lew

It's actually a flatsided bait used for musky fishing, infact an excellent bait with a wide, slow side to side wobble. http://www.muskyshop.com/modules/cart/navigate.php/nav_id/45

That's always been a favorite tactic of mine too Roger, and one that's produced more that a few very nice fish. From my own experience though, I've always found the outside rod, the one that speeds up, to be the one that catches the most. Sorta like a fish following a bait but won't commit until you go into the figure 8 You see any difference on which one grabs the most fish ??

I'm 15 miles north of P'Boro and we've had a burning smell in the air for awhile now too. Don't know if it's related in any way with Barrie, but who knows We've also got a blue haze in the air to go with it.

It's been alot of years since I visited Barrie, but from the description you guys are giving some of the local inhabitants, maybe that's a good thing

My last boat had a 90 HP Merc and I used the same troll plate that Bill shows in his picture above. It worked great and never any worries or hassles of bucket or drift sock ropes getting tangled with fishing gear in the dark. Slowed my boat down to almost stopped.

Good times guys

I was sorry to hear about your shop closing down awhile back Sam, but with your taxidermy skills your gonna do just fine. Some real talent showing there.

Atta boy Roger, she's a beaut for sure !! You put in your time, you got your rewards !!

I've been fishing muskies close to 40 years johnny and the ONLY one I've ever kept was the 1st one I ever caught, waaaay back then. At least I'VE been trying to do my bit not to wipe out a species

Looks like you guys had great vacation Joey with alot of nice fish. Congrats to Paul on the musky too !! The West Arm has become my favorite place for fishing anywhere in Ontario the last few years and I already can't wait for next summer. Too bad about the winds at LSC but like you say, no sense driving all that way for unfishable waters.

Always a fun day when we can have the kids teaching us a few new tricks Mike.

I used to fish that stretch of water quite abit and when a group of large boats came thru together it could get very rough. Can only imagine what it'd be like with 30 of those guys running up one behind the other.

That too Brian

That's the best part of retirement Paul, plenty of time to do whatever the heck I want to do. Cut the grass, go fish'n, pull weeds, do what the wife wants, or just sit on the back deck, put my feet up and listen to the sounds of nature

Always enjoy the "Jack" reports Simon.....who could'nt ??

I used to fish muskies with a couple buds who used Sledges alot and liked them so I went out and bought a couple. I fished them for a season but just never really took a liking to them, didn't have much confidence in them, and gave them away. A couple years later I was fishing with someone else on the Ottawa River and watched him get a 30 pounder on a white Sledge so figured it was time to give them another try. The white Sledge has now become one of my top 3 lures and gets me alot of nice fish every year. Funny how things turn around

Happy Anniversary Jacques and all the best to you & your bride. Next month is 45 years for Diane and I.

That's the bait catcher Roy

My #1 go-to musky bait is consistantly a big ole black/orange Grim Reaper spinner bait. It's usually the 1st bait in the water everyday and often the last one outta the water at the end of the day.

My son was an iron worker and the day after the buildings came down, Jim and a whole bunch of other iron workers from his union chartered a bus for New York City to help remove the girders and do whatever else they could to help in the rescue operation. They were turned back at Ground Zero though as those in charge said they were overwhelmed with help from across the U.S. The guys hung around NYC for a couple days incase they were needed but after that they just returned home again.

Thanks Ernie, that's good to hear, too bad ALOT more stuff doesn't come back over here because of quality control issues. As for the maintanance issues, I've read alot of reports where guys claim to be maintaining their tires properly but still having problems, even on fairly new tires. Just seems to be more problems with the Chinese made tires than when they were made on this side of the ocean. And Dan, I hear you on the speed issues. Darned right scary to see the speeds that some guys are towing their trailers.

Your 100% correct Roy and it always amazes me how little attention some folks pay to something sooooo important as tires.

Dan, do you think your seeing more of the Chinese made tires coming back than the American version ??

I read quite a few different fishing and boating websites and see alot of posts from guys having problems with GoodYear Marathon trailer tires that are made in China. In every post though, it seems more guys have not had any problem with theirs. My last trailer, a single axle, had the Chinese made Marathons and I put about 5000 miles on them with absolutely no problems at all. My new tandem axle trailer also has 4 Chinese made Marathons but I've only got around 1200 miles so far this season but so far, so good. I'm always very vigilant about my tires and check the pressures before EVERY trip and never use tires more than 5 years before replacing them. With all the negative posts about them though, I'm just curious if anyone here uses the Chinese marathons on their trailers and have you had any issues with them ??

10 or 12 years ago we spent a week fishing in Quebec, 40 miles or so east of Temiskiming, and probably 1/2 the pickeral we caught had the blue tinge on them.