trapshooter

That is the case for Southern Ontario. There are different rules for Northern Ontario - like I said, off the maintained part of the road.

You make it sound like you can stand ON the road and shoot.... not true... you have to step off of the 'maintained' section of the road. Even the gravel shoulder is considered maintained.

The top of the line vexilar, Markum and Hbird will all get the job done, and done quite well. For this reason, you will find that flasher owners and fiercely brand loyal!! Personally, I have used vexilar Fl-8's and Fl-18's and now own a humminbird ICE45 and definitely prefer the bird for it's modern features. No matter what one you end up with, you will love it, and wonder how you ever fished without it.

I'd start with this.... ...yes, it's a TILLER! Then I'd fish everyday until I ran out of money!

Great video!! That should get a lot of views on youtube for years to come.

Very nice!! That's a trophy buck anywhere!! The story to go along with it makes it even more special.

I'm a big Nikon DSLR fan, so I'm really bias!! kenrockwell.com will have a thorough review of both cameras. dpreview.com is another good digi-cam site to look at. The difference b/t 10 and 12 MP's is negligible. From what I understand, MP's is only one part of the 'big picture' of what makes a camera take good photo's.

Very cool story. You got a picture of this buck? I'd love to see it.

you cracked the 15lb mark... congrats, that's HUGE!!

haha, very true! ... the flasher doesn't work..... uh, no... you don't know how to work the flasher. LMAO!!

Buddy... come back up to Sioux Lookout. I'll put you on some big Lac Seul muskies and walleye.

It can cause the transducer to hang 'off-centre' or not level and therefore won't read bottom or mark your jig properly. Lots of ppl had this issue and concluded that the unit 'didn't work'. Not the case, it just wasn't set up right.

More quality steel-heading there Mike and Bill. Hard to beat those fresh, fat fish. Thanks for the report.

YOu don't need a fancy/expensive reel for perch... it's not like you'll need a lot line capacity and they won't be pulling drag either. Like F to the Is-H said... trout/whitefish reels are a different story.

I've owned both units and I definitely prefer the Hbird flasher.

I know what you mean. I guess I should have said I'm not interested in exotic species like 'peacock bass' or 'tarpon' etc. I'm more interested in what's available in Ontario and Canada. After seeing Kingers pics of Skeena River steelhead, however......WOW!! Heck... I can't decide!!

Call me crazy but I have little interest in traveling far and wide to fish for exotic species. Having said that, a Frazer River sturgeon trip would be pretty cool. I'm perfectly content to stay in my own 'backyard' and fish for muskies on Lac Seul For a lot of ppl that's a dream trip... and I don't take that fact for granted. I'm thankful every time I'm out there!!

What do you fish for through the ice? If you like to chase big pike and lakers, go with a 10". A lot easier to steer them up into the hole. If you have a snowmachine/Quad then don't worry about the extra weight. The extra time to drill the hole between power 8 and 10" augers is a non-factor. I believe you're supposed to flag (with a stick) any 10" holes in the ice so ppl don't step in them. They'll freeze over just as fast.... but at the end of a cold day you're 10" hole will be 8" lol. 10" is my weapon! Also a lot more room for the transducer in a 10" hole.

so let me get this straight.... you already walked out on the ice.... CHOPPED a hole in it..... and DIDN'T drop a line!?!?! Personally, I'd be all over that, Simon. Your call though...

Mr. Buddy style propane heater.

Without a doubt, Muskie.

Wow, great post!! That's what guiding is all about

that's funny! The picture is hilarious on it's own!!

That's a great point! If you're not a people person, you're done. You have to be able to read people and adapt to different personalities. Some groups I guide, we're laughing our faces off, while others are dead serious. You have to be ready to guide young children, which takes more time and patience and also cater to the elderly. Heck, I guided an old fella one time who couldn't even get his own rain pants on when it started to pour.... so there I was dressing my guest and making sure he didn't feel bad about it either. A huge element is communication. It's easy to have a great day when you're slamming fish but if things aren't going as well you have to talk through your decisions with your guests and make sure they know you're thinking about every angle and working your ass off to put them on fish. Most people understand that all days aren't created equal and fishing is fishing... but for those who don't and believe that because they hired a guide they are entitled to the best day fishing they've ever had... well, that's different and you have to be able to handle that and make sure they are satisfied too.

I was out for walleye one day and realized I forgot my net.... wouldn't you know it, about an hour later a guy in my boat brings an old net up off the bottom!! Unreal coincidence.