Fang

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.

Well it's been almost a week since pulling back in the driveway from a vacation on the lake. It's an annual trek for my family as many of the OFC crowd may know part of my wifes family have been running a fishing/hunting lodge for over 40 years. The lodge is 3rd generation of the family and is in the hands of my neice and nephew who are the same age as my wife and I. For the last 28 years I've been able to be that imposing relative who visits in the summer to fish and swim and then leaves. To be honest they work so hard all summer with guests 24/7 they look forward to relatives to visit and help out. Our week is usually filled with wonderful manual labor tasks like hauling firewood, repairing docks, doing garbage runs, guiding, cleaning fish for guests,... It's tough work but I love every minute of it. This year was very different for us. The brand new cottage that we started the footings on last October moose hunt was ready to go and was not booked the week we came up. The no vacancy sign was hung and we were the third family to be in it. Still had that new cottage smell! Didn't take me long to unwind after the long drive up on Saturday. A quick hottub and off to the Duck Unlimited dinner in town On Sunday we woke to high winds and 3 footers crashing into the bay. I wish I had more of a fishing report but we only had a few hours of calm water to enjoy. When it wasn't windy, it was pouring rain. Overnight my boat sunk almost 4 inches. Took almost 30 minutes to bilge it out. Time to buy an auto bilge. My son making the best of the rainy weather When the weather did break we caught a few fish 28.5 Laker that hit a small 4" anchovy Yes there are fish in Temagami. We saw this every deep water ledge we trolled for lakers. It was awesome the marks were nonstop. With the cold front weather though the bite was off. Was able to pull up a few small ones too. Sutton 44's have been the go to lure for them this year. I got mine on the small anchovy rigs behind a 3ft cowbell and a couple on dreamweaver spoons - chartruese and silvers. Took some time and did a litlle BBQ'ing - Elk and Striploins Hiking at the old copper mine on Temgami island yeilded some neat rocks for the rock garden Lots of guitar playing around the campfire at night. Thought we had a video of all us us singing Daughtry's version of Poker Face but maybe we deleted it View from the deck/hottub and one for Wayne. Sorry Wayne saw your plane when we were in town but were under the gun to get to the DU dinner and no time to stop in and say Hi. I would have brought beer with me just so you know. 8 more weeks till moose hunting!

It's 7 am and the boat and truck are packed. A quick breakfast and we're on the road to spend the week on the lake. This year we've got our own cottage rented. Guitar and fishing a plenty this week. See ya folks in a week

I've had this explained to me very clearly on Simcoe by a CO who was checking licenses. He had just written up a few guys that were fishing close by and I asked him what went on as the guy getting the ticket was very loud in his displeasure. Seems the CO sat and watched 1 angler land a number of whities in a short span of time and this angler kept his 2 and them kept keeping them but placing the landed fish at his buddies whole. NOT ALLOWED!! One angler can catch and keep only the number of fish on the personal daily limit. They can not catch and keep more than the limit even if his buddy doesn't have his count. CO's don't care who owns what lines or who was watching which tip up. It's the physical act of landing the fish that indicates whos fish it is. The CO gave us a simple solution . If you have you're count put the fish back down the whole. If a buddy needs a fish let him/her land it.

annual trip same location every year didn't know it was a 2 fish limit ?????? And FWIW once YOU catch 2 trout YOUR limit is done and you can not keep any other fish even if you're buddy hasn't filled his limit. It's not a shared limit per boat. You have to land the fish yourself to be legal for your limit

Defintiely a fan as well. Like SP I was always a sassy shad fan and then jumped on the Berkely Power bait kick from Infishermen with the saltwater pogy. After a just few trips using the "new" ones I do agree. It's very eye opening at how slow you really should fish these baits. I'm still a plastic first fan and like to run them with the largest keel weighted worm hook possible. Occasionally I will rig them like a texas rigged worm and run them over shallow grass. The worm weight is at least 1/2 ounce and in these shallow (less than 3 ft) weedy areas it's the only time when I will speed up the retrieve. I've picked up a few of the Storm hard and soft swim baits and will be giving them a big work out in temagami next week. Hopefully they haven't gone off these from last year. Another bait that I've turned onto that is similar to the swim bait is the wake shad. Picked up a few fat crankbait style Manns zero's and have been very impressed with the catch ratio. The strikes of course are awesome too - all visual and much more aggressive than most other topwaters. With wake style it's slow and then slow down even more just like the swim baits. Bought 2 $15 spros last week at Fishing world and some like wire leaders just in case the pike take a liking to them.