SlowPoke

Hey Rob, good to hear from ya! I did buy a Starcraft, had it been a Lund I woulda turned around when I saw those waves You're right, I do owe you a trip... in fact it was a year ago next week and I still have a sunburn from that trip! We'll set something up soon... maybe an LSC trip. -Brian

And I thought I had a long day Saturday! Well done once again folks, keep 'em coming! -Brian

Bly, you're welcome in my boat anytime. CCMT on the other hand... well, I'll just spread my tackle all over the floor before you come aboard. Just kidding, I've dumped that box myself. I have to learn to close the lid, especially on that one. It goes beyond luck for Cliff and Carole, in fact Carole picked the hot lure from her tackle. They ask the right questions at the right times, are very eager to learn and have such a passion for fishing that they get out probably more than anyone on this board. That kind of drive can only yield good results. The test results are in: (inside joke for Carole) Carole 4+ for biggest fish Cliff 4 -Brian

Thanks for the comments folks. Cliff, yes that is the battery I tried first on Saturday. It was on the charger overnight and could barely trim down the motor. So, when Emil and I were on the water I figured I would connect it to let it charge while we were trolling and that's what happened. I don't know why I keep having these little adventures... I didn't mention in the Saturday report with CC and Bly that I picked up a bolt in my truck tire somewhere near the launch. I ended up getting it repaired at CTC and didn't leave Oakville until 4:30 PM. That made for a long day. I'm just glad eveything went flawlessly at Lakair. I'm wondering if maybe the battery took a beating on the way home and jarred one of the plates. Maybe Kennyman is right, spring for an Optima. -Brian

I've seen that a few times on mine Lew. I believe JP is bang on... next time it happens, quickly look in the lower left corner of the screen for a black icon in the shape of your map chip. When mine blanks the icon will appear flickering like the hard drive light on your computer. When something like that happens on our home computer my wife says "it's thinking" which pretty much sums it up. -Brian

Words not showing up in live chat.

After a great day on Lake O with CC & Bly yesterday I made plans to hookup with Icefisherman for some 'eyes and 'bows at Erieau. We met at Emil's campsite at 5AM and took the backroads to the Erieau ramp. Setup and launch went smoothly and we were on the water. The water was a little choppy but we were still able to get out to our desired starting point at top speed. One rigger, two leadcores and one dipsy running at various depths along the 43 FOW line heading east, into the wind. We marked a lot of fish on the bottom - ducking for cover I suppose with the cold front coming in. Things were peaceful for the first couple hours and then my leadcore started signing with 4.5 colours out. A nice little rainbow found its way to the boat after a few jumps and some pulls. We carried on east for another mile or so before turning around and trolling back inside our first line. Picked up a few weeds and nothing else. We hit our starting point and began heading south into deeper water since the wind died down a bit. The fishing was slow and the wind started picking up again. We got into some big swells but they were pretty far apart and managable... at least for another 20-30 minutes. Since the bite was off and the waves were on, I didn't see much point in battling the waves. The rollers were getting closer together and I called for lines up. I popped the rigger rod and began reeling in the leadcore rod when a walleye hit. An admirable fight for a little guy but lost it at the boat. I set down the leadcore rod and grabbed the rigger rod. Well, whatya know, I had a fish on! A quick hookset and a brief tussle before Emil works for a tough shot. As we battled our way inland we encountered some more of this... The pictures just don't do it justice and it's the worst water I've been in with this boat. Emil and myself were dissapointed with the fishing and the weather but the boat handled well and neither of us felt uncomfortable... that is, until the explosion. A very loud bang and the GPS/Sonar went out but the engine was still running. My first instinct was to curl up in the fetal position but I fought the urge and got onto the throttle. I didn't know what happened but I figured as long as the engine is still running, I would get my ass as close to shore as possible. There was no smoke or any further symptoms, the bilge was operational and the VHF was working. A bit of a rough, wet ride and we were back to the ramp safely. After tying off, I reluctantly lifted the rear bench seat to expose the battery and bilge area. Imagine my surprise when I noticed the top of my battery missing! I'm not sure what happened but I have come to the conclusion that I had a bad cell(s) and low fluid. As the motor was trying to charge the battery, gasses built up and the vents failed releasing chunks of plastic shrapnel all over my bilge area. I had to hook up the spare battery to trim up the motor and everything is working fine. Why can't I just go out, catch fish and go home without a "you ain't gonna belive this" story? -Brian

No pictures? Then it never happened Good report and good info. I got to test my 50kHz transducer today... loving it! Saw the balls but didn't see the t-cline. What sensitivity are you running for your 50kHz? P.S. Bly is hot on the kings now... hope she leaves some bigguns for the derby! -Brian

What a great day! It was a pleasure meeting CC & Bly at Lakair but even better to get on the water with them. You've seen the fish... green was the colour of the day and the leadcore was hot. For those of you intimately familier with leadcore, you can probably appreciate (with a devilish grin) why I suggested Bly take the leadcore rod first if it goes off. A full core, 10 colours with an angry 35.5" Salmon on the other end. Bly brought it in like a pro. Not to be outdone, CC nabs the second on the leadcore... 2 for 1 special if you include the breakfast we pulled out of its mouth. I got lucky with my bow, we saw it jump but it didn't pop the release on the downrigger. On the second jump I grabbed the rod, set the hook and held on for the ride. Good fight for a little fella, left the water a couple more times and pulled some drag. NK28 Watermelon took that one. Bly was up for number four, back on the leadcore with the NK Magnum silver/green. Number five should have been CC's but he was setting up rods so I grabbed the dipsy with a cheesy green doller store type spoon. Another little fella but it was nice to see the dipsy go off. Apparently the leadcore was a workout for Bly... I thought this would be another rescue outing when this guy washed his sails. I was late on the camara but he was over probably 75* two or three times before things were under control. The happy couple. Nice group shot. Another look at Bly's big fish of the day. -Brian

Another great outing Bly... may your next fish be a Sturgeon on a top-water! -Brian

I'd take a storm every Wednesday if it meant a dry weekend! -Brian

I'll go halves with ya Pete! -Brian

It was a blast hanging out with you around the campfire Friday night. I'm looking forward to doing it again next year! -Brian

Way to go miko, saw it on another board but couldn't remember my password to comment! LOL If any wants thier first muskie, go out with Mike! I'm thinking of heading down your way this weekend, what are your plans Mike? -Brian

Joe brings up a good point - Rich didn't have a boat and got to fish with a bunch of great people. I was stuck in my boat with a guy from work and another guy that lives a block away from me. It was a pleasure meeting you Rich. Great report and congrat's on your many firsts. We'll fish together next year and I'll be returning your PM shortly. -Brian

I much prefer the Long Point Provincial Park ramp. Last year it was $9 and an excellent ramp with a cleaning station and lots of parking.

Hmmm how 'bout an OFC Timeshare? If Feb 2-8 open is still open, count me in!

Nice report Jeff, good luck tomorrow! -Brian

Great report Cliff and nice fish! I enjoyed chatting with both of you and I hope we can get out sometime! -Brian

After you guys washed all those boats with that 40hp jet I find it hard to believe that somebody didn't return the favour! Glad to hear you got home safe and I really enjoyed meeting you guys. -Brian

Thanks everyone for the kind remarks and taking the time to post them. It was my first Lakair trip and certainly not my last. In fact, I might do it again this year. If you've never been you owe it to yourself to go. We had outstanding weather all week but even if it rained, I would have enjoyed my stay just as much. Most rewarding was the one-on-one conversations. There were too many too mention without leaving somebody out but I learned a lot about life, fishing and way more than I needed to know about Alabama goats. There was indeed a muskie caught but I'll leave it up them to post a report. -Brian

What a blast... I can't remember ever laughing so much! Monday: Spent the day working on my boat taking care of last minute details in blistering heat. Just little stuff like sealing up holes in the transom, installing the fishfinder, GPS, VHF, re-wiring and installing a seat. One of two that I ordered from Cabela's... I still don't know where the second one is! My wife was kind enough to pack my coolers and clothes while I slaved over a hot solding iron and I finally got to bed at 1:15AM. Tuesday: A little more than 45 minutes after going to bed, my Lakair partner Doug shows up. Doug is a friend from work and lives in Windsor. As it turns out, he didn't get much more sleep than I did! He was very patiant and helpful as I didn't have every thing ready to make our departure time. A quick shower, pack the tackle bag, hook up the boat, put the cover on and we hit the road... I think I fell asleap shortly after leaving my driveway. I would nod off, Doug say something and I'd nod off again. His passive approach of denying me of slumber would eventualy evolve into backhanding me to stay awake. The trip up was reletivly uneventful, except for missing the 400 exit. You'd think two truck drivers equipped with a map and GPS would remember to get off at the right exit. In our defense, neither get past the 427 for work and I was probably sleeping. We got off at Keele and doubled back on Finch stopping for a coffee and my first smoke break. Next stop, Perry Sound. By this time Canadian Tire was open and I picked up some fire wood and a cast iron skillet. A quick smoke and top up the fuel at .99/ltr (cheaper than London) and off we went. A short time later and we arrived at Lakair... ahhh! As Roy said, "fresh air is nice but Lakair is better". We got the boat launched and settled into the cottage beside our neighbours... Irishfield & Deg. Between thier boats was the 'plummas. Not quite a tiller, not quite a console. I really enjoyed our location in camp. A cozy little cottage with a great view and the boat at our doorstep. View from the dock View from the cottage It wasn't easy parking beside Irishfield's new Lund. It made mine look like an "adorable little 18 footer". To ease the boat envy we began drinking. It wasn't long before our view of Wayne's boat looked something like this Prior to heading up to Lakair I sent Muskiestud an email... something to the effect of "we'll be arriving Tuesday to cabin 9, drop in and there will be a beer, a map and a crayon waiting for you. Chris not only stopped by but went out with us for an afternoon fish. It was nice to get out with someone with as much experience on that water. The chart makes the West Bay look like a mine field but it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked on the map. Chris got us onto the fish rather quickly. A nice near shore controlled drift over some cabbage would bring up 7 pike in total. None were that big but I never had snot rockets hit so agressively! Chris wanted to acknowledge his sponsers in this shot. Stanfields Underware have been "supporting" Chris for some time now. We got back to camp and invited Chris to stay for dinner. We had two racks of ribs and Chris supplied some pike fillets. I generally don't eat anything that swims or flies (chickens don't fly) but I have to admit, the pike was pretty tasty done in fish crisp. We had a few beverages and a bunch of laughs and probably got to bed around 1 or 2am. Wednesday: Wanting an early start, I got up at the crack of 10AM. I must have needed the sleep! I poked around camp for a while, met some other OFNer's and decided if I didn't wake up Doug, we wouldn't be getting out to fish! After he waited on me to get my crap together tuesday morning I thought it was only fair to let him sleep in a little longer. By 11:30 I went into the cottage and said "the boats leaving". Doug sprang to life and we were on the water by noon. Wayne and Leah got a late start too. We decided if anybody asks we would say we just came in for lunch and are heading back out! Doug and I explored some different water to the west and picked up a few pike. Nothing worth taking pictures, saving the batteries for something more picture worthy. We did find some large suspended fish in about 30' FOW but couldn't raise them. We put in a good day on the water. The weather was good, a little gusty but still enjoyable. Back at camp we started in on dinner. Doug handled the BBQ for the steaks while I handled the veggies on the stove. It looked so good I had to take a picture! After dinner we decided to try for some nearby walleye. My anchor light was a little wonky and I borrowed Wayne's stick-on suction cup light - brilliant idea Wayne! We made one run to the west in the dark and packed it in. A few more beverages, a lot more laughs and another late night. Thursday: I managed to crawl out of bed around 8ish and stumbled over to the lodge for a coffee and a smoke. Around 9ish I woke up Doug and we got out on the water. We went for a longer run to the east to explore some new water. We picked up a few pike nosing in and out of the weeds until the bow-mount battery died. I never thought about it until now but I guess I could have charged it on the fly with the main motor while trolling. We found another inviting small bay and trolled across the wind following gps tracks making our way inwards. We picked up fish nearly every pass, about 7 or 8 in total... dropped a waypoint there for next year! On our way back to camp we dropped our lines on the spot Chris showed us. Within a few minutes we had a double headed. Small fish but double headers are always picture worthy! We picked up a few more in the area to give us over a dozen pike for the day. After that we decided to head west for some wally's. No luck but found a nice hole holding some big fish. Had the trolling battery been charged I would have sat over them jigging but the wind wasn't cooperating with a drift and we couldn't keep tight enough to the spot. No report is complete without the ubiquitous sunset shot. We got back to camp for a late dinner. We had bacon wrapped chicken breats with mozzarella cheese and some sauteed vegtables. We brought other side dishes but the sauteed vegtables from the night before were so good we decided to make more. Much to the delight of our neighbour Ruth who commented on the delicious smells coming her way from our kitchen window! Another picture worthy meal! We continued our pattern of late night beverages and laughs. Friday: I got up around 7ish and joined the 'breakfast club' with Lew, Squid, Beans, the 'plummas, Greencoachdog, Rich Clemmens, Deg & family and probably a few others. Nice breakfast followed by some good conversation and laughs at the rear deck of the lodge. We got a late start on fishing, around 10ish but we more than made up for it with the number of hours we would spend on the water that day. There was an impromptu get together planned on Tombstone Island planned for a noon so we stuck close by. Set the alarm on the fishfinfder for 11:45 and began fishing. We got our share of smallish pike and then I got into a decent one. Something I wouldn't have ashamed of to bring to the fishfry on Tombstone. A very scrappy pike under 30" that fought like a 40"er. I got it on a muskie spinnerbait and it was seemingly well hooked in the bottom jaw. As I was flipping the seat to get into the livewell it gave me a nasty headshake, a wink and a splash. Gone. A few more little ones released and the alarm went off. We made our way to Tombstone about a mile away and moored beside Rick O'banion's nicely equipped 14' Smokercraft. Now my boat looks like an 18'er! Then Wayne showed up minutes later... boat envy set in again. Wayne found a nice mooring spot against the rock but then had to move because his boat was hiding the island and others would have trouble finding us. Just kidding, we had to move Wayne's boat because the only suitable fire pit location was about fifteen feet upwind of his boat. Several others began showing up and we had a pretty good gathering. Some of us were casting and I managed a little pike from the deck of Mike's bass boat. Rick did pretty well casting too... Ruth and maybe Bill in the background Some stuff happened (what happens at Lakair stays at Lakair) You'll have to come out to get the real stories! Chris with his back to the 2/3 of the Southern contingent, Joe and Glenn (insert your own joke here) Kevin, our host, putting Lew's big pike to the pan while Chris, Doug and I think Beans look on. Wayne has another new camara firmly in hand with a strap on the wrist. Rich, Chris and Maureen in the background The fishfry was a blast and yeilded the biggest laugh of the week when Art said.... oh nevermind, you had to be there. Everyone had a good time on the rock but it was time to get back to fishing. Doug and I followed Kevin/Chris with Lew and Squid chasing. It was all I could do to keep up with Kevin's 90hp and Lew was closing in fast. Some more stuff happened (what happens at Lakair stays at Lakair) You'll have to come out to get the real stories! We got to a spot fished over some prime muskie cabbage but couldn't raise any. Kevin/Chris split and a short time later Lew/Squid packed it in. Doug and I decided to go back to snot rocket heaven to re-build our confidence and bagged a few more. On our way back to camp we decided to troll around a couple islands, no luck but we found this waterfront gem. I wonder if it's for sale? We moved over to hump within a mile of camp for some bottom bouncing. It looked like prime walleye grounds but only yielded a pike some perch and some crappie after a couple passes. We trolled back to camp for some dinner after a long day on the water. Nothing special about Friday's dinner... soup, sandwiches and a pasta cassarole. We headed down to the dock to socialize and chatted with Don, Ruth and thier grandson Tyler for a while and then we made our way over to the party at Joey and Tybo's. We had a blast there and got to meet some more members. Roy and TJ were well behaved, Joey treated everybody to some jerky and most importently we were able to finish off our beer before it spoiled. Way too many laughs and a very late night! Saturday: I arranged an early wake up call from Allan the cook. He tapped on my bedroom window around 6AM. I may or may not have reached through the curtain and gave him the finger. It's all a blur but I know I was thinking that! I had about 3 hours sleep so I stayed in bed for a nap. I got up about a little while later... a little too late for the breakfast club but Glenn and Rich were still at the lodge. After breakfast, a little reminiscing on the back deck about the ole days in Bronte and it was time to start packing for home. I wanted to stay for the pike derby but Doug wanted to get home at a reasonable time. He was facing an 8 hour drive back to Windsor. I made it to the docks just in time for the big picture ceremony but not early enough to get any myself. We loaded the boat on the trailer, said goodbye and we were on our way home. The return trip was smooth, arrived home at 7:15 and that's how my fishing trip went with the Unabomber, Theodore Kazinsky Until next year (or sooner), -Brian

I know what happened to Cliff.... keep an eye out for a report!

Another first class report Mike.... maybe someday I'll have something to report! -Brian

Nice report Emil, those fish keep following you around! -Brian