Spiel

.....Well well, another happy (new) boat owner. Congratulations Mo, looks like a nice sturdy rig. Kudos to Art for going out of his to deliver it to you.

....Ah the maiden voyage, sounds so very familiar. Glad to see you both out enjoying your toy, congrats again.

....I know you're hanging round the puter when you ought to be looking after Liam so I thought I'd give you a little peak.

....Oh I see, another one of those guys with two boats.

....LOL, ya I've noticed that, not sure how it happened.

....Don't think I'd get into the habit of cleaning up my rod (custom built or not) with acetone Milty it is a solvent after all. Best suggestion is not to get roe goo on it at all (remove bait before setting in hook keeper) but if you do, warm water, soap and some gentle (persistent) scrubbing. If it's really bad trying wrapping a wet soapy cloth over it and let it soften. ....Ah no, sorry Glen.

....Classic Roy, had me laughing. Hope you had a great day Mike.

....Hobknobbing with the big names eh Brian, who'd a thunk....lol, and you even bested some of them. Lots of zeros on that tally list, must have been a tough one!

....Why is it that photos never really seem to do wave hieghts justice? Though you can definitely tell in the video clip that the bow of that big Lund is bouncing quite a bit. Good job on the musky, I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before you find yourself connected to a leviathan. Now what boat have you installed that Motorguide on Terry? And Wayne being the generous guy that you are, if I was to buy a prop off you would you be able to install a boat and motor on it.

....I honestly can't remember the last time I froze fish. Reason being I just prefer them fresh and if that means eating fish a couple of nights in a row then I do. And to be honest I'm lucky enough to have kids that love fresh fish and don't complain if I'm lucky enough to catch a few meals worth. But that of course does not answer your question. So if I have to freeze them then I freeze them in water (I used filterd water, no chlorine). With softer fleshed fish (ie: whitefish) I found that soaking them in a weak brine solution for several hours then freezing them in the brine gave me a much firmer and tastier fish when thawed. It's lso a good idea to allow them to thaw slowly in the fridge rather than at room temperature.

....Ah the closing the cottage report, always wish I had a cottage to close up. It'd be the kind of working weekend I'd enjoy with some reflection of the season past and dreams of seasons yet to come. I'm surprised though that Paul wasn't with you.

....Oh you are a funny one. And just so you know, the handle is done....

....Well I had a few quiet hours this afternoon (no kids) so I decided to sit down and get my new rod started. I've attached a few pictures of the progression of a four sided chevron butt wrap. Oh my, four hours of eye blurring work and a sore back....lol. But it'll be showy when it's all completed.

....Boy when you do it, you do it large. Great post.

....Maxima Ultragreen for me as well.

....My first boat was named "Silver Miner" on account of all the deep rigging I did for chrome. My last boat had no name but "Sinker" would have been good due to all it's leaks....lol (right Gerritt). My new boat is still unamed on account of I've not come up with anything catchy or is that cause I can't catch anything?

....Yes Brian I will be doing a twist. Actually with the light action of the long rod it's the only way to go. The concept of using bait casters for float fishing is not new however. I had a friend who was doing it over 25 years ago. And friends of mine who've been using center pins like myself for over 25 years have become devout converts to the bait cast system. They swear once I use my new outfit I'll never go back.

....This past Thursday I took my son (Connor) and my girlfriends son (Isaac) out for a little river fishing. Now neither of the boys have ever experienced this type of fishing nor have they ever worn waders. They were quite excited to go and I had no trouble waking them up early. I might add I decided to take Brook (my new puppy) for her first fishing outing as well. We arrived at our destination at the crack of daylight and quickly got geared up (I would only be observing and assisting this time) and headed down the hill to the creek. I was immediately dismayed upon seeing the terribly low water levels. None the less they were pumped to be out of school and were quick to jump in and check out their waders....lol. A short walk down stream and we spotted out first pair of chinooks sitting an a shallow riffle, to say the boys were awestruck at the size of these fish would be an understatement. I decided to set the boys up with mepps 3 spinners in hopes of initiating a reflex/aggression type response from the fish but the low levels allowed these already spooky fish to turn tail and run so onward we went. Soon after they spotted a very large male (20+) sitting in mere inches of water. After failing to entice a strike they decided to get a closer, much closer, in fact they were petting it. After tolerating their presence for a few minutes it turned tail and ran after Isaac tried to lift it up....lol We continued on downstream for about a mile with the boys pretty much testing their wading skills and seeing how deep they could go without falling in. Oh and my puppy was also a real trooper, wading when she had to and swimming across current areas when it was to deep to walk, not bad for her first fishing trip. There was a real lack of fish to be had due to the extremely low water but most every pool we encountered had a few fish and the boys kept trying. I tried to explain to them they they might have better luck if they were not standing right in next to the fish but they didn't seem to care, they were happy to be exploring the ability to get deep and yet stay dry. The last pool we came to had a good number of salmon (both cho and chinook) as well as a few brown trout but try as they might no action. This fish appeared to have been pretty gun shy and judging by the gutted carcasses on the bank (pigs!) I was not surprised. Eventually they gave up in favour of firing their sling shots. Not being one to idly stand by with so many fish about I decided to give it a few casts. I was rewarded fairly quickly with a couple of hits from surprisingly agressive coho males who slammed the mepps 3. But being somewhat rusty I was unable to get a good hook set into their bony kypes. But it did get the boys worked up enough to put the sling shots away for a few more casts. Eventually they gave up and we worked our way back to the van. While Brook was a champ she was beginnig to become somewhat tired due to dragging around a few pounds of water mud and burrs. It took me and the girlfriend 90 minutes to de-burr the poor girl! The boys were still pumped when we got home and were asking when's the next day they can play hookey. I told them it would be soon.

....In a word "TILLER"

.....Well it's a better start to fall steel than I've had, WTG.

....So out of necessity I'm in the process of putting together a new steelhead float fishing outfit. The reason being simply the inability to use my center pin reel thse day due to a work place injury. Without getting into details the problem is one of right arm pain and almost instant numbness when gripping anything for more than a few minutes. So not willing to give up on floating for steelies I decided to build myself a new float rod designed to be held in my left hand and to be paired with a quality bait caster. The rod is an 11 1/2 foot Frontier rated for 4-8lb test and will be fitted with top of the line Titanium framed S.I.C guides. The reel, well it's a thing of beauty! With the help of some dear friends south of the border I was able to get a bargain price on a Shimano Calcutta TE 200DC. I'm telling you this reel is sweeeeeet. I've no doubt this reel will surpass all my expectations. The spool free spins every bit as well as my center pin which of course is crucial for drifting float rigs. The digital cast control I expect will allow me to toss even the lightest of set ups without fear of birds nesting. Now all I need to do is get off my butt and get my new rod assembled. To my friends south of the border, a million thanks, you're the best.

.....Sorry my....... Got to admit though as others have I'm jealous. I know exactly what I'm missing out on having had the pleasure of sharing in a venison dinner at that very table with you good folks.

....Hmmmmmm, even as a well seasoned steelheader it's hard not to be impressed. Glad yous had a swell outing.

....I'd have had it plucked and cleaned before even posting the pics Wayne. Cools shots by the way.

....How unfortunate. I would have been there if I could but alas I was in on the long 12 hour nightshift.