Billy Bob

I like using my freezer the best....it's cold enough so they are frozen solid..... Sorry, COULDN'T resist... I almost always freeze my fish right after filleting... Now that I have a good vacuum sealer I use it, but before then I would freeze them in water and here's how a buddy has shown me how years ago..he only eats fish and game he harvests and veggies he grows...he has 3 freezer full of stuff. My pal Will takes a qt. container (ones from Tupperware or Rubbermaid work great, ESPECIALLY if they are squire containers (Will says they pack together better in the freezer, wasting less space). Pack you fish into the container, then fill with cold water and place in freezer....the next day or two remove the containers and flip upside down and run hot water on the bottom of the container....the ice block pops right out...now you can reuse that container again and again... Then put the container in a small plastic bag and fold over...then this ice block fits very nice into the small lunch bags we used years ago (stores still them them)....fold over the lunch bag and tape...now the paper bag can easily be marked with what kind of fish and the date of catch.. It don't get better then this....I have seen my buddies freezers...full of fish, deer, ducks, goose, rabbits, beans, carrots etc.......I could go on and on....and at 71 years old he's as fit as a 20 year old...still doing all his own crops, etc.... Bob

errrrr, ahhhh....the key will be under the matt....will be at Big Cliffs that weekend fishing, eating and drinking....maybe not in that order... BTW Cliff....I have a surprise horderves for our Redneck Steak Dinner... Bob

Copied and Pasted from NYS DEC Website: Free Fishing Days Each year, the last full weekend in June is designated as Free Fishing Days in New York State. During those two days, anyone can fish New York State waters, and no fishing license is required. This event started in 1991 to allow all people the opportunity to sample the incredible fishing New York State has to offer. Since no license is required, it is the perfect time to take a friend or relative fishing. In 2011, New York State's Free Fishing Days are Saturday and Sunday, June 25 & 26. In addition to the June Free Fishing Days weekend, there are a number of "Free Fishing Events" held in various locations across the state. Free Fishing Events are DEC sponsored events (such as family fishing clinics) where participants can learn about fish identification, fishing equipment and techniques, fisheries management, angling ethics and aquatic ecology. Each of DEC's nine regions can sponsor up to four free fishing events per year. Most free fishing events occur during the period from April through October. For a listing of currently posted events, please view the table, but be sure to check back periodically to see if additional events have been added. So, first time anglers, as well as those who have drifted away from the sport, should take advantage of this opportunity to see how much fun fishing can be. For more information about Free Fishing Days, contact your DEC Regional Fisheries Office. http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/6091.html AND SORRY MUSKIE MIKE.... Didn't realize you couldn't see the whole post...I don't consider guys using their phones to participate here...

Errrr....look above my name...

It's a free weekend of fishing on all NYS waters. NO license needed and what's even better it's also opening day for our bass and muskie state wide (some waters opened earlier for trophy bass season). Good Luck Fishing, Bob

Now if you really want to make sense people should have to pass a test and get a license before having children.... But that's another dicussion better served during winternet... Today let's only solve the world's fishing problems before dinner... Now where did I leave that Canadian Reg book....wait they didn't send me one with my fishing license.... ...I guess there are no fishing regs this year..... :devil: Here walleye, muskie, bass, crappie etc.....get in the boat fishy, get in the boat.... :rofl2:

Damn...I did my best to compute... In my Redneck terms the heat would be judged by how many cold beers it take too cool off and it's so hot we had to switch to Labatt's Ice Beer to keep cool while down 2 dozen raw clams each....(Thursday plans... )

1) What's more important to have in your boat....Molson's or nightcrawlers. 2) If it's going to be a hot day 90+ degrees...(30 Celsius) how much beer and ice is required to keep 2 large fishermen happy throughout the morning hours. 3) If there is a sweet looking babe in a bikini sunbathing on a dock that is too shallow to hold fish, do you continue to cast to said dock or turn you back to her and cast on the inside weed line that just on the other side of your boat. 4) If you were suppose to be working instead of fishing what excuse should you use when you called off of work. 5) And finally, if you should happen to catch anything, how do you clean it before throwing it out. (just a little fun Roy)...... :rofl2:

Merc if your going to clean them the next day or two you can just refrigerate them whole (wrapped in newspaper) until then....many fish clean houses pack them in crushed ice and just keep them cold until they are filleted.... Years ago when we still had 2 active smoke houses on Lake Erie that also sold fresh fish fillets...one in Dunkirk, NY and the other one about 15 west in Barcelona, NY I went with my fathers friend as he wanted to purchase fresh walleyes....they had them on the fin...the complete fish packed in crushed ice...Steve paid for the live weight of the fish and then the man filleted it for him....I'm sure that's exactly what you get when you pick out those nice fillets that are displayed in the display counter in the front of the store. But anyways....yes, I have just wrapped them in newspaper and refrigerated them until morning MANY times when we night trolled for walleyes. Couldn't tell the difference except they were less slimmey because the newspaper soaked a lot of the slime up. Bob

A bass boat burns and is a total lost and they know WHY already... Hard to believe but I "guess" it could be....

Tundra only gets the Mobil 1 since she was brand new.....runs like a friggen freight train on #5.....there's no stopping her... But my old 1985 Johnson VRO 50 hp runs on dino oil....at first it was by Johnson....then Lubermatic....and because I couldn't get Lubermatic I did some research and found Walmart's SuperTech was Lubermatic so I ran that for about the last ten years...then my friend got rid of all his 2 strokers and gave me a almost full 2.5 gallon Johnson 2 cycle oil plus a unopened 1 gallon of Merc 2 cycle oil...so guess what my outboard is using now....

I think Sinker hit the nail on the head....everyone should be required to read this three times....oh, wait....another mandate....

With recent heavy rains it could be sewage.....as many old sewage plants can't handle the heavy load when it rains because so many people still have their sump pumps hooked in with the sanitary lines and some storm sewers over flow into them. I know in the summer they often close beaches here in the Buffalo area just for that reason....water tests bad every time we have lots of rain in the summer. Bob

STUPID IDEA ! ! ! What about all those 2, 3, 4, and 5 years old kids...since they can't even read yet...NO FISHING FOR THEM....Can't go fishing with Grampa because you can't pass the fishing test... And not to mention handicap folks with autism...they also wouldn't be allowed to fish. So sometimes the laws are broken or stretch.....it happens...get over it...people do all kinds of crazy stuff and if it's just keep a illegal fish because they don't know better, well then it's up to us to help them learn and understand. Bob

Not good news...but hopefully we will get some very soon......our prayers are with you. Bob

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/other/outdoors/article444710.ece

A LOT of credit goes to fellow OFC member "Wiser" because he steered me to the Buffalo end of Lake Erie...usually I like to go out of the Catt on Lake Erie which is about 45 miles west of where we fished yesterday....and the Buffalo end is only about 10-12 miles from my house... big difference in truck gas... Thanks Again Wiser, Bob

Roy it does look somewhat calm but that's deceiving from the picture. The marine forecast called for light and variable but instead we got a west, southwest wind with a 1-2 foot chop by the end of the day...we were 6.36 miles out from the launch. But with the waves to our transom on the way back it was a decent ride back. On the way there it was much calmer with a 3/4 throttle against the wind cruising at about 25 mph. My Grumman is a pretty heavy aluminum boat....16'4" with a 84" beam and it's 39" deep....good boat for the Great Lakes but small enough for the inland lakes to use my bow mounted TM. Weather looks great for fishing today but I have a family picnic to attend... and tomorrow I promised the bride a ride out into the country... Oh well, she worth it...

I got all worked up with Canadian Brother "Wiser's" Lake Erie Perch Report...after a quick PM to him he responded almost immediately on a general area where the boats were gathering on the Canadian side near my area of the lake....But a good high school buddy wanted to go and he didn't have a Canadian license....well after a few calls to my fishing friends it was confirmed that the perch school was so large on the Buffalo end of Lake Erie that it not only included the Canadian shoreline but all the way back to the NYS shoreline....that's one HUGE SCHOOL OF PERCH out there.... But wait...after I made the arrangements with my buddy John and telling my wife when she got home, she remarked "Don't you have a important eye doctor appointment tomorrow....DAMN... she was right....I even had the boat hooked on the truck already and went to the Niagara River for FRESH LAKE ERIE EMERALD SHINERS...and caring for them like a new born baby with lots of fresh water and my Mino-Mizer runnning 24/7 to keep the bait alive...anyone who's used emerald shiner knows they die if you look cross eyed at them.... So now what.....My only luck is I have a 7:20 am appointment but this eye doctor specialist office is busier then a 2 pecker billy goat...LOL I arrive 45 minutes early to my appointment and tell a small white fishing lie to the receptionist, saying I came in early because they moved up my work schedule and REALLY need to see the doctor first if all possible....it's been my 4th or 5th visit here because I had a VERY bad iritis in my right eye and the receptionist really felt bad each time I was there, and the last time I got a shot right in the eye....so she said to me "I'll see what I can do"....I was out of there by 7:40 am... John called in sick and was now concerned that we were leaving later then usual and that someone might see me pick him up at his house with my boat...he works for the village.... So I run by his house with my wifes car (she walked to work so I could do this) pull in his driveway, he jumps in and off to my house (1 mile) to park the car and jump into the truck with boat in tow.... All this just to go perch fishing.... But anyways it was worth it....the fish were not on the bite even though we found them by the thousands on the bottom under the boat....but anchoring over them and with a very slow lift and drop of our baits we could BARELY feel them hanging on....much like ice fishing...no hits whatsoever. I think the VERY HIGH winds we had Wednesday put them off a bit... This last picture you can see my line dropping down to them... Bottom line we caught a LOT but there were a LOT of small ones we had to sort through....not the norm for Lake Erie....we must of caught 50-60 in the four hours we fished but ended up with 36 LARGE ones... I almost forgot to take picture of the catch and was almost done filleting them when I remembered...so here's just a few of the ones we did keep.

Don't be a Dufus, don't be a Dufus....From the movie "The Sandlot...and the best part...with Wendy Peffercorn... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr5lHZQz-Z4

OMG.....at first glance of Picture #1 I thought it was you and your wife photoshopped into the picture shrunk down to make the boat look bigger... GREAT PICS BTW....brings back memories of my two sons at that age. Bob

Sorry to hear your bad luck....sounds a lot like my experience's with GM and Ford....had over 15 brand new vehicles over the years (never a new Dodge, Chrysler or Plymouth, but several used ones)....always within the first 24 months issues began....Ford was usually pretty good with warranty service (not perfect) but GM was BRUTAL....In 2007 I decided to purchase another new truck but this time I did a lot of online research and decided to go with a Toyota Tundra....I have had it 4 YEARS now and it's only been back to the dealer for a front driver's side tire sensor that FIRESTONE broke putting on new tires back in October '10.... I do my own oil changes and lube the drive train, plus rotate my own tires....other then that NOTHING...best VEHICLE I have ever owned.....since then I purchased my wife a Honda Civic two years ago...it also has not been to the dealer except for a FREE (my favorite 4 letter work) oil change.... But I do keep hearing Detroit has gotten better with quality and dependability since I purchased my Tundra....but that ship has sailed for me....I am sold on my Toyota Tundra....BTW it's made here in the USA. Bob

Good Job Ron.......I just hope they don't write another stupid By-Law to include the area you were fishing in to patch the loop holes in their own laws, but instead see the light and encourage kids to go FISHING as you are trying to do. If you need some Rednecks for a protest I'm sure I could round up a posse of them.... Bob

IF you are going to be towing locally (nearby lakes) I would say "OK" with the mini van...but if you are going to be doing ANY traveling you should get a full size truck to do your towing. On a truck that has a factory tow package it includes more then just a tranny cooler...it comes with lower rear end gear ratio for towing, a tranny temp gauge, the correct wiring for 4 wire and or 7 wire connects and sometimes even heavy duty brakes and sway bars....adding just a tranny cooler to your mini van should be done for LOCAL towing but will not help you on long trips....stopping and even just handling will be a challenge and NOT a enjoyable trip each time out. Sure you will see others with larger boats then they should have on their mini vans but that doesn't make it right...they are treading in dangerous waters IMHO. Good Luck and Play it Safe, Bob

I don't think it makes sense insuring a boat that old....I haven't had insurance on my 1985 for over 15 years...