lew

Don't be too concerned about not getting one yet Bly, the 1st one is always the toughest but they get easier after that

Thanks fellas, my daughter got bitten by the musky bug about 3 years ago and has now become one of my regular partners in the boat and it's always a blast when she gets one, infact I'd rather she gets the fish than me.

I'm heading back up to the trailer at noon tomorrow to get the boat, spend the night, then will be heading out around 4:00 AM on Wednesday morning and arriving about 9 or so. I normally head up on the Monday (today) but musky opener is a week late this year so no sense sitting and twiddling my thumbs for 5 days, but I'm gonna stay over into next week for a few days Lookin forward to seeing everybody again.

Very very sorry to hear that news Barnie, it's tough to lose a good pal like that.

Like everyone else I spose, we got blasted with that huge electrical storm on Friday night so I figured it would shut the fish down for Saturday morning and sure enough, I never even saw a fish, at least not a musky. I didn't bother heading out early and never got on the water till around 7 yesterday morning and fished for about 4 hours, but never even had a follow, although I got a nice largemouth in a back bay but that was it and I headed back in for some lunch. I hung around the trailer for a few hours and worked on the honey-do list, then my daughter and I headed back out around 3 o'clock and by then the muskies had turned on and become really aggressive compared to the morning. I got the 1st musky in a weedflat casting a black / chartreuse bucktail, then switched over to a large yellow / red spinner bait and had another hit awhile later but never hooked up. I moved up the lake aways and had a follow from an aggressive fish but couldn't get her to hit on a figure 8 and she took off back to where she came from, so I threw the spinnerbait back at her and sure enough she followed it in again and this time she hammered it right beside the boat.....that's always a blast when they do that I hung around there for awhile but nothing was happening so I moved again and this time had a musky do what I don't recall ever seeing before. I was cranking in the same spinnerbait and about 30 feet out from the boat she blasted outta the water like a cruise missile, went about 3' in the air completely missing the bait, did a cartwheel in the air and when she hit the water, she turned and chased the bait again, and just like the last fish, she nailed it just as I was going into a figure 8 Sheri & I were both laffing so hard I could hardly grab the fish to un-clip her hahaha I had to get my boat ready for the upcoming Lakair trip so I only went out for 2 hours early this morning. I was casting another favorite weed flat and got a largemouth around 3 pounds or so and then just before I was gonna head in I got another nice musky while twitching a Double D in 10 FOW over a cabbage patch so that was a good way to end the morning before heading back in for a great Fathers Day breakfast on the deck. So the weekends fishing turned out pretty good with 4 nice muskies in the boat plus a few missed ones, a couple good largemouths, and best of all, spending time fishing with my daughter, which is always great, specially on Fathers Day !! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did

I never shop at Wal-Mart but have heard they sometimes have good deals on batteries so I took a run up to the local store this morning. I picked up a group 24 Energizer Marine starting battery with 1000 Amp cranking power. It was regular $88 on sale for $69 so hopefully it'll do the job I need and if it works 1/2 as good as the original I'll be happy. 24 is the size of my current battery so it should be good. I stopped into CTC first and told the guy in the battery department what I needed and he argued with me for 5 minutes that I need a deep cycle because it's for a boat and doesn't matter if it's for cranking a motor or not, so I walked away from him and drove over to the Parts Source, and told HIM what I needed and he knew less about batteries than CTC dood, even though he also works in the battery department. How do you get a job in retail these days when you don't even know what the heck your talkin about ?? Anyways, I'm off to the lake in a few minutes in search of Mr. Musky so I'll see y'all on Sunday and thanks again for your responses

Thanks boyz, that's what I figured, so I'm off to purchase a new battery. While I was under way, it'd register around 13.75 but drop below 10 on start-up. I sure can't complain though with getting 9 years from a battery, it pays to look after your gear from day one Still going strong with the 2 origianl deep-cycles too, but their days may be getting numbered also.

Last weekend while I was fishing, my GPS & sonar units shut down a couple times when I started my motor and I had to turn them back on again, and I'm assuming it happened because my battery is getting weak ?? The cranking battery is 9 years old and I'm replacing it before I head to Lakair next week anyway, but I just want to be sure I don't have another problem somewhere. Last month when I arrived at Quinte my battery was totally dead and I found I'd left a light switch on for a week but it re-started with no problem with a boost from my deep-cycle and seemed to charge fine after a few hours of trolling. I've heard before that a weak battery can cause electronics to shut down as there just isn't enough juice to crank the motor over, plus keep the toys running. If it matters, it's a 90 HP Merc 4 stroke, and I use a Lowrance Global map 7200, Lowrance X510c and on the bow is a Humminbird Wide-Optic Never had any problems until last weekend....any thoughts ??

I bought a new Starcraft tiller in '86 and another new one in '90 and they were both excellent boats and it's a make I would highly recommend to anyone.

Cliff, Pete told me just a couple weeks ago that he was gonna pick them up from you. I'll be talkin to him this morning and will let him know about this post incase he doesn't see it.

Mornin TJ, welcome to the best part of the day

Have a great trip Will & best of luck up there.

Cliff, it sounds like you've got the transmission concerns taken care of, but now make sure your boat trailer is up to the job too. If the bearings haven't been looked at, get'er done before you make the trek north, and also be sure your trailer tires are set at the proper pressure and that they're in good shape with no cracks or splits in the sidewalls. Don't leave your driveway without a spare tire for the trailer. You also need to double check that the lug wrench for your car wheels will also fit the lugs on your trailer wheels cause very often they're different sizes. I always carry a couple areosol cans of tire sealant and a compressor in the truck too, just incase. A flat tire on the side of a dark hiway without the proper gear is a bad situation to be in A few spare bulbs for your trailer lights is always a good idea too. Just a few extra things for ya to think about.

I've been retired for close to 8 years now but I was a fireman here in Toronto for over 32 years and it's a well known fact that firehall food is excellent, and if your that good of a cook, there may just be a place for you on the Fire Dept. You'll never get rich being a fireman, but you'll have a job that you'll enjoy going to every day of your career and there's not many jobs that can offer that. It's tough to get in, but well worth it if you can make the cut.

redfin, by hand control I assumed you meant a bowmount that was controlled by a handle rather than a foot control like in the picture below, or were you referring to an electronic remote control that's held in your hand ??

I remember watching Izumi one time and he was talkin about the same thing and brought up the same point as you, where he said the hand control gave him more stability in the boat when fishing rough water with both feet planted firmly on the floor of the boat. I spose it has it's advantages although I've always preferred the foot control myself It's a good question though and should bring up some interesting replies.

You also need to understand that many of us on this board don't find it necessary to weigh, measure, photograph and post pictures of every fish we catch, but will still often post a written report of our catches.

Your welcome steve_paul, just be sure to tie them to your boat with a long lanyard or something, they're too darned expensive to drop in the drink I use a long expandable telephone cord that works well, it was a tip I recieved from TEP

steve_ paul, I ordered mine from Saskatchewan and had them in a couple days. Don't know if $48.85 is the best price available, but I was happy with the service and it's a Canadian company. I went with the springloaded ones as I find them the best to work with. www.theringlord.com >>> tools >>>cutters >>> cobalt cutter with spring

It's always nice to have a partner in the boat, but I really enjoy fishing alone, especially in the very early morning before sunrise when nobody else is around and I've got the lake to myself, 'cept for the loons. I spend a large part of my time up at my trailer and my boat sits in the water all season. Most of my friends still work so I'm up there by myself alot during the week and spend many many hours fishing alone. It's good to have someone to yak with and share the fun of catching a biggun, but I truly do enjoy my time alone out there. I also trailer my boat to different lakes throughout the week and think nothing of spending 10-12 hours a day on the water with nobody else to talk to and am right in my glory while I'm out there. I dunno, maybe I'm just anti-social

Seeing as were talkin about war wounds I was fish'n with Musky-Man one day and got a little 35"er, and as I lifted her into the boat, she did a flip and gashed my hand open to the tune of 8 stitches........gotta watch those dinks for sure. Another time I was fishing with Chemong Rick who used to be on this board a few years back. We'd only just met for the 1st time about 30 minutes before I got this girl and she sliced my knuckle darned near to the bone with her teeth when she zigged instead of zagged and caught me off guard. You can see the blood on my left hand and my pants, but the worst part was Rick had a white floor in his boat and after I was done it looked more red than anything. I don't think I made too much of an impression with our 1st ever fish'n trip together

Sounds like a fun weekend Bill, even without a musky. You've got a long season ahead of yerself to find their hiding spots

WTG Victor and congrats on the new boat !! You'll find a whole new world of fishing now that your no longer shorebound. My 1st boat was a 6' wooden punt with a 3 hp RUDE

No offense Rich, but you obviously have never handled a big musky. I've been fishing for muskies for 35 years and have landed many 100's of them, and I STILL wouldn't hold one in my lap in order to remove the hooks, especially if I was alone in a kayak. They have enormous power, and if your holding that fish by the tail, you have no control over her head and when she starts to use her awesome strength to twist out of your grip, there's every chance she's gonna drive that protruding hook someplace you don't want to have it. As for the lip-grip, some guys use them with success while holding a fish in the water at the side of the boat while the hooks are removed. The original Boga Grip has a swivel that MAY allow the fish to twist without breaking her jaw, but I personally wouldn't trust them although others may argue that point. Some of the knock-off lip grippers do NOT swivel and if you've got it locked on a fish's jaw and she goes into a roll....which they often do....chances are her jaw will be broken. A firm grip on the gill plate is an excellent way to hold a fish's head still while hooks are removed and can be done easily in the water, and if she starts to roll, you can still maintain control of her head......usually. Not sure what the best method would be for controlling a large fish at the side of a kayak, but I think the lip-gripper may be a bad choice, specially for the fish.

They used to have an excellent reputation at one time and nobody could touch their prices on motors. When I bought my 90 Merc in '99 I shopped all over and Boatland beat the lowest price by $400. I think over the years though, the good name has slipped and I've heard some bad stuff from different friends who have purchased from them so you may want to get some opinions before you make any big $$$$ purchases. My brother purchased a new boat/motor/trailer package from them a few years back on the condition they included a spare trailer tire & mounting bracket but when he went to pick up his new rig a week later they refused to give him the spare, even though it was written in the purchase agreement. After a lengthy arguement, they offered him a USED spare and it was only after a lot "discussion" that they finally agreed to honor their end of the deal and include the lousy $100 spare & $20 bracket. I also have a friend who purchased a new 30' house trailer from them and had trouble getting warranty work covered on items that didn't work the FIRST DAY he received to trailer. Would I recommend a purchase from Boatland Canada ?? ....NOPE....but thats only my opinion.