FrankTheRabbit

I went to St Jacob's Market where a fella was selling $20 boot waders. Obviously, they were not breathable and they lasted half a season of river fishing. They tear really easily and in the end, I was able to salvage the boot part to use with stocking foot waders for guests. Like everyone else above has said, spend the extra few dollars and you can fish comfortable knowing you won't bust a seam when you rub into some leaves.

the exciting part is, I've only scratched the surface of this great fishery. Looking forward to discovering the beauty of this province.

Some friends called me crazy when I moved to Montreal seven months ago. The food and nightlife experience has been phenomenal and the fishing is pretty good! I admit, I've had huge withdrawals fishing the rivers for salmon and steelies, but I've managed to find a few gems to hold me down. The St Lawrence river is a huuuuuge water system with a steady current. Many species of fish call this water system their home and I've had the pleasure of encoutering a few of its resident fish. American shad fishing was quite interesting. Using shad darts was something new and fishing shoulder to shoulder is such an understatement. lol The locals love their shad and they are definitely amazing fighters at the end of your line. I look forward to discovering more gems around the city–it's been fun so far!

Insane. I want to call you too! I have a case of Boreale! lol Nice fish!

maybe Gatineau Park? I've never been, but it is on my places to visit this summer.

You could try and get new plates for your car? Might be cheaper than paying the ticket if you plan on travelling said vehicle back to the States down the road.

Always a pleasure reading the updates! Thanks for putting the effort in making a difference.

Over the past few days, I've been thinking about that custom Rainshadow bait casting rod that Spiel built that was in the classifieds, about a year ago. I hummed and hawed and eventually, somebody snatched it up. I can't remember who bought it, but that is a sweet rod for a great price. I'm sure the finish was impeccable.

If none of you have had the chance to eat fish & chips in Nfld, the next closest thing is located in Scarborough called A Taste of Newfoundland. Atlantic cod is the ingredient of choice and man, I'm a convertor for life. Good bye haibut, hello Atlantic cod. It wouldn't be an authentic Newfoundland joint if it didn't serve your fries with gravy and dressing-icing on the cake. The chips portion is quite big so if you decide to take a visit, go on a hungry stomach. It's located along the south side of Lawrence, just east of Midland in Scarborough.

I'm visiting family in Ontario for the holidays and I'm not looking forward to going back. My buddy has been telling me how crazy the snow is now. lol I hope the snow removal crew can keep the roads cleared up. It will be my first winter in MTL.

WTG! Always love hearing how the hatchery is coming along!

I can vouch for Ah_long from these forums too. Great guy to deal with!

Thanks for the update, you guys do an amazing job for the fisheries up there!

Wish I was around to head out with you, Dave. Hopefully sometime soon!

I found out the other day that St Huberts can deliver beer or wine as well!

The fine may be $200, but the fact that they are on the MNR's list is worth its weight in gold. Apparently, the snagger we reported has never been fined or charged with anything at all. I'm very certain that it was not his first time out trying to snag salmon and more so that no one took the time to report this clown. Now this snagger is on file and it can only get better from here. I would definitely call that progress.

Had a run in with a pair of snaggers who we video taped dragging fish (tail first) towards the shore. We pointed out to them MANY times that they have to put the fish in the water. They just shrugged their shoulders and continued. I joined along and took videos of these clowns trying to snag fish with their 2oz egg sinkers. Another angler had placed a call to MNR and we were told it would take about an hour for a CO to get there and we decided to wait it out. I knew what car they were driving, so I walked to their car, took photos of the license plate and model of the car. After speaking to the MNR operator a second time, another angler spoke in the snagger's language and tipped them off that we called the COs on them. Within 5 minutes, they were packing their stuff and I video taped them getting into their car. About 10 minutes later, a CO shows up and we provided EVERYTHING! Photos, videos, license plate number, model/make of their car, the whole 9 yards. Sure, it prevented me fishing for a good 1.5 hrs, but it was totally worth it. It took the team work of a few anglers, who have never met before, to gather all this evidence to provide to the CO. The CO was happy and he told us that there should be enough evidence to charge these idiots. I know sometimes we get caught up with the fishing aspect, but do take the time required to gather evidence to provide our COs. Sometimes, just a video or picture will not hold in courtroom. You have to have absolute proof that the clowns are fishing illegally. I would gladly put aside 2 hours of fishing (or however long it takes) in getting snaggers/poachers off our rivers.

There's no fish in them waters, but no fish for sure if you end up staying at home.

From what I've read, DWR sprays do not inhibit breathability. They actually bond to the textile's fibers and do not fill in the spaces between the fibers. Paraphrased from: http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/rainwear-dwr.html Possibly might be different between different brands of DWRs.

Nikwax is good and so is Grangers. The tech wash is good to cleaning out the dirt that clogs the pours. I wouldn't recommend the TX-direct wash-in treatment. What was mentioned above, the wash-in treatment would affect breath-ability of the inside. The DWR spray would be the way to go. Some manufacturers recommend you wash your jacket one per month if you are a heavy user. The DWR spray could be applied every other wash cycle or you feel that it no longer beads water anymore. Most of the time, you can wash your garment, dry it on low, and the DWR coating will reactivate again. I'm a huge believer in Goretex shells/jackets as long as you take care of them. I have a Goretex jacket that's 15 years old and it still beads nicely.

10lb chinnies is definitely close to minimum, but possible to work with. If you found a break just above your bag, a knot failure might even be possible. I found beefing up my mainline (12lb) and stronger leader (8lb) resulted in bent hooks (size 10 raven octopus strong hooks). If you use a beefy mainline and leader, consider stronger gauge hooks (lik size 6 or 8).

Don't think it compares to Bronte last year or the usual spots on Willy. Saw quite a few fish that die on the banks, but not gutted. Either improper release or they just died from the warm waters. Saw this one headless carcass on the banks, but a square shaped chunk was cut out, but put back in place. Any idea what that's about? I've never seen or heard...the best that I could come up with maybe MNR doing a sample of the fish?

Hey peeps, I just wanted to vouch for Ah_long in his service with my Quantum Smoke bait cast reel. Super knowledgeable and if my reel were like my own flesh and blood, I'd have no worries that he would take very good care of it. I don't think my Smoke reel is anything to pimp out on, but if I ever acquire a high end reel, I know he will come up with the best way possible to pimp it out. Many thanks man. I know we will cross paths again!

Some epic Jaws moments caught on vid! Nicely done!

Howdy, Just a follow up review with Glenn, from Bigyen's. Super nice fella and courteous. A cold front swept in a couple of days before and made for a pretty tough day of fishing. Started the day with water temps at 71F, but warmed up to around 74.5F by 1pm. Overcast skies with a bit of rain didn't really encourage the fish to bite, but we did land a few good 2lbs+ largies and quite a few pike throughout the day. Thanks again everyone for recommending these two. They are pure class act guides and I wouldn't hesitate fishing with either of these gentlemen in the future.