SirCranksalot

That's the kind I need. I have never been gentle on any gear, fishing included.

Thx folks for all that info. Looks like I have a number of options. So it seems that "Whiskers" is aka "Tournament". Probably part of the reason why I couldn't find them on Google.

Thx Fishgreg. I'll pass on that one then. Anyone know where I an buy a 1300 or 700? Basspro or Cabela's don't seem to have them.

Great show! Well done. My bro is in his sixties and still hasn't lost the enthusiasm---every fish is like his first one!

What, and pass up on those cute lookin' pike!? Nice catch!!

Interesting read. But I think he meant open cell foam rather than closed cell: closed cell won't soak up anything.

http://www.sail.ca/e...fishing/?page=3 I'm in the market for a good spin reel as well. Any opinion on the Abu Garcia Soron SX 20 or 40 now on sale at Sail's website? thx

in Sounds interesting. Have you used that 'trick' lately? How do you apply the wax?

Which steelhead blank would you recommend for local Ont rivers?

So has the army been put on alert just in case???

Well color me green!!! SP, From earlier posts I understand that you have also fished Esnagami. A small group of us is looking at going to Es. in 2012, but from your post it looks like lower twin might be as good or better. How would you compare the 2? Thx

I definitely wouldn't go skinny dipping there!!!

That's why I switched to Gmail When i phone Bell to tell them i was cancelling they asked me why. I said "Service and price---I think that just about overs it!!"

Snidley, I'm not sure what you mean by 'blade only' spinners. Would you mind explaining it a wee bit? I googled backbouncing and I get the impression it's big on the West coast with deep waters and very big fish but the deepest river water I fished is about 15 ft, so it's probably too shallow for that technique.

Solo(Mike), I,m really glad to see your post. I'm just getting into 'bows and the only success I've had has been with lures, but I've seen so many(the vast majority) using roe that I became convinced that was the way to catch them with any kind of consistency. So, as I mentioned elsewhere, I have been so far frustrated with roe. I think now lures will be my first choice and maybe use roe if that's not working. My limited luck has been on Little Cleos an 5 of diamonds. I wonder why you use such a strong leader(12#). The roe folks seem to all use light (4-6#) leaders and still manage to land big fish. Allso, wouldn't a lighter braid be easier to cast i.e cast further?

I've also heard that a strong N-W wind on the Notta bay will bring fish into the river. I guess that's because the lake level at the mouth rises esp after the wind has been blowing for some time.

Bill, Are you saying that in slow moving water you use no sinker at all? The last few kms of the Notty is quite slow, but from the big sandbanks up to near Klondike Rd. is, for the most part, quite a bit faster. I see people using quite a bit of shot in there. Even now there seem to be lots of weeds, so bottom bouncing is a bit tricky. NP56--I've tried both nightcrawlers and 3" pink worms w/o any luck either. ChrisK, I'm surprised that you say they are at various depths. Most everything I've read says that they hang about near the bottom. I've talked with quite a few guys over the last 2 days and things seem to be quite slow, so maybe we do need rain. As a novice it seems to me that if we have several fine days in a row the fishing peters out. I guessing that by now most of the fish that came up river when the water was fairly high have gone quite far upstream by now.

"You are most likely running too short." I'm not sure what that means. Do you mean my leader is too short? I've been using about3 ft of flourocarbon down from my swivel and varying the distance for the sinkers -I'm guessing staring out with about 16" up from my hook and varying 6 " or so either way.

I'm fairly new to the Wasaga Beach area and I'm trying to figure out how to catch rainbows. I caught a couple last fall on lures, Little Cleo and 5 of Diamonds, but have caught none on roe. I've mostly been using roes this year because that's what everybody tells me works best. I just have a reg spinning reel and an 8 ft rod. I've tried float fishing with roe but I guess my technique is not very good--it's difficult to keep a little bit of tensiion on the line so that the float slows down and the roe plus sinkers go downstream ahead of the float. That's the technique I've read about on-line anyway. Maybe some fish are hitting but with some slack in the line I haven't felt them. Anyway, not a single hit despite several outings. I'm reluctant to but a centerpin reel and a 10-14 ft rod. Then I noticed that quite a few fishermen were using bottom bouncing with spin reels and roe. I've now tried that several times as well w/o a single strike. Part of the problem might be poor timing. I find it very hard to get out for sunup like many folks seem to do---I've mostly been fishing midday. I've had a couple of hits when I did try the lures again, but if roe is a lot more effective under most conditions I'd like to 'get in on the action'l. Any tips? sign me 'frustrated in Wasaga"!!

Thx Solopaddler for those details. I'll try to find some---probably easiest to order on-line. Having a monster pike hit is great but don't you just hate it when one of those wet dishrags(aka walleye) grab it!!

"Posted Today, 08:24 AM That's how I used to cook every fish I caught when I was a kid. You get used to where the bones are, and can pick them out really quickly." Ditto! Filleting is just for city slickers, latte drinkers and such!!

Pike are long like logs( and sometimes fight that way) so it's better to steak the bigger ones( saw 'em up like logs). Then the bones are easier to pik out.

"I use them probably 50% of the time now. Very specific colors and lures though, not just any small crankbait. You also have to switch out the hooks as the hooks that they come with tend to get crushed by steelhead." Solopaddler---If it's not too much of a secret, could you tell us what lures and colors? I hear some folks swear by orange Rapalas. I thought Rapalas were too shallow. My fave bass lure is a crayfish pattern "Big O" which dives a bit deeper. So do you remove the trebles and replace with a single hook? thx

One poster(Solopaddler) mentioned using 'bass type plugs' with some sucess for 'bows. Anyone else try them? Success? What types worked the best for you. Thx

Quite the fish, Solopaddler!! Have you had any luck with bows using crankbaits? Thx