Sterling

Man, what a great thread. I once "launched" a 16ft aluminum on a steep, muddy "ramp". It was so steep and I got greedy by untying EVERYTHING before touching water. The boat came off the bunks, slid off the trailer and 15ft down to shore. So we just pushed the thing into the water. It was a beater and the motor wasn't damaged so we had a good laugh. Those of you familiar with the Trout Lake launch in North Bay may know it was roped off for a while (if not STILL roped off). I'm the guy who "discovered" the cement slabs falling off into the deep. Almost sent my entire rig into the lake that day. Luckily there was a group of 20 drunken college kids nearby. They helped me literally lift the entire thing out of the water. Gave them whatever beer I had on hand. I wouldn't be needing it that day.... Third story, launching my 17.5ft crestliner with brother-in-law's $80,000 pickup. We're 10ft from the shoreline getting the boat ready and the whole thing starts moving backward. He had left it in DRIVE. He managed to get into the truck and hit the brakes just on time. He had some serious momentum going too. Good thing it was a dry launch.

Good information. Some additions to what you've said; Navionics is free for phones but you have to pay for the tablet ("HD") version. The HD version allows you to use Navionics on larger displays. I think it's $40? Regarding battery life, it's essential to hook up your unit to some sort of power source, otherwise you're out of power within 3 hours or so. My boat battery charges a tablet faster than it drains. As you pointed out, cold can be an issue, but the main problem I encountered was excessive midsummer heat, where the unit was at first sluggish, then turned itself off. Blazing sunlight is another problem if you're in the open. Funny enough a white unit will absorb less heat and cope with this problem better. Dog Lake doesn't seem to be charted. Navionics will often use available maps (government maps for example) to chart lakes. Then anglers fine-tune it by uploading their data. Dog Lake has some data available but not much. This will only get better with time. If Navionics doesn't have it, odds are it's not available elsewhere. Could be wrong though.

Sounds like an honest mistake. I'm sure they'll be willing to modify the rules to be compliant.

Lots of people running phones and tablets with "assisted GPS" which is a half-arsed GPS system. You need a real GPS, preferably with GLONASS.

Don't need cell service, just GPS. Any tablet or phone with navionics + GPS will outperform most (if not all) dedicated units overall. Edit: This is of course, strictly for on-water purposes.

Super nervous about my trip up in James Bay in early June.....

Not 100% sure of the details but at the bow of my partner's boat is a helix (I think). We swing around near a dock, say 25-30ft out and with the proper orientation SI scans under the dock. The dock pillars will show up strong and are easy to interpret. Using the dock pillars as reference you can easily see whether there are larger fish hanging around. Then it's just a matter of knowing where to cast. Where this was used (Temagami) weed growth isn't a big problem as the lake is very rocky. Every dock and structure gets a few casts regardless, as you mentioned fish can hide...

Maybe we used a different technology or something, but there's no way I would be able to interpret SI 240ft out. Disclaimer: I don't have SI on my boat but my fishing partner does. Where it really shined was checking docks for fish (bass) which was in very close quarters. Then again it looks like you're using SI for locating structure while I'm using it to find fish.

Incredibly useful when going after bass around docks, for example. Useless when fishing deep water.

I guess this could start a pretty heated argument. But no, I wasn't kidding. And I thought this was a common understanding among anglers. I stash a tinner or canoe at a super remote lake. It might see what, 1 use per year, if that? And they're usually beaters too. Sometimes they're tied to a tree - that to me is owner saying "please no touchy" and I respect that. Treat the gear with care and I don't see an issue. Sorry for derailing!

Memory is a bit shady because it's been so long, but here's what I know... You can get trailered into the lake by launching at Mowat landing and driving up to the guy at the dam. He's crabby but mellows out after a drink or two. The west end of the lake is considered a provincial park and you need a permit ($$$) to camp there. The east end is fair game. West end is deep, east end shallow. Navionics has an excellent bathymetric map of the lake. You should check it out. On the way in you'll see sand hills on the right, this is where we nailed walleye in the early season. No luck anywhere on the east end later in the season as fish go deep. Nailed bass at the falls connecting Lady Evelyn and Diamond. In fact this was probably the best bass fishing I've ever experienced. There are lakers in there as well (apparently) but I never targeted them. Southeast end of the lake has a portage leading to other small lakes, one of which is stocked with rainbows. There are canoes on the lake there that are fair game as per universal angling laws. Do us a favor and post a report when you get back!

Depends on the species and the type of cleaning I want to do! Perch I can clean in less than a minute using this approach: Otherwise it's just over a minute per fish if I'm cleaning the conventional way. Walleye takes me a few minutes but that's because I've perfected the art of recovering 95% of the meat. It can be done pretty fast if you're this guy;

Very rewarding catching fish on tackle you made yourself. I'm working on some worm harnesses of my own now. Only time I ever caught anything on my own tackle was an awful painted spoon. Trout naturally ate it anyway.

On that note, they finally started making proper bug suits that aren't annoying to wear. I bought one of these https://www.mec.ca/en/product/5016-843/Polyester-Insect-Proof-Shirt and ended up getting 2 more. Secondly, you can buy deet spray from the USA. I know it's bad for the environment and stuff, but if it's one spray here and there, little harm done. Third, try permethrin. Also not approved in Canada but the military uses it. It was invented for use in Vietnam. You spray it on your clothes and it works even after washed. I tried it last year and it was awesome.

If you're willing to drive that far why not go to Quebec? You could make it to Mistassini which as far as I'm concerned, is the best fishery in the world. World class walleye, pike, lakers, and specks. Everyone there speaks english so that's not an issue. Or you could go to say Lake Golean which is renowned for walleye. I fish this area yearly and the quantity is just insane, size not so much. 23 inch is the biggest you'll get, and 25+ is a trophy. Otherwise maybe consider Nipigon?

Where do you live and how far are you willing to travel?

Has it been determined that the fatality was caused by a bug? Or would have this happened anyway?

Some pretty major hate toward AVs in this thread! Not surprised though considering our average audience (crusty old fishermen - no offense guys...) On a more serious note, I have to agree with Dutch. There is no debate. AVs are safer. Let's start counting up the tens of thousands of hours AVs have without at-fault collision or fatalities. AVs are superior in every single way. The decision not to "trust" AVs is an emotional one only, this cannot be debated. For every fatality caused (despite) autonomous behavior, how many lives were saved? I would suggest starting with Tesla's AV videos, these will blow your mind. Instant and intelligent collision avoidance. Not only does the vehicle avoid the collision, but it does so in the safest way possible. AVs don't speed, get tired, drunk, drugged, sick, distracted, or injured. They see through fog and whiteouts. They slow down during freezing conditions. Have instant reflexes. Eliminate gridlock. Can drive at night while you sleep. Save you on plane tickets. Allow you to work while traveling. Save money on insurance. The list is endless. Ask yourself this; do you trust yourself more than AVs? Possibly. Do you trust AVs more than the average driver? Hell yes!

According to webarchive the site was up and regularly updated up until recently.

First thing that came to mind as well. I wanted a visual representation and made this;

I have to agree with you Akrisoner. To me electronics make the puzzle solving even more fun, especially in the fall when 5% of the lake holds 90% of the fish. I'll often start my search for fish with a thermocline check with my temp probe, then switch to navionics and find sunken islands / humps that nicely intercept this thermocline. Then mark all of these, and travel from one to the other until I see fish. It works. I knew the location of your 2nd picture instantly btw, those 2 blue buildings are just down the road from me Edit: I should add, on my home lake I use electronics for depth only maybe 90% of the time. I know where the big fish are and I just stick to that approach throughout most of the year.

I see lots of successes and no failure? I did well with the following; Bitcoin, going back to 2013. Do not invest in any cryptocurrencies aside from bitcoin and MAYBE the other top 5, Do not invest in cryptocurrencies if you don't understand them. Do not invest in cryptocurrencies if it's in the news. Cobalt ETFs (this one will be a top performer in the coming years). Various mining companies including Freeport McMoran. Various collectibles which will not be named. I did poorly with the following: Gold mining companies including Goldcorp. Weed stocks (never bought, ha). I have my sights set on: Nickel ETFs, particularly high latterite nickel mining companies... Cobalt cobalt cobalt Lithium The hell is a bitcoin chain letter?

Nipissing is primarily a catch and release fishery, at least for walleye. No fault of the outfitters. They have it rough with the new slot size, it really impacts their business.

Great video, hard to find these meegs jigs online, damn.

You can get the perch rigs / pickerel rigs for $1 at Walmart. I'd just go that route. They're a bit bulkier but seem to work fine. Lures should be tied to the line you tend to. Other lines should have live bait!