bigbuck

So I was up at BPS yesterday and saw that the Abu Garcia 5500 D5 was on clearance for $59 and change. I figured what the heck, it's too good a deal, the same reel was $129 a little while back, so, I picked one up. I figure it should be good for bass, pike, bottom bouncing for wally's and when I'm tired of fishing for bait, the odd Kawartha muskie. It seems like a decent reel that will work good with my spare bass casting rod. I'm gonna spool'er up with 50lb PP and go have some fun this summer. There's also some great deals on bass casting reels, there's a $200 Johnny Morris bass reel that's on for $79 and the Citica is also on special as well for I think $119.

Your hook cutters for the big'uns. extra rod and reel (someones will always break if there is not a spare in the boat). Spare set of spark plugs and a basic tool kit, a spare prop and shear pin are always nice to have. A bucket to bail water with.

Congrats!! Enjoy the new boat!! Fishing is only going to be more fun now.

Jeez, all I was able to get done was some yard work at home. Too bad it's not fishing season, fishing off your dock right now would be like shooting fish in a barrel.

Size of the jig head depends on how deep the water is, current, etc..... Rule of thumb 1/8 of an ounce per 10 feet in relatively calm water. As for bait, you can't beat minnows. As for grubs, I've never really used them so I don't know. Colour of jig head, chartruese/orange tipped with a minnow has worked for me on 3 trips to LOTW very, very well. Good luck.

Now, will that hat be a good luck charm out on the water Pete?? I'd love to see a pic of you holding a 50+ incher wearing that hat, strum that banjo, never mind the rake. I see it now in neon lights, "Pete Maina, the Muskie and Roller..........."

Enjoy the new toy!!! Canon makes a fantastic product. My old EOS 650 that's 20 years old still looks like new and more importantly, still takes awesome pictures. I loved our old little Canon digital but alas, after dropping it twice in the boat and then getting it wet, my wife killed it. Now we have a Sony but I liked the Canon more. Practice makes perfect in photography, keep at it.

It was nice to be able to actually get to put a face on some of the regulars. Lew & Squid stood out of the crowd in their yellow OFC jackets. It was a great show and I was able to speak to Gord Pyzer for about a half hour with my father in law.Turns out my father in laws next door neighbour worked with Gord for 20 odd years and they're great friends. Small world. So I guess soft plastics were hot sellers after Pyzer's talk. Dr Cassalman's first talk was very informational, a bit too technical at times but very good. I had a very good laugh during the second last video clip of Pyzer's talk, the one where he's up on LOTW with Doug Stange, the father in law gave me a good elbow to the ribs and I realized that we fished that very same unnamed section of the lake last summer, I caught my first little musky just down a few hundred meters from that spot. When I asked Pyzer, he was very evasive about it and I understand he doesn't want to let the world know about his fishing spots, but from the look on his face, I knew we were right. He's very approachable and easy to talk to and has a wealth of knowledge. It was a pleasure to speak to him. It was a great show and I'll be going next year, that's for sure.

Taking over 80 walleye in a season is fine as long as they aren't all from the same spot/area. At 4 fish/day, that's 20 days on the water taking his limit, so only 20 meals. If he's taken a couple of hundred walleye out of the same spot then he's looking to deplete the stocks pretty damned quick.

Golden Griddle is off of Lake Street Lew. 7:00 might be possible for me, depends on when my 2 little princesses wake daddy up (usually around 6:00). I hope to see and finally meet a few of the regulars around here.

I know this is an older thread but I'm killing a bit of time here at the office and came across this. Lew, it's disgusting what people do. Load your garbage and take it to the nearest transfer station, for 5-10 bucks at least it gets disposed of semi-properly instead of being dumped in a creek. For a left winger, Miller doesn't seem too interested in the environment (considering he was first elected for his opposition to the island airport which is still there). In the east end of Scarborough, there's a new subdivision going in on formerly city-owned greenspace (bush). Miller was asked about it and said it's no big deal, it's only scrub brush in there (lots of trees, not just scrub brush). I don't want to start a political firestorm on this site but come on, I guess Mayor Miller is succombing to big business like everyone else for the graft that they supply to politicians. Either that or he doesn't care.

I'll be there. There's a restaurant in the front of the hotel if anyone is interested, it's called JJKAPPS. Depending on what time I make it down, I'll try to be there for some brekkie. I've got my father-in-law coming with me. He's all excited about trying to pick Gord Pyzer's brain on some walleye and crappie spots on LOTW.

I'm pretty sure it's not legal to bait your hook with a walleye but if a pike comes up and makes a mess of your walleye while you're reeling it in, what are you supposed to do???

In some of those northern lakes, I have seen that small walleye work well (Choronzey's show a few weeks back up by Ignace, Ontario), he had 6 or 7 BIG pike on while he was reeling in some small walley's.

Trilene XL for my spinning reels and Trilene XT for my bass baitcaster (the other gets 50lb PP and the muskie reels get 65lb & 80lb braid)

My dad had a '93-4 Intrepid, the A/C would leak out each year needing several hundred dollars in repairs to fix, the transmission went at 125k. Personally, I'd stay away from Chrysler products. Problems with A/C and transmissions are common throughout the product line. Trannies run $2-3k to fix, that's a lot of money to spend on an old car. Good luck. I'd suggest a '94-98 full sized GM (eg. Bonneville) with the 3800. I had a '97 Bonneville SSEi that I put 320k on before I put her out to pasture. Still ran like a top but needed suspension work, A/C work, brakes and electrical. With a new baby in the house, I needed something I could count on so I retired ole Betsy. Up till then, it was regular maintenance, a water pump, alternator and battery, tires and brakes. That's it. Best car I ever owned.

Happy B-Day Monique!!!! May you have many more!!!! (TJ won't cuz he's opened up a huge can of whoppass and won't survive the night).

Tony, the big builders take the cookie cutter route. THE ONLY WAY to get a custom sized garage is to buy from a custom builder who takes the size of the garage into consideration when you and him design the house. Now for the only LITTLE problem, you'll need some serious dough-ray-me to go this route as the custom builders usually get you to buy or they supply the lot (usually with a tear down house already there) which will set you back $400K+ and then another $125-250/sq.ft depending on how you want to finish the house. In other words, probably at least $700K - The pain!!!

If they're encroaching on the other fish in the lake then by all means, keep fishing till the car is packed to the gills (ha-ha!). Crappie are nice but I prefer a couple of nice walleye fillets any day. Up on Rice Lake for the closer last year a bunch of guys showed up on the Bewdley pier and started laying in on the crappie like they were going out of style, they kept absolutely everything they caught. Between the 6 or so of them while I was there until about 6:00, they must have caught upwards of a couple of hundred and were still going strong. I was tossing everything back in and they were looking at me like I had one eye in the middle of my forehead, I dunno........some people can be really greedy and those are the ones that can mess up a good fishery.

There's 2 hotel/motels right on 17 across the street from each other. They're ok, definitely not Hilton's but decent for the money. Also, there is a PetroCan and restaurant that is owned by the same guy on the north side. The restaurant is pretty good for brekkie. We stayed there 2 years ago on the way to Kenora.

What a freakin' joke!!! Poachers can go to town this year. $36 million less in funding, the CO's won't even have trucks to put gas in!!! I think a petition has to be put together and forwarded to Mr. McGuinty's office. This is going too far!!!

Happy B-Day and may you have many more!!!! All the best!!!

Google Eagle fishfinders and you can download a demo program onto your computer that you can mess with so you don't kill any batteries. I have it and play around once in a while and it helps to learn the features and controls of the unit.

We're getting there. Another month and a half and we'll be fishing, cutting grass, getting eaten by bugs, getting sunburned and generally enjoying ourselves in warmer weather. Bring on the warm weather!!!

I picked up the Eagle 320 Portable and have yet to use it out on the water but I have spent a fair amount of time fooking around with the Demo mode and it is pretty neat. It's cheaper at Lebaron's and the 12volt gel cell battery/charger are cheaper at BPS (it beats having to keep using the D-cells).