BassMan11

Hey everyone, Launched the boat the other day to play with some of the new toys acquired over the winter months and noticed the my bunk carpet was torn fairly bad and the wood was growing mushrooms... looks like its time to replace them. So this begs the question, standard bunk carpet and 2x 6 boards or do you go with a GatorBak, Tough Bunk, or even Caliper Bunk rap solution? Looking for experiences as well as pro's con's etc... Thanks in advance. BassMan

Tiller for sure with what you will be doing. Be patient, go used and be constantly on FB market place, Kijiji and of course the classified's here when you are really seriously looking. For longevity, stick with Cresliner, Lund, Alumacraft imo. The well looked after boats and good deals are gone in minutes. Also be willing to drive a long way to see a boat. I bought a used 2014 Lund Pro Guide 1675 in 2017 off a guy on kijiji in great shape for under 20K. I was the first to call and in 1 hour he has received 20 phone calls to buy the boat. Good luck with your search!

I think looking at the responses this is a fine question to ask. Lots of different responses here. Just because we are not in the same shape as the states doesn't really mean we are totally out of the woods. Nor will we probably ever be. That said I think everyone hiding in their houses because the media has BREAKING COVID NEWS every day every hour is horrible for everyones mental health. I plan on going on the trip.... but if everyone responded "thats a horrible idea" then maybe i'd rethink my decision.

Few tree's to cut down Dave to achieve the "perfect view" Dave. Still my favorite thread on this site!

Thats what I figured. I planned on going, opening the windows is a good idea as well. The hand washing and disinfecting is a given. Also making sure everyone is taking the necessary precautions leading up to the trip and limit exposure where possible. I don't get to see my Dad as much as I like and this is our 1 week a year to do what we have been doing for the last 20 years together.... just fish.

Whats everyone's feelings on fishing trips right now? Here's my situation: I live in Ottawa, my Father in Niagara, and the other two older gentlemen are also from the Niagara area. We go on a fishing trip almost every year. My dad and his friends are older... over 60, and I in my 30's with 2 little kids. I have tentatively booked a cottage for the 4 of us in September up my way. Do we still go? What is the general consensus?

Best bang your buck would be the Costco blue brand with a noco charger. AGM being better than the lead acid if you can afford it. As Akri said its very important to charge them asap when you get home from fishing. Just to make them last longer. In the winter top them up once a month. I tried to leave a noco genius charger hooked up all winter and unfortunately it boiled my batteries dry! Luckily they were only everstarts! So I don't recommend leaving them on all the time. Good luck.

Nice Boats fella's My Baby. 2014 Lund Pro-Guide 1675 with a 2010 Etec 75. Best Kijiji find I have ever had.

Last summer we moved to the outskirts of the city of Ottawa where we could have a little property. Just over 2 acres with lots of nature around. The first thing I did outside was build a fire pit. I feel the same about a really good camp fire.

2000-2004 Dodge Dakota's. Had 3 of them. Loved the size and look at the time. But man were they ever prone to all sorts of issues. The main one is after about 100K the left side exhaust manifold bolts would shear off and it would separate from the block. Happened with all 3 of them. You could hear me coming from miles away.

This post is hilarious. Your cap analysis is great.... I guess if you knew nothing about hockey you could look at those cap numbers vs stats and think one team is doing way better than the other from a value perspective. But If you asked someone who knew anything about the NHL if they would like JT or Pageau, AM or Duclair, Brown or Reilly, I would be very surprised if that wasn't a clean sweep for the Leafs... regardless of the cap or aav. There is a reason all of those players get paid what they do. Outside of Chabot, Brady and some potential draft picks (not a lock you get a player that works out - Sens don't have the best development track record)... the Sens have a long way to go before they have the opportunity to have cap issues the Leafs have. Because at the end of the day... that is the goal. To have so many top tier players that you can't sign them all. Regardless of what happens though.. one thing will be certain... no one will care.

Ouch.... just stay down Matt, stay down.

But you see you post something like this - "The one thing I do find amusing is the way many leafs fans still think the leafs are the center of the hockey universe. Considering they haven't made the finals in 52 years, reached the conference finals only once in the last 26 years and in the last 14 years missed the playoffs 10 times and exited in the first round the other 4 years I don't see much to brag about or much reason to pile on other fans, but whatever." Knowing that it while rile Leafs fans up. You also can't say we are bragging about something and then give 0 examples to back up your point. If a Sens fan came on here and simply said something along the lines of "The Sens sure are over achieving right now and Brady T looks like he could be the real deal" then there could be an actual discussion about how Ottawa is doing and the state of the team. But when the post starts off "The Laffs suck blah blah blah, Ottawa is better with a lot less blah blah blah" thats when the discussion can get out of hand. I love Chris' passion for the team.... we have said this before... people who don't understand why he or others get so upset when people say stupid things about the Leafs... don't really know what we mean by bleeding blue and white. Probably never will.

I have a 2009 Etec 75 tiller (pretty much the same as the 90). It has been great for me for the last 4 years as the second owner. That said I am also very easy on it spending my time on a lot of smaller lakes. I have 0 complaints thus far and really like the motor. Lots of power, quiet, fuel efficient. But I am sure there are also lemons out there!

Awesome report. Love that area.

So here's what I take away from this. - Have fun in highschool until grade 12 and buckle down a bit. - Only attend collage or university if you really know what you want to do.. i.e. no general business degree. - When life gives you an opportunity... jump on it quickly / no matter what the job - Try and pick a profession where you have the opportunity to make good money. - You usually have to pay your dues working jobs you don't enjoy until you get a break. Basically these are just the facts of life. Some people will be given ample opportunities who don't earn it... and some people will spend their whole life working hard to only getting that 1 shot. The sooner you realize life isn't ever going to be fair the better. Work hard, apply yourself, be polite, be positive, take every opportunity, be approachable, and always be looking to improve. Do that and most of the time things will work themselves out. The housing thing is insane. I do feel bad for the next generation and how they will be able to afford a decent place. The drug thing is a complicated issue. So many different reasons why people turn to them or are put onto them. Some self inflicted.. some not. The ones I feel for the most are the young kids who really are not given a chance growing up and the people who get hooked on them as a painkiller from being at the hospital.

Thanks Chris, Yes still a few lakes like this kicking around. No public access really helps with the pressure on these fish. Ottawa is really just a big city town. 30 minutes from the DT core and you can be fishing an abundance of different lakes. Unlike the hockey team... this is one of the things I love about this city. Thats what we are thinking... set a high bar. The cottage owner said he's never heard of anyone catching fish like that on the lake. But that's probably because 95% of people fishing there are trolling around with gang trolls.

For the last 5 years in the summer my wife and I rent a cottage somewhere within a 2ish hour drive from Ottawa for a week of fishing and relaxing. March of last year our little guy was born and the trip has turned into more of a family vacation than a fishing trip as expected. Last year we found a cottage we really enjoyed with great fishing and decided to book it again for our 2019 trip. This year my good friend and his wife joined us on the trip which is always a lot of fun. The little guy is 16 months and did not want to get out of the boat.. it was his favorite place to be all week.. which suits me just fine. The weather was absolutely perfect. Light winds and sunny for a full 6 days straight. Water temp was 77-79 which was great for fishing and swimming. The fishing itself was fantastic. Primarily a lake trout lake it also has big smallmouth, largemouth, and pike. Our focus was put towards jigging lakers in the morning mostly with maybe an hour or 2 in the afternoon. Then after dinner getting out for an hour or so of topwater bass fishing. Monday to Saturday we boated 51 lake trout averaging between 5-7lbs with the biggest just over 9lbs. We only kept 2 with the rest of them heading back to be caught again. Its very important to get these fish to burp on the way up or they will have trouble getting back down. Also a quick release makes a big difference. Largemouth were plentiful and a tonne of fun catching them throwing a pompadour and a frog from dusk to dark. The most interesting catches were the smallmouth though. Fishing for lake trout in anywhere between 70 - 110 ' we would catch them cruising over top of high bait balls. At one point my wife had her line hanging over the side of the boat in 70' and all of a sudden there is a fish on. What a weird pattern to try and figure out! A great week with great friends. Enjoy a few pictures below! BassMan11 aka Troutman11? My buddy with the first of the trip I was soon to follow Double header! The girls even got into them! The big screen sure helps with figuring out whats what (Fish on top. bait-ball, jig, fish on bottom). A few bass My little buddy A beautiful spot Cheers!

As mentioned trim the legs down a bit and bend the hooks out just a tiny bit on the frog.... also need to wait at least a 2 count before setting the hook. Line should always be tight using shorts pops to move the bait. Live Targets seem to have the best hook up percentage for me. Don't miss many. Texas rigged Senko works well as a follow up if needed.

Great report... beauty fish.... and congrats on the little one.

If you have the room, a "house battery" works well. I had the same issue a while back and put a house battery in to run all my electronics and other boat accessories. The hatches I have in the back of my pro guide 1675 will only fit group 24 batteries so this was my best option with the amount of things running off the battery. Only thing I would change is put in a battery selector switch so I can flip back and forth between the starter and house for charging purposes while on the water.

Beauties Chris!

Awesome report Chris. Beauty spot.

I'm sure you guys are right. We should trade him for Brady Tkachuk or Max Domi. There are some guys with some intangibles. I mean...at the end of the day... a 21 year old who has the potential to score 50 goals a season is huge problem. Also the fact he doesn't hit or get dirty in the corners just shows he's afraid, weak and won't do what it takes. Not even sure why the Leafs drafted him to be honest. Laine is 50x the hockey player Matthews is. I really think they should just blow up the team... they are going nowhere. Start over. If you're not first... you're last.

Weak reply. What kind of search criteria did you use to find that image? Asking for a friend.