SlowPoke

Not unless your boat has seat belts LOL!! I'd like to hook up with you someday for bass lesson on Simcoe. I have a wedding to attend out that way in July... maybe we could set something up? Very generous offer Steve!! PM Returned. Thanks Mike, PM Returned. I know we discussed the opener/MCI Tourney in PM's but I didn't realize it was going to be in the same boat! We'll talk later today or tonight. Hopefully Steve can bring some homemade pizza LOL!! Thanks Mike, things are looking up for the weekend! The way I see it, a 55"er will put us in first place and I can be a contributor to the team instead of dead weight. By the way, does this Team #4 cheerleading outfit make me look fat?? He is indeed a class act, we have quite a few on this forum and that's what keeps me coming back! -Brian

I've been really looking forward to this weekend but I might be land-locked. My motor died on Lake O, got towed in etc. Took it into the shop for diagnosis and they said it was a switch box failure. They wanted $383 for it plus tax and installation. I decided to check out prices online and ordered one for $158US.. big savings! Problem is, it's not here yet! Anybody need gas money for LSC this weekend?? LOL -Brian

Happy Belated Goran! Nice catch that Andrea is... definately a keeper! -Brian

LOL!! Actually, I think that is at the dealer... no plate on the trailer.

$3500!! How long did it take to clean up the chalk outline and blood stains? I don't think my estimate was high - you just got a great deal!!! Enjoy your new ride Tiz -Brian

Great looking boat! If it runs half as good as it looks you've found yourself a nice ride. My guess... $4800-$5500 US depending on condition... yours is very clean si I'd say upwards of $5500. In Canadian funds that boat goes from $7500-$8500 CA. I'm guessing after all costs and expenses you saved at least $1500 CA. In terms we 'fisherman' might better understand, you have enough left over for some new tackle and a nice sonar/gps combo. -Brian

Good call Wayne, well nuts would be a huge mistake. Last weekend I had the 4' boom riggers on 6" Bert's risers/swivels down with 10lb sharks and running dipsys at 3.5 on a 10'6" rod... the stress is enormous and my gunnals were flexing (your's won't LOL) and may have torn out well nuts. I used 3/4" plywood backing on my Bert's tracks because I couldn't get my hands on 4"x1/4" (or 3/16") flat stock aluminium at the time. I will be replacing the plywood backers soon. I will be using full length backing (24")... it might support the gunnals a bit more and more importantly, I can feed it from the front to the rear-most mounts without removing floatation blocks. I will cut a 1"x1/2" slot in the side of the gunnal wall (interior) to slip a wrench in for tightening and then cover it with a snap-in access plate like a dash swith blank. No sympathy for your arms... you could have ordered bigger speakers=bigger holes or at the very least, move your workbench out from the wall to find your de-burring tool. That's where mine always ends up when it rolls off the workbench. Hmmm, if only there was some sort of tape-like material that would adhere to the speaker opening to mask the burrs Hockey tape works well too. If you're anything like me, you thought about taping but figured 'I'm almost done now...tough it out!' LOL Keep up the good work Wayne... can't wait for the Lakair inspection! -Brian

I was getting my motor diagnosed and inquired about kicker motors. They had 2006 4 Stroke Mercs priced to go fast (IMO) Prices from memory... 2006 4HP 4 stroke short - $1150 (2 left) 2006 4HP 4 stroke long - $1300 (1 left) 2006 5HP 4 stroke short - $1350 (1 left) Various 8 & 15 4 strokes also available This shop is in London... I don't want to advertise for them but if someone wants contact info PM me.

LOL, good point. And I was going to ask you if you wanted to split a rental at Lakair.

Great report Mike!

Welcome back Wayne. You had some hard luck with the camara and glasses but everything about the boat really pisses me off. You're handling this a lot better than I would. I have zero tolerance for poor workmanship. -Brian

Not to my knowledge. They took my information so I suppose they could send me a bill. If they do, I'll just add it to the stack. -Brian

I'll try anything, where do you park your trailer? -Brian

I got rid of my old gas at a truck shop. They dumped it into thier parts washer tank. -Brian

Thanks for the offer JJ, I'm heading east today - 3 trips for work. Good luck at Rondeau. I was going to buy a VHF but decided to hold off until Fathers Day... I've stopped buying neckties and fridge art for the same reason. -Brian

After a long week working dayshift and getting up at 2AM (day shift?) I never had enough time to dedicate to installing my new Lowrance. I decided not to try it in case I wasn't able to finish the install before the long weekend. I knew I still had to install new riggers and naturally I waited until the last minute. Friday afternoon I ventured into Woodstock to pick up a pair of Walker Tournaments... 4' boom, auto-stop, positive ion (whatever...) some Bert's swivels (oh man, these rock!), a 200 khz transducer, Navionics 14XG chip and a couple dipsy's. It took quite a while, the store was swamped! I think I was in there for about three hours but I got everything I needed, all of my questions answered and my Lowrance updated, setup and ready for install. I felt great walking out of there - much more agile, ready to pounce having shed all that unwanted money! On the way home I stopped by jjcanoe's house for last minute hook-up for the morning. I knew he was busy and had to stay near home for personal reasons but I thought I'd give it a shot. JJ couldn't go but it was a nice visit (thanks for the beer) and I met one of his neighbours... nice guy despite being a float fisher I had already called mepp's (hope you aced the test!) and UncleBuck (have fun at 6 mile lake!) and they were busy. I was going to meet Icefisherman at the Port Dalhousie ramp for 7AM with his boat/family and it looked like I was going to run solo on Saturday. I began installing the riggers and ran into a fuse problem on one side. Got that fixed and sat down for dinner at 10 PM. I still hadn't packed my gear or hooked up the boat and I was wiped after a 20 hour day facing a 4 AM wake-up to meet Emil. I left him a message that I wouldn't be there but I might come down later. I woke up Saturday around 8:30AM (ahhhhh, that felt good!) and called a buddy from Oakville around 9 to see if he was into some fishing for the day. I hadn't spoke to him for about six months... I was still waiting for his call for a late fall get together fishing weekend LOL. George had a few things to do on Saturday like staining his deck and that he would call me back (get permission from his wife). I figured George might take a while getting back to me (like maybe August) so I started packing. I thought maybe I could pick up a hitch-hiker or maybe a homeless person on the way for some accompaniment whilst fishing. And then George called back! We met at Home Depot in Hamilton and decided to take Barton to Fifty to avoid an accident on the highway... got on the highway and did about 9 km/h in traffic all the way to Ontario St. Our timing was great, met Emil while he was coming out of the ramp! We chatted for a bit and he said he got a shaker on a fly and a knock off... fishing was slow. George and I launched, the engine started right up and off we went. We headed out to 200' and dropped the riggers to 60 and 50 with cheaters around 30 and 25. Set the leadcore down to 45 and the dipsy around 40. All spoons - copper, orange, green, blue, purple. Marked some bait fish at various levels between 20 and 60 but no big fish on the graph. We followed the 200' line going east and went as deep as 260' heading for Niagara. After heading north about 4 miles and east for 4 miles the engine quit. I had used about 3 of 12 gallons of gas and both batteries fully charged. No warning, just quit and would not restart. I messed around for about 30 minutes and called *677 (OPP). They took my information and dispatched Niagara Regional Police. They arrived in about 20 minutes to check up on us. They could not tow us because we weren't in any danger but they stayed with us until the Coast Guard arrived. My buddy George knew one of the cops from high school 20 years ago so they had a good time catching up. The coast Guard arrived about 15 minutes after the police. I asked if they could try to tow us back to Port Dalhousie around 2.5 MPH so I could send the riggers down again . Just kidding, George posed with the rod for that shot. I don't think the twin 150 E-TEC's could do 2.5 on a big dingy! They were a friendly bunch too.. good sense of humour and very sympathetic. We were towed in around 7 MPH right back to the ramp. While we were loading up some guy recognized from the night before at Angling Outfitters. We chatted for a bit while loading the boat and then we left around 7PM. I don't think it's anything serious. It cranks fine and I'm pretty sure it's getting fuel but when I pulled a plug wire off the check for spark I didn't see any arcing. I suspect it's the ignition system which appears to be original. I hope my next report will have more fish and less rescue... my last outing involved getting this guy's plane running so he could get off an island in Long Point. Thanks again to Niagara Regional Police and the Coast Guard for your service and some laughs. -Brian

The ceremonial Mace in the House of Commons is probably an ideal example.

Lowrance $699 Navionics $149 Lures $1.99 each (very nice at that price!!) Tie Fast $8 (I think) All in US$ $125 taxes/duty, $3.50 brokerage, $40 express shipping (ordered Thursday, arrive today)

Another good couple of days checking the mailbox... one hydro bill and some goodies! Firstly, our very own Pam Dallaire painted a picture of my daughters testing the water temperature last year during Pike/Trout/Whitefish opener on Simcoe. I received the paintings in the mail and had some frames made and presented one to my Wife and one to my Mother in Law for Mother's day.... Special thanks to Pam. Both said they have never received such a beautiful gift, for any occasion! The girls and my wife.... The girls and my mother in law.... And then today for "Good spouse/son in law day" (only sometimes celebrated after mother's day), I received some goodies... Lowrance LMS 525C dumb ass, Navionics Gold+ Eastern Great Lakes, 12 Cabela's Walleye lures and a Tie Fast Magnum Who's coming over to help me install this fishfinder??? LOL -Brian

Hey Emil, nice fish. Again! -Brian

You're right Don. The chip I ordered is not XL9. I thought being Gold+ that it was an XL9 but it would appear to be an older chip prior to expanding the coverage area. No doubt the XL3 will work for me but I think I'm going to send it back. Wayne, I think the Platinum chips are for other high-end systems that can utilize the extra features. The Platinum may not even work in the Lowrance line but I don't know for sure. So many platforms, versions and options it's hard to know what to buy! Lew, I think I'm going to get that chip as well. It's the XL9 that covers everywhere I plan to fish in the near future. Thanks for the price quote, proably the same price after exchange and shipping compared to Cabela's. -Brian

jjcanoe might be able to help you here, maybe PM him if he doesn't chime in on the thread. Just don't go fishing with him, he won't let you catch any.... fish-hog! -Brian

I'd be interested in seeing a new pole. I think a lot of people have waivered on thier initial decision and that number can not be reflected in the original pole. Feedback seems to lean toward no restriction yet the pole shows otherwise. It's possible that the silent majority wants restrictions. Should we have a poll on starting a new poll? -Brian

Your efforts are appreciated, thanks again FOTB. -Brian

Glenn Close is coming?