Paulus

Pic Heavy....-yah! As IF. "Pic MEGA LOADED" more like ! Awesome report, and great catch! Love those beautiful bass, too. Thanks for sharing! p.-

At first I thought he was calling ME that They are shy little guys & seem to be good divers. One of these days I'll get a better camera & then I'll really deliver the shots p.-

Would've been nice, bud. You might have known to avoid the specific mistake I made in the early, early morning (i.e. fished the wrong spot on the right river) - otherwise, you missed a cold day... no biggie! Before you know it, March will be here... btw, a hunter buddy of mine says that the duck is a Bufflehead. p.-

Well, it wasn't anything like my last trip with Solopaddler, and I almost packed it in early. I visited several tributaries yesterday morning only to find that most of the rivers and creeks were lower and clearer than I'd expected, and a heavy wind rose about mid morning to really chill the bones - all of which usually means "go home." Luckily, the last river on my list was in perfect condition. I could tell, by the full parking lot & the heavily trampled shore, that it had been pretty well dredged. But I managed a couple, nonetheless, & I lost another. Saw some geese, too. Oh... and a ducky... p.-

I second that. Water looks awesome! Thanks for sharing p.-

Very true. I found Avast at download.com & I have to say that it's the easiest, most effective anti-virus solution I've used so far. I've had lots of different versions of Norton; it always works great at first, but as you install programs over the months and years, it really bogs you down. In fact a few email viruses got past Norton when I had it, which was a real pain. But I've had no such issues with Avast. I also use Spybot for spyware. Using the Windows uninstall feature is generally good enough to get rid of most of the Norton components that start on your system. Even if there are a few megabytes of program left, it is usually inoperative & won't affect the speed of your system, especially if you use Disk Defrag (start-->all programs-->accessories-->system tools) regularly (i.e. min once a month). This is how I've run all my systems that had Norton software, and I've had no problems. Another extremely simple solution, if you don't mind fidgeting with the guts of your computer (or learning how... it's deceptively simple) is to install a new hard drive (or have one installed) without Norton. Generally you can set your existing drive as a slave (or secondary drive) and still have access to all your previous downloads, files, etc... I did this when I ran out of space on my original drive, and I'll do it again when my current drive gets too full. This usually costs less than 100$ for hardware & 0 labour if you do it yourself p.-

You can get roe at Gagnon's on Bloor street at Park. They are also quite knowledgeable there & can help you select floats, hooks etc... A 6ft rod is a wee bit short for float fishing, and you'll find that you'll have a lot of slack to reel in before you can set the hook which can cause you to miss a lot of bona fide hits. It's still worth a try, to see if you like it; but once you decide you like it enough, I would go no shorter than 9ft. If you foresee getting more and more interested in the sport, then definitely go longer (up to 15ft!). The 2 most important functions of so much length is 1) ability to control slack for better hook sets while floatfishing and 2) more overall flexibility allows you to use lighter line with fewer breaks. I would not overlook pink worms, jigs and wetflies as viable tools with which to catch steelhead. Medium to small sized night crawlers, too. With a 6ft setup you may find it more effective to bottom bounce. You can also use small spinners and banana baits (flatfish) in slower, deeper water. Bright colours when the water is dirty, natural colours when it's clear. Bigger baits in dirty water, smaller baits in clear. This goes for anything you are fishing with from roe to spoons, as a general rule. Presently, the Shwa creek is only open from Hwy2 (Bloor Street) to Lake O. It will open up all the way to its headwaters again on the 4th Saturday in April. I've fished the section below Hwy2 a lot over the past couple of years, and I can tell you that it's worthwhile walking it up and down and fishing the deeper drifts. PM me if you'd like specifics p.-

Definitely, you only need the neoprene on the coldest days, when you know you won't be doing a lot of walking but will be sitting in the water up to your navel all day Getting breathable material instead of Neoprene is worth the short term pain of cost, for the long term gain in comfort. When it's cold, just fleece up. IMO there is just no better system. I will never go back to neoprene! Wading jackets are available at BPS etc... Not sure where you are, but you should try Angling specialties if you're N or W of T.O. and Tightlines/Gagnon's if you are East of T.O. Wilson's downtown T.O. also has an excellent selection for such a smal shop. To save $$$ I suggest trying on different things in the store, then see if you can order them (or similar items) from Ebay. You can also order decent stuff from Cabelas. They have an excellent return policy, too. Best bang for your buck on Ebay are the Orvis Silver Labels. They are extremely breathable, very well made, will last you more trips than almost any other wader in its class & are very decently priced (around 100 Cdn, sometimes less). I have a 5 year old pair; the first 3 years had no issues, then I turned stupid & tore them; fixed them with Aquaseal and they are now as good as new (if they don't exactly look it!). Mine are bootfoot: warmer in cold weather as the boots are lined with neoprene & are spiked (avoids lots of slippage & not as heavy as gaitors). Good luck! p.-

Awesome pics & fish! Thanks for sharing. p.-

Am I too late? What about a gift certificate? For myself, I never drank a single malt scotch I didn't like. From Glenfiddich to Glenlivet. Sheep's dip was a good one, but sadly I don't see it on the shelves anymore. I wonder if the name had anything to do with it? I'm one of those inveterate cigar smokers who always need something strong and fine to sip, as they wreathe themselves in smoke. Bourbon, brandy, cognac, scotch. All of them are fine companions to a good puff p.-

This post is a great idea I want to add my 2cents, too. First, 5 fishermen/hockey team in the making. 2 years ago, my parents were just parents. Now, they are on cloud nine as grand-parents of 5 rambunctious little destruction machines Christmas is going to be a blasty-blast! We actually managed to clean them all up simultaneously, last June (the one in the middle and the second from the right are my twins. Fraternal of course, as they don't even remotely look alike!) : Miscellaneous Steelhead fishing pics: Michigan is in a universe all its own. Some scenery and some jewelry: Opener in Ontario: a large drop back hen & bonus brown My favourite pic from the fall, showing Solopaddler putting the boots to an impressive specimen that was immediately released. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year to all! p.-

Also, the Grand River flows through Lansing. Here is a really cool little write-up on the Grand River. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/greatrivers/grand I don't know why, but when you click on the link the flyanglersonline server will tell you "looks like that one got away"... All you need to do is delete the slash after "grand" in the address bar, then hit enter. I have no idea why it's doing that. Close to Grand Rapids, which is closer than the Manistee, the Rogue River flows into the Grand. Here is a link with details. http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing..._06_Rockford_MI The Manistee is a fabled river, though, and worth the drive. But these links provide you with destinations that are a lot closer to where you'll be (or are). p.-

zzz still up... It was memorable for sure! I look forward to our next outing, bud Please don't worry about us being cold! There's something about winter chrome that makes you impervious to all but the nastiest chills. Ok and steelhead madness helps a lot, too! If anyone really wants to be numbed, see my blog entry for this awesome day http://theaveragesteelheader.blogspot.com p.-

Looks like the site is down, or else they heard all the complaining & decided to take it offline so they could fix things. I can't even get to the document from where I'm sitting. "404 page not found," like so many other government services... p.- 5 minutes later.... I just googled them & looked at the "cached" version of the OMNR publications website & they have definitely taken down the new regs. So the Bighead is back in business, boys! p.-

Good God, Bond! What a saga! I really enjoyed reading about your ontarian adventures, OO7. The photography was gorgeous, and it really looks like you mastered the Toronto bass. Those are some awesome fish! On the flip side, though there is lots of fishing to enjoy here, there are also great places to visit in Europe. You may have to travel farther to get to them, but they certainly do exist. Good luck! p.-

I've been waiting all day for this report. Thanks bud. Glad to see that you did well. p.-

Float fishing, with spinning equipment, is also a lot of fun. This is a method that’s well suited for the lower Grand, too. Under a float, you can use lures, such as jigs, wet flies and plastic baits (the 3" berkeley worm in hot pink is very popular among steelheaders & can be rigged weedless). Baits are usually better, and this can range from small minnows and worms, to fish eggs tied in bags. If you look at Solopaddler’s most recent posts, most of the fish in his pictures have roe bags still in their mouths. As far as exactly what kind of float to use, I suggest www.redwingtackle.com as a good place to start. They have an article on how to rig up that is pretty good, and their floats are good too. Note that they are “floats,” not “bobbers.” This means that they don’t bob. When a fish strikes, they are designed to go down and stay down. I’ve only fished the Grand once, so you’ll have to figure out the depth. The rule of thumb is to keep the bait or lure about 6” from the bottom. Where the current is pretty constant, trout tend to hug bottom & stick close to structure. If the water is really slow, try shortening the lead a little (I’ve seen a 2 ft lead work in roughly 9ft of water at a river mouth once; anything much longer than that was not being visited at all). Longer rods are better for float fishing, because they allow you to keep your line out of the water thereby giving your float rig a more natural drift. I would suggest 12 ft as the minimum length rod to use on the Grand. You can rig your reel with 6 or 8lb test, which should suffice. You can actually use this setup for tossing lures, which is sometimes very effective for trout. Good luck! p.-

Not that far from it, really. I've been fishing with Mike well over 10 years and his knowledge and skill in the art of catching steelhead are nothing short of professional. But Mike is also a great all-round fisherman, for all the species that are available in Ontario and Quebec. I also feel envious when I see all those pics and all those fish, because I wish it was me But they are very tastefully presented, with no backgrounds to give away where they were caught. So, get out there yourself & catch a few. It will help ease your pain! Regards, p.-

I feel your pain! But there's rain in the forecast (so they say), and hopefully that'll bring in a few fish. Nice first chromer!

yep down there on the farm, they sure do act differint. She didn't jump much, but she was shockingly strong. Then I had a beer

Insanely envious of Solopaddler and his most recent orgy of chrome (I've been witness to many, believe me!) I finally got out myself for a little bit of fun this past Monday. The conditions were no longer as good as they had been on the weekend, but I still managed a good bunch of steelhead. Here are just a few. Thunderball!!! This guy leapt about 5 times before I finally got him in. The next two pics are from the same fish. I couldn't believe the dimensions... very short for the width and weight of her. She still put up a heck of a bullish fight. Took a good 10 minutes to get her to shore. And finally, the one that didn't get away... Yummmmmy! Cheers, p.-

He's still young. Talented (and published), but young. He's very good at hanging over your shoulder if he thinks you've got the best spot, which is the mark of a young fisherman - "outta my way, cause I gotta catch 'em all NOW!" He and his buddies still owe me a pic from last year, so I'm a little bitter. Now, THAT was a pic I'd like to see posted p.-

You can check out Lebaron's in Markham, Angling specialties in North York or Tightlines in Pickering. I think Gagnon's in Oshawa has an ok selection, too, but they're often out of stock. If you can make it downtown, Wilson's is a good place to check out a lot of top notch products. You can try stuff on, and get a good idea as to what will fit you best. No need to buy anything right there and then, but they have a much better selection of high-end high quality stuff than BPS. Then you can order them off Ebay & save yourself some coin I forgot to mention a disadvantage of the bootfoot over the bootie (with stocking foot); the bootie fits better and so is more comfortable on long hikes. There are bootfoot waders that remedy this by offering bootstraps on their bootfoot waders (Orvis, Cabelas); they're more expensive, but you'll get fewer blisters & won't have your boots slipping off in the mud, for example. My Chotas have excellent boots - it's just too bad that they're so leak prone. p.-

Mooseroo, welcome to the wonderful world of waders. In one word: mayhem! The quick answer to your question is: bootfoot breathables. Solopaddler told me years ago that if you are going to have only one pair, get a good pair of bootfoot breathables. You get the best of both worlds. The long answer is: First, because they're breathable, they move more freely - very important in early October or late April & early May when the sun is relatively hot. You sweat a lot less on those long trecks through the bush, and up and down river banks. Then, when it gets cold, you can bulk up your clothing - thermal underwear, fleece, electrically heated jock etc... They also dry much more quickly, even in cold weather. That's a plus when the cold winds start to blow. Second, because the boots are attached there is no fuss getting them on and off; and they're a godsend when the weather turns cold - much warmer than sockfeet with booties. You'll also never lose the booties: like your head, they're attached (that's a good thing in my case as can be attested to by some of the members here). Most bootfoot breathables also feature a neoprene lined boot, which is why they are so warm. By comparison, there is nothing that will keep you warmer than a pair of bootfoot neoprenes, at all times - and I mean ALL times, like right now when the sun's so hot you think you're becoming lobsterized inside those things. The only thing I see in your requirements that gives me pause is the use of a float tube: make sure you've got big flippers if you get booted waders. The next thing you'll encounter, if you're at all swayed by this entry, is which brand to choose. This is where the real mayhem starts. For example, some waders that may be relatively inexpensive can last much longer than the big expensive ones that come so highly touted at the angling shop. In my case, I still have an old pair of bootfoot orvis breathables that has fewer leaks (and easier to fix) than a much newer Chota pair I have. The Orvis are silver labels, almost 5 years old, have been on countless trips & cost me about 100 Can. The Chota's retailed for 379.00 US and leaked after about 6 outings. The difference, as far as I can tell beyond stitching, is that the Orvis ones are made of a smoother material that doesn't suffer as much from friction at the knees & crotch (the two most likely places any wader will leak first). Good breathable brands to consider are Simms, Patagonia, Orvis and Dan Bailey's. I mentioned that neoprenes are warmer in general than breathables, but they are also stronger in this category: durability. Neoprenes will always outlast breathables, because the material is just tougher. That said, I no longer own a pair of neoprenes, but fish all the way through to December, February, March whatever: I'll never go back to neoprene. Why? because of the final component in my mini novel: Aquaseal. As long as your leaks are from wear, you can always fix your breathables with Aquaseal and they will last much longer. Much, much longer. Your neoprenes will, too. Hope this helped! p.-

The americans sure like their sports. Here's a new one, which also happens to be a good approach to the asian carp problem they're having "down south"... Enjoy! p.-