Rizzo

its been frozen for about a month now so I would think it would be fine. Marina just froze over about a week ago so you better watch out over there!

...true, but they also will give you a heart attack one day...that's why I own both!

I backtroll for muskies at 6 mph just so I can look like an idiot...a very wet idiot

There were 4 deer in Park Lawn Cemetery (Prince Edward/Bloor) about 6 years ago. I've also seen them on Humber Valley golf course.

upon opening the fish they found a license plate, shopping cart, and human leg...apparently from the "holy man" that had his magic limb removed.

We won't have visibility that good until april here in Barrie! Its still snowing here and at a good pace too. My guess is we're closing in on 40-50 cms. There were areas in my driveway that were in the 60 cm range already. Shoveled 3 times plus the neighbour took a run at 'er with his snowblower. I'm afraid what the morning will bring

I've had an Eskimo for around 5 years and it has been good to me for the most part. Only issue I've had was in extreme cold (-30 temps we had a few winters ago) I could not get it to start. Guys with Jiffy's around me were able to fire their's up. When the sun came up and things improved a few degrees I was able to get it going (luckily the Jiffy boys had already drilled a few holes for me)

go raptors

Houston...we have a winner

I want your job :D

Didn't actually catch it, but I had a muskrat follow my bait up and come right out of the hole!

good call! I moved to Barrie because I got a job here. Commute to Toronto would never be an option. When I worked in Toronto I lived in Toronto. I'd rather have a $300,000 mortgage and live near work. Bad on the pocketbook but good on the sanity. And guess what, when you sell that place, turns out it wasn't so bad on the pocketbook after all :D

We're actually finding the opposite. I've lived in Barrie for close to 3 years and we are trying to find a home that is outside Barrie by around 5 - 10 minutes. Prices are sky-high just outside the city. Maybe Wayne means a little further away but places like Midhurst, Shanty Bay, Utopia, Oro, Edgar etc which are nearby are pretty pricey (at least by local standards). Withing the city you can get a pretty nice place for around 250,000 which is great considering Toronto is 45 minutes away, but better yet, Muskokas or some of the Kawarthas are also 45-60 minutes away! Funny thing is, Simcoe doesn't interest me. Other than the yearly ice tourney on Kempenfelt Bay I probably won't fish it much. Apparently I'm missing out on a lot. Maybe someday (if Brian takes me out!!) I'll learn a bit about the lake. Yesterday's front page news had to do with some lost cat...you tell me if that's a good place top raise a family! We are very happy here. Even the whomping of snow we regularly get is bearable.

some interesting tips that hopefully none of us will ever need

Great replies everyone, thanks for all the info

sounds like I've been missing the boat! Next time I'm gonna stomp on my minnows to make them a little less frisky so that they'll lie flat on bottom!

What's your preference when ice fishing for pike, live bait or dead? If dead, do you suspend the bait or lay it flat on bottom? I've never personally tried fishing with dead bait, but hear it can be quite successful.

hmmm...a naked dude running around with vaseline. Definitely staying out of his way

I have a 14' I have been very happy with.

I hear Simcoe is hot right now

the article claims you guys were doing some "tag-teaming" down in Picton. If that's the case I'm glad I'm not a part of that motley crew

mamamia those are some huge pike

Tampa looked HORRIBLE. Their defensive coverage reminded me of how the Leafs often look. You could see plays developing way in advance and the Tampa players gave zero effort

I've had Sorels for about 15 years now, never had cold or wet feet once.

Hey Lew/Squid good seeing you again, and keepinitreel nice meeting you. Too bad you guys had no better luck after I left. On the way back in I spoke to our friend who had some "issues" launching his boat in the morning. He had managed a 32" fish trolling a depth raider in 24 feet of water. Other than that all things were quiet as far as I could tell. Water was pretty murky but fishable (1.5 feet visibility?). Surface water temps were around 40 degrees still according to the old lowrance. Can't believe you guys got checked. I've been fishing there a number of years now and have never seen anyone patrolling.