lew

Looks like that ole boy has had a tough life Roger, but at least you got into a couple fish.We were over on GBay Saturday but other than one follow and a couple pike that was it for us for the day. The Upper Niagara musky trip will be Dec 13th this year, hope your gonna join us as usual ??

Congrats on an excellent night and PB's for both the salmon and the musky.

A fat 50"er is a trophy for any serious musky fisherman, but for these 2 guys to hook and then land it on their very 1st attempt, and then to also release it succesfully is absolutely fantastic and congratulations to the pair of them. Well done boyz

Thanks Wayne, that's a couple nice fish.

Sorry I missed you up at Lakair HD as I had to head out un-expectedly, but it's good to hear you enjoyed your 1st rtip up there so much. I'm up there several times a year so I'm sure we'll meet up sometime next year. Also good to see you boyz got into some real nice fish.

Brian, the mechanic say the whole problem is with the helm itself and replacing that alone will fix everything up like new again.

Well, no horror stories from anyone so I guess I'll just go ahead and do the job myself. Ernie & Rob, thanks to both of you for the offer of tools but I've got that covered myself but it was certainly appreciated......more than generous of the pair of you !! My boat will be spending the winter in a nice dry barn and I'll be doing the work in there sometime early next spring.

I'm starting to get some play in the steering column on my '99 Crestliner and can move the steering wheel up, down & sideways about 1/2" now. I can lay under the console and when I move the steering wheel up and down I can see it moving where it enters the helm and even where it comes out the back slightly and has a cap on it. I pulled the wheel & bezel thinking I could possibly tighten the bolts but the problem appears to be inside the helm itself and I was told by a marine mechanic that the bushings in the helm are shot and I need to have the entire helm replaced, but that's understandable seeing as the boat is 9 years old with plenty of good miles on her. The mechanic claims it's a huge job and will do it for $300 plus $85 for the helm plus taxes. I dunno, but to me it doesn't appear to be that big of a job and I could do it myself but perhaps I'm missing something here. The OEM helm is a Safe-T Steer and I've been told to pull the cotter pin and turn the wheel full over to release the steering cable, then undo the bolts holding the unit and pull it out, then install the new unit, slide the cable back in and replace the cotter pin and I'm good to go. I called Crestliner and they'll deliver the proper helm to me, all in, for about $100. Is it as simple as it sounds or do I need to give the mechanic $300 This is basically what I'm replacing. Any thoughts ??

So very often on this board we'll have folks post a thread whining cause they've got the sniffles or a cold or a stuffy nose, then others will come on and compare their sniffles to the others to see whose the sickest. Seeing folks like Clay sorta puts things in perspective. Sure hope he gets everything he deserves.

You've always been an asset to this board Glen, good having you around.

Ahhh yes, Up-Spirits , a wonderful time of day that I remember so well

Always good to see you Dawg, sorry I had to bail out early though. See you again in June.

I've been using both Premiers & Avids for muskies for a few years now but am gradually switching them all over to Compres. It's a personal choice but I'm just liking the Compres alot more lately, infact I just sold an Avid to purchase another Compre. As Raf suggested, give some thought to moving up to at least a 7' 6" and you won't be dissappointed in your choice as the longer rod just makes everything better. For the reels, I'm also a fan of Shimano and have been extremely happy with my 400 CT's and then this season I've also added a 400 TE (on a new 7' 6" Compre) and it's by far the nicest casting rod/reel combo I've ever used. I like a dedicated rod/reel for trolling and use a Shimano Tekota 600LC Nothing wrong with the Abu C3 and it's a reel that will serve you well for a long time. As was mentioned before, it may not be as purdy or smooth as a Calcutta, but it's tough as nails and will do the job with no problems if that's the choice you make. Here's a thought though, you've got the $170 left over from your bonus after you purchase your rod, which in a way is "free" money, so why not add a bit more to it and move up to one of the Calcuttas ?? As I say, the C3 is a decent reel, but if you purchase it, then have the opportunity to try a friends Calcutta you'll be kicking yourself for not making the move when you had the chance in the 1st place.........sorta like onefootitis in a boat Never tried the 300 Curado, but have heard good things about them. Please let us know what you decide on.

Great wrap-up of the week Joey, thanks !! Always good spending time with you guys and I was really sorry that I had to leave 4 days early, but as you know I had things to take care of, but thankfully, everything worked out well. Looks like I missed out on a good party on Saturday night, unfortunately. Really enjoyed fishing with you, it was just unfortunate that those darned winds kept us from fishing those islands we headed for, but we'll get one of those big girls next June Roger & I had the same problems with the winds on Friday morning. Here's a good shot of you just before you landed the paddle See you guys in November.

The trucks loaded and I'm outta here in a couple hours. I'll be heading up to the trailer this morning to get the boat ready and get a few chores done, then I'll spend the night there and head off to the camp very early tomorrow morning. Weather looks like it's gonna be excellent for us up there all week long. Drive careful boyz and I'll see everyone up there when you arrive. I'll be back home around the 23rd ............maybe

Dang Jed, what would Granny say if'n she knew you were gettin yer wild game from Loblaws

Sposed to get breezy overnight but the heavy rain warning has been lifted in the Toronto area and then the sun is gonna come out tomorrow and be nice for all of next week. We don't need any of that lousy weather on the West Arm for the next 7 days

Hey Paul, I still peck at the key board like a chicken lookin for supper

It's good to leave the fish's head in the water as much as possible but sometimes she has to come out in order to get at deep set hooks, whether to pull them loose or cut them off. You can get a very secure hold of her with your hand gripping her gill plate and it makes it much easier and often safer to remove the hooks that way. Very often she can stay in the water with only her head out which is much more preferable than holding her vertically by the gill plate. She may still thrash and roll, but without too much pressure you can control her safely. I always like to grab the gill plate on the opposite side of her head than the hooks. Just be very careful cause bad stuff can happen faster than you can say ouch.

Perhaps Lake Simcoe ?? I haven't fished it in decades but lot's of our members are frequent visitors there and someone will be able to help you out. Welcome to the board

I only use a spinning reel 3 days a year but it's a Shimano Sahara 4000 and for less than $100 it's an excellent reel, and for the amount it gets used it'll probably last me another 70 years I've got it on a Shimano V-rod which is also fantastic but the've been discontinued. Most of my fishing gear is Shimano and I've never had an issue with any of it.

hahahaha, your more than welcome FOTB Good to hear I played a part in your joining this board

I've probably already missed you Joey, but if not I'll see you guys at 10 AM Tuesday Leave a couple muskies for me, will ya please Drive careful

Thanks DANIMAL & Bernie, that makes sense, this is the 1st time I've ever heard of it being illegal.

I'm not a hunter so am not familiar with the rules & regs, but why is it illegal to buy bucktail ??