or supply parts.

This month I bought a Stradic 1000MG FB from Tackle Warehouse. They are offering it at $110US with free shipping. The larger models are still around at some internet shops for about $130.00, or less. The US price on the CI4 is around $199.00. With the magnesium model marked down so low, and these questions about durability, it's up to you. If either of you guys would like to buy a reel, from Tackle Warehouse, or some other US site and send it to my Arizona address, I am allowed to bring $700.00 home with me duty free in April.

Now I don't think old Bill wouldn't like to hear you saying Texas - Arch... The "T" on Bill's hat is for his team, the University of Tennessee Volunteer's. I guess with the tough mouths found on Bass over 5 pounds, and a jig with a heavy hook you needed a serious hook set in the days of fiberglass rods and stretchy mono line.

My wading days are behind me, so no stream run trout or salmon etc. I hate trolling and big water is featureless and boring...so no lake run Salmon, Lake Trout etc. for me. My old man called Walleye "Rubber boots with fins!" I agree, so they are out too. Pike are okay in the Spring, but once the water warms up they go deep and you are jigging (Yawn) or tolling...they're out. Musky fishing had all of my attention for a few years, but a day of casting the heavy tackle wore me out. I also worried about fishing for them in the Summer. I hated how hard they were to revive. Frankly, they are such a great fish that I would rather not catch them, if they might die. Besides that, some of the Musky crowd are so sickeningly sanctimonious that they could give Aspirin a headache! That leaves good old Bass... The tackle is light and fun to use. There are probably more baits made for bass than for all other sport-fish combined. If you are free to travel, they are open all year. So that's my choice.

There are a couple of basic things to know about fish finders. The angle of the beam, sent down from the transducer determinants how big a circle you are seeing on the bottom. I seem to recall a 20* beam covers a 20 ft circle in 20 feet of water. Therefore a dual beam transducer with both 20 and 60 degree beams might be preferable for a guy who fishes a lot of shallow water. The second thing to understand is the number of vertical pixels will determine the detail that you are able to see. The more the better. With only 160 vertical pixels, in 20 ft of water each pixel represents 1.5 inches...with 320 pixels each pixel is 3/4 of an inch. You can convert dash mounts to portable use and portables to dash mount, but for your first unit I suggest you buy something simple and get used to using it.

Earth Calling Jim... The question John F asked, was "Why don't more people do some guiding?" Here's an opinion stated as fact...Molson and OFC posts don't mix!

My buddy was on Honey-Do chauffeur duty until about 10:30, so we got off to a slow start this morning. I was quite anxious to hit Mittry Reservoir, because the main forage there is Sunfish. Yesterday, UPS delivered an order with an assortment of new Kopper Live Target Bluegill and Pumpkinseed crankbaits. How many baits are there? Okay, there are two patterns, and two sizes in each pattern, and two finishes, gloss and matte, in each size...That's 2x2x2x2=16 possible choices...I have a budget, so I ordered four Sunfish. Two of each pattern, one of each in shallow and mid-range models, but only one, a mid-range, was in the smallest size, and only one also a Bluegill was in matte finish. I reasoned that it's almost always sunny in Yuma, so a gloss finish would be most useful. Also, Sunfish spawn after Bass do...That would be April in Arizona and July in the Kawarthas...So, it might be next September before I see an tiny sunfish. There will be plenty of time to order more of these small baits if I need them. There's no doubt these baits look great, but today would be the official "water test." We stayed on the shallow side of the lake, where the sub-surface weed beds and flotsam left by 100's of Coots made it hard to use a crankbait. We stuck it out because we didn't want to blunder into our prime area and splash it up while we were still getting a feel for these new baits. The baits are quite heavy and cast nicely. Both models and both sizes ran true, out of the box. The water here is muddy, but the medium diver must have a head-down attitude in the water because although it hit the the shallow weeds, it doesn't pick-up many. The shallow model appears to be a more horizontal running bait. It swam over shallow beds without touching. I tried straight cranking, stop and go, and ripping. The baits didn't spin-out and remained happy whatever I did. The shallow-lip bait will fish as a jerkbait, but in the muddy water it was hard to really see the action...I will take them to the river, where it is clearer, soon. When we were ready, we had to wait for another boat to clear the area we felt was prime. We found a spot on the lea side of the channel and waited for the spot to rest and settle down again... Finally we positioned the boat for a drift down the main channel with the wind behind us. My friend was using a spinning rod, so he took that small glossy Bluegill. I threw the larger matte shallow model on one casting rod and a large mid-range Pumpkinseed on another rod. On his first cast Kelly hooked-up with a two pound LM Bass. My camera decided that it wouldn't work today, so I shot a couple of frames on his digital. If I can borrow Kelly's memory card tomorrow I will add a photo to this post. After this great start we were sure this would be a big day, but while we had been waiting, the wind had gone from medium to heavy, the birds stopped moving, and everything seemed to shutdown at once. The wind is very strong tonight. If it doesn't blow itself out overnight, it will be Monday before I get another chance to work with these lures. I don't like to fish on the weekend when the water is crowded! Garry2R's

I bought a couple of crystal minnow's 9 or 10 years ago. The finish is deep and liquid-looking. As I recall, at that time the available colours were all bright pastels, like pink and chartreuse. I'm sure that I still have one lurking in a tackle box somewhere... I believe that the ones I had came with very small diving lips. They were a 3 or 4 inch long bait and worked best as jerkbaits.

Glad to hear you're getting a break from the weatherman. Here's to a short winter. Today we received a package from Tackle Warehouse. It contained a Stradic MG-FB, and half a dozen new Kopper Live Target baits. Tomorrow Buck and I will be back on the water testing the new toys...GRIN!

Yes, that would be true. I love my place at Apsley. Although I would miss the cheap beer and low prices on tackle.

Lew, you just made my day with your description of Charlie Ray trolling for muskies! I guess that we can all agree there are some great fishing show out there and there are others that are real duds. I'm sure all of these TV guys can catch fish, but some shows drive me nuts! Spare me the ones that have such poor production values that they look like your kid shot them on a pocket camera! And, what's with these guys who are poor public speakers? Sometimes I wish they could just spit it on a wall, so I can read what they are trying to say! It bugs me when the host, instead of talking about what they are doing and why, constantly tries to make funny remarks. Even worse, is when they go into an insane falsetto hee, hee, hee, hoo, hoo, hoo laugh pattern when a fish is hooked. The funny laugh thing was Jimmy Houston's trade mark, and it's annoying even when he does it! Thankfully, there are guys, like Al Lindner and Kevin Van Dam who speak so clearly about what they are doing and why, you always feel that you're learning something. In Arizona there is a local guy called Johnny Johnson. His format is everything I hate, and he has the worse "fish-on" laugh I have ever heard. However, his show doesn't have any "fishing " sponsors. Because of this, while looking for a pattern, Johnny will often work his way though a number of well known baits of different brands. This can be very informative. I don't mind the host plugging the latest product, I'm here to see what's new...so long as he then takes some time to demonstrate how and explain why he's using this bait... In my mind the best shows have a number of short, informative segments...Good graphics and underwater shots of techniques, in action, also help. The most boring shows, are the 30-minutes-in-the-boat ones. This is where we get to watch Host X and Guest Y throw new lure C...Let's face it, most of the time there just isn't enough to say about Lure C to fill a show! At sometime I think a producer must have suggested that these "fishing" shows needed to appeal to a wider audience, that the host needed to be more "entertaining." As a fisherman, I think that this is wrong! I want to see what's new, and how a Pro uses it. I want their input, and I will be entertained if I am being educated...So TV hosts...Spare me the smart-ass remakes, and the goofy laugh, I'm here for your fishing knowledge! Garry2R's

Hi Chris; Hope you're recovering nicely. Obviously I can't speak for all of Ontario or the whole State of Arizona, but I can say that I find the fishing much better around my place in the Kawarthas than anywhere around Yuma. This is a desert, there isn't much water so there's only a few places to fish. The fishing pressure here is enormous so the fish are very weary. Imagine if all of Hamilton was only allowed to fish in the Harbour...or everyone from Toronto had only Rice Lake...On the other hand the season is always open, there are some big fish and it's a great place to test new lures and techniques...grin. Garry

Buck and I left home this morning at 9AM. After gassing up the truck and the boat we headed for the Colorado River at Martinez Lake. The closest ramp is at a spot called Fisher's Landing. When we got there we found that the river was down about a foot and getting the boat off without dropping the trailer wheels off the end of the ramp might be a trick. Discretion being the better part of Valour, we opted to go up stream to Meer's Point, and launch there. On Martinez Lake I caught a 12 inch LM Bass while casting around the boat docks. This fish hit my same-old Sexy Shad Rattle bait. There were several boats still fishing on the other "good" spots and a lot of bird activity... We moved up-stream to Ferguson Lake. Casting the windward shore, in a small bay, I landed two and lost a third on the square lipped #2 Sexy Shad similsr to this. These three fish hit within 15 minutes and were located along a section of bank no more than a quarter mile long. We fished for awhile longer, after the bite died, without success. I don't want you to think I'm a one trick pony. Beside the Sexy Shad I also threw a Rapala Long Cast Minnow, a Sexy Shad Spinner bait and a Lucky Craft Sammy, but only those two KVD baits paid off for me. Here's a nice sunset shot of Fisher's Landing... Garry2R's

I have seen the show, I agree about the music and feel that it's not much more than a 30 minute commercial for his baits

Hi Mike; I fished with the Peterborough BassMasters for a few years. These are great outfits! I'm sure you will have fun and learn a lot Garry2R's

My kids are pushing 40. I told them that they had bought me exactly what I "really wanted." Then, I suggested they spend an equal amount, in my name, on themselves...HAHAHA!

There is a free parking lot behind Hutch's. I had good success fishing in the canal that leads out from the boat ramp.

Okay, here it is straight up, I blew the kids Xmas present money on fishing tackle! I know I will burn in Hell for this, but when I read the Tackle Warehouse "Black Friday" sales flier... I couldn't resist. With the acquisition of a couple of sizes, each, of the new Large Mouth Bass, Bluegill and Pumpkin Seed patterns, I have a nearly full set of the Kopper Live Target Crankbaits. The discontinued, metal model, of the Shimano Stratic Mg 1000 was available at about 1/2 price and I just had to take advantage of the additional 20% discount. This discount also allowed me to acquire a couple of new hard swimbaits at a price I could justify. A discounted Sebile Magic Swimmer and a Strike King Baby King Shad will be hitting the water with me before the end of the week. If you haven't already seen it, you ought to track down the video of the new Sebile Magic Swimmer soft plastic baits. What a great looking bait! The problem is, these are disposable soft plastic baits. At four for $15.00 US, or about $3.75 a piece, the price tag is holding me back. However, I'm sure I will find a way to buy some before I head home...perhaps I can misappropriate the children's Easter money!

A truly splendid report, full of wit and wisdom and of coarse, I'm sure, the unvarnished truth.

I have never had a problem dealing with Shimano in Peterborough. Follow Lew's advice and I'm sure you can get this sorted out. Be polite! They replaced your rod, it's just someone shipped the wrong weight. Now here's something to think about... The rod you broke was rated for 1/4 to 3/4 ounce baits...the rod didn't fail. You broke it with that 5 inch Spook! In my opinion, if you want to use a bait that big you need a much heavier rod. Take the bait to the Post Office and ask them to weigh it for you. I'll bet you need something like a musky rod to handle the weighed.

When you live 30 minutes from Shimano Canada, and when Shimano has every rod at every price point that you could ever want, why would you invest in something that will be a warranty nightmare if you ever need service?

With that high wind it was cool on the water this morning. By noon it was over 70 and life was good again...grin

My neighbour and I were on Mittry Lake Reservoir, about 20 miles north of the city of Yuma AZ, this morning. This man-made lake is totally surrounded by walls of west-coast bulrushes called Tules...pronounced Two-Lees. There are also plenty of cane beds, stands of Bamboo and assorted scruffy Palms. Dividing the lake into canals and bays, are islands or ridges of these materials. Some are solid, but others have waterways through. The solid walls can be 20 or 30 feet thick. There are huge shallow bays on one side of the lake. The balance of the lake is a series of interlocked canals. Between the walls of cane and the main channel is a muddy ledge that can be from 0 to 15 feet wide and is about 3 or 4 feet deep. Then the bottom drops quickly into the channel which is anywhere from 8 to 11 feet deep. Today, we were experiencing heavy winds, out of the north at about 20mph. These winds were churning up the shallow water and had reduced clarity to somewhere between murky and muddy. As we headed into the main canal, I started casting a shallow running, square billed, crankbait in my new favourite pattern, Sexy Shad. I backed this up with a lipless Red-eye Shad in the same pattern. Although the sky was clear, I reasoned that the waves caused by the wind, and the roiled water, would make the Bass feel confident enough to stay up in the shallows. I positioned the boat in deep water, angled away from the wind, so that we were pushed down the canal with the bow toward the deep side. We fired crankbaits at an angle toward the weeds, retrieving back over the shallow ledge, the drop-off and into deeper water. On the wider shallow flats there were new green weed beds, and that's where we were ripping the rattle baits. About mid-morning, around these weeds on the shallow side of the drop-off, I hooked up with a good fish. There were numerous good looking weed beds here that could now cause me grief, so we moved the boat farther out into the deeper water. After a couple of minutes I was able to lip this 3lb 4oz Large Mouth. For the next two hours we tried similar areas without success. By noon conditions were deteriorating. The wind was dropping, the chop was dying and what had been a cool morning was getting hotter by the minute. We headed back to the ramp. It was only one fish, but, I was pleased with the outing. I've been away from Arizona since last March and this was my first fish, from this lake, this season. Smiley Garry2R's Fishing is my favourite form of Loafing!

My and Buck did it long ago.

Well Roy, Cheap beer and no snow to shovel will sure put the inches on you. Grin.