Old Ironmaker

It really looks like you guys had a great time. I don't know what I was looking at early, sunrise? Better than those infrared cameras. Yep sunrise. How do you beat that? I was saying the last 3 or 4 days here in Southern ON. was perfect weather to hit the Southern tier in Western NY for downhill skiing, or even Blue Mountain, -2 to + 2 C. Love Ticha's new cars 2 glass roofs on the top of her Kia to have that Sun kiss this ugly mug. Nothing like skiing granular in March in short sleeves. You better know how though. Getting a face full of granular at a slow 30 KPH hurts and leaves a mark. OK, the data is in. It has been scientifically proven you both have faces for radio. You sure know how to fish, no argument there whatsoever, but your ACTRA card is not in the mail anytime soon. Johnny D Brian you know I am just trying to have a laugh. I know who can and can not after all these years. If someone doesn't know my sometimes not so funny humour they would think I am an ass, and they wouldn't be too far off. I have a saying of course. " There are times I may say something stupid to be funny, or I just may be saying something stupid."

Welcome to OFC rockin-steelhead. You are getting into the swing of things here early. That's what OFC is all about. Thanks for the offer of help, it's what OFC is all about, not just talking about fishing and the big one that got away. Again welcome aboard.

Good.

Gino, if you can wash the dishes you can clean a carb if you can get the carb off. It ain't Rocket Science. You Tube is your friend. Should you wish I can walk you through it. PM me if you wish Gino. There are many others here that can help you with it as well. Before you even take a tumb rench to her, why do you think you need the carb cleaned. It isn't a bad idea to clean the carb regularly as P.M. I find 2 strokes and bad, old, cheap unconditioned gas makes carb cleaning all the more important. If I were you I would join iboats.com. Those guys are good, really good. They would be able to walk you through it step by step, bolt by bolt, screw by screw. They have the patience of Jobe. They may even have a video for you. Like I said it's pretty simple. They don't always agree but they are very helpful. Kinda' like the folks around here Gino. There is a member here that would do it for you free of cost, just to show you how to do it. Big Cliff. Big man, but an even bigger heart.

I realize you aren't close Gino. We rebuilt a StarCraft glasser over the last month where the floor was absolutely rotted to the core. I'm surprised the I/O didn't break through the hull it was so bad. The gent is from west of St. Thomas, no one would touch it from Sarnia to, well Dunnville. Good luck Gino.

We do some marine repairs here outside of Dunnville On. I'm not the marine mechanic, I'm the parts expeditor and The Ironmaking Lunch Chef with a major in Boat Detailing. I have no idea why guys ask to do work on their boats when the Maple Sap is being gathered then complain the boat won be ready for the May 24 weekend, or earlier. Why not bring it in at the end of Fall or early winter at least? No way the Marine Whisperer would get to it until the end of April, maybe. A guy came in with a 2 page list of some major problems and "I need it by May 1st!." Asked when the last time the boat ran he says, "Not more than 5 or 6 years ago at the most, but maybe 7." And the thing is full of twigs and leaves. It's tough to turn away business but sometimes you have to rather than give a guy a line of Bull. For any of you young fellas have good mechanical and a good sence of business, take the Marine Mechanics course and open a business within 30 KMS of a Great Lake. If you are any good at it you can write your own ticket if you can budget, have a good business plan and execute that plan. Oh and work like Hell and not complain. I can complain I'm just the cook.

Deep Cell Marine batteries aren't just designed to hold a charge longer, just as are the Marine cranking batteries are built to be more robust to take the pounding a boat will take. My question would be does a Golf Cart battery meet the same requirement as a marine battery? I have learned here on OFC that the marine batteries have thicker cell walls and are much more resistant to shock. A boat battery can be used in a car or truck but not vice versa. Off roaders use the more robust marine batteries I believe.

Not just in case, a MUST for a CO monitor. Yes a few 6V batteries operated may save your life. I know of no 12V booster pac that will last more than a few car/truck/boat battery boosts depending on the compression of the engine. not as a long term heat source. What Outdoorsman doesn't love the smell of a burning log? You don't that's who. If this is going to be for an extended period of time and not just a weekend here and there I would install a permanent vent to take the waste gases out and away from the trailer. Install a few Solar panels to start and then add on as you require more electric energy. I have a little 1 burner Coleman stove we cook on in a well ventilated hut. It's strange but in many US states a person can heat t heir entire home with gas burners that have zero venting and be deemed to be safe. ( I personally don't think it is the safest thing to do), but as soon as you cross the border into Ontario they are unsafe. A question I have always had and HVAC guys and safety experts including me have not been able to answer is this. " Why can I not legally heat a home with an unvented gas heater but when cooking a big meal I can have 5 burners on full and an oven at 500F and CO isn't an issue. I have a CO detector in the kitchen and it has never alarmed except to test. Why? The room is very, very tight too. I know CO will kill you if you use a gas BBQ indoors including a garage (low efficiency=higher % of CO in waste gas) but all that unvented waste gas in a Kitchen doesn't,,,,, usually.

What a monster. I live vicariously through your adventures these days. I need 2 or 3 days rest after dragging in big Erie Walleye now, 8 pounders not 80 pounders. I have tried for years in The Gulf of Florida, came close but never hooked into one. When you see the sheer enormity of a mature Cuda I second guess myself as to not hooking one is such a bad thing. I still have back and shoulder pain from a Giant Grouper and I was told it was a baby. I have friends that also wave their professional fees for me. Sometimes I think it may be cheaper to pay for their services in cash rather than goodies including Louis XIII Cognac and Cubans. (The cigars not the people) edit: Misfish would be proud of you showing what can be caught in a blow up Pool toy. I hope giant angry toothy critters don't like the taste of rubber.

Of course you have to pay to fish now, the $500.00 a night for rooms and I have no idea how much a pass is now isn't enough. It wasn't cheap 25 years ago. I hope I don't get that knock on the door and there are 6 little kids yelling " Grandpa, where you been????!!!!!!" Actually that would be great. Hope to see you soon Bruce. Put a thread for the Hamilton swap meet up here too.

NO FISHING!!!!!! Disney World has world class Largemouth in those ponds. I caught a few many years ago, when I was young and handsome. As for towing around those beauties for what I know you paid you could have had a fly in trip to Lynn Lake MN. And by the way, no cheating selling your wares with one of those cuties in your arm, no cheating Bruce. Hope to see you there. I'll remember to bring some tip money for your little helpers.

Yes I agree. Don't lip that fish Canuck! I am amazed at the quality of video we can get now for a few hundred bucks. Not that long ago a film crew and a Chopper would cost many thou to capture what your buddy got there. My kudos to him Dave.

Are you going to be at the Swap in Ancaster this month B.? I'm sure you will. I need some of those miracle jigs to flip to my buddies. By the way how much work did you get done down in FLA? I know I didn't get a lick of work done when we were down.

Are we having information overload these days? I personally think so , especially when it comes to fishing. We chase migrating Walleye here on Erie. They do travel traditional routes but I have found those routes can vary by hundreds of meters or more from day to day, week to week and year to year, heck it changes hour to hour. Wind, light and lower water temps change so often a waypoint from last year isn't going to help. It is the travel of the baitfish that determines the location of the gamefish. 1 waypoint will put me in the general area, 1 not 100. In my experience that also rings true for Perch and Bass. They will be close by, usually. So I don't need a waypoint for every time we hook a fish, I know guys that do and go back to the exact spot and are scratching their heads because this is where we got them last week or last year. I have a old pal in his 70's who's screen isn't readable because it is covered in waypoints and squiggly lines, I offered to clear some 5 years old or older, his response was "I'll kill ya." that made me laugh silently to myself. LSTM? In my humble opinion only. 57 years of developing humble opinions on fishing and other stuff for 63.

I have found braid works best with some Mono backing on the reel. It co operates much better. Braid will dig into itself, the backing makes it harder to do that. Braid will nick and break down easily when it comes in contact with rocks and some tough structure ever. I have a reel loaded with braid for so long I can't remember what brand. Has to be 10 years at least.

Some real answers from an Insurance person. I know I have things covered besides the basic loss from the home policy. Like some jewelry beyond the basic loss where we needed photos and appraisals that were required. Ticha's ring, a few Championship rings and my Nono's and Dad's antique watches and Military Medals, Ticha's Grandmothers and Mom's stuff. No need for anyone to come snoop here it's all in a safety deposit box. Feel free to take my Walmart 20 buck fashion watches right next to my Pit Bulls food bowl. Talking about insurance my broker who I fished with out here a few times told me to take pics of all my tackle, electronics, boat accessories and rods and keep them on a disc outside the home in case of fire. Heck 3 fenders, an anchor and 200' feet of quality rope, a marine fire extinguisher, a booster pack, a simple GPS combo and 2 more sonars, a good compass, 2 inflatables, 2 good quality PDF's, a simple tool kit, Maui Joe glasses, a good safety/first aid kit, a blood glucose tester, a spare prop, a Smart phone. I'll stop there and that is close to or more than $2500.00 plus HST to replace. 2/3 the cost of Akri's boat. I venture a guess once all that stuff is aboard a $3000.00 boat is closer to 6 grand than 3 grand not including the weapons of mass destruction. Another grand maybe, more? $500.00 bucks for a survey may be a good financial move after all Akrisoner. I forgot the CD of "Oh Brother Are Out Thou?" By The Soggy Bottom Boys, priceless.

I know I said I wouldn't insure it, I meant fully insure it. I would surely try and get some liability through homeowners at the very least. You sink the boat big willy, you are out 3 grand, if you run into a 100K Ranger by accident, a broken throttle cable, a stuck steering cable, I can list many reasons, well a few at least then "Houston we have a problem." Just kiss one of those glitter covered fancy boats at the ramp will cost big bucks. Much more than a survey I bet. I'm sure there will be a day liability on all vehicles off road and on water will be mandatory. I know I don't want some duffus to T bone my boat with his Jet Ski or 12 foot tinny. Who's going to reimburse me? No one most likely. I don't want to think if I accidently injure a family by accident.

I wouldn't insure it either. For 400 bucks a year I get 14K loss and a million in liability through my homeowners. With my life experiences I have heard a number of horror stories about people I know that either weren't insured or thought they were. The story was 30 years ago my parents neighbour had friends over to shingle a story and 1/2 house. A young kid fell, ended up in a chair for life, paraplegic. The insurance paid out 1 million, the family had to liquidate everything they owed including their home and this guys going to pay 30% of his wages and his EX wife will do the same for the rest of their lives. The kid was 16 and the homeowners were in their mid 20's then. 2 families devastated for life to save what? A few bucks in qualified labour? And they had insurance. Tragic story. I would want to have some liability insurance at the least on my boat. Accidents happen and I wouldn't want to risk any equity in my home. Today I don't think court will award a plaintiff everything a family has. I hope not.

Like Baseball legend Yogi Berra once said about insurance "When ya got it ya don't need it and it's the same when ya don't got it."

Thanks John, that would be interesting. The Hamilton Bass Masters swap meet is on Sat. March 23rd at the Ancaster Fair Grounds. Get there early or be 6 deep at the tables. I find things are picked over by 1PM but you still can get some great deals at the end of the show as guys don't really want to lug stuff back home and they have time to talk to you then. Last year I thought we got there early but HTHM was already walking to the parking lot with some rods in hand. Many of our guys are there every year.

I get it Ohio, was being facetious. When I was on a visit to a Steel plant in Gary Indiana in the 80's the Shift Foreman I was with carried a weapon, many workers did. After being there for 2 days I clearly understood why. No one expects that when you walk around a plant and turn a corner in the dead of night you will be met by thugs that will rob you of anything you have on you, anything. We here Canada just don't see or understand the underbelly of some, and I repeat some places not just in the USA.

They are selling off the land piece meal, cash is King. All that land was never meant to be developed, no neighbours means no complaints about noise and emissions. I worked at Lake Erie Development as a Grad Trainee in 77'. You could cut the anticipation of a great new world with a knife. 23 year olds were buying new homes as long as it was south of the and River, trucks and cars, a kid with Grade 12 1/2 could get into a Grad program with a bunch of whiz kids, not a single person, guy or gal I knew didn't have a good full time job making good coin including apprenticeships in all trades. One of my young co workers was a graduate of the Military College with a major in something called Computer Sciences. I am just g lad

Magnificent my good Lad. I was you 30 years ago. Fishing all across the world in warm sunny clime. And I didn't wear a shirt or cover my face either. Now when I wake up I have a new spot on my face and forehead where it looks like someone took a brown Bingo dabber to me. Cover up dear Sir. Man I sound like my Mom!

What about your gun Ohio? When I was a kid I could tell when and if the plates were issued in Hamilton based on the letters and numbers, still can, that skill and 2 bucks will get you a Horton's coffee. Actually it started a few nice conversations down in Florida or in far off places in Ontario like Oakville. The Hamilton Police must have gotten new plates all at the same time. The old beater undercover cop cars in the 70's all had nice shiny new plates on them in sequence and we could see them coming from a block away. I mentioned that to a buddy that joined the force, he told the Chief, they must have been impressed because 30 years latter he became Chief of Police in Hamilton.

4 to 6 feet is what I tie as well. You can loose a few inches and have plenty left as GBW said. As far as line I have 6 spinning rods ready to go based on what we are going for and each will have anything from braid to 100% Flouro. My light and ultra light for Perch has good old Stren Mono on them, 4 lb. I tie 6lb Flouro to the Mustad hooks on the rigs. (For any newbies that buy Pickerel rigs throw away the cheap line and hooks and tie your own good quality line and hooks on)