porkpie

Yep, you will need some power to steer. You can still use the bowmount without ipilot. Just bring your pedal back to the console. They give you plenty of cable!

I have hundreds and hundreds of hours of troll time on my ipilot. No detriment to the motor itself that I can see. I did burn out an ipilot head unit, but fortunately I had stockpiled an extra complete with remote when Canadian tire was clearing them out a few years back. Using heading lock to troll is the only way to go. It leaves you hands free to set lines, catch fish, do whatever. If you want to adjust course you can do so at the touch of a button. There’s no better way!

Wow, video evidence is pretty compelling. Bet Oleary is happy that both he and his buddy had expensive security systems!

Late night booze cruise is a possibility. It’s not unusual on cottage lakes to see an unlit pontoon and hear the clink of glasses and laughter. Stargazing, avoiding attention, call it what you will. I’ve seen it many times on the family cottage lake. Mind you, who takes a shot of booze when returning to the dock after a late night collision when your son has just called 911. I’d say their is negligence on both sides here. Truth will never come out because there is too much money on both sides!

If I had to own one boat for fair to moderate weather fishing, camping and for banging off rocks and beaching etc. I'd probably buy a 16 foot Lund SSV with a Honda 40hp. They take some pretty big water for their size and they are an excellent utility boat with a good amount room for gear. Pretty bare inside though. Another good unit would be an older Lund Rebel 16 or if you wanted a flat floor an Alaskan.

I have had several self destruct many years ago. I never gave them another chance. I'm sure they have some good offerings.

50amp breaker, all day. Princess auto sells em cheap and they will work fine for your application.

Congrats Dan, My good buddy retired 2 years ago. It was easier to book a day to go fishing with him when he had a regular job, now he has more things to do than ever LOL. It'll be good, my day is not too far in the future and I'll enjoy every minute!

I’ve caught many musky in the river not far from the park. Buzz baits always effective

My buddy had the starter on his 2012 merc 150 rebuilt and as far as I know it turned out fine.

I'd look at these. I almost considered selling my superfisherman and getting the Freedom 18. It's a hella nice rig for a mid size semi utility, and I sometimes miss the tiller layout. last I checked Marsh's marine had a 16 in stock. Might be gone now.

The spot lock uses very little battery unless it’s very windy. Another thing you’ll like is the autopilot feature. It will change your world if you like to troll. I’ve heard of some occasional problems with the self deploy, but I sure think I’d take my chances if I needed a new motor and it was in the budget. Talk about a nice feature to have!

If you want mature fish and aren’t concerned about big silvers, the level best time is the last 2 weeks of August/ first week of September in front of rivermouths anywhere from 20fow to 120fow. Here’s a tip, at that time of year, the hooks you see hugging bottom aren’t always carp. If you want to be a salmon fisherman, set your alarm for 2am and be Setting lines by 430-5am. Your success will double if not triple. This is a direct result of water clarity and no doubt zebra muscles. Guys leaving the launch at 7:30am have missed the best fishing and should perhaps consider bass fishing as a hobby!

I had one of those for a couple years and never had a problem but I’ve heard a lot of people has issues with them. I did do a warranty claim on an ice auger and they where really good about shipping the part and they did it for free even thought the breakage was due to falling off an ATV, but I had a receipt. It’s worth a call to try, if it where my $100 I’d be on the phone!

Well you got the job done when you wanted to. Funny you mentioned I just looked this morning and 2x8 x12 pressure treat is down to $35 a board. I need 4 for a backyard project as 2 weeks ago they where $46 a board. I don’t need to do the job so I’m going to hang in until September and see what happens. It allows me to be two of my favourite things with household projects. Frugal and lazy lol.

That’s madness!

I just saw that price quoted on another post somewhere.... who is selling worms for $6 a dozen? I’ve seen them for $3 a doz but $6??? That price is madness. I just bought 4 dozen for $10 at the variety store in Field the other day.

Cheap. Regular was 1.42 per litre in north bay yesterday

If you want to fish just the river, just stick with the bottom bouncers. You can put them off planer boards if that floats your boat!

Bottom bouncer selection between 1 and 2 ounces and some worm harnesses should get you down and get you fishing at dunnville if it’s pickerel your after.

We could all still be lighting fires by rubbing 2 sticks together, but things have evolved to where there is a better way. It’s nice to have the ability to catch fish with a worm and a hook. But given my options, I’ll take my GPS, sonar and ipilot every day thanks!

My boat is full until it’s on a quarter tank LOL, and it’s a 2009.

The boat in my driveway currently is the longest I’ve ever owned one other than my old Lund SSV. Trucks and cars I keep a long time but boats I seem to like horse trading for some reason. Sure enough I just got this one exactly where I want it and I started thinking about making some corona money and ordering a new one from the dealer. Fact is I need my boat as we have too much going on this summer for me to sell it, but the thought lingers LOL. Enjoy the new boat, it’s always a nice feeling!

We are looking at the Toro timecutter with suspension and a commercial motor and fabricated deck. I’ve had some positive feedback from a few people online, and it turns out a carpenter friend has owned one for the last 4 years and apparently it’s been flawless for him. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s actually in stock at Hamelins in North Bay. Most used commercial I’ve been looking at has been in the same price range if it isn’t entirely beaten on. Anyway, if it’s anything like my 20 year old Toro self propelled it should do the trick. I have not been able to kill that thing and believe me I have tried!

Thanks for the input. I like the idea of buying a used pro unit and I’m mechanically handy enough to deal with a number of issues. That said it seems like just about everyone wants drug money for anything used at the moment, from boats to ATV’s to mowers.... anyway, something will come up!