Rizzo

she's a beaut! How big?

Nice to see

keep at it. Some guys do phenomenal out there...just have to put time on the ice and get it figured out. Then you can come back here and display all your awesome catches

Good stuff. I also have only tried the laker/whitefish thing once on Simcoe. Struck out equally as bad. We also only heard of one or two fish being caught out of the hundred people fishing the area. Not great odds. Thanks for the report, been a few years since I have made it back to Simcoe

wow thats awesome. Gonna get my wife to read this post....maybe a big ol musky replica will show up at my house some day

Most importantly....why does she have 2 veto votes to your one? You my friend have a very very flawed process.

it was pretty much a piece of cake...until I found those parts on the ground! Only tricky part was reconnecting the lower unit afterwards...took a bit of wiggling to get it back into place.

I didn't even check how easily it spins, just took it out and felt that the rubber was really soft and flexible, no visible damage at all. As far as spinning it goes....I was surprised how tightly the impeller sits in the housing, didn't even try to spin it. Think I will order a new one to have on hand just in case. But I agree with the weedwacker line idea...probably should have started there. Will poke around in the drain hole in the spring just see if its clogged up a bit.

ok I like the sound of that. When I watched the videos not a single person said "watch out not to lose the little washer", so I was surprised to see it on the floor. Began to replay all the parts in my mind couldn't really think of where it may have come from. When I got to the impeller housing that sucker really did come apart (the metal cylinder the impeller spins in even came free from the plastic housing). Weird thing was, in addition to the o-ring there was also a tiny (kinda delicate) metal washer on the floor too. I am gonna chalk this up to hopefully just a dirty floor from previous work...not a spare part from this attempt

When Freshtrax got my 8 hp Nissan running last year we noticed it wasn't peeing out particularly strong. Have the day off work today so thought I would see if I could figure out how to change impeller. After a couple youtube videos I was feeling pretty good to tackle the job. Got the whole thing taken apart...noticed the impeller was in really good shape so ended up putting it all back together again. I had not actually bought a replacement impeller yet...today was actually going to be "Can I even take it apart" day. Since everything looked good, I decided to put it all back together. Anyways, when I got it all put back together, I noticed one of those tiny red seals on the floor...you know, the type you encounter when changing oil in lower unit. Having said this, I did change the lower unit oil in the same spot last fall. So...anyone know if that seal has just sat there since last fall? Or are there seals like this that one would encounter when working on an impeller? I didn't see any red seals during this process, so reluctant to pull the whole thing apart again! But also got a sick feeling that that red seal needs to get back where it belongs.

I can't make it but I would be happy to send my mother-in-law with you

gross

awesome congrats! I also bought an alumacraft a couple of years ago. Wasn't as sexy looking as some of the other boats I was considering, but seemed to be of a better construction. Mine has been great hope you find yours the same

that is crazy. I am shocked how long they stayed in the boat. Looks like buddy in the front is still in the boat as it is being hit in the back. I would've jumped maybe a couple seconds earlier and swam down as deep as I could!

had a buddy keep a crappie once figuring we were on a school of them...never got another one. So at when we were getting ready to leave he thawed it out in the hole, wondering what to do with the one measly fish...dang bugger took off like a shot down the hole! Must've been on ice 4 hours or so

If its any consolation I bought a cottage last year on a lake I had never fished in an area I had never looked at before! Just asked a few neighbours and trusted their opinion. Even if it did suck...cottage life has so much more to it than fishing so I wasn't too concerned. Can always trailer to the next lake 4 minutes away, or the one 8 minutes away etc. Good luck with the purchase I hope it all works out great...ours did! Some times you just have to take a bit of a gamble, and the way cottage prices continue to escalate I would take that gamble now

we used to go to Cadigans camp on Pigeon lake near the narrows. He had something a bit better (think it was a 16 with a 40??)

Nicely done!

Often solo...but when I go to St Clair to musky fish its always 3 of us. Helps on the big gas bill but also lets you troll with 6 lines! Hard to get skunked with that many lines in the drink (notice I said hard...not impossible)

We bought a cottage last winter...here is the beach and a couple docks I built this summer. Although winter is nice remembering summer here with the kids is great! Like to see this pic and think of the past and the future

I don't know anyone up that way...but I think you'd be looking at around 25k for a residential septic. We got quotes a couple years back when we were debating replacing ours (haven't yet) and I think 25 k was about the norm. Are your quotes in this price range?

awesome! welcome back

Don't put your tent anywhere near where a snowmobile might roam...tuck up against a rock or between trees. If you are out in the open you will spend the night wondering if the snowmobile you hear is about to hit you at 100km/h

I am impressed by the rod balancing act...if only you had two trout you could juggle them while still balancing rod...that would be a sight

Never done that just pulled the plug