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Beautiful horses guys. My dad grew up in Saskatchewan during the depression and spent the summers working on his uncles farm. He always talked about the pair of Clydesdales they had and my dad usually got to drive the team for whatever job they were doing. He always said they were massive critters and unbelievably strong but gentle as lambs. When I was a kid growing up in Toronto (East York) in the 50's there was a horse stable at St. Clair & Warden where us kids would go on Saturdays. Seems to me we paid 25 cents for an hours trail ride and my favorite horse that I always picked was "Big Red" LOL Sadly that's all gone now and the fields and stables are monstrous homes, plazas and subways stations but I spose that's progress/

A few years ago I was walking along a dirt road up on Nipissing and heard a noise just off to my right. I turned and 2 small bear cubs came out from behind a fallen tree and a couple seconds later Momma came out and I figured right then I may be in trouble. I'll never forget the look on her face, she pushed between the 2 cubs and was staring right at me as she lowered her head and her ears went straight back. I'm no bear expert but to me her message was loud and clear...take off right now...I slowly backed away and fortunately me she didn't follow me. It was a tad bit tense for a few seconds but now I'm happy it happened as it something I may never encounter again. Another incident I had was on the dirt road I live on. I was out for my daily 4 mile walk early one morning when a bear came up out of the ditch beside the road only 40 feet in front of me. He was looking away from me so I made a noise to let him know I was there and when he saw me he made a loud grunting sound then turned and ran back into the woods. I don't think he was running scared but rather just wanted to get away from me. Again, another encounter I'm happy happened to me.

Congrats to your Grandson, he looks real proud of himself.

That's actually pretty old school Simon and the idea has been around forever but your right, it'll save you a bunch of cash. They work OK but the hooks on long lures have a tendency to catch under the inserts which can be a hassle. Enjoy your new box.

Not sure if I showed you this picture in one of our private talks or not Barry, but I went out on the back deck early one morning a few years back and this big ole black bear was sound asleep at the back of my yard. I went for my camera and when I came back he was awake and just watching me. He let me take the picture then he got up and sauntered off LOL

The reason I live where I do CrowMan, it's beautiful around here.

I do remember that picture Barry& those bears with the light brown hair look similar to the Spirit Bears from B.C. which are almost white Black Bears and may be what you saw before.

Really nice pictures Barry, is that cinnamon color common for black bears out your way ?

What about Boaters World, they carry a good selection of stuff.

There's probably only a handfull of guys on this board that even remember when they actually won the cup LOL

Tell us how you really feel LOL

I don't know if I can afford it either, I haven't got my bill yet LOL

https://www.bassboatcentral.com/

Always enjoyed the Odyssey before I hung up my fish'n pole.

Really nice Barry, you live in a beautiful neighborhood.

I had a nest of bunnies in the yard a couple years back and while I was looking at them I noticed Momma 100' away watching me. Next morning they were all gone so I spose Momma came and got them so hopefully that'll happen with yours too.

It really is a shame how expensive it is to drive on a road that WE payed for. I used it a couple years back and went from 115 to Mississauga Road and back and it cost me over $80

My wife and I spent the weekend at our daughters place in Mississauga but getting across the GTA on the 401 is always mind blowing with all the morons on the road. Speed limits mean nothing and guys just fly back & forth changing lanes without even looking. Worst I saw though, we were cruising along around Keele St.doing about 110 like most folks when the guy in front of me missed his exit and slammed on his brakes and stopped dead on the road waiting for a chance to cross 3 lanes. I always leave LOTS of room between me and the car in front but I was sure we'd get hit from behind but fortunately everyone behind me was paying attention. I left Toronto 14 years ago and moved to the boonies and now almost never travel the 401 for just that reason. Coming home yesterday morning I said to heck with the price and took the 407 and what a treat that place is, there were practically no cars on the road and it sure was nice. Won't get the bill for awhile and it probably cost me a small fortune but I think it may just be the way to go from now on. Or maybe I'll just never leave the peace & tranquility of the boonies again LOL

It's been a great boat for sure Corey, infact your Dad got his 1st ever 50"er when he was fishing with me over in Aikenheads. I had the boat for 10 years and your Dad's had it now for 15 years and not a serious issue with boat or motor. The pike your holding came along the north shore near Keiths Bay.

Atta boy Corey, you've come a loooong way my friend !! I remember back in the days when you were happy to catch these little guys LOL

Welcome back Rick, you've been gone a long time.

Nice one Barry, love the old photos.

I was real heavy into musky fishing for around 45 years and for the most part kept it old school but that was just my preference. I always did well and would often boat 75 to 100 fish a year with 2001 being my best year with 115 fish in the boat. I never even had a FF until 1999 and then I put a GPS at the helm to watch for the depths I wanted and to track my drifts and keep track of sunrise/sunsets. I had a small 5" FF at the helm and another at the bow and that was it but they were more for finding weeds than anything else. Never used them for looking for fish. The vast majority of my fishing was casting to reeds or weeds and rock piles and some trolling when I needed a break from tossing big baits. One of my favorite methods was night fishing in total darkness with no electronics at all. Just a headlamp to get my bearings once in awhile then back to the darkness and the light again to release the fish. To me, that was totally pitting myself against the fish with no outside help. To me that's what fishing is all about, trying to think like a fish and figure where they are and what they want to eat. I've got nothing against the guy that has a boat load of TV screens that he stares at all day and more power to him but to my mind that's not fishing when you use electronics to do all your thinking, but again, it's just my preference.