Tom McCutcheon

I know you were kidding, just clearing the air. If you really want to shorten the learning curve, the best way I can suggest is to sit in on a few of the Muskie Canada meetings with the chapter nearest you. Visitors are welcome. No obligation to join. Most of the guys, and gals are pretty free with their information. They won't give you the spot on the spot, but they will get you in the general vicinity and will help with tackle suggestions etc. etc. Become a member when you feel comfortable. After that, join in on the outings that are held each year on every chapters home waters. That is where the real instruction begins, around the camp lounge or fire pit.

As a professional courtesy.. Andy is a member of MCI as well, we stayed clear. We did however compare notes at the end of the day and let them know where we had raised a fish and they did likewise.

LOL...My brother and I were there the week that Andy guided Collin for the fly fishing adventure. Andy knows his stuff and I can recommend him highly. Collin is quite the entertainer. He had us laughing at his stories after filming ended each night. Good memories.

CAUTION.......CAUTION......AND CAUTION. There are NO depth charts for the bay. If you have GPS capability, you can get a Topographical Chart which will show you all the shore line and islands. Then carefully and slowly lay some trails down, marking structure and rocks with waypoints as you go. This you can do by trolling. Although you still need to be careful and watch your sonar for rapid rises. Be prepared to put your motor in neutral. We have been going to Wolseley Bay (Totem Point Lodge) for about 7 or 8 years and have probably over two hundred way points entered in. Each year we find a new rock to add to the list. As far as getting to the Rapids, with your set up and once your clear of the bridge and the marina and you know your way without running into a rock, maybe about 20 minutes to a 1/2 hour at 3/4 throttle. I can not stress this enough... Your first time there, use extreme caution and pick your way around. It is a beautiful fishery and holds lots of walleye, Pike, Bass and some big Muskie Good luck and save the big girls for us in a month...

I might try working current areas where the water is moving and creating a little more oxygen. Neck downs and river or creek mouths. I don't know what you are using for a boat, but Five Finger Rapids is about 4 or 5 miles from your camp location. Again, weed edges and shoals are your friend. It's a large area with lots of structure. Trolling would also be on my list for the first few days until you figure it out.

That's what Dad's are for......LOL Good luck. Likely some ghost drain someplace.

Do you have a radio or GPS that is hooked up? Powered thru a dash master switch? Even with the units turned off, they will still draw power thru their respective antennas. Unless you install a battery switch to shut everything down completely.

Yep, new rim for mine from Ford was $1100.00. Got one from a wrecker that almost new condition for $300.

Well your never to old to learn something.. Thanks Dan, and Lew for the Anti seize idea.

LOL.....Mine cost me the price of a Teen Burger and Coney Fries ...in the 60's.

A little bit off topic, but worth mentioning. For those who change their tires up every fall and spring. don't forget to RE TORQUE the nuts after 100 or so kms. I neglected to do this and found my left rear wheel making lots of noise and just about to come off. 3 lug nuts sheared off and 3 more loose. Ruined the aluminum wheel and needed six new studs and nuts.

I had a whack of them 10 or 15 from the 60's both sizes large and small. They were great to keep in the freezer in order to serve cold beer to company. My wife made the decision to donate them to the church yard sale.......

Looks like mugs of A&W root beer on the table......

for 20" tires Lew, that's a great deal. I have purchased tires at Kal Tire in the past and they have always switched my winter to summer and summer to winter free of charge. (so long as the tires were purchased there) They will even store them for you as well, which I have never taken advantage of. Although with your empty garage, storage should NOT be a problem.

I have been running Michelin tires on my vehicles since the early 90's Lew. Both my wife's cars and my trucks. Perhaps not the Defenders but LT's for sure on the trucks. Winter dedicated snow tires are Michelin's as well. I have always been happy with the ride and handling.

Wonderful gesture Cliff... If you can't find a home for it, I am sure Habitat for Humanity or some other worthy cause could find a suitable family.

I like the grin on the guides face as he walks back to straighten out the mess on the floor....

OH!!!! WE"RE EATING THEM RICK.....

Perhaps a dumb question, but did you have a good swivel between the dipsey and the flasher? I have lost Muskie lures while trolling when the swivel was damaged and I didn't notice it. Ended up with a whack of line twist until it finally just let go at the knot attached to the swivel.

Sad to say, but Pete is right. They are here and the research we have done since 2009 on the Pike Invasion, has given us little hope of trying to stop it. It took over a 100 years for the Northern Pike to filter in through the locks. If a marine railway (similar to the one at Big Chute) had been constructed at each end of the Kawartha waterway when the thought of a navigation route was conceived, it's possible we would not be discussing this today. Northern Pike are a great sport fish, so long as all that are in the system are not hammer handles, and their larger cousin the Muskie can learn to adapt.

Bass Pro have a canvas type bag withrihgs inside. The rings are similar to what a school three ring binder are like. Each bag has about a dozen or so individual plastic zip lock bags with reinforced bottoms that have the ring holes punched through. I have 4 or 5 of these bags that have worms in 2, tubes in another 2 and safety pin type blade baits in the other. You can purchase extra zip lock bags as additional or spares.

Correct... Pike in the Kawarthas are mostly using the same spawning locations as their cousins, two to three weeks in advance of Muskies and thus are in very near proximity as fry when the Muskie eggs hatch and become "swim ups" The Pike fry are also in direct competition for the same food source of any Muskie fry which survive the swim up stage. It's the first 6 months to a year of a Muskies life that are most critical. If the Muskie makes it past the fingerling portion of it's life, they can usually handle themselves living amongst a Pike of the same age.

Yep, I haven't had a close up look at one on my own hookup yet, but I sure hope to. They are one of the nicest looking fresh water fish I know of (save for a Brown or Brookie) and the one pictured above has the potential to reach 50+ inches.

The Muskies which are being restocked into Simcoe are Georgian Bay strain. The eggs obtained are mainly from Gloucester Pool, but this year due to unforeseen water temps when the egg collections were taking place in May, the water temps on the Pool were not suitable and the Female Muskies were not ripe. Luckily eggs were obtained from two females from Parry Sound. My understanding is the Fleming hatchery had a difficult time with a lot of the eggs not "eyeing up" so their production of fingerlings is down to about 1000 or so compared to nearly 4000 over the last few years. Yes to in theory they might migrate into the Kawarthas and this also remains to be seen. Sorry to the OP to drag this slightly off topic.

According to our (MCI) research and the OMNRF reports, Rice Lake has had confirmed Pike in it for about 3 years. Pike have also been confirmed in the Ottonabee River and Little Lake. They are migrating through the Trent System and eventually will show up in each lake. Only a matter of time. Muskies Canada concerns are that the Kawartha strain of Muskie which is genetically different than the French River, Georgian Bay, St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River strains may not be able to adapt to a co habitant existence with Northern Pike. We along with the OMNRF are monitoring this closely, but there may NOT be a solution other than to let Mother Nature take it's course.