Yes spots , Mrs Hashpants likes to catchem.
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Where in the world are you catching them? Any Aussies here?
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Bonito i use for fish soup jamaican style. It has a lot of omega fish oil . makes for a rich soupā¦ Or
Boil the fish then let coolā¦ Then separate the meat from bones- pick it apartā¦ Then add your favorite ingredients ( bell peppers. Onions. Etc ) mix with bread crumbs and make your own fish cakes they are freaking amazingā¦
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Iām coming to visit.
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What kind of reel is that one there @Star_Dog ? Iām getting a Spey blank in an order of 10 blanks Iām eagerly awaiting and want it to be a work of art once itās done. Thatās a cool looking rig! Not sure if Iāll do it up full Spey or make it a switch rod. 12ā6" 4-piece 8wt, 560-625g. All are North Fork Composites I got in a special sale recently. Any 10 blanks for $600US and 6 of them are MSRP of over $400. Should keep me busy for a couple 3 years I figure.
Today I just closed a deal for 2 Hardy LRH Lightweight reels both loaded with near new Rio 5wt floaters for $500Can and will be headed into the city on Tuesday to pick them up, visit with a buddy, go see a guy 40 miles further west to check out his rod building business and more than likely spend a few more dollars there. Crashing at my buddyās so can have a couple days out and about.
Nice fish too!
After barely going fishing the last 20 years because northern Alberta sux compared to living in the Fraser Valley for fishing but decided to make the best of it and dive right back into the sport. Itās the only one I ever cared for and I miss the good stuff but plan to be ready as hell for when I can get back out. Talking to my cousin in Campbell River and heās killing coho on the fly rod these days just 10 min from his house. Could have moved there in '01 instead of here but itās a long story. Still planning to head out there eventually.
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Beautiful grayling! Where are you fishing?
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love getting pulled to the rail by one of these speedstersā¦
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Saskatchewan
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I went fishing everyday up until I met my wife. Ive been married for 31 years. In '92, I tried teaching her. Five casts, had to cut line 4 times from snags, lost $20 in lures. Grabbed pole from her and that was it. This was unfortunately my last fishing days. For the record. I used to go to Dunkirk NY, every year for weekend license in October, Erie scares the hell out of me. I Used to go with 12-14 family members to Lansing Michigan for Coho/Chinook, and I sure do miss that.
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geez Iād love to know where you are getting boat loads of bluefin fishin in Saskatchewan!!! 
@LabRat I grew up in the fraser valley as well, left for the Cariboo going on 15 years ago now I think. I miss the river fishing down there the most and being able to fish in the salt for salmon in season. Feeder chinook in the winter was always fun times. Just did a trip down to the chilliwack for coho a couple weeks back. I miss the river but the amount of people fishing these days blew my mind. I might go back down for steelhead in february/march , be nice to get some rod days in before my body says no way LOL
I too was a professional rod builder for a few years but itās hard to make a living at it unless you also sell all the materials at a retail level. I still spin up rods for friends and for myself when needed but rarely if ever would do it for cash again. For the enjoyment or for crafting a gift for a friend, for sure. That keeps it fun. My go to river rod set ups are the Talon M2 blank with real cork handles made from premium rings, hand assembled and shaped, fuji trigger seat and zirconia ringed gudes/tip top. Thatās for the heavy spring salmon fishing in the bigger rivers like the fraser, thompson, skeena ect. For the steelhead and coho sized fish , Talon LT2 blank built to match the M2 with a shimano citica dvp. Stoned and ramblig about fishing is so easy for me to do LOL
We are in the āin betweenā as the salmon in the rivers are getting stale and the lake ice is just starting to form. Will be weeks before I can get back to my favorite fishin ā¦ ice fishin for kokanee and lakers 
Still looking for a all inclusive fishing destination down south somewhere. The safer the better as we live in very strange times these days and Canadians arenāt as welcome in some countries as they used to be.
Iād love to be on a coral flat sight casting to bonefish with my 9wt Gloomis cross current travel rod but physically that might be pushing my limits. Blue fin, Jack Trevali, duradoā¦
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Grayling in Saskatchewan. Biuefin limit was outta San Diego on the charter boat Jerry A last August for my buddies bachelor party. The boats Captain is a character who lives on his boat for months at a time (and it shows in the way he talks to strangers) in his crew has a mix of both cool dudes and true San Diego d bags on it. However, as a whole those guys work damn hard to find the fish!
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It is just nuts on the Chilliwack/Vedder these days. I went way upstream with my son and we had nice runs to ourselves but the fish werenāt there. On my own I went down to the bottom of the Vedder where we used to belly-boat on the tides and there were always a dozen or so people there but room enough and they all seemed to be regulars but a few like me. Friendly bunch and we had a good time standing there in the drizzle tossing spinners and small spoons for the few coho. Was a lot better back in the day tho.
How about some pics of this bait rod? Iām always looking for inspiration and have a 13ā 3-piece one coming in my order of blanks. Itās an NFC CP 1303-2(LMX X-Ray) and I plan to do the spiral wrap on the guides which will be single foot micro guides and be making my own grips. Want to find a real nice reel seat for it and make it a one of a kind. My blanks could be another month or more before they get here so I need to get to work practising my wrapping and learning some fancy techniques. Have a few old rods I can strip down and use for practising and making stuff I need like reaming rods, mandrels for extending parts of blanks to get at the ferrules or other tricky places.
I was in Grande Prairie for two days as I went to pick up a couple of Hardy 4/5wt fly reels I bought off marketplace. all equipped with backing and 5wt lines too for $250 each. Always wanted a Hardy tho the reels Iāve had for decades work just fine and look decent too tho a few are showing their age but arenāt we all. 
Wednesday I took a drive out of GP to Hythe to meet a rod builder who has a job as a commercial communications tech and obviously fairly well off. Heās still building his rod building shop but it was really nice already. Very organized and a really great guy to talk to. I was there for over 2 hours and got lots of tips. He will get me stuff I need to build my rods for about half what Iād pay retail for. Iāll hopefully be getting the cork cutting jig set in a bit and heāll sell me a slew of assorted corks for a damn good price. I was going to buy a couple of snake guides to finish fixing up my broken fly rod but he just gave them to me. Sold me a nice ALPS fly reel seat for probably less than half what it it would cost me on my own. Was well worth the extra drive to go see him.
Iām not planning to do this to make money but if I can pick up a few jobs as I go along to cover a bit of the money Iām throwing into this I wouldnāt complain. Joe says not to worry about cutting into his trade as he turns away more work than he does. He actually prefers doing ice rods and spinning gear over fly rods. He says fly fishers are too damn fussy and if their rod doesnāt perform as they expected they blame him when it was the customer who selected all the parts to make it. Sounds about right. 
I picked up a nice 3/4wt Pflueger reel at the Trapper Gord Hunting/Trapping/Fishing store one the highway in the middle of nowhere so got 3 reels on the trip. Got a free bucktail off a roadkill too. Had a great evening at my buddyās playing crib and smoking loads of honey oil with a buddy of his. Need more of that real life interaction I think.
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love to fish. havenāt been in a few years tho.
boy and i just bought new rods with plans to go next year.
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I caught a few grayling in a little river called Hay River here in Alberta probably 10 years back while on a job hauling water for drilling rigs. Worked about a week then went home for a few days while they moved and set up the rig in the same area. I was pulling water out of the river and seen them frolicking around so on the first trip home grabbed a fly and spinning rod so would be fishing while my truck loaded with water at the slowest speed possible. Was telling the camp cook about it and he wanted some so took 6 back and he made a real nice supper for me and a couple of his buddies. Werenāt as big as yours but enough for the four of us. Lot of fun to catch too.
Iād like some more of that so will probably be doing some travelling around next season to seek out better fishing than whatās around here. Dragging my little tinny around with me too. 
Wouldnāt mind a shot at some of those tuna either!
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I donāt think I have many rod pics other than in the field using them.
Hereās the Talon LT2 with the shimano citca japanese model. Those are fraser sockeye caught downstream of the Seton river confluence.
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