ottawa

Looks as though Shimano supports you USA fishermen/women but in Canada , well who knows. The question I have is that is it possible that tying a Palomar know could be the cause of the problem? Could the knot after a few fish start cutting into the line. The braid seems really tough but I just can't see going to a tournament with this problem. That one fish that could win you the tournament could be carrying your hook and not get landed. I will try a double Palomar and a Uni knot to see if that makes a difference but my confidence is shaken. Today I will have my firs try with fluorocarbon on my worm outfit. G Loomis worm rod with Shimano Citica reel. I will continue to fish my other 2 rods with PP 50# BTW I have been using PP for years as a walleye fisherman on spinning gear (jigs mostly) and baitcasters (trolling and bottom bouncing ) Never had breakoffs like this!

I have been a loyal Shimano customer as far as reels and line are concerned but am willing to try another braid. Is Suffix or Fireline the way to go? I know there is probably good support from Shimano but living in Canada and mailing forms, etc. has always been discouraging to me. You know the " 6 to 8 weeks for delivery " and stuff. BTW , Thinking of heading out to the Big Rideau on Sunday.

The river is 80 degrees now. Fish seem to be more scattered. Getting smaller fish in the weeds. Caught one larger LM casting a spinnerbait on the outside edges. Otherwise most fish have been 2 pounds or less. Yesterday I tried frogging which produced 10 smaller fish, Senkos, T-rigged and mostly fished cover. Had a few numbers but a fish here and a fish there. Docks and cover bordering deeper water were most productive. Shallow bays with cover were much less with only a few smaller fish. I am guessing that I should be looking for deeper cover as the water warms and fall approaches.

Maybe it's the Palomar knot I am tying but I seem to be breaking off on a hookset everytime I am out. Today fished a frog over slop. A decent fish sucked in the frog. Set the hook hard, as you know with those weedless frogs you need a good hookset. Broke Off!!! Tied that hook just before going out. Fished 3 or 4 hours on the Rideau River which is a slow moving weedy river . Temp of the river is 80 degrees now so the weeds are pretty thick. No rock to peak of that is why I was fishing a frog over the junk, senkos in the holes and spinnerbaits along the outside weed edge. I thought 50# PP Spectra Braid was supposed to be the best line for this kind of fishing?

The Calais DC is not comparable. I stand corrected. The Shimano Calais 100A is $399 not $299 Still which is better, newer Mg50 or Calais for another $20-30.00

Looks like finesse fishing pink seems to work. I fish weighted or non weighted t-rig . They have been slamming these worms. Local shop had some but they get torn up really quick. Just bought some Bass pro tournament senko. Seem to be more durable.

I know that no one likes t call it pink, rather bubblegum, etc but fish seem to be attracted to pink. I have senkos, tubes and flukes in the boat all pink . So far only fished the senkos and they do produce. Anyone else fish that color?

Of course the Mg50 is lighter but as far as a quality built reel isn't the Calais one of the smoothest and best reel Shimano has ever built? Also sells for $299 vs $379 or thereabouts. I have neither reel but looking at buying another outfit. So what would you buy?

I received a Perko light. More solidly built than the Attwood although not as bright. I will get feedback as to which is better viewed at night. I also taped the Attwood light so the top would not knock off as easily.

We are on the Rideau River. Temperatures get quite warm although I have no reading today. Will get one tomorrow. I am catching smaller LM and some SM shallow now but the bigger fish are just not hitting shallow like they did earlier in the season. I will be trying finesse techniques on outside weedline closer to deeper drop-offs tomorrow.

Well I moved to a shallow river deepest hole 30 feet and good weed development along shoreline up to 10 feet. Heavy boat traffic in July as it is a UNESCO world heritage site so the big cruisers make their way along the waterway, With the river only 50 yards wide a fast moving cruiser's wake stir the soup up so at times the shallows are muddy and visibility is poor down there. Anyway earlier this summer I was having a great time casting frogs and senkos in the weeds and catching lots of LMB. Now the bite is much tougher. Also when I do catch there seems to be more SMB. Fish seem to be more spread out as I see fish jumping all over expecially out in the channel. There is little structure out there. No weeds , no rock, just a flat bottom. I tried fishing the mudline edge with no success. I tried flipping jigs and weighted as well as weightless senkos between the weeds at various depths. The deeper weeds look interesting but up to now have produced no fish. Thinking that I may try crankbaits next along the deep weed edge. Any other suggestions. Of course when the boat traffic is heavy I cannot fish near the channel. Those 30 to 40 footers throw a big wake and the speedboats are just too fast for me.

Good plan. My boat is a Crestliner Fishhawk 1800 (18.5 ft.) aluminum. With a bow mounted Motorguide, there is not a lot of room up there. What light would you recommend? I would think that sidelights would not be an option. Any recommendations?

Not really. A light is a light but the top when knocked off cannot be replaced. You have to buy the entire post with light. With a bow mount trolling motor it is easy to knock the light off. Therefore I would advise putting some tape on the light to secure the top. Why Attwood would not make the top replaceable is a mystery. You can relace the globe for an all around light. Why not a bicolor light? BTW this morning I was able to retrieve the top . Screwed it on and taped over it. I also ordered a Perko light to compare and have as a spare incase this happens when I am out at night again.

Well I have a 3 pin removable bicolor pole mount navigation light made by Attwood. The top assembly which contains the lenses DOE NOT FLOAT! I lost 2 of them. At first I thought that I just accidently knocked it off when working my trolling motor. Turns out I had to order a complete light including the pole. I could not get a replacement assembly only the lenses. So for anyone with an Atwood light I would strongly recommend taping it to the pole. It knocks off easily and if it falls in the water kiss it good-by! Here in Canada the light is expensive. This time I ordered a Perko and will make sure that top does NOT fall off.

OK everyone seems to be raving about the new core. Of course comparisons would be made with the Steez as they should be similar. Still as a relatively new bass fisherman, enjoying using the Curado, would the Core be THAT much better? Is the price difference worth it?