barracuda

Maybe he needed insulation for his barn?

Lucky Craft Sammy 85 in open water, Spro Bronzeye Popping Frog in cover, and the odd popper when more sound is needed. All twitched sporadically with some pauses in between.

None

Sufix SPB Braid

Took the words out of my mouth. Like PP, just better.

Fishing Depot carries some of the Jackall stuff. Have bought TN70s from them and I am pretty sure they had the squadminnows too. Beyond them, I'm not too sure, you might have an easier time shopping online.

All the Velocities after the Openback series were kind of ugly imho. You should also check out the Lamson Guru, it's the cheapest machined Lamson you can get and it falls in between the two you mentioned. No matter which way you go, great drag on them all.

That grey on the custom is a good look Wallico!

Can't go wrong with an islander as your first or even your last. I'm loyal to the anspec though.

Wait for the curado e to come out. looks shweet.

Senkos: Not a big fan of wacky, weightless t-rigged on a 3/0 Owner rig'n hook or 2/0 J Hook all day. 2/0 Gamakatsu G-Lock if you prefer gammies.

Tubes: Usually drag em, with a few small twitches integrated into the retrieve.

Hey Guys,

Was hoping on doing some fishing in the Kawathra region this weekend. Can anyone tell me how the bugs are?

Was out last weekend near Ottawa and the black flies were so bad that my gf swears she'll never go back there again. Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks for all the input guys. It's unreal how big of a weight difference people put on it. Guess I'll hafta get a digital scale for next time.

In response to a few of the comments:

-it was caught way down south in the U.S

-it was hooked from an elevated fishing pier/dock thingy and i had to jump down to land it, the camera girl took pics from above

-it had a huge head and was long but as many of you have said, it wasn't particularly fat

For now, I'll happily accept it as possibly a PB bass. Thanks again everyone!

4-5 lbs your holding it out far and your elbow is extended good ol camera trick

Lol, no denying that! Wanted a good pic! Tis why I included the fish's length.

Thanks for the guesses so far guys and keep em comin!

Hey Guys,

Caught this bass legally while down south a few weeks ago on a LC Sammy 85. It was definitely big by my standards but I'm kinda curious as to how much it weighs. I'm 5'11" and the fish was about 23" long. Anyone care to guess?

Thanks in advance!

I just got one of these and they are as smooth as my Shimano Calais IMO.

 

Jose

Lol Jose, I can't believe that you, of all people, said that. I'd agree with your vote for the HSTA though. That or a Curado 100D on rebate.

Lebaron: Great pricing but i'm a bit jaded by poor customer service in the past. It'd also be a lot easier to go more often if they carried Lucky Craft, Gary Yamamoto, and some more higher end rods (St.Croix, Daiwa Steez/L&T, etc).

BPro: Prices could be better but really, I can't complain about a fishing store that's open til 10pm Monday to Saturday. Good place to get a "fix" from cabon fever.

JB's: My fav place overall. They carry a lot of quality stuff and it's usually competitively priced. Oddly don't seem to go by that often.

Angling Specialties: Steelheading gear.

***p.s: what's the shimano rebate???

Anspec runs either $650 or $750 these days, I forget which. In my eyes, worth the price tag. Milner Kingfisher and Milner Snipe are also fantastic reels if price isn't too important. For economy, Islander gets the nod from me.

Try D-ick's Sporting Goods. There's a few of them around but if you're shopping with others, the one in Walden Galleria will probably the most convenient. They're far from specialists but they do carry a very good selection of stuff for a sports store.

Original Question at hand: Definitely agree with the avid suggestion if you're going hardware only route. If you want to float fish AND hardware, it's going to be a compromise on both sides. Depending on your price range, perhaps something 10'-11'6"okuma, raven, or frontier?

As for bearings being an indication of drag smoothness...it really isn't. Drag smoothness will be determined mostly by the material/quality of the drag washers in the reel. Having tried a bunch, Daiwa definitely gets the nod for this from me. Bearing count tends to be one of two things: 1. gimmick for crappy companies to sell reels that are inferior to quality reels posessing less bearings or 2. increase in price/retrieve smoothness from reputable companies.

And as far as the debate of float vs bottom bounce vs hardware vs fly vs whatever else: I've done em all, they all catch fish, they each have their own strengthes/weaknesses, and if you want to be a good steelheader, you should learn em all. If I could only fish one way for steelhead though, it'd definitely be floatfishing.

indeed it tis. they do all the packing for ya?

How much it cost you?

Hey Guys,

I got a Frontier float rod (13' 2-piece) that I need to send in for warranty. What's the best and/or most economical method of packing/shipping it to Mt. Hope (Ontario)?

Thanks for your help!

Outta curiousity, what're the leaders for??

Cabelas S/H is absurd. Tacklewarehouse all the way.

Just imho:

GLX > Legend Elite > IMX > IMX/GL3 mixes (spinnerbait, mossyback, etc) > Legend Tournament > Avid > GL3 > Premier = GL2

In general, when comparing rods of similar price, I'd say the St.Croix rods have the nicer fit/finish but the Loomis blanks are superior.

Things to look out for before buying a new rod this year:

1. Legend tournaments are rumoured to be getting split grips this year.

2. Shimano Cumara series rod (IM-10) is the new top end above Crucial.

Owners for all trebles. Imho, a gamakatsu siwash will be a bigger improvement to the cleos than any other hook, including trebles.

I'm no identification expert but given the location and the look (fork tail), I'd say it's an atlantic parr.

An online pic that looks pretty similar.