charlesn

Tonyb,

I bought my house 8 years ago, so maybe the info is not pertinent, but I too had boat storage in mind when selecting a house. I found the builders willing to accomodate floor plan changes and got a normally 21'4" garage extended by 2 feet for $2000. Looking back I wish I had paid $5000 and got another 3 feet, as instead of cutting into the house floor plan, they just made the room above the garage bigger by 2' so ended up with 32 sq.ft bigger of a house as well as a longer garage. I have 20' bassboat with a swing tongue that should fit in the garage at an angle. One thing that takes up a lot of length is the motor and jack plate. That adds a good 3 feet to the length on my boat. My last boat, 20' with no swing tongue, was about 12" away from fitting. But the tongue was using up a solid 2' of wasted space. It made the swing tongue a must for my next boat purchase.

My lot is long and skinny. 32' x 214'. My driveway is the longest in the neighbourhood (I notice this the most when shovelling - lol) so I think the builder could have gone longer on the garage.

I remember we looked at some shorter wider lots, and they had zero flexibility in the garage length. So when looking at the neighbourhood layout at the builder, try to find the longest lot.

Another thing is some builders actually have some homes that have very long garages as an option. Our builder (Carrington Homes) had 2 models of their bigger houses (3200+ sq. ft.) that had a 35' long garage standard. I would have loved to have gotten that and thinking back, that is another regret as the incremental cost difference then would probably have been recouped threefold by now in terms of what it would be worth.

Your wife or family may think you are nuts, but I think it is worth the extra effort to find a home for your baby. Average winterization and storage costs are $250/season, so over 10 years of boat ownership, you are saving $2500 in addition to the convenience and the simple feeling of joy that a boat in the garage brings.

Good luck.

Charles

Zman, it's very simple. Go to the fishcft.com web site, download the pdf registration form, fill in the events you want to fish and then mail it in with payment to them. They have a contact number and contact email on the web site as well if you have any questions.

eddyk, I totally understand and respect that aspect of fishing and the outdoors too. To each his own and the likes do not have to be in opposition or exclusionary of others. I think everyone takes what they need out of the outdoor and angling experience.

Charles

edit: Oops, Steelcat already beat me to it. This site is nothing if not full of extremely helpful people.

Great to hear you guys had fun and hope I get to draw one or all of you this season. Will be my 2nd year fishing as a pro and let me tell you, there is nothing more addictive and fun. Once you've experienced a morning blast off, you won't be "normal" ever again, you'll be one of us. lol

To all, please come find me at the Pro/Am meeting and say hey so I can put some faces to the names on this board. Many of the Super Series Pros post on this board, JPD, Dave Mercer, David Chong and Mark Kulik to name a few.

Charles

Having 2 units is also not as convenient for marking waypoints as you can use the cursor to go back to a hump you drove over to mark a waypoint on a combo unit such as the X26HD.

I have zero complaints about the X26HD. If I had the space up front, I'd have 2. I believe the model is now an X28HD though. Retails for around $1400 I think.

Charles

I chose all three.

It doesn't dictate when I fish, but it could impact how I fish.

I figure fishing is all about information collection and processing so it's never a disadvantage to have more information. You just choose what to do with the information you have.

But one rule above all others in fishing is that to every rule there are exceptions, so fish whenever you can, however you can, because somewhere at sometime a fish is biting.

Charles

not much to add to this, but a high percentage of us bassheads are going to a dual GPS/sonar combo. The way to prevent interference with the front unit is to use the "stop chart" feature on Lowrance units on the console. That way the GPS mapping continues to plot your trail, but the transducer in the rear is disabled temporarily. It takes 2 seconds to do, far quicker than turning the unit off and on.

GPS is one of those things that you wonder how you lived without it once you get used to it. The mapping features, the ability to mark waypoints, dangers areas, or even just plot your trail so you know when you've been on an area before or if you're trying to follow a drift that was successful, it will show you minor changes in the wind which could cause you to need to modify your drift somewhat to stay on your lot trails.

The side imaging from Humminbird looks very very cool, but is something I have as yet not experienced on the water. Many who have swear by it.

Technology advancement is a cool thing.

Charles

Just for arguments sake here's my personal top 10 things to use in order of effectiveness for tournament fishing:

1) Tube

2) Flippin' Jig

3) Drop Shot

4) Senko

5) Soft Plastic Texas Rig

6) Topwaters

7) Jerkbaits

8) Prayer

9) Buzzbaits/Spinnerbaits

10) Beer and a crying towel

Charles

Interesting. A "best bass bait" article without mentioning a plastic worm or flipping jig is crazy.

The 2 I mentioned have won more money than everything above combined by probably a wide margin. So from a tournament angler's perspective would replace the spoonplug (trolling is also prohibited in tournaments) and lindy live bait rig with those.

Also, where is the mention of the DROP SHOT. I've heard it catches a bass here and there.

Charles

The Stradic is a very nice reel. But for less money, and not much performance difference, the Symmetre is a great reel. Last year I went with Symmetres, because I needed 6 and couldn't afford/justify Stradics. I still own some Stradics, but the Symmetres to me felt just as solid, just as smooth and for the purposes of what I did, totally satisfied my needs. When I need more I will be getting more Symmetres. The green goes better with my boat anyways.

I don't think any reel maker nowadays can afford to market junk.

One reel I'd love to see in action is the Doug Hannon WaveCast spinning reel. Seems pretty novel idea and spool design and if it does what they claim (eliminates the twisted line mess that happens at times with spinning reels along with longer casts) then it is well worth giving a try.

Charles

Fishmaster,

So far of the people that responded (16), 3 have responded that they don't use minnows. So you have a general idea of the percentage.

Of course, the title of the poll makes it less likely that non-live bait users will bother to participate in the poll, but you should get a general idea for your meeting.

Good luck,

Charles

lol, c'mon Brian, you fished with me... You should know better...

Besides, leeches last longer... lol

Charles

If you just pick "No" it crashes and tells you that you do not know how to use this feature. lol

You apparently need to make other choices, but if your answer is "No" it doesn't make sense to pick any of the other options.

Charles

Hi,

My advice would be to be extra careful not to litter (I'm pretty sure you wouldn't based on your posts). Maybe also take out any garbage you do find. Leave it cleaner than you find it.

Sure to go over well with the landowner and maybe even start mending the image of fishermen as polluters.

Good luck with the trout fishing,

Charles

Not sure about the TTC thing, but there's a little place off the 400 called Bass Pro Shops...

Would be worth the extra effort to get there if you have a couple hours to kill.

I can sit at the fish tank mesmerized. They do night feedings around 7 PM. I think they have a schedule posted. It's crazy to see the trout go psycho while the other fish all cower near the bottom and eat what is left over. Really a must-see fr anyone that hasn't seen it.

Charles

Do you want a million dollars in the bank as a pro fisherman? It's easy...

Start with 5 million.

Charles

P.S. You don't need to be rich to fish tournaments. I'm certainly not what I would consider rich. You just need to be dedicated and willing to do what it takes and make other sacrifices in order to be able to do it.

I'm a little ignorant on live bait usage not having used it in about 10 years, well except during really big tournaments - j/k. But are minnows that much better than other live bait options? If there is any risk at all of other fisheries being damaged, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?

I feel for the bait harvesters and salesmen, but hopefully those stores can make up for their bait selling shortfalls with plastic imitations? Maybe the harvesters can target worms or leeches or frogs or something instead?

I guess I'm on side with Terry and Brian, although I'd guess Simcoe is probably already infected since it already has gobies. I don't want any more uninfected lakes potentially infected due to someone unknowingly or knowingly used minnows trapped from an infected region.

What do people do with leftover minnows? Usually they just turf em in the lake right? I assume that's how gobies got in to Simcoe.

Charles

I was there for 4 of the 5 days.

Didn't do a hick headcount, but I did notice lots of young 'uns and ladyfolk. A great sign for the future and the fishergirl booth (2 booths down from where I was) was hopping. Great idea and hopefully will have some baby/infant sized fishergirl clothing soon.

I've "worked" (stood around and talked to people about fishing and did it for free - not sure that qualifies as work) at the spring fishing show, london show and sportsmans show this year and the past 3 years. I guess my perspective is not as a consumer, but the one with friendliest crowd is always London. More hicks per capita I guess. lol Some of us Torontonians and GTAers know so much already that I guess there isn't much to learn I guess. haha

This year's Sportsmans Show was better than last year's in my opinion. I think one consolidated GTA show would be sufficient, and from what I've heard, the crowd at Bass Pro was pretty awesome which I'm sure detracts from the show.

Entertaining week and sure did get the fishing juices flowing. C'mon open water!

Charles

Was there yesterday.

Didn't get to wander too much, so can't really comment on the booths and what is available. There is a hot looking Legend bass boat there, first one I've seen in person. The show was not insanely busy, but it wasn't dead either.

It might just be my sickness (fishing addiction), but just wandering the show a little starts getting me excited and seeing the open water at Ontario Place and knowing that fishing out of a boat is just around the corner makes it such a good time of year after a brutal and painful winter.

I think the last time I bought something at one of the shows (other than over priced food) was 1999 or so. Still like to go to the shows though. It's entertainment and good to see the familiar faces that you don't see most of the winter.

Charles

Congrats on trying to quit!

Hopefully you will soon be counting the years you've been quit and thankful for all the blessings that quitting smoking will bring.

Charles

The high dollar baits: Jackall, Lucky Craft, MegaBass, Team Daiwa are not just good, they are necessary tools. And if my wife asks, they're about $3 each...

The difference between a husky jerk and a lucky craft or megabass is that not all Husky Jerks suspend out of the box. Sometimes tinkering is needed, sometimes, no amount of tinkering will save a Husky Jerk. I've yet to buy a lemon LC or Megabass bait.

My rule of thumb is that the slower you are moving the bait, the more realistic it has to look. That is why the Megabass and Lucky's seem to shine on those super tough days. Leaving it sitting there for 60 seconds at a time, you need it to suspend horizontally, not nose or tail down, and you want it to look like it is alive, but frozen in place out of fear.

When you are "ripping" that jerk bait through the water trying to get a reaction bite, the finish is secondary to the erratic motion of the bait and it seems (just from my experience) that the rogues & x-raps seem to be better in those instances.

But when it comes to jerkbaits, I'd trade all my Luckys and Megabass for a day in the boat with Chonger. He is a master of jerkbait fishing for bass.

Charles

I think you meant 427 instead of 407, but yes, I would recommend that route for sure Brian. Once you're on the QEW get off on the Dunn/Jameson exit and you're practically there.

Imagine if it rains and you're stuck outside waiting for a bus or streetcar while holding the 432 lbs of fishing gear you bought at the show... Could get ugly. lol

Charles

Brian, I don't think CNE is on the subway line. I could be wrong, but it seems too far south and west to be be on either the yonge/university loop or the bloor west line. You might need to take a bus from Vaughn Mills to a subway, subway down and then another bus... For that aggravation, seems like it would be worth it to drive and park?

Charles

I blame the municipalities for not having clearer by-laws. I went searching one day on the web and spent a solid 75 minutes going in circles, back-tracking, and eventually gave up without ever finding out if a) I was allowed to keep a boat in the driveway or there were size restrictions to the boat.

I kept my boat there all year and had no complaints, but sometimes the neighbourhood kids would come over while I was cleaning the boat and tell me their fishing stories. Tried to trade lawn cutting and snow shoveling for a fishing trip but these kids are about 7 years old and I might get arrested if I start putting them to work.

Charles

Never realized it would be a problem with FWD. Maybe 4x4 is the only way to be really sure that you'll be able to get up the ramp.

The only vehicles I have ever seen stuck at a ramp were rear-wheel drive though. Good to know that about front wheel drives.

I guess I will stick to 4x4s and bending over at the gas pumps to enjoy my hobby.

Charles

Huey, one thing to think about it, if you have a front wheel drive vehicle, that will be better than a rear wheel drive when pulling the boat out of the water. In the summer, the algae on the ramps can cause for a slippery situation. I've always towed with a 4x4 and there have been times where I would have been in big trouble without it, but a front wheel drive would've probably been the same. I have seen big trucks with V8's, 300 HP and 400 ft-lbs of torque stuck on a ramp and needing a bunch of us bouncing up and down on the tail-gate to get traction.

Sugar loaf and Crystal are usually fine. I can't comment on Fifty Point.

As far as tow capacities and what not, there is a lot of good advice above.

Best of luck,

Charles