Big Cliff

That glint in his eyes and that award winning smile says it all! Glad to see you got some fish too!

I am so sorry for your loss, he sounded like a wonderful man and a true friend. The world needs more people like him!

2-4" of ice and 65' of water? Not for this old man. Glad we're not reading about you in the papers this morning!

Sinker, I haven't fished Scugog in a few years. Just been too busy I guess but it looks like I might have a bit of time available for the next month. Why don't you give me a call and see if we can hook up. 328-0750.

Thank you very much for the offer, I'd love to hook up with you but I have already made other plans. Perhaps we can work something out for another time! I haven't fished lakers in years and I wouldn't mind trying for a few white fish this year.

I put mine in my pants one time...... craziest thing I've witnessed (just kidding, couldn't resist LOL). Seriously though I was just charging mine up today and was thinking about how I use to go ice fishing...... A spool of line, some hooks, a few minnows, and an ice chisel. Cut a tree branch, scoop ice out with your hands... boy have tings changed!

I love waking up in the morning to their calls. They get so tame around here that they will sit on the railing of our deck sometimes while we sit there just a few feet away. Kind of like being one with nature.

Do you know why they don't send donkeys to school? Because no one likes a smart As_s LOL. (Darn editor) Wish I was down South this year but it aint going to happen so I'll just have to make the best of what I have to work with.

trust me! If there is any chance that the ice isn't safe, we won't be going out on it! I'd never gamble my life for a feed of fish! The odds just aren't good enough.

I've been watching the weather reports, last few days have been too cold for me and Beans to get out and enjoy ourselves. We have company all this weekend, and Monday I have to make a quick trip to Sudbury. Going to be raining anyway. Tuesday's forcast is for a high of 9 and only a 40% chance of scattered showers so I'm thinking Tuesday is the day. Anyone else heading out? If so where? Would be nice if we can hook up with a few others. Now, beans and I don't travel too fast and we don't walk too far, but I do have a quad so we can still get around (as long as the ice is safe (we don't swim so well in cold water anymore either LOL). Anyway, if anyone wants to hook up, simco or Jacks Lake works for us.

I could be wrong but aren't most of those units filled with nitrogen or something to prevent moisture from getting in? If you do get it repaired will it be resealed? If not, the repair might not last very long.

I guess I hadn't really noticed but now that you mention it, we do usually have quite a few birds around here in the winter but there doesn't seem to be very many this year. We've always had a bunch of doves around and I haven't seen one in weeks now. Strange! Got any days off in the next week or so Steve? Thinking you, Beans, and I might get out for a day fishing.

We eat fish and meat, hawks eat what ever they can catch! I have a bunch of wild rabbits in my yard, every once in a while I loose one to an owl or a fox, it's sad but it's life!

I think that from a legal perspective Kirk is right! From a moral perspective, well I think that's quite clear. The biggest problem we have in our socity today is that the courts tend to let people go with a slap on the wrist. I watched a program on TV last night, a guy had three young kids in the car, he was driving at +100 MPH, when the cops stopped him, he had 3 times the leagal limit in his blood. It was his 6th offence. One a big fine, two 10 years in jail, three,.... life. Take one, do one! Part of the reason our cops are so over worked is repeat offenders. Perhaps we should learn a lesson from our friends to the South and impose manditory sentenances for many crimes. Aparently it has cut their crime rate as much as 20% in many states.

If it makes only one person stop and think before they drink and drive it's the right place to post it. So many of us have had only a drink or two and some times three and thought we were fine but that's all it takes. I have to admit, when I was younger I probably drove a few times that I shouldn't have. Today, I WILL NOT drink and drive, That's not to say I wouldn't have a small glass of wine with dinner or even a beer but my limit is one if any and most of the time it is none. Good post! Just remember if you do drink and drive the life you take may not be your own but you will ruin yours and so many more. Is it realy worth it! There isn't a person that I know that couldn't call me at anytime of the day or night that I wouldn't get out of bed for and go and get if they called me and said " I've had a few drinks and have to get home"! I'd much rather be tired than loose a friend!

I built a 12 X 24 and did most of the work myself, The siding cost me $2000.00 installed but that was a high quality to match the house. The rest of it cost about $5000.00. There are a few things I would do different, Mine has a 4" slope from front to back to allow for dranage (I have a marine railroad so my boat gets winched right from the lake into the boat house so everything is wet). In the future I would make the slope 6", you don't notice the slope at all. The walls are 8' high, if I was to build another one, I would make the walls 10' high and the door 9'. As it is right now, my door is only 8' high and I have to remove my stern light when bringing in the boat in. It's not a big deal unless you forget and you are not watching! then a big stern light becomes somewhat shorter. hasen't happened yet but it probably will one of these days LOL. I would use OSB on the walls, the plans I had called for black tentest on the walls, big mistake! Use OSB! I built my own roof trusses, forget it, buy them prebuilt for anything 12' span or over, you'll save yourself a lot of time and trouble and some money to boot. I have a "low slope" roof (16" higher at the peak), I would stay with that, there is little if any snow build up on it, the wind tends to keep it clean but you should have some slope. I might go to 18" if I was to do it again.

Thanks for the updated list, I like the format better!

Two buddies go for a ride together because they are buddies and enjoy each others company and share things in common. Someone makes a bad judgement call and they head out onto the ice for whatever reason, I'm sure they didn't say lets go kill ourselves. It was a stupid mistake but a mistake none the less and they paid for it with their lives. Now that is a tradgity! Many will suffer because of it, their families, their friends, and they also paid the ultimate price for their poor judgement. Every year I see posts on this board where guys and gals have gone fishing and reported "6" of solid ice", well, 6" is quite safe to walk out on but it doesn't take much current to make that 6" into only 2". I often worry when I hear they are going, I wouldn't want to loose a single person on this board. When I was younger I did the same thing and probably worse, there were times when I and my best friend would run open water with our sleds to get to where we wanted to fish. Never did we think we might die because of it, We always figured that the worst thing that might happen was we would get wet. There were a few times that we found ourselves in situations where we didn't know if we would get through, not by choice, it just happened, you are crossing a lake that you think is safe and suddenly you feel the back of your sled breaking through the ice. You can't stop! You have to keep going and hope that you make it. Fortunatly we always did! Unfortunatly these two friends didn't. All we can do from here on is say a prayer for the families and learn from their mistake. It's funny, the older you get the more careful you become. My prayers are with the families!

The door on my boat house is 8' high but if I were to do it again, I'd make it 9'. By the time you get a boat on a trailer and the windshild and everything. 8' is cutting it a bit close.

I have the Aqua-View Scout. It is a good unit but it really depends what you want to use it for. If you walk out to where you are going to be fishing, it's quite a bit of extra weight to haul around. I don't walk too far anymore, I prefer to wait until I can take my quad out so for me, it isn't too bad. I do find it hard sometimes to see the screen on a bright day even with the shield in place but by setting it up on the quad it makes it a bit easier. Like a flasher or fish finder they aren't necessary but sure can be useful in learning what the fish are doing, I had mine set up in the boat one evening last summer and was able to watch a school of walleye come into view and move off again. (Ok, Ok, a couple stayed in my livewell LOL) I have often wondered why the bite would last about 1/2 an hour and thought it might be because they were moving through but which way or were they just getting spooked? Now I have a much better understanding of their pattern. Infact, I was able to figure out that they moved about 200 yards in about an hour which really surprised me. I hadn't realized that they covered as much area and always thought they were more teritorial. They are also very useful for testing new baits, you can watch the fish's reaction to baits and presentations. You'd be amazed at how many times a perch can suck your bait into it's mouth and spit it back out and you won't even know you have had a bite. Crappie are even better at it! Cheating????? Some might consider it is, I don't think it is, to me it's just another tool to help me learn to be a better fisherman. Before you invest in one though, try to get out with someone that has one and see for yourself. several of the guys on here have them.

An old indian friend told me many years ago; "it's better to build a small fire and sit close than to build a big fire and sit far away". I'd forgotten about the cable saw in the survival kit, thanks for the reminder. Since I moved down here I haven't really worried about a "Kit" because I don't travel to far from civilation any more, a compus and a few band aids but today is going to be too cold to do much outside so I think I am going to build a box to fit on my ATV and I'll make a storage compartment in it for a survival kit. Thanks for all the super ideas!

Thanks for the link, there were a number of operators over on this side that I didn't even know existed.

WTG Joey, bet that got the heart pounding LOL.

Many years ago (like about 40 or so) when I lived up in French River we didn't have the emergency kits and things availavle that you can get today. I made my own kit for hunting, it was quite simple; wewould take a soup can, one of the large (6-7" tall, 3"dia) we would cut about 2/3 of the way arount the top of the can, fold the lid open and use the soup, then we would make our kit. Water proof matches, candle, strong fishing line, some hooks, a pocket knife, some oxo cubes and jerky, and many of the basic things that have already been mentioned. When our can was full we would then fold the lid back down as best we could and seal it with wax. You had to check the wax before each trip but that was easy enough. If you did get stuck in the bush, the can served as a pot to boil the water, the fishing line could be used for all sorts of things, the oxo cubes made a nice warm broth to help you warm up if you did get cold. Well, I could go on but you'd be surprised at how much stuff you can put into one of those cans if you pack it carefully. I had a few very comfortable nights in the bush that might not have been enjoyable if I hadn't had that can with me. Good topic by the way! some wonderful ideas.

TJ, the mods; thanks for all your hard work and making this site so special. To all the members who go out of your way to help and support anyone who asks, you are why this site is the biggest and most successful. What a wonderful team! Wishing each and everyone of you all the best for 2008. Big Cliff & Family