trapshooter

Congrats on the big hen Scott. If you are looking for a new camera, get in touch with fellow OFNCer David Chong. He helped me out with a camera order recently. He was very good to deal with, professional, prompt and gave a great price on the camera's we bought. The olympus 770sw (waterproof) is a very interesting new option for fishermen. You can completely submerge the camera and still take photo's. I imagine this would bring the steelheading pics into a whole new ballpark.

Paul, FYI, it is illegal for non residents to trap minnows in Ont. Not attacking you here, just wanted to let you and other non residents know to avoid possible trouble down the road. Furthermore, residents are only permittied to possess 10 dozen minnows per valid licence at any time. Your traps must also be labeled with your name. Something to think about.

yeah, it's nice and there's lots of room but I bet she doesn't backtroll worth a damn!

Lookin good Bernie!! That's quite the 'jig shop' you've got there

I always liked this spider pic I took on Green Island, off the Taiwan coast. This was right on the side of the road and I had to duck on the far side of the web to get the shot.

lol brian....not that I would do it... but you can. If the trim tab is misaligned and the motor is trimed way down or up the boat will pull badly to the side.

Tomcat. At the lodge where I work at my guide boat is an 18' Lund Pro V's with 90hp yamaha tiller. The big motors are easy to steer and hold on to at high speeds. If I wanted to, with the trim properly adjusted, I could drive straight as an arrow with no hands on the tiller arm.

citidiots... love it. Consider that term stolen for my personal vocab. Hick, out of towner, country boy, redneck etc.... all have the same generalizations. These terms are usually thrown around quite loosely and I've never really been offended when called any of these things. I'm proud to come from a town with < 1000 ppl and NO stoplight In the words of John Denver, THANK GOD I'M A COUNTRY BOY!

Hey Josh, Nice work on the steel! You'll have to teach me all about the finer points of steelheading at the lodge this summer. Cheers, ben.

Oh yeah, you definitely take some spray in the tiller esp. on a windy day. If you adjust the trim properly though it shouldn't be difficult to hold on to the tiller arm. My boat will go straight as an arrow without even touching the tiller arm. Basically it depends what type of fishing you want to do most. Console's definitely are better suited for some applications and the same can be said for the tiller.

lol @ puckhead! My mom has an English Bulldog and they sink like stones. Funny thing is, she LOVES the water so we've got to be careful. They are also notorious for overheating so in the summer she has a kiddy pool and loves nothing more then to wallow in it like a hairy Hippopotomous! She even sticks her head underwater to drink from the hose on the bottom. Quite the unit she is... and her partner in crime is a weinerdog who swims like a fish. Go figure.

WOW! Nice boat Spiel!

I like a tiller for the open space. Also, I backtroll a lot and the tiller can't be beat for that application. Ideally though, I'd have one of each!

The band rules.

Fishin in the dark - nitty gritty dirt band 'Across the field where the creek turns back by the old stump road... I'm gonna take you to a special place that nobody knows... BABY GET READY!"

My rod must think it's name is "There's One" cause that's what I'm always yelling at it.

When I'm on the water I have my glasses on 100% of the time, rain or shine. They've already saved my eye once.

Looks awesome man!! Sure is beautiful over there. You're going to have a great summer. Cheers, ben.

Good luck brian.. I hope you don't hit a rock out there.

Welcome to the OFC Suds. What town you from on the island? Cheers, ben.

Dan, I can see your point of view totally but it can go both ways, there's good arguements for guides fishing and also good arguements against it. I see what you're saying but troutologist originally asked for advice on being a guide and fishing makes that experience better for me, so I told him that. Consider this... I try different things in the boat if the fishing is off and try to find a new pattern or technique that might help my guests catch fish. How can I tell them how the fishing has been if I haven't been fishing? The fishing can be tricky and the more poeple you have trying different things the better it is for everhone on board. It goes both ways too, I learn a lot from my guests who try things I may not have thought of. As Gbaygiant said too, it's better for teaching inexperienced anglers. Lots of people don't know how to properly fight a fish once it's been hooked. Also, on Lac Seul at our lodge the guests are cathing a lot of fish and don't take offence to me joining them. I still take care of them in the boat, tie jigs, bait hooks, net fish, you name it. Some applications lend well for the guides fishing and our lodge is one of them. We also fish 120 days straight and I couldn't not fish for that long. I wouldn't work for a lodge where I couldn't fish, that's just me. Down the road if I do start a 1 boat guide service I would do like gbaygiant said and take it group by group. Other applications, like guiding on the BOQ for example, if I was guiding there I would't take a turn when a rod pops. Hope you can see that it's not all bad. Cheers, ben.

I'd put it on a 6.5-7 foot medium or MH rod. Lots of things you could do with it. Keep in mind the 'whippier' &longer the rod the farther you can cast with it.

Hello, I will try to offer some insights for you. This summer will be my 3rd as a guide at a lodge in NW ontario on Lac Seul. Unfortunately all the available positionis for this summer are already filled up. NW Ont has a lot of advantages, particularily the good fishing but also it is a popular area and lots of American's come up that way to fish. Our lodge is a walleye/pike lodge and is booked full from opener in May till the End of September so there is a lot of work and the tips are nice! Guiding has been one of the best experiences of my life. The lodge you work for will make or break the experience for you so carefully research the way they do business. Things to consider: - THE FISHERY!!! What lake is the lodge on and what will you be fishing for? In NW Ont 95% of the american's that come up are looking for walleye. Is it a numbers lake or a trophy size lake or both? - Good equipment (i.e. your guide boat) At a fly in lodge this may not be as important. If it is a big lake you don't want to be in a 16' tinny with a 20 horse motor. We run 18' ProV's with 90 Yammy Tillers. Lowrance X-15 graph/GPS combo. Nice stuff. - Guide training? Do they teach you hot spots and safe routes or do they just throw you out there? - How many guides on staff? Lots of guides suggests lots of guests at that lodge. We have 13 guides and I guide EVERYDAY from Opener in May till the End of Sept, unless I ask for a day or 2 off. But make sure the work is there. - Size of the lodge.. not too big, not too small. Personally I wouldn't want to work at one of the mega lodges with 30 cabins and 70+ staff. - Type of lodge. American Plan, everyone guided. Ensures work for you. - $Renumeration$ and what is expected of you after you get off the water. Are you going to be up late in the fish house or packing shorelunch boxes, etc.? Do you have to pay camp costs for food/housing etc.? - Bear Hunting in Sept? Lots of work but can also be lots of $$$ - Accommodations. You have to live there too and I've heard of some dicey 'guide shacks'. I know of one lodge as well, Kesagami, which is a renowned lodge but they prohibit their staff from smoking and drinking after hours and they can't even FISH all day in t he boat!! That's another thing... do they allow you to fish while you are guiding. I fish ALL DAY, haha, and wouldn't have it any other way. - The owners/bosses. A bad owner/boss can make your experience a lot less enjoyable. My boss guides everyday along with the rest of us and he's basically 'one of the guys'. Definite plus. Things to avoid: - lodges that close down by august due to lack of guests - lodges where guiding is optional i.e. guests drag their own boats up and can rent a guide if they want to. Often at 'rent a guide' type lodges there will be times where you don't guide for days on end and end up splitting wood or worse). - Lodges to look at: - Evergreen Lodge on Lac Seul - Anderson's on Lac Seul - Totem on Lake of the Woods (big lodge but they run a pretty tight show from what I hear) - Eagle lake (west of Dryden) has a few lodges on it. I love how remote Lac Seul is, esp away from Ear Falls and Sioux Lookout. It's a beautiful lake and I am partial to NW Ont. Guest service is EVERYTHING!! Offer to tie jigs, bait hooks, take pictures, get excited for a nice fish, ask questions, serve a great shore lunch etc.....Take care of your guests, even when your off the water and in the end they will take care of you. A sense of humour is key, esp when the fishing is tough. Keep em laughing and everyone will have a lot more fun. It's rewarding to know that when your guests leave they request you for next year. I've developed friendships with several guests of mine and I'm looking forward to fishing with them again this year. Get cracking man! Lodge owners are looking to get their staff in place NOW!! Another thing I can suggest is asking to get in touch with someone who has guided at that lodge before. They will be able to tell you exactly what's going on. A lodge where staff turn over is high isn't a good sign. If they have a few guides who have been there 3-5+ years there's probably a good reason these guys keep coming back. Good luck. You can PM me if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to share more of my experiences with you. Cheers, ben.

the pro z looks dark and would likely be warmer from the sun. PRO X ALL THE WAY BRIAN!!!

Thanks Marc!