Fishnwire

There are a couple of reasons why he got jumped on a little bit. Think about what went on... I will say, I've lived in Sudbury for 32 of my 37 years, I can tell you that as far as the fishing info by specific body of water, the kid's info checks out. I know it's kind of general in nature, but enough accurate little details were included to indicate to me that it wasn't all total Bull. Based on the actual fishing info provided, I'd have him in my boat. Some of his other claims, I'm less certain of. When a 16 year old kid shows up somewhere and says he's won $32K in tournament winnings and already has a scholarship at a top Canadian university, its not surprising that others may question that. Heck I'll say it...I'm fairly certain both of those claims are lies and it makes me tend to think anything else he says is quite possibly also a lie. It's a credibility thing...like the boy who cried wolf. As far as the grammar and typing goes, none of us is perfect. However, the only thing that bothers me is when somebody commented on it to him, he basically said, "I know my typing is terrible, but I don't care." For someone who spends so much time on a public forum, he should try to care a little. When I am attempting to communicate with others using the written word, I employ a simple tactic that our young friend obviously is not familiar with...Think about what you'd like to say, type it out, TAKE A MINUTE AND READ IT BACK TO YOURSELF, make corrections as necessary, and only then hit "Add Reply". Spellcheck is a great tool aswell. I guess I'm trying to say there's a difference between having poor english skills and just being lazy or sloppy. Lastly, and more troubling, is that he seems to be going for the record for "most locked threads". And it's not like all his threads are about unions, gun control, or whether or not we should be in Afghanistan...they start out pretty innocent, but a page or two in, and everybody's feathers are ruffled. The OFNers who've speculated that this might be a troll in 16 year old clothing might be on to something. I asked myself a couple of times, "Is this guy for real?" All that said, I'd be lying if I said I'm not curious to see what he comes up with next. I'm getting a kick out of the kid. As far as I'm concerned, the locked threads are almost always the most interesting ones...and I've said before I think the mods are a little too quick to shut threads down...if a OFNer finds a thread is going in a distastful direction, he or she is free to go to a different thread. But hey, I don't run the place, and those that do are doing a fine job. I spent a good 15 minutes writting this reply, I hope the thread's not locked when I go to post it!

I know people make mistakes...I make them myself every now and then. I try to take reponsibility for the mistakes that are my fault, and attempt to make ammends to those that, through no fault of their own, have been affected by my mistakes. I just wish Canadian Tire would have done the same. Considering they're in the customer service industry and they take my money, I don't think that's expecting a lot. When you pay for a product or service that is sub-standard as a result of a mistake the provider made, don't you expect that provider to fix the problem at their expense? I know I do. What's with the negative tone to your reply? Kind of snippy and uncalled for, no? I don't know what I did to deserve that. Do you work for Canadian Tire or something?

I had my winter tires removed and replaced with my summer ones a couple years back at the local CTC. The minute I got home I realized one of my caps was missing from one of my rims. It's held on with a single bolt, and obviously, the kid didn't put it in right. I went back to the store and asked to speak with the service manager. I explained what happened and he took responsibility for the missing cap. He knew the only explanation was that the kid had screwed up. He took down the model number of my rims and said he'd get back to me once he'd tracked down the part. Three weeks later, I've heard nothing, so I go in to talk to the guy. He says, "Yeah, I can't find that rim for sale anywhere so I can't replace the cap." I tell him I'm not satisfied with that and he just shrugs and says, "There's nothing I can do, and there's nothing I'm going to do. You can't prove it was my guy who caused the cap to be lost anyway." And then basically tells me to go away. He was a real jerk about it too, stopping just short of accussing me of trying to pull a fast one on him. How the heck else does he think the cap went missing? Thanks for the customer service Canadian Tire. I still p's me off to think about how little they tried to fix their screw-up. But hey, guess what? I've spent hundreds of dollars there since, so who's the bonehead? I know I'll always shop there, and always have something to complain about too.

Steve, to what to you attach the straps?

That does help. Thanks. The procedure you describe is simular to what I do. I have one question though. Do you strap your quad at the front aswell, or rely solely on the winch?

I thought about using a bucket. I was thinking about two lengths of rope, about 4 feet each, one tied to the port and one the starboard...like a "V" going out to where I'll attach the bucket so it runs in the middle, behind the boat. However, like I mentioned in my OP, I'd like to avoid the hastle of all that stuff. It's a brand new motor and it's only 2.5 horse...shouldn't I be able to attain a reasonable trolling speed without having to drag something? The manual is at camp so I can't check right now, but maybe there's an idle adjustment or something? I'll look it up when I get back, but I was hoping somebody encountered the same problem. I do appreciate the suggestions. Thanx. Keep 'em coming.

I tried that, it doesn't really slow the boat down very much and I lose a fair amount of control. The motor doesn't have a reverse gear, you just spin it around and go in reverse. The prop is still spinning in the same direction at the same speed. Plus I don't have easy access to the throttle and stop button when the motor is pointing backwards.

I noticed at my camp that the smallies will slam just about any size and shape of plastic bait, so long as it is crawfish coloured. Tubes, twistertails, lizards, worms...chigger-craws too obviously, but they have to be smoke, pumpkinseed, or something simular. I was hammering them on smoke coloured power tubes and when I ran out I went to a red and black flecked one. They just didn't want that thing. I picked around on the floor of the boat untill I found a discarded smoke coloured tube that was still barely useable. I tied it back on and went right back to slammin' 'em. Those weighted Texas-style hooks deserve a mention too. The wide gap tends to prevent a lot of deep hooked fish. They've changed the way I fish. I'm just loving the plastic this year. I used to be more into cranks and live bait, but the more I use soft baits the more versatile I see that they are.

My Father-in-law bought a brand new Suzuki 2.5 hp 4 stroke outboard this winter. We've been using it at camp the last couple of weeks and I'm really happy with it. The one thing that could be better is it's minimum speed. It trolls a little fast for my liking even at lowest throttle. It doesn't stall, but it's just not slow enough. Anyone know if there's any way to slow this puppy down a bit? I could try a dfift sock or some simular type arrangement but that seems like a pain in the butt.

When I trailer my quad into camp, the last few kms of the raod is barely even a road. The trailer bounces around pretty good and I have to stop and check my straps and chain every now and then. They usually loosen a little and the quad shifts on the trailer to one side. I noticed that it stays put a lot better if I strap the quad down real tight so that I compress the suspension on the bike almost all the way. My question is this: Am I wrecking the suspension of my quad by trailering it this way. It can't be good to compress it and leave it like that for the 2 hours it takes me to get in? What about loading the bike on the trailer the night before? Is it bad to leave the suspension compressed for extended periods? Any experienced input would be appreciated.

A lot of people have a funny idea of just how much individual fish weigh. There are plenty of guys who refuse to believe that 18 inch smallie they caught was an oz less than 5 lbs...or think a 30 inch pike is around 14 lbs. A good quality digital scale is usually the only thing that prevents some of us from accidental exaggeration.

-Smoke tube -Power lizard -Rapala Skitter Walk -these fat little plugs that only dive about a foot...I forget the name of 'em -Bomber long "A" Honorable mention... Slip float and live bait. Everything that swims will take a live minnow.

I went ice fishing there for a weekend at a place with a bunch of cottages. I forget the name. They served meals in a big hall. There had to be over 50 guys there that weekend. The food was awesome and the huts were OK. The fishing was terrible. The party I was with did not get a single fish. Some guys a few huts down got a pike around 3 lbs...at that was it for the weekend. There were quite a few guys there that had been there in years previous. They told us the fishing was equally unimpressive then too. Apparently the big attraction was the food. Like I say, it was really good (steaks, all you can eat fish fry, big breakfasts, etc) and it was quite affordable. At the end of the weekend, I asked the owner of the place (an old hippy-looking guy) if there was any fish in the lake, or what? He said, "Yeah, brown trout." and laughed like hell. That's everything I know about Nosbonsing. I hope you have better luck than I did.

I always plan on using topwaters for SMbass...but until this past week I hadn't given them much of a try. I bought one of those Rapala Skitter Walks this winter and I decided to give it a try last time I was out. My heart is still pounding! I will be going to the top waters a lot more from now on. I caught two 16 inchers and then a fat ol' 18 in less than a half hour. Then the wind picked up and the chop was too much. I'll never forget the moment that big pig broke water on that Skitter. SMASH! SPLASH! I'm addicted! I want more! I have heard of guys raising smallies to the surface from as much as 20 feet of water. Is this true?

A few days ago at camp I caught a decent walleye. There are not a lot of big walleye on this water, so at around 4 1/2 lbs, this was not a fish I wanted to harvest. The problem was that one of the trebles on the plug I was trolling with completely destroyed one of the fish's eyes, no doubt blinding it totally in that eye. After quickly debating what to do, I decided to release the fish. After I did however, I began to wonder whether or not I'd made the right decission. I wonder what the fish's chances of survival are. It may suffer some kind of infection in the wounded eye, or simply not be an effective predator and starve to death. Even if it does survive, would it be able to compete for a mate during breeding season? Maybe I should have just ate it...What do you guys think?

That sounds wicked good! I WILL be trying that one.

As little as 20 years ago, you'd have a hard time finding pictures of a lot of people decked out in that way. We as a nation had a real identity crisis for a long time. The fact that more and more Canadians are moved to show their "patriotism" in a way that possibly borders on tacky is a good thing. I say "ROCK ON!" to whoever wanys to show their national pride in whatever way they see fit. BTW - Wearing an ACTUAL flag, not a representation of one, might be considered disrespectful. Somebody drying themselves at the beach with a towel that looks like a flag and using an actual flag are two different things...that said, a door mat that looks like a Canadian flag would be unacceptable. I think the distinction is usually pretty obvious.

The tubiflex worm videos don't really look like the sewer "creature" video. Am I wrong?

The big ones are not hitting yet at the camp up north. The little ones were SMASHING shallow runners thrown right up against rocky shoreline. I had to keep a one pounder that managed to gut hook himself on a fat crank bait. He absolutely inhaled the thing. They'll just get hotter and hotter for the next while, boys!

Don't cheap out. You don't need to go crazy...but if you spend less than a couple of hundred bucks you'll probably be disappointed. I had the Hummingbird 525 ($120) and returned it after using it for one weekend. I upgraded to the 565 portable ($250) and the thing is ten times better. That said, my buddy's finder was about $800 and it is about a thousand times better than mine. I think when it comes to marine electronics, you get what you pay for. Although more expensive units feature more (possible useless) bells and whistles, you also get a better all-around quality fish-finder.

The other day I tried some walleye my buddy caught that was prepared using a "tempura" type batter mix which he said is available in the Chinese-food section of the Superstore. It did not have a recognizable brand name...I think it might have just said "tempura batter mix". It was so good...light and crispy...I'm going to look for it next time I'm at the grocery store. Tar-tar sauce is a must, IMO.

Nine nights sleeping on the ground would destroy my back. Have you thought about bringing an air mattress? I have a "five-day" cooler, and it works remarkably well. Forget about cubes and buy blocks of ice. Also freezing plastic bottles (the bigger the better) works OK...as they melt they don't fill the bottom of the cooler with water. If you put warm beer (or whatever) in the cooler it really kicks the heck out of your ice...it's better (when possible) to make sure the stuff you put in your cooler is already cold. Also, at least a third (half is better) of the room in your cooler should be taken up by ice. Anything like juice or water should be frozen solid ahead of time as well. Regardless, you'll never get ten days worth of cold beer or fresh food without replenishing your ice at some point. That's why you need at least two coolers so you can send a guy to town with an empty one, have him get as much ice as it will hold and then put half the beer/food and ice in each. Keep your cooler in the shade and keep the lid closed as much as possible. I don't mean to go on and on with the cooler advice...it's just that I like beer and refuse to drink it unless it's cold. I can only assume you feel the same way.

Not that she deserves you bothering to waste your breath...however if you must engage this person I would avoid one certain tactic. When people try to defend the sport of fishing by pointing out that others are not perfect because they eat meat or some such thing...this is pointless. I obviously don't agree...but any P3TA-head with half a brain would counter that just because he or she has accepted the harvest and consumption of meat products for sustenance doesn't mean that they can't be opposed to a pastime which they view as being unnecessarily cruel. Before the flame war starts...like I've already stated...I don't agree with that opinion, I'm just stated the obvious response any tree-hugger with basic reasoning abilities would counter with. One could oppose 99% of what organizations like P3TA stand for, while still finding certain common ground with even the most hard-line of animal lovers. Just because P3TA is against something...it doesn't mean they're automatically way off base. For example, I'm pretty sure not too many of us would support dog fighting to the death for sport...P3TA member or not.

A steel leader would be completely unnecessary. I started using a two foot leader of flouro last year, tied to the main line using a decent quality barrel swivel...cheap ones equal badly twisted line. If they're hitting really well I'll forget about the flouro and sometimes put on a good snap-swivel on the main line and attach my baits with that. It's convenient for quick lure changes, helps improve the action on most crankbaits, and reduces line twist.

Looks like rust. But there sure is a lot of it. Does not look like pollen.