craigdritchie

Silver Lake is not terribly big, so if you work your way along the shorelines with spinnerbaits or Husky Jerks, you should find a few bass and the occasional pike. The west end of the lake has the most shallow weed cover. There are stocked lake trout as well, which average about four pounds and top out at 10 to 12. It's okay fishing, not great. Troll deep with big spoons (big Williams Whitefish tipped with a minnow head works great), or vertically jig with ice fishing lures. There are some good deep ridges toward the middle of the lake, heading toward the east end. There are a few islands off the boat launch (accessed via Hwy 7), which continue underwater as a series of small humps. That seems to be the community hotspot. Not too sure about boat rentals. There used to be a gas bar and restaurant on the south side of Hwy 7, near the east end of the lake that sold bait and such ... you could ask there.

As Drifter notes, lakers are comparatively oily fish, so they are best when grilled, broiled, smoked or prepared any other way that allows the grease to run off. They're not the best choice for frying or deep frying. Ever try them on the BBQ on a cedar plank? Go buy a cedar plank at the grocery store (or use a one-eighth to one-quarter inch thick red cedar plank) that's been pre-soaked in water for several hours. Set the BBQ to medium heat (400 degrees), rub a little olive oil on the top side of the plank, and lay the fillet on it skin side down. Put it on the grill, then baste with this glaze: one-half cup of pure maple syrup (not Aunt Jemima or synthetic junk like that) mixed with three tablespoons of Soy Sauce and a teaspoon of minced garlic. Pour it on and give the fish approx 15 minutes. Test for doneness by twisting a fork in it - if it flakes easily, it's done. It's really a salmon recipe, but it works great with lake trout as well. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and some steamed green beans or carrots. Beer works, or a chilled white wine (Riesling, in particular) is even better. You can also prepare this in the oven, but be advised it's pretty messy.

When I worked with Real Fishing we used to tow with Astro vans all the time. It would usually be a Lund in the 17 to 20 foot range, with a 75 to 200 hp outboard. Gross weight for the boat, engine, gear etc would range up to about 2,500 pounds. We'd pull these all over Ontario, and occasionally much farther afield, never with any problems at all. We also towed Rangers up to 20 feet/225 hp (not sure of weight, I would guess 3,500 = 4,000 pound range) with the vans every now and then. It would work fine, but when you also had company Suburbans and Tahoes available for use, you would usually take one of those instead when pulling the heavier boats. The Astro vans would pull the Rangers no problem, but didn't stop them as well as the Suburban or Tahoe would. As long as you drove accordingly, it was no problem. I think the key with the van is to ensure the hitch and trailer are set up properly. Most aren't - even bought new right from the dealer. If you're nor sure how to do this, go see a good RV dealer and pay them the $200 or so. Those guys pull huge, heavy trailers all the time and can do a whole lot to make your towing much easier and safer. It's totally worth the fee for a one-time set-up, and over time you'll likely get your money back in what you'll save on fuel, brakes and tires.

Bob' still da man!

Garry - you might consider hunting around on eBay for parts, or just buy another cheap reel you can strip parts from. Just a thought.

Carefully cut it off at the base of the second guide and enjoy your new, heaver action rod.

Bingo! Best tape measure going. Based on that, your fish is roughly 18 inches long, and probably between 3 and 3.5 pounds. Might be 19 inches, give or take, which would add a little more beef to it and put it squarely in the 3.5 range. Nice bass! Congrats! It would certainly eat Roy's Personal Bait!

That's the best comment I've ever read on this website!

jds63 - why don't you just vertically jig for lakers? It's a lot less fuss and works great.

Retail stores like BPS get permits for live game fish because their fish exhibit serves an educational purpose. The idea behind not being allowed to transport live fish is (1) to prevent fish from being introduced to new waters (i.e. illegal stocking), and (2) to prevent the same for diseases like VHS. At various times I have kept bass, walleye and a small pike in fish tanks. To cover my butt, I wrote to the MNR district office beforehand asking about the legality of this, and kept their written reply which said any fish in the tank counted against my daily bag limit. This was in the 1980s .... things may be different now. In any case, I would want some form of written confirmation as insurance. The largemouth, the walleye and the pike that I kept were all pretty boring, to be honest. They just laid on bottom most of the time, and didn't move much. The smallmouth was more active, but you can't keep anything in the tank with it as it will kill pretty much anything else, including other smallmouth. I guess they need more personal space than a 90 gallon tank provides. These fish were all in the eight- to 10-inch range, so you think that would have been a big enough tank. Frankly, the most entertaining wild fish I've ever kept was a rock bass. It was very active and a whole lot of fun to watch. I used to love tossing grasshoppers into the tank and watching it come up to drill them on the surface. All I can say is I'm glad rockies don't grow any bigger than they do - it would be unsafe to swim otherwise!

I don't agree with Mr. Layton's politics, but no one can argue he is a fighter. I wish him a speedy and complete recovery.

Did they not have that on some version of the Pocket Fisherman? I seem to remember it.

What Roy said. If you build the same thing as everyone else, then you are always facing competition on price. If you build something that's a bit different and unique, then you can charge whatever you want because people won't have much to compare it to.

I'd rather have a barbed wire enema than be forced to go ice fishing.

They probably will survive - there are already hundreds, if not thousands, of goldfish in the Great Lakes. Problem is, nothing will ever come if it because MNR or NYDEC will look at the cost of tracking these idiots down and prosecuting them, and know full well they'll get a maximum fine of about $100. It's just not worth the expense.

First, get a StealShield (click here for a web link). It's sort of like a steel enclosure that locks over the trailer coupler, making it impossible to hook up. Simple idea, and it works very well. You can buy these at many marine supply stores. Second, run a very thick chain through the wheel spokes and around the trailer frame, making it impossible/difficult to tow. Secure the chain with a very high quality, tamper-resistant padlock. Finally, lock your outboard to the transom. If it uses clamps, have them replaced with through-bolts, and cover those with some McGuard wheel nut locks (click here) ... the same ones you use to protect high-end rims on your car. You can't stop a pro thief - if someone wants the boat badly enough, they will find a way. But at the very least you can make it so difficult to steal it that they give up and go looking for easier prey. Further, by documenting that you took these steps, you will have an easier time with your insurance company if it ever did go missing.

Not exactly the best flying weather right now. Hot, humid air and flat water makes for some very long takeoff runs, especially on floats.

GBW - Sorry man, I can't find anything on Northstar.

Punk!

GBW - sorry, I don't know exactly what happened to Northstar. I'll dig around a bit and see what I can find. In the meantime, Misfish - no word on pricing. They don't even have a factory building finalized at this point. The new owners only got the company in the last week or so. I never got to drive one, but I've seen a few of these Warrior boats and they were pretty nice looking rigs. They seem to have been very solidly built.

Muskie Mike ... you do realize that every single person you ask or take out will have a different answer for this, right?

I've fished with a LOT of guides, and all around the world. One thing I can't emphasize enough is how important it is for the guide to have extraordinary people skills. Every customer will show up with different expectations, and the challenge for the guide is to figure out what those expectations really are (often completely different from what the customer tells you) and then do whatever you can to meet them. Some of your customers will arrive with expectations that are completely unrealistic, and you need to deal with that too. You will meet people who will be disappointed that they didn't catch a half-dozen 50-inch muskies in an afternoon. You will meet people who say they are lifelong fishermen, then they break your gear or don't know how to cast. You will have customers from "out of town" who steal your spots, and and from that moment on you see them out there every weekend in their own boat pounding the spots you showed them. Some of them may even wind up advertising as guides and competing against you! Get used to it, because that's going to be part of your everyday reality. Most customers, however, will be just fine. I've always enjoyed when the guide could tell me all about the area we're fishing in, the history of the place, unique stuff about it, that sort of thing. For example, a guy on the St. Lawrence could talk about the history of the place as a muskie fishery, with all the world records that came from there, the way that fishery is different from others, how things like the Seaway and exotic species have affected it, etc etc. Make it more than a day on the water - make it an experience. It goes without saying - many customers will show up unprepared, so you better make sure you have extra rain suits, sunscreen, hats, bug spray, snacks and drinks in the boat. Oh yes - guides in your area may fish while they guide, but no one will pay money to watch the guide have all the fun. Your job is to put customers on fish so that they can catch them, and to do that properly, you'll need to stow your own rod.

The Warrior brand of fibreglass multi-species fishing boats has been pulled from the fire, thanks to four Minnesota businessmen who have announced a relaunch of the company. The new owners, led by pro walleye angler Dave Anderson and former Warrior dealer Joe Hellerman, announced they have purchased all rights to the Warrior name and trademark, along with all molds and tooling. The new company is now searching for a factory location with the intention of having new Warrior boats available for sale by the end of this year (December). The new company will employ about 10 people, including key staff from Warrior’s previous ownership. In short press release, the new owners state they plan to sell the six most popular Warrior models (sorry, they didn't specify which ones) with all others available on a special-order basis. The group is now looking for prospective dealers in Canada and the US. At its peak, Warrior was producing about 300 boats per year, targeting the professional walleye market.

The 171 Millentia is a very nice boat. Personally, I would buy that over the Tracker every time.

That's because they do not remain hidden gems once you advertise them to the world.