Jigger

Beauty 'ski man! Don't see too many that size in Haliburton, congrats!

Very purdy fish! Nice to see you guys keep on being successful, no matter what species it is!Congrats.

That is a very, very nice surprise! Congrats on that one, alot of guys will never come close to a fish that size. WTG!

Hey guys, just want to start by saying congratulations to all who had a successful Bass opener! Looks like there were alot of big fish caught and the smiles on everyones face says it all! Way to go! I headed up to 12Mile, which is where my in-laws have a place, for opener. The wind had been blowing hard for a few days, but it was pretty constant as far as direction goes, so I figured the bass would be in fairly predictable spots. Ended up doing alright and when the wind kept blowing the same direction on Sat, the spinnerbait bite was hot as well. In fact, pretty much everything went, with fish on the aforementioned(I don't think I've ever typed that word...) spinnerbait, senkos, topwaters and jerkbaits accounting for most fish. Had enough of bass at one point and ended up stalking a pair of real nice muskies, but they were to shy too come aboard for a kiss. Heres the first (legal) bass of the year, spinnerbait fish... Another... At this time I realized there was a timer feature on my camera.First Largie came courtesy of a Senko.Funny how I can remember what I caught each fish on, but I can't remember where I put my keys... This fish was a lesson learner. I was fishing behind a boat that was throwing onto a point off an island. They had just finished doing their thing and took off to brighter pastures. Knowing that they had fished the snot out of the shallow side, I started throwing over deeper water. Spinnerbait still. First cast, three big smallies come out and chase the lure right to boatside and bugger off. Next cast with a smoke grub reeled at hyper-speed,same thing. So I quickly threw out a Husky jerk and it was immediatley attacked by this bronze beauty. Sorry about the backlight shot,this pic does no justice whatsoever to this fish... The problem with this is I released it right away. The bite went dead on that spot. I learned my lesson. Plug in the livewell and put fish in it when you get them.Also, try and face the sun when you are taking a pic. Caught a bunch more that day, but most were not pic worthy... Sunday was a little different with the wind coming from the south. The morning bite was good. Hooked up the livewell very first thing and was glad I did. First fish came on a Skitter Walk, second one was on a Senko tossed while his buddy was taking a bath in my livewell... Had to get off the water early on Sunday as my wife had some plans, but a fun weekend nonetheless! Cheers.

Maybe hes compensating for something .

I don't really see how this is a front. The front moved through a couple of days ago. The weather has been very consistant the past 3 days as far as wind and pressure go and I expect to see fish in fairly predictable places. May have to take more time than normal to get bit, but I think there will be some good fish caught this weekend. Maybe not by me, but someone always figures 'em out .

If I catch it, I'm gonna keep it. When did you lose it? I'll be up on 12 Mile this weekend. Ayone else up that way this weekend?

I'll have a topwater walker on one rod, a spinnerbait on another, a senko on one, a jig and pig on one, a tube rod and a jerkbait rod. I think the first thing I'll pitch will be before daybreak,though, and it'll be a skunk marabou. Theres some Muskie I have to say hello to.

Alright, just got the old girl back. Guy dissassembled and cleaned the carb, changed the fuel filter and greased the nipples . Cost $80. Not too bad, considering it was last minute. He took me back to the shop to have a look at the fuel, it looked like there was water floating around in it and the oil and gas had totally separated . Not just a little ,either. Almost half of what was in there was floating. Did a moisture test that came back negative, so its not water. The verdict, bad gas . Alcohol in the gas. He didn't run the motor on my fuel, said he didn't want to take a chance and used his instead. Fired up and stayed fired up without a hitch. Up until this year I've been running premium gas in there and don't think that I'll be using the regular grade gas anytime soon. His recommendation was to use mid-grade, but since I had no problem with the premium, I'll stick with that. Thanks again for the help guys.

Well, I talked to a repair shop and the mechanic isn't in today. The guy I talked to said I could drop it off anyways. Looks like I'll be back in business soon enough. I'd love to do the work myself, but the old girl could probably use a tune-up anyways and if its not too expensive, I'd like to get a Hydraulic tilt and trim installed. Will let you know how it turns out. Thanks again guys!

I was out there on Wed. looking for some 'skis. Launched off the island. As soon as I got to the water, there were Carp everywhere. Smelled so bad I debated leaving. But didn't. The amount of fish floating across the lake and in the weed mats was incredible. Its only Carp, though. Didn't see anything else up top. There were some Carp still nosing their way around. The strong will survive. Seems like every year there is a new die-off somewhere. The St.Lawrence Musky die-off was early season last year. Wasn't it? Strange days indeed.

Congrats on the big 5-0 Mr.Eh! What a pretty fish to break the barrier with. Beauty!

I cut my teeth sm bass fishing and most of my time is spent on smallies. But I've grown to love the toothier side of things and the last couple of years I've devoted more time to pike and muskie. I do want to spend more time fishing largies this year, don't know what a reaaly big greenback feels like.

Not a choke problem, the choke was the only thing that kept the motor going at times. All indications seem to be pointing at old fuel. I hate to admit it, but I didn't put any stabilizer in the fuel last year . So, I guess its the lines and carb that are at fault. There are two bolts that hold the carb on. If I take those off, will the carb stay in one piece? I'm not going to take it apart, I was thinking that I could find some marine carburator cleaner and dunk the carb right in for awhile. If I can do this myself without damaging the carb, I'm all for saving a buck! IF I can pull the carb off, will the gasket need replacing?and how will I know if its all right or in need of a cleaning? Thanks again.

Thanks alot for your ideas! I borrowed my friends earmuffs and have some time to get it done this weekend. If ever there was a weekend this year that this had to fall on, I guess it would be this weekend. Tonight have my daughters recital to attend, tomorrow is her B-Day party and then Sunday is her birthday. I think I can sneak in enough time to muck around with the motor. If all external checks (change fuel filter/damaged hoses) don't work, I'll have time to take it somewhere tommorrow morning. One question. Can the carburator be taken off without damaging/altering anything? Just so I can take a look at it. ?And maybe clean it? You've all got me very interested in the mechanics of the boat all of a sudden! Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! Oh and taper, sorry if I confused you, theres no kicker motor, just the 30hp. One more quick one, is there any way to purge the lines without getting gas everywhere? Or, should I just disconnect the fuel line and run it until it is dry? Did I just answer my own question? Disregard the last question if I did...

Hey guys, was out at Scugog last night looking for some 'skis. Seems the skunk bug is catching, I didn't even get a follow. Thats the report. At one point I fired up the big motor and had no problem getting on plane and cruised a good distance to the next spot. No problem. Dropped the trolling motor and fished for awhile and decided to call it a night. Fired up the motor again and got on plane and then, out of nowhere, the motor bogged out! what the heck! Its never done that before. So I started it up again and the idle speed was at least twice maybe even three times as fast as it should be...so I took the cover off and played with the throttle a little and had to manually push the little arm that controls the carb back to normal idle speed(Sorry, my mechanical terms are less than technical). Once again got going, but the motor kept wanting to crap out and I had to give it a little choke(Wanted to give it a BIG choke) to keep it going. Once it got on plane, which took what seemed like an eternity, top speed was less than half! I'm not sure at all how to proceed with this, is this something I can fix with a little tutorial, or should I send it in? The motor is a 1997 30hp Mariner. Its been a very reliable motor until this point and I'd like to get it back up to par as quick as possible. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

I got a good one from a fortune cookie the other day. A plan without action is nothing but a dream...

Zamboni, I'mstill changing my mind every minute! Hopefully it comes and goes quick and we can get out for the dinner bell.

Man, I just got home an hour ago. Things were looking just peachy for an hour or two on Scugog for 'skis...I just about had the boat on the hitch.Then common sense took hold after listening to a forcast or two and looking at the radar images. Its moving pretty quick. Oh well, I'll get to the Beer store before most, though ! Stay safe everyone. No use messing with Mother Nature, shes gonna be real cranky this afternoon.

Don't tell me you think the Buffalo Bills were a success story for four straight years? ? ?

TrophyMuskie, Funny that you say you thought it was the Leafs playing...I thought the exact same thing!!! Everytime Alfie touched the puck, he got booed, the Sens goaltending was found wanting, and the Sens were on the brink of elimination and got pushed over it. Sucks to be a Sens fan. What did I tell you in the beginning of this? The Sens will NEVER be Canadas team. Just look at the ratings. The problem with it all is that Ottawa is where our taxes go to die. Who'd want to support them? Oh, right. You do. Sorry for your loss. Cool of you to keep picking on the Leafs though. Shows who you think of when you are cheering your team on. Take care

I don't think stocked fish should be allowed as record holders. Maybe with a * beside them. Either way , that fish defies nature.True Leviathan. Congrats to your buddies!

fUNNY HOW I DON'T HEAR A THING FROM THE CHIRPING LEAF FANS UNTIL OTTAWA IS ON THE BRINK OF ELIMINATION HHHMMM..... YOUR JEALOUSY IS THE BIGGEST FORM OF FLATTERY SO KEEP CHIRPING.MAYBE YOU WILL MAKE THE PLAYOFFS NEXT YEAR AND THEN WE CAN SEE WHO THE BETTER TEAM IS BUT THE CHANCES ON THAT ARE PRETTY SLIM.SENS ARE PLAYING HOCKEY IN JUNE TORONTO IS NOT .......VERY SIMPLE !!!!!AND BY THE WAY OTTAWA IS THE BEST TEAM IN HOCKEY AND THE DUCKS ARE THE BEST TEAM IN RUGBY !!IF THE REFEREES CALLED THE GAME THE WAY THEY WERE SUPPOSED THE SERIES WOULD BE OVER ALREADY BUT APPARENTLY CLUTCHING AND GRABBING ARE ALLOWED AGAIN IN THE NEW NHL !!! Don't know if you're aware but... Poor deluded Senators fans. Second place is the first loser. GO DUCKS!

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