Old Ironmaker

Thanks for all the great feedback folks, what I really couldn't grasp is the method of the hook tied directly to the main drop line. It goes against what I have come to learn. It seems to me that the fish needs to take the hook dead on. If it takes it from the rear the line would spook the fish. I may be way off here and overthinking the whole thing. As for the marketing, I feel it is marketing by naming an old tried and true with a new name. But anything sold on any shelf or at any garage sale is marketing. Heck hideaway headlights were sold on cars in the 30's. When they came back some 30 years later it was something new. Call it what you wish, it works.

All I can say is if you wouldn't want to be stuck in the same 6X8 jail cell with someone for a weekend don't go out with them on a houseboat. If your good with tight quarters it can be an absolute blast. It can get a tad cramped especially if the weather is not the best. Great for a first weekend date, if they want to leave they have to swim to shore. We went out with a couple a lady friend knew, I just met them. On day 2 I said if you put that Barbra Streisand CD on one more time it and you are going overboard. Feelings, Johnny D has no feelings.............

That was one of my lol moments. I couldn't believe the questions some guys were asking for something free. I'm sure they are appreciated by Bigbuck, enjoy.

Call Steve Hardcastle at Fishmasters in Dunnville. He just got a new bigger boat and is doing very well on Ontario this spring. He brings the boat back to Erie for walleye in the summer. I know of no one that has had any complaints. He has done a few TV shows with Charlie Wray and the guys from Fish'n Canada. He is a contributor on this board. This is his latest post here, http://ontariofishingcommunity.com/forums/index.php?s=e7d3af71a64f83afef4aefcdf27712d0&showtopic=69616

A small twister touched down on Argyll St. in Caledonia Friday at 5PM in front of my wifes car. Right around then the wind blew up on the lakeshore from dead calm to batten down the hatches in mere seconds. I have worked on the docks in Hamilton and been here on Erie for years and have seen some strange weather and cloud formations like never before. Then you see all the havoc this spring has brought in the US. Records are being broken everyday. Armageddon? Sure is scary.

What a special honor you had. Good on you.

Monsieur fantastique, tu es un bon ami.

Navionics Platinum for my money can't be beat. Great detail for most Ontario waters.

Does anyone have a recipe/technique to can suckers. When you say suckers I see so many different species in my Ontario Fish species handbook. Does it matter? There are a few spots you can't keep them off the line, now watch if I want one will never find them!! From the handbook; Bigmouth Buffalo Black/Smallmouth Buffalo Black Redhorse Golden redhorse Greater redhorse Lake clubsucker Longnose sucker Northern hog sucker Quillback River redhorse Shorthead redhorse Silver redhorse Spotted sucker White sucker That's a few suckers here in Ontario

I try and avoid the rain if possible but hate having wet feet. I took the spikes out of a pair of old soft sole waterproof Footjoy Dry golf shoes and saved myself more than a few bucks based on what some of you guys pay for footwear. No they don't slip on the floor of the boat. Then if I absolutely must golf in the rain I screw the spikes back on, 2 for 1 specials.

Ain't that the truth. I don't have time for a paper route because what took me a few hours to do now takes me a week retired. Exception, fishing. You guys caught more Musky in one morning than I have in 30 years. Only 1 on Skugog in 84, and that was a Tiger Musky, hybrid I am told, doesn't that count? I better be careful with these posts, this spellcheck inserted Muslims for Musky, sure am glad I read it back.

Rich you said, I couldn't bring myself to eat a pike in any form. But I will definitely try flaking some bluegills. Why am I the only one that seems to love bluegills?! So tasty, so plentiful. Most of the folks I met recently on a trip to upper NY state were targeting bluegills. The couple in the cabin next to us are there every year and take home about 75 pounds of cleaned Bluegills for the year. They taste like Rock Bass to me, I love them and don't feel guilty about keeping any. If anyone keeps a walleye for the table a pike can be as good. I've proven it with the hidden taste test.

I had a bad experience with a Ram bought new in 03. After that I said never again. A good friend has a 3/4 ton 03 and has had many of the same problems I had as well as the poor after sale experiences.r So when I was shopping for a new truck in 2011 I didn't even stop at a Chrysler dealership. Now that I have 30000K on my Silverado and am getting about 15L/100K I would seriously consider the post bail out Chrysler. Don't get me wrong, I love my Chevy (she may be listening) the gas consumption stinks. The same truck Ford offered as competition to the Chevy was about 12 grand more, the only difference was a pile of fake wood plastic on the dash and far less feeling of power with the comparable horsepower. The new Rams have come a long way, I don't know about the service from the dealerships, I would consider one if there ever is another truck in the future.

It's great to get the new boat in the water for the first time and everything works. To actually boat a few nice ones is a big bonus. It looks like that walleye took the stinger hook on your jig, a must have on that lake. Since learning about stingers I use them on all my jigs and will out fish others regularly on all lakes. I have even put them on tubes using a very small hook with a touch of meat on it. I love sheepshead, heck they have entire pro fishing circuits dedicated to them down south. They paint a spot on the tail and call them Redfish. Nothing like thinking you have a sheepshead on and finding a hog Erie pick on the hook. If you always think you are fighting a big walleye and find a sheepshead you will be disappointed, think the opposite and then you can really high five when you land the pickerel.

That's the way to do it. Networking to get a gig. Congrats.

Canadian Tire sells boat plugs. Any marine will also have one. Bring you old one with you if you have it or measure the I.D.

One of the old timers would flake the "Y" bone sections in pike. Once cooked he would pick out the Y bones then jar the fish flakes in oil, also made fish cakes with the Y bone section. The Y bones disappeared in the food processer. Both ways were delicious but he kept every hammer handle he caught and if you released one no matter the size he would loose it. Those were different times, when we started to catch and release he didn't get it and never did, why fish if you didn't keep them all, and I mean all.RIP. We all miss him.

Can you send pics, wood, aluminum, birch bark? Talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Do they include paddles?

I love when they predict 80% chance of rain and it's pouring out, I think that's 100% chance. Sometimes they should look outside. But I always use it. Go to a site with Doplar radar, that's as close as you can get to know what's going on, but that's now not 5 days ahead.

Rizzo, I can comment with a degree of certainty here because I have a MotorGuide 55 lb. 24 V on my 19.5 Starcraft. It was what the boat came with used. It has a foot controlled wireless. I can't remember exactly what boat you just got from the guys on Hester St. (good people there) but mine sure is useless. It's woefully underpowered and that boat becomes a sail when any degree of wind is present. Do not downgrade to a MotorGuide. Get as high a thrust you can budget for. I found myself holding the 3 pound foot control in my hands trying to get the thing to work more times than not. Somewhat difficult to fish doing that to say the least. If it did work I would tap the pedal and look at my watch to see what day the thing would do what I asked of it. The next thing I know I'm knee deep into the Lilly pads. As Al Pacino said when playing wise guy Lefty Ruggierio, " MotorGuide? fergid abat it." I call it my hood ornament, can't use it because it drives me bonkers. My heart tells me to go out and upgrade to something I can use without pissing me off, my brain and budget says it's not until I get a new GPS or a paper route.

Is there any other job in the country where your paid for being wrong on a very regular basis ?? Yes there is, my divorce lawyer. I have a very, very successful friend from the states who was hosting a golf weekend down at his place in Ellicotville NY a few years back. The night before I was supposed to leave the weather was calling for continued thunderstorms and everything that comes with it for the next 4 days. I get a call from him to meet the gang at the Niagara Falls NY airport the next morning at 8:00. I'm always telling him I worked at Stelco I didn't own it, he doesn't take no for an answer, maybe why he's been so successful with a grade 11 education. The 8 of us were in Myrtle Beach in what seemed to be a few minutes in what I called the space shuttle. Teed off by 11:00. They say money doesn't make you happy but it can change the weather.

Busted, what do you think we were talking about in the pyrometer room when I was staring at the mass spectrometer, co2 levels in the waste gas? Mario and I thought it was a new fishfinder! PM me please.

Of course I've been dropshoting, apparently for years, just didn't call it dropshoting, vertical still fishing or bottom bouncing a pickerel rig or Lindy rig was the term. Get as vertical as possible. A pickerel rig didn't always come with the horizontal wire, beads and pre tied snelled hooks, you could make them any colour and distance apart as you wanted, and they worked very well when all else failed, still do. The pitch and retrieve guys looked down their noses at you when we were " dropshoting" The confusion for me is the hook tied directly to the main vertical line sticking strait out and up. If dropshoting is setting few 3 way swivels and running a horizontal tag well we have been dropshoting since you were a minnow Rich. We used to have a fullback, a half back and a tailback, now it's a running back, same guy. Now I'm convinced it's marketing in my humble opinion. Dropshot weights, please. A thin pencil weight so not to get hung up, wait is that a Dropshot weight? My colour C Lector always says chartreuse, always, just ask Al and Ron Linder.

Dragons Den here comes Christopher. Christopher, when do you have time to do your homework? Or have you already graduated University?

Good one, first laugh of the day goes to Rod Caster.