bigbuck

Lew, sorry to hear about your mom. You have my most sincere condolences.

Take care,

Bruce

Welcome home! Don't mess around, Doctors tell you not to do things for a reason, pay attention next time, you don't need to spend any more time in hospitals.

NICE!!

It's sure pretty up there. I've gotta hit those waters one day for ski's, pike, and walleye. My buddy's dad had a fishing camp up there back in the 60's and he told us of stories of monster pike and muskie that would definitely scare the bejeezus out of a little kid swimming in the lake.

NICE!!! The cold is not so bad as long as you are dressed for it. Seems like it was worth it.

Nice boat!! The work that goes into one as well as the skill are unbelievable.

Nope, the BPS reels aren't made by Shimano. They are made in China by whomever makes them the cheapest. They are not bad for the money but you have to remember, if it breaks, who is going to fix it for you?? There are no parts commercially available for them from what I've heard. At least the Cabela's reels are made by Daiwa. Personally, I'd stick to the name brands. I'm very partial to the new Sahara, I have 2 of the older style reels and they are fantastic for the money.

I'll second the Man vs. Wild fraud. The guy has a crew with him that I'm sure share some of their food and water. Mind you, he eats things that 'would make a billy goat puke' a la Rambo. Les Stroud on the other hand does it completely solo. Snaring rabbits may be easy when you have commercially available snares, he's doing it with a stick and a rock like the cavemen did. It does not get more realistic than that. It's a good show that people who spend time in the outdoors should watch on occasion to learn a few things.

They DO WORK!! I tried them on LOTW this past summer on a very slow hot sunny day and caught 4 walleye in 25 minutes or so, my father in law was lindy rigging to no avail.

They should not be called 'Slow Death', they should be called 'Killers'

Devastating news!!

As a father of young children, my heart goes out to the family. You have my most sincere condolences. Young Chris has finally found peace.

Go with a multi-species boat, you'll have more flexiblility, you won't be able to get in nice and tight for the slop but you'll be dry in the waves if you're fishing bigger water.

It all depends on how much you want to spend.

What about Nippissing?? Mind you, if you're willing to travel, keep going North, the further the better.

The Calcutta TE400 is a fantastic reel, I picked one up earlier this year and have fallen in love with it. That said, I know BassPro has them on for $429.99, I saw them on special there last week. See what Brian or Steve can do for you over at JB's, they should be able to beat that price. Now for a rod...................

There are less expensive alternatives out there, St Croix isn't the only muskie rod out there. That said I do love mine to pieces along with my Loomis jerkbait rod. Over at JB's, you can pick up an Okuma for under a hundred bucks and from what I've heard from a couple of people that have them, they are a VERY VERY NICE ROD FOR THE DOUGH RAY ME. Daiwa also has their Heartland Series of muskie rods that are not to bad. It all depends on a)how much money you have and b)how much money you are willing to part with.

Lucky Buggers!! I was hoping to get out yesterday but it just did not work out. I hope somebody is out there today since it's probably the last nice day to be out for the rest of the year, from here on in it's gonna be survival suit city.

Unfortunately, we knew where this was headed............

My most heartfelt condolences go out to the Crisp family during this difficult time. It is such a tragedy and pointing fingers is a colossal waste of time. We have to be vigilant with our children, this has taught us as a society about the addictive nature of video games. Get them outdoors and doing things that kids have done for time immemorial.

The breakup of the former Yugoslavia was a mess. The battle at Medak was fought mostly by reservists if I'm not mistaken, they weren't even regulars. According to the book, upwards of 30 Croatian troops were killed with an unkown number of wounded. Ultimately, who knows?? It was only in the past couple of years that the unit was decorated for their bravery. They were outnumbered, outgunned but not outsmarted.

Thankfully you didn't have to go through with your hostage release plan, sometimes diplomacy actually works.

The Serbs were smart enough not to engage our boys, but there was so much stupidity and waste on both sides. They have had axes to grind for hundreds of years and they finally went back at it for the first time since the Second World War and who knows how many people actually perished.

All I can say is I'm a proud Canadian of Macedonian descent and I have proudly worn my poppy every year since I was 7 or 8 years old (about 30 years or so). I may not support all of our government's policies, but I sure as heck support our military, if it was not for the sacrifice of generations past, we might all be saluting the little Austrian corporal with the funny mustache or constantly extolling the virtues of Karl Marx and Lenin.

I just quickly read a book about the Medak pocket and the battle fought there between the Croatian National Army and the Canadian peacekeepers stationed in a village there. It was the biggest firefight Canadian troops engaged in since Korea. I just hope our government and the Canadian people remember the sacrifices made by our troops. Afganistan is a very very tough place to be, most Canadians don't even know why we are there. You keep up your good work and I hope all of our boys in uniform make it back in one piece after the successful completion of their mission.

88 cents a litre!!! I'd be tempted to drive from the Big Smoke just to fill up for that price just on principle!!

Yeah, right!

Nice to see you guys tied into a couple of toothy critters, there is a good chance of hooking a record sized fish up on the Larry.

Down only 250, what the TSX, wow, that's a great day given what it's been like for the past couple of weeks.

Seriously, if I had cash on the sidelines, it's time to start putting small sums in on the really really bad days, remember, for every seller, there is a greedy buyer who knows that with patience, he's going to cash in on someone else's lack of intestinal fortitude. We're coming up to a technical support level for the TSX, we drop below that level, I plan on reinvesting a significant portion of client money.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, PLEASE BE PATIENT, THE MARKET WILL NOT GO TO ZERO, IF IT DOES, YOU'LL HAVE PLENTY OF FIRE STARTING MATERIAL IE. CASH BECAUSE THAT IS ALL IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR.

Bargains abound right now for the smart managers, they are the ones that are doing the buying.

You'll have trouble finding pike in the Kawarthas (there aren't any).

But, that said, there are muskie a'plenty. Make sure you have proper muskie rods/reels, and as was mentioned before, proper release tools, they are critical, big muskie are too few and far between and you don't want to kill one because you were not prepared, that's a big sin in muskie fishing.

With about $200 to spend, I'd pick up a couple of big muskie sized bucktails, and a couple of body baits like the Believer and the like. Use good quality leaders and braided line that's at least 65lb test.

Good Luck!!!

Good replies, I'd say several of you are probably right.

My advice to clients is to have 10% of their portfolios in precious metals. The remaining 90% in conservative balanced funds. This is no time for amateur day trading, most people don't even know what the heck the stocks they buy even do. It's a dangerous time in the markets, there are going to be a few more spectacular failures in U.S. banks and the volatility is here to stay for the next little while. Buy on the brutal days and average yourself down.

Remember this little ditty: For every seller there is a buyer.

Sure it takes 3-4 hours, 1 hour to do the job and 2-3 to go out to Timmies and then go for lunch after.

Lew, go for it, you should be able to to it yourself, a thermos of coffee (a little something to go in it if you get frustrated) and your toolbox is all it's going to take.

Stay away from Fig Rig rods, everyone I know who has had one hates them, they tend to break and trying to get warranty work done is next to impossible. Stick to St Croix or Shimano and you can't go wrong.

As for reels, you've got $170 to spend so that rules out the Calcutta TE, it's great but it's over $400. The Calcutta 400B is nice but is still out of your price range. The Abu Record 60 with the power handle is a nice reel, I have one and I use it as much as my TE. Abus are like Chevys, they may not be the prettiest or have the latest and greatest options but they get the job done.

Whatever length section of PVC tubing (sewage/central vac pipe), capped on one end with a screwtop on the other, both ends padded with old t-shirts (you can wipe everything down with them when you are done fishing for the day).

Try the Mustad 'Slow Death' hook rig setup. I T F R E A K I N' W O R K S!!! where all else fail. I tried it up on LOTW this summer and caught 4 walleye in 20 minutes with my father in law catching 1 jumbo perch with a Lindy rigged worm. It's cheap to boot, the hooks are only a couple of bucks for 10, some 6lb test for the leader, swivels (good ones are key), and your worms (you only use less than half a worm).

Just do a very very slow troll and you should be able to slay them 'eyes.

For the Kawartha's it would be great. For Lake Ontario, it's a small boat. The big lakes can get REALLY ROUGH REALLY FAST. It's only a 40 hp so you should not go out too far. I've been out on 2 footers in a 17 footer and it was getting scary on a smaller lake.

That said, you can have a lot of fun with that boat for a very very good price.