Old Ironmaker

The best advise I can give is to use a 3 foot length of Fluorocarbon as a leader, especially in clear water. Tubes, if they don't work change the colour of the tube. I start with a pumpkinseed colour. They love leeches, so any black rubber simply on a hook with some split shot a foot up (California split shottin')up to 8 feet depths or a black jig with an imitation Leech to get deeper. Use a Sharpie to blacken the eyes. A good selection of Jerk Baits as last resort, for some it is the first thing thrown. Vary your retrieve cadence. A crab imitation . crankbait is another good choice Bright day, bright colours, blue on chrome works for me in a rattle bait, overcast dark hues.

I'll play devils advocate here. A guy invests 100 grand, or even more, in a big plastic tub or pristine woody and cares for it well. Comes out to the marina and there is a big ugly scratch in the gel coat or finish, or a lure stuck in the canvas top or cover from an errant cast. That would pee me off too. Not everyone can cast or flip a lure into a Pop can from 100 feet away. My brother has a cottage on a nice Bass lake. Often he will find lures under the dock stuck in the wood. My niece when she was a just a toddler once had to get stitches from stepping on a treble hook from a lure that was obviously broken off and sunk to the bottom next to the dock. She refused to go into the water for quite a while. After that he had to check all around the dock for hooks before the kids could jump in and swim, that would phis me off too. So it isn't just a matter of fishing docks when boats aren't present.

I would say if you won the lottery go for it and hire a huge staff of young workers. Running a lodge is a lot like being a criminal, you don't start late in life and you won't learn it in school. Also like roofers, it's a young mans gig. It would be my last choice for a business really, especially as a retiree. I have seen many times an individual would like to make his or her hobby a business. It doesn't work out often. But you didn't ask for that advise, sorry. Now having giving you my why not's I do like you are making a plan. In any business you can not be all things to all customers. Some can't boil water and for some half the fun is putting on great spreads and showing off your culinary skills, that would be us when younger. Now I want to be comfortable, big screen sat TV, AC, the works. A nice big boat, no 14'ers these days. 1 day on the water in a tinny and I'm done like dinner. Now if some of us old pharts plan a trip we are bringing along a few 20 somethings all full of phis and vinegar. It all depends on who you see as your clientele. Well off middle to older age sports fishermen or young working guys, and gals willing to ruff it a tad. It is difficult to cater to both in my experience.

Happens all the time on a lake the size of a European country, especially fishing for Perch. And nationality plays no part in it, ignorance knows no border. If you are close enough that I can light your cigar for you it's too close. Now if it happened to be a boat full of young nubile Bikini clad lassies, be my guest. 30 years ago of course.

Whatever you do never fill the boat with water to find any leaks. Where are you located? There is crack aluminum guy out here that does great work. Jarvis, Haldimand County, Lake Erie. I think Fish Farmer has used him. I hope the boat isn't a Cracker, errrr I mean Tracker.

You are a lot braver than I am Tom. You should see how green the grass is on the hill heading down to the lake. Water is so high and waves so big it is splashing close to the deck Saturday and yesterday. Maitland on Wed. Dave. Featherstone Ted and the boys went out last week and 2 Pics totaled 17 pounds. 1/2 fed 8 of us, I was more than happy to cook and clean them. I snuck 1 Silver in and I made sure one of the gentlemen that call them garbage fish got a fillet. He remarked how sweet the smaller Pic fillets were, ha!! Friday and Monday are looking good for winds too. If we make out well Wed. I'll make the turnaround Friday, if not Bruce or Burwell Fri and or Monday. After that Windfinder etc. is calling for some 65KPM gusts next week, come on man! Dave, I just got the letter for reinstatement of 80% of our benefits. but we have lost all Life Insurance. what the???

If you have a boat why mess with a Toon? Put the boat in Colpoy Bay. I have never, ever said I have only 3 hours to fish unless we were on afternoon shift and then 4 hours absolute minimum. You must be eating something better than Wheaties.

80 rounds 2 years ago and I haven't swung a club this year. When we planned to get out it was either raining or going to rain. Grrrrrr. Things can't be too bad when my complaints are about not fishing or getting out golfing. Pretty small potatoes in life's Big Picture.

Ohio. A few local farms still have their first cut of hay sitting in the fields. I know almost ziltch about farming but enough to know that that hay should be in bails by now. Every time they try and condition it rains again. Years gone by a second cut is being done but the fields were too wet to get into, mud and more mud. We can't complain because we haven't had a thunderstorm for week, not even rain. Whooo hoooo. Second time I had to water plants and flowers this year. Corn looks good, 2 feet or more high by the 4th of July. But Climate Change is fake news ya' know.

That video has me thinking about getting up early tomorrow, very nice work Sir. But I would need to find somewhere without waves crashing. Nothing better, fishing at least, than hitting glass like waters with top water at daybreak or even dusk. I have to say it has to be my favorite type of fishing. Looks like you had a great morning. I have a black skirted top water buzz bait that just hammers both Bass and Pike, once even a nice Pic on the Ottawa. I've had it for years. Same axe, different head different handle if you know what I mean. There are a few ponds out this way that were abandoned quarries that were filled and stocked with game fish. They have basically been fished out in the last few years once the word got out on the internet. A local that I worked with says people would come from as far as Toronto and keep each and every fish they caught, no matter size or species. They would bring along several kids and stick a toy rod I their hands and count fish towards their limit. A joke. Why the County never made it C&R I will never know. I'm not sure that would deter these guys. Sad to see.

Forest Fires! Got you Dave. At least we don't have many of those down south. My brothers lady friends building did burn down in downtown St. Catherines last week though, actually almost the entire block. It reminds me I need to get someone to trim these trees back. Way too close to the shack. With all this rain this year I don't know of they will even burn.

It gets windy around here regularly, north shore of Lake Erie. But this year is absolutely ridiculous. If there are 2 days of the week that wind predictions are less than 20 KPH it is unusual. Windfinder and Sailflow have been bang on so far. On weekends it is usually a regatta of boats here on the point, fishing Bass, pulling tubes, just going for a nice ride. I counted exactly zero this weekend, not 1. The SeaDoo guys are having a blast though smashing over whitecaps but even they are scarse. On Bass opener they are usually stem to stern out here because it is a great Bass spot. I counted exactly 2 boats on opening day and they gave up after 1/2 an hour. 4 foot waves are tough to fish from a Bass boat, any boat. My BBQ blows out from the wind, if it will light. I have to use my back up on the north side of the shack. I have had to put 5" lag screws in the BBQ base as well as the patio table. Chairs and umbrellas have to be put away every night or they go for a flight. This is just rifreekindiculous. I have put the boat in exactly twice this year here and got blown off the water once. Amongst our little gang the total count on fish this year is exactly 2 Walleye. This is just getting silly. It's blowing like November not July. First rain everyday and now wind everyday. Vent complete. Is it the same where you guys are?

I was all excited until I saw the price. But then again I have never lost a Dipsy or Jet Diver before. Featherstone Ted got a temp probe a few years ago for the downrigger. I couldn't believe the immediate increase in hook ups here on Erie and Lake O, find the thermocline, find the fish. But at 300 bananas I would need more feedback from someone that uses them. But after all 300 bucks is only 1/2 a Tackle Mate box of spoons and plugs, or a rod and reel, or less than 2 tanks of fuel or........ If they do work as advertised I would most likely get one. I would love to know what Josh of Angling Outfitters thinks of them. His word to me is golden. I have never had any luck with electronics under water lasting. edit: watched a few pitches on You Tube. I have more questions now than answers. Need to give Angling a call. If they carry them I will take a ride one of these windy days. Which is almost everyday this season.

You won't get me up higher than the 3rd rung of a ladder now. Nothing to climb a hoop ladder to the top of a gas bleeder 10 stories from death, at night during a thunder storm. Nuts then or really needed the money, both maybe. Just be safe is what I'm saying and I know you work both smart and safe. Someone is going to say you need to cut down those trees for the view. As someone that lives smack dab on Erie those trees can save you a lot of heating bills when those winds are whipping off the lake at 40 knots or more. Trees have a tendency to stave off erosion too.

I love that. Did you see the guy on that Gator hunting show from Louisiana, Swamp People? His lawn tractor broke down so he hitch hiked next to his boat and actually got a tow to the launch. Shood em' Cleatus, shood em'.

Lookin' good Dave, lookin' good. Now be safe up there, 911 isn't exactly a few minutes away, a few hours maybe? Don't do what the guy that tied off to the bumper of his car when he was roofing. Then his wife decided to go shopping and dragged him a few miles down the road. Maybe a urban legend but I believe it. Minions aren't very good workers, far too easily distracted.

Yep, always see a few dead Sheepshead floating around or on shore when it gets hot and stagnant. That's right out front 75" frontage, do the math. About 13 years ago the water was so low and it was so hot there were dead zones here, low O2 supply and we had all species belly up.

I'll call my brother, he lives off Lake Ave. I bet he has work up the ying yang though.

G. Mech I am all too well aware of Building Code requirements. I can't count how many permits I pulled. I would also need approval from The Grand River Conservation Authority and maybe the Long Point C.A. as well. It isn't to Code to sit it on concrete blocks as advertised. Those blocks they sell that people put decks with egress from a dwelling and sheds on larger than a Dog house are totally not allowed in Ontario like you pointed out. Thanks.

Thanks. I built a 3 wall small shed attached to the cottage and poured the 4X8 pad myself and I spent close to a grand for materials.

We had a 4 year old go missing here last summer. With in 10 minutes of discovering he went missing there were no less than 50 neighbours scouring the lake shore and checking back yards and sheds. By the time the kid was found there was 100 of us looking and calling his name. 5 OPP cruisers and 2 of their shadow SUV's were here in less than 10 minutes after being called. They told us where to look, under boats, in bushes etc. Very organized in a short time frame. Calculating how far a 5 year old can walk in the time he was discovered missing. They set up a roadblock at the bridge in town and checked all the vehicles. I was emotional during the search I can't imagine how the parents and you guys Rick would be feeling. All you can think of is the worse scenario. Luckily we found him hiding in the rocks along the shoreline. When everyone was calling him he thought he was going to be in trouble so he hid.

I'm not sure that any of my friends would drive me 25 minutes to the Hospital if I had a bone sticking out somewhere let alone 1500 KMS. I hope my wife would, but she has Power Of Attorney for health care and they might put me down. And that is one beauty of a Dog Dave.

Wow How did I miss this before we headed out today? We didn't get an Amber Alert, why not? Actually the last alert we did get in June was for where you are exactly, Emo. Same guy? I'll try the phone again, it's supposed to be a Smart Phone. Does everything from taking HD movies to anything a PC can do, everything except making a TELEPHONE CALL!!! Got your machine, now the lady says "we did not get your message because you are not speaking clearly" What? It's as clear as I speak without being influenced by something.

Stopped at Home Hardware in Cayuga today and saw some very nice pre fab sheds, single car garage, and bunky. The one we are looking into is a 14X40 with a covered deck, makes a great 3 season bunky. They deliver, prep the land and erect for 14K. I know it will be much more once you pay for everything they don't tell you like stain/paint shingles maybe etc. Free delivery within 50 miles but I can't find out where they are in Ontario. I am sure the County won't let me erect it without proper footings not concrete blocks as their website says. A US company from down south with Ontario dealer. I can't build one myself for that price, Less than 30 bucks a square foot. Would be fantastic for a remote camp where permits may not apply. Heck we have had 4 guys in a camp shack 1/2 that size. Anyone have one? What do you think? oldhickorybuildings.ca

Nice report Brian and a nice feed. Sorry about the flipper injury. ICE it. Ice, compression and elevation. No big deal unless a bone is sticking out. Tape it up and get back in the huddle. PS. Time to get a "real" boat and ditch the Flintstone Floatmobile? Ya ain't gettin' any younger boyo. And guess what? It gets exponentially worse every year, then every 6 months then every month, you get the formula. Cooked up the last of some nice size Simcoe Perch. I coated them in crushed Miss Vickie's tater chips, really great. Don't add salt.