Roy

Those are two SERIOUS problems and honestly, I've never heard that from anyone.

I don't agree that having a boater's card makes the waters safer at all. There will always be accidents no matter how many tests you take or how much knowledge you have. An accident is just that. There are avoidable tragedies cause by people drinking or people just not being careful. Then of course there are a few people who are just plain too scatterbrained to drive any kind of a vehicle on public roads or waterways. The cards were not put in place to make the waterways safer. They were a stop gap measure to get people, mostly on PWC off the water. They started with the PWC then every couple of years expanded it to include longer and longer boats 'til we got to where we are today. Almost everyone has a card, there is no central registry for the card and with or without a central registry, the card is still a useless measure. One blatant example is that people who've had their own boat on the water for 40 years need a card...folks who are renting a boat for the very first time, don't need a card. Where's the logic there? There is none. I could go on but it's not worth it. You cannot legislate common sense. Stupid people will cause accidents with or without a card. And the accidents (in the true sense of the word) will happen even between two very knowledgeable boaters.

Practically speaking, not many of us would ever need that light but we should know what it is.

If you want to be getting anything at all out of it, the best way is to go to a Canadian Power and Sail Squadron near you and take the course. You'll learn a heck of a lot more than doing the multiple choice answers in the online tests.

No, not the best casting reel at all. I always got away with a few casts from time to time but it's a boat rod made for either trolling or pulling bottom dwellers from saltwater.

Gear ratio is 3.75:1...you could probably pull an SUV out of a ditch with it.

OK that one is the chromed brass spool.

They are an inexpensive reel but very good reels for trolling. It came out in the late 50's and was discontinued early 2000's. Which spool do you have on yours? There were plastic, brass and more recently aluminum spools. Parts are available. I like them...for heavy line trolling they're good.

When I wrote mine I got 91%. That's 33 of 36 correct answers. I know that one answer was dead wrong and the other two were very debatable. The bottom line for me is that the card is necessary to drive a boat but it sure as heck doesn't make you a better boater. All of the accidents that you hear about these days..guess what, they all passed their boaters test. No folks, you can't legislate common sense. Oh, and guess what else..there's no central registry for that.

OK Maureen...what are the Roy vs Marshall sales going like now? Expiring minds need to know. Hope you had a great day at the show.

Good morning Maureen! You hear that folks? Get yourselves a Roy shirt or two....that Marshal dude is a predator!

Well I think enough has been said. There are enough really good outfitters on Nipissing for anyone to choose. Let's see what kind of a report Mike gives us when he returns after the 21st.

HAHAHAHA Maybe someone turned it into an egg timer?

I doubt very much that it is a 110 volt unit. Inverters were not commonly available then. Some guys are still using them on old yatchs and runabouts.

I like the way they go into camo mode when caught and show spots that exactly match the spots on the ice. Ain't nature wonderful!

The best I've used are the blade baits like the cicadas and such. They work well any season.

Thursday is my recycling day. I see it's yours too.

Not good news at all Bruce. You're gunna have to start looking after yourself.

WTG Josh, great article. You do the Choronzey name proud!

Yeah..like I said.

I have 2 of the old model Cardiffs. I've never had problems with them but they are not made for big baits. The new models are entry level at best...so were the old ones I suppose. As far as I can tell they are Shimano's replacement for the old Corsair. You have to go to a 400 sized reel to even have borderline gearing (5.2:1) for larger baits. Anything smaller than a 400 size has 5.8:1 gearing and I'm sure that most people can burn one in an afternoon of casting big baits. Let's not even mention trolling. Don't say that a reel is crap if you're not using it for its intended purpose. If you want to cast and troll large baits on a budget go with Abu. Best bang for the buck. I use both Abu and Shimano for pike and muskie and they are great reels if you use the right tool for the job you want done. Let the war begin.

That's fantastic Brian me brudder! Great day, great fish and great pics! Cook a nice one up for Miss Betty and you're a happenin' dude!

Very good photos Justin, thanks.

Both hands busy? Don't do it Joe....I know kids and you should always have one hand free to protect your groin!

Have a good time with the army. I wouldn't think it'd be slippery either...maybe kinda granular snow. You can always haul them out on a toboggan ? It'll be staying mild 'til then but will most likely be windy on Saturday and Sunday.