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Had a great year last season with tonnes of great numbers. Hammered walleye from a kayak in a super back lake with my dad. Later flipped the same kayak in the middle of a trout lake and almost died of hypothermia lol, was a fun year!

Pictures of some of my favorite mountain lakes. Most are so gorgeous they look fake, but are not. I hope you's enjoy. Maligne Lake, Peyto Lake, Waterton Lake, Lake Louise, Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes where in 1983 while fishing from shore I caught the Alberta record Bull Trout, Alberta's provincial fish, one oz. shy of 18lbs. And it still stands today. Lower Kananaskis Lake, Abraham Lake. I have a couple more that are well worth a gander but as usual my computer decided to take some time off, I will try and post them later.

Hi all, walleye bite went nuts from 7pm for 45 minutes. must've got 20 or so between the two of us....nice evening too .

Almost 12 years since I last logged into OFC. I saw a post of Facebook with some yellow jackets and grey hats and figured I would check out what’s going on in here! See lots of familiar faces, so much has changed since I was 13 years old discovering OFC with my dad, over the last 18 years one thing that hasn’t changed is my desire to chase Muskies. In 2017 I bought what at the time was my dream boat, after a boat accident and a couple boat upgrades later I am now fishing in a boat I could have never dreamed possible. During Covid I was unable to book at Lakair lodge or Memquisit lodge on the west arm of Lake Nippissing, one place on the upper French river was allowing guests so I took advantage, after quickly falling in love with the area I decided I wanted to dedicate my time to only fishing The French / Lake Nippissing. Last season I decided to start guiding, a life long dream that always seemed like a dream was now reality, being paid to bring people out to catch fish??? SIGN ME UP. The guiding aspect was very different, I went from bringing buddies on the boat trying to get them a fish to now needing to get people on fish, the fish cooperated quite well. I just wanted to thank all the OG members of the community who made things so much fun when I was younger, we would have never went to Lakair Lodge/Lake Nippissing without OFC. Here are a couple fish from my season last year: His first musky My GF with a 51” 51 x 26 September whale 51” fall fatty 55” 43.6lb last spot of the season, MAGIC.

Hi all, we have been making ice the last couple weeks, not too far off 'normal' ice thickness for this time of year despite the insanely mild winter, should be a normal(ish) ice out, maybe a bit earlier than the 1st week of May. Took advantage of the extra daylight hours and headed out on Wabigoon yesterday for an hour , supper was great!

My wife and I spent the weekend at our daughters place in Mississauga but getting across the GTA on the 401 is always mind blowing with all the morons on the road. Speed limits mean nothing and guys just fly back & forth changing lanes without even looking. Worst I saw though, we were cruising along around Keele St.doing about 110 like most folks when the guy in front of me missed his exit and slammed on his brakes and stopped dead on the road waiting for a chance to cross 3 lanes. I always leave LOTS of room between me and the car in front but I was sure we'd get hit from behind but fortunately everyone behind me was paying attention. I left Toronto 14 years ago and moved to the boonies and now almost never travel the 401 for just that reason. Coming home yesterday morning I said to heck with the price and took the 407 and what a treat that place is, there were practically no cars on the road and it sure was nice. Won't get the bill for awhile and it probably cost me a small fortune but I think it may just be the way to go from now on. Or maybe I'll just never leave the peace & tranquility of the boonies again LOL

A 30 lb difference between cylinders is a sign the motor is starting to self-destruct. The compression will continue to lose as more metal and the numbers become more unbalanced. This is equal to walking with one leg stronger than the other. For now, it might be less expensive to fix it before it damages the crankshaft, crank bearings, and piston walls. After reading your responses, I do not feel that you can do the machine work and ensure the correct tolerances and torque specs are accurate. Anyone can assemble a motor but without experience, the mistakes become apparent when you are not at the dock or home. Just some insight from a person who has been building high-performance jet skis and motorcycles 2 strokes since the late 80s. Congratulations and enjoy your new boat. Art

Hi all, Got out for an hour in front of the house this evening with my good buddy Roloff.

Hi all, Got to our spot around 5pm, usually pick up a couple of whitefish and the odd walleye and pike before the bite turns on but it wasn’t until 7:20pm when the switch got flicked. We didn’t even mark a single fish before that, was getting worried… lol. Once they turned on it was non stop bites.

I wouldn't spend 5k on that. Absolutely no way. Not with that motor.

...

Just a couple kinda cool sunrise pics over looking the prairies east of town.

Mrs,s and I had a great day at the swap. As always, great seeing you David. Till next year.

I must have bigger squirrels. I screwed two rat traps to the rail of a fence they travel and they completely destroyed them. Next time I didnt screw them down, but put the trap on a tether so they had no leverage. That worked for a couple rounds. I found they can get in the live traps , have dinner and leave without paying the piper. I now put a mouse trap in the live trap. When they set off the mouse it scares the crap out them and they inadvertently trigger the live trap. I discovered that trick one day watching one eat my peanut butter. I wipped the door open and yelled at him causing him to make a run for it. Got him. I;m just tired of having to load them up and drive them out of town 10-15 miles. I used a rattle can on them for awhile to see just how far they would travel to get home. A couple made it 10 miles in no time. I think the rest fall victim to predators while they run around with neon pink tail. lol

I would put my 5K away, and save another 5K for next year. I’d take up river fishing for smallies and salmon and trout for a season. Then I’d find a 16 foot bare hull with a 30hp 4 stroke and put a flat floor in the front if your that type of angler. I spent my first 7 or 8 boating years in a Lund SSV 16 with a 30. I did all kinds of fishing out of that boat, caught all kinds of fish, and towed it all over the province. Did a lot of down rigging out of it on big water too. I would not invest in one of these old tubs. I’ve watched too many guys at the ramp on various opening days praying to no avail that their motor would turn over, or that they wouldn’t have some other problem. And then they try the home repairs because marine mechanics are expensive. I’m a frugal guy, have 3 kids, one I’m putting through university, and 2 more to go. I understand the need for budgeting, but I’m far enough down the road that I don’t waste my money on crap anymore. My time is valuable, and when I want to go, I want to go.

I have owned a 1989 Rangerboat with the original Johnson 150 motor since 1999. The boat was purchased from a friend who took excellent care keeping it waxed and serviced like a pro. Even so, it has had, the motor rebuilt, the flooring and carpet replaced, misc. electrical upgrades and basic maintenance. With that said spring is not the correct time to buy a boat. I would spend the money to have the boat checked over professionally there is nothing worse than finding out the motor is at the end of it's life on an old boat and needs a $12,000.00 motor. Same with any of the other major areas for rot and electrical issues. While you may have to survey 2 or 3 boats it will be the best money you can spend. Go slow and remember the fall is the best time to buy a boat it will be cheaper and you will have all winter to putter and fix it just the way you want. Happy hunting Art

From your description, it seems you were up the Lower Moon River heading to Moon Falls. Yes, there can be a substantial current in that stretch, especially in spring. And yes, Walleye do come in there...that's why it's a sanctuary. There are more subtle currents throughout the archipelago, in neck down areas and channels between the islands. G Bay experiences a phenomena called a "seiche"...it's like a freshwater tide caused by the wind. A prolonged west blow can temporarily raise the water level by over a foot, a prolonged east blow can drop the level the same amount. All this water rushes in and out of the myriad of channels creating current areas...these spots attract predators feeding on the baitfish (in turn attracted by zooplankton) being swept by. If I can give you two pieces of advice....First, journey out and away from the Lower Moon and Woods Bay...it gets pounded. The further you get from the marinas and launches, the better the fishing. Those reefs out by the outer band of islands always have consistently good fishing..On a calm day, go out even further to those offshore reefs...few complaints about slow fishing out there.. Second, a lot of the reefs/structure is smooth featureless worn rock...ignore those. Look for structure that has broken rock, preferably boulders of between softball to basketball size...if there's cabbage weed nearby, even better... Enjoy....there's enough fishing and places to explore in that area to fill several lifetimes.

I wouldn't be worrying about the boat too much, but I'd definitely be doing a compression test on that Mercury 2 stroke.

Crestliners are good boats. It all really depends on the price point though, those black outboards scare me.

Sure, worse case is you slap on an external transducer. Simple stuff.

I agree with Akrisoner, an 80lb electric TM with a couple of lithiums might be a better investment than hanging a gas kicker on that boat. A lot more versatile...you can still troll with it, and if you wire it up so the big motor charges it when running, should always have enough juice to get you back.

I was about to reply almost exactly what Randy said. Start with a compression check on a warm engine.

Hi, I suggest that before you get too worried about what might or could happen with the engine, you or a experienced mechanic should perform a thorough inspection of everything to make sure that there are no evident service or maintenance issues such as fuel lines, chaffed or damaged wires, leaks etc. Then do another compression test and actually confirm that there might be a problem. It is very important to use a high quality reliable gauge. I have seen some widely variant readings from cheap low end compression gauges, so find a good one to do the testing with, you need good consistant readings to confirm what the compression is. You can also try doing a cold and warm test that might show that the compression is within spec when warm and may explain why the engine seems to run well. If the compression is not bad go ahead and enjoy your boat and stop worrying, Should the new testing show that there is a potential problem then it becomes a question of how bad is it really? If it is not to severe use it this season and have it freshened it up in the off season for use over the next few years with no worries. If it turns out that it is in fact bad enough to be worried about then bite the bullet and fix it now. That engine as others have pointed out is a good, reliable, and relatively simple engine that any good experienced outboard mechanic can overhaul in a few hours without having to spend a fortune. Finding a good and honest mechanic might be the biggest challenge... Best of luck and have fun with your new boat!

Having to get towed is always a risk. Thats just boating with older equipment. New equipment breaks too. All one can do is be prepared as anyone on the water should be at all times. Treat it right and I think you'll be fine. I've been on the water my whole life with some questionable equipment including ill running motors. Never been towed, but always ready for it. Just dont go out for midnight cruise's with the wife and kids on board. lol

Chances are it just needs the cylinders honed, new rings and gaskets. A much less expensive option. Buying another ol' two stroke may find you in the same position. $2000 is a rebuild. As said, basically a new motor. Sometimes it's the way to go. Better the devil you know. A new engine for 2k is cheap. In the interest of more power, you may want to keep your eyes open for a bigger engine and have it rebuilt while you still run what you have. Maybe find one with good compression and other problems like lower unit issues. Cheap motor and you can tackle it yourself. I just know that if I wanted toys, I had to learn to work on them. Otherwise I couldnt afford to own them when they broke. lol. Broken=worthless. Basically throwing it on the scrap heap and starting over with another old used motor with the same risks. Get some tools, pick up another cheap motor and tear into it. I think I mentioned Iboats forum. Those guys eat sleep and breath this stuff and will help you through anything you want to tackle. It's where to go for boat related problems. ANYTHING boats. I'm sure there are folks here that will agree.

NICE RIG >>>CONGRATULATIONS!!! Have a great season!

Very nice. We've had some great sunrises and sets recently also. Minus the white stuff. Here's a couple from the other morning.

Yes the rat traps do work until they get wary of them and then they'll avoid them no matter what bait you put in there. I use a Crosman Baze XT, 1200 fps, one shot dead at 80 feet with the pointed pellets.

Get a rat trap. Take a wallnut, drill a small hole through it and wire it to the triger on the rat trap. Put the rat trap on the side of a tree and set it. Problem will be solved.

I may already do that half the time. lol

I drove truck in the GTA up until I retired a few years ago. You had to really be on your toes every second. Cyclists, coming out of no where in seconds, people who had no idea of where they were going (or how to drive). Sitting up high in a truck I saw lots of things going on in cars but the biggest problem was people talking on cell phones. Perhaps we need to put some cops in trucks, I bet I could have handed out a hundred tickets a day easily.

I took an everything out of a boat last year. that boat will cost $3000 and 150hrs(and I work fast) to rebuild.

This… right off the bat, the best boat you’ve posted is that super clean one. If the guys can’t even clean up the boat for their for sale photos they most certainly didn’t do any maintenance either. I’ve owned a couple of “old” boats now and here’s the deal. 1. compression test is mandatory, full stop. No one cares that it runs in the driveway or even on the water etc. a boat with no motor is literally scrap aluminum. 2. if you’re going aluminum, that thing needs to be leak checked. A single bad rivet and guess what, you’ve got yourself an anchor. if it floats and the compression is good, then it’s time to decide how much time and money you have left to actually make the thing run. ”but I thought If the motor is running, it is good to go!” nope…haven’t owned a boat yet that didn’t immediately need fixing. In my instance, a full re-wire for the trolling motors and electronics was required right off the jump. Even though the guys that owned my boats were well intentioned, they most certainly didn’t know how to properly wire boats, they clearly just were not the most handy guys, and truthfully that’s why they were moving on from the boat that they sold me. No one sells a perfectly functioning boat…that’s just how it is. finally, I see that you are operating on somewhat of a limited budget, so ask yourself, are you financially prepared to fix the stupid things that will constantly break on your boat? The adage BOAT BREAK OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND is real. Let me promise you, it is ohhhh so real on a boat that’s older than 15 years old. i seemingly can’t manage to go more than a week without something breaking on me. Thank god I own a Yamaha (knock on wood) so my motor doesn’t give me problems. But for some perspective here’s a list off of the top of my head of the work that I have had to do myself on my 2006 stratos since I have owned it. i have owned this boat going on my fourth year I’m not trying to scare you, I’m just trying to give you perspective. also I’ll add I’m not doing these things just to do them, im literally just fixing things as they wear out or break on me. -boat electronics rewire -trolling motor rewire - windshield screw in repair - new pole light - new trailer tires - trailer brakes service (needs more work as I speak) - new trailer plug - new winch strap - total reweld of the winch pole on the trailer - new trailer corner lights - new trailer tail lights - vst and fuel filter - water and fuel separator - new rollers for nose and tail of trailer - new trailer bunks - new middle seat - new batteries - total reinstall of my battery trays after they literally ejected in the back of my boat during a rough tournament day…in which I of course proceeded to misalign my work set up and you guessed it, drilled a friggin hole right through the bottom of my fibreglass boat…so guess who now has to re-finish a section of fibreglass on my hull - same tournament, I hit a wave so hard my livescope perspective mount snapped in half - new livewell pump - new transom saver and now…last but not least, I blew the lower end on my boat during that tournament that knocked all of my battery trays flying. $2500 later I’ve got a rebuilt lower end from top gun marine that I had to install, which I also ran into issues with my trim tab being seized/stripped. -new trim tab and two new bolts from japaN - and just as of Sunday, the boat buckle tie down for the front of my boat just stripped and now I need $90 to buy another one…it’s almost comical at this point! as You see from the list above, it sure as hell does not afford me a ton of time and money leftover to buy fishing goodies. I joke with my friends that I can’t afford to be a tackle junky because I own a fishing boat. it’s a labour of love. But man does it hurt…luckily I don’t have kids, and luckily I have the time and passion for working on this stuff. BE PREPARED

I saw this, and couldn't resist adding it to the thread...

I passed on it... will take my time and increase my budget... thank you for sharing your thoughts and wisdom..

^^this post talked some sense into me. Thanks for the wisdom. I’ve already got a 14 footer with a 15hp 4stroke merc with an i-pilot 55 LB thrust trolling motor on it. I fish walleye a lot but now I downrig for lakers on bigger lakes regularly with it and that’s mostly what I like to do these days so I’m looking for a bigger setup with more floor space and capability to keep doing that, but I’ll wait and get something newer thats got less wear. Appreciate the advice!

I had my auto tilt and trim fail on an 08 ETEC 75...... I could have bought another motor for the price they wanted for a new one. Luckily found a salvage but still very expensive. I wouldn't buy an Evinrude or Johnson now that they are out of the game. As for that boat.... keep looking unless you're getting a screaming deal. It's seen some things. Like the trailer though.

Be careful with evinrude I had a 2001 and couldn’t get some parts for it

All the time, probably spend more time there than anywhere else until it's muskie season. Smallmouth are basically unlimited like Crowman said, muskies are a tough go out there (For me so far, although I raised an absolute giant 2 years ago), it's my go to spring pike spot. Also a sneaky population of big largies. Stick to the channels and go slow if you don't know the area. My Navionics maps are pretty accurate out there when it counts. If I go to a new area I slow way down and keep a look out. I've hit rocks in places I've been dozens of times lol

I've taken a bunch of moon pics, the craters can really play tricks on you!

Yeah I know, you're right Rick. At times it has been a bad winter, -54 for a couple weeks. A few big dumps of snow and more in the forecast the rest of this week I guess I let my imagination get the best of me. I don't think it's because I'm getting old as it's always been that way LOL. Due to a back injury that I'm still waiting for surgery, I haven't been out fishing for a couple years now and it's driving me insane. Some days I'm in a wheel chair and my favorite and secret fishing holes are far from wheel chair accessible. Can't even tend to most my trail cams, I still hold my head high though and keep a smile on my face as I know one day I'll be better and can get out and do the things I enjoy most again.

Definitely the high lip of a large crater. If it was a "landing craft", it would be much larger that any structure created on Earth. Considering the moon has a diameter of 3500km, by my estimation it would be at least 50km across. Timely, as I've recently been watching the new Netflix series "3 Body Problem"....maybe it's the alien invasion...

If in fact you are referring to a fish HH maybe I should go catch one and ask it what it's thoughts are LOL. There's lots of them out here.

To me its clearly a high point of a crater that is high enough to still catch a piece of the sun which would have shade in the crater hole and black pass the area the sun hits

Couple more weeks of safe ice, gotta make the most of it right?

It’s not on the outer edge of the moon because the outer edge is in darkness.

I think it’s a crater same as the ones in the bottom right.

SO would that require 2 12 volt batteries?

A subject that I always get nostalgic about. As a kid, I would go with my Dad and Uncles to the Bronte Pier when the run was on. We would leave home after dark and often fish into the wee hours...one of the few times as a young lad that I could stay up late. It was a real 3 ring circus. The Portuguese guys in town went all out...they had motorized cranes on wheels with dip nets on a hoist...crazy stuff. Needless to say, there were always some drunken fights and often someone ended up in the water. One year, we caught an 8lb + Brown Trout in our net...of course as a kid I wanted to keep it, but my Dad (knowing the reg's) let it go...I think I cried..lol. We only kept what Smelts we would eat fresh...my Dad never did think they froze well..."just not the same". Later on when I was dating my wife (she's from Niagara Falls), I would go with my future brother-in-laws down to Queenston to get a bucket or two. Again, a party atmosphere with beer, weed and boom boxes. Once I had kids, we bought a place up on G Bay. I would take them up to the Seguin in spring to create memories for them. Those days are long gone. I still get a feed of them when we go on our annual Steelhead trip up to Superior in early May. Still good runs up there...also see them in the North Channel of Huron and the Manitoulin tribs. We always bring a dip net with us...the Smelt run usually coincides with the Steelhead run. In fact, there's a couple of local diners on hwy 17 that offer them as a dinner special in the spring. There's also a few lakes in eastern Ontario that have a really good populations that I still occasionally fish. On these lakes the cottagers encourage folks to come and fish the Smelt because they have over-run the lake to the detriment of other species. Message me if you're interested. The Cottage Association hosts a Smelt fry every year. The one thing about fresh caught Smelts that is burned into my memory is the smell...for some reason they smell like sliced cucumbers. Anyway enough reminiscing...when the water temps are 42 F or as my Dad would say "when you first start hearing the frogs sing" is the time to go...a bright moon after a warm rain is ideal. The run only lasts a week at most. The photo is from eastern Ontario last spring...they're always looking for volunteers to help clean them...LOL

40 odd years ago we were fishing the Whitby pier when my Dad tripped over something and fell in the lake. It was a cold night so he was wearing a heavy coat and darned near drowned before we were able to pull him out. He had dry clothes in the car but he'd lost his wallet when he fell and we couldn't find it in the dark water. Probably an hour later another fisherman scooped it up with his net and came looking for Dad and returned the wallet with everything still intact. I've always remembered the honesty of that guy.