Rizzo

its a pike for pete's sake...it doesn't matter what you throw. Get some dollar store pliers, some 12 inch leaders and any of the lures mentioned above, they all work on the not-so-fussy pike. Buy a $3 white spinnerbait and the pike will destroy that thing. Buy a 99 cent spoon and they will destroy it...heck, tie some trebles to the shaft of a hockey stick and they'll hit it.

Fantastic Lew...I had a skunk in my backyard once but I would say this is better.

Let my mother-in-law move in...will keep any living thing away, not just bears.

...true...so can someone tell me how the heck Paul landed her (sorry bud, had to!)

Very sad. We've got 3 young boys ourselves. A terrible tragedy for these boys, their mother and the family

Thanks for sharing that again Lew. A wonderful tribute to the times you enjoyed with your brother.

do you know how much it will cost to give these thousand dollar refund cheques out? Probably ten times the amount of the cheques themselves...but at least it creates more government jobs and opportunties for fraud that you and I end up paying for. I wish they would have just bumped up income tax a percent or two...problem solved.

great report from an insane angler. An axe??? You'd already drilled like 25 holes...use one of them! Guess I'm just getting lazy because the only way I'd be making a hole with an axe is if the auger ran dry before I got to the lake! Either way, it paid off..good for you!

fantastic spot Lew! Glad the move went well (do they ever go truly well?) Man I hate moving, but if you're ending up at a place like that it is soooo worth it. May you and Diane have many years there.

perfect...somehow the Leafs managed to get even worse. Man oh man I wish I was a Bruins fan. #1 pick overall the next 2 years!!!

it got Joey Ramone super fast. Couldn't get Dexter Holland (offspring) or the late great John Kordic though.

pm sent

sheesh I haven't started my ice fish season yet...this is when it starts to get good! Nice warm days, easy drilling, hibachi with a t-bone, some brown pops and flags popping up all over the place.

a couple of years ago up on Nipissing during our "Crayola Cup" I had a nice 2 pound (or so) pickerel follow a five of diamonds back to the boat. I cast it out again and the pickerel came back, this time with about a 50 inch musky following him! gotta love Nipissing (except I didn't catch either fish...dang Nipissing)

I had a 12 footer with a 1967 6hp evinrude. Ok for fishing alone but put my buddy in the front and a bit of gear and you could almost troll at full speed. First time I loaded it down with camping stuff and a case of beer I actually thought the motor had problems we were going so slow. Get the 9.9

most pickerel I have caught have come on spoons (not that I'm targetting them that way...just incidentals when pike fishing). trusty 5 of diamonds...pickerel love em. Now bass I have never caught on a spoon.

we bring my friend who always drinks too much...puke, nature's chum

thanks ehg - that book is where I got the idea about these lakes. Just trying to get some first hand experience from someone who may know them personally, since sometimes these books are a little off the mark. For instance, pretty sure that book tells you that "the odd pike is now being reported in Canal Lake"

Thanks Jer, these don't seem to be very well known lakes. I'm hoping there are a few others out there that can give me some insight whether its worth the drive to either of these destinations.

"can you help me with my purple wiggler?"...I usually get the fishing spot all to myself...

what a beast. If that thing was prowling around my place I'd shoot it too!

Hope to take a 2 day trip next summer and wanted to try some musky waters that I've never fished before. I usually get out around 5 times a summer (Balsam)and 5 times a fall (upper niagara). Looks like its coming down to Salerno/White/Fortescue lakes or Big Cedar/Coon/Julian lakes. Any input would be appreciated as I know nothing of any of these lakes! Not too worried about accomodation, always figure something out.

I just couldn't believe the Americans were happy with their run, lost all kinds of time and let the Canadians catch them from behind. Good for the Canadian women though!

yes...contact and play it in mud

Read that story in the paper today. Scary stuff. Same thing happened to my oldest when he was 3 - choked on a grape and couldn't breath. Fortunately we were able to dislodge it (via heimlich rather than hit on back) and he was fine...dad on the other hand was shaking for hours afterwards