adempsey

I am not sure if you're looking for fishing+family vacation or not [i will assume you are since you posted in these forums], but I went up to Red Pine Lodge on Lake Ivanhoe near Timmins last summer for a fishing trip. Although it's somewhat remote, it was not what I expected since it was a huge trailer park with cottages - so, not my first choice for a true fishing getaway. That being said, I thought it would be a great place for a family if you also wanted to do some fishing. They have cottages along the lake in front of a really large beach. Probably the nicest I have seen at any fishing destination I have ever been too. The cottages along the lake look nice, but I stayed in an older cottage that was in the centre of the trailer park - ugh.. so I can't really comment on them. Most of the lake is in Ivanhoe provincial park and there is a river flowing out of the lake that is damned up that you can walk to and fish or just take a look. The lake itself is beautiful and is quite unique from my experiences. At the south end the lake "turns into a river" (it's actually still the lake, but it looks like a small river that goes on forever). Very pristine and the fishing is good. This is the only other lake I have ever caught true Jumbo perch. Of the other family+fishing type places I have been to, there are some on Rice Lake that are nice, although they tend to be lacking in the beach department. Rice lake is great for kids since it's loaded with panfish. Rent a pontoon boat and take them panfishing, lots of fun and they are out of the sun and not in a cramped boat. I typically stay at Musky Bay Resort or Elmhirst's Resort. I have been to several others, but these two are my preference - Musky Bay is the best value I have seen anywhere to date, while Elmhirst's is "fancier" and has an indoor and outdoor pool [kinda expensive though]. Elmhirst's also has a kids program so you can get some free time with your wife [or to fish, lol]. I am not sure if your children would be old enough though, you would have to check. I thought the beach+cottages at Pleasant Cove in Pointe Au Baril were nice. They also had a kids program. I'd also read the tripadvisor reviews for some additional info. I have also stayed at some of the nicer places in the Muskokas - Red Leaves, Taboo. They are really nice too, but a little more difficult [or too expensive IMO] to get out in a boat fishing (unless you own your own). My daughter really liked Red Leaves. They have several indoor/outdoor pools and many other amenities/activities. It's a really nice place, although I don't remember how much it costs. Great if you like to golf too. There are other really nice family oriented typeresorts like this as well like Deerhurst, Grandview, Rocky Crest, Clevelands House, Severn. Anyway, I'd highly recommend a place with: a pool, a beach, kids program and OTHER KIDS. Having other children around for your kids to play with is a nice bonus. Also, I agree with the above post that they would be happy on any beach or swimming pool. Heck, even staying in a hotel was fun for me as a kid. There are a lot of places in Niagara Falls that they would love as well.

Well, what I don't understand is why anyone would wait that long without saying anything. I have, and will, leave if I don't receive my dinner within 20 minutes of ordering. No way would I wait an entire hour for my main course. I think you all need to be a lot more vocal about your service. You have every right to say something as the customer if you're not satisfied. It should never have gotten to the point of deciding whether or not to pay. Hopefully you all still had a good time together with your friends though!

The selection at Le Baron (Markham) and BPS is pretty poor at the moment. Although, the last time I was at BPS they did have a lot of their own brand of rods and some baitcaster St. Croix rods. They BPS brand rods are the longer ice rods (like 36-42" or something) - new trend I guess. I'd check JB's Fishing Depot (near 401/Belfied), they carry St.Croix rods. The Jason Mitchell rods (recently purchase by Clam corp) seem popular, but never used one. If you don't want a St.Croix, then I would agree with ordering something online. Good luck.

I am curious, is Kabakwa a popular lake for ice fishing? Probably going to spend a day on it in Feb.

I like your spinnerbaits. I have a couple of spinnerbait boxes, but I picked up a binder instead last summer. I much prefer the binder since it's more compact and has a better shape for storage.

NOTHING compares to a nice blue or rare cut of beef tenderloin. They melts in your mouth! Forget the sauces too, they just ruin it.

Looks like a type of wrasse to me. Maybe a small Rainbow Wrasse? http://www.cybersmith.co.za/gallery1/RainbowWrasse2lg.jpg Not sure though, only saltwater fish that I have seen have been in aquariums.

I have no opinion either way. I just want to say you should still feel OK about being offended by it and not waiver just because most people aren't. Although, I would have thought St.Croix would have come up with something less gimmicky for marketing their products than that.

The sales rep for the Arctic Armor suits gave a talk at the Radioworld Ice Fishing event last week. Based on what he said, they are not approved as PFDs. They do float however. Anyway, assuming these are the same suits at Canadian Tire? The suits talked about at the seminar were made by IDI gear (IDI Gear).

I don't know if it's just me, but that photo looks Photoshopped. I like the fur though. Although, there seems to be too much of it for a picture. They look like they were swallowed by some animal and are poking out of it.

Lots of good info on this site: http://www.fishingsimcoe.com/tackle-talk/artificial-baits Cheers.

Many will tell you it's just marketing. Personally, I am not convinced it's any better. Often you get line in more visible colors like blue and yellow though. However, I try new lines every season. I have six different rods with six different lines at the moment, two of which are sold as ice lines (Fireline Micro Ice and Power Pro Ice). If I didn't want to play around I would probably just use Trilene XT or XL, which a lot of people use for ice fishing.

I think some things are cheaper, but overall I have a feeling the prices are quite similar. If I do shop in the US, it's mostly for items I can't get locally. If you really try you could probably save money on buying items on sale and paying attention to what is duty free based on NAFTA. Another example are things like designer clothes/accessories can be had very cheap if you know where to look. I used to live in a border town and people used to cross-border shop all the time. However, they also used to sneak the stuff back across the border so they didn't pay tax or duty. They'd do things like wear crappy clothes there and buy a new outfit and wear it back. Especially shoes. Things like that. That was many years ago, I have no idea what it's been like the past 10 years or so, but my parents still live there and tell me shopping in the US is still going strong.

Nice. Very jealous here. Hope you have better luck on the weekend!

I think traditionally people went with a flasher because LCD screens did not stand up to the cold as well [i am not sure how true this is, but it's a common argument for flashers]. This may still be an issue if you're fishing in extreme cold, but I am not really sure. Regardless, the LCD models are very popular now, so that should say something. One other big difference between the two sonar types is that flashers have a motor that spins a disc with the LED on it around. So, you now have an additional moving part in your equipment. Over time the brushes will start to create dust and the unit will likely need to be cleaned of dust after a couple of years or so. The two sonar types aren't really that different from each other in terms of function. The LCD types simply show the history of the sonar pings over time on the LCD screen. A flasher just shows real time using LEDs. The sonar pings from the water column are also displayed in a circle in a flasher instead of a straight line. Otherwise, the flasher would be physically large [although, technically impossible since they LED spins around]. One different type of flasher, The Showdown by Marcum, is an LCD "flasher" that displays the water column linearly, but it lacks the history display you see in the typical LCD sonars, so is a very small LCD screen. If you look at any sonar on the right hand side the sonar pings are displayed in the exact same manner. You just typically look at the sonar ping history and not the very right hand side of your sonar. You will also hear people mention that flashers are "real-time" with respect to the time between sonar pings and the change in the display; and that the LCD models have a slight delay between the sonar pings and what is on the screen. I am not sure if this is still true, and if it is, if it's at all significant. Maybe at really cold temperatures, I have no idea. I think if it was an issue the LCD models would not be as popular as they are. The LCD models with history also have a flasher mode which simply displays the sonar pings in the traditional circle display with no history. Flashers - there are three popular manufacturers of flashers, Vexilar, Marcum and Humminbird. The first two have been around for a long time, while Humminbird just introduced their ICE flashers to the market last year [or the year before, I forget]. Each company makes several models, although Vexilar has the most models. The price points are similar for all manufacturers for the various models. There are some differences between them that you need to investigate to determine which is best for you: maximum depth, target separation and zoom. The various models often use different transducers too, single vs dual vs tri beam; and display three to six different colors. Interference rejection [removes cross-talk between flashers that are used in "close" proximity to one another] can also be important depending on how you fish, but I believe all models have decent interference rejection. Which one you buy will depend on what you fish for and your budget of course [i'd say there are three price points - $300-350, $400-450 and $500-550]. ALL three companies are popular and have similar warranty, although if I were to guess, Vexilar is probably the most popular but Humminbird has really gained a chunk of the market. However, I would not attribute this to one being technically superior to the other, it's more about word of mouth, availability and personal preference. Besides the difference in the specs (i.e., max depth, transducer etc.), make sure to look at the small differences like battery life, battery indicator, carrying case, display type (flat vs. traditional),etc. This is where personal preference comes into play. It's the same thing as the age old "which truck do I buy" problem. There is another type of flasher called the Showdown, which is manufactured by Nature Vision. Nature Vision recently purchased Marcum so it's being marketed under that name. It's essentially like a flasher but uses an LCD screen instead of LEDs and a motor to display sonar pings. It's a linear display and has no history; basically it's a standard sonar without most of the screen. It's also gray scale, unlike the typical flasher that displays three to six different colors. It seems to be very popular and is at the middle price point. Although, there are two models based on the transducer they come with (single vs. dual beam). LCD sonars - Lowrance and Humminbird both make portable ICE models. Lowrance has the X67c and Humminbird has the 345c and 385ci. These are all color displays. I think the 385ci comes with a GPS. I believe the Humminbird models use the same transducer as their flashers. I think the biggest benefit of these models is that they can easily be used on open water like a traditional sonar, although you do have to purchase a different transducer. You can still do this with flashers, but I find them better to use when you're not moving around. The sonar ping history helps a lot in a boat, IMO. Another important thing to consider is you don't need to have an ICE model sonar. You can use any portable sonar. You have to rig up the transducer to work for ice fishing or buy an ice fishing based transducer, but you can still do it. I'd highly recommend going somewhere where you can see and use the various models. They are all popular. You need to find one that suits your specific needs. I own a Marcum LX5 flasher. I like it a lot, but if I didn't already have a portable sonar for open water use I would most likely have gone with an LCD ice sonar. I also agree with the float suit. That is far more important than the flasher. After a flasher, the next toy I would get is a portable GPS unit. I love my hand held unit [with lake depth maps of course] so I at least know where to start poking holes.

Ahhhh, I miss those beautiful orange lines on my Marcum. Can't wait!

I am sure it won't be saving you much money in the long run, lol! I have been avoiding float and fly fishing setups since I know that just means more and more gear for me to buy [i am a gear junky]. I stuck with fly fishing for pike with my spinning rod and a spin bubble. Of course, as a result, I already started tying flies and I don't even really fly fish. I really enjoy doing it though. You won't look at the Christmas decorations in the stores the same after you start tying flies.

I had a similar problem with my girlfriends cat. It would be purring one second and then try to scratch my eyes out the next. I think it might have had to do with it wanting to be an "outdoor" cat, but we kept it inside since we lived in an apartment. Anyway, we got married and she got pregnant and the cat had to go due to potential issues with the baby. So, you could always get your girlfriend pregnant,lol!! Of course, it could make things worse since pregnant women aren't supposed to change kitty litter...I had to do that for 9 months as a result. Anyway, IMO, cats all have different personalities. Not all are so annoying. I still don't want another one.

As an aside, you could have just gone to a pharmacy and bought a syringe. That's what I use. Although, I always think about sticking myself and injecting worm guts into my finger.....blech. Probably should just clip the sharp point off, it would still be fine for worms. I have only used floating jigs for walleye. Not very often though.

Based on researching the web when I was looking around I got the impression that Furuno made some of the best electronics. However, they didn't seem very common around here. As mentioned above it's most likely due to them focusing on the marine market. Anyway, there is also something to be said that most inland lake fishermen are not likely to own one. So personally I'd do some in depth research before I went that route. I'd also recommend Radioworld. Good prices and service. I love that store.

Ya, that link doesn't go anywhere on the web. It's local to your computer.

A little bit of water in the bottle might be good to make it go a bit deeper, but still float. Would have to test it though.

As I poured hot water into my cup containing some Starbucks microground coffee, as stupid as it sounds, I thought "Why the heck am I paying $1 per pack of this stuff when I could probably just make my own?". So, I haven't really researched this, but since I know some folks on here are fans of this coffee, has anyone actually figured out a way to microgrind roasted coffee beans? Maybe it's harder than it looks, but hopefully not =) Cheers.

I just noticed this a couple of days ago myself doing some poking around into places to go ice fishing. I think I'll have to give it a try myself!

They look pretty nice to me. Hopefully they are at one of the sports shows next year so I can touch one.