Old Ironmaker

Lake Erie is ice free until you get to ice booms in Buffalo and that includes the inner bay of Long Point, the Grand River is free of ice as well from the Caledonia Dam to Port Maitland. All ice gone on the Niagara peninsula including Hamilton Harbor.

I agree buy new. Budget yourself around $200.00 for a very good entry level sonar, less for black and white. You say it's your first boat, a GPS unit is a safety feature today, not just a luxury. For $661.03 including tax to be exact you can get a very good sonar/GPS combo, including chip. Go to the Sail Store website and there you will find a Hummingbird 5"screen size combo that combines sonar and GPS that includes a Navionics card which most GPS manufacturers do not include in the price other than Garmin. If you are new to boating and the boat is used a GPS combo is even more important, you need to know sonar will give you the depth where you are, GPS will give you the depth of where you are going. It will mark your path of travel, if you didn,t bottom out on the way out follow the same path back and you are fairly sure you won't bottom out on your return. Most importantly It will give you and your loved ones real peace of mind knowing if you need assistance someone will know exactly where you are down to a few yards. The unit you are going to look for at Sail is, Hummingbird 597ciHD Combo with Navionics $584.99 That is a 5" high definition screen, all you need plus many features including boat speed, water temperature and depth in large block numbers at the bottom of the screen which I just love. So if we price the sonar alone at $200.00 and the Navionics chips go for around $200.00 that's $184.99 for the GPS unit, what a deal. A few years ago you where looking at around $1000.00 for something similar with far less capability, if I can remember that far back. Make sure you get the Great Lakes on your card for The Niagara and Detroit rivers. Not 100% sure about the card included in the Hummingbird but my Garmin chip shows these rivers with my Great Lakes card. if you can't swing the 600 bucks and we have all been there, I have a Eagle Ultra portable that can be mounted permanently I can part with. I fish Erie and that's all I need, could spend $1200.00 or more plus the cost of a Navionics cardfor basically the same unit other than big screen and side scanning.

Welcome. You certainly are brave, admitting one has an addiction is the first step to recovery. I have heard that one addiction could lead to others. Next thing you know you may start golfing. as well you can lose your job, we don't want your types anywhere around our children.

I can't comment on the boats as I' not familiar with either but can say you are going to buy an 18 footer by the time your finished and up the engine to 115HP. There is no prescription drug for twofootittis, incurable unfortunately, but not fatal. You will be happy with the full windscreen on big water like St. Clair.

Once again some high quality photos to be proud of Joey. I never was one to identify birds and am impressed by those who can. Where I grew up we had 2 species of birds, the black variety and those that were brown. Honest to goodness story. finally got outdoors other on than a football field when I was about 22, were out on a golfcourse and asked my buddy, " Mario what kind of bird is that on the fence?" which one?, " the black one with the red wings", I swear.

As the kids say Taro is " da bomb ", your going to be seeing a lot more of him I predict. his personality is unique, I can listen to his honest enthusiasm all day long. I think he will get his own gig if there is a smart producer out there, but you're going to love him or hate him. His charter service is about to explode. Mark Krupa is an outdoor writer and photographer, he is also a struggling Canadian actor, have seen him in few Canadian movies, television episodes and direct to video releases. I agree the production quality of his shows are far better than most shot in HD.

Yes of course now that I look closer and the boom has written on it danger dam ahead, thanks, and love your video of the flying fish.

Love Fishing Adventurer, caught an episode today on "rad x" network. Kayak fishing with Montréal skyline in the background. One guy actually reached down while wading and lifted out a Sturgeon about 3' long, very neat.

Chessy you are correct when you say you learn by asking questions. What is the purpose of the boom? What do you mean lead people to shore, who may get stuck on it. Why would somebody be on it? I probably would not ask however why only 2 people working while 12 watch. Otherwise that's all I would be doing when I am driving around the county. (that's a laugh out loud comment)

I get more info from JP DeRosa (sic) than wandering around Gander Mountain for 2 hours. As far as Italo, man he's really the only person in the world I would like to put on the end of a line and troll for a few hours. I know some people that know him personally and apparently he is as irritating in real life as on TV. Only in real life he preaches his ministry to boot, he is a jack of all trades, did you know he is a teaching golf professional as well as someone that sells a different line of boats every year? Another reason Al Linder who used to be my hero has lost a viewer, I don't need a catechism class at the end of every show. Can't stand the west coast shows. Watching a guy troll for a half hour isn't entertaining for me. I just realized I haven't watched WFN for months, why exactly am I paying for it? Anyone out there want to produce a real fishing show? The one where a bunch of guys spend a week together at a camp once a year, make an excuse for not to go fishing, go into town to watch the peelers, get into a fight with the locals, go back to camp, make an excuse not to go fishing, drink some more, play euchre and get into a fight with each other. Now that is a real Canadian fishing show.

Judging by the pic could be a river. You didn't get that baby on the Lynn, or maybe you did! Great bucket kid.

Has anyone ever checked to be sure, now that would be anal!

Wow, never seen that before, a pike taking a smaller pike sideways but not a bass taking one the same size head first. I don't think it's a feeding thing, most likely 2 males one protecting a bed trying to kill the other. Has to be aggressive behavior. All I can say is wow. Thanks woodenboater, great video, I don't think it's doctored, it looks real for sure but with what they can do with computers can we be sure? If it is CGI the guy should win an Emmy.

Beagledad, Ok, I hear you. There are always going to be the guys that fish to eat, nothing will change that, in generations to come as catch, possession limits drop, slot sizes get tighter the next generation will accept it as normal. Just as we started to catch and release in the late 70's my father in law and uncles wanted to throttle us for letting a very good fish go. These guys grew up during the great depression. I've seen them fillet largemouth the size of your hand, and yes yanks seem to be the worse offenders. I've seen it first hand, half of my relatives are American, I'm going to catch holy hell for that statement. If you had food in hand you didn't throw it away, simple as that. And you never let a big pike go, you opened the pike up and froze as many walleye fillets in that would fit. That was the mentality, and if any of those old timers still fish they could care less about a slot limit. So you can thank them for the rules on transporting fish with skin on it. Do you know how many fights we have had when they want to bring back as many walleye that would fit in a cooler in my new truck. What da ya mean they can take your truck for a few pickerel? We go to a 300 acre lake in upstate NY every year for Pike opener, more of a family reunion. Big fish of the weekend was 15 pounds 25 years ago, now it's lucky if you get a 3 pounder. And guess what they fillet hammer handles and say the fishing isn't what it used to be!!!!!!! No limit on crappie, so they tell me, and fillet every minnow that ends up in the boat. I hope they all live forever, but I bet the fishing gets better when the WW2 vets are gone.

Good to know they have 2 dogs, that sure makes renting a place a bit more difficult. That is some very helpful info. Give us the W5, who, what, when, where ,why? Much easier to find a place, it will be much easier knowing a rural area is a consideration. Some quick questions for example. How far are they willing to commute? Is it a single family home they are looking for vs. attached condo, townhouse? Are they looking for a large yard or acreage? Again and most important, what is their budget? No sense looking if we don't know how much they can afford. Need more info big guy. Thinking about it yes they are going to be there and have the time to sell a truck and trailer or a cube van once they have settled in. Good option. It's very charitable to offer cash, many here can afford it but they are both educated professionals that don't seem to be in dire straits. Do what your heart tells you to but I personally believe these two kids don't need charity and others that truly need it would be helped by giving to the charity of your choice, a women's shelter comes to mind or your local food bank. Just my opinion.

???????? Translation please. I know plenty of walleye guys on Balsam whom don't kill everything they catch. In fact I'm one of them.

Woodenboater, you sure hit a nerve with this thread, 99 replies in a few days. Crosshairs you said 40000 Walleye is nothing compared to the 80000 plus angler harvest coming out, well it isn't nothing it's 50% if my dollar store calculator is working. Also you talk about " your government ", it's your government as well, no matter how much you wish it wasn't. It was my government that threw my grandfather in an internment camp in Pettawawa which is a nice word for POW camp in 1939 and held him there until 1945 actually 3 months after VE day, it didn't matter he took a piece of shrapnel in the skull fighting in WW1 for the Brits as a Canadian. We all have our political beefs and beliefs but don't need to harp on injustices forever.

Big Cliff, I haven't posted because I hate promising something that I can't make happen. To make a long story short I have brother and sis in law out in Sackville just outside the city of Halifax. Dave has a business there and was born and bred. He did have rental properties but sold them before the recession. He said 3 bedrooms are hard to find but will ask around, but needs what they plan on budgeting for not including utilities. Good point. Also looking online is their best bet. He is in Halifax almost daily and his business takes him all over the city. If they find something they are interested in he is willing to take a ride by and check it out. Another good point is that Halifax is like any other city there are places you would want to live in and places you don't want to be in after dark. With him knowing every neighborhood he will be able to tell if it's somewhere one would want to live in just by the address. He said to check out rentals in Dartmouth which neighbours Halifax. Less expensive for same accommodations. Like Burlington and Hamilton. As far as moving I agree that hiring a mover may cost less in the long run. That " Cheapest Way " sounds interesting. Liability insurance coverage and references are key when hiring a mover. I drove out a few years ago in my new Silverado when gas was $1.05 and if I remember correctly fuel ran around $1000.00 and by the time I got to Halifax gas was about 30 cents more, plus motels for 5 nights was around $500.00, I know we have to eat whether home or away but I don't eat out 3 times a day, Tim Horton's, Subway and Mickey D's is going to be $50.00 minimum a day on the road. I personally always make sandwiches from scratch and buy salads when on the road more for health reasons than convenience. So one needs to take all expenses into consideration. I would look into driving a U Haul cube out, leave it there and fly back. Crunch the numbers. By the time you factor in all costs it might be less, even if it's around the same you are saving time as well as the wear and tear on a personal vehicle. I personally would never buy something here and hope to sell upon arrival unless I had someone at the other end to do it for me. As well any vehicle I drove a long distance better get me there without worrying about dropping a tranny etc. Especially pulling a load. I'm sure you know yourself how ridiculous repairs are today. PM me for more details and I'll give you my phone number. Johnny D

Sorry, but to think hospital parking lots are maintained at higher levels than any other municipal or private lot with regard to liability issues is ridiculous. As someone that cleared snow for a bud that is in the landscaping business I can tell you no extra care was taken for these lots than any other. They all complained when snow wasn't piled high enough because they lost valuable spots they could charge for not because their due diligence standards were any higher than others.

The smallest nest as close as 15 feet from my beach, have seen them there a week after opening when we had a mild winter and gone 2 weeks before opening after a long winter. Unpredictable. And Christopher, your too young to have seen anything. Yes, that's a laugh out loud comment.

Yes it does. I equate comfort as a factor in performance not just speed, handling, or fishabilty amongst many others.

Tayzak, Tell me you misspoke when you say you are going to target smallmouth before the last Saturday in June, please.

Big cats 20 plus pounders on the Grand River asap. A rod a reel, 3/4 or 1 Oz weight, a circle hook and a bag of shrimp, can't get much simpler than that. And you can eat the bait at the end of the day.

Thanks Big Cliff, much appreciated, will take a look.

Anger, I didn't suggest a deep V for you, what I was trying to say is buy the rig best suited for the conditions you will be fishing in. I would love to be able to maneuver into a back bay for Bass, but can't, we fish big water 99% of the time so that's the boat I bought. Cousin fishes slop etc.99% of the time so a bass boat is what he chose.