Bryan from Barrie looks to share knowledge and gnu friends

[beaser]

Hi! I'm Bryan from Barrie or Beas/Beaser as my friends like to call me. I'm a retired refrigeration mechanic with 2 totally buggered knees, ripped up rotator cuff and severe arthritus. Two weeks ago I was looking for a birthday present for my little buddy and 11 year old grandson. He had expressed a desire to do some fishing so I stopped by Trombly's Tackle Box in Orillia. I know I could have saved a few dollars but i was more interested in some solid advice from "the pros"

I did enjoy fishing as a kid growing up on some out of the way RCAF Stations. I also did a little fishing in my 20s (very little) and then put my back into a lifetime of dedication and misdirected loyalty. I had little or no "beaser time".

Picking up a rod and reel felt good, really good in fact so I bought a rod and reel for myself. I had settled on a Pfleuger Xion combo for my grandson. I got him an assortment of smaller lures, a soft tackle bag and loaded the reel with 8 lb mono. I remembered that when I was a kid no one told me to go easy of the tackle sizing. For starters an 11 year old and an old fart are going to catch smaller fish.

I decided on a Pfleuger President XT light reel and a fenwick eagle light rod. Thankfully, I did get a good price on some 6 lb braided line. The spool held 250 metres. Hindsight is 20/20 I know but after the spool was loaded I started thinking that I should have used some tape to dummy up the spool. I had also heard that some use mono to fill the spool.

The reel did come with a spare spool so I thought I could always load the spare with heavier line if need be. (remember I know next to nil)

I had thought fishing from shore or in a stream would be be better than sitting in a boat. I do suffer from chronic pain and sitting in a boat for any length of time would be very uncomfortable.

Currently I'm looking for places to fish around the Barrie area. I had thought I'd like to fish an easily acessable location but not the government dock type of venue. I don't mind driving and I don't, mind paying.

Fishing fits in with my main hobby. I love photography and one of my interests is birds and wildelife. This past 2 weeks I've spent considerable time sitting with my tripod at the Langman Conservation area.

This is a pretty long winded hello so I'll leave this post with you and hope for some replies.

Da Beas (like Da Bearz and Da Bullz)
(disclaimer: My spelling sucks and I am dyslexic)