adolson

I feel your pain, Mike. I almost jumped in after a fish once. It wasn't a PB, but it was a trout, so that's practically the same thing.

The nutrition "science" is hilarious. Eggs are bad! Eggs are good! Egg yolks are bad! Milk is bad! Milk is good! Cholesterol is bad! Saturated fat is bad, buy our white synthetic butter-type spread! Currently, the so-called mainstream is all, "low-fat is the way to go, and here is the science to back it up!" The paleo guys laugh at the absurdity, but then turn around and do the exact same thing, only with a different macronutrient: "Low-carb is the way to go, and here is the science to back it up!" I expect a low-protein craze to pop up any day now, "low-protein is the way to go, and here is the science to back it up!" Every day there's a new bad guy we all need to avoid. Personally, I don't do the low-fat or "diet" products. I also don't worry about dietary cholesterol or saturated fat. I do try to avoid HFCS, MSG, artificial sweeteners, hydrogenated oils, refined sugars, and unnatural trans fats. I regularly eat bacon, actual butter, coconut oil, two dozen eggs per week, bacon, nuts, local chicken and beef and bacon, lots of fish (especially trout), and bacon. I think you'll find most of this to be agreeable, yet pretty much against the traditional mainstream. But I also eat salads, fresh fruits and vegetables, potatoes, and whole grains as featured in english muffins, pastas, rice, and breads. Paleo works for you, and that's great. Balance and moderation works for me. Or at least it appears to be... Maybe I'm secretly still morbidly obese and all the fat is just hiding on my back so I can't see it! If all the carbs I have been eating ever suddenly kick in and I gain back the 100+ pounds I've lost, I'll look at cutting out all fun and happiness carbs from my diet.

I eat all of this stuff. In fact, I've eaten more of it in the last year and a half than I have the rest of my life, and I've lost between 100 and 120lbs in that time and feel so much better than I ever did. Can't be all THAT bad for you. Over-eating is what makes you fat. If you eat 4000 calories a day, of anything - even just bacon, but your body and activity only burns 2500 calories a day, you're still going to gain weight. It's not magic, it's not a mystery; it's just how it works. I have heard the paleo argument, and it's OK if you want to live like that. It may work well for you and others, and that's good. But I don't think it's for everyone. I need my carbs. AND my bacon.

Are you a paleo guy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBobThWI9_o

Bahaha, dude, I JUST saw that after searching the name on Google... I had seen the reel before, but totally forgot about it until today. That's hilarious! I am thinking of buying one as his first Christmas gift from daddy, and keeping it in the box until he's old enough to use it (if he wants to - maybe he'll just keep it in the box). That, or maybe a movie director for Disney's newly-acquired Star Wars franchise.. You never know.

Thanks again, everyone. Thanks for the advice. I may invest in a little fireproof safe for pictures and other sentimental things we never want to lose.

Thanks, everyone! I have a couple ice rods and I thought about using them for him, but wasn't sure if they were long enough really. And they're just Berkley rods... Maybe good enough, though. We'll see! I hope he does out-fish me ASAP! I can steer the trolling motor and he can pull in the fish. Teamwork. Nipfisher, I will update my profile pic sometime. Just for you. haha.

Clockwork Angels, at the moment. The song by Rush, of course. In a lengthy playlist that includes the whole album, plus a bunch of Pearl Jam, the new awesome Soundgarden album, and much other good stuff.

I am working on making a second rig so that I will have two rods and two stationary rigs - enough for two people, so I can go with a friend or family member who doesn't have their own gear but would like to fish with me. The second stationary rig will come in handy on the colder days when I get too lazy to jig. My rig is not really a traditional tip-up. Or maybe it is - I don't know much about ice fishing gear, really. But I love it. It's a hockey stick, a tip end from a 2-piece fishing rod, and an HT electronic spool/reel that beeps and flashes an LED when line is taken out, so you know if you get a bite without having to keep your eye on it every second. It worked very well for brookies last season. My gear is pretty much ready. I'm not sure how much I'll be out this year though. I thought I would be out all the time, but now, I still care about fishing, but I don't want to miss anything with my son. I will definitely hit the ice a few times. Gotta get me some trout. Hmm, if I bundle him up warm and take him, can I put four lines in?

I wanna try this!

A few months ago I asked my dad what my first fish was and he told me it was a resident brook trout, and told me the exact location I caught it. What I didn't know was that he took pictures of my earliest fishing trips, and my mom had them in an album. She brought my childhood photo albums to me this weekend at my request, and I got a big surprise while leafing through the pages. Here are a few of the pics, from Spring 1984. Fishing on the rocks: My first fish - my first brook trout: I was only 2 years old at that time. In June of '84 I took my first ride in a Sportspal, and while I can only see a tiny piece of the gunwale and wooden transom, I am very sure this is one of the two Sportspals that I currently own. It was originally purchased in 1968 or 1969 at Giant Tiger by my grandfather, Cliff, who passed away earlier this year. I showed my dad the pictures tonight and he also thinks it is my 12 footer, as I bought it from my grandpa last summer. My first canoe ride: My mom was bringing my albums so I could compare my baby pictures to my first and only child, a son, born on November 19th. His name is Caius Channing Clifford Peter Olson. We already have a tiny lifejacket for him. I just need to find a small Shimano rod and reel for him, and we're all set. None of those junk $10 rods for my kid. Here he's probably dreaming of fishing, and judging by the expressions he was making, he probably lost a trout right at the boat. Oh well, we'll get the next one, buddy! I can't wait for him to catch his first fish. I'm going to fish the spot I caught my first this spring and see if they're still in there. If they are, I'm going to take him there so his first fish can be a speck, just like daddy. And I will also take him in my 12 foot Sportspal for his first canoe ride. Just like daddy.

I'm a tad jealous.. For the first time in my life, I can't freaking wait to get on the ice. I've got a list of lakes to try and reach this season. The tough part will be finding parking somewhere close, since none of them are in my back yard and I don't have a sled or ATV.

I love my own rigs that I cobbled together, and I'll stick to those. I can buy a lot of bacon for $42.99.

I used Whiteout to sign my name overtop of his. Now I own the only Dana Olson signature Shimano rod ever made! It's not a bad little rod for the price.

I flipped my Sportspals upside down. Bam. Winterized.

At $15 for an average rainbow trout fillet, my wallet can tell the difference.

Beauty!

Do all trout spawn in the fall? I thought rainbows maybe spawned in spring for some reason, and I have no clue about splake, they're a mystery. Regardless, I put in many days and never seem to catch anything after a certain point, no matter what I do or what I target (I did try for bass and pike last fall). I don't want to give up so early, because the wait for ice is a long one. So if the fish are catchable, then I will get out there again a few more times. I have one blade bait, or snag machine, as I call it. Never tried it for specks. Maybe that's the secret weapon I need...

I keep a fishing journal of pretty much all of my catches and the last fish of 2011 came on October 10th. I tried many times afterwards, and came up empty-netted, not to mention usually soaked and cold and tired (especially on aurora's closing day). Late last year I switched my fishing focus to trout, and haven't looked back. I don't have access to steelhead or salmon anywhere near me, but I am fortunate enough to live within day-trip distance of many, many lakes, including a bunch of year-round trout lakes stocked with brook trout or lake trout, as well as various splake lakes (and a handful of rainbow trout lakes, but they're mostly harder to access without an ATV). So I don't have to quit fishing in the fall, but I kinda feel like I'm wasting my time. The lakes I fish are usually fairly small, so I can cover them usually fairly well. The fish have to still be in the lakes, obviously, but they don't seem to want to come out and play with me. I don't think it has anything to do with the moon or the wind or weather, since I've tried on full moon, new moon, and everything in between, wind from N, S, E and W, rain, snow, sun, clouds.. The good days seem to be very random, even during the summer. Some days I can catch them on hook and worm under a bobber, other days they want spinners or spoons. Sometimes they want them in close to shore, other times in the middle of the lake. Sometimes near the surface, other days you need to go deep. Retrieve fast, or sometimes slow, and sometimes at a medium pace... But none of this seems to matter once the fall season kicks in. I can try everything I can think of, but I just wind up with shiny lures and frozen hands (gloves don't help much at all on the rainy days, I've learned). It's like they're hibernating. Or just pointing and laughing at me. So, I must ask: do you have any tips for me? Or should I just give in and take up hunting? I see a lot of grouse and rabbits around here... But I'd kinda rather have a trout on my plate.

Great report, man! It looks like you have a beauty spot there, and when I saw the first pic, I wished I were there.

Nooooope!

Yeah, a Sportspal is just a bunch of foam held together with a thin layer of aluminum, so it winds up being lighter than they look. I do realize there are other options out there, including ones that are as light or lighter, and likely some that are very stable. But I own two Sportspals that I paid a total of $150 for, and the important thing to me is that I knew what I was getting - a light, stable, leaky fishing vessel. I'd love to try some lighter canoes out some day, but I think the chances of me finding one at a price *I* would pay is probably slim. I've not used very many real canoes in my lifetime, but the ones I did were not very stable. In fact, last summer, I don't know what brand or model but I tried this one canoe out. It was a calm day and I was in 4 feet of water, but still, it was so tippy, it felt like there was a drunken A.D.H.D. epileptic in the middle of having a seizure in the boat with me and I was afraid for my life.

In other words, it's not about the weight whatsoever. A 12' Sportspal is around 34lbs, and a 14' is around 41lbs. I've yet to find anything lighter, especially without sacrificing stability. I feel safe in my Sportspals and fish from them exclusively. But I would never want to paddle them for long distances (and by "long distances" I mean I don't want to paddle them AT ALL). A real canoe will take far less effort, is much more maneuverable, and will go a whole lot faster than any Sportspal will. On a trip such as you're planning, you need to factor in more than just the weight of the vessel. I'm speaking from inexperience here. But I'm pretty sure I'm right - I wouldn't do it myself, and I'm pretty sure I'll be buried in a Sportspal when I die.

Yep. My WalMart sells a nice selection with wider variety of Blue Fox spinners for at least a dollar cheaper than Canadian Tire does. The only true tackle shop doesn't even carry Blue Fox. It's like a music store that doesn't carry any Fender guitars. what the hell That's just one example, but the same applies to the Little Cleos, though Canadian Tire seems to have the sizes I want more often than WalMart. And again, the "tackle shop" doesn't seem to carry them at all. It's like a music store that doesn't carry any Gibson guitars. what the hell