Ontario Shore Fishing Forum

A 6'6" or 7' strung up with 8lb mono can catch a lot of different things... just ask MuskieBait

That's what I always have on me for general fishing around here. I like the 7' for a little better casting distance.

Most of my fishing here is on boillies (for carp only), white 1.5" or 3" grubs, worms, mepps #3, and the Rapala F-7. Mostly worms since they catch whatever's there.

Boillies do not need to be complicated: http://fishontoronto.com/boilie-basics/

(05-07-2013 10:34 PM)MichaelAngelo Wrote: [ -> ]A 6'6" or 7' strung up with 8lb mono can catch a lot of different things... just ask MuskieBait

There is a reason why a 6'6" or 7' medium rod is popular...and why a reel that hold 200 yards of 8lb mono is popular...

Because in the right hands, it can handle a lot of nice size fish...including loads of carp from 10-20lbs, countless salmon from 15-20lb, countless steelhead from 2-10lb...and even a 30lb grass carp.

It's all about where you fish (potential snags vs. no-snags, calm areas vs. current)...and how you fight the fish (rushed and too much drag vs. patient and just enough drag).

(05-08-2013 01:15 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]There is a reason why a 6'6" or 7' medium rod is popular...and why a reel that hold 200 yards of 8lb mono is popular...

Because in the right hands, it can handle a lot of nice size fish...including loads of carp from 10-20lbs, countless salmon from 15-20lb, countless steelhead from 2-10lb...and even a 30lb grass carp.

It's all about where you fish (potential snags vs. no-snags, calm areas vs. current)...and how you fight the fish (rushed and too much drag vs. patient and just enough drag).

I read about your Pflueger rod and reel combo I plan to check it out this weekend at Bass Pro.

Any input on the # of ball bearings?

Bass City also have a couple of Abu Garcia rod/reel combos with 4 or 5 ball bearings. The Pflueger reel has 6 bearings. All in the same price range of 50-70 dollars.

(05-07-2013 02:00 PM)Freshwater Wrote: [ -> ]Thanks for all the awesome replies!

I'm thinking I may have to try long pants tucked into socks to deter the red ants from crawling up the legs

since I'm going gear shopping, what would be decent gear setup for all the mentioned species here?

e.g. 6 foot 6 medium/medium light rod with 8 lb line. mono/floro/braid?
corn and worm with circle hooks for the cats and carps?
inline spinners for the trout and crappie?

I'd appreciate any advice I can get

As a beginner, I always carry my medium action Abu Garcia combo. You can wait for Abu Garcia Specialist Spinning Combo on special at Canadian Tire. I got it for just $29.99 last year. It is a good medium action 6-ft 6-in rod with IM8 and 8 BB reel. I spooled the PowerPro Super 8 Slick 20 lb braided line on it. With only 6 lb mono liked diameter, this line cast like a bullet. I had caught bass, sunfish, crappie, carp, catfish and salmon with it.

Don't worry about the # of ball bearings. A smooth drag is more important than a silky smooth reel. I don't care how smooth the cranking is...if the drag cannot allows fine, minute control and let out just enough line when needed, it's worthless in my mind.

It's funny...I'll go to the reel counter at Bass Pro Shops and see the sales staff hand over a reel to the customer and say "See how smooth this reel is."

When I pick up the reel, the first thing I check is the drag. If it is not smooth as silk, forget it. Next I check is the bail. It must have a good durable bail. Then I'll go and check the anti-reverse...and at the very, very end, I'll turn the handle to see how smooth the reel is together. I don't even bother to check how many bearing the reel has. It's not how many there are sometimes...but where the bearings are placed and what kind of bearings they are.

But the Trion rod and reel combo is very nice for the money. It is so nice that if my rod ever snapped or if my reel ever gave up, I'll get one again.

These fish were caught with the Trion combo over the years...6'6" medium rod and the 2500 size reel...8lb test. My Trion combo is close to 13 years old...but I do service the reel on my own at least once a year.















Every time my rod and reel landed something bigger, I'll push it even more and harder next time.

Wouldn't the best (if not only?) way to check for smoothness of drag be to actually put some line on the spool, tighten up the drag, and give it a pull?

Also, beware some reels will go from too loose to too tight with even just 1/8th of a turn... my abu 401i does that. (literally, I mean from no drag to full drag).

edit: you can check on kijiji for used shimano reels. $30 got me an absolute workhorse of a reel.

(05-09-2013 08:01 AM)MichaelAngelo Wrote: [ -> ]Wouldn't the best (if not only?) way to check for smoothness of drag be to actually put some line on the spool, tighten up the drag, and give it a pull?

Also, beware some reels will go from too loose to too tight with even just 1/8th of a turn... my abu 401i does that. (literally, I mean from no drag to full drag).

edit: you can check on kijiji for used shimano reels. $30 got me an absolute workhorse of a reel.

Yeah - that was going to be my next question How do you check the drag on a brand new reel with no line on it? I think I will carry a length of line with me when I go shopping enough length to make the reel drag for at least two - three turns. If the reel was going to change drag tightness, 2-3 turns would expose that, non?

I have to buy two sets of rod/reels (one for the Mrs.) So I'm thinking going the combo way would be ideal for saving me some money.

Thanks for all the great advice folks, I'm so glad I found you guys Please keep them coming.

I never put line on a reel to test the drag...and not sure if any tackle store or big box shop is interested in doing that for you...especially if it is only a sub-$50 reel. If you are looking at a $200 reel, maybe they'll do it.

I usually test the drag by tightening the drag knob click by click, and then hand turn the spool. I guess over the years I've learned what feels like a smooth drag vs. a jerky drag. But like MA said, the worst drag is one that goes from too loose to too tight...which would result in jerky drag.

A lot of times you can also look at the spec. of the reel to give you a hint what kind of drag you may get. If reels specifically state they use Japanese oiled felt washer, or carbon fiber washer, or ceramic, or Dartanium (Shimano reels), you can feel a little better about the drag.

I find that sometimes store demo models may not represent what you may get in your actual purchased reel. Especially for big box store, after so many customers had played with the reel, sometimes the reels parts are loosen, or some parts gets jammed. Demos are often treated badly. I would suggest after decided on a reel, actually open up the new reel in your hand at the store and check everything once over. That way, if you find anything amiss, at least you can try to get another one, or immediate go for your second choice.

MA, I'm surprise the Cardinal 401i is so poor...not like Abu's reputation at all.

Pflueger has been the most consistent for me in terms of price for value...3 reels and 15 years later I'm still saying the same.

(05-10-2013 11:03 PM)MuskieBait Wrote: [ -> ]I never put line on a reel to test the drag...and not sure if any tackle store or big box shop is interested in doing that for you...especially if it is only a sub-$50 reel. If you are looking at a $200 reel, maybe they'll do it.

I usually test the drag by tightening the drag knob click by click, and then hand turn the spool. I guess over the years I've learned what feels like a smooth drag vs. a jerky drag. But like MA said, the worst drag is one that goes from too loose to too tight...which would result in jerky drag.

A lot of times you can also look at the spec. of the reel to give you a hint what kind of drag you may get. If reels specifically state they use Japanese oiled felt washer, or carbon fiber washer, or ceramic, or Dartanium (Shimano reels), you can feel a little better about the drag.

I find that sometimes store demo models may not represent what you may get in your actual purchased reel. Especially for big box store, after so many customers had played with the reel, sometimes the reels parts are loosen, or some parts gets jammed. Demos are often treated badly. I would suggest after decided on a reel, actually open up the new reel in your hand at the store and check everything once over. That way, if you find anything amiss, at least you can try to get another one, or immediate go for your second choice.

MA, I'm surprise the Cardinal 401i is so poor...not like Abu's reputation at all.

Pflueger has been the most consistent for me in terms of price for value...3 reels and 15 years later I'm still saying the same.

I bought this: http://www.basspro.com/Pflueger-Trion-GX...ct/100904/

I bought the 7 footer, it came with a 8lb/260 yd capacity reel - got it spooled up at bass city. It feels a bit heavy for me but I think I'll grow into it

They had 3 in stock and you're right about the manual clicking of the drag to test its smoothness - I took the one that felt the smoothest tightening of the drag one click at a time.

The 6'6" came with 8lb/165 yd but I preferred the 7 foot rod.

Thanks for all the excellent pieces of advice. I look forward to catching the multiple species that this rod is reputed for :-)

(05-06-2013 10:43 PM)MichaelAngelo Wrote: [ -> ]

(05-03-2013 09:49 PM)Jeremy Ray Green Wrote: [ -> ]Ibut be carefull of the red ants....

I dislike those bugs....

And they're all over the place around here. Every inch of forest is a deathtrap if you stop moving for 10 seconds.... or even brush against leaves/plants/branches....

Makes exploring in the summer a little challenging.

Hi everyone. I am new here but have lurked over the forums on and off a year or two ago. Love the format of the forums here. Anyways, just wanted to comment on Too Good Pond and give some tips. Bare with me as I type this out on my first post.

About the red ants thing...O...M...G.... they are EVERYWHERE!! I have found rubber boots kept them off after the boots have been in the water but I observed a tip from an older asian gentleman who used mosquito (anti mossie sauce) repellent on the ground and it kept the red ants at bay. I tried that myself and observed the same results so I can recommend spraying the ground or perimeter of where you plan on putting your kit to keep the red ants at bay.

Also I have found if you spray your footwear or socks/pant leg cuffs with the mossie sauce it will keep the red ants from coming up you while you are standing. Now if you are sitting down or leaning against something you may want to spray that as well to cover all bases.

Now for the person that said they caught nothing I have been at this pond for a bit over a week now today. I have caught quite a lot. I am in no way an expert and consider myself a pinch about a newbie as I am learning now to fish and tie knots.

This is what I have caught in the 1.5-2 weeks I have been here :

1. Bad red ant stings
2. A lot of mossie bites

Ok, ok, first two may not count.

3. Carp (~3-4lb, ~7lb, ~10lb are my largest ~2ftish)

4. A fricking rainbow trout! ~18"ish (took too long to fumble getting the net then tried to attempt to take a photo quickly when I abandoned the net idea but the fish snapped the line. I did pull it up to the waters edge and had 2-3 witnesses tho. )

5. A brown trout ~1.75ft a few days ago

6. Some small fish I think is small carp

Oddly tho I never caught any sunfish.

The bait I used was originally worms that nabbed me that rainbow trout. I later switched to using canned corn and marshmellows which is what I think landed me that ~10lb carp. The carp are very responsive to canned corn. Chum the water to lure them into your area and you may get a trout surprise like I did.

The rainbow was caught on a Zebco 'Just Add Water' which is a telescopic rod & reel with tackle kit. Just found out a week ago that the Zebco has a DRAG feature. LOL. I always thought the twist cap on the top of the reel was for easy on/off of the spool to help with untangling the line. It wasn't till a caribbian/jamacian guy on a bicycle that mostly did salt water fishing showed me that I need to loosen the cap a bit to allow for drag. If I had knew that a week earlier I would have landed that rainbow trout as it recovered from the fight and bolted back into the water. If I knew about the drag then maybe I could have kept the line on it to reel it back.

The brown trout I caught on a single corn kernel surprisingly. I chummed the water expecting to catch a carp but all of a sudden the line tugged and the fish jumped the surface and splashed and it was 'fish on!'. This trout was zipping around the water trying to get away. It wasn't till I got it to the waters edge did I realize it wasn't a carp.

The kit I was using for fishing is:

-Zebco 'Just Add Water' rod/reel tackle kit. Reel rated for 4/6/8# test (but I spooled it with 10#. Spinning reel.

Reasoning is I sometimes at snags in the trees and the extra 2# strength helps when I am tugging to free the line with my bobber and float. I do however use a lighter test line as a leader.


-Garcia (pre Abu Garcia as I just found out last week) ~6'6" or 7' rod. Rod says 6-12# test. Coupled with a Daiwa EL550 Graphite IIRC the reel model right. The reel has rear drag which I like. Apparently from Bass City if they are correct Garica has lifetime warrenty on thier rods. I try hard not to bend the rods hard when fighting a fish.

-Daiwa rod ~6' model 1011 IIRC. I think and more a light action IIRC. Both the Garcia and the Diawa rod have been commented as vintage classics by the Bass City store and the staff was shocked to see it in such good working condition. Reel is a Daiwa spring loaded front drag and folding handle.

-South Bend Proton telescopic rod which I sometimes use the Zebco reel or the Daiwa reels.

-Gatorade mini bottle w/8# test, ball float, splitshot, and hook. Much like anyone that skoffs at this setup or the Zebco setup this setup has caught about a 3lb catfish using a orange wiggly tail grub lure.


The place I caught all my fish was near the parking lot by the club house/ice cream house with the raised wooden deck. If you walk down about 1-2mins straight down the paved path you reach the muddy shoreline which connects with the Rouge River.

The carp I caught a day ago during the rain shower/storm before I left thinking all I'd catch was small baby fish was by the wooden pier/deck opposite of ice cream/clubhouse on the other side of the pond. Had to jump over wooden deck rail as I was sure if I walked around the bush the bush would have snapped or caught the line. The jump is do'able but make sure you have some shocks in the shoes. For a half second as I jumped over I was thinking 'oh crap...I might injure the legs. It as something like a 4foot drop to a paved path by the waters edge. This area is also well known for having lots of red ants. Anyways, landed that carp and got a passer-by to take a photo.


Hope this helps some people new to the area trying out the waters. Oh yes, I only do catch and release mainly so someone else can later and hopefully experience the thrill of the fish fight later but apparently some elderly asian gentlemen fish for carp to eat.

If you are heading to this pond I recommend going to the ice cream/clubhouse area if driving or biking or walking. If you need some kit while in the area Bass City (no affliation or kick backs mentioning them) is close by near Kennedy and Hwy 7. Also Walmart is open till 23:00 at the Markville Mall location for basic fishing kit (hooks, swivels, sinkers, splitshot, line some lures, rods, reel, and rod/reel kits). Bass City is cheaper for the gear. IIRC something like 10-20cents cheaper then Wallys but Wallys is open till 23:00 for those fishing later and just need the basic hooks or sinkers. Never did any returns at Bass City so I don't know thier policy. I know Wallys is hassle free so it may be worth the extra 10-20 cents if you buy a bunch of kit just incase for a fishing trip then return what you do not need later.