Cast-Away

Wow, what a great fish!

THanks for the feedback. I did a bit of research and found out that they are not waterproof, so they are useless to me. I was planning on leaving it on top of my boat cover facing south, but not if it will short out.

I was thinking about buying one to keep my deep cycle topped up as it slowly loses its charge in my driveway. Anyone use one, or have any comments? I know that the output is pretty low, but wondered about personal experiences.

You will find that Smallmouth Bass are the most common fish along with Pike. Try to fish shoals, points and islands and stick to water that is over 10 feet deep this time of year if you are targeting the Smallies.

If you are only there for a bit over a day, you likely won't fish beyond Arnolds Bay where the resort is located, so ask the owner the best places to fish within a 2 mile area, otherwise you will spend alot of time trying different places for short periods of time, rather than spending alot of time on fewer places that are more productive.

Bring some worms and try still fishing for Bass. When you get bored, use perch patterned Rapala's to cast or troll. You will likely get Pike this way as well.

Good luck!

Wow, that was really cool seeing the little Pike inside the mouth of the big Pike!

Kick'er up a notch!

It's funny, you are doing the opposite of what I did. I use to fish the lower French from 1985 to 1990 and switched to the Moon River because of the amount of time spent driving the car and the boat and then setting up camp. It became almost a day each way. I love the Moon and go there at least three times a year and know it like the back of my hand. I think that the fishing is much better then the lower French.

Having said that, here is some info on the lower French. There a plenty of great places to camp and alot of water to cover. The first three years we fished the French and Pickeral and launched at Hartley Bay marina. Fishing itself can be hit and miss. It takes a few years to figure out where the good spots are.

The last two years, we launched at the Key River and drove out to Georgian Bay to camp. This was way more fun than fishing in the river because you can do more exploring and fish the mouth of four different rivers along with all of the islands in the area. Again, fishing was hit and miss because you are learning the spots. The down side to this is that the weather can really whip on the bay so you have to be real careful.

Here is a link the charts of the area: Maps

If you decide to fish the lower French in the river, send me a PM as I have the topo's scanned from my hard copy. You can print them off and take them with you. (There are even a few spots marked off for camping and fishing)

A very simple check is the gap on the plugs. This can cause the exact problem that you are having. Also try changing the plugs.

The older Mercs use to have reed valves between the carb and the block. If they got gummed up, they had to be replaced, which was quite an expensive job to have done.

If all else fails, take it to Paul at Topgun Marine just north of Bradford. He is awesome! 905-775-0862

The Massasauga is a good choice as well. It is a boat access park so you need to bring a boat or canoe, or rent one from the marina that is near by.

If you have a boat, the Massasauga is awesome.

TJ, you have some really great times with your family! Good for you. The kids will always remember it.

A few pics have been added.

What a great trip! It is amazing how quickly the Pike can chew up a lure.

My Sensitive side:

I just posted an ad for a friend in the classified section for one tough boat. If you have a place that requires a rugged work boat, this one is a beast. I've seen boats like this up on Georgian Bay break the top off of a shoal! Just kidding.

Here is the link:Steel Boat

Way to go Dutch! The fishing is great on Buckhorn.

Great report Snag.

I fish there all of the time. Did you venture out towards the islands at all?

Nice One Eye, I mean Walleye Rizzo! Were you fishing Gbay or and inland lake?

Wayne, I've said it before and I'll say it again; "you are one quality guy"! By the way, you need to take down your Evinrude poster now that you have a Merc!

What a Basshole!

Jeez, Wayne, it sounds like a Friday boat from Chrysler back in the 70's! You don't expect to hear that about Lund. I fact, that is the first time that I ever heard a complaint about Lund.

I'm with Ron, that your marina, especially if they know you well, should had done a better PDI job. You do after all pay for the service on top of the boat.

Just don't paint the boat bright yellow!

I hope that everything gets fixed up really quickly for you. I remember the excitment in your posts last winter about getting this new puppy!

They should be in 10 to 15 feet of water. I did not try rattles. We did not catch any Walleye that day but did have a follow up to the boat. We ended up going to a different spot and caught 3 pike in a short period of time. They ranged from 3 to 5 pounds.

The minnows were purchased at the bait store in Fesserton on Hwy 12 just off Hwy 400. The locals only sell worms.

The Walleye in my Avatar was caught and released at the basin in July a few years back. It was just over 7 pounds. My buddy had a 9 pounder the same day.

I was fishing at the mouth of the falls on the 5th and the Walleye were still spawning, so you might still find them in Arnolds Bay. Pink jigs work well with 3" minnows this time of year. T

he slot is 16 to 22 inches. You can keep them under this size and one over 22 inches with a possession limit of 4 per person.

Good luck and post a report when you get back!

Sorry to let the air out of your tires but the 15 HP still has a larger block then the 9.9 like it was back when I upgraded mine as mentioned eariler. The 9.8 is 209 cc's and the 15 is 323cc's which means that they are two different blocks. Your engine is maxed out. If you had an 8 HP you could move it up to the 9.9. I got this information from Mercury's website.

I did this very thing to an old 1975 7.5 HP merc by moving it up to a 9.8 HP. The carburator gets adjusted and a larger exhaust port is added. I'm not sure about moving from 9.8 to 15, I believe that it is a different block.

Contact Paul at Top Gun Marine, he did mine way back when. 905-775-0862