porkpie

Get yourself a couple of hitch pins at the home hardware in town. Make sure they are the correct diameter and length, then slap one on the auger, and toss an extra in your tackle bag. Makes a great quick connect, and you always have a spare!

The ranger prices are out of this world no doubt. That said, I believe you have the right to spend as much of your money as you can afford on toys if that's your thing! I was considering new this year, and was ok with the idea of a payment. My wife actually encouraged this route, as she saw all the bells and whistles on the new rigs like the fold down jump seats, mp3 plug ins etc. She almost had me convinced, and then just like that I found a great ( unadvertised) deal through a member here on a Lund pike with a honda out back. I was able to pay cash with the down payment I would've put on the other boat, and no doubt it will last me a while! I agree with the guy who said you have to pay to play. It all depends how much you want to spend!

I have about the worst hands imaginable in the colder months. I got frostbite at work years ago on both hands, and they've never been the same since. It starts at the area that was frost damaged, and works out from there as soon as it gets cold. My wife started buying me Aveeno exzema care. Of all the creams I've tried, including the working hands stuff etc. this is the only one that has worked relatively well. Keeps my hands in reasonable condition, and soft enough that they don't crack as badly around the fingers and thumbs. Not cheap, but its worth a try, good luck!

How do you like the 510? I just got a 527c with a boat package I bought, and I was wondering if it was worth buying an ice ducer and rigging it up for my son. I have a new unit for the console, so this one is kinda surplus. I'm using a bird 385 on the ice myself and its awesome. Does your unit have a flasher mode? The 510 looks to be pretty much the same as the 527 without gps. Thanks for the input!

Been doing it for years. Bought my fill valve in the US. Be sensible, don't fill near open sources of flame, don't fill inside, wear gloves and safety glasses and pay attention to what your doing. If you follow that advice, your very unlikely to be a statistic.

Post now irrelevant since the edit.. Lol

Sorry to hear of the job losses, but I am unfortunately not surprised. The stores where empty.

If your really concerned with breakage, I would buy 1 of each also. If your heart is set on fishing and your rod arrives crushed, you'll be sorry you didn't spend the extra few bucks! I don't know anything about either rod, but we do use regular ugly sticks at our bush camp and they ride around on ATV's, get tossed in boats, sat on occasionally, and they never seem to break! Hopefully the travel rod version would be pretty robust as well.

Just get the suction cup mount and remember to tie it off. They occasionally pop off of the boat, but not so often that it's a major hassle. I've used one for years on the boat at our cottage. I just pop the sonar from my boat into a porta pack, and I bought a spare transducer to use with the suction cup mount!

It's definately worth it for an ice fisherman. I use it whenever I'm walking out. I have a sonar with navionics chip mounted on the front of my quad for when driving out, but when on foot the phone is very handy to refer too! I have a GPS capable sonar in my boat, so I haven't really used it much for that! It does work well, and I think the cost is pretty reasonable.

The banjo minnow is actually a pretty good lure!

They won't open it officially for a while yet. We are making plenty of ice out this way though. Call the park at 519-843 2979 and they'll let you know when they are thinking of opening. They are super cautious!! Often people will have been fishing on simcoe for several weeks before the park will open for ice fishing!

Check Quinte fishing board. I haven't been down, but it seems that it might be shaping up for the weekend. Take that with a grain of salt, conditions change very quickly down there!

I have been using $5 bargain bin HDMI cables for years. Picture quality is great. Monster big $$$$ cables are a complete waste of money.

Copilot is still totally worth it! I have a V1 and the copilot is the best upgrade I think you can possibly make! I haven't used the foot pedal since! If you go on to walleye central, there are guys who have modified the V1's with a V2 motherboard, and installed Ipilot.

I've been watching the used market for 2 years now. Boat prices are way depressed from what they where when I bought my last fishing boat. I didn't find what I was looking for in the fall. I do not HAVE to buy, but it would be nice. If I can't find the right deal, I'll just wait till it comes along. Its not like I don't have a boat, and I have no need or desire to sell the one I currently have anyway, I hunt out of it too, and its not being sold.

I just did the transom of the family cottage tinny this fall I looked at the price of new ones with my father in law, then tossed it in the back of my truck and spent an afternoon in my driveway! It will last another 30 years now. It's not the best fishing boat, but I also added a few extra amenities to make it better for fishing, and, I guess I won't curse it as much as I have over the last 15 years lol! If you can save it, I would! It was well worth it!

You should be able to go pretty good until you high centre. That what has killed me every time in heavy snowfall. If you intend to keep the camp long term, your best to eventually invest in a used quad and a beater snowmobile. You can pick up an older honda 4trax for under 3k depending when your buying, and a good fan cooled sled for 1k just to go back and forth. You can drive to the front doors of our camp all summer and fall, but winter and spring end that with heavy snow, then soft trail in the spring. Additional expense for sure, but no concerns then, like you say, no tow truck coming!

I am, going to check out the deals before I decide to go new or used.

Those are beauties!

I don't own an Etec, and I don't know that I'd buy one, but I do fish out of a boat that wears an Etec and for an unbiased opinion, I believe it to be about as quiet as any 4 stroke. I also know it uses very little oil, and isn't too hard on fuel. Saying all that I'd still buy a 4 stroke for my next motor. I'm not quite sure why your so angry about the whole Etec thing, I guess you had a bad experience?

Looks pretty good, side imaging at that price is a bonus. I don't know what the quality of SI will be like, but I know their down imaging is pretty good in the $5-600 range. I've had a bird for 3 years now and have been pretty impressed. Make sure you post something next year once you've has a chance to run it for a bit!

Good choice!

I agree to a degree. I think the technique specific thing is ridiculous. I buy rods based on the action alone, not because of what technique they've written on the side of the rod. I have several technique specific rods, but I use em for many different things, including what the manufacture intended. That whole specific thing is just to sell people a pile of rods! That said, I like new technology in rods reels and tackle, and I'm glad I don't have to use an old mitchell 300 reel to fish with, cause I hated those reels!

3 words. Nav Free USA. Download maps to your phone, and it works without data, just the gps in your phone. I've used it quite a bit in NY and PA. Works great!