AKRISONER

2 things 1. i owned one of those premiere ice rods and hooked into a big trout and the lack of butt end nearly broke my arm after fighting it through multiple runs. I said "never again" and literally bought a new laketrout ice rod on the drive home. 2. Trout are the worst for deciding to but their heads against the ice. Its almost like they know they can knock the lure out of their face. I keep my drag stupidly loose when i get them up top. The buggers can be a handful to land. Heck last weekend I had one roll itself up in my line to the point that I could no longer land it head up, so i tail grabbed the thing to bring it up backwards, once i got it up on the ice I began to try unwind the frigging knot it had tied itself into and sure enough the thing went nuts and somehow managed to find the hole and take off again before it was unhooked. I got two fights out of one fish 😄

how did it go out there today?!

with the price of lithium batteries finally hitting the floor, lead acid just don’t make sense anymore! especially in boating where weight savings are everything!

May as well share a couple flicks from my weekend as well…the pork gyros with garlic naan, homemade Greek salad and tzatziki were the best part of the day!

Those memories of riding the snowmobiles out to the ice, running around chasing bells ringing and eating lunch on the ice are truthfully core to the reason i fish this very day. Important stuff to instill in kids, its not about fishing, its about being out there, a fish or two is a bonus. Heck, getting a little older and mature now, we are even toning back how "serious" we are especially when ice fishing. Lunch and a hot meal on the ice are a much larger priority it seems these days. The barbecue is one of the key packing items for any ice trip for us now.

if youre looking for canadian made hard baits and other nifty stuff, check out Nishine Lure Works! Hiroshi's products are the highest grade you can purchase and are designed right here in St Catherines

Ya, it wouldn’t be great to see guys trolling two rods for walleye up in pointe au baril. Could get ridiculous. totally different scenario than guys running two rods out in lake o for salmon. Hence why the rule is the rule. heck we’re 1 line through the ice in parry sound!

Dont overlook the idea of repowering a hull. Hulls on good manufacturer's boats dont really go "bad" much these days. Plus if youre handy at all, a lot can be done to make things like new again, seats, carpet, electronics etc can all be modernized fairly easily. Im running a 19 year old hull with a 2024 motor...the $80,000 that manufacturers are seemingly valuing their hulls at, the math aint mathin...at least not to me.

I don’t know about you, but after blowing up my Yamaha last year and searching high and low for a used replacement that made sense, I sure as hell don’t ever plan on playing $30,000 Russian roulette. That’s far far too high of a price to risk. i found it ridiculous that people were trying to ask $15,000 for a 2012 motor, but that’s the going asking price apparently everywhere. bit the bullet and now have a nice ultra powerful, effecient, reliable motor with a warranty. truthfully the technology in these motors that’s come out within the past 5 years is absolutely next level stuff.

i love to hear that big cliff is out fishing...thats whats important!

unless the pricing for the boat is close to a motorless hull, then steer clear. Etecs at this point essentially have little to no resale value. Also the stuff you hear about BRP making parts etc...i know first hand of someone running a G2 in 2023 that couldnt get a trim motor repaired unless they essentially purchased an entirely new power trim and tilt for 10k aka...scrapped the motor. Also those old Merc two strokes were a very different tec than the new evinrude 2's with direct fuel and oil injection. I kinda am of the belief that 2006 was the last year for all manufacturers of all power sports equipment in 2 stroke format where the motors could be considered reliable. once the EPA got involved with leaning out oil delivery it was essentially the nail in the coffin for two stroke motors. Which yes, with the modern 4 stroke motor being certainly more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly, had its desired effect. At the same time, holy cow a lot of motors got thrown in the literal garbage in the name of "emissions" my 88 suzuki carb 2 that starts every year without issue sure isnt in alignment with "throw away culture" I would argue its emissions dont add up to anything near what it would take to mine and smelt the metal or dig up the oil to manufacture the new plastic for multiple replacement motors.

was sure happy to have installed new AT's on my truck last week when i drove home from collingwood on Monday. 124 was closed, was forced down a country road, plenty of sections the drifts were over a foot deep. 4wd and big tires, no problem!

im still waiting to fool one of these fish on one of your high flies, had a perch attack on last trip out but incredibly did not get the hook somehow. More importantly though Im hoping to fool one of these whities with one.

Not sure what “the code” is beyond the fact that I didn’t speak Spanish and couldn’t double haul directly into 20mph wind.

a great spot, i have also been out with the operators son, was one of the best guiding experiences I have ever had. He worked so hard to put me on fish and genuinely was a really nice guy. Caught some fish, as well! Definitely a far better experience than I had in Cuba, even though I caught more in cuba...the guides felt like they were robbing me the entire time.

+1 for Paul Castelano from cast adventures if you want to go the Erie/niagara route.

I’m going to give the same recommendation of fishing with taro Murata on lake simcoe, or a lake of his choice. He will get you on fish and your kid will have a blast.

Weibe is the goat…full stop

30AH is way way way more than enough to power an echomap 95 for a full day. Especially in the warmth. for perspective, I am able to use a 24amp hour lithium with a 106sv and livescope in the cold for about 7-8 hours

just saw this thread now...RIP beans!

the cold snap worked, less fishing more hockey though

really really hoping this little cold snap will start to get things locked up around here on the bigger waters. Lots of back lakes are skimmed in zone 15...I plan on trying to at least build a rink on one of them. Who knows I will probably end up trying to catch a few pan fish for entertainment too at some point. Its my annual "will scott fall through the ice? Christmas tradition" so far Im on a falling through streak the last two years lol.

never mind winter tires, how many people are running on belted slicks or better yet...driving essentially without brakes.

Just saw a stat on the weather network, Saturday will be the coldest day in toronto since February 2023, and it’s only supposed to be -10

This is a bit of a weird one, like anything there is some inherited nuance. I run big (expensive yeesh) all terrains on my truck, my truck in 4x4 with those tires is certainly a hell of a lot safer than a rear wheel drive mustang with snow tires. My idea, buy one expensive set of tires that gets me through anything. my wifes crv? It’s got winters. as someone else alluded to…it would be criminal to make someone that lives in the Niagara region to get winters, they see snow on the ground 20 days tops these days. they haven’t even had any snow yet this year!