Big Cliff

Lew, if I spent as much on beer as I do on fishing tackle I'd be too drunk to ever go fishing LOL

Well, considering that we have less ice than usual here this year and the long range forecast is calling for well above normal temperatures here for at least the next two weeks with plenty of rain. I have a feeling this is going to be a very early spring. I'm guessing that the spawns will be a few weeks earlier than normal too so we are really going to have to adjust our fishing tactics to compensate. I'm betting ice out here and the boat in the water before April 1!

Well, I am sure I can wait for that price!

I was looking at a 2 oz jar of Gulp minnows the other day, 7.99 + tax (might have been 15 or 20 of them in the jar) = $9.02 = $72.16/lb. Now I can buy a lot of lobster or steak for $72.00. I really don't mind paying a fair price for things but that is starting to sound a little high for me. I was at CTC the other day and they had the Sufix Elite line (not on special). The 14 lb test was $4.96 for 330 yards the 6 lb test was $8.99 for 330 yards. Half the material, twice the price? I only have a few plastics that I use now. The Gulp maggots for perch, the FinnEss minnows for crappie and a few twister tails for walleye. I would be willing to buy them in bulk if I could get a decent price on them.

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You know what, good for you! All I have ever done is try to help people on this board but you always seem to know better than anyone else so from now on, I'll just keep my mouth shut and let you help everyone! Have fun!

LOL, well I have heard about a few of these trips to Bernies (ask me no questions I'll tell you no lies). All I want to know is do I have to bring my own gun or just some 12 gauge shells

Well, I have a dream: I have wanted to do this for as long as I can remember, I am going to make it happen if not this year, for sure next! I would love to have a float plane pick us up here at my dock on Sturgeon Lake. Fly my son (and/or) daughter and I to some spectacular "fly-in-only" lake for trout or walleye (don't really care which, numbers more than size). Have a camp for us to stay in (and the camp doesn't have to be fancy, just comfortable) with a guide and cook (could be one in the same) so all we have to do is relax, fish, eat, and enjoy. At the end of our trip, have the plane fly us back here and drop us off at our dock. (or perhaps pick up and drop the kids off at points in between).

Now you see, that is my idea of a perfect fishing trip! It isn't about how many fish you catch or how hard you fish (or how much you drink LOL) it is about spending time with good friends, relaxing, and enjoying the company be it on the water or in the living room! Nice post!

No, there isn't a return line from the carb to the tank. Fuel line goes to the carb from the tank. Then there is a line from the carb to the primer bulb inlet and a line from the primer bulb outlet back to the tank. When you push the primer bulb down it pushes gas/air that is in the primer bulb to the tank, when you release the primer bulb it sucks air/gas from the carb which creates a vacuum and draws gas from the tank into the carb. This is taken right from the Jiffy operators manual: 1. Press primer bulb until gas (return) line is free of bubbles. So if the only ones you have ever seen don't have a return line you might want to contact Jiffy, you are missing a part!

All I can say is WOW, that looks fantastic! Nice job Fang!

I agree you shouldn't have to push the primer 15 times, most of those units the primer actually suck the gas up from the tank, through the carb, through the primer bulb then back to the tank. Once the primer bulb is full and any air that was in the carb is out, you should be good to go, anything more than that isn't going to make any difference. Simon had his auger here last weekend, 4-5 pumps on the primer, turn on the choke, started first or second pull every time.

Yes, and it would make a lot more sense to delay renting huts out by a week or two and then putting them in locations where the customers are more likely to catch fish. True you might loose one or two weekends of revenue but you would build a client base that would come back year after year and a reputation that would keep your huts full all the time. You could probably raise your rates a bit to compensate for the lost weekends at the beginning of the season. Most of the people I know would gladly pay an extra $25.00 for a weekend if they knew they were likely to get some good fishing in as opposed to catching mud puppies all night.

I've been watching for a report and pictures, so far all I have found is one article in a the Barrie Examiner Fishing for Tyler I know there were at least two news papers there and saw quite a few people taking pictures, hopfully we'll get a report and some pictures posted today. I expect numbers will be down this year but it would still be nice to know how we did.

I am trying to understand why so many of the plastics are so expensive. I was looking at a small jar of imitation minnows the other day, $7.99 plus tax, there might have been 15 of them in the jar. I've noticed that most of the plastics seem very expensive, even a little package of Finness minnows cost me about $12.00 and there might be 20 of them in the package and I'd be surprised if there was $0.25 worth of material in it. So why? What is making them cost so much? Are they really worth what we are paying for them?

It takes a special personality to be able to deal with such a wide range of customers under ever changing conditions and keep everyone reasonably satisified. The good operators are the ones that have that ability, or at least they make you feel that they have really tried! Understanding that for many this weekend trip they are on is a once a year thing and many have had to save just to be able to do it. Naturally they want it to be something special so when you run into an operator that isn't willing to go out of their way to make this the weekend you've dreamed of, well it kind of leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Saddly, from the reports I have read so far Snowfari is one of the operators that view customers as a nusiance and all they want them to do is hand over money and shut up. Will their reputation put them out of business? Not likely, there will always be the uneducated or the first timers that don't know any better. It is a shame that many will be turned off from the experience and may never venture out on a trip like it again.

Yesterday afternoon after I got home from Fishing for Tyler, there were two young fellows heading out on the lake in front of our place. We watched them set up their portable and I was impressed that they even got it up with the wind blowing the way it was. I was talking to Beans giving him an update on how our day had gone when Sue let go with an "OH NO". I guess the wind had caught their portable and within seconds it had come across the lake (about 1/2 a mile) and somewhere up on our shore line (we couldn't see it from the house). All I can say is I hope there wasn't too much damage to it. I was going to get dressed and head out on my ATV to see if I could help them but by the time I got dressed they were already back off the ice and since I had no idea where to start looking for them at that point I didn't go out. If you guys read this post, I hope everything worked out ok for you!

Me too!

Vince, it was nice to see you again and to work the BBQs with you and the girls, it is so nice to see young people getting involved with projects like this! Those are two very special young ladies you have there!

Well, I am glad it turned out better than most of the other reports we've seen on the place but I have to be honest, it will take a lot of glowing reports before I spend my money with them. Thanks for posting though!

There was a good crowd again this year but it was down from previous years, I do think the weather and lack of ice was a big factor but none the less, for those that went it was fun as usual! It was really nice to see many of the old faces and have a chance to catch up. I did miss some of the regulars that couldn't make it this year but hopefully next year.

Always nice to see new members joining up, welcome to the best fishing board there is!

Looks like we have us a Sturgeon Lake chapter of OFC

OK, your twin is Simon!

This comes up every year and it's always the same thing. The guy was stupid, a fool, what was he thinking! I think it should be pinned! This past weekend I took my ATV out in a snow squal (Sean was going to do it, if anything was going to go wrong I wanted it to be with me) I went because I know the lake and it's a good thing I did. I ended up getting turned around and could have easily gotten into trouble, there was open water in two directions from where I wanted to go. I didn't plan on getting into trouble, I really thought I knew exactly where I was going and was perfectly safe. It could have ended up much differently. There isn't one person on this board that hasn't made a mistake at some point so cut the guy some slack why don't you! All perrials insurance is just that, I have it on my boat, if I go outside of a marked chanel and destroy my boat, I'm covered (come on, tell me just one of you that hasn't gone outside of a marked chanel to fish). Careless, stupid, you can call it what you want! But most of us do it! Go fishing in a storm, do you expect to get hit by lightning? But it can happen! Were you stupid, careless, unlucky, or were you just guilty of bad judgement? Take a corner too fast in your car, hit a patch of black ice, put your sled/truck through the ice. They are all mistakes, the couch potatoes will always find fault.