akaShag

too bad Chuck Convery is dead and gone. He called his shop (North Shore Marina on Loughborough Lake) the home of a million parts, and I don't think that was an over-statement. And he knew where stuff was in that boar's nest of a place!!! When the North Shore road ended, and all you could see was a thousand outboard motor covers, you knew you had arrived. 😉 Sorry I can't help, but the reminiscing was pleasant. Doug

I know this is a fishing board, but some of us are also hunters. FWIW, PayPal is anti-gun. I refuse to deal with them. Sorry for the hijack. Doug

It was a pretty good week on Loughborough. Some days the bite was pretty tough, other days it was magical. We caught good numbers, and generally good size, largemouths. The smallies were smaller and not that plentiful, where we were fishing in the east end north of the marina. By far, the most productive presentation was a wacky worm, on a weightless hook, in neutral colours. We had three LMB in the four pound class, but (without a scale) I do not believe we broke the magical five pound record. Doug

Right. I tend to stay home on real windy days. And in moderate winds, I put the motor on spot lock so I can cover an area. But I catch your drift, and thanks for that. Doug

Interesting. I have had a LOT more success with an unweighted hook.

Thanks for the report!

You might call a Chevrolet a Chevy, or call a GMC a Jimmy, but there are actual names, and names in common usage. Who cares?

So we were up at 4 and in position 10 minutes before first light. And............we waited........and waited.....and finally a crappie, then a largemouth came in on a ned rig. Much later another largemouth on the wacky worm. It wasn't a banner day but I probably landed 15 or so. Lots of boats out, as usual.....

For many years (like 20 or so) I would be up before dawn to hurtle down the lake to my opening morning glory hole. A Texas rigged 7 inch Berkley Power worm with a VERY light worm weight would go into a small pocket inside a shoal. 14 FOW on the outside, maybe 2 FOW on top. Almost always, one of the biggest largemouth of the season would come topside soon thereafter. On a good morning we would take five or six largemouth from an area the size of a living room. For a couple magical years, it was a 10 inch Power Worm that would call in the big fish. BUT! Whether it's zebra mussels, or educated bass, a Texas rigged worm has not been all that effective the last few years. So I am thinking it will be a wacky worm, on the small side, on a non-weighted hook, in a natural colour. About 21 hours from now, but who's counting. 😉 Doug

Darryl Choronzey took this on as a crusade. He convinced me......... Doug

Well done for the kids there Brian! Just realized, this is this Saturday, OPENING DAY OF BASS around here at least. What's up with that? Doug

I have had mostly good interventions with police officers, and with COs, and I have had interventions that were less good with both groups. If one meets a law enforcement officer of any stripe who is bound and determined to lay a charge, regardless of guilt or innocence, chances are that the meeting with that LEO is going to be strained. I do not envy these folks their chosen careers, and everybody can have a bad day. But please don't approach me, when I am doing nothing wrong or illegal, and accuse me of something. It is not a good start to an encounter with a citizen who is paying their salary.

When I used to use paper charts, literally all over the province as far north as Temagami, the data was often from decades earlier. I am guessing that some of that data has never been updated, due to the work involved. Doug

Years ago a buddy and I were fishing for big bluegills ("BULLgills) around the long May weekend on Loughborough. We were fishing a stretch of the south shore where there are a lot of very nice year-round homes, and yes, two home owners came down and shouted at us about fishing bass. I told the one guy, go ahead and call the COs, we are fishing for bluegills. About an hour later I could see a boat bearing down on us, and I told my buddy I thought it looked like the CO's boat. Sure enough, just as he was pulling up, I hooked a largemouth, and released it without taking it out of the water completely. The CO (whom I knew) said that looked like a bass, and I acknowledged it was indeed a bass, but we were fishing for bluegills. (Ultralight rigs, 4 lb test, 1/16 oz jigs, etc). He looked in the livewell, checked our licences and safety equipment, and wished us a good day. I said I figured the guy on shore had reported us. "Oh no, I just happened to be out here" 🙄 Doug

That's me in the black Alumacraft Escape! 😁 You often fish alone, right?

SOLD!!! I got to thinking (which is a dangerous activity for a man like me), and I realize that I spend very little of my time at the stern of the boat where I have the graph, and rather spend most time on the bow casting platform with the bow-mount electric. I already knew why guys have two (or more) graphs, but did not really want to have something else up front in the way. So I do not actually spend much time looking at the graph and learning how it works. The last time I REALLY understand my graphs, it was a Lowrance X-16 (paper) in the boat, and a Lowrance Z-6000P portable everywhere else. I really did understand them. But I also wore a younger man's clothes.............and my head wasn't full of all the KNOWLEDGE from the last 30 or 40 years. 🙄 Doug

Friday before opener most years on Loughborough, lots of folks obviously fishing for bass. When challenged, most claim to be fishing for pike. Yeah, right. Often the boats have out of province registrations, or they are rental boats from the marina. But lots of Ontario stickers, and sometimes guys in serious bass boats (which never fails to surprise me). We do not have nearly enough COs in this province.... Doug

OK, we have success! With the aid of a set of "cheaters" (I don't wear glasses), and a bright flashlight and a set of needle nose pliers I was able to get the micro mini teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini SD card out of the clever hiding place and got it updated. Hallelujah! Hopefully I can also put it back. Thanks for all the helpful advice! I think I need to hire one of you folks for a morning to teach me how to use my Helix..........🙄 Doug

Many thanks! IIRC it was you who showed me (with a photo on here) how to find the teeny little slot where the card fits. I am going to look for that right soon! Doug

How would I know? Do they update automatically? Thanks for the advice! Doug

Thanks guys! The idea of having to do a bunch of buttonology just before bass season filled me with dread. So I will stay with what I have. And unless somebody moves the shoals, I am OK. Doug

As some of you may recall, I am technologically challenged. I just got this email, and understand the words, and the desire to sell me stuff, but DO I NEED IT? THE ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION WILL EXPIRE IN A WEEK ON: US & CANADA US_CAD We make up to 5,000 updates every day Click the button below to order a new card1 at up to 50% less than an original chart purchase. Be sure you log in your account to access the discounted price. With your replacement card, you can continue accessing the very latest content and advanced features: Dock-to-dock Route Guidance technology2 Advanced Map Options Plotter Sync PROCEED 1If you replace your old card with a new card, your old card can no longer be updated 2Dock-to-dock Route Guidance is for planning purposes only and does not replace safe navigation operations NOTE: After your subscription expires, it is possible to renew your subscription by using your existing card through the Navionics Chart Installer. Please do not reply to this message. Replies will be sent to an uncontrolled mailbox. Copyright © 2023 Garmin Italy Technologies. All rights reserved. Garmin Italy Technologies S.r.l. a socio unico, Via Fondacci 269, Z.I. Montramito Massarosa (LU), IT 55054 Italy End of their email message. CAN I CONTINUE TO ACCESS NAVIONICS WITHOUT BUYING A NEW CARD? It is in a Helix 7, if that matters. Thanks for helping out an old fart. Doug

Send him a couple of your pike dragons, and watch a forty pound laker come up from behind the grayling and smash it! 😉

Clova also is, or was, the home port for at least one of the houseboat rentals on the Gouin Reservoir. And a main access point for the Gouin. Yes, the road in is a teeth-rattler. Doug

Many moons ago I gave a presentation about fishing to a pretty big crowd, who got time off from work to attend the thing. (It was one of those "team building" things that people put on back in the 90s.) Not everybody was all that interested in fishing, and I realized that before the event. So yes indeed I had a thermos there with some "TEA" in it that was actually rye and water......😉 Doug