fishnsled

Nice to see a couple of OFCer's with a bit of extra cash in their pockets, congrats!!

Great shots!

I had a period of about 10 years where I never saw nor spoke with my dad after my parents split up. Don't dwell on the past, it's water under the bridge now and time to forget about it. Spend some time with your dad, have a few laughs, give him a hug and make some new memories. Wishing your Dad all the best.

I certainly can't help with the legal aspect of this. With all the troubles you hear about these boats from this manufacturer (Tracker and Nitro) would it not make sense to start some kind of class action suit against them? Far too many problems and complaints. I'm really surprised they can even sell a boat today with all the negativity following them around. Insurance should be paying for the recovery of your boat, imo. On a positive note, very happy to see you and the crew got out of this OK. Wish you all the best in resolving this but as others have said, it looks like a heck of a battle ahead that is not going to be over with anytime soon. Seek some legal advise and go from there. BTW - I'm sure I can find a spot in my boat for you a couple of times this year if you like.

That's another way to get herself voted out of office in the next election.

Same for the water as well in Durham Region. http://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/3509973-durham-increasing-water-sewer-rates-in-2013/ We just can't win, plan and simple with any commodity.

Some crazy conditions to deal with but it sounds like you made the best of it. And some nice fish too. Awesome story, thanks for posting.

I'm suppose to be about 250km north of Timmins in May and I'm a bit concerned myself. The very long range forecast is not looking warm enough at all. Night time temps hovering around the 0 degrees or colder mark right till the end of May. Daytime highs are high single digits for the first two weeks of the month and low double digits for the last half. Let alone the next couple of weeks of April with highs of low single digits (everyday but a couple) and lows into the minus side. A lot of overcast days as well. I hope the forecast is wrong (like so often it is) but given the winter we've had, who really knows. Wait and see what happens.

I met a guy 10 years ago or so at the launch on the bog and he was complaining then about the fishing on the lake. Was telling me how great the fishing used to be and how him and his Dad could go up in the morning and get their limits and return in the evening and do the same. Then get up and do it again the next day. I asked him if he realized he was part of the problem. He didn't seem to grasp that. :wallbash:

I've heard of the law before but never known of anyone to get a fine over it. I personally remove mine after every tow and have done ever since I towed, exception being the ball was on the bumper. I've seen the hassle it can be to remove it if it's been in there awhile and seized, not something I want to deal with.

Missing my sled as well but it was a great season!

Great photos Simon! What is your prediction for ice out up there? How much ice is there? I've got a fly in trip booked and concerned that the ice will still be on the lake at the end of May, hence the questions.

Those are some impressive numbers.

Some very nice buckets!! Thanks for the report!

I've heard of guys using the big Church boards (tx-44 http://www.churchtackle.com/Product%20Pages/Planer_Boards/TX-44_Super.html) but personally I have not. Put a dipsey on a #3 setting and let it go back 200-275ft, works great to widen the spread and no board to deal with. I haven't found the need to run a dipsey off a board yet and certainly too much pull on a regular board. I'll use the inlines for (regular size) for my leadcore and mono with snap weights. If you go with wire (I use the 19 strand torpedo line) you can get away with a regular trolling rod with a twilly tip. For running copper line I'd get a wire or roller rod. I run the convector 30's with 1000ft of wire. You need a bit of backing for (a bit of dacron on mine) for the wire to bite into. Yep Wire for dipseys just makes it easier to trip the dipsey and eliminates the flea problem. Braid works great as well but after dealing with the fleas last year I switched everything over to wire on my dipsey rods and added a twilly tip. Mono on a short lead is Ok but if you are running long leads it can be difficult to trip, even with the dipsey set light. Never run wire on a planer!! The slightest pinch or kink puts a weak spot in the wire and becomes easy for it to break there. Wire (7 and 19 strand) is strictly for dipseys and copper should be flat lined. At least that is my understanding of them. Porkpie has you covered as well

I've kept the cost pretty low myself. Okuma Convector 30's, Okuma Classic Pro GLT Downrigger rods, and Shimano TDR's for inlines, a couple of the Rapala Dipsey rods. Rod and reel combos are about $150 with tax, might be a bit less. You'll need different rods for the riggers and different rods for the boards and different rods for the dipseys. Mind you after popping the tip eyes on the TDR's and adding a Twilly Tip they work pretty good for dipseys. I've heard of some guys having problems with the Rapala reels so I'd stay away. If you want to save a bit more money on the reels, try the Cabela's DepthMasterII reels. One of the charter guys I know was running them for fun and they held up well and has been running them for a few years now. I've picked up a couple to try myself this year. I use flea flicker line on the riggers and wire on the dipseys do to the fleas - especially last year. Some guys are saying that a 30 pound mono will keep them off as well and is much cheaper. Welcome to the big water!!

Fun videos to watch Wayne. Just was looking and comparing the satellite pic the Cliff posted from April 6 and today's pic. Quite the difference down Quinte way. The rest, not so much. Will be interesting to see what happens by Saturday after a couple more warm days. A bit of rain with crazy winds tomorrow gusting to 70k for the Quinte area.

Today's image.

A buddy has the Frog Toggs suit and I was surprised how well it held up on the trip with the rains we had. Not sure about the long term use as it was brand new at the time.

The Weedman has been around a few times now but haven't seen the OEG 's around...yet. Hate those idiots.

I gotta go buy some Johnsonvilles before my next trip. LOL! Fun report to read.

I will agree with Brian and before the end of the month. Closer to the end with the cold temps in the forecast next week, maybe even a bit of snow??

I put that STUFF on everything!!

I'm very happy with my Pro Guide suit from Cabelas. As Bill said, lots of good suits out there these days, lots of junk as well.

Beauty fish Rich! Maybe a little music to help set the mood for you.