craigdritchie

It's March 1, coming up on midnight, and I'm in Winnipeg for the Mid-Canada Boat Show. My hotel is pretty close to the MTS Centre, and Jets fans are still going nuts out in the street after they smoked Florida and nailed down - for the moment at least - a playoff spot. It's exciting to be here tonight. This is what hockey is all about. You'd think the Jets just won the cup the way these people are partying. And the Loafs back home in Toronto? Tonight they're 5 points out of a playoff spot, and sitting 22nd place in a 30-team league (some may recall that back in September I predicted they would finish the year between 25th and 30th place. I'm still confident that's where they'll finish). Something has to be done back home. Wilson is dead man walking. So what are the odds of Burke offering the job to his old pal Randy Carlyle? I'll make another fearless prediction and say there will be a discussion, and probably sooner rather than later.

Also same organizer as the Spring Fishing Show - Andy Pallotta.

Not the same difference at all if your home and boat are underwritten by two different insurance companies. The amount of the increase will also be different - unless your boat cost as much as your house.

NEVER insure the boat as a rider on your house insurance. Ever! Clip a rock and that lower unit repair WILL count as a claim on your home policy. They won't tell you that, but it does. There are some good insurers out there who specialize in boats. A couple I'm personally familiar with: MD Marine Insurance, located in Orillia Northstar Marine Insurance, located in Barrie Skipper's Plan, based out of Toronto Harbour Insurance, in Toronto HUB Insurance, based in Oakville Marine Expert, in Brossard, Quebec, and Mississauga, ON There are definitely other ones and I know I'll probably slap myself later when I think "argh, I forgot to mention XXXXX Insurance." These guys obviously make their big profits insuring large cruisers and sailboats, but small fishing boats can cost more than some of the big rigs do, so they insure everything. Whatever you do, just make sure you get FULL REPLACEMENT COVERAGE on everything, so when you hit that rock, the lower unit is fixed and you're all set. If you do not have full replacement, they'll only cover the value of what your used outdrive is worth, and you're on the hook for the difference. The extra cost for full replacement coverage is chump change, but it can save you huge dollars down the road. And yes, most insure the boat for 12-months regardless of whether its in use or not. The value of the boat doesn't change whether its in the water or on the trailer, so why should the coverage?

As a bit of a wino myself, I completely agree. I've had some really awful wine that was VERY expensive, and some really incredible wines that were quite cheap. One of the best was a home-made Port one of my wife's friends made. With wine, part of the pricing is supply and demand. The quality of any wine is partly dependent on what the weather was like when the grapes were grown, which is why some vintages (years) are more valuable than others. 2010 was an amazing year for reds in Ontario, and especially in Niagara. If you want the steal of a lifetime, go to any LCBO right now and buy 2010 Niagara reds, and just hide them away in your basement for a couple of years. Right now they're $15 a bottle because there's all kinds of it around. Five years from now, you won't be able to buy it for 10 times that price (to be honest I wouldn't drink it today, as it's still too young and harsh. But lay it on its side for 5 to 10 years and it's going to be mind-blowing). 2007 was also a great year for Niagara reds. We bought up all we could find for about $12 - $15 a bottle when it came out. Now, it's $60 a bottle for the same stuff. There's just less of it around. Thanks! No way would I pay that much for a Cardinal 3, but that's just me. I buy tackle to use, not to look at.

You want to know why plastics are so expensive? Because people want to pay that much, plain and simple. If a tackle company puts out a bag of rubber worms for $2, the first thing that jumps into Joe Consumer's mind is "Whoa, that's cheap. They must not be any good." Put the identical rubber worms into a different bag and price it at $12.99 and the same guy thinks "Whoa, that's expensive! They must be awesome!" It's Marketing 101 at is most basic. Back in the 70's the Garcia company made several series of fishing rods, all differentiated by colour. There was the cheap Blue series, the more upscale Green series, the expensive Brown series, and the top-of-he-line Black series. No one bought the chap Blue rods ($12 - $15), and everyone coveted the high-end Brown rods ($50 - $75) and the uber-expensive Black ones ($75+). Guess what? The only thing different was the dye colour. Hardware, handles, blank, everything else was identical. I saw it myself when I toured the plant. They couldn't sell enough of the Brown rods and Black rods, because people assumed they just had to be better because they were way more expensive. Bait companies have figured this out too, and that's why you pay $8 for a bag of plastic baits that are realistically worth 25 cents.

Isn't this YOUR website? Why not just say so?

Lots of places to fish around here with year-round seasons. I'm pretty sure I recognize the bridge and if I'm right, it's a far better spot than Bronte.

Fish Patagonia.

Back in September I said the Loafs would - once again - not make the playoffs, but would finish high enough to keep from getting a decent draft pick. Nice to see they're right on track.

Depends what you're charged with. Most fishing offenses are provincial, but there are a handful of instances where federal regs overlap. Some guy taking a quick picture of an undersized muskie would not be in that situation.

No fear - the Sens will choke as usual. If they somehow wound up facing the Loafs, it would be in the first round, four straight, with at least two shutouts. You know, like usual :-)

Not really true, Bob. There are a LOT of people who target OOS fish while claiming to be after something else. This includes some of the bass tournament guys, who get in their pre-fish for the opening weekend tournament by spending a few days flipping docks and stumps - supposedly for pike. If they get clipped, I have no sympathy whatsoever. You're right - everyone catches some OOS fish. But targeting them is a whole different thing.

There's a few smallish walleye down by the mouth, but not enough to be worth the drive if you live more than 15 minutes away.

Click here for a picture and more info on the new Larson.

Pikeslayer, As someone who flies a lot (4x-5x/month, 80,000 to 100,000 miles/year) I have to say there's a world of difference between US-based and Canadian-based airlines. Our guys aren't perfect by any means, but I've found that they're usually a lot more accommodating toward oversized or overweight baggage (which for me is often a trade show display) than US-based airlines. Perhaps because they get a LOT of it? In any case, I've found they're fairly accommodating provided you call them in advance to arrange things - just show up at the airport and you'll pay through the snoot every time. Just my .02 cents as well. Hey - between us, we have 4 cents!

Forget bass - Florida is for saltwater fishing. It's great, the fish fight way harder than anything in freshwater, and it's not something you get to do every day so take full advantage. Bass? Pffft - can catch them at home. Shore fishing can be great, but you have to time it right. The best fishing is when the tide is actually running. It doesn't matter if it's going in or out, it just has to be moving. That gives you four periods each day, each lasting about two hours, when fishing will be really good. Buy a tide chart and figure it out. Fishing when the tide is not moving (i.e. high tide or low tide) generally sucks. You need the current to get things happening. When the tide is running, lots of fish come to the shorelines and docks to feed. You can hook anything that lives in the Atlantic ocean - small stuff like pinfish and blue runners, to big fish like snook, redfish, tarpon and sharks. I'm in Florida right now, attending the Miami boat show. Here's a crappy camera phone picture of some tarpon that were hanging around the docks this afternoon. These are babies .... only about three feet long, and 15 - 20 pounds. Last night, there were much bigger ones rolling around as it got dark. We were feeding these guys French fries. Toss the fry in the water, watch it sink a bit, and here comes this big open mouth to gobble it down. It was awesome! Saltwater fishing is a riot. Use whatever tackle you have, but heavier is better (remember to rinse it in the shower after each day's fishing). Just buy some live shrimp (sold everywhere) and enjoy. It couldn't be easier - or more fun.

Anyone monitoring my internet usage will be in for a major disappointment. Feds --> knock your socks off. Just be sure to bring your own popcorn.

Many of these reels share similar internal components. Most repair places should be able to handle it no problem.

Bingo! That's about as plain & simple as it gets. For someone who wants the best bang for the dollar, that's definitely the way to go. You can pick up a two or three year old lease return vehicle for much less than what it costs new, and usually with a good chunk of warranty remaining. Let someone else pay the depreciation! Not any more! Those recalls have hurt Toyota's resale values in a big way. Flip through an Auto Trader and see for yourself. That should set off alarm bells right there, shouldn't it? As others have noted, leasing is fine IF you can write it off as a business expense. Otherwise, you're paying a lot of money to get little in return. If you want a new vehicle, buy it outright. If you want a lower monthly payment, get a used vehicle. If you want to get sucked into a cycle of making payments forever and never having anything to show for it, then by all means, lease. The dealer will love you for it.

Merrell's are okay for boots that are made in China. But if these are something you'll wear a LOT, then I'd say spend the extra money and invest in a pair of Danners. Mine are over 10 years old and still look like new, despite having been worn hard every fall, winter and spring for the past decade. They're warm, they're crazy lightweight, and they're still completely watertight. Best $350 I ever spent.

Now here's a fast boat - twin jet turbines, 150 mph. Just the sound of it warming up gives me goosebumps.

Great comments solo, to which I would only add one thing - in my experience, those meso/shield lakes to the west also tend to produce bigger fish than lakes in the James Bay country. A 40 inch pike from lakes near Hearst or Nakina usually weighs a good more than a 40 inch pike from north of Cochrane, as a result of that more diverse habitat and a more diverse forage base. Ditto for the walleyes. I've fished many lakes between Cochrane and James Bay, and never had a problem with the quantity of fish. If a person wants to catch walleye on every cast, it's utopia. But for someone who wants to target larger fish, I would definitely agree the lakes between Nakina and the Manitoba border are in a whole other league.

Snidely, you are bang-on. Couldn't have said it better myself.

I can't resist. Groundhog Day Click the picture to read the full deal.