Fang

Are you trolling with the 115? If so you should be putting enough juice back in the battery. Downrigging all day while running a color sonar will drain down the battery. Suggest putting a 12v gauge on your dash to keep an eye on this. I do the same in my boat and have the biggest amp cranking battery I can buy

No stretch Braided fishing line in mid 80's GPS plotting and electronic maps 90's ish and now side imaging

I launched out of Crystal Beach last week and thought to myself then this place would be a real nasty trying to load/unload a boat with the wrong wind. Low water in Erie doesn't help. It was calm when I was there and still there was less than 3ft of water off the ramp for a ways before it dropped off. They also pulled the docks last week so it's tricky getting in to drop off guys. Unfortunate and hope they were all right.

Well the cat is kind of out of the bag with this stuff now all over. I started doing home made ones a few years ago and snuck them down the holes while perch fishing on simcoe so my buddies didn't see them. In my opinoion they did work when on areas that had very little to no cover. Best was way out in 20+ feet of water or when on hard rock bottom Here's how you can make your own guys. Go to Dollarama and the sell 3 different plastic plants that are about 4-5 ft long just like the ones in the link. Add a 3 oz sinker to the bottom of them and then tie in some green garden foam around the top leaves to make them float. I tied on some heavy fishing line and dropped them around the holes I was fishing.

Sounds just like our day last Thursday. Loads of guys hitting the big shoal on the south side. Good thing you got out Saturday as the winds really blew up Sunday. You like the new Lowrance units? I'm really enjoying that bird Aaron

Fish Hawk 1750 If I was to do it over again I probably would have went FH 1850 to get more storage. Yesterday we had 2 small tackle bags - 8-10 rods, net, lunches, 2 butt poles front and back and I found it a big crowded. When you put ropes and life jackets under the front console there's not enough room left for too much else. I put paddles, rod holders and other gear in the rod locker so rods tend to stay out on the deck. Have a 115 HP (regular 2 stroke) on it and it does 44-ish by GPS full out with no gear. I can cruise pretty rough water in the 25-30 mph range but like most boats it all depends on how wet you want to get. . With a bit of a swell yesterday we ran 8 miles at 25 with no problems. I do run a lot on lake ontario for salmon and have no problems deciding to head out to the blue zone (+10 miles) when weather lets me. Boat cruises very nice and is stable to fish front and back deck. This ones a 2001 and I've seen a better front deck layout on the more recent ones

For the last several years I've had a very large desire to get out for the fall smallmouth fishing on Lake Erie but had conflicts with Moose and Deer hunting trips. This year my work has made me jump through hoops cancelling or moving holidays, while they put in a new computer software system. Having to cancel my moose and deer trips this year was harder than I imagined and my "jones-in" factor for some hunting/fishing has been in overdrive. My buddy Rob (familyguy) pushed me over the edge by texting me all day telling me how many big smallies they were catching and I had to do something. Booked Thursday off and pulled the cover off the boat. Got an early start and had to stop 1 block away from the house to fill up the boat. Looked like it was going to be a great morning. Launched the boat on the CDN side and headed over to the south shore with NY license and passport in hand. First drift started very nice with a bass in the boat in the first 5 minutes. No bruiser but a decent start. A little hiccup as I lost the next 3 hook ups in rapid succession. Of course a big one gets away on a real bad hook set and I have another bigger one snap 10lb flouro at boatside - probably should have checked the leader with all those zebra mussels. A mix of tubes was pretty much the choice for the day with 1/2 and 3/4 oz heads. Tried some drop shot rigs but defintely the tub bite was more consistent and the darker colors in greens and blacks had more action. Getting back on track with a nice double. The bigger fish was 4.2 The rest of the day was pretty much constant action and it's the first time in a long time where I lost track of the number of fish boated but we were running a disappointing number of lost fish to landed. My camera died after mid morning in the cold but was able to get a few more pics before being DOA. No real big ones but how does one get tired of boating 3.5 - 4 lbers all day My big one at 4.2lbs and a little over 20" Can't wait to get another day out there!

Just another reason I took mine back Saturday morning

I bought this on Friday, took it back this morning. Very difficult to put up as a single person. For ice fishing these are big balloons when the winds are up. I bought an ice fishing tent a while ago and both Malcolm and I had a four person tent and those poles don't like the cold. Both of ours cracked first or second trip out I have a 2 man Clam and a single Frabill now. Buy an ice hut not a tent.

probably the last time he'll wear those hunting pants. I had bull come out of the bush like that about 10 years ago. Big rack and we were paddling a canoe down a beaver pond first morning of the moose hunt. I guess he got all riled up as he heard the sound of our paddles hitting the side of the canoe. I had a bull tag in my pocket and my gun across my lap as he came up to about 10 yards. Problem was it was the first week and the tag I had was a group tag and my buddies weren't coming in till week number 2. I took a bunch of shots (film) and showed the prints the next week. They all said I should have shot it.... That's my Leaf curse, since then I haven't even seen a moose qand worse yet had my vacation for moose hunt pulled this year by work. If I can't be there nice video to watch

Bought my first mojo this summer and was very impressed. Picked up a 6'8" spinning. Will look at their heavy action next season as my 7' pitching rod needs upgrading

I've been quite comfy the last 2 years using a 3000 BTU in a 1 and a 2 man hut. With this one you'd probably be fishing in short sleeves. I might pick one up to try. At this $ that's a good deal. First thing would be to build a better base though

Same thing for my brother just north of hamilton. Has 92 beautiful acres with a pond and mixed hardwoods. Was woken up last Saturday by shotgun fire on his property just inside the tree line only a couple hundred yards from the house. I'm heading up on Saturday to help re-post his property. I told him to report it to the local cop shop. I'm a hunter and still can't understand the gunslinger no holds barred tresspassing attitude of some.

Another FYI guys, the Mississauga/Matheson Rd location for Lowrance is either closed now or will be in a matter of weeks

Dont' scrimp out here. I've always had Lowrance units since buying my first boat in 87. Last year I bought a second hand Humminbird 778 and have been very happy. Keep to the upper levels for models and you'll be fine. For console mount I'd suggest you focus on the following as key features. It's kind of a hands list based on 20+ years of hard usage and mistakes For regular depths over 30FOW get into the 4000 Wats power range. Stay away form 1500W units. They're OK but the added power will bring much more detail 480 pixels vertical minimum (it's pretty much the norm now but watch some older used units) My preference now is colour display, don't think I'll ever be able to go back dual frequency transducer is a big plus for deep water trolling and as other mentioned buy the biggest screen possible My screen is 5" on the console and it's the only one drawback I have. Mind you it would have taken another $1000 to get to the next size screen and I still need to replace my bow fish finder this year Other options that will influence you is whether you want it mobile. I take my HB in the back lakes and out on the ice and have a portable system rigged up ready to go. Color sucks up alot of juice so be prepared to spend some $ on batteries or get more than 7A 12V ice fishing battery. HD5 of equivalent Bird will do ya fine. If you have more $ to spend HD 10 or 1197

Chunks of suckers for the cats, corn for the carp. Works everywhere

I watched guys with float reels and light hair rigs just pound them most nights under the skyway. Took me a few trips to wise up and change gear. First trip down with 11' streamside with 6 lb and I landed 4 over 15 and a pb 35". If you got open water light line is the way to go. Even the big girl only took a few minutes to bring in. I'm arming up with a bigger selection of waggler floats for sure next year

Sorry typing on the iPod. Most guys are going lighter around Hamilton now. I'm seeing a lot more float reels and long light rods

You can pick up bait runner reels almost anywhere now. I bought my shimano 4000d at bass pro and have it paired with a 10th heavy steelhead rod. I'm not a big fan of those heavier, longer carp rods yet. The heaviest line I run is 30 braid and on a 4000 you can get loads on it. Mpst

My wife wanted to trade in her small Plymouth for an SUV last year. Had it narrowed down to the VW, GMC Envoy and the Cadillac SRX. I went and asked a buddy at work whose brother owns a garage in Hamilton. I was shocked about the VW. Parts are alot more expensive and many items are less than reliable. I did my own follow up on the web looking for reliable sites that would provide summary ratings on vehicles. I like the drive on the VW and the Nissan Murano but it was her choice We went with the Envoy and she absolutley loves it. It's heavy on gas but hey I drive and Expedition I'd vote for the Honda Pilot too but if you're asking the 4 runner

You'll like the V8 RAF. Nothing like doing 110 with the boat on and still being able to pull out and pass. My expedition pretty much the same motor size and I would buy another in a heart beat

I carry a 6" normark with new blades every year. If they ain't sharp they don't cut!!! I also now carry a 32" demolition hand saw with me. I picked up this beast for $20 at CTC and it goes through ice like butter. Drill 2 6" holes side by side and zip out the ice between with the hand saw. Did it a couple times last year and it works out fine when you need the larger hole for lakers, walleye. Just for the record I pulled an 18lb laker through that 6" hole a few years ago. It was snug but doable. After a few years cutting with a manual 8" auger I'll never pick up another one. I can blast through a 6" hole 3 times faster with sharp 6". It amazing how that extra 2" on the auger adds to the effort required.

They do grow up so fast. My oldest is going into grade 12 and my son is grade 7. Sure makes you stop and wonder were the time goes. Could have sworn just last week we were changing diapers.

If oakville is within ur travel area. Bring ur wood. 10"table saw and scroll saw and loads of hand tools. Beers on me

Hey TSM I'm normally camped out in the bunkhouse on his dock the last 2 weeks in July. Maybe next year we'll be able to hook up on the Saturday for some fishing or a campfire at least on Saturday night.