craigdritchie

It's a little more complicated than that. We have all seen how nature took its course after "immigrants" like sea lamprey and double-crested cormorants gained access to the Great Lakes. In each case, the results have been nothing short of catastrophic. This is no different.

Forget skeet shooting - this looks like it could be way more fun Joking aside, this has serious implications for everything from walleye and perch to steelhead and salmon.

I guess we all knew it was just a matter of time - pasted below is a news wire report issued an hour ago confirming the presence of adult Asian carp upstream of the electrical barrier designed to keep them out of the Great Lakes. The fish was electroshocked in Lake Calumet, which flows directly into Lake Michigan near Chicago, IL. Craig Asian Carp Found Above Great Lakes Electric Barrier A bighead Asian carp has been found in Lake Calumet, the first confirmed above the electric barrier system designed by the Army Corps of Engineers to prevent the fish from entering the Great Lakes. The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee announced the finding and said it plans to follow up with more sampling, then with efforts that include netting and electrofishing in the next several weeks. The 34.6-inch, 19.6-pound bighead carp was discovered about six miles between Lake Michigan and the T.J. O'Brien Lock and Dam during regular samplings taken by an Illinois Department of Natural Resources contracted commercial fisherman. Within the Chicago Area Waterway System, this was just the second Asian carp discovered. Silver and bighead are the two most aggressive types of Asian carp. A common weight for either of them is 60 pounds and they can consume up to half of their body weight in a day. If they establish sustainable populations in the Great Lakes, they could devastate these ecosystems. In addition, Asian carp in the Mississippi and Illinois rivers have physically injured boaters by leaping out of the water when disturbed. "We commend the IDNR for their ongoing vigilance in catching this fish and identifying evidence that the Asian carp has now been above the barrier. The Great Lakes Boating Federation advises the less-frequent use of the Chicago-area locks," said Ned Dikmen, chairman of the Great Lakes Boating Federation.

I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope for media coverage. TV stations and newspapers get bombarded with stories like this - and much worse - pretty much every week. Like it or not, boats are considered luxury items and there isn't a whole lot of sympathy for problems with so-called luxury goods, especially when some people out there can't even buy food. Fishing magazines aren't likely to print this kind of story either because (1) they don't want to alienate Tracker as an advertiser or prospective advertiser, and (2) it's just not the kind of content readers are willing to pay for. I won't even go into the potential legal ramifications. Sorry to be a wet blanket, but after 25 years in the publishing business I have to tell you that's reality. If neither the dealer nor Tracker corporately are willing to fix your boat, your only real option is to either call the insurance company or pursue it through the courts. Good luck.

Mercury will put their Big Tiller handle on just about anything they make. I saw a 250 Pro XS with tiller steering last year, on the back of a Lund 2075. Didn't have an opportunity to drive it, but would have enjoyed taking it for a spin.

That's quite accurate, so let me rephrase it ..... serious beach fishing is still in its infancy? You're right in that it's generally just not done on a large scale.

When your friend is sleeping, pull about 40 feet of line off his reel, cut it, then wind it back on. Then the next morning watch him tie on his fav lure, and enjoy the puzzled look on his mug after he casts it into oblivion.

Six-string is more versatile than a 12, so if you have one guitar, go that route and add a 12-string later. Best thing to do is visit a couple of different music stores and play a bunch of guitars, then buy the one that feels right in your hands. Forget what it says on the nameplate. You buy guitars with your eyes closed and your ears open. I'd only suggest you forgo the real cheapies. For $400, you can buy a very nice guitar. All the makes mentioned previously are good bets. I'll add Washburn to the list, since I have a 25-year old Washburn six-string that is still my favourite guitar. There are excellent guitars coming from Japan and Korea these days too, including the previously-mentioned Yamahas (I love mine) as well as Fender's current top-of-the-line electrics.

I used to work with a guy who was really into this. Rather than fishing in the rivers, he would fish from his little inflatable boat, either in the lake off the mouth, or a short distance upstream on the bigger rivers (Credit, Humber and Nottawasaga mainly). He always did pretty well with bright Clouser Minnow-type flies .... big ones about four inches long. Beach fishing is very much in its infancy here, but it can be really good under the right conditions. Streams around here turn into such a circus when the salmon show up it is almost impossible to fish. It's too bad, because freshies can be so much fun to catch.

Hydrofoils won't do anything to increase your top-end speed, and will normally reduce it as a result of increased drag. As lookinforwalleye notes, they're most often used to help underpowered rigs or boats with other specific problems get up on plane more easily. Back in 1992 I was involved in testing hydrofoils for Boatguide magazine. We tested four of them on four different boats: a small Zodiac inflatable with an 8 hp Yamaha, a 16 foot Sylvan aluminum with a 40 hp Merc, a Ranger bass boat with a 150 Johnson GT, and a Freeport 24 (offshore salmon boat) powered by a Merc 150 on a transom bracket. The hydrofoil definitely helped the inflatable, which porpoised all over the place and wouldn't plane no matter what we did with it beforehand. With the foil installed, it stopped bouncing around, and did eventually come onto plane, which was a big improvement. The 16-foot aluminum/40 hp rig was clearly underpowered, and the hydrofoil did improve planing time by a second or two. The only effect the hydrofoil had on the bass boat was to reduce rpm at wide open throttle by a couple hundred rpm, which I suppose could mean some fuel savings over time, but it also cut top-end speed by two mph. Otherwise, it had no positive effect. Results with the salmon boat were basically the same. Overall, the hydrofoils helped the underpowered boats plane better, but did not improve top-end speed. The only real effect they had on the boats that were set up properly to begin with was to reduce top-end speed by a couple mph, and drop engine revs by two or three hundred rpm. For what it's worth, moving to a four-blade (or five-blade) propeller will accomplish the same thing as a hydrofoil, and without having to drill mounting holes in your engine's cavitation plate. They're also less hassle when driving through weeds. Just like the hydrofoil, you may gain lift, but pay for it with top-end speed.

Starcraft, Sylvan and Smoker Craft are all the same boat .... built in the same plant by the same staff.

I believe Crestliner has also manufactured hulls for Legend.

Nice to have a new boat, understanding that increasing the horsepower on those Legends will obviously increase the cost. Totally worthwhile upgrade .... but it's not my cash, is it? If you're looking for a used boat, perhaps these, from OFC classifieds ..... Princecraft Lund

Gorgeous fishies, and lovely photos. Nice.

That's good to hear, Roy. I've only fished muskie there a few times, so can only go by what others have told me. I thought it was pretty decent though. Great average size, and nice healthy looking fish (unlike the giant head, pencil body things in Scugog). Smallie fishing in Lake St. Lawrence is just plain scary.

If you're speaking about actual 'trade' shows (i.e. open to industry only, not the general public) then the biggie in the fishing industry is ICAST, held in Orlando in July. Details at icastfishing.org or asafishing.org. It's pretty much the one show everyone in the recreational fishing industry attends. Canadian shows, and the regional US shows, are all pretty Mickey Mouse by comparison.

Depends what you like to fish for. As others have noted, Ottawa has excellent bass, muskie, walleye, sauger, channel cat, perch and crappie fishing right in the city itself, never mind within an hour's drive. Ice fishing is also great. Tons of small lakes with every kind of habitat. Depending where you go (and when) the fishing pressure is on par with, or a bit less than, that of the Kawarthas. You may have smaller lakes to yourself some days. Lake O is a bit of a drive from Ottawa - closest dependable action is at Wellington, about two and a half hours away. If you like steelhead, you're driving three hours plus to the Ganny, or to the US. Quinte is about the same drive as from GTA. Thousand Islands are about an hour from Ottawa, with tremendous pike, bass, walleye and crappie fishing (muskie are no longer as abundant as they once were). If you like stream trout, there's excellent brookie fishing in Quebec, a very short drive from Ottawa, and the Catskill Mountains (NY and Vermont) are an easy weekend trip. Bottom line: GTA - Convenient salmon and steelhead, other species (and ice fishing) require a short drive. Generally more crowded. Ottawa - Convenient warm water fish and ice fishing, salmon and steelhead mean time in the car, generally less crowded. That help?

You can get what they have left in stock. If you want to order in something they don't happen to have on the lot, you're out of luck till the fall.

This type of situation will become more common in the future. One result of the recent recession is that companies are building everything in smaller production runs. If you see a deal on something (especially a major item like a boat or engine) you better grab it while you can, because it won't be there tomorrow. Guys who held off buying a new boat at the Toronto boat show, thinking they would get a better deal now, are running into this problem. Princecraft is basically sold out of everything till November. Mukluk - the F6A is a sweet engine. If you put a deposit on one (refundable if they can't deliver on time, of course) you will at least be sure of getting one when the next batch arrives from Japan.

The latest generation Yamaha 4hp and 6hp four-strokes can be laid on their sides. In terms of size and weight, the new F6 is something like 23 pounds lighter than the previous four-stroke model, and roughly the same weight as their old two-stroke 6 hp. Best of all, it's fuel injected (the 2-stroke wasn't) so it trolls way better. Honda makes a 5 hp that is truly nice, and trolls down to a crawl. Not sure if you can lay it flat though. I'm pretty sure you can lay the Suzuki 6hp on one side. Rumour has it this engine may be updated shortly to include some new refinements that they put in their 9.9 over the winter. It it's anything like the new 9.9, then it will be a major winner.

Why don't you tie up your own? Honestly - it couldn't be easier. Buy some heads you like, a chunk of black bucktail, some thread and a little bottle of head cement. Give it an hour and you'll have a year's worth of jigs for just a few bucks.

Oh man, don't believe everything you read!!!

Here's a juicy bit of news that I learned of yesterday while on a business trip to South Carolina - Cabela’s is looking at selling boats and outboards in Canada. The news comes directly from the horse's mouth: “At some point in the future we intend to explore the opportunity to be a full-line marine dealer selling boats and motors for all water recreation needs,” says Carl McKay, President of Cabela’s Canada. Cabela's has one retail store in Canada right now, in Winnipeg, and has already announced plans to open additional locations, starting with one in western Canada (Calgary area?) by the end of this year. Other stores being discussed are one near Vancouver, two in Quebec, and two in southern Ontario (one in the GTA). Cabela’s sells a huge variety of boating accessories from its Winnipeg store right now, including canoes and fishing kayaks, electronics, clothing and PFDs. In the US, many Cabela’s stores also sell boats and outboard motors, including Lowe, Alumacraft, Ranger, Scout, Cimarron and FinCraft boats, with either Mercury or Yamaha outboards. I have no idea of a timeline for this, or any further information right now.

Too bad they don't jump. Taimen fight like a big laker (you know, like you hooked a giant plastic bag). If you want to put a real bend in your rod, so to speak, consider a trip to northern India for a fish called Mahseer. They're sort of like a six-foot golden shiner, and they jump like crazy. They live in wild, Niagara-sized rivers draining the Himalaya, and you travel to the spots by elephant. No joke.

And that's fine for you, Mike, because you know what you're doing and you know what it is you want to buy. I also buy probably 90 percent of my stuff either online or directly. But I feel sorry for new anglers who are just starting out, and who could really benefit from having some friendly advice - especially from a local dealer who knows their local waters. Sadly, that's becoming far less commonplace, and no doubt contributes to declining numbers of anglers overall. I'll add my one exception - Burns Fishing, on Plains Road in Burlington, ON. It's a small, independent shop that can't even begin to compete against the big boys on price. But Steve Burns knows how to compete on service, so he has customers drive to his store from incredible distances. We need more tackle dealers like him.