The Baron

Way back when I was about 16-17 I was on a canoe trip on a local river with my Dad, catching smallmouth. I was up early and out slaying them with a floating Rapala Rattlin’ Fat Rap, but had caught too many fish without checking my knot or re-tying (this was back in the Stren 8# mono for everything days). I had just hooked in to another good fish when it almost immediately broke me off. I was pretty disappointed because that was the only one of those lures I had with me. But, about 1 second after breaking off that fish jumped. I heard the lure rattle and saw a little plop in the water about 5 yards from where the fish had jumped. I paddled over and retrieved my lure, retied and went right back to fishing. ???

I'm setting up my spinning outfit for drop shotting and am planning to run braid with an 8# fluorocarbon leader. Several questions... for fishing clear water in Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River, is there a color of braid I should get or avoid? I expect to be fishing anywhere from 2-50ft. of water, around some rocky bottom and weed edges but no heavy cover - is 10# braid good or should I go heavier? Last Q, are all braids created equal and I just shop by price, or is there one brand/style that lends itself best to my intended use? My setup is a Dobyn's Savvy 6'9" M-F with an Abu ProMax 30 reel/.

I’m a Kingston import, but having moved to this great place in 1992 I consider it home. I was born and raised in the Ottawa Valley.

I've fished for many years, exclusively with spinning gear. I've decided to get a little more serious/technical about bass fishing, and want to try a bait casting setup. I recently wandered into a local shop and they had a 1/2 price deal on some Duckett rods, so I went home and did some research/talked to a friend who's a serious bass fisherman and ended up picking up a 7ft M/H/Fast rod with intentions of using it to fish the weeds/pads and around stumps etc. for large mouth. I'm now looking at reels, and to say I'm overwhelmed would be an understatement. I'm old enough to know buying good equipment the first time is actually cheaper than working up to it, but finances and family responsibilities make me frugal enough to always scour the used market before buying. Long story short, I have a line on a Shimano 200E7 locally what I feel is a fair price. My question is, would this be a good choice for my experience level (zero) and intended use? In particular, with zero experience I have no idea if 7.0:1 is the "best" gear ratio for me. I love fishing surface lures so expect I'll be throwing frogs (just picked up a 1/2oz Live Target frog that seems like the right size to me) and learning/doing whatever else is appropriator for pulling bass out of cover.

Hi All. I just found this forum while researching bait casting reels. I live in Kingston, Ontario so am blessed with plenty of great fishing opportunities. I was a very avid angler when I was a kid/teenager... and I recently turned the "five-oh", so that was back when things were simple and a Mitchell 300 on an ugly Stick was considered decent gear. lol Hunting took me away from fishing for many years, but my interest has recently been rekindled and fueled by our kids' interest in fishing (son is 9, daughter is 11). I always liked bass fishing best and am finding my re-entry after is a mix of excitement and confusion/information overload - so much to learn!