Doctrt

You're absolutely right ehg, the moon fall is what I was talking about. My mistake. Actually it was 4:48 on Sunday and 3 fish were caught within a half an hour of it (+/-). Kinda scary how close to the peak all that action came. I'm starting to become a believer.

Fished GBay Muskies on Sunday from dawn till dusk. The morning started a little wet and slow, fishing-wise. The first fish to show himself was a nice smallie at around 10am caught on a large black and white spinnerbait. Not quite what I was looking for, but a good size for a bass. I'm not even going to guess weight (cause I know where that goes) but it measured 20" x 13.5". The pike were active in the middle of the day (1 for 3 - no pics) but the muskie fishing didn't pick up until 4:30 (very close to moon rise...hmmm...). Had a mid thirties fish swipe at a red and black Grim Reaper spinnerbait. Unfortunately I pulled the single hooks out of its mouth. 15 minutes later this fat 39" fish fell to the same bait, not 200 yards away. We started to troll a short while later, still on the grim reaper, and I picked up this nice 38"er, while over 10-12 feet of water. Back on the troll and within 30 minutes I hook up again. This time it feels small, but it seems to be chasing the boat so I have a hard time catching up on it. Somehow that fish pops the hook out and within 5 seconds, my buddy hits and lands a small 30" ski. Not sure what exactly happened but we may have come very close to the ellusive muskie double header. Within an hour I hook up again with a small 33" muskie on the same trolling pattern. Unfortunately in the mayhem, we couldn't find the camera and instead of endangering the fish, she was quickly released. Found the camera and just as dark was approaching I hit my last of the day casting open water. Must have hit this one on the head (37") All in all, a very successful muskie trip. I guess even the muskie gods smile once in a while!

Tonka, Guess what I got for Father's Day - Sunday! Benny and I'll be there until our arms fall off. T

54" x 29" - True love - Hopefully I can find her again this year!

Anyone getting out on G-Bay for some real muskie fishing this Saturday?? I personally can't wait!! Thought this might be a good forum to discuss different strategies that might be used in the colder water of the north. Any thoughts?? Here's a big girl from a few years back Good Luck to all!! T

Gotta agree with that one. I'm a Chiropractor! btw. also a U Waterloo Grad!

Grog, Elora Gorge is a terrific place to learn to flyfish. There is an absolute abundance of small and willing brown trout. Tie on a light leader and any Elk hair Caddis fly and have a blast. Better yet, talk to one of the guys in the know that fish that stretch. They're usually more than willing to share some info and even a few flys. You may even get lucky with one of the many 20+ inchers around. If you're absoultely against the flyrod, small brown trout pattern vibrax minnow spins work really well. Just fan-cast in the fast water. Let us know how you make out. T

Scary thing is that I was two spots over from the launch!!

I fished Gloucester last year (parked at McLean Lake) and returned to find my front bumper had been creamed by someone. No note, no nothing left. Just a $600 repair bill. I'd like to think there are a few moral fisherman left, but after hearing your story and seeing what happened to me, I may steer clear of the Pool. T

I did get some interference between the two in my 14 footer until I dialed down the sensitivity and turned the noise filter on the front one. Seems to have done the trick. Obviously this is only a problem in deep enough water for the cones to intersect. Good Luck T

Not so fast! Don't make the mistake I just made! Should go down tomorrow. http://www.mcteague.ca/WebPages/gas_price_today.htm

If you look closely the compartments with the gas tanks , they are well vented already. Infact I looked into spec standards and I was told my venting was more than enough. Standards require a 3/4 inch vent from what I recall. My vents are 3-4 inches. As far as the tippiness debate goes, all you weekend physicists could not be more wrong. After having studied physics for nine years post grad I did pick up a few things. The story of Beans falling into the water happened because he was sitting on a seat 8" above the gunnels. That puts his fixed centre of mass (somewhere about the belly) approximately 12-24 inches above the gunnels. That could present an issue. If you read my posts closely, you'll see that my floor (weighing less than 100 lbs) is situated at the same height that the seats were, minimally elevating the centre of mass. To offset this, there is a great deal of "weighty" clutter stored in those compartments, including the gas tanks, tackle, anchors, not to mention the extra battery for a total of 2 at the back of the boat. These combine to actually drop the centre of mass allowing for increased stability. If there is any argument for increased tippiness, it has only to do with the trolling motor as it is mounted above the gunnels. This doesn't concern me as it is only positionned as such while driving. While I'm fishing, the heavy motor section is well below the centre of mass, infact, well below the waterline. As you can see, every aspect of this project was very well thought out. Thanks to all for you're concerns but I'm quite content with how it turned out. T

Nope. All metal and wood is connected internally to the structure of the boat via the seats and the front tow eye. The one exception is a hole I drilled below the tow eye to secure the front frame section to it. Everything from there on is bolted together. I had made a concious effort to not drill through the boat at all costs. That's when leaks happen!!! Although the bolts are accessible via compartments should they become loose, they were all "lok tited". One suggestion I can give you, Fishinfool, is that Jumper Cables (with the ends clipped off), make for very inexpensive, heavy guage (4 or 6 guage) wire that can run the length of your boat for your Bow Mount (about $30 for 20ft). Most bigger motors (mine is a 65 lb thruster) require fairly heavy wire as they can draw as high as 38 amps at a full stall, which would burn through anything lighter. When I searched for Marine Grade wire (4 or 6) your looking at close to $7 a foot for a junk and neg. If you like you can insulate it in a hose or piece of conduit. Just make sure you also fuse the line. We may be up this weekend actually. Tonka boys got an itch, and that Kawarthacillin isn't working! All things considered I probably only spent $500 to $600 for the floor and deck. I could have spent a great deal more had I used all marine grade plywood, but instead I used 5/8 in Ply, pressure treated and sealed, as well as wrapped in carpet and lathered with carpet glue. If it lasts me 5 years I'm ecstactic! The Trolling motor was a steal at $340 and the two batteries, another $200. After all is said and done, the whole boat has cost me about $2000 (I bought the boat and Johnson for $1000). I'm not including the cost of my time - that would be depressing! But what else are you gonna do when the rivers are frozen and you can't go ice fishing!

As far as a weight limit goes, I think we put that concern to rest a few weeks ago. Had two biggies in the boat, other than myself (2Tone can vouch for them being "biggies"). Easily 600 lbs of fishing fury (for the three of us), and all went off without a hitch. Now, we weren't blazing the water with any speed but we got around just fine. Here are a few high res pics. http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n129/DoctrT/IMGP1982.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n129/DoctrT/IMGP1985.jpg http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n129/DoctrT/IMGP1987.jpg

The way I looked at it I was standing on the seats all the time anyway. The floor is now at that same level. It's definitely not tippy the way it is. Even with the trolling motor (which is the heaviest of all the upgrades). As far as the seat goes I just carpetted the wood that was on the seat in the first place and bolted the swivel to the wood. Here's a pic.

Fished it all weekend Clamp and it runs better than ever. Actually the aluminum angle iron is very light. I used to have trouble getting the nose down while alone in the boat. Not anymore!

I've finished decking out my 14 foot aluminum. Started out with an aluminum floor. Now I've got tons of deck space and storage. Check it out!!

Looking for one last kick at the can. Has anyone fished either Colpoy's or Owen Sound through the ice this year? I don't want to make the three hour trek, only to find a mile of pack ice and nothing to fish. Thanks in advance. Tim

This is the rig that I use for icefishing (whities, lakers, rainbows, etc.) - light braid or superline (10lb test) with a lighter fluoro leader. You are right that the weakest point will be at the leader but most big fish can be landed on a very light leader (as light as 3lb test) if played right. The reason for the super line main line is the lack of stretch. In 100+ feet of water, mono can stretch as much as 4-6 feet, making hooksets almost impossible (especially in a hut - hit the ceiling). You'll stick way more fish this way, and this application extends beyond icefishing. Good Luck. Tim

Yes, technically this lake is stocked, but it's a lot bigger than you may think!!

Hey Guys, Got out to fish some hardwater bows. We had a great day but really had to finesse these fish that were keyed in the eggs we were chumming. In the end a #12 sedge and single egg on 3lb fluoro with no weights did the trick. Several big fish were released as well. Unfortunately I didn't record any that sucked in the bait. Pretty tough to set the hook and video at the same time. Enjoy the pics and video. T Feeding Trout Video

Any new info guys? Heading up tomorrow. Thanks Tim

Hey Guys, Heading up to fish one of my favs on the weekend in the Parry Sound area of GBay. Judging by the Satellite picture it looks like they may finally have ice. Can anyone confirm this? PM if preferred. Thanks in advance. Tim

Hey Darryl, The wife just got me a new Stiletto for Christmas. Its a Portable Sirius unit. It really is pretty sweet. I've got it hooked up in the car and at home, I just plug it into the dock. The best part about this is I can bring it on the river or in the boat as a portable unit and still get live satellite radio (small antenna in the headphones). It's about the size of an Ipod and is truly the state of the art in satellite. The only draw back is the cost. I'll bring it up and show you soon. Take Care. Tim

The camera has 50m (150 ft) of cable, a colour lens and 21 led lights. Should be just perfect for Simcoe whities!