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Rapala Riverrat Centerpin Float Fishing Reel. Originally bought it brand new from retailer and only used the reel two times. Nothing wrong with the reel, just decided to upgrade to a more expensive reel. Comes with original box, bearing removal tool, carrying pouch, and prespooled on the reel is 15lb clear backing with 15lb high visibility yellow main line. Retailed originally for $400. Does not include a fishing pole. Bearings are very smooth and the clicker is strong. Will ship for free. Asking $200 but am open to offers. Will ship through mail for free within reason. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to message me about it.

Got a chance to get out this weekend for some winter steelhead the weather was brutal but since i dont own a car i get any chance i get to go fishing my buddy picked me up around 1pm and we were at the river by 3pm my first time fishing this trib and its always nice to see a new place other than seeing it on youtube videos apart from the wind smacking me in the face and the trek down to the river it is was an amazing experience we decided to leave the float fishing gears at home and throw spoons and vibrax spinners instead Pink and chrome seem to be the colour they wanted that day we did pretty good going 3/4 and i decided to keep this nice steelie for the dinner table! Sorry for the blood in the picture i couldnt feel my hands to wash her off!

Well, this little dream of mine finally came true! I finally published an article in Ontario Out of Doors and I'm tickled pink. I want to thank Mike Solopaddler Borger for supporting me as I worked through it, as well as our classy, friendly and extremely professional centrepin reel builders. If you have a chance, give the article a read! It's in the 2015 Nov/Dec issue p.-

I had a chance to take out a couple of friends Tony and Glen to Lake Erie for walleye recently. We hadn’t fished Lake Erie for walleye in years, so some preparations were in order. Tony headed over to my place one evening for a beer and to help rig our gear. It helped a lot, thanks Tony! After tying up 14 worm harnesses, spooling 30lb Sufix braid on 4 walleye sized Hydros and RSCII reels, making leaders and getting the dusty walleye gear out, we were all set. I ended up making up some custom Colorado blades painted and taped up, and my son helped me tie up another 6 worm harnesses the following day. We enjoy our time together doing ‘arts and crafts’ LOL. We left early so that we could get out for first light and shake off the walleye rust with our set-up. We also had a major storm a couple days earlier and a cold front. We got set up with 4 small sized 000 Dipsy Divers on a 0 setting and worm harnesses, and ran them from 90- to 220 back and clipped on in-line planer boards. It’s a good thing the walleye line counter reels hold over 1000-feet of 30lb braid, as we had almost 500-feet out after the in-line boards were deployed. We rounded out our set-up with two large sized 001 Dipsy Divers right off the boat on a 2.5 to 3 setting with worm harnesses. We started in 65-feet of water with some tips from a couple friends I spoke with and headed deeper. We didn’t get into much and had to go into search mode. We started switching up colours and trying spoons and stick baits as well, even though the eastern basin of Lake Erie is predominantly a worm harness bite. After a while we got into a few walleye and marked some waypoints. We found a good group of walleye schooled up in one tight area, and ended up working the 4 waypoints hard by late morning. The weather was great, the waves were perfect and we were catching walleye and having a great time. We had to watch the rod tips carefully, as the white bass were hitting and tougher to tell a fish was on the line. The deeper Dipsys off the in-line boards did well 225- to 250-feet back, and the big size 001 Dipsys off the boat did well 140- to 170-feet back on a 2.5 and 3 setting. It was a good thing I spent more time tying up more custom harnesses with my son, as the white/yellow/green black dot harnesses were working well. We did get some on watermelon and blue and white as well as a few others. Stick baits took a couple bites, but harnesses were best. We tied up the worm harnesses with 30lb fluorocarbon approximately 24” in length. The reason I prefer 30lb fluorocarbon is that the clevises turn on the fluorocarbon causing a weak point over time, and 30lb Sufix is a perfect solution to help prevent break-offs over lighter line. We also ran a 7-foot fluorocarbon leader in 15lb test from the Dipsy Divers to the worm harness or stick bait and spoon on all Dipsys. We found the walleye suspended in the water column from 35- to 65-feet down over 65- to 75 feet of water. Our speed seemed best at roughly 2.6mph. We got into a bunch of walleye, white bass and even a steelhead. We all got to take home some fresh walleye and had a blast out fishing! Good fishing! Aaron

Hey guys I am wondering if seatrout and steelhead are the same? if not please tell me the diffrence

hey guys i JUST got a RAVEN® RPX RAVEN® T-5 Centerpin Float Reel as a gift let me know what u think

I have been out after work in not so ideal times for steelhead on Lake Ontario tribs, but that is when I could get out. As it turns out, it didn't matter, as the fishing was mostly great. I didn't fish opening weekend, or any weekend day for that matter. I made short 3hr trips locally after work. Italo joined me for most of the trips and we had a blast! Apart from the good steelhead fishing, the scenery and spring coming to life is a big part of why I like this type of fishing so much. I really enjoy the beauty that nature offers, and especially relish it so close to home. Although I enjoy the nature and always have, I don't often post photos of what I hold dear to me. This year I was inspired to take photos of not only the typical grab and grin photos, but nature and what makes tributary fishing special for me. When I was younger, I spent most of my time fishing crowds shoulder to shoulder for numbers of steelhead disregarding the amazing nature around me. For the past 20 years or so, I have come to enjoy fishing a bit less pressured waters with fewer fish and fewer anglers and take in the entire experience. I enjoy this far more than trying to worry about racing guys to the next good hole like when I was younger. I just take my time and fish while enjoying the beauty around me. We started the season in high stained water, and over the 2 weeks the water slowly dropped while the water visibility increased. The last two trips were low gin clear water and we had the toughest steelheading as a result. We still managed a bunch of steelhead each and had a blast taking unique underwater photos. Bigger brighter roe bags drifted under floats did the damage in the higher water, and when the water cleared I downsized to 4lb fluorocarbon leaders, size 10 Gammy octopus hooks with a stealthier split shot and smaller float approach. The micro roe bags were tied in peach mesh for the highest success in tougher conditions. Seelhead are still dropping back, and with the forecasted rain this week, they will migrate back to the lake quickly. I may make one more short trip this week, then switch gears to something else for the long weekend. Enjoy some of the photos that we took over the last couple weeks. I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as we did taking them! Good fishing! Aaron

I enjoyed a fun day on the Niagara River with a friend Chuck. We got into lots of steelhead and many hens were fat and dropping a stream of eggs into the bottom of my boat! Yes, the steelhead are right in the middle of spawning on the Niagara River! It is very late for them this year, but the water temps are only just hitting around 47F. I have never seen them spawning so late. Steelhead will be in the Niagara River well into June this year, and maybe even into July! The water colour was heavily stained below the power dams, and we only hit one fish, a nice brown that nailed a 6 inch pink worm. Above the dams had several feet of beautiful green "slaughter water". We caught fish drifting three-way rigs and pink worms, roe bags and beads. Chuck had a certain hot bead that was on fire. He must have had 8 fish to the boat before I asked for a bead. The bead is a unique colour that was chartreuse with a hint of pearl white to it. We pegged the bead approximately 2 inches from our hooks with a rubber bead peg. Roe accounted for a lot of bites as well in natural peach tied in bags smaller than a dime. We didn't take many photos, we were busy catching fish Enjoy the few pics we did take. Good fishing! Aaron

I had my friend Mitch out on the Niagara River for steelhead on Saturday, and we had a blast. The fishing was good on the lower drifts, and I caught an absolute tank of a steelhead! We had such an enjoyable day drifting the peaceful waters that meander through the lower stretches of the Niagara River. We made it above the power dams briefly and caught a couple fish, but it was very busy with boats and gin clear water. The water temperature is still only 33.6F! That is the coldest I can remember for this time of year. There is still a lot of ice in the eastern basin of Lake Erie, and the ice boom is still in place to block major ice from flowing down the Niagara River. The boom is typically removed in mid-March, but this year it will be in place until May. That is the latest I have ever heard of since I've been fishing the Niagara. The sun was shining and it was 10 degrees Celsius with a north wind blowing up river. The north winds made it a bit more of a challenge to present our baits naturally along with the bottom current, but the bow mount Minn Kota helped a lot. We were able to maintain bottom contact and precision with boat control that enabled us to have a great day. We even managed a double header. The water clarity below the power dams was perfect with several feet of visibility and a slight stain. TriggerX single eggs in pink and orange worked well, as did some old roe bags I had tied up. I started off the day with a nice fat hen that put a good bend in my rod, then Mitch lit them up for a while. We took turns catching nice steelies after that and then I hooked up near the top of Artpark with a heavy fish. The fish took drag and stayed down deep. I couldn't budge the fish with my 6lb Fluorocarbon leader. Every time I got the fish close to the surface, it pulled drag and ended up near the bottom again. At first I thought it may have been a lake trout until is screamed drag a few times. Then I knew... it was a tank steelhead! I took my time and didn't get too anxious. After a long tug of war, a tired steelhead emerged near the surface showing its large silvery sides. I was able to slide the net under the behemoth and get it into the boat. I was pretty excited to catch the largest steelhead I've caught in a couple years! It was a chrome hen full of eggs, and I released her after a few quick photos. I haven't spent a day fishing with my friend Mitch in a while, and it was a great day to catch up, share some laughs and catch some great fish. Mitch even caught a fishing rod! LOL Here is a video from our day, including underwater video and the tanker. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtSoNWY4Zb0&feature=share&list=UUpEgDDc4A0ayUV77sTfs5uQ I have been out several times on the Niagara and it has been good except for one tough day. The way things are going this year, we can catch steelies into July. No kidding!!! Good fishing! Aaron

Hey guys I'm Imran I live on the credit river in brampton if any one wants to join. Me for some steelhead fly fishing in the spring pm me I live in a private area so not many people fish that part of the river also looking to buy a cheap bait cast

http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=73059&p=831188 Hey Dave, Looks like if you want to do some Steelheading on the Credit, you'll need to bring your auger!!!

This past weekend had perfect for conditions on the Niagara River to drift for steelhead and brown trout. I met friends Christine and Ben on the way to Queenston, and were launched as the sun was rising. I was very happy to see the river clearing with several feet of visibility. I knew this meant the fishing would be great. The weather was excellent with no wind and slightly below freezing. We traveled down river to where there were no other boats and began to drift full of anticipation. It wasn't long into our first drift when Christine hooks a big fish. It pulled drag and put quite a bend into her 9'6" RSC rod as it dogged down deep. After an intense battle of tug-of-war with rod and reel, Christine put her first brown trout ever into the boat. It was a beast at almost 11 and a half pounds. What a first brown trout to catch! Well done Christine! On our very next drift, Christine boated a beautiful Niagara steelhead. Ben and I hooked up a few times, but Christine dominated the boat in the morning hooking fish after fish while Ben and I played net attendant for her. While drifting, Christine hooked a really big fish that we knew was a steelhead instantly. A very intense battle ensued. It violently erupted on the surface of the water thrashing its head and tail-walking across the surface of the water. This had all of us gasp and giggle with excitement as Christine perfectly fought and landed the most beautiful fish of the day. Christine was in her glory and had a smile and excitement that was contagious. I was happy to see her first experience on the Niagara so amazing. The girl got two personal best trout within an hour as she absolutely rocked the boat out-fishing the two experienced guys. Christine was hot! We eventually moved up river after the drift we were fishing became busy and found another drift all to ourselves. It wasn't long before we hooked up and I got a Niagara Grand Slam! A brown trout, steelhead and lake trout. Ben hooked a couple feisty steelhead that took him to task and got the better of him. Some Niagara chromers can leave many anglers with a broken line and heart with their powerful ability to take line faster than a NASCAR race car speeding down the track. We ended our day with many hook-ups, laughs, big trout and great boat camaraderie. We couldn't have had a better day on the majestic Niagara River. Good fishing! Aaron

Hi, I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out when the steelhead will be comming into any of the rivers. I am looking to fish the credit, saugeen, beaver, and bighead river as well as possibly the grand river. I really want to catch some and also just see the runs of fish to learn more. Any help on timing and possibly locations would be great. I cant wait to giver a go. Thanks so much

Hi All, I have never fished for steelhead before but am extremely interested in giving it a try. I do fish in the rivers around Waterloo whenever i can. I am looking for any tips or advice on tackle, location, technique or anything else you think would be benificial for me to know. I mostly fly fish these days but i am open to any ways to catch them. Thanks for all your help, Jake