Garry2Rs

There aren't any Pike to-speak-of in the Kawarthas. That's Musky country. If you get north of Apsley on Hwy #28, toward Bancroft you will find Pike in most of the lakes. Rentals might be a little tough to find this early in the season...but...if you're coming this way PM me and I will find you a boat on the lake you're interested in.

Garry2R's.

If you spool up with Power Pro you won't have the memory problem. This line is very slick so it casts easily. You will need to learn two knots, the Palomar and the Uni, the traditional fisherman's clinch knot slips out of super-line. Use 20 pound test, on your son's spinning reel. It's the diameter of 8 pound mono. If your worried about line visibility while still fishing, tie on a leader of Fluorocarbon....say 10 pound test. It is nearly invisible under water. Use about 20 to 25 feet, so that all of the leader is wound onto the reel, plus a few extra turns, when landing a fish. This saves putting the strain on the leader to running line knot.

Good Luck

Garry2R's

There have been a couple of posts recently about low priced gear for newbies.

Bass Pro has a new flyer out that shows 25% off on what they are calling Zebco Family Fishing Combo's.

The Zebco 33/33 combo has two type 33 metal push button reels and a rod for $19.88.

A person could add a second inexpensive spin-cast rod, perhaps something like 6 foot M or even better a MH

to give themselves one with a little more backbone.

They would be coming away with a light and a heavy outfit that would handle almost any situation.

I had the same problem with Spiderwire's Invisabraid in 30 pound test.

I e-mailed the company and they asked me to mail it to them.

Last week I received a replacement spool...I will see what happens.

What pound test were you using? What size lures were you throwing?

When was the last time the plugs were changed?

Nice work.

Keep the reports coming!

If you like push button reels, Zebco has a kit that includes their famous metal 33 reel.

I have also seen several Shimano open face spinning reel kits that looked like they were good value.

You might want to pass up anything that features Sponge Bob or Barbie on the package...grin.

The last year I lived in Hammytown I caught lots of Perch at Peir Four, behind Hutch's on Bay Street starting in mid-April. As I recall the perch run petered out in May, and I shore fished at Waterford for Crappie and Pike, and waded at Caladonia for Steelhead (Lake Erie Rainbow Trout) and Walleye in May.

Garry2R's

Perch up to 14 inches from Hamilton Harbour are safe to eat up to four times a month. So are Bass up to 18 inches, Pike, small Carp and Suckers, if you like. As far a s fishing spots go, you can fish almost anywhere around the Bay and catch something...

There are trout in several ponds out at the Christie Conservation area. Valen's has Bass when the season opens...

There's not much water on the mountain, that's close to the city, but Binbrook Conservation Area is fairly close.

The Grand River is a little farther. At Caledonia there's lots of different species. Ask at the bait store what's running and what bait to use. Passed Caledonia there are the ponds at Waterford.

To the south, there is Dunnville...fishing at the dam is good for Channel Cats, Walleye, and Sheepshead (Fresh Water Drum). There's also Steelhead there at some times of year.

You will want better equipment. WalMart and CTC have low priced stuff that will give you good service until you can afford the really good-stuff.

For baits you will want to seek out people who know what their talking about...If you can get to Fishing World down on Barton Street the guys there are very knowledgeable. With most baits it's not just what you use, but how you use it. For instance, Senko, Zoom, and Yum type plastic worms catch thousands of Bass, but you need the right hooks, and you need to know how to hook them correctly. Jigs also catch lots of fish...but again, you need to know the how, when, where, and why.

Don't be afraid to ask questions!

There are several Hammytown people on this board who I'm sure will help you.

Good Luck

Garry2R's

When the Crystal was introduced, it was supposed to be "new and improved"

No Fireline is braided like Powerpro, it's all fused.

Asked if there's any difference, I'd say that I tried two spools of Crystal, and thought that the new line didn't separate as quickly/badly as the original did.

One thing I guess everyone knows is that the Fireline is thicker, for a given weight than PowerPro.

All Spectra lines come with fabric finish on them. The fiber doesn't absorb or hold dye, so eventually the line fades.

I fined all of these lines a little too stiff right out of the box. A day of casting improves them all a lot.

As for the Crystal line and the new Spider Invisabraid, being less visible or invisible etc. I'm not sure about that. It looks like butcher string in the water to me...But I don't think that it matters to the fish. I'm catching Crappie on red ten pound test Powerpro, but my little friend Natalie is doing just as well using 30 pound grey Fireline.

If we're talking Stony/Stoney in the Kawarthas, Musky aren't open until the first Saturday in June.

I was on Stoney last Friday looking for Crappie. Walleye weren't open yet

There weren't many fresh weeds in the shallows where I was, but I found a few fish around Hurricane Point.

Other shallower Kawartha lakes that I visited on the weekend had much more developed weed beds.

I'm sure Stoney will soon catch-up, now that the weather has warmed up again.

Garry2R's

I have a 24 volt trolling motor, plus my cranking battery runs the live wells, bilge pump, fish finder, GPS etc. on a separate 12 volt circuit.

I want fresh batteries every morning and I don't want to switch cables from one battery to the other in the middle of the night.

My last boat had a two bank charger that recharged both trolling motor batteries at the same time.

I topped up the cranking battery periodically with a portable unit from CTC...

When I got this boat I installed a three bank charger so that the cranking battery also recharges at the same time.

All this from one extension cord and it's weather proof.

The portables don't like to get rained on! It was always a problem finding a way to shield it from the weather...

If you are fishing one day a week, and can protect the portable from the weather, I'm sure you can get by with a single unit no problem.

But, if you're fishing several days each week or fishing a tournament etc. you might want the convenience of a built in two or three bank charger.

The settings will varie depending on what you're doing and where you are.

As a general rule, I think chart speed/ping speed should be on high unless you are still fishing.

If your running down the lake you can be on auto depth and sensitivity.

When fishing the shallows...

Set the depth to something that is reasonable...In a 6-7 foot deep bay you don't need information about anything more than 10 feet deep.

If you trolling a DT10, who cares if there are fish at 60 feet?

Always turn the sensitivity down in shallow water.

If you don't the surface will be cluttered with rebound noise.

To find the right settings, watch your screen.

When the surface begins to clear and the Billion little spots in the water column fade away you're there.

I carry jumper cables so that I can boost from the trolling motor batteries in an emergency.

I also run two cranking batteries wired together because the live wells etc all run off the cranking side.

If you have the room, that's what I would suggest.

My 120 OMC and my 150 Mercury both came with a rope inside the cowel, but Misfish is the only guy I know who is hardy enough to pull start those big suckers...HAHAHA.

Yes connecting to an extra lead attached to the negative side of the battery is a safety thing. A spark could ignite fumes around the battery.

I will also bet that very few people actually do it.

I'm 45 km. so0uth of Bancroft. The Black Flies are out, but they're not bad yet. I was sitting in the driveway working on the boat. Every so often one would sneak up and bite me. There were no swarms etc.

That's sounds like a decent starting outfit. If you can get a 6'6" rod great if not don't worry about it.

Only a few years ago a six foot bait-caster was the standard length and 5'6" was common...

My 25 year old Skeeter's rod locker wouldn't hold a rod over 6 feet long!

This fetish with rod length is just a fashion thing, as boats have become bigger, rods have become longer.

What's the real difference?

The rule of thumb is that shorter rods are more accurate, longer rods will cast a little farther...

But remember that is not just farther from you, but also a little farther away from the target too!

Before we assume that bigger is better, let's be clear on want we're talking about here.

A 6'6" or 7' rod may throw a bait an extra 4 to 6 feet...that's only the difference of a couple of steps and we're talking about this 6 feet on the end of a cast of 60 or 70 feet.

If you are just learning, any difference in the length of your casts is a moot point. You'll just be pleased if there's no backlash...HAHAHA.

On the water, you will probably be casting to a target like that open spot in the lily-pads, the edge of the weed line or the trunk of a fallen tree most of the time. I suspect that most of my casts are to a target that's in the forty foot range. If that's true, I would think that accuracy is far more important that an extra few feet of potential maximum distance...

I suspect that most people would like accuracy on every cast, but only need extra distance on a few...

Therefore, it could be argued that the inherent loss of accuracy built into the longer rod is a bigger penalty, than the few feet in maximum distance the shorter rod gives up.

Garry2R's

Last night there was a camp fire and refreshments next door, so we were all a little slow getting going this morning.

Around 11:30 we headed for Buckhorn, the village, and our favourite Crappies spots.

Mike, my neighbour, caught a very nice one. 14.5 inches...

My best was only 12.5 inches but it was a new PB for me....

The wind was very strong and one of the girls started to feel cold, so we called it a day after 3 hours, with enough for supper in the live well.

Garry2R's

The last few days have been devoted to chasing small fish.

Thursday I struck out on Stoney in the Hell's Gate area.

Friday I found a few nice Crappie in the hurricane point area.

I talked to a local who said they had been in the bay I was fishing all week but had moved out recently...

Like I should feel better?

Anyway, Saturday I went back to my old haunts near Buckhorn and caught 40 with my neighbour and his daughter.

Here are some blurry photos of 11 inch + fish taken by the 8 year old... please excuse my hamming it up for the little girl...grin.

If you get the lowest price in town doesn't it follow that you get the worst service?

Competency cost money!

There are specialty shops, like Abercrombie and Finch, who will fit your guns, shine your boots and arrange a good night on the town, but not for rock bottom, discount prices...

Dad always said you get what you pay for.

Garry2R's

Bronte is a long way from Dundas...

Bronte is at Oakville, the Hwy 25 interchange if you're on the QEW.

About twenty sounds right.

Pogo once said, "I have seen the enemy and he is us!"

So First, a question; Are you practising catching and release?

I hear my neighbors complain about the loss of the good walleye fishery in the local lakes.

They tell me they used to get 6 good ones, every morning, off their docks!

Who believes that a fishery can stand that kind of pressure? What planet are these people on?

Second an observation; These horse and buggy Mennonites are the "Greenest " people on earth.

They have been trying to save the planet for at least 100 years...

Let's cut them a little slack while we tool around in our 8-mile-to-a-gallon 4X4 SUV's.

Third an observation; We currently are enjoying the best fishing in my living memory.

More people are catch more big fish in more places that at any time in the last 50 years.

If your river isn't as good as it once was, maybe you took home the breeders!

Garry2R's

Most of the time you don't need the fluro leader.

Bass, Pike, Walleye, Musky and Crappie aren't line shy within reason.

They are aggressive feeders and will hit a bait towed on 1/4 inch nylon rope if in will fit in their mouth, and their in the mood.

I don't know that much about salmoides, but I do recall from my fly fishing days, that DRAG is a big downer.

If you don't understand what drag is, it's when the current pulling on the line, that is laying on the water, causes the bait to move in an unnatural way.

Fly casters use long fine leaders because the smaller the line diameter, the less drag effects it...Many trout fishers and fly casters don't know this...They believe that the fish can see the line and are line shy...In my opinion this is a myth. Fish have a brain that is less than the size of a pea. They are dumber than dirt, but they know if it doesn't look right.

DRAG is your enemy, not visibility...fish don't care if it's wearing a collar and on a steel chain, they will eat anything that looks wounded, distracted or dying.

Garry2R's

Why not just go out and enjoy using what you have for a few trips.

If you change the line you will probably put a lot of twists in it by accident, where as the line that's on there is not twisted yet.

I use braid for everything. On my spinning out fits I have ten pound Power Pro. I use this for plastic worms, finesse techniques like shaky head jigs, and for pan fish. It is the diameter of two pound mono, so I don't use a leader for anything even for tiny Crappie jigs. Ten pound braid isn't as abrasion resistant as ten pound mono or Fluorocarbon, because its much thinner...like two pound mono, but the line floats at rest and I don't drag it across rocks etc. It cuts through weeds very well because it's tough and thin. If I didn't have baitcasting equipment for heavier work, I might use 20 or 30 pound Power Pro. I wouldn't use any other brand in those weights on a spinning reel. Fireline is also a line I like on spinning reels, but it is much thicker than Power Pro, so I would stay down around 15 pound test. It's no harder to break off a snag on ten pound braid than it is on mono or fluoro of the same weight...in fact it's easier because the mono/fluoro stretches and stretches before it breaks. Anyway you're not fishing for snags...hahaha.

Many of the light weight hooks used for smaller spinning rod type/size baits will straighten enough that and you can pull the lure free of a snag, with braid, because the line doesn't stretch like a rubber band. This isn't generally true of jigs, but if you wrap the line around a stick (Never around your hand) and pull, something has to give.

If you are going for toothy fish like Pike, or fishing where these fish are commonly caught, you might want a steel leader, but I will guess that the line you have is eight or ten pound test and you won't have any trouble landing a toothy fish with line of that weight.

After landing a fish like that check the last foot of your line for nicks! It only takes a minute to retie!

Toothy fish, Walleye, Pike, Musky, don't have any molars, grinding teeth, their teeth are like needles. When you get "bit off" either the knot failed, the line was weak because of previous nicks or the line got plucked back and forth across the fishes teeth until it wore through. The answer is to learn a good knot like the Palomar, check the line for nicks often, and haul those tooth fellows in as fast as possible so they can't work your line back and forth across their teeth.

Mono twists easily, in a few weeks you will have line that looks like a Slinky, you will get a big birds nest and cut off about 60 feet, this is the part you have been using...A few days later it will start again...and you will be ready to replace the line.

With the experience you have gained, using the old line you will have a better idea of what weight you want and if you want to stay with plastic line or move to braid.

Good Luck

Garry2R's

Yeah I heard all that soft action gives you a better presentation stuff too, but I only lost two big Bass while I was in Arizona this past winter.

Both were lost off of lipless cranks on a beautiful G.Loomis Crankbait rod...

My seven foot MH Shimano Crucial stuck them so they stayed stuck!

Now, those fish might have been coming off anyway, but I feel like I get better hook sets with the stiffer rod.

You do what you think is best, and I'll do the same...Grin.