DanD

Last fall I was looking at trying an outfitter on Dog Lake and did a bit of research on its fishability; is that a word; I guess it is too us? LOL Didn’t find much as in people’s personal experiences; other then mixed vague stories of how well they did or didn’t do. The one reply which was definitely from a disappointed person’s opinion; is that “there’s a reason it was called Dog Lake”; but I would take that with a grain of salt??? It’s likely no different then any other, new to you lake? It’ll mean time on the water to figure it out and it could take a number of visits to accomplish that; if ever? As per usual the operators most all said it’s good to excellent fishing. I did have one lodge owner tell me that “the lake can be difficult”; but they would be more then happy to personally show us the “good spots”? I was also told that if I were interested in trying for lakers, anytime after mid June, to bring my down riggers. I guess there’s a good population of lakers; but they go deep, once the weather turns warm and you’ll need the riggers to get to them; 40-60 feet down over 80 FOW? I know this isn’t of much help; I’m still interested in giving the lake a try. But because of a family member’s heath issues; who is also my summer’s fishing trip partner; we’re staying a bit south of there. Quicker to get to hospital if needed and there’s no way I’m leaving my big brother at home. Not as long as he can hold a fishing rod; frigging cancer. Temagami here we come; we’ve never fished it before either and like some of the people here have said (jokingly I hope); there aint no fish in there so stay away. LOL Dan.

I asked last week about the ice road to and from Georgina Island; thanks for all the replies and concerns. Well I can tell you first hand that I used it; along with the hundreds of other vehicles, it was/seemed fine. My Niece was also told by one of the year round residents of the island; that with them continuingly plowing it, keeping the snow clear from the road; that it had built a lot of ice and was “safe” to use. So right or wrong we drove across; didn’t see any signs of slush, pressure cracks and the road looked like a four lane highway, smooth as glass. There were hundreds of huts out there; mostly on the north side of the road. My Niece and her husband have two huts out there; my old blue tarp and plywood folding one; that they use as a portable. And a six man wood framed insulated one that they took out and planted about 1/2-3/4 mile South East of the island, North of the ice road, in about 20 FOW. The portable was only about a 1000 feet from shore, in-front of the trailer in about 5 FOW; that the girls were going to use; something about the bathroom being close by. We headed out to the larger hut the next morning at day break; set up the heater, the underwater camera and dropped our lines down. Then for the next 4 hours we watched the perch swim up to our bait, bump it with their nose and then swim away. We tried everything we could think of too get them to bite; but only two little six inchers were brought in and thrown back. There were hundreds of perch down there, with what looked like some really nice big ones in the mix. I was bouncing my jig tipped with a minnow off of their heads; it wouldn’t scare them away or cause a reaction bite; nothing seemed to work. So around lunch time we decided to head to the trailer for some eats and see how the girls were making out on the way in. Well wouldn’t you know it; they had a count of over 2 hundred perch caught, out of which about 40 that they kept in the 10-12 inch range. Needless to say after lunch we hooked on the six man hut and hauled it back into the five/six foot deep water. It was like a different day; the fish were very spooky; the slightest noise in the hut and they would scatter. Wait 10 or 15 minutes and they would come back and back in groves. Lots of dinks to pull your bait away from but there were some bigger fish there as well. At the end of the day; we didn’t limit out but had a nice sized batch of fish for supper. Turned out to be a great weekend and talk about nice having a fully functional trailer, with all the amenities as home, only a thousand feet away from the fish hut. Woke-up Sunday morning, had a coffee, got my boots and coat on and I was fishing in about 30 minutes of getting out of bed. Didn’t take many pic’s; but here are a few. Inside the trailer after the Friday night fishing strategy/drinking session. The mascot; that frigging dog grabbed a hold of one of my boots while I was riding on the quad and bit a hole through it. My Niece said that’s nothing; they have had to buy three new tires for the quad; because the dog will bite at the sidewalls and puncture them while they’re driving. I told her it would be cheaper to build him a seat and let him ride. My old folding hut; the thing has to be at least 10 years old and still going strong. This is to show how close we were to shore; that’s the trailer (centre) in the back ground Here’s a couple of the nicer sized perch; from Sunday morning. Two days worth of bed and hat head, kept the toque on my noggin. I never knew my hair could stand up in so many different directions; I looked like a punk rocker. LOL Like I said there were a ton of these little guys; that wouldn’t leave your line alone. Going to try and get up there again after the West side of the island/lake freezes up and try some deeper water. Some people were out there; but one of the island residents said they were nuts for doing so. He said there were still a bunch of slushy spots and some open water. The ice between the island and Virginia Beach was an average 12-14 inches; everywhere we punched a hole. Dan

You could try making up a smudge pot and smoke him out of the den. Worked on the skunks I had living under my front cement stoop. Get a small steel pail, cut up a sponge into small chunks and put into the pail; then soak the sponge in motor oil and set a match to it. It’ll barely flame but it’ll smolder for hours; putting out some eye stinging smoke. If by chance you do live trap this guy and plan on relocating it; be careful where. Legally you’re not supposed to relocate a trapped animal any farther then one kilometer from where it was captured. Don’t know what the fine is; but only moving him 1klm away and it won’t be long before he’s back. I know what I would likely do with it; but even a shallow grave would be hard to dig this time of year. You could call a licensed trapper to deal with the animal after you’ve trapped it $$. They have the legal right to euthanize it, if they feel that relocating it would cause harm to the animal. That’s what I did, one other time with a ground hog I trapped for my neighbor here in town. It was either that or measure out 1klm; knock on that person’s door and ask if they wanted it released in their front or back yard. LOL Dan.

Just did a google search and found this thing “The V’eed Cutter”. It looks like it could work pretty good and there seems to be quite a few outlets around Ontario that sells it. As someone else suggested; check with the Ministry, if it’s ok to cut the stuff down? Dan. http://www.cuttingedgedistributors.ca/veedcutter.html

Thanks for the replies. Well I be heading there on the weekend and I’ll likely be leaving the Avalanche on shore. Unless and this is a big unless the road looks like it’s been well travelled and I get a thumps up form the people at the bait shop. Like I said it’s the first winter that they’ve been at this trailer and they didn’t want too be like sheep and try driving across because a few others were. If the temps hold true to the forecast; it should be making ice all this week; so we’ll see when we get there Friday afternoon? I like washing my truck; but the idea of the dip method isn’t very appealing. The last time I was in a vehicle out on the ice; I had my window down and my hand on the door handle; planning my escape. You see, I dive like a shovel and swim like a brick; right to the bottom, do inflatable CO2 vests work in the cold weather/water??? Dan.

Does anyone know of a site where I can get information on the ice road condition that runs between Virginia Beach & Georgina Island? My Niece has bought a house trailer on the island last fall & has invited me up for a weekend of fishing. So far they haven’t dared driving their vehicles across; but have seen the Natives coming and going in their vehicles, for the last week of so. You would think someone like the MTO, MNR or even the school board (for the kids that live on the island) would be monitoring the road’s condition and posting it; wouldn’t you? So far I/they haven’t found anything; other then the local’s word for it, saying “it should be ok”???????? Please I know; you’re never 100% safe on the ice and we're not looking for a guarantee; we’re just wondering if there were such sites with this or some form of information. It’s not that we can’t get there, they have sleds & a quad; it just would make things easier to drive up to the trailer (If it was "safe") and unload all our crap. LOL Dan.

I’m not 100% sure on this and correct me if I'm wrong; but I’d be careful poking around inside any type of cathode ray tube (CRT) monitor. I think they have a stepper transformer in there that boosts the operating voltage of 12 volts DC to a couple of thousand volts to excite the phosphorus inside the vacuum tube (screen). I know that the monitor screens they used a few years back in Cadi’s or top end Olds where that way; killed a couple of techs because they/we needed to fiddle with things that we maybe shouldn’t? Dan.

It wouldn’t hurt to have the battery itself tested; making sure that it will accept and hold a proper charge. This little charger/maintainer might be working at 100% duty cycle trying to bring back a battery that will not fully charge? Dan.

Got this from Stomp’s Long Point Cannel 6-8 board Granger Ice Fishing 519-586-7510 They’ll be taking calls on the 27th and open on the 28th Dan.

Defiantly you have a right to be a bit pissed at this because you did the right thing and not driven after your supper and drinks. But at the same time the person that wrote the ticket didn’t know your situation and was following the town’s bylaw. If this still bugs you take a ride down to parking enforcement and they may waive the ticket, after you explain; it could happen??? Look at it this way it didn’t cost you anymore then taking a cab both ways??? That’s what we’ve been doing the last while; neither of us (wife & I) have to worry about that second, third glass (bottle) of wine. Feel proud that you two are responsible people that care; regardless of the laws!!!!!!!! Dan.

ABS brakes do not stop you and better then a non ABS vehicle. ABS will allow to steer the vehicle in a panic stop; because the wheels are not locked. In other words; if you’re in a panic stop heading towards a block wall; without ABS you’re going to hit the wall wherever. With ABS you’re still going to hit that wall but you’ll be able to pick the spot you’re going to hit. LOL Dan.

This has nothing to do with the original question; but with Lew mentioning the older tires this came to mind; how many of you remember those polyester bias ply tires. I can still remember getting in the car after it sitting for a number of hours and start driving away. The car would shake so bad from the flat spots; that you had to shut the ashtray or all the cigarette butts would be jumping out like popcorn. After 4 or 5 miles the tires would warm up and round out again. LOL Looking at today’s tires I can’t believe we accepted that, that was the best they had. Can you imagine; you’re in your brand new $2500.00 (Yes the decimal is in the right place LOL) Buick LaSabre and you turn to your buddy and say. Yea she rides real smooth as soon as the tires warm up???? LOL Dan.

I just called my wholesale supplier and they go for around the $140 - $150.00 mark depending on how the retailer sells them. (Installation and valve stems included or not) He also told me that the stock on that particular size is dwindling; because they’re discontinuing that size. Some of the larger retailers may still have in house stock on them? But the 205/65R15 is still a popular size and its over-all diameter is only .3” (point 3 of an inch) taller and .5” narrower; you’d never feel the difference. It sells about $10.00 cheaper. Dan.

I’m likely bias here because I sell Goodyear tires; but the best one (in my opinion) in an all-weather tire is their “Assurance Tripletred”. It is a directional tire with (like its name) three different tred designs in one tire. This tire has the snow flake designation as well; allowing it to be used if Ontario ever does bring in the snow tire law. They also have a 130,000klm tred life warranty; plus a $60.00 mail-in rebate on a set of four tires. Dan.

Dumb question here but I’m still kind of confused (easily done) with these floater suits; tell me if this is what they are designed to do, other then keep you afloat. They are not designed to keep you dry when you fall in; but stop the water from continually exchanging. As in once the water is in there, it stays and stops (or slows) fresh ice cold water from coming in; giving you more time before your body shuts down from the cold???? Dan.

OH yea; dangerous as all get-out but they were sure fun to build; when you’re 9, 10 too 16 years old. At the bottom of a 10 foot high drift, dig a tunnel in about 4 or 5 feet and then hollow out a room as big as you wanted. Spend the whole day digging it and then the next morning be pissed to no end that it collapsed during the night. Never once giving a thought of; what would have happened if we were in there, when that 6 feet of snow above us came crashing down. I guess a lot of us are lucky that we’re still alive, with some of the stunts we use to pull. Almost worth a new thread; what’s the dumbest thing you did, when you were invincible? LOL Dan.

Don’t worry Lew; you’ll get a chance to use your snow blower; it’s not officially winter for a couple more weeks; so don’t be getting rid of her yet. I’m on my third tank of fuel; that’s three times more then I used all last winter. Going to sneak out of the shop early today so I can clean up and move back the banks; so that I can use the whole width of the driveway. Dan.

Why not go to a fabrics store and pick up some sort of cheap course woven material, maybe even burlap (I don't know the costs)? Then sketch out a camo design on it and have the kid spray paint it to fill in the sketching? There’s water based spray paints, so you won’t have to worry about poisoning the kid. LOL Should be fairly easy and you can get him involved in doing the project. I understand it’s not netting; possibly a compromise; but then again you could cut out the holes to make it netting? Dan.

OK guys give jj a break here; I talked with him and his wife yesterday afternoon here at the shop and she was all for the new snow blower. She even has plans of selling the old one, once it’s fixed up and make a few bucks. Come on now, how many of us wouldn’t love to have a wife like that??? Hummm I need to introduce her to my wife. LOL Dan. PS; John; I sure hope the only time she got stuck in the SUV was when she was leaving the shop? If there’s an issue with those tires; let me know and we’ll work something out.

You and I may be in a minority here; but you are so right. In some European countries; it’s already law; 5 year and off the road. 5 years old and cannot be legally sold. It’s not here yet but its coming; we just haven’t killed enough people yet, for any legislation to be put forward. Do a little research and you’ll be surprised at how dangerous an old tire is; regardless of how “good” it looks or how few miles are on it. Dan.

Wanli tires? Made in China; should be enough said. As for the 50% off of manufacturers list price for a tire; that is a great marketing ploy by whoever is offering this; but I haven’t seen a tire retailer (including myself) sell a tire at list price ever. So selling tires at 50% of what you know you’ll never get; isn’t all that hard to do. Now don’t get me wrong, 700 bucks installed for those tires is a decent price, especially for that quality of tire. Dan.

For these small motors that are coming off the back of the boat anyways; do all of the regular servicing, as like what has been said. Then if it is going in the house; go get one of those large vacuum sealer bags; where you use a vacuum cleaner to suck the air out. The ones they use for things like big bed comforters. My wife has a couple that she got at home sense or some place like that and I know a 9.9 would fit inside it. No moisture worries and the wife won’t be complaining of gas & oil smells, in the basement. Dan.

Not much out of the way but Gettysburg has a lot to see; that’s if you’re into things that deal with the US Civil war. Not sure if everything would be open at this time of year (actual battle fields); we went mid summer and that was a number of years ago. At least 25 years; there might be condos there now If it’s anything like it was I could have spent a bunch more time there. Dan.

I know exactly how you feel jj no matter what we buy, what we do; there’s always a taxman around with their hand out. The only thing now is; we can see the taxes we’re paying; not like before GST, where the feds took their bite (at whatever level of tax?), at the manufacturing level and it was hidden in the purchase price. Back then you had to be a frigging accountant to figure out how much of this or that item we bought was tax. What gets me are things like what they’ve done AGAIN with tires here in Ontario and no one is saying crap about it? The “Ontario Tire Stewardship fee” of $5.84 per tire; is a fee that is again applied at the manufacturer’s level; sound familiar? No it’s not hidden but it sure is a pretty way of saying TIRE TAX! A tax that is filtered all the way down to us and guess what; we also have the privilege of paying HST on the $5.84. We have to make sure they don’t start applying this type of “fee” on other things; just because it’s the “green thing” to do. As far as I’m concerned; the only thing green about this one is the glow from the money they’re getting; it’s not from the grass or trees it’s supposed to save. Helping the tire recycling businesses get established; yea right! Why should we all be paying to help independent businesses get established? If I’m wrong; where’s the line up for me to get my cut? I have my own recycling business. I eat marigolds and crap out Pot-pourri. It’s a great line of crap; you’ll get use to the way it smells as long as you don’t look at it to closely; just like this tire fee. Sorry you got me started JJ? LOL Dan.

If it sound like tire noise and it changes while you’re turning one way; I'd say it’s likely a wheel bearing beginning to fail. Control arm bushings when failed much worse then the one pictured will make a clunking noise more so then a rhythmic noise that a tire would. Yes if they (bushings) were like this at the time of the safety inspection then no, they would not have passed; but it’s been a year? On some Escapes (if not all) the bushing are still not available on its own; you may end up buying a control arm assembly to get it. Dan.