DanD

Now don't quote me on this, but I believe overnight huts must be off the ice by the 16th. That doesn't mean that all the operators are done. There still might be a few who are willing to pull their huts out for the day (If there's the demand)? I think if you wanted to get the grandkids out then you'll still have a chance. As Brian said the weather could be very cooperative by then and you could fish outside. Then there's the whole experience of ice fishing for the first few times. Being taxied out to a hut in some form of sled or the hut itself. Where there is either wood or propane heat, seats, holes drilled, and the choice of fishing inside or out. Then there's the midday meal/snack that's heated or cooked out there. The first few times my brothers took me with them; I didn't give a crap what the fishing was like. I enjoyed the whole experience of being there with them and that they allowed me to go with them. Any fish caught were just a bonus to the day. Dan... Just to clarify; I don't just mean ice bungalows, but any hut occupied or not, can't be left out on the ice for the night after that date.

That goes without saying anymore for anywhere. I'm in a neighborhood that is very quiet, but someone stole my Avalanche right out the driveway. Got back late from Ice fishing on Simcoe. Left everything in the truck including my Skidoo in the back and all my cold-weather gear and tackle inside. Woke up the next morning went downstairs to watch some TV. An hour later my wife comes down and with surprise, she says "you're here" Then she tells me my truck isn't, she thought I went to the shop to unload the sled. NOPE!!! All gone!!! So again it doesn't matter where you live, there are low-life thieves everywhere. Just waiting for a chance to grab your stuff. How to keep the stuff safe, I have no idea? If they want it bad enough they'll get it one way or another. If we catch and retaliate, we'll likely get arrested for assault ??? Dan... Sorry forgot to mention. ENJOY YOUR NEW HOME!!!

Your two prizes/gifts were honestly earned, just for you being you!!!! Again GOOD ON YOU!!!! Dan...

As good a guy that Brian is; I'm thinking it may have something to do with the chrome-plated horseshoe up his arse???? Just joking, good on you man!!! Dan...

I can remember going smelt fishing when I was a kid. It was either at Fishers Glen or in Normandale. Both these creeks (Villages) were between Port Dover and Turkey Point on Lake Erie. A community bonfire on the beach, where everyone was invited. Two-man dragnets out off the beach and dipnets in the creek. Most everyone shared their catch, once their own buckets or bushels were full. The smelt were so thick in the streams, that I remember walking into the stream (I was 10 or 11 then) with my rubber boots (crap kickers) on, up to my knees in water; with the boots only as high as my shins. Walked out with a couple of dozen smelts in my boots. LOL My Dad who didn't fish would always come with us and most times was the most popular guy on the beach. He'd have a bunch of paper grocery bags with him. My brothers would bring him a pail of smelts, that dad would clean and wash in the creek. He'd then tear the bags into strips that could hold a handful of smelts and wrap the smelts in the paper tightly. He would then rake the fire to one side and drop a number of the packets down on the bottom of the raked fire. Before the paper could catch fire he'd cover them with glowing coals. Waited 5 or so minutes and uncover the packets. The paper was a bit burnt on the edges, but inside was the best cooked/steamed smelt you would have ever eaten. Dad and both my brothers are gone now, but these memories keep them alive for me!!! Dan...

My fish hut is/can be legally towed down the highway as a trailer. Crank-down axles to put the frame on this ice for fishing. I don't have a picture, but I wired all the external lights (For Hwy use) to the onboard 12-volt system with a 4way flasher unit. Installed this to keep me visible at night, when I heard any form of a vehicle approaching. After reading this thread maybe I was giving out the wrong message? 🛑 LOL Dan..

I don't belong to facebook and have no interest in it. But sure would like to see more of the vintage pictures. If it's a pain to do I understand; I really like the look of the buildings and the now-classic vehicles. Dan.. PS: Sorry Lew; that sunrise pic is amazing. The only time I can make a shot like that is if I pushed the camera button accidentally.

Below is a quote from the manual. So connect it to positive and negative one way. If the unit doesn't turn on. Reverse the connections at the battery. Dan... This unit has reverse polarity protection. No damage will occur if the power wires are reversed. However, the unit will not work until the wires are attached correctly.

Could someone show me this rig? Dan...

I found a user manual. Manual It definitely is a 12-volt unit and the red lead is the positive connector. So any 12-volt battery pack (8D cell battery pack?) will work. It would likely be better to get a rechargeable 12 volt supply that can handle a 3amp long-term discharge. There are all kinds of packs that you can find in places like Animalzon. (Amazon) Dan.

It has to feel good knowing something you made is working as you hoped for. Congrats to your buddy on his catch and you for supplying his new go-to bait. Dan...

Man. Now that's funny right there!!! Dan...

Put a stamp on one of those vac sealed packs. My address is ________________? It sure does look delicious. Thanks for sharing your catch and the prep you got/did!!! Dan...

That's a great fish for sure!!!! Times sure have changed though 30-40 years ago, that wasn't an abnormal fish for Nip! It is a good sign though, that they've had a chance to grow and hopefully reproduce. Again, it is a good sign that Nipissing is on its way back to being the great fishery that it once used to be. Let's just hope that the ministry can keep a handle (If possible) on commercial and (Continue with our support) with sport fishers on the road back? Be proud of that fish you have worked for it!!! Dan.

Working with the public is certainly a challenge. The entitlement mentality is growing day by day. I also call it the "wally-world" (Walmart) syndrome; whine loud enough, long enough and you may get your way. It happened so often at my garage. "my car is doing this and I've checked on google and You Tube". I want you to do this and nothing else. I'd say OK if you are sure, I'll do as you say; or would you like me to check (diagnose) the issue. A lot of times I was told to do as asked. When the "repair" didn't fix the issue, I'd still be the bad guy, with them saying "You're the mechanic". After a few incidents like this, I would tell these said customers that Canadian Tire was only a few blocks away and nicely kick their ass out of my shop! I really miss dealing with my "normal" clients, but I sure as hell don't miss the want-to-be, all knowledgeable individuals, that think their crap don't stink!!! Dan...

Glad I got out of my shop when I did, it was becoming harder and harder to follow all the (new and ever-changing) Covid rules and not piss people off. I was always asking people to wait outside; if I already had three people in the front office. Losing customers that had to be told NO MASK ON ENTRY. A number of them walked back to their vehicle and left. It's not my law and wearing a mask is doing nothing but good? As for this guy spitting at the girl; well you can't fix stupid! As for being a female at the door, it should have been one who could have defended themselves verbally or physically. My niece is five foot nothing tall and weighs 85-90Lbs soaking wet; an easy target. For her job, she had to take self-defense courses. She has gained much respect from the clients, that she has to deal with. "Uncle Danny all I had to do, is put one guy down on the ground and hold him there until he cooled off and I gained the respect of the rest in my charges" She's a prison guard at an all-male correction facility. Like she always says "dynamite comes in small packages". LOL She's my hero! Dan.

Man, that plate of fish & chips made my mouth water. The only thing (for me) that's missing is the tartar sauce. A little mayo, sweet green relish, a splash of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt & pepper. If you wanted a bit of a Cajun taste, mix in a bit of Slap Ya Mama. Dan.

I had a cheap knock-off underwater camera (it didn't last long) a few years back. Loved the thing for keeping the dink (perch) off my bait while ice fishing. It helped with the quality of my catch, but not so much in the quantity. My eldest brother (He's passed now) had the touch, he constantly outfished us every time. He went into some kind of zone when he was fishing; he was 100% concentrated on his presentation. He didn't need to see what was down there, with either a graph or camera. After 15-20 minutes without a hit, he'd be moving; sometimes 40-50 feet, others a 1/4 mile. It was as if he had a second sense, as to where and how to fish a certain location. Man do I miss him, he had so much more to teach, other's around him. Dan

I can hear you there, I won't let the guys in our group use it. Not until they are given strict instructions, as to how. Learned that the hard way. At the beginning of a new season, I always replace the blades on the auger. On our first trip out, I drilled the first 5 or 6 holes and it was going through the ice like butter; hard butter mind you. LOL A buddy said he'd take over. Yeah sure go for it, he walks over to a spot, raises it like it was Thor's hammer, and slams it on the ice. Pulls the trigger on the drill and the auger is now bouncing like a pogo stick, not biting even the slightest. He was/is a good friend, so I bit my tongue; straitened the flutes of the auger the best I could, and finish drilling the holes for the guys. Before our next trip out, my buddy shows up with a new auger to replace the bent one. Like I said he's a good friend that just screwed up that day. Dan...

I would defiantly go out with an operator that rented day huts, the first few times. This will/should give you enough of a feeling as to whether you actually like Ice fishing? An outfitter will supply you with transportation, bait, and a heated shelter. They upon request (if not already there) will drill holes outside the hut. You'll have the choice of fishing inside the hut or outside; depending on your preference; definitely try both. At the end of the day, there are no worries the hut operator will come and collect you and take you to shore. Yeah, it's a few bucks to rent a day hut, but I feel that for an inexperienced ice fisher, it's money well spent. Dan.

Have a look at this vid on a shrimp creole recipe. The guy in the vid is a bit annoying but the recipe is great. I followed the recipe as closely as I could. There's no such thing (that I found here) as holy trinity veg in the frozen section at the grocery store. So I used fresh onion, celery, and bell peppers and lightly sautéed them just to soften. I did have some of this on hand. It's a great seasoning, that is good in seafood, beef, chicken, and pork. I made up a batch of burger patties with it and they were a big hit around the BBQ. It has a nice little bit of heat to it, just to the point of knowing there's a spice there, but allows the flavor of all the ingredients to come through. Anyway, give the recipe a try. My wife said it was restaurant quality. She rarely ever complements one of my "different" recipes. Dan.

Assume set up!! I believe the car is a 1959 Chevrolet Impala. I remember a friend of my elder brother stopping at the house to show off his brand new Chevy. I also remember my Dad walking by, saying what a dumb-looking car; with those flat wings. LOL He didn't understand that it was the age of jet fighter planes. So the car designers gave the consumers wings??? Dan.

Ok, it wasn't a cougar but a Lynx or bobcat that I saw last summer. Diving out of the trailer park's lane (Heavily wooded on each side) something caught my eye and I slowed to a stop. There it was an amazing cat, about 15 feet inside the bush. It was just standing there dead still. After a bit of staring at each other, I looked down to grab my phone to take a picture. When I looked up it was gone; never made as a sound, it was like a ghost. I still wish I didn't look away but just sit there to watch this amazing animal. Dan.

That's where I'm at now that I've retired. Never knew how hard it is to make something different for supper every night. For me, it's no big deal, throw a couple of hotdogs in a pan and I'm eating in 10 minutes. That only works once every couple of months for the wife. Tonight is smothered baked pork chops, served on a bed of rice. Tomorrow I'm thinking buttered chicken. Homemade butter sauce of course; she likes curried foods but not too heavy on the spices. She's worked, raised the kids, and cooked for all these years. It's my turn to give back. Plus she's the money winner right now and I don't want to screw up my weekly allowance!!! LOL Dan.

Regardless of series or parallel circuits, depending on the application. The circuit is only as strong as the weakest battery. Yes brand new identical batteries are the best to start with; but after some time, even these batteries need to be tested individually. Making sure they have all survived being discharged and recharged numerous times. Here's a good example of what I'm saying. My golf cart we use at our trailer is a 36 volt system. 6, 6volt batteries connected in series. Being a used cart I replace all the 6 batteries with the same make and size. The cart worked perfectly for about 5 years; using a self regulating charger. After that the carts running time slowly decreased to the point that at a full charge, we wouldn't get a weekend out of that charge. Being a mechanic I have equipment to test batteries. After allowing the battery pack to fully charge, I performed a discharge test on the pack and it seemed to pass but barely. Disconnected the batteries from each other, charged and tested them individually and found that 2 of the batteries were not accepting a charge properly. They quickly fell well below the manufacturer's rating during a load test. After only replacing those 2 batteries the cart ran as intended. Yes eventually I replace all the batteries again; but by doing so I added a few year worth of use with the original batteries that I installed. Dan.