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Food is almost as good as the fishing! Yeah, the Atlantic Salmon folks are not big fans of Smallies but they gaining in popularity, they more concerned about Largemouth & Crappies coming Maine nowadays! The Smallies were prespawn and the seasons are very interested down here. I do believe that no tournaments are allowed during the spawn for a couple of weeks but you can still fish for them.

Just got back from a trip down east to New Brunswick! Went down to Nackawic for the Destination Nackawic Smallmouth Open and had a blast on the St. John River! Huge variety of fish species in this body of water, Smallmouth, Yellow Perch, White Perch, Gaspereau, Chain Pickerel, Muskie & Pumpkinseeds were some that we saw or caught! We caught over 400 Smallmouth Bass in a day & a hold of practice & 2 tournament days! We had an okay result finishing 24th out of 77 teams! Then, it was off to the Miramichi River& the Miramichi Striper Cup! Fishing was tough because of the early spring & high water temps but we still caught lots of fish in practice! Fishing was even tougher on tournament days due to funky weather & strong winds! We managed a 27th place finish out of 237 teams! Beautiful part of our country with some amazing fishing! If anyone wants more info, please PM me!

And me and Doug have had breakfast together at the emo Inn. Where breakfast is served with a side of hair! Lol

Doug, we've fished together...do I LOOK like I don't like food...lol

Yeah, the Brits are an odd bunch when it comes to fishing. In "Match Fishing", which is kind of the equivalent of a Bass Tournament (except much smaller fish), they catch as many "minnows" as they can and whoever has the biggest total weight wins..The top "anglers" of these tiny fish are treated like celebrities. Not knocking the British (I was born there myself), but I guess you got to work with what you have..

I had a customer visit me recently and he had supplied some of the components he wanted me to use as a cost saving measure. I was not big on the idea as I was certain in short order he would not be happy with the end result, so I talked him out of it in favour of this one off design based on my earlier seamless fore grip reel seats. Fairly inexpensive but definitely shows that the rod is custom work. He is extremely happy with the direction change.

Somebody here is a foodie! I thought they were maybe garlic cloves..........😉

I'm impressed....who would've thought kimchee at a fishing lodge. ...and nasturtium petals on the pudding. You guys are looking for a Michelin star !

Leftover sandwich lol. Leftover smoked sirloin, cheddar, kimchee and mustard with garlic butter on sourdough Bread pudding

Very nice fish ! A Chain Pickerel is one of my bucket list fish. Yeah, the Striper fishery is amazing out there. We did a summer road trip out to NB a few years back and fished for them in the ocean...they fight like super-size Largemouth...gill rattling head shakes on the surface ! It's a quicker drive than going to say Thunder Bay...but the food is so much better...Lobster, Oysters, Mussels, Clams.. I know the Smallmouth for the most part are considered an invasive species out there (competing with their precious Atlantic Salmon), so I assume there is no season and those were pre-spawn ?

Like I said, unless you counted the pores on the lower mandible, it's difficult to confirm one way or another. I'm certainly no expert in fish ID...however, two things have me thinking its a Pike, and not a cross. Google "juvenile Northern Pike images"...all kinds of examples with that exact colour pattern. I've caught many myself with that colouration in lakes that the nearest Musky was more than 200 km away. Second, I had a cottage on Wahsoune Island right in the middle of Massassauga PP for several years. Never saw a Tiger, never heard of one....but I did catch young Pike that looked exactly like that. I may be wrong, but for whatever reason Pike and Musky just don't seem to hybridize in Georgian Bay. Although not always the case, Tigers (and pure Muskies) typically have darker stripes on a lighter background. In the Kawarthas you will see olive coloured Tigers, but its a dark stripe on light. The photo is a typical mature Tiger (49") from NW Ontario's Eagle Lake this past September....big head, rounded fins...Tiger traits vs Musky. If you want confirmation, find Gord Pyzer on Facebook. Gord knows his toothy critters.

You will get a variety of replies to this one. I do not like the the traditional "transom savers". The ones that connect the trailer to the lower unit on the engine. This type induces every bit shock and vibration directly into the lower unit of the engine and ultimately into the transom. They kind of do what you really don't want and are trying to prevent by using a "transom saver". In my opinion the boats transom probably sees much higher levels of stress while powering the boat up on plane and carrying the weight boat at speed out on the water. Add in some rough water conditions and the punishment that the transom has to endure increases even more. The travel while on the trailer should in comparison be much easier. I think that it is important to keep the engine from bouncing and it would also be good to keep the engine from flopping to one side and then the other. The good old block of wood strategically placed between the engine and mount will do the job and there are a broad range of modern stabilizers and engine supports, some of them expensive that also do the job. There are a few engines that have a good tilt lock mechanism that is perfect for trailering and even recommended by the engine manufacturer. There are also a variety of steering locks that keep the engine centered and prevent it from flopping over to on side or the other. Most of these are intended for the newer hydraulic steering systems.

I have to weigh in here after 5 years of ownership and 4 years of use muskie fishing out of my 18xtr I have just had my warranty on my hull deemed "null and void" because cracks have formed in the "lifetime warranty" hull. I have it in writing from Legend that this is due to the boat riding on the trailer. They claim the trailer had broken bunks after it sat in their yard for a month. They may have been sagging a bit, but they surely weren't broken when I dropped the boat off. They claim that loading the boat and unloading the boat from the trailer is damaging to the hulls, yet they refused to warrant it. They added it may be from driving on bumpy roads as well. I would highly recommend anyone reading steer clear of Legend boats. I bought mine new in 2019 and the service has been a nightmare since the moment I paid for it!