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Hey all, another long time member coming outta the woodwork. Home from a week away, "off the grid & un plugged" withe family at a remote Fly in outpost cabin 50 miles north of Cochrane Everything came together as we lucked out on the timing & availability of this spot. Air Cochrane Services came highly recommended and we share the sentiment. Cabin was very clean & well equipped with basic/essential needs as well as 3 aluminum boats & well running 6hp outboards. Our lake was approximately 2x1 mile. Not alot of crazy structure & easy to navigate. Walleye were all over and pretty easy to pattern. The dusk bite in the evenings was very good. Lots in the 14-18 inch with a few each day over 20. Andrea landed the biggest at around 5 lbs & lost one much bigger. Had a couple pretty windy days that limited our time targeting pike. We did get a few during the week up to 25". Had a couple jigs bitten off too that we didn't see. For the the Eyes, jig heads in white, pink, white/pink, orange & chartreuse were best with a dew worm. We tried different twister tail grubs, fuzzee grubs & bucktaiks too. Never really got into floating jigs, harnesses or spinners much. Wasn't necessary. Only a couple jigs lost to snags. I've read many reports over the years on these kind of trips & am thankful for all the advice given. I highly recommend the Fly in experience. Despite the great fishing southern Ont & the great lakes has, I've got the urge to explore North a bit more over the next little while.. we'll see where we go next!

Couple of years ago i talked my buddy into buying an i pilot conversion kit for his pedalled PD 2 trolling motor! I installed it for him and he loves the anchor,cruise control,autopilot ect. He doesnt like the remote hanging on his neck like most guys commented on a previous post! So, i put my McGyver mind to work and came up with a pedal dock for the remote! Works like a charm! You can feel the buttons click even with shoes on.very little presure neede to operate it! And you still have all the other i pilot features available! Cheers!

I'm making molds right now from some rubber gloves. Triathlete recounts 'mistaken Muskie attack' in Lake St. Clair: https://windsor.ctvnews.ca/windsor-ironman-triathlete-recounts-mistaken-muskie-attack-in-lake-st-clair-1.5549178

As the proverbial crow flies I'm about 50 miles north west of CFB Trenton where they fly C-130 planes among others. I must be on one of their flight paths as the come over my house several times a week and sometimes unbelievably low. Just 2 weeks ago a pair of them came over so low I felt I could almost touch them. Over the years I've got some great pictures of them. I was working in the yard this morning and could hear one circling close by but couldn't see him for the trees but got my camera just in case. Sure enough he turned my way and came directly over head and again was very low. Tough to find them in a small view finder but I got a decent picture anyways. Don't know about anyone else but I love seeing this sorta stuff. Here's a couple more from other years

It's been a long time since I've posted on the board, but I thought I'd post a few pictures of some of the fish I've caught this year at my trailer. I'm so glad we have this place....it's been much needed through the lockdowns of the last year and a half!! I didn't even know the walleye got his big on this lake! I hope everyone has been safe through these past months!!

So i get notification of a response to my post. But when i check it there are no responses! Sorry misfish and headhunter??????

WOW,WOW,WOW. There is a name from the blast past.

Looking good Cliff looks like a few nice summer fish there. Art

Nice shootin there, Cliff! We'll be in touch soon about a fishing net, I can finally settle the storage fee.

Heres my two cents...its always smart to throw an inline fuse on a unit. But im also guilty of when I hook my helix 7 up for ice fishing its unfused. You buy a Marcum ice fishing flasher...the power cables come with a pre-installed in line fuse, because thats the way its supposed to be. You buy Garmin Sonars, the power cables come with an inline fuse from the factory, because thats the way its supposed to be. Johnson Outdoors cut corners and costs on their products that's why the sticker price is always cheaper then the competition. This isnt me bashing them, I have humminbird electronics on my boat, its just my observation having two companies on my boat. When my helix 7 is in the boat its definitely fused though, I installed the inline fuse myself. When wiring electronics in your boat Always keep your electronics on an isolated power source away from all of your other accessories (i.e. dont wire your units into your main BUS) Either buy and create a new one strictly for electronics (if you have multiple units) or just run clean lines with inline fuses directly to your battery. (this is the best way) Wire everything with 10 gauge marine wire or 12 if the run is short, if its at the front of your boat from a battery in the back, run 10 and solder shrink tube or get waterproof crimp connectors at minimum to ensure everything stays nice and dry. The idea here is to absolutely minimize line loss, eliminate corrosion and avoid any interference from any of your accessories in your boat to ensure the best imaging quality. I can assure you that in reply to this very post, we are going to have multiple people reply to it saying "I wired my units all into my accessory BUS without any issues!" ya...well ok, but its simply not the right way to do it and their imaging quality is degraded any time an accessory is running in the boat. You can find a pile of stuff about guys and their voltage levels when wiring boats. Its a very real thing, the more clean power your units get the better.

I don't use an inline fuse with my Helix 5 when I ice fish. Right to the battery.

I'm sitting there watching overdrive late afternoon and this brand new looking bright red Ford 4x4 comes up the driveway. Then I remembered I recently saw one at my neighbour's just up the road and sure enough I see Jim getting getting out carrying something. He's been up there in a new gig with Ford now for at least six months and just recently got his new truck, it took that long. So I go out front and meet him and he hands me this sealed 8x12 tray full of small bottles. It's truffle oil he tells me. 91 single serving size. I kind of know what it is and I love mushrooms but I've never tried it before. Been doing some research and now I'm really looking forward to using it as a finishing oil. Anyone here ever use it much? Any experiences, advice, recipes and thoughts are more than welcome. This is the exact product. Glass bottles even. https://www.terrefrancescane.com/gb/single-portion-dressings/129-terrefrancescane-italian-white-truffle-dressing-12ml.html?search_query=White+truffle+dressing&results=3

Did it have a fuse in the 1st place?, if not then just extend the wire using proper connections and be done with it

Just use a penny, all will be well. Doug PS) Do you have a fire extinguisher on board? (asking for a friend)

Good report. But you are still YOUNG, for God's sake!!!!!!! Algonquin is awesome, and there are better lakes that will cough up trout, even for newbies - or, I guess I have to admit, there USED TO BE such lakes. I have not dipped a paddle in Algonquin for a couple decades.............🙄 Shoot me a note for a couple ideas, mind you the one had a portage that was a hair over a kilometre. But once you are past such a portage, all the wannabes are eating your dust, it separates the men from the boys so to speak. Doug

Great Trip Report Andrew! There’s nothing like venturing into Algonquin’s backcountry with good friends. Portages can certainly be tough if you have a bunch “just in case” gear. I’ve been going every spring since 2010 for the trout, except the past 2 due to COVID closures. I’m turning 64 this week, and will keep returning, until I can’t.

Welcome back cliff been too long

I'd fist do a parasitic draw test on the boat's electrical system. Begin with a fully charged battery Make sure everything is turned off (Other then the isolation switch) Disconnect the negative battery terminal Connect a multi meter. Negative lead to negative battery post, positive lead to the negative cable terminal. Turn the meter on and set it to amps. 50ma (0.050) is the maximum allowable draw that will not drain a battery over 3-5 months; depending on the battery's condition. Then if you want, turn on your graphs (one at a time) and see what it is drawing. You can then compare your reading to what the graph is supposed to be drawing. Just make sure you do not exceed the multi meter's amperage capacity. If you do, you'll let the smoke out of the meter or blow the meter's fuse. Next pull the battery and have a proper load and if needed a charge test performed. The battery needs to be fully charged before these tests would be valid. With a carbon pile connected to the battery; load the battery down to 1/2 of the Cold Cranking Amperage (CCA) rating; for no more then 15 seconds. With the load still applied take a voltage reading. A reading of 9-9.5 volts is a good test result and the battery is good. If the voltage drops below 9 volts; you then need to do a 3 minute charge test. With a charger that is capable of a 30 amp charge rate. Turn charger on and watch the voltage; at the 3 minute point take a voltage reading, with the charger still on. The voltage should not exceed 15.5 volts. If the voltage is higher then the 15.5 the battery is sulfated and needs to be replaced. A sulfated battery will seem to charge normally; but it is only a surface charge. Sorry for the noel of a post; but didn't know how else to explain the different tests. Dan.