Sour_Squirrel

I am out to try a new (to me) lake this weekend. I plan on going to Seymour Lake. Being new to the lake can anyone tell me where I can launch my boat, either from a free launch or pay at a marina? Doesn't matter to me. I have a Lund Explorer 1675 with a Evinrude 90 E-Tec. So a launch where one has to carry the boat to the water wouldn't work for me. Also any tips or hints for Largemouth and Pike? I plan on finding remaining green weeds and fish the edges or just over the weed tops with spinnerbaits and crankbaits. What type of structure is found within the lake? Thanks.

I was fishing out in Honey Harbour last Saturday and didn't do that good. It was my first time there. Only managed three Bass - two Smallmouth and one Largemouth. All of them were small; about a pound each. The two Smallmouth were caught using a drop shot rig over 14-16 feet of water. Close to the area with the "bullseye" painted on the rock. The one Largemouth was caught on a Bomber squarebill casting over a large weed flat about 6-8 feet deep adjacent to the boat channel. Tried casting crankbaits, jerk baits and spinnerbaits for Pike in the weed flats, along weed edges and along drop offs just outside of weed flats. Not a single bite. Not a Pike to be seen. I blamed it on the cold front that had passed last weekend. Do you think I was fishing the wrong areas??

Wow. That was a lot of responses quick!! Thanks to all that responded. I'm a righty and I'm looking for a reel that can do it all, so to say. I'm just a rookie for targeting Muskies. I have a few Grandmas, Swim Whizz, Suicks and a few Musky Killers. Right now I have a medium action 7'9" G Loomis Muskie rod. I've checked Kijiji and have seen a few Abu Revo Toro 60's for around the $200 price range. I'm seriously considering that option. I have a Abu Revo Winch 50 that I use for Bass on my crankbait rod. It's a sturdy bullet-proof reel that casts and retrieves smooth so I'm sure the Revo Toro is of the same quality. The Revo Toro has a ratio of 5.4:1 and the Revo Winch is 4.6:1. So it's a good compromise between speed and cranking power. I don't know how all you married guys explain your fishing purchases to your wives.....??

I'm looking for a decent reel for my Muskie rod. I have a budget of approx $200. What are some suggestions of which reel I can buy. The Revo Toro, Calcutta are nice but out if my price range. I also don't really like the bulk of the round Abu reels like the C6500. I was thinking a Daiwa Lexa 300. Does anyone own or have any first hand experience with one?

The only reason I have the oil changed at my mechanics is because my Cherokee came with an extended warrantee and I need a receipt as proof that I had regular maintenance done on the vehicle for the warrantee to remain valid. The oil my mechanic uses costs $13/litre. I can't recall the name but it's a high end oil with a German name. It meets and exceeds the specs required for the engine. I use 5w20 synthetic oil.

I'm happy with the diesel Cherokee. It's a good driving vehicle, looks good, gets decent fuel economy and wasn't too expensive. There was people writing in saying that for $50-60,000 they could get something else. Well maybe back when it was new but today the price of it has gone way down. I've seen them selling between $15-30,000. Keep in mind that the diesel Cherokee was only available for two years; 2007 and 2008. As for comparisons to other diesels I've owned. It's great. The 3 litre Mercedes runs smooth and is quiet. At idle you can barely tell it's a diesel. As you're driving you can't hear the engine at all. There's no black smoke like on the other diesels I've had even while accelerating. So don't let anyone say that it's noisy and smelly. I fill up at the local gas station for $1.199 while gas is priced at $1.309 for regular (I don't even know what premium sells for these days). If you are looking for a diesel Cherokee on suggestion is to get a model that has the optional NAV reciever. Not for the GPS which I think is kind of crappy but for the backup cam. It's the best thing ever invented for backing up to your trailer and hooking it up yourself.

Going back to the initial inquiry about a diesel Cherokee. I own a 2008 Grand Cherokee Overland. I bought it a few months ago from a Chrysler dealership for $20,000. It had about 156,000km on it when I bought it. I wasn't concerned that it wasn't a low mileage vehicle. It appeared to be in decent shape. It came with every possible option available for the vehicle. It had a few items replaced for certification prior to me taking it off the lot. One of the 'pros' about buying from an actual Chrysler dealer as opposed to Joe-Blow's used car sales. I don't trust those small shady car dealers. I drive it to/from work everyday doing the round trip in about 80km's. That's about 80% highway and 20% city. Actually works out to be more like 80% city and 20% highway as I live and drive through Toronto's highways!! Anyways I'm usually averaging 10.7-10.9 l/100km. That's driving with a light foot and with the A/C on maybe 30% of the time. I also use my diesel Cherokee to tow my boat. I have a 2003 Lund Explorer 1675 with a 90 Evinrude e-Tec, Minn Kota Maxxum up front, three batteries, electronics, fishing gear and usually a full tank of gas. Not to mention the trailer. I estimate boat, motor, trailer and everything else to be around 2,300 lbs maybe more. I also don't tow the boat with a cover so there's extra drag there. So on my trips to the Kawarthas with boat in tow I'm averaging 14.3-14.6 l/100km. A lot better mileage than my previous vehicle - a 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland with the 4.7 litre high output engine. It use to average about 23 l/100km when towing!! Although the diesel doesn't have the acceleration as the gas engine did it does manage to get everything up to speed without any issues. Besides when towing my boat I don't care what 0-60 is. On guy questioned the vehicle's ability to brake while towing. If you have a heavy trailer it should have brakes on it anyways so braking shouldn't be an issue. I have brakes on my trailer. Some say its not necessary and overkill for what I have but it's good to have. Actually the previous owner of the boat bought it from the US and the state where it was originally registered required it to have brakes since it weighed over 1,000 lbs. But going back to the brakes of the vehicle it has bigger brakes (4 wheel discs) than the previous generation. The brakes on my 2002 weren't anywhere as good as the 2008. Since owning the vehicle I've only had two issues. The check engine light came on a couple of times. First time was caused by a faulty cam position sensor. It was replaced under warrantee. Just last week the light came on again. I plugged my code reader in and it the corresponding codes were for bad heater circuits 4 & 5. I had two bad glow plugs. Wasn't covered under warrantee so I bought the parts and changed them myself. Two glow plugs (Bosch) cost $58 with tax. Finally you may be in for a surprise when you take it for an oil change. Don't expect to bring it in at those $19.95 oil change places. The engine requires a high grade synthetic oil. 9.5 litres!! An oil change cost me $160 and it has to be done every 10,000km. I'd also change to fuel filter/water separator every second oil change. For those that are curious I'm no novice when it comes to diesels. Previous diesel vehicles previously owned include a 99 GMC Sierra dually, 99 GMC Suburban 2500, 2003 VW Jetta and I presently also own a 1987 Toyota Land Cruiser. Well there's my $0.02 about the Grand Cherokee Diesel Overland.

I'll be shopping for a couple of new deep cycle batteries for my bow mounted trolling motor. I need some input on which trolling motor batteries are best. I will be looking for a couple of Group 31 batteries. I have tried the Nautilus from Cdn. Tire in the past but found they didn't last more than 3 yrs. Right now I have Eveready deep cycle batts. They've lasted about 4-5 yrs now. I have heard the 'best' are Trojan AGM deep cycle batteries. However they are pricey. I had them priced at $375 each!! So lets hear from what everyone is using and their experience with different brands of batteries. Just in case someone says proper battery maintenance is important in the longevity of the battery, I have that covered already. I charge the batteries after each use with the on-board battery charger. In the winter I remove them and store them inside. I also give the batteries a topping charge every month.

Some oil sheik in Saudi could cut his finger and that will be reason enough for the oil companies to raise prices !!!

Just curious but can anyone tell me what is the difference between Storm lures that are "pre-Rapala" and "post-Rapala"? It seems the pre-Rapala baits are more desirable among collectors. My question is why??

Any report on how the fishing was? I ended up not going. Can you let me in on what I missed out on? How bad was it out on the water with the 25-27 km/h winds?

I'm still deciding whether to go or not. I just checked the Weather Network and it says west winds at 26 km/h. If I do go I'll be out in a blue Lund Explorer 1675.

I'm still deciding whether to go or not. I just checked the Weather Network and it says west winds at 26 km/h. If I do go I'll be out in a blue Lund Explorer 1675.

Thanks for the heads up on the weather. I was planning on fishing there tomorrow as well but with the winds blowing as strong as they are I'll be staying home too!! Too bad, it would have been good to see a fellow board member on the water....

I'm curious to see what the two favourite all time lures of people are. Mine are: 1st - Rapala shallow Fat Rap in a crawfish pattern 2nd - Mepps spinners

A report on the fishing conditions would be appreciated.....

A quick compresson test could have showed you that your machine was suffering from a cracked piston. You can order a new high compression piston online that'll guarantee that your machine will blow the weeds out of any whippper snipper on the market......

Another piece of the bird that's overlooked are the wing tips. Done right (crispy) they're so tasty!!

Just like buying a used car your best bet for a decent boat at a decent price can be had by buying private. Unlike cars most boat owners will be honest about the boat, unless you see right away that the seller is a meathead. Dealers selling used boats usually know nothing about the history of the boat/motor. Those boats are on their lots usually as a result of a trade in. The best thing you can do is to do your homework for the particular boat, motor and trailer you want. The most important thing to consider is what's your budget?

I had a small mountain of dishes too. My initial plans for Thanksgiving dinner was to make a turducken like I did last year. However I decided against it after remembering how much work it was to prepare, not to mention the cost of making it. A turkey runs about $25-30, a duck about $20 and a chicken $10-12. Add the cost of about 5 boxes of Stouffers stuffing and about 2-3 hours of prepping the birds. A simple turkey dinner worked for us this year. Not too much leftovers though mainly the wings and drumsticks.

Mega Bass !!! Nice

Remove the filter(s) and clean them with gasoline. Try some carb cleaning spray. If the problem is still there you could have a sticky reed valve(?)

x2 on carbs gummed up. Did you run a batch of gas that had been sitting in the fuel tank for a while? The best thing you can do with gas in your tank is to always treat it with fuel stabilizer. I always use the Marine fuel stabilizer by Stabil.

Right now I'm listening to Mad Season - River of Deciet

The link doesn't work, at least for me.......