Old Ironmaker

Good on you. There's a lot of blood on that snow, what did you do, shoot em?

I guess everyone that doesn't think that (nice mind you) rig is not a Great Lakes rig is a bit older than you with some stories to tell. Me included. To answer your question I would not put a kicker on that boat. By the time it's rigged out with all those accessories and put ballast weight at the bow you are close to exceeding or have exceeded it's max weight after 2 fisherman and soda pops. In the pic the waterline is very, actually too close to the top of the rear now. A good backwash wave and you are done. And that's before you put that 35 pound King on board. All this may be moot, do you even have enough width on the transom to mount a small kicker? I had just enough on my 19' er.

Elliot Lake, isn't that where all the retirement residences are that are full of mean spirited, miserable crotchety old folks? Oh my.

I M2bass2 never said he was going to do anything stupid like confronting the guy. He has family there and is smarter than that. This is a terrible thing. You move to Gods country and have to worry about your kids and pets getting hurt by a trap on your own property, that is just sad. The first thing I learned when moving to the country after living in the big city for 45 years, crime is everywhere, not as often perhaps but it's out here big time, probably more per capita. Someone mentioned a law suit for the dogs pain and suffering. You can recover for vet bills but there is no recovery for pain and suffering for an animal.

A professional is someone receiving compensation for a service that earns revenue for those that employ that individual. The Leafs are doing their jobs, the place is full, every game. Job well done.

If you do go Bruce pick me up a Sham Wow would you please.

Now if misfish were still reporting that would help.

Have to agree with just about everything as to why not many reports. The ice reports we do get like the beauty from Moosebunk are tough to compare to reporting 3 keeper Perch and a Whitefish or 2 so I don't think most even bother. It is more of social kitchen table coffee chat during these winter months.

Went to the Sportsmans show in the 70's and that's before I ever thought of getting involved in fishing as a sport. No it's not the same, neither is much of anything else. I stopped going when they started selling Sham Wow's and non stick pots and pans.

I had and my former partness still does a business where we did only basement reno's. Not one or two, over a 100. PM me if you would like. Now lets go fishin' first.

That's just stupid cold. Cold to me is 2200F, the temp Hot Metal freezes.

Since I has never caught one for over 35 years I considered them and was always taught to never kill one. I took big misery when I mounted one in the 80's when I started fishing, a Tiger with all the colors. Since I had just started fishing I was told it was the fish of a thousand casts and I got lucky. Then I landed 2 in a few hours this past October. Then I found out that in LSC 3 or 4 in a day is nothing. What a noise when my bubble was burst. There a few that decide to keep them, go ahead, just not all of them.

wormdunker I have used Dri-Core with good results. It will not give you an R value of any great degree but if your floor is below the frost line it is not imperative to insulate that floor. It will save your flooring from damage due to minor basement leaks, not floods, because it allows the water to drain between the dimples to the drain below. No hardwood or ceramics should be laid on Dri Core. I have never used the basement foundation membrane, make sure it is safe for indoor application, not all materials are. A fantastic explanation for Thermal break is in Wikipedia under Thermal break. (sorry this site won't allow me to cut and paste). Simply a break is where any substance or material that isolates the building envelope and the elements. Inert gas between 2 panes of glass is a Thermal break. Caulking between the window frame and the window itself is a Thermal break. Insulation of any kind between dimensional lumber does not create a Thermal break. Think of this, I have a wall constructed of 2X6's, there is no insulation on either side of the interior or exterior of the 2X6 when we traditionally insulate in this fashion. Add up all the 2X6's that have zero insulation on either side of the interior or exterior of the 2X6. Now put all the 2X6's that are on all 4 or more exterior walls side by side. Depending on the length of the walls imagine how much linear space has only house wrap, vapour barrier, 5.5" of softwood and sheathing between you and the exterior weather. zero insulation. Same goes for Cathedral ceilings where trusses are 16" on centre. That's a lot of uninsulated home. Spray insulation on the entire exterior wall and you have a thermal break.

PM Nipfisher, his hut looks great. Where is/was mozzy? I thought we hit every place around Nip in the last 36 years. Is the Ballet still open in Nord Bay? Maybe that's mozzy.

Great advice scuro2. As with most everything budget is the big thing. I hate to think of the time I have spent dealing with people with Champagne tastes and buck a bottle of beer budgets.

A fishing report and date report all in one. I hope you aren't creating a monster there Nick. She will be wanting to go with you on ALL of your fishing trips. I have a credo, " Never date your ex wife and never golf with your future ex wife".

We don't have a furnace. The primary heat source is a 45,000 BTU gas fireplace. No duct work. I just can't get the heat to the back rooms. Is $130.00 a month in NG considering all appliances except the fridge extreme? It's very , very cold here on the shoreline of Erie with that wind blowing hard, constantly. The lakeside gable end is more windows than walls. That's a killer but why look over the lake if you can't see it? Hydro is around $90.00 a month in winter and less than $90.00 in summer with 1 old window unit and a portable A/C unit. Gas in summer is less than $30.00. Seldom are the 2 electric units cranked, I often shut them off when we get up in the AM. I would have had to tear out new exterior and interior walls to put in forced air as code calls for 4" ductwork and the walls are only 4" thick (true dimensional 2X4). It was a tough decision but we would have lost valuable space for the furnace, trunkline and returns upstairs. I never ever thought we move here full time. Some nights and hot humid days I question the why didn't I but can live with it. It is a storey and a half balloon construction and I blew in isostyrene between the 2X4 studs and in the 2X6 ceiling but can do better by furring out the exterior walls with 2X4's , spraying the walls and creating a full thermal break. . edit, I just asked my wife how much the last bill was and she said Decembers was $115.00. She said if I paid a bill once and a while I would know, smarty pants. So Januarys would be close at 130. I don't dare ask her exactly what Hydro is. Edit again, 07:00 AM. I always say if you don't know what the price of tatters are don't go into the French Fry biz. Yea Hydro is $90.00 a month, in October, Try $255.00 for the bill I just looked at for January. Can anyone tell me what a "clean energy credit" is and why there is a 10% credit for it? Does it apply to everyone?

By reading the amount of wood some have you gone through it tells me this winter has been colder than last year. Last year was the coldest down south here that I can remember. There were a few nights that I stayed up and filled every container, jug, mug, glass, did every piece of laundry and wasted a load of water to run the pump every 25 minutes. We had 60 knot winds blowing off the lake. If I waited 30 minutes there was slush in the line from the cistern. It was the coldest night in my life save for a few crazy nights at E Blast Furnace keeping every known fluid known to man from freezing, including Hot Metal at 2700F, freezing is 2300F. This year has been a walk in the park, a warm park compared to last winter, so far. I have insulated this place to the max. That in a nutshell is the key to thermal efficiency. Creating a thermal break is paramount to fuel efficiency. Without a true thermal break you would be surprised at the heat loss. I have been thinking about pulling off the siding and spraying the perimeter 100% with closed cell isostyrene insulation. I walk around here with a smoke flare checking for leaks as this place moves up and down back and forth during the crazy high winds here on the point. A good heat loss survey could save you folks thousands in the long run knowing where to tighten up and insulate. 30% of heat loss is through the floor. If you don't need shoes or slippers in the winter and bare feet are cool in the summer you are almost half way to energy efficiency. I heat 1200 sqft of ground floor with around $130.00 per month in Natural Gas including stove, hot water, dryer and BBQ, and supplement cold nights with 2 oil filled electric portables at 600W during the night, 900 to 1200 on -20c plus wind, and there are nights 1500W is a must. Those nights we sleep in the loft where it's 75F. If it were not for the spiral staircase and my weak bladder we would be up there every night like 5 years ago. We know when to head up there, when the cat does we do. Then I turn the electrics to the lowest settings. I don't read where or what you guys do to insulate or provide wind protection at your properties. A few strategically planted pines, dense cedar and spruce can do amazing things to break down wind flow that will result in energy savings that would amaze you over the years. My neighbor cut down a row of cedars that blocked the SW wind coming off lake a few summers ago due to the view. He was latter amazed to find how cold the cottage was that next winter, a better view though. I have a partner too that gets 1 more vote than I do.

The ingenuity of the folks on this site is phenomenal. What a nice set up. Dragons Den boys? I'll do the Bull ing, you do the builds.

Anda here we go. Musky are the sacred fish, no they are not, yes they are, nope, yep......... Fisherman, darn right it was meant to be an insult. To say it wasn't after it's out there is like a politician trying to take something back and it can't be done. Uncalled for. Having said that I have accidentally pushed the post window and wished I didn't after a few Dr. Smirnoff's on the rocks. More than a few times for sure, right BigUgli?

I like that saying "care from the lake you eat from" you can add "drink from" too. He could be annoying, I didn't like that he ate most everything he caught . But it is everyone's right to do so if legal I suppose, If I said I was 100% catch and release that would be a lie. We keep at least 2 or 3 Walleye and will maintain my possession limit of Perch over 10" here on Erie. On some lakes that have a slot or is stressed I don't keep any fish. I could miss a few meals and it wouldn't kill me or the scale. Erie has plenty of fish to go around. You should see what they bring in on the commercial boats out here. I would never be able to catch that many fish that are in one mornings catch in a few lifetimes. What bothers me are the very large Smallies that are incidental catches. It can't be helped at times I'm sure as a net can't tell a big Bass from a medium size Pic, can they? I'm told by a local that has owned his own fleet of fishing boats that the Bass are supposed to be thrown overboard ASAP, even though they are toast by then.

That is an excellent list(s) Fishlogic. Good reading and fantasizing.

Mike, the wanderer, Borger is he man to talk to for this, no question. He is a one man outdoors Travel Agency. One of the best trips we have had is in the Long Lac area. Klotz Lake Camp. It is right on highway 11. From Klotz many fly in lakes are accessible by vehicle by following back logging roads where a few 14 footers were brought in and you carry the 9.9's and gear in. A cool portage from Klotz brings you to Flint Lake, a Walleye and Pike factory. A few times you must portage over beaver dams carrying the boats and equipment. You should have seen the look on a group of Yanks faces we met in a fly in lake when they found out we drove in. We took pity on them and brought them a case of brew and a bottle the next day along with some fresh food. We never saw a Bass though, never really thought about smallies there, there might not be any. 1st week of June, snow ball fights in the morning, sunblock in the afternoon happy hour. A very good value but not low budget fish. If your not in shape it would be a challenge. Actually it was a challenge when we were in shape. 50 years old? you young pups, I wish.

Just to reiterate the American business model does not always translate in the Canadian market. Shop in Canada, buy Chinese.

There isn't much of anything that swims good old Cronzie didn't have a recipe for. He is a love him or hate him type of personality. Either way I like that he told it the way he saw it, take it or leave it, sponsors be dammed. I guess his sponsors decided to leave it. He sure knows his stuff when it came to Salmon and Bows up Huron way. Someone said he was retired. A guy like Darryl would never retire from TV if given the choice I strongly believe. Be careful what you say about Musky, it's legal to keep them and eat them. I hear they taste just like chicken. I miss his fireside chats slamming the Ministry and all the pencil neck geek scientists.