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WonderMonkey

Fishing Nerds

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I'm going to Canada at the end of next May (2022) if the border is open.  The last time I fly back into a lake for a fishing trip was in 1985 (high school) and I know line technology has changed so I'm starting this thread to chat about it.  Steel leaders aren't used much anymore as I've found out also.

 

The lake I am going to will have walleye, northern and bass for sure.  Maybe perch also?

 

What would your main line be?  What type and lb test?

 

What would you make your leaders out of?

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1 hour ago, TBRider said:

I use steel leaders when fishing pike.

 

I used to also.  Maybe I'm just hitting the wrong youtubes and google searches but it seems many aren't these days.  I don't have a personal opinion on the topic.

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I use Rio Toothy Critter. It ties real nice.

To be honest I haven’t caught any pike on it yet.

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We don't see a lot of pike down here  , in my entire life might have caught 6 on a rod , have caught many small ones in the trawl , guess they get flushed down the river ---  I have washed quite a few 3-6 inches out the mud holes we ride 4 wheelers  in , the water is 3-4 ft deep , in landlocked ditches like that the eggs get on birds legs that wade in the water and get transferred to the ditches -----  we do have lots of garfish , with all the teeth like pike ,   steel leaders are the way to go with gar -------- what does work on toothy fish  is fluorocarbon leaders  , it disappears to the fish in the water and is not as stiff as steel so fishes more natural , as far as line goes  , Spiderwire or one of the braided lines are good stuff , they claim 17 lb test fishes like 35 lb

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5 hours ago, Fishfiles said:

We don't see a lot of pike down here  , in my entire life might have caught 6 on a rod , have caught many small ones in the trawl , guess they get flushed down the river ---  I have washed quite a few 3-6 inches out the mud holes we ride 4 wheelers  in , the water is 3-4 ft deep , in landlocked ditches like that the eggs get on birds legs that wade in the water and get transferred to the ditches -----  we do have lots of garfish , with all the teeth like pike ,   steel leaders are the way to go with gar -------- what does work on toothy fish  is fluorocarbon leaders  , it disappears to the fish in the water and is not as stiff as steel so fishes more natural , as far as line goes  , Spiderwire or one of the braided lines are good stuff , they claim 17 lb test fishes like 35 lb

 

A fluorocarbon leader is what I've been seeing for the visibility you mentioned.

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One thing about fluorocarbon  it doesn't tie pretty knots  .....  

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Are you fly fishing or spinner?

 

several years ago I planned a pike fishing trip to Canada—trip got canceled 

 

i bought 2 7-10 weight 4-piece rods and some large arbor reels. I still fish for pike with them on my little catamaran 

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11 minutes ago, Goober said:

Are you fly fishing or spinner?

 

several years ago I planned a pike fishing trip to Canada—trip got canceled 

 

i bought 2 7-10 weight 4-piece rods and some large arbor reels. I still fish for pike with them on my little catamaran 

 

Open face.  "Traditional" fishing I suppose.

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I purchased coated steel leader on a spool, ferrels and a crimping tool.  Added about 8" of steel leader to my favorite spoons and crankbaits.   On the other end of the leader was a simple loop.  Tied a good snap swivel on my line for quick changing.  Trouble was we flew in for a three day strip only to get stranded because of the weather.   Got a 7 day trip for the price of three.

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Your outfitter should be able to provide you with info about best kit to bring.

Fishing changes depending on where you go and time of year. sometimes the pike aren’t biting and you’ll want to try something else. Be ready for the change ups 

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I remember one pike I caught that was a nice adventure , caught him in salt water along the coast , I'd call it brackish water , lower salinity than salt water , he was about 4 pounds , put on a show jumping out the water several times , it was  lit up like a  neon  sign , I let him go   -----  have never ate a pike  have ate a lot of gar and it is good  ------   

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Some fish it is better to not use swivels or claspe , when you have mackerel , barracuda  or blue fish in the area , they will go after the swivel , especially if it is silver or brass colored  and they are toothy fish 

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17 hours ago, 56Sierra said:

I purchased coated steel leader on a spool, ferrels and a crimping tool.  Added about 8" of steel leader to my favorite spoons and crankbaits.   On the other end of the leader was a simple loop.  Tied a good snap swivel on my line for quick changing.  Trouble was we flew in for a three day strip only to get stranded because of the weather.   Got a 7 day trip for the price of three.

 

Do you fish quite a bit?  I'm going to spend a week having flown into a lake in Canada.  The reason I ask is how much it costs to do what you did versus pre-made or even just use 80 lb mono.

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1 hour ago, Goober said:

Your outfitter should be able to provide you with info about best kit to bring.

Fishing changes depending on where you go and time of year. sometimes the pike aren’t biting and you’ll want to try something else. Be ready for the change ups 

 

I'm certainly going to be asking him, but will wait a month until things calm down for him.  Good thinking, though.  I do plan on being ready to change what I used, but was thinking of the things that won't change, like leaders and such.  I'm sure I'll go after bass while there but will want to also go after the walleye and northern.  Perch if it's there.  The lake won't have any/many lake trout so I don't see that being a target.  I'll see what he says when I call him on this topic.

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1 hour ago, Fishfiles said:

I remember one pike I caught that was a nice adventure , caught him in salt water along the coast , I'd call it brackish water , lower salinity than salt water , he was about 4 pounds , put on a show jumping out the water several times , it was  lit up like a  neon  sign , I let him go   -----  have never ate a pike  have ate a lot of gar and it is good  ------   

 

I like pike, especially if I caught it.  You can fillet it to not get any of the bones.

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1 hour ago, Fishfiles said:

Some fish it is better to not use swivels or claspe , when you have mackerel , barracuda  or blue fish in the area , they will go after the swivel , especially if it is silver or brass colored  and they are toothy fish 

 

Northern go after the flash so I use darkened swivels and clasps.  It's also a reason why I don't wear my wedding ring.  If I accidentally swish my hand in the water to clean off fish slime, you could lose a finger.

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3 minutes ago, WonderMonkey said:

 

Northern go after the flash so I use darkened swivels and clasps.  It's also a reason why I don't wear my wedding ring.  If I accidentally swish my hand in the water to clean off fish slime, you could lose a finger.

I use to SCUBA  a lot  , you never wear rings , gold or silver watches / jewelry  or ear rings ( not that I  ever had a ear ring ) , heard stories of people losing ear lobes to trigger fish 

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8 minutes ago, Fishfiles said:

I use to SCUBA  a lot  , you never wear rings , gold or silver watches / jewelry  or ear rings ( not that I  ever had a ear ring ) , heard stories of people losing ear lobes to trigger fish 

 

I had thought about getting SCUBA certified then going forward with it for recovery, but we really don't get many calls for that in my organization.  Plus, all I need is another hobby or thing I need to spend time keeping up on.

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On 12/7/2021 at 12:48 PM, Goober said:

Are you fly fishing or spinner?

 

several years ago I planned a pike fishing trip to Canada—trip got canceled 

 

i bought 2 7-10 weight 4-piece rods and some large arbor reels. I still fish for pike with them on my little catamaran 

I caught most of mine on a 5-6 fly rod with long streaming flies

20211208_150638.jpg

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4 hours ago, TBRider said:

I caught most of mine on a 5-6 fly rod with long streaming flies

 

 

All I know of how to cast a fly fishing rod I learned from watching Devo.

 

 

Edited by WonderMonkey
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10 hours ago, WonderMonkey said:

 

Do you fish quite a bit?  I'm going to spend a week having flown into a lake in Canada.  The reason I ask is how much it costs to do what you did versus pre-made or even just use 80 lb mono.

I bought this about 30 years ago when fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and still have and use it to this day.  I'm on the Gulf for the winter right now catching small Croakers on 2# test to use as bait.  Buying the materials and making your own does save money and allows you to make leaders to fit your needs.  Fishfiles is correct about certain fish biting at the shiny swivels.  I learned that the hard way and only use black now.

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8 hours ago, 56Sierra said:

I bought this about 30 years ago when fishing in the Gulf of Mexico and still have and use it to this day.  I'm on the Gulf for the winter right now catching small Croakers on 2# test to use as bait.  

Croakers are the ultimate bait for " BIG " trophy speckled trout --- croakers are also my favorite fish to eat fried up crispy  --- when I was younger you could fill the boat with croakers --- did you know the Louisiana's croaker  record is 8 pounds even and dates back to the 70s 

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I've been fishing Ontario, Canada for 45 years. Only live 120 miles south of the border in Minnesota. I have probably close to 400 days up there mainly chasing walleye and big northern pike. For walleye I use a spinning rod with quality 6# or 8# test mono with a jig. I tip the jig with a minnow, 1/2 a crawler or 3" Berkeley Gulp minnows. Gulp is great for fly-in fishing. For northern I use a casting rod and reel with 12# test Fireline. The spinning rod setup I tie the jig directly to the line. On the casting setup I use a good quality ball bearing snap swivel. Best baits for big pike are a large nickel Doctor Spoon and large crankbaits cast or trolled at 3mph or more. I find leaders hamper bait action but if heavily infested with Pike you may need them. If you get into Lake Trout fishing I've done plenty of that too. Just holler.

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On 12/8/2021 at 8:12 AM, Fishfiles said:

I remember one pike I caught that was a nice adventure , caught him in salt water along the coast , I'd call it brackish water , lower salinity than salt water , he was about 4 pounds , put on a show jumping out the water several times , it was  lit up like a  neon  sign , I let him go   -----  have never ate a pike  have ate a lot of gar and it is good  ------   

gar ?..lol...you should come up here next year, i'll let you catch all the gar you want !..rofl.

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