craigdritchie

A guy fishing in a marlin tournament held in North Carolina last year cost his fishing buddies $912,825 in prize money because he did not have a fishing license. Long story short: a team of angers fishing from the boat Citation caught an 883-pound marlin, which won the Big Rock fishing tournament back in June 2010. The team was subsequently disqualified when it turned out one of them did not have the necessary $15 license. Tournament rules state that everyone aboard must have a fishing license. You can read more details by clicking here. The guy without the license, Peter Wann, subsequently tried to sue the tournament to get their lost winnings back. His lawsuit was thrown out of court yesterday (click here for details). At the end of the day, Mr. Waan not only cost his buddies over $900 grand, but was also fined $35 for fishing without license, plus court costs. I say this guy has a lock on winning this year’s Darwin award.

Again Roy, it just went live two hours ago. I am told it will include Canadian info shortly.

A new, US-based website that publicizes the dealer invoice cost of boats, engines, RVs and powersports equipment went live this morning. The website URL is www.seedealercost.com. If you run through the site you can find specifications, standard features and both MSRP and invoice cost ... including for optional equipment and engine upgrades. Invoice cost is the actual amount the dealer pays, but does not include things like shipping, dealer prep, customs fees, taxes, licenses and such. So far the website will only accept registration from US addresses, but I am told it will accept Canadian addresses shortly. Needless to say, boat dealers and many of the manufacturers are not exactly thrilled about this. I'm not sure how useful it will wind up being, but it is an interesting idea.

If you still need a Pleasure Craft Operator Card, you may want to get on it asap. Effective April 15 the procedure for Internet testing will change, and and the number of questions on the exam will increase to 50. It's still nothing more than a stupid cash grab, but if you need the card you may as well get it now before the test becomes longer, apparently a bit more difficult, and quite possibly a little more expensive.

Biggest problem is that it's considered a hazard to navigation (and in a shallow lake like Scugog, it really would be). The fine would be steep, over and above previously mentioned removal costs. Why in Scugog? Sinclair's bang on - the lake has more than enough stuff in it already. Artificial habitat is big in some parts of the US, especially where they create man-made lakes out of old strip pit mines. Those have zero weed growth or any other kind of natural habitat - they're basically like swimming pools.

In view of the weather forecast, I'll spend my free hours fishing instead.

Short answer is ... it depends. How much do you want to spend? What else are you carrying besides the boat? How important is fuel economy? Do you need 4x4? How many miles will it tow? And over what - paved highway, gravel roads, flat land, hilly terrain .... You're kind of asking how much is a house. Need more info to narrow it down. So far your package is pretty light weight, so you have lots of options.

Nice greaser, Mike! Always liked catching those guys through the ice. Shoot me a note when you're ready to get some fish slime on the new wheel :-)

Sweet. Nice pics. Should have been there, I know, but in the end I made some major brownie points at home and got ahead on some work. To the point I've just booked an "offsite meeting" for tomorrow with a client named Mr. Steel. Must remember sunscreen.

$19 to get in and another $15 to park my truck - assuming I can find a spot nearby. I'm out $35 just to get in the front door. For what? I can go to Le Baron for free.

Detroit Lakes Online reports that Brunswick’s Lund and Crestliner plant in New York Mills, MN, was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after receiving a bomb threat. According to the story, published yesterday, NY Mills Police Chief Jim Van Schaick explains “At 1:27 p.m., a 911 call was placed and a male caller said ‘There is a bomb in the factory,’ and hung up.” The building was evacuated immediately, and searched by police. No bomb was found, and production resumed the following day. Cant get the URL function to work for some reason, so copy and paste this link to read the full story: http://www.dl-online.com/event/article/id/59255/

My bad - didn't know they had changed it. Doesn't really matter, since the best fishing will be over and done long before then.

Always the last Saturday in April.

One option is to throw lipless cranks on a heavier spinning outfit and fish them like a jig. It's obviously not something you want to try on a snag-infested bottom, but it's a great way to locate active fish on open areas, like when they're scattered over sand flats. Works great on shale too (think Erie).

I dunno man. I have been fortunate enough to fish with quite a few dedicated, high profile anglers in my life and have never seen any of them use Japanese baits. Ever - not even in tournaments. I'm referring to guys like Bob and Wayne Izumi, Pete Bowman, Ang Viola, Gord Pyzer, Big Jim, Mark Kulik, Hank Parker, Al Lindner, Ron Lindner, Roland Martin and Bill Dance. Are they high enough profile? Here's a newsflash - it isn't the bait, it's what you do with it.

I'm happy for you Henry, but I'm also disappointed that Boating Industry Canada appears to have ripped off an article I wrote in December 2009 (my story on the Canadian boat industry reaching out to ethnic minority groups was published in the January 2010 issue of Boating Business magazine). You can read a web link of it here. I like how they even copied my idea to illustrate the story by using a boat advertisement with Chinese text. Coincidence? I know that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I sure wish these guys would come up with their own ideas instead of ripping off mine.

The Art Of War is perhaps the best business book ever written. Following that, From Good To Great is also outstanding. Read both with an open mind, and look to learn new ways of thinking, as opposed to a laundry list of sales tactics.

OMG that is hysterical!!

For 30 years Nikons have helped put dinner on the table.

Man I've heard of guys using Photoshop to make their fish look bigger .... but never the eyebrows. Dang ......

Count me in as a spoon lover as well. They're still the go-to lure for pike and lakers anywhere in northern Canada. They're kind of like a Mepps spinner - one of those basic lures that comes in such a range of sizes that they work for anything. I also like that they have such a high hooking percentage that they're almost idiot-proof to use (listen, I'll take all the help I can get!). I always really liked the big 300 series Dardevles - they're really big and wide, almost the same size as an iPhone. They're harder to cast into a wind, being so wide and light weight, but they're deadly on spring northerns because you can work them really slowly in very shallow water without getting hung up on bottom. Just awesome lures. I know one US pro fisherman who secretly does very, very well on smallmouth using small chrome spoons (mainly Dardevles and Williams Wobblers). He's a big-name guy most of us have seen on TV at some point, and he swore me to secrecy because of potential conflicts with his bait sponsors. I'll just say he has a couple of top five finishes at KBI on spoons, and leave it at that.

Reason for stocking Atlantics is well known - to guarantee federal funding for lamprey control.

Tohatsu have been making outboards for decades, mainly for other brands (including Sears and Eaton's, at one time). As others have noted, they continue to make smaller outboards for other major brands, and they make parts for still other engines. The first Tohatsu branded motors showed up in Canada in the early 80s, I believe. It's a good product.

In any case, it's quite tragic. I knew Dave Cameron professionally, and as noted saw him at the Hamilton Boat Show on Monday afternoon no more than six hours before this all happened. His wife passed away from cancer last summer, so I can't even imagine what his daughter must be feeling right now. Poor kid. Grew mainly makes cottage-style runabouts, but their brand of fishing boats (Cutter) are popular on the Great Lakes. That being the case, I expect a few who read this board would have known Dave or dealt with him at various boat shows. Really sad story. I hope the company survives.