Garry2Rs

Good Deal!

I officially sign over my share of winter weather to you for all time...to use as you see fit.

I will sweat it out down here on the Mexican border, where there is year round boating and Bass fishing.

If your butt ices over feel free to drop down for a defrost.

In the mean time I will try to not to loose my tan.

See you in April...grin

Garry2rs

I read the write-up after the I CAST show in Las Vegas last spring.

These rods won Best Fresh Water Rod and the overall Best-of-Show awards. With a pedigree like that, you have to admit that they sounded very interesting. The fact that the basic material is derived from carrots is a publicity man's wet dream...What a way to capture the publics attention...The colour is just part of the pitch. I'm sure they could make them green, gray or black if they wanted to.

The important fact is that the rods are lighter than graphite, and have more flex.

The designer is a well known and respected rod builder. On their web site they indicate that there will be a full range of models...BUT...as I recall, only two rods are currently available...Both seem to be based on the same blank, one is finished as a medium spinning rod , the other as a medium casting rod.

Garry2rs

It was partly cloudy and 75 degrees today in Yuma.

It's Thanksgiving Day in the US. and all the smaller businesses are enjoying an extra long weekend, Thursday, through Sunday.

Buck and I stayed off the water as we expected that there would be a lot of boat traffic etc. on the local "lakes."

I took this picture the other day...

Sorry about your weather...grin.

Garry2rs

Mount Hope is on Hwy # 6, just South of Hamilton, on the way to Port Dover.

One last point to add to Nater's post.

If you go up to Mount Hope , to the G.Loomis plant, you will find that their rods are built one at a time by hand, just like you could do at home. There are often bargains on rod blanks when companies change colours etc. I don't think a home builder will save much money, but to build something with your own hands and then catch fish with it, might be rewards that are priceless...

Garryrs

Fireline was the first super line I tried. It is made up of thousands of tiny strands of a material call Spectra that are "ironed" so that they bond and fuse together. The process creates a slightly flat or oval line. The Spectra fiber will not hold dye, so as you use it, all Spectra lines will fade to a lighter colour. Fireline, fresh out of the package has a stiff fabric finish on it that will break-in and rinse out after a few casts. With Fireline, as it fades, you will notice fibers sticking out, as if the line is fraying. These are just loose ends that have become un-bonded. I don't think they effect the overall strength of the line very much, if at all, although the line can start to look kind of ratty...grin.

Other super lines, like Power Pro, Stealth, and Tough Line are braided. Their fibers are intertwined to form a round thread. They don't show "split-ends" as much. The braids also tend to be smaller in diameter, for a given pound test, because the braiding process puts the fibers under tension...think of a girl with her hair in a pigtail vs. a ponytail.

Although I am a great fan of Power Pro, I still use Fireline and have bought everything from 10 to 30 pounds over the last 6 years.

Garry2rs

It was 93 today in Yuma. Everyone says it will cool down soon...might drop clear into the 80's...GRIN.

Buck and I were out on the Colorado River, the water is pretty low, plenty of new sand bars...we didn't go faster than a troll.

I hooked one Bass on a Rattlel-Trap, in one of the backwater lakes, but it came off on a jump.

After reading these posts I put my hands in the freezer for a couple of minutes, so that I could imagine what the next few months will be like back home.

I didn't like it...hahaha

Garry2Rs

There are two controls on your reel.

On the crank side there is a friction control...this is used to slow the spool at the end of the cast, so that the spool stops turning at about the same time as the bait hits the water.

A rough way of adjusting this is to tighten it up, then tie on a bait and loosen the control until the bait just settle to the water under it's own weight. As you learn to thumb the spool you will find you can back this control off to nearly nothing...

The second control is the VBS these are centrifical brakes that fly out as the spool starts turning to prevent the spool from turning faster than the line is going out.

If you are getting backlash at the begining of the cast, your bait stops in mid-air, or you hear/see loose line on the spool as the line is going out you need more centrifical braking. I would start with half the brakes turned on...As you become more experienced with your reel, you will find that some lighter baits aren't going as far as you feel they should, they seem to die in the air...at this point turn off one or two of the centrifical brakes for longer casts.

Garry2Rs

The real reason that baitcasters wind on the side of your strong hand goes back to before "free spool" was invented. It those days the reels were direct drive and the crankhandle spun backward as the line went out. It made sense to keep the crank away from your cloths and body.

Some people , myself included feel this is still the best way to avoid bumping or fouling the crank in mid-cast and accidently dropping the reel into gear.

However, feel free to do whatever you want.

Garry2Rs

For a reel the size you mentioned, and to fish for Bass etc. I use 20 and 30 pound PowerPro. I prefer PowerPro, but if I can't get it, or I see a bargain, any of the other name brand braids or Fireline will do. The 30 pound braid is about the size of 6-8 pound mono. I find it easy to pick-out overruns and it's strong enough to pull baits off of most snags.

I have used mono. It's okay, but for the type of fishing I do, I prefer braid. Maybe it's because my eyes are old, but I find tangles in mono very frustrating!

For now, forget about the pound strength of braid. Think about the size of line you might use, if it were mono, then buy the same diameter of braid...If the box says 50 pound, so what? The extra strength is a bonus. If your worried about it not being "sporting" take up fly fishing and use two pound test leaders...HAHAHA.

Here's a tip to stretch your dollar that will work with spinning or casting reels...Spool up about 3/4 full with cheap mono, or some of that old twisted stuff off your spinning reel...grin...You will never see it again, so anything will do. Then add 40 or 50 yards of braid on top, to fill the spool. You will never cast into the backing, and you will get two or three refills from your one package of super line.

Garry2rs

I live 25K north of Burliegh Falls and although that's not exactly in the Kawarthas proper, I answered the poll, because most of the North Kawartha water flows into the Kawarthas.

It was a hot dry summer. I'm sure that effected everyones results. The weed growth was extra heavy...water levels were generally down. On the other hand, there weren't many rain-out weekends...and the cottage people were on the water a lot more than usual.

I saw a couple of what I think were PB's caught...whether they were or not , they were damn nice fish.

I know that being so close to the Golden Horseshoe, this area isn't very exotic, but in my opinion, it's hard to find a better bag for your buck.

Garry2r's

Hi Lew;

I read that there are many crashes each year caused by using cruise control in slippery conditions. I also read that car companies were adjusting the CC so that it wouldn't work IF YOUR WIPERS ARE ON.

Garry2rs

I agree that the next record will come out of the Great Lakes.

It's simple math...Big waters equal low fishing pressure and a huge food supply...this equals big fish potential.

Garry2rs

Instead of a simple favourite lure debate, I'm picturing this as a survival situation.

One bait to save your life...

The spoon is good.

The crankbait is too.

The jig is super, and any type of spinner, whether it's in-line or bent into a spinnerbait would be a sound choice most of the time.

But if you have to put fish on the table and you don't know what you will be fishing for, I would chose a fly.

Something mid-size, like a muddler minnow or a woolly worm.

They will catch any fish that swims and you can use a tree branch and a piece of string as your rod and line.

Garry2rs

No word on the boat yet. I can't seem to connect with the adjuster. Why is it being handled out of Toronto???

Part of the problem is that I don't have a phone down here. Plus, things are complicated by the three hour time difference.

Why they don't refer me to someone local baffles me.

On a happier note;

Yes, it is a nice area and the weather is great.

Some of the native species remind you of cartoons...grin.

I have a fishing buddy who is from B.C.

We get out in his boat once in awhile.

Buck likes the year round swimming.

If I do get home sick for snow and ice etc, I just stick my head in the freezer until the feeling goes away...It doesn't take long...grin.

Garry2R's

Hi Guys;

Let me tell you a little about what Buck and I are up to at this time of year.

In the Winter we live in a trailer in Yuma Arizona. Although there are dozens of Trailer Parks around the city, we are on a regular street.

This is my place.

That's us way in the back...grin.

The property is my parents and they have a Winter home down here as well. Their place is on the right in the picture above.

This is our street.

Most of the houses around here are basically trailers. Unlike mine, they aren't something that could be towed, they're more like prefab houses that are assembled on your lot. Some are single wides, 12x60 and others are double wide. The double wides are 1000 to 1600 sq.ft. and look like regular single story houses. The lots are quite large, usually 75' or 80' by 100', because they're designed to accommodate a double wide and a motor home. Some of my neighbors arrive by motor home and then use it as a guest house when they have visitors, other folks park a 30 or 40 foot trailer, like mine, on their property for their company.

It's still very hot down here, 95-100 everyday. The humidity is low, so it's not quite as bad as it sounds, but 100 degrees is hot anywhere!

The evenings are cool so it's no problem to sleep.

Next month it will start cooling down and it will be nicer to be out in the boat etc.

So far our fishing has been limited to a local pond.

Between March and November this pond is stocked with Channel Cats.

Notice that they're gray, not gold like the wild ones...

In December, January and February they will put Rainbows in the pond. According to the Fish and Game people there are Bass in the pond too, I've never seen one, but I've seen plenty of bait stealing Sunfish...grin.

There are many types of Catfish baits for sale down here. Some are soft pellets, about the size of Halloween candy kisses. They come in bags. Others are pastes. Generally they are called stink baits. They come in tubs like margarine. To hold the bait on there are special hooks with springs wound around the shank that work well with the firmer pastes and pellets, and snelled hooks with plastic tubes and sponges attached. The hooks are pushed into the softer pastes to fill the tube. These baits slowly melt in the water.

I usually just buy chicken livers at the supermarket...75 cents a pound...they work as well as anything else. They are hard to keep on the hook, so I wrap small pieces of the raw meat in nylon mesh, to make something like a roe bag. The midgets still manage to steal the bait but it slows them down a little...grin.

There's a Boy Scout Jamboree at the pond this weekend, so Buck and I will stay home and watch the baseball and football games. I'll try to have new pictures and something interesting to report next week.

Garry2r's

I believe that Polar Ice is made of nylon. It isn't made with Spectra, like Power Pro and Fireline etc. This is basically what people used on baitcaster's back in the 50's.

garry2r's

Hi guys;

Buck and I left our Summer home in the Kawartha's and headed south for the Winter after breakfast on the 12th of October. We arrived in Yuma Arizona on the evening of the 14th.

Along the way we wrecked our boat and trailer when a leaf spring on the right side of the trailer snapped in half and sent us into a very interesting skid and spin-out. Fortunately we missed the other traffic and the guard rails and got stopped with no damage to ourselves.

The boat took heavy damage to the right rear quarter when the wheel on that side tried to climb into the boat...the axle is bent, the tires are scrubbed bald, the skeg is broken, the SS prop is mangled, but everything is insured and we were able to drive away...after the wrecker took charge of the boat and trailer.

We await the insurance company's decision regarding fixing or writing off our stuff.

In the meantime we are shore fishing at a local pond. This time of year there are Catfish and some type of Sunfish available. The Cat's are hatchery raised Channel Cat's. They appear steel gray rather than gold like the wild ones. The sunfish have a long blue "ear" and are fairly light in colour with subtle vertical bands, sort of like some Muskies. I have pictures but I left the camera to PC connection cord at home...Dawh...You will have to wait until I get a new cord or a card reader, which ever costs less...GRIN.

Garry2rs

Thanks for the good wishes.

The packing is done and all that remains is putting the plastic boxes in the truck.

I'm stopping in Hammytown tomorrow noon to take care of some last minute details, then stopping again in Chicago to visit my son and daughter-in-law.

After that it's put the hammer down until we see Yuma...Probably sometime on Monday.

MSN Maps says it's only 28 hrs. and 13 minutes from Chicago to Yuma...I guess they never have to stop for gas! HAHAHA

garry2r's

The frost is on the pumpkin and it's time for Buck

And I

To head south for the winter.

We will pull out of the Kawarthas this Friday and pass close to Chicago, St Louis, Oklahoma City, Amarillo and Phoenix before arriving in Yuma, next Monday. Here's hoping you have a good Fall and Winter season. We will be off-line for three or four days, while we cross the continent and get the computer set up in our trailer down there. Once settled, we hope to tantalize you with our stories of winter Bass, Trout and Catfish angling...grin.

Once again we hope you will have lots of stories about freezing your butts off etc. to make us feel blessed to be in the sun...HAHAHA.

garry2rs

Thanks guys, glad you like it...Blush-Blush.

I sold a boat and motor to a guy from Lake "W" this weekend. He told me he's getting lots of Walleye at dusk...He even shared his hot spots...Who wants to be my friend now!?!?...GRIN

We can talk about this later, I am busy packing for Arizona right now. I hope to get away this weekend. Say hi to the ice fisherman for me...HAHAHA.

garry2rs

My fishing buddy Curtis hasn't shown up yet this weekend. Since I was unexpectedly on my own, my neighbours Mike and Natalie, asked me to come over to their place for Thanksgiving dinner.

I asked them to go fishing with me while the bird was in the oven.

We didn't want to go far from home, so we scooted around the corner to a little cottage lake inside the Kawartha Highlands Park.

The Fall colours are still very pretty, although some trees are nearly bare.

Everything photographs well under an overcast sky, there are no real shadows, only a lovely flattering wrap-around soft light.

On film a pale pink or straw colour warming filter takes care of the overly blue skylight, with digital cameras you can correct it on the computer

After yesterdays showers things were slower than usual, but we had fun with the Rock Bass and still managed to land and release eight or ten Smallmouth. Natalie lead the way with a mixed bag of 19 fish including the big fish of the day... Unfortunately my batteries died, and I only have a picture of her first and smallest Bass.

We used 4 inch Senko type worms with chartreuse tails and four inch worms with twister tails on tiny jigs.

I hope your Thanksgiving Day was just as much fun...grin.

Garry2R's

Yes Friday was a PD day so Natalie and her Dad called to see if I was interested in going fishing...Is the Pope a Catholic???...grin.

The water was in the high 50's at around 9:30, and the lake was dead calm.

The game plan was to start fishing just past the marina in West bay, around the big shoal ...There were lots of fish hitting the surface, but for our crankbaits, worms and spoons, there was nothing doing.

Next we worked our way toward Tallan Creek and found a couple of small Pike on a triangular shaped shoal.

Moving north toward the creek there's a shoal at the mouth of what I think is called Hawk Bay, I caught a good Bass on a 4 inch Senko type worm.

There was nothing around the docks and boats in the small bay east of the creek mouth and shoal. There are many weed patches in this bay. Tossing spinnerbaits and spoons we got a couple more small pike.

Both took a white and chartreuse spinner bait.

It was now well after noon, and a breeze was ruffling the surface. I wondered if this might get the Bass bite going.

We motored to the south shore and basically hit boats and docks. Working shallow we picked up another couple of Bass.

At 4:00 we had to head home to deal with other commitments.

In Summary:

The fishing was challenging...read tough...grin.

The dead calm water was probably what made it hard to get a bite.

The action picked up with the breeze.

The Bass are still shallow.

I got a message yesterday asking about a lake that's a few minutes from my place. It's quite rocky and poorly marked. This year I was only there once, back in July. Somehow the morning had gotten away from me. I had intended to go fishing, but got started on a recipe for lasagna using cabbage instead of pasta...Now it was 1:30 and a case of going somewhere close or staying home...since it was on my mind, I decided to give the lake another try.

This lake contains SM Bass and Musky, but the locals complain that it's hard to catch anything except Rock Bass...

Boy were they right! Working the shoreline, docks and rocks etc. with a wacky 4" worm I hooked a RB on 8 or 10 consecutive casts...

The first SM. I caught was in front of a dock, in a little deeper water than the RB's. I tried to cast to more deep rocks etc. but the RB's hunted me down...grin. Moving out into the lake I fished around the first group of islands that I saw. I was still getting some RB but the ratio was now more like 50/50 or 60/40 rather than 1 in 10...hahaha.

This might have been because the open water was more attractive to SM's than the sheltered bay I had come out of, but it might have also had something to do with my changing baits...

Last spring, when I was gearing up for Crappie, I bought a tiny set of curly tail minnows that attached to an odd looking combination spoon, jig head. It's made by Berkley and is called a " Blade Dancer."

I never got around to trying it on the Crappie, but yesterday I thought it might be fun to toss it to the RB. The whole bait is only two inches long, the plastic minnow representing about 75% of that. The spoon is set at an upward angle, sort of like a diving lip in reverse...The minnows are skinny and painted as exact replicas of live fish, except for the curly tail...On the retrieve, the spoon flashes and wobbles while the plastic does it's curly tail thing. The hook is soldered on with a large blob of lead. When you stop cranking, the bait dives. The angle of the spoon causes it to circle and glide as it goes down. In this size it is very light, so I had to crank slowly, or it would rise to the surface...

On the first cast I hooked an RB, as expected, but on the next three or four casts I caught Small Mouth, including the best fish of the day. This was a two pounder that grabbed the skinny little two inch bait!!!

As I said, the little curly tail minnows are painted up very realistically, I wondered how important that was to my success when an RB bit the tail off...Removing the wrecked minnow, I replaced it with a plain curly tail Crappie grub, just to see what would happen. Later, I also tested a Crappie size tube...It was a short test, but I think they worked just was well as the fancy minnows.

I know that I have seen this bait in larger sizes. I will take a look around CTC etc. today to see if they have any left. I recall seeing some with 3 or 4 inch pike minnows, but the tail wasn't curly, it was natural looking...Perhaps powered by a larger spoon, it wobbles and swims...It doesn't look like something that will work as good as a curly tail to me, but I will buy the kit anyway. I think a larger spoon-jig head will swim a regular curly tail grub or 4 inch worm in a very interesting way.

Garry2R's

PS:

The lasagna was great...grin.