charlesn

To anyone that hasn't tried tournament fishing for fear of expense, I'd just like to point out that it's not that expensive to give it a try. Join a club in your area, there are many all over Ontario and fish a small inexpensive club event. It will give you a taste of what it's all about at a very friendly level. The clubs are often dedicated to things beyond just tournament fishing, helping out with kids events and such is also a part of just about every club's mandate. I'd be happy to recommend a club to anyone that is interested or wants to learn more. I really think you'd be surprised. Charles

There's one thing in common with every single person that claims top level bass tournament fishing is not a sport. They haven't tried it at the higher levels where the serious money and thus serious commitment is involved. I would encourage everyone who is answering it is not a sport to give it a try and then come back with your honest thoughts. I think you'd be surprised at how wrong pre-conceived notions can be both about the sport and the ethics of the competitors. Charles

I have not been in a fishing boat that is truly "comfortable" for 5 people bass fishing. For trolling, still fishing or live bait fishing, sure, but for standing and constantly casting and retrieving and setting the hook, changing baits, etc. I've been in bass and walleye boats up to 22'. A pontoon boat is great for large numbers of people, but obviously is not the most portable of rigs or fastest or sexiest... But having a BBQ on-board is nice. I'd recommend getting a used 20-22' aluminum multi-species (deep-v or semi deep-v) boat with a 135-225 HP motor on the back. Brand names are just that, not that important, all makes have good ones and EVERY SINGLE make has lemons and outright crap coming out of their factories. The more deck space it has (I know Lund made an 18 footer that was all deck) the more likely you will find the space to be comfortable. You can put fishing seat bases (with removable seats) wherever you want and make as much storage as possible to avoid tripping over stuff. A tiller will afford more space overall inside the boat and but a console can be more comfortable. For 175 HP and up, a console I think is a must. I'd also highly recommend a foot throttle at those HPs. Take my opinion with a grain of salt though as I have a 20' bass boat and don't like having to fish with more than 1 person at a time and in fact find that the front deck (about the size of a snooker table) is "just right" for one person - that person being me. lol Others probably have a better tolerance for somewhat crowded fishing. Good luck on finding the right rig for you. One warning, I started off exactly like you, eventually bought the wrong boat (although it gave me plenty of good times) and am on boat #6 and still always searching for the "perfect" rig. It doesn't exist and every year they think of new "must have" features. The Lund stern drive with a heater built-in would be my first choice for a "2nd rig" for fishing the Niagara in the winter. An Allison or Bullet would be nice for just trying to rip your passenger's faces off with ludicrous speed. A giant "tuna boat" would be nice for lumpy days on the great lakes, and sometimes a 1 man coleman crawdad with a troller is just right for seclusion and getting in to those hard to reach places. But really any boat at all is better than being stuck on shore and will surely beat a rental... Charles

Nice, do you think that would work for a self propelled snow blower? The one I have is too heavy too lift so when I go try to be a good son, I end up with a sore back from shoveling for eleventeen hours instead of 30 minutes max with the blower. And to all who recommended the blower, thank you, what an awesome piece of machinery. Charles

My prediction is Brock by GnP. First off, you can't choke him out because he wasn't born with a neck. lol You might be able to arm bar him. I think he might especially be susceptible to ankle and knee bars. But the guy is a freak, he will be CUTTING to the 265 weight limit, and not a whole lot of that is fat... He has a high pain threshold since most pro rasslers have a ridiculous pain threshold to be able to put on a good show. The tomato can he beat up was an Olympic silver medalist in Judo. He was ridiculously overmatched and succumbed to hammer fists from the half-guard I think. I think it was just from being overwhelmed by a physical specimen like no other. Not sure if you guys saw the latest quip from Hendo, but he pretty much revealed why the Pride FC guys are getting smoked in fights in jurisdictions with steroid testing. They don't test over there so why not use them? It does explain a lot. Charles

Tournament Bass Pro, the fastest way to become a millionaire. Problem is, you have to start with 5 million! Good luck Chonger, we'll be rooting for you. Thanks, Charles

Cheering for the Giants. Go Cinderella! Saw that it was reported Tom Brady was seen in a walking cast. Possibly a hoax. But without Brady, the Pats are very mortal. I just hope for a close game. Charles

ccmt, A buddy of mine got stopped at a border crossing once. Which is good because he sorta looks like Santa Claus and he may have been smuggling elves. lol They asked him if he had ever been arrested, he said no. They asked about a 40+ year old arrest that had been officially expunged from his records! Somehow they had a record of it, so they do indeed have access to all kinds of info. This may have been inside as opposed to right at the gate though. They do seem to have some sort of computer or scanner at the border they pass your passport through so maybe it is all interconnected. Charles

Brian, I think the Patriots win very easily in another boring beat-down of a pretender. The Chargers are my favorite AFC team thanks to LT but I can't see them hanging with NE in the cold. Has any southern based team ever done real well up north in late January? I hate the Pats, because they're too good year after year, but damn they are just so stacked. Jacksonville played as good as they can play but with a few mistakes and that's a few more than you can have against the Pats. Heck Moss did nothing and they still won easily. I just don't see the Chargers playing perfect with Rivers and LT both a little gimpy. I like the Packers this week. In a few weeks, I just hope they can keep it within 2 scores for long enough to make it to the first pee break. lol I can't see them keeping it within 3 scores unless the Pats decide to throttle back. Charles

Congrats! It's always harder to shoot when the pressure is on. Charles

Awesome! Charles

Ditto Icefisherman. Have bought 3 rigs from the US and did 1 through Sarnia, 1 through Detroit and 1 through Buffalo. Sarnia was by far the best. I used to have the number for Customs there, you can probably google it. I found talking to them on the phone before hand also helped to make me feel secure that I had everything I needed. Congrats on the new (to you) boat. Charles

Awesome, there's nothing better! Charles

You got the cream of the crop there. Great choice. Good luck this season and we'll see you out there! Charles

I would hook up the starting battery if you have an extra set of leads. Today's starting batteries have a lot more load on them than in the past, for example 2 GPSes and 2 livewells can really put a drain on the starting battery. It takes a decent run on the big motor even with the alternator working fine to get the battery back up to full. It doesn't hurt the battery at all to be hooked up to the charger, and when you need it, you will be thankful!!! Guest is a very reliable brand I would trust. Charles

Mr. Kulik (yo what's up), I was not disparaging Soko by any means. The guy is incredible. To knock out Arona and Little Nog is unbelievable as they both have awesome chins. I think Machida is just totally the real deal. He was the first to beat Rich Franklin but he has not been in the forefront or fighting in the top leagues, but I remember hearing about this guy a few years back and his game really seems to be complete. He totally dominated Nakamura who held his own against a lot of Pride's top 205ers and he exposed Soko's lack of ground game as well as his lack of accuracy in crisp punches. I think someone that needs to be factored in to the mix at 170 is Jon Fitch, he looked really really top notch in beating Diego. A great fight for 2 years down the line is GSP versus Anderson Silva. Maybe at a catch-weight of 177.5 or even 180. At 185, I think Silva might be too much for him, but I would never count GSP out. Charles

Awesome fights. Silva is finished. He just doesn't look like the guy who annihilated Rampage anymore. I think he was never the same after the first loss to Arona in Grand Prix, even though he supposedly "avenged" the loss in a questionable decision afterwards. The execution by CroCop and the beat down from Hendo were the finishing touches. He got taken down twice by Liddell! Unreal, very gutty performance by Chuck after 2 tough losses. GSP is simply better than Hughes at every single facet of the sport. Hughes dominated through the years primarily by being ungodly strong for his size and being able to outwrestle and outmuscle every opponent. Skilled grappling opponents like Newton, Hallman and BJ Penn gave him some problems. GSP is now not only more skilled in every facet, he was also clearly stronger. To me the fight that I was anticipating the most was Soko versus Machida. Wow, I was stunned. Soko is a judo master but he got owned on the ground. The 2 guys he recently KOed (Little Nog and Arona) were no BJJ slouches by any means, but it just shows where Machida is at. Definitely a contender for the LHW belt. Deserves a shot at the winner of Rampage/Forrest or at least at someone like a Tito, Jardine or Chuck. The classlessness on both individuals in the Clementi/Guillard fight was a shame. Charles

FG, I get my stuff at Angling Outfitters in Woodstock. But I'd bet that Fishing World, JB's and Carras others that have good reputations on this site will also do whatever they can to match or beat the pricing. The thing is, you'll also likely get an in-depth tutorial on how to use the stuff you buy as well. I've built a relationship and close friendship with the Angling Outfitter proprietor since the days of Fishing Plus on Ronson where JBs is now. Gotta be a dozen years by now. A truck load of us will make the pilgrimage to Woodstock every once in a while just to hang out and pick up some stuff and also to bust the owner's ballz a little. lol (He likes the abuse) Obviously my close relationship with the owner certainly affects the deals I get but I have also been in the shop where a first time customer will walk in the door and be absolutely blown away with the pricing on a Lowrance unit or Quantum PT Tour Edition rod for example as well as the owner's willingness to sit there on his busiest day and go over the function and proper use of the unit that is being sold and the explanation as to how they apply in practice. I've seen his customer's come in with a map and a pen and watched him give away some really good info. Try that at a big box. All I can say is it doesn't hurt to go to a local shop and give them a shot. The Lebarons, Canadian Tires and BPSes of the world will always be there for when you need something in a rush, but if you're planning ahead and want to make a bigger order, who do you think is going to be more willing to work with you on customizing an order and getting a better than advertised deal. A big box shop employee doesn't have that ability to negotiate, in fact his salary is not dependent on your purchase or satisfaction, he's just putting in the hours, where the owner is often present at the smaller shops and willing to work with you to KEEP you as a customer, not just get what he can get. Just my personal experience. Charles P.S. I'm not trying to shoot down LeB's. I'm certainly not alone in my bad experiences at LeB's, before Bass Pro came along, if you mentioned LeB's it was usually to cuss them out for bad service. Obviously things have changed for the better. I'm glad they have improved, fishing is a great hobby and shopping for our stuff should be enjoyable. Peace.

lol, lebaron more friendly? If that is the case, you should be thanking Bass Pro for that because I can assure you that after spending about 4-5000 there over a couple year period, I can say that I have not spent $10 in 5 years thanks to the "service" i received long before the "threat" of Bass Pro was around. Strike up a relationship with a smaller local shop, you'll be surprised at the pricing you can receive for your loyalty over time. Charles

Awesome! Charles

lol, I own 4 umbrellas. I think maybe I need another 6-800 goretex rain suit? Do you think the drought in the southeast is bad? Wait until you see what happens now! Charles

Thanks stonefish! I'll keep that in mind for the spring. Now let's hope that since I finally bought a snow blower, it will never snow again! Charles

Well, I didn't have too much choice in the matter. Everything was sold out everywhere. lol Got lucky and a new batch had just arrived. They were carting them out to the aisles still. 10.5 hp Yardworks Snow King or something like that. 30" blade. It was $1199 at Canadian Tire. Then I had to drive around to find a jerry can for gas. That $7 purchase took waaaay longer than the snow blower as Rona and CT were sold out. Found a 5 litre can at an Esso eventually with the world's least friendly counterstaff. Southwest corner of Hwy 10 and Britannia. Holy, you'd think I'd slapped the lady in the face when I asked if she had gas containers. "YES BACK THERE!" "ok, please don't hit me!" lol Got it home, and it was for the most part assembled already. I'm not anywhere near handy and I put the rest together in no time. Added the gas and oil, read the manual twice, double-checked everything, hooked up the electric start and it started on the first push of the button. Wow, I can barely tie a palomar knot and I 'assembled' this huge loud powerful thingamajigger and it actually worked! Awesome. I basically did not shovel at all this weekend and was able to blast the snow off the driveway in about an hour. It was actually kind of fun. If had to guess, I would honestly say there was at least 2+ hours of shoveling work as the drifts were well over 2 feet deep in many sections. This thing cleared the snow right down to the driveway. Thanks to all for the recommendations. They helped me have some peace of mind in buying the machine even though I wasn't able to be as selective as I might have wanted. Charles

Now I'm convinced John F is the man because he's trying to save me money... Lightweight is good for me as I'm not getting any younger/stronger and have no "farmer genes" in my family. Yo Brian, my favorite exercises for flipping and pitching all day long are flipping and pitching all day long. I'll leave the muscle building to you and JP! Charles

I think you guys are probably right. I'd be penny-wise, pound-foolish to cheap out and get another piece of "garage art" if it turned out to be too little for the job. Thanks again for the great help. Charles