lew

WTG Shawn, it's always good when a plan comes together !! Nice to see the new boat is working out so well for you too.

Good to have you back Tom, you've been missed around here.

I could possibly be talked into making a drive up from the trailer Saturday evening

The day after the attack, I was watching CNN and they were reporting from some Middle Eastern country......don't remember now which one and it doesn't really matter I spose......and it showed the people rejoycing in the street and celebrating the attack. Then the camera moved to show a small girl about 5 years old, dancing and cheering and singing because they'd murdered so many innocent people. I'll never forget that scene and it almost made me cry to think that a small child could be taught such hatred at such a young age, and she didn't even know why she hated an entire civilization, but was so happy that so many had died. In a couple years she'll probably be one of the suicide bombers......so very sad......

Wayne, I was away for awhile and missed this thread, and just found it today while catching up on old news. Wow, that's a scary story, but fortunately it had a happy and safe ending to it, but it sure could have gone the other way if you, and everybody else involved, hadn't done everything just right. Sorta makes you think somebody really IS looking over our shoulder sometimes, and steering us in the right direction, doesn't it ?? I enjoy fishing alone, and often it's in very nasty weather and very often it's after dark, but I NEVER wear a PFD.....until this year. I was fishing the West Arm of Nippissing alone last month in extremely rough water and decided maybe I should wear a PFD, and instantely felt safer and more comfortable, and since then I always wear it when things get nasty. Just last Friday I crossed all of Stoney Lake, then ran the entire length of Clear Lake alone in 50 - 60 KPH winds and 3-4' waves, and the 1st thing I did was don my PFD Thanks for the reminder Wayne, and maybe now, more of us will think smarter too after reading your post. From one Dad to another, I know how you felt.

Thanks JohnnyB, I always look forward to your fish'n reports Last time I fished Chemong & Upper Buck, back in July, the weeds were in terrible shape for the most part, very brown, slimey and generally not condusive to holding decent fish. I managed 3 muskies for the day, but spent most of my 10 hour day looking for healthy weeds, rather than fishing. I'm fishing those lakes again next Monday, plus Pigeon, and am wondering how things are now, have they greened up at all, and hows the water clarity ??

I fished Stoney last Friday and the lake is in excellent shape, bright green, healthy weeds and nice clean water. Some of the shallower weeds are slime covered, but once you get down a few feet everything is good. Water temps ranged from about 67-70 F I'd suggest coming east of Burliegh to the Hells Gate area and work the many, many islands you'll see there, specially the ones the have green weed surrounding them and deep water not too far away. You'll find some deep channels all thru the area winding around the rocks. There are also many humps in the area that rise up from the bottom and drop off again very quickly, and many that have good weed growth around them and are definetely worth trolling around or casting over. Large weighted Suicks, Double "D's" or Bobbies jerked around the rocks, along with big bucktails and spinnerbaits could bring a smile to your face As mention by mart, it can be a nasty lake with many hidden surprises if your not familiar with it and a good map or GPS chart is a must. Good luck and let us know how you make out. ........Oh, and BTW, I got skunked on Friday, so you may want to take my advice and toss it out with the morning trash

WTG Minnow, alot of really nice fish there , good to see your trips went so well. Also nice of you to offer a ride to the little guy from the middle of the lake.

Awesome stuff Phil and I'm glad you decided to post it !! You were in some great company and I sure wish I'd have been part of your group !!

Your wish is my command .......

Coupla real beauts there Darren !!

Sorry Roger, I think you misunderstood my meaning. The waters have cooled down now, so I think it's perfectly alright to target muskies in the skinny water, and I was referring to it being a bad idea when the shallows are in the 80's. I never was very good at splainin myself

Jeeeez Andy, I thought all anybody ever caught in your boat was weed wrapped snot rocket pike, at least when I'm with you anyways ..... JK Bud !! Couple beauty fish there boyz, congrats on a great day !! BTW Andy, I thought you were coming to my place last month, wazzup ?? ....gimme a call

Good to see you learned a new trick this weekend Roger, and congrats to Alvin on his PB, that's a real purdy musky !! Don't be so surprised though that you found a musky in such shallow, clear water, as they frequent those spots quite often and are sometimes very willing to grab a bait that's run across their nose. If there's some weeds & rock, it makes things even better. It's not a good idea to target them in the summer when the shallow water temps are high, but now that the temps are dropping into the 60's, the pickings can be very good. I once came on a spot with 7 muskies sitting shoulder to shoulder in 24" of water. I think that now that the temps are dropping a bit, they like the shallows as the water is often warmer there, but that's only my own opinion. If you want some REAL fun, head back to that same spot after dark and work the entire shoreline with a BIG, slow cranked spinnerbait.......you may be VERY happy you did. Here's another one that came from 30" of gin clear water

I've also owned both styles over the years and much prefer the cable steer models, but that's only my opinion. I find the PD's to be slow to react and to be perfectly honest, the constant noise they make everytime they turn drives me nuts, plus the fact that it's another drain on the battery everytime it's activated. The foot control on the PD's also seems to be a constant problem too, at least with the MinnKota units, and this past summer on this board, there have been many complaints by members about the foot control not working properly. I also don't like the set-up for raising & lowering the PD"s and much prefer the rope pulls on the cable models My last cable steer.....MotorGuide......worked flawlessly for 7 years until I burned it up recentely because of my own foolishness. Oh well, that was one way to purchase a new unit The cable units also have a "constant on" feature, same as PD's, which allow the motor to run without keeping your foot on the pedal. I don't mean to put anything down, but we WERE asked for an opinion.

I'm gonna be up on Pigeon soon Kelvin, but haven't set a firm date yet. I'm tentatively looking at Monday, September 17th, but if that can't be done, I'll be there next Saturday (15th) fer sure and will look for you up on the north end. I'll be fishing around your buddies house for awhile, but will be covering that whole area. Have a great trip and hopefully I'll see you up there.

Thanks Rick, we were posting at the same time.

Everything is back up to normal speed again on my end, so thanks to whoever is responsible

Congrats to your Dad on his 1st ever 50 incher Pete That's always a great milestone to accomplish !!

Same here Terry, I'm on Rogers too and OFC is unbelievably slow today, but all the other websites are very fast. Strange, but this is the only place I ever have problems with my computer slowing down and have never seen it on any other websites before.

Maybe try Pickeral Park on the south shore of Hay Bay. They've got alot of docks and there's probably a few empty ones now that Labor Day has passed and many boaters have taken the boats outta the water. www.pickerelpark.com

Thanks Rob, sounds like you & the family had a fabulous day on the water, and kudos to everybody that had a hand in making the day special for your kids, especially Aaron !!

I purchased my boat new in 1999 and installed a Guest 2611, dual bank charger for my 2 deep cycles and it's still working flawlessly to this day and I charge my batteries constantly. I'm still on the original bateries too.

Sounds like good times fer sure Joey and definetely great hosts !! Been there, done that Glad to hear the weekend went so well !!

WTG Blake, couple real beauties there !! Erie has sure become a BIG bass factory