akaShag

Right now I am leaving my options open. The lad on here who was looking at Lund and Crestliner got me to thinking. I like the Lund hull and layout, but I am still looking around. My favourite hull from years gone by was the Sylvan Super Snapper, which was what I bought and still own many moons later. I would also consider a made-in-Canada Princecraft. But there are no boats to be had right now, so a fellow is looking at ordering something for 2022. Thanks for your insights. One of these years I am going to meet you, seems we have a few things in common. Doug

So my best buddy is in town for a few days for a work gig. He called me yesterday, told me he would be off work around 4 pm, and so I invited him over for supper. I had a venison tenderloin in the freezer waiting for a special occasion..............so I thawed it. Usually they don't survive hunt camp, but this one did! Today he sends me a text, he will be working until 8 pm. Too bad, so sad, t-loin is thawed. Wife is away camping so there is just me to eat the tenderloin. 😁 Pan-fried, with eggs cooked in the pan juices on top, one of my absolute favourite meals!

Ummm, nope. She's a hard-ass and thinks it's fun to sleep on a thin foam pad on the ground in a freakin' pup tent. I got over that about thirty years ago....

So I have been running FOUR freezers, and this is getting up my nose. Part of it is holding meat and fish for other folks while they make room in THEIR freezers, or get back from travelling, or whatever. Today I defrosted the two that are not self-defrosting (think archaeology) and found some goodies, like one squirrel and one rabbit that did not get put into pot pies, a couple packages of last year's bacon candy, a whole ham, a mid-sized turkey...............and some bluegills and perch that I had put aside to make a chowder. If I make a chowder, it will take MORE freezer space, but if I can otherwise preserve the fish, that is not an issue. SO>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>I have never pressure-canned fine-fleshed white fish fillets (But I have canned smoked WHITEFISH, and they are fabulous!) It has to be said, a fish normally needs to have some fat in it to make good canned fish, and neither perch nor bluegills qualify on that count. BUT>>>>>>>>>>>>> I have the bags of "chowder" fillets thawing, and tomorrow I am going to pressure-can them. I am thinking some cut-up Vidalia onion, seasoning salt, dill seed, a bit of garlic, and lemon pepper for flavouring. I will see how it turns out - please wish me luck! Doug

Yes, of that I am convinced by all of the testimony here. It would be churlish of me to suggest that a herd mentality always prevails, like they used to say, EAT SH**!!!! Ten billion flies can't be wrong.................

See the German influence with the schweinshaxe!!!!

all GTA

Where do you see them, Brian? Is it a small store, or one of the chains? Doug

K-town weather watch says hail the size of FREAKIN GOLF BALLS!!!! 😲 And the wife is out for a camping trip with her sister and a bunch of friends.............😉

By all accounts, the Yamaha is a sweet motor, but I want to settle on a bow mount electric for starters. Bow to stern? Doug

Not enough! Old dog, new tricks, etc. It's my thinking that the next boat will be the last one I ever buy, I am in my 60s and take good care of my stuff. My current rig has two issues that are making my life unhappy: wrestling with the bow-mount when I stow it or deploy it; and manually lifting my 40 horse Honda up (ie tilt) to recover the boat on the trailer. Enjoying the points of view, and advice here, and many thanks to all who have chipped in. I am still listening for any more advice/recommendations. Doug

VERY VERY helpful, and thanks!

I can see that I am going to need to start another thread about "fish finders." 🙄 But this is all good, and please keep it coming folks, you are adding to an old fart's education!

So it looks like I want spot lock or a similar feature, we are making good progress here and thanks! Doug

Looks like about $2600 on-line. In relatively calm conditions, how much battery is burned using spot lock? I can see that being a very useful feature for fishing crappies (where I would usually anchor) I am appreciating all the advice guys, please keep it coming. Doug

Thanks very much. Looks like about four grand? What's the difference between i-pilot and i-pilot link? Doug

I have not fished at that exact spot, but the Ottawa up that way has a LOT of current, so make sure you have heavy jigs.

Sounds like the kind of item I am looking for, thanks. What make and model? Doug

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This has no doubt come up before but a search did not help me, and who knows, there are probably new products out there. I am pretty much convinced I am going to buy a new fishing boat, 16 foot aluminum, tiller, with a raised casting platform on the bow. I want to get a bow mount electric that doesn't wreck my back each time I deploy and stow it. (I acknowledge that I am not the young man I once was...). I am very comfortable with a foot pedal control, and would only use the motor from a SEATED position, never standing, never on one of those 3/4 height bicycle seats that are designed to torture old guys, thanks very much. I assume that a new boat will be able to accommodate two 12 v batteries for the motor, independent of the starting battery. I am not in any sense a competitive angler, and a LONG day in the boat for me would be 6 hours. I am certain I don't need a 36 volt motor. I don't fish big water any more, and the weight of the boat doesn't need that much power. (If it is really windy, I will not be fishing, so need not worry about boat control in big swells or with a side wind.) So what do you guys recommend? I have run Minnkota electric motors for forty years or so, but would consider another brand. The critical thing is ease of deploying and stowing it. Thanks for any advice. Doug

Sounds AWESOME Smitty! I almost never see pork hocks any more, and they are a treat......... Doug

good on ya, bud! Doug

Thanks for the report! And good luck on your competitive days out there. Doug

I really enjoy deer heart, so when we shoot a deer in the camp, the heart is saved, unless the bullet or arrow went through the heart. In that case, the meat is too damaged to eat. We also enjoy deer liver, but that is another story. (Hint: slice it thin, season it like steak, and pan fry at high heat for a very short time). So the traditional deer camp heart recipe is to stuff it and bake it in a very slow oven, often with a bacon wrap on the stuffed heart. And you haven't lived until you have tried gravy made with bacon-wrapped deer heart...............LOW cholesterol. 😉 I really like stuffed baked deer heart, but it is also delicious sliced and pan-fried, which is a lot quicker and makes a great appetizer. I even took a couple deer hearts one year and ground them up and cooked ground deer heart like hamburger - it was very good but not worth the effort. So I was rooting around in one of my FOUR freezers that are running right now 🙄 and found the heart from the buck I shot last November, vacuum-packed and still plenty fresh, and I thought to myself, how about BBQ deer heart? So I cut the heart in three, cleaned out the connective tissue and most of the fat, brushed it with EVO and seasoned it, and put it on the BBQ on indirect heat for about ten minutes. Instant-read thermometer put it at about 120 F. I was quite worried about over-cooking it, since it is extremely lean meat. I took the meat off the grill and covered it with aluminum foil, then served it with fresh yellow beans from the garden and roast cauliflower. It was fairly rare (see pic) and would have been better medium rare to (maybe) medium). I would do this again. Doug

Boat, fifty thousand. Fishing gear, five thousand. Rain gear five cents. Getting soaked to the nuts, PRICELESS. 😉 Doug