Spiel

That is a good question and since my supplier is closing it's doors I also would like and answer to that question. Anyone?

....Back to the fishing folks....

....I'll be happy to offer any assistance and guidance you may wish to solicit.

Me either, I'd skip it in favour of something, anything better.

I'm currently in mid process of finishing one rod Peter, a 6' 10" Frontier rated for 12-20lb test. It'll be travelin to Lakair for the pike tourney. No worries I'm ambidextrous.

Thanks all, I only intend to use them indoors during fair weather wouldn't want to get 'em dirty. Joey, none of this would have likely happened weren't it not for the kindness of one of our fellow board members. He knows who he is, a big thanks to him is also due.

....Some of you may recall I was looking for a new bait casting reel and had decided on this Pinnacle Matrix. Well as it turns out the tackle store where I ordered it did not have any left. So in order to fill my order and make me happy they offered to substitue this Quantum. So how does this equate into great customer service? Well they offered to give it to me for exactly the same price as the discontinued Pinnacle. This Quantum is a far better product than what I had origionally ordered. I tell you I'm ecstatic. Oh I forgot to mention the origional order called for two so they are giving me two at no extra cost! And who has done this for me......All American Outdoors Outstanding customer service! Thank you All American Outdoors.

....Very nice, it'll certainly open up new possibilities.

No need to apologize Peter, just trying to help you learn.

....Actually it's a King and a fine eater for sure. I erred big time this morning by not getting up early and dragging myself out there, maybe Sunday.

Not exactly. Lot's of log jams and boggy bottom areas. Oh and you'll find plenty of hungry skeeters.

....The "Rocky" is strictly specks and browns with lots and lots of posted land. I'm very familiar with the Markdale area and if you get land owner permission you should find the fishing fairly good.

Fishermen on both sides of Lake Erie fret over livelihood TOM HENRY / toledoblade.com WHEATLEY, Ont. - Commercial fishing is a dying industry on the U.S. side of Lake Erie, but it remains big in Canada, with an annual harvest of 36 million pounds. But for how long? Peter Meisenheimer, Ontario Commercial Fisheries' Association executive director, wondered that as he stood on a dock in Wheatley, Ont., the world's largest freshwater fishing port, in the shadow of a Canadian fishing vessel returning with its morning catch. Fuel costs are rising. But that's not what bothers Mr. Meisenheimer the most. The big-picture issue to him is the inherent power of the American sport-fishing indus-try, and the degree to which it may influence management decisions on both sides of the border. Is North America's most productive freshwater lake being managed with a bias toward the recreation and tourism industries? Or can those who fish for a living still thrive? Such questions have lingered for years. But they loom larger as costs rise, the economy worsens, and more restrictions are imposed. In January, a new group called Great Lakes Commercial Fishermen LLC filed a lawsuit against the state of Ohio in U.S. District Court in Toledo, alleging the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is conspiring to dismantle what's left of Ohio's commercial fishing industry by regulating it to death. That action was preceded in Canada by a lawsuit commercial fishermen filed last fall against the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, alleging the province simply rubber-stamps recommendations it gets on catch limits from a binational advisory committee. "It's not like everything is skittles and beer up here," Mr. Meisenheimer said, comparing Ontario's commercial fishing industry to Ohio's. "We're suing the government ourselves." Though his association sued Canada's largest province, its real beef is with American fish managers who represent their states on the Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Mr. Meishenheimer's group claims that committee "has morphed into a politically driven management agency with no legal mandate and no accountability," an accusation that committee members dispute. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission of Ann Arbor was founded by the United States and Canada in 1955 to combat the dreaded sea lamprey's assault on lake trout and other fish. It also was created for networking information about exotic species and general fishing issues. Now operating on a $20 million annual budget, its five lake committees have made recommendations on management issues since 1965. It was accused of acting beyond its constitutional scope in formal complaints filed in 1997 and 2005. Both were dismissed. Frank Reynolds, a commercial fisherman from Oregon involved in the 1997 challenge, has accused lake committees of becoming "the absolute power" through the policy consensus they deliver to state and provincial governments. Similar allegations were raised in 2005 by Wolf-Dieter Busch, a Maryland consultant and longtime U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientist with years of fisheries management experience along the gulf coast, the Great Lakes, and the Atlantic seaboard. He said the committees wield great influence, whether it's tinkering with the ratio of predators to prey or relying too heavily on hatchery-produced fish. Mr. Busch also challenged the commission's scope in a 2003 peer-reviewed article for a scholarly journal published by the University of Toledo's Legal Institute of the Great Lakes, and wrote a 1998 paper on the topic. But as commission spokesman Marc Gaden has noted, the lakes - shared by eight states, two provinces, two nations, and Native American tribes - are unique in that no significant part of them is deemed federal waters. The opposite is true for the oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. The issue of quotas One of the most important jobs for the fishery commission's five lake committees is to recommend catch limits. They're based on what officials believe must be done to at least maintain, if not rebuild, the region's fish population. This year, the Lake Erie Committee has called for a more restrictive quota on yellow perch, which is walleye's equal as a prized catch. Ultimately, decisions on catch limits have been complicated by the cultures and traditions of the United States and Canada, plus those of tribal nations. Mr. Meisenheimer said the two countries have different fishing priorities because of an "accident of geography" which has resulted in lopsided populations of near-shoreline residents. Canada's Lake Erie shoreline is dotted by quaint villages such as Port Burwell, Port Stanley, Kingsville, New Glasgow, Eatonville, and Cedar Springs. Big U.S. cities nearby Compare that to the U.S. side. There are several cities with populations of 100,000 or more people along the lake, including Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Pa., and Buffalo, plus more - such as Detroit, Ann Arbor and Akron - that are a short drive away. And there are a number of midsized American cities along or near Lake Erie, such as Sandusky, Port Clinton, and Monroe. Ontario has few natural harbors and few boat launches along Canada's Lake Erie shoreline. It also has 250,000 inland lakes for anglers to choose from, said Mike Morencie, chief of Ontario's Lake Erie management unit. He's also a member of the Lake Erie Committee. Roger Knight, the Ohio DNR's Lake Erie fisheries program administrator, is Ohio's representative on the committee. "We treat quotas like caps, not goals," he said. "The fact of the matter is our fish supplies have been compromised by a lot of environmental factors." Quotas can be controversial, depending on the perspective. Mr. Knight said people often forget how productive the lakes once were and accept current populations as the norm. He said officials are fair to both the commercial and sportfishing industries - yet acknowledged the sportfishing industry's $800 million economic impact on Ohio. It overshadows the estimated $10 million in benefits the state receives from its commercial fishing industry. Forty percent of Ohio's catch is taken by the commercial fishing industry, even though the state issues only 18 licenses for trap nets and 30 licenses for seine nets, he said. Ohio licensed 400,000 anglers and 796 charter boat captains last year. "We're not aware of anybody in Ohio who's gone out of business for economic reasons," Mr. Knight said. Ontario issues 514 commercial fishing licenses. More than 85 percent of the fish netted by commercial fishermen in Ontario is exported to the United States, Mr. Morencie said. Ohio cracked down on commercial fishing in 2005. Most charges related to illegal marketing of yellow perch. "The violations were serious and extensive," Mr. Knight said.

This is true, Frontiers are not a Loomis product.

Holiday weekend walleye spree also costs men $4,600 in restitution Thursday, June 5, 2008 Darren Toms / wtam.com (Sandusky) - Ohio isn’t messing around when it comes to fish filching. Seven Wisconsin men paid more than $4,600 in fines and restitution this week, while two of the men spent three days in jail. Why? They took more than the legal limit of walleyes from Lake Erie during the recent holiday weekend. Acting on an anonymous tip to the Turn-In-a-Poacher hotline prior to the Memorial Day weekend, investigators with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife conducted surveillance on South Bass Island where the illegal activity was said to be taking place. During the four-day holiday weekend, investigators observed a group of anglers "double tripping" – that means taking multiple daily limits of walleyes during the same 24-hour period. Investigators detained the men when they returned to the mainland and determined that the group possessed 67 walleyes over the legal limit. Investigators also confiscated camera equipment, photos and videotape that reportedly document the over bagging activity. "We have been consistent with our message that this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Ohio," said Kevin Ramsey, supervisor for the Division of Wildlife's Lake Erie Law Enforcement Unit. "We welcome all to participate in this outstanding fishery on Lake Erie, but in order for everyone to benefit from it, and in order for us to maintain it, the bag limits must be observed at all times." On Tuesday, Ottawa County Municipal Court Judge Frederick Haney found the seven men guilty of multiple counts of poaching walleyes. They were ordered to pay $50 in restitution for each walleye taken over the legal limit in accordance with new legislation that increased the value of wild animals that are unlawfully held, taken, bought, sold, or possessed. The new law reflects the present-day value of Ohio's wildlife, which can range anywhere from $20 to nearly $2,500 per animal. Thad B. Burkette, 32, of Hartford, Wisconsin, Travis J. Sonnentag, 29, of Ripon, Wisconsin and Jeff Steinman, 32, of Slinger, Wisconsin were each convicted of double tripping for two days on walleye and possessing 12 walleyes over the legal limit. Each was fined $350 plus court costs and ordered to pay $600 in restitution for the illegally taken fish ($50 per fish). In addition, their fishing licenses were revoked for 2.5 years. Burkette and Sonnentag also received 40-day jail sentences with 37 days suspended. Steinman was ordered to serve 50 hours of community service. Patrick J. Mann, 50, of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, Carey T. Slater, 33, of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, Thomas A. Slater, 60, of Eden, Wisconsin and Chad Meinberg, 33, of Oakfield, Wisconsin were each convicted of double tripping on walleyes for one day and taking six fish over the limit. They were each fined $150 plus court costs and ordered to pay $300 in restitution for the illegally taken fish ($50 per fish). Ten-day jail sentences for each man were suspended. Their fishing licenses were revoked for one year. Meinberg entered not guilty pleas to additional charges of double tripping on a second day and taking seven fish over the legal limit. Judge Haney set his trial date for June 25.

....LOL, well all I can tell you is that for the money Frontier are good rods, I own a few myself. But if money is no object then Loomis is the route I'd go. As for being lighter well the key to any long rod and fatigue is balance.

....You'll also find that Sheldon Hatch and Bob Devine post here.

....You'll need to know ring size in mm (5mm sounds correct) and the tube size measured I believe in 64ths of an inch.

"ITS OVER" and the hockey posts will soon follow?

....Wow, wait I think that's been said cause like "WOW" seems appropriate.

...Oh no no no, don't cut it! Gently heat and remove.

"BLACKJACK" I mean 21

....A small lathe for curing the epoxy winding finish is essential in my opinion. An old BBQ rotisserie motor works well. I'd also be more than happy to help you at all or any stage of the building process via PM's.

I'm sure you're the man that can do it Glen?

A Great Lakes mystery: The case of the disappearing species May 29, 2008 sciencecentric.com An up-close photo of an adult Diporeia, a rice grain-sized crustacean in the same biological class as krill and shrimp. They have served as an important food source for a variety of fish throughout the Great Lakes. © Tomas Hook Throughout the overlooked depths of Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes, a small but important animal is rapidly disappearing. Until recently, the animal - a shrimplike, energy-dense creature called Diporeia - was a major food source for commercially important species like lake whitefish and many prey fish upon which salmon, trout and walleye rely. Scientists are employing new research methods in a quest to explain their population freefall, which threatens to negatively affect the Lakes' ecosystems and $4 billion sport fishing industry, said Purdue University researcher Marisol Sepulveda. 'We want to narrow down likely causes for this decline,' said Sepulveda, an assistant professor of forestry and natural resources. 'It may help us halt the animal's further disappearance.' Sepulveda has begun to identify substances involved in Diporeia metabolism, the set of chemical reactions that maintain life and allow organisms to respond to stress. Differences in levels of these metabolites between individuals and populations in various regions of the lakes may point toward the stressor or stressors responsible for their decline, she said. In the same biological class as krill and shrimp, these rice grain-sized crustaceans dwell on lake bottoms and feed on descending algal plankton. Their bodies contain 30 percent to 40 percent lipids like fats and oils, making them a vital energy and nutrient source for the entire food web. They are already gone from many large areas of lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, said collaborating researcher Tom Nalepa. In Lake Michigan, there are almost no Diporeia found at depths shallower than 90 metres. Just 15 years ago, their density often exceeded 10,000 animals per square metre at such depths, said Nalepa, a research biologist with the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. The spread of invasive zebra and quagga mussels - voracious filter feeders with an overlapping diet - largely coincides with Diporeia's decline and is widely believed to be at least partially responsible. But research cannot yet explain the link, Nalepa said. 'We don't know why Diporeia are responding so negatively to the mussels,' he said. Sepulveda is looking into another possible contributor to Diporeia's decline: water pollutants like pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), flame retardants or others. Detailed in a study to be published in print and online next month in the journal Aquatic Toxicology, Sepulveda measured Diporeia's response to a common pollutant and also began to identify differences between declining populations in Lake Michigan and those native to Lake Superior, the only Great Lake where populations remain stable. The latter comparison found the groups shared only 5 percent of their total metabolites, suggesting that animals from the two lakes are biologically quite different, Sepulveda said. 'The answer to Diporeia decline may be found in these variations,' she said. Sepulveda and University of Michigan researcher Tomas Hook were awarded a four-year, $560,000 grant by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust in January of this year to further investigate possible causes for Diporeia's decline. Both researchers are co-principal investigators of the project. 'We are casting a wide net to basically address a number of hypotheses at the same time,' said Hook, a fisheries ecologist hired by Purdue who will begin work there this July. In Sepulveda's study, she and her team contrasted levels of metabolites between a group of control animals and that of an atrazine-exposed population of laboratory-reared Diporeia. They found that animals subjected to atrazine, a commonly used pesticide present in minute levels in Lake Michigan, significantly increased or decreased bodily production of five identifiable chemicals. These included an insect pheromone, a fatty acid, an amino acid and a hydrocarbon, she said. 'We are just beginning to interpret these data, but they give us a better idea of how pollutants affect them,' Sepulveda said. 'If nothing else, our results suggest that seemingly insignificant levels of pollution could significantly harm animals like Diporeia.' The project should help address suggestions by some researchers that Diporeia and/or invasive zebra and quagga mussels may be capable of bioaccumulating or affecting levels of pollutants in a way that might intensify their harmful effects, Sepulveda said. The project also should deepen understanding of exactly how the invasive mussels hurt Diporeia, Hook said. Researchers have looked into, but have yet to determine, the extent to which the mussels outcompete the crustaceans for food, contaminate their surroundings with their effusive waste material, or influence the transmission and spread of diseases. Regardless of the reason, Diporeia's decline has already had some measurable negative effects on various fish species. Alewives, an important prey fish that provides Chinook salmon well over 80 percent of its food, have declined in growth rates, condition - measured as the ratio of weight to length - and caloric density since Diporeia populations began declining, said Charles Madenjian, research fishery biologist with the United States Geologic Survey. 'Alewives used to regularly reach 10 inches in length,' Madenjian said. 'Now we're lucky to find one that breaks 8 inches.' Diporeia previously supplied 50 percent of the food source for the commercially important lake whitefish and now supply only about 5 percent. Since the crustacean's decline began in the 1990s, growth rates and the condition of lake whitefish have substantially fallen off, Madenjian said. If Diporeia's decline proves to have similar negative consequences upon other species and continues to worsen, the most severe effects may be forthcoming, although it is difficult to predict such outcomes with any certainty, Nalepa said. Hook said he believes the initial step in taking action is to pinpoint causes. 'The first thing we can do is find out more precisely why they are declining,' he said. 'If we guess, any management decision we make could be counterproductive.' Zebra and quagga mussels were almost certainly spread to the Great Lakes from Europe or East Asia in the fresh water ballasts of ocean-going vessels, beginning in the late 1980s, Nalepa said. People need to be aware of the risks of spreading harmful invasive species and such ballasts should be more tightly regulated or possibly banned, he said. In one simple preventive measure, boats exchange their freshwater ballast for salt water ballast in the open ocean, thereby killing any freshwater species present. The study by Sepulveda used a process called gas chromatography to separate metabolites and matched them with known chemicals on a national database. Researchers identified 76 metabolites among lake-dwelling animals and 302 among the control and atrazine laboratory populations. Results from the two comparative analyses suggest that fatty acids and hydrocarbons are important to the animal's survival or may be interfered with by particular stressors. Diporeia put on much of their weight during the spring bloom of diatoms, algal plankton they feed upon, during which energy capture and storage are particularly paramount. This leaves them vulnerable to disruptions in food or their ability to store it, a process in which fatty acids play a key role, Sepulveda said. The four-year grant includes researchers from three major universities - Purdue, University of Michigan and the State University of New York - as well as two federal institutions, Hook said. The published study was funded by a grant from Purdue's Centre for the Environment. Co-authors include Sepulveda 's doctoral student Kimberly Ralston-Hopper as well as Jiri Adamec, Amber Hopf and Cheolhwan Oh, scientists at Purdue's Bindley Bioscience Centre.