Low budget, High fun.

So I had picked up a pontoon boat used and real cheap a couple of years ago. At $75 it was a steal. Then never used it.  I can be real stupid like that. Also had a 5-6wt Daiwa Sensor rod I picked up for $35, and a reel for $10. Hadn't used them either. So, figured I should.

Now the cool part is, if you do the math, the gear for this outing is cheap. Really cheap. Less than is often spent on  a reel. The rod, probably originally came from Canadian Tire. In fact, I'm sure Canadian Tire carries higher end rods. Despite a couple of interesting 'design' decisions, it has proven to be more than functional. The reel holds line...........and can be palmed for drag.......the nicest things I can say about it.

I decided to continue with the 'low budget' theme. I found a beat up old line to use. I tied a slightly tapered leader out of several different test mono. The fly I tied on ( and only fly I used today ) was a black Wooly Bugger I found on the ground at a popular Grand River access point. No waders of course, flippers instead of oars, hell even the pants and shirt I was wearing had come to me as gifts. I'd say the entire output of cost for gear was roughly $150.00 inclusive.

I headed to the closest warm water fishery. A negligible piece of water that should normally be passed over for more productive venues. The shore was lined with anglers, the water chocked with watercraft. I slid my toon into the water and puttered out to troll the edge of some weed beds.

The panfish were plentiful and playful. The Large Mouth I had been hoping to encounter were scarce. Not really a problem though. My main goal for the outing was to ascertain whether any repairs were going to be needed for the toon. Fortunately, it survived storage nicely. The crappie were in good supply, including a good number of slabs. I also caught a real nifty big Sunny that took me back to my summers as a kid fishing up north.

One thing that was a pretty big deal for me, but probably no one else, was how well my back held up to the task. Apparently fishing from a toon is FAR less taxing than wading. I still can't believe how much I don't hurt. It verges on miraculous.