Tom McCutcheon

The trip to get below Burleigh Falls would take the better part of a day with the houseboat. It all would depend on how busy the locks are at Buckhorn and Burleigh Falls. I would think that if you got underway from an anchorage off Boyd by 8:00 am you could easily make the lock in Burleigh Falls by late afternoon (without side trips). Ask about fuel consumption at Happy Days and judge accordingly if you can make the trip with what you have in the tank, from Boyd Island to the Falls without having to stop for fuel. It's not that far by water. It just takes time to get past several speed limit zones and the locks. Not as though the houseboat needs to slow down a lot.......LOL. But it will use more fuel if you are running wide open.

Just got home from the Kawartha Sportsmen show and the levels at my dock (south of Grenadier Island) are at normal summer level. It must just be shooting right on through from Bobcaygeon, through the Narrows and into Chemong and Buckhorn. I bet the channel markers in the Narrows are laying flat over because of all the current. I hope everyone downstream stays reasonably dry.

OOPS!!!!! Would be nice though.

Nothing yet Capt. That I have heard of anyway. They had lowered the level of Pigeon Lake about a foot yesterday in expectation of the rains today and tomorrow.

Boyd Island (Big Island) was privately owned up until last fall. The owner has donated it to Kawartha Land Trust for the small sum of $1,000,000. My understanding is this million dollars will be kept in reserve for maintenance of the island to be kept in a natural state. I don't know what the future holds, but it will never be developed into the 95, 5 acre building lots that the developer prior to the previous owner was attempting to ram through. Thank God

Stop by the MCI booth....We would be happy to show the kids how to make their own lure which they get to keep.

I am not sure what the houseboat will have as far as instrumentation, but if it has a fish finder/GPS combo, you will be fine. I am also pretty sure there will be paper charts on board as well. These you can study over a cold beverage and plan your next days travel. The preferred waterways are well marked and just stay within those boundaries and let the inexperienced guys operate here. When proceeding towards an overnight anchorage or lock, go slow and have a lookout on the front deck/rail of the houseboat and one on the back with an experienced person at the helm. Not all the hazards are marked. If the houseboat doesn't supply a pair of binoculars it would be a good idea to bring your own. Don't worry too much about it. These things are built like tanks and take a lot of abuse. A lot of NEW TO BOATING renters have the use of these vessels every year. A few props get damaged and it is all part of the experience. Depending on how badly they are bent, you may lose a damage deposit and this should be discussed amongst all the boys beforehand so no one (YOURSELF) is stuck holding the bag at the end of your trip.

That's about a five minute trip from Happy Days....... If you are doing some fishing with the smaller boat and using the houseboat as a base camp, you could cruise around the North end of Pigeon on the first day and then stay on the East side of Boyd Island (big island) that night. The next morning after breakfast, use the small boat for fishing while the Mother Ship heads to Buckhorn lock. Meet up there and depending on time of day lock through or spend the night. Once on Lower Buckhorn you might need to visit a marina for a pump out (that's two full days and nights of 11 guys on board) something to keep an eye on. You can fish and cruise Lower Buckhorn all day, but if you need to be back at Happy Days by a certain time on the fourth day, it will take you a few hours of cruising to get back after you have locked back into Upper Buckhorn. No problem with the smaller boat, but if the prevailing westerly winds are up, it will slow the Mother Ships return. Be careful on Pigeon Lake with the smaller boat if the winds are up. It can sometimes get quite nasty. I live on Pigeon and have had some white knuckle rides in an 18 foot Lund. Just use your common sense in that case.

Yep...should be good. Just go with the heaviest braid you can. It's rated to 60.

You can always anchor in a weedy bay or rocky (Crown land) shore away from cottages. Drop the houseboat anchor about 50 or 60 feet from the shore line and motor in to about 10 or 15 feet from shore. Then using the smaller boat or wading, take two ropes tied to the front of the houseboat onto shore and tie off to two trees. Or set an anchor near a weed edge and drift into it and set another anchor.

When is this taking place????? I just want to know when to avoid the top end of Pigeon and Bobcaygeon..... Just kidding. Like previously mentioned, you will get charged for the smaller boat when going through the locks as well... Have fun. ​

Muskies Canada Inc., Kawartha Chapter will be there and we will be doing something special for the children this year. Along with education for the adults, the kids can learn how to build their own fishing lure called a "Go Getter".... This is a small inline spinner bait with small worm hook, and when they are done making it (choose their own colour of beads and blade) they get to keep it. Kind of a fun way to get them interested. Hope to see a lot of folks out for this inaugural event.

Shimano Peterborough reel repair/warranty PH 705-750-2675 Fax 705-745-1949

I am about 20 minutes West of where you will be located. On the East side of Pigeon Lake. 1. TV is satellite with Shaw, There is cable in the area. Eastlink, pretty basic channel selection. 2. Internet: Eastlink is my service provider via underground cable and meets my requirements. Bell is still dial up unless you go with a satellite. 3. Land line and cell phone are with Bell.

Sounds like something our pal Ang. would say Steve.....How many times have we heard him say "it's all about the kids"

Muskies Canada Inc. Kawartha Chapter will be there with information etc. etc.

50 plus years ago, my sister had a beautiful Chesapeake Bay retriever. "Henry" goofy animal, playful as heck and loved everybody including cats and squirrels. She had a new townhouse with a duplex next door. We were invited to her place for Christmas dinner and while everyone is indulging in tasty libations and before dinner finger food, a knock comes at the front door. It was her neighbor. It seems she had put their fresh out of the oven turkey out the back door to rest while the table was being set for her families dinner and Henry had jumped the fence and ate the turkey. Every time a Christmas Story comes on the stupid Bumphouses Dogs reminds me of this. My brother in law had to jump in his car and go and buy 3 big buckets of KFC. Glad your pup is alright.

Nothing yet on Pigeon Capt. (I assume that is what your looking for). Although the ice is fading fast.

If you wish to leave them connected in series then I would suggest going with an on board charger designed for topping up and maintaining two batteries in series. This plugged in at your house or garage. ​What you are thinking of doing will work, just more labour intensive. Again, if in the future you are able to get power to the dock, then you can install the onboard charger in your boat and save yourself a lot of work.

If there is a possibility of it being installed "On Board" at a later date, I would go with a good on board charger and leave it on the work bench in the garage. Pull the batteries at the end of the day and put them on a good fridge cart with 8 inch pneumatic tires to haul them up to the garage and plug them in. If you get hydro to the dock on your wish list, you can install the charger at that time.

I've often thought about that very same thing Dutch, but I don't think the stereo/noise really affects my type of fishing....MUSKIE....If the stupid fish isn't afraid of the electric trolling motor and wants to take a bite out of the housing, I don't think the music will bother it. Then again, we don't have the volume cranked on it neither. Just loud enough to catch the scores and listen to the play by play. Sometimes, when we are up north and sitting on the dock, we will turn the volume up a bit, but not enough to disturb others.

I can't help with the size of the unit you wish to use. What I can offer is this...We use a clarion marine stereo with XM satellite. The stereo has been in the boat for about 6 years with no issues. One thing I would recommend is to get the best marine speakers you can. Works great for the ball games and hockey games even when we are in poor reception areas such as the French and Pickerel Rivers. Also good for tunes as well.

It's posted in the announcements section at the top of the page, but here is a poster of the event

Just a reminder folks about Muskie Sunday fast approaching on February 14th. I know it's Valentines Day, but there is nothing wrong with giving the box of chocolates or flowers a day early and gaining points....... Seminars start at 8:00 am and this admission includes entry into the rest of the show. Coffee will be provided. A partial list from the silent auction table of over 25 items. All auction items are cash only. We are not set up for debit or credit card. 1 day guided Muskie trip Balsam Lake 1 day guided Muskie trip St. Lawrence River 1 day guided Muskie trip Ottawa River Abu Garcia Beast 60 reel Shimano Tranx reel St. Croix Legend Tournament "Big Nasty" rod Handlebarz lure package (thank you Mr. Parker) numerous lodge/resort packages etc. etc.