maybe

Jeff was just bouncing when he got back from the event. Sounds like everyone had a blast - sorry I missed it! In retrospect, I really wish we'd spent the time picking up a new net at the Sportsmen's show. Our trusty old one got demolished our last day on the water last year. Silly me, thinking we wouldn't need a new one until the marina reopens in May. I've learned my lesson. Thanks for loaning Jeff your camera, Carole!

Nice fish! I assume the pics with tourney signage are on their way, right?

Happy birthday, Carole!!

Can't stand the texture of fish. However, the batter from Jeff's fish & chips magically appears on my fork when he's not looking. I swear I have no idea how it gets there.

Yep, it's in the university's sturgeon tank for the winter - see the fish cam location page (which gives months for each species) and the non-video fish cam page (which lists the sturgeons' sizes). Tank or not, it's a neat cam. Thanks for posting it.

Learn from my stupidity.....go into any deal assuming you'll have to take it back 10x for warranty work. I've lost count how many times I've had to take our truck back to Boyer's down in Pickering (about an hour away). It's gotta be hitting for double digits. For months, every time they fixed something, their guys would break something else while it was on the hoist, and it'd have to go back after they ordered parts. When I tried to get the mess cleaned up by another dealership that I know can actually fix things, Boyers told GM that these were pre-sales defects (not), so GM would force me to go back to them. Nice little scheme they've figured out to bleed the warranty company. Anyway, point I'm trying to make - driving the truck 90 minutes home from the dealer is peanuts. Taking the truck back to correct 1 issue is 6 hours of driving (2 round trips - 1 for diagnosis, 1 for repair after parts arrive), which costs you gas and your hourly labour rate. When you're calculating whether a vehicle is a deal or not, factor in these hidden warranty costs - just in case. Not sure about Broadway. Was looking at a Suburban at auction last year, ownership said it'd been owned by them for the better part of a year and an awful lot of kms. I called to ask them what they knew about the truck, and they swore up and down they'd never heard of it. After I hung up, I checked out their website. There the truck was, still listed as for sale by them, at 50% more than it was worth - even though it'd been sitting offsite at the auction lot for weeks. Sorry to be such a doom & gloom, just trying to help you have a more fun time with your new toy. Good luck!!

This makes about as much sense as hosting a wheelchair basketball tourney on top of the Matterhorn. I had to go to the MCC for the first time this January, and drove our Yukon XL so that my staff could work together en route. It's not as though our truck is lifted or anything, just a stock GM 4x4...but the Centre's parking facilities don't have enough clearance. This meant I had to try finding room in one of the packed surface lots. Spots are sized for Civics, so our truck had to take up 2...which was $20 for an hour and a half. I was shocked to find out that smaller vehicles were expected to leave their keys for the lot jockeys to play with. Nooooo, thank you. Don't think we'll be wasting $100 to see what other "improvements" spring from this brilliance. The $$ will be much better spent attending extra master classes at the Spring Fishing & Boat Show.

I wound up with a BPS Bionic Plus reel. Seems nicely built for the price, the grips feel good, and I really like the rubberized texture on the housing. Spooled it up this afternoon and hit the back yard with a practice plug. Geez, you guys weren't kidding about the newbie bird's nest thing!

Happy to bow and worship at your feet, sir! I'm just here to provide the idiot baseline, same as last year. After every race, I swap out the existing picks and replace with the top points guys in each division. No more, no less, no clue. Was good for a solid middle-of-the-pack finish last year. Sucks so far this year...I just crawled UP to 18th!

Interesting you should mention lefty baitcasters. Just before show closing time last night, I decided it was time that I learn how to use a baitcast reel. Wandered into the nearest retailer booth, and told the staff I was looking for a decent beginner rig. Not super high end, but a good enough reel that any backlashes would be my fault, not a design defect. Something with a crank on the left, please. Not one but two of the staff from this store proceeded to tell me that cranks on the left hand side of a baitcast reel do not currently exist anywhere on the market. They expected them to become available for the first time in July, but until then, it was crank right or nothing, period. Odd. By the time they quit telling me how lefties don't exist, the show was closing - so we headed off for Bass Pro. Walking up to the reel counter, first thing I see is baitcast reels with their cranks on the left. Yay! 2 very helpful staffers gave me Baitcast Gear 101, and 10 minutes later I was on my way with an $80 starter reel and a $20 throwaway rod. Very happy. Jeff grumbled, though - as usual, the sale items he wanted were out of stock. Overall, we did surprisingly little buying at the show yesterday - 6 items, totalling ~$325 before taxes. Jeff finally picked up the super psychic inflatable Mustang PFD he'd been lusting after, saving $50 at LeBaron's booth. It was expensive enough that signing up for their discount card at that point paid for itself, and will save us 10% for the rest of the year...IF we ever get to the store. Their "closed on Sundays" policy makes an awful lot of $$ for Bass Pro. We got $5 worth of Insect Defend Patches at the manufacturer's booth. Hadn't been able to find them at Home Hardwares in our area, but the reps say they'll be in contact with the stores to fix that. Looking forward to avoiding bugs without stinking to high heaven. $10 went to a new product I hadn't heard of before - Booster Tails. Made of microfiber, which should hold onto scent a lot better than feathers or rubber skirting. The scent pen doesn't leak when inverted, and can be refilled with a different scent product. No more globs landing in my hair or on the carpet - very exciting. Can't wait to get out and try them! $20 went for a pair of steel fire starter gizmos. When I asked Jeff later what he planned to do with his new toys, he said "well, for on the boat!" Part of me wants to know where he's going to install a campfire pit on our 16' bowrider. The other part....really, really doesn't!

Can't speak for trout, but I did catch a nice muskie on a #3 last fall. You replace the treble with the siwash. There's a gap in the ring at the top of the siwash...you crimp it closed after you've swapped the hooks. I've never bothered changing any of mine out, but I do sometimes throw a small Gamakatsu G-Stinger on one arm of the treble.

Nice fish! ...any chance on seeing a tourney sign with the next batch?

Nice crappie, & really pretty colors on that first channel cat pic. You've really gotta start putting these boat launch festivities on YouTube. The i/o waddler would've been a classic.

40,000,008 Congrats on 40 million page views, OFC! Thanks again for all of the hard work by TJ & the crew, and the help from the contributors.

Glen, you wascally wabbit. Wish I could remember which comedian did the bit, but it was on a Just For Laughs show. Instead of Sex In The City, insert some Antonio Banderas movie. Comic was bent out of shape at having to go see chick flicks with his wife, til the day he finally figured it out. At the end of the movie, she's all wound up, and Antonio's nowhere to be found. Hmm. Guess who's right there handy? ...Exactly. Keep quiet, stay outta view til the final credits are winding up, and for god's sake don't fart or mention Bass Pro on your way back into the living room. You don't wanna shatter here.