Big Cliff

Ernie stopped by today to donate an old outboard to me for scientific purposes and his trimmer for evaluation (it has now been donated for scientific purposes too LOL) scored piston, cylinder, and rings will do that for you! Don't worrie Ernie the disection will be as painless as I can make it LOL. We got a chance to chat for a bit and tell a few fishing stories (his are much better than mine) and it was really nice to be able to take a break and get to talk to him. For a young man without a GPS, he sure knows this lake, he was able to tell me about things that don't even show up on the charts (but probably should) and give me some pointers. I in return could only give him some information on what little I know about this lake (not much by comparison). Anyway Ernie, thanks for the visit and the donations, I hope we'll get a chance to fish together sometime soon.

Well, if all goes well I hope to be buying a new boat next spring, guess what it WON"T be? Thanks for the post, sharing information, good, or bad is what makes this site the "Go To Place"! Hope the manager does see this, I wonder how many sales he has lost because of his attitude and service (or lack of). Don't worry about him threatening you, as long as you are telling the truth, I doubt there is anything he can do!

Excellent report and some really good photos! I got out last Sunday morning for a bit but it was so windy that I couldn't fish the area I wanted to. I did a bit of exploring but only got a few small mouth. About noon the wind had died down a bit so I headed back out again and the fishing was better than I have seen it in years. I couldn't believe it, middle of the day, wind out of the ENE but in the first 15 minutes I had three walleye in the boat all in the 15-17 inch range. I continued fishing for about two more hours and managed several very large perch a few small mouth, one more walleye (a little smaller than the others), and one nice large mouth.

What a wonderful report! Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to see the pictures.

Happy Birthday Paul and Al, all the very best!

No, they didn't put something in the water to kill the carp, my understanding is that they put something in the water to try to control the weeds but what ever it was killed the carp. As for some sort of a "conspiracy"...... it wouldn't be the first time we've been blatently lied too! I do not believe what the MNR are telling us, it just doesn't add up even with basic math. What ever happened to "accountability"? Oh, I remember if you are in government there isn't any!

I am so happy to see you finally got something reliable and I'll bet that in the long run it costs you less than driving a "pre owned car". So, can you please PM me the contact information for the insurance, I'm thinking I might want to shop around too.

Just a short report, no pics to show, Beans had forgotten his camera and my batteries were dead. We managed to sneak away for a few hours fishing yesterday afternoon. Started off with a small SM, then I lost a reasonable walleye, then not much of anything for a while, a few small sunfish, a couple of good hits but no hook sets. I finally checked my hook.... DULL. The winds were out of the East and starting to pick up a bit and we decided to try a point where the wind was blowing on shore. We ended up hitting a school of nice size perch and kept enough for a feed, then just as we were getting ready to head home for some supper Beans managed a small walleye. that summed up the extent of our fishing. MB came over and we had a nice dinner and a wonderful evening. Thanks to two very special people, we always enjoy our time together!

I am always proud to be an OFNr but as Roy said, sometimes there are things that just go beyond words. Joey, Pam, Paul, thanks for making this all happen! Lew, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, I hope this one will bring back a thousand happy memories.

While I'd be happy to help, outboards are a whole different ball of wax from what I am set up to handle right now. If it isn't air cooled OR under 15 HP and a simple problem I probably can't do much to help with it at the moment anyway.

CH; looking forward to it! Boatman, always happy to help anytime! Heck bring some stuff by and we can share notes or figure it out together.

So, are you telling us that it was self inflicted? LOL

Well, the first thing that came to my mind was "I hope you are OK now and it wasn't anything too serious". As others have said, I think your boss needs some management courses, too many people die every year because they try to tough things out instead of seeing a Dr. when their body tells them there is something wrong.

That's why you should always carry a cell phone with you when you are out on the water, never know when the unexpected might happen! Glad to hear you had a good day and everything worked out OK!

FF, I sure hope so because my son just told me he has a couple of them for the Great Grand kids that need some TLC. If I can't fix them I'll be in a heap of trouble. (But please grandpaw I just want to go for a little ride!) Ya so I'd spend all night in the machine shop turning a new piston if I had to LOL (and any of you grandpaws out there would do the same I'll bet LOL) Just so there is no missunderstanding: I am an apprentice mechanic not a fully licenced mechanic and while I have a lot of resources available to me (like about 60 years experience from the guys I work with) I don't know all the answers but there is a good chance I do know where to find them. I am not in this to make a living, I spent the last 45 years of my life doing that, now I just want to keep my brain active and my hands busy (Sue said I have to or else LOL). I can't afford to loose money at it but I don't have a big overhead either. (well the Government might think so LOL) so hense the no labour charges. If you need it fixed today, go to an established shop, they have spent a lot of time and money to be able to give you that kind of service! If you expect to bring it by, have Cliff Fix it and drive away..... Probably not going to happen, I don't have the huge parts inventory that the big shops have, it might take me a couple of days to get parts if I need them and don't have them. There isn't anything that "Can't be fixed" if the parts are available. But if the piston and cylinder are shot, by the time you paid for the parts...... Well you might as well just go buy a new one with a warranty. I just heard that ECHO has come out with a 5 year Consumer Warranty on their trimmers. Lastly, I have nothing but respect for the guys that have worked and compleated their apprenticeships in whatever field. They have earned the right to be called a licenced___________. It isn't an easy go, you should be proud of yourselves.

A very big warm welcome! That's what OFC is all about. Anytime you want to bring those boys up to Sturgeon Lake...... Have dock, lots of fsh, and the patients of a rock.

Beans I have a nice large net here that you can have if you want it. My kids gave me a nice rubber one when I retired and I never use the other one.

TB, I'll be happy to have a look at it for you, as long as I can get the parts, shouldn't be a problem. ec, bring it over anytime, if I'm not home, just leave it on the front porch with your phone number. LB, I'll be in Oakville on the 28th, if you want to PM me your address , I'd love to have it. I could pick it up then if that works for you. MF, haven't done one yet but no reason why I can't. Cliff, sorry, anything bigger than a lawn tractor is out, for now anyway LOL. Karem, thanks, I'll be watching for your PM. Jeff, that's wonderful! Thank you very much! What dates are you coming? you know you are welcome to use the guest room if it is available.

Well, as many of you know I started my apprentice ship as a small engine mechanic not so long ago and I am loving it! Now I have decided to start a new business to help offset the cost of tools and supplies etc.. Some good tax write offs too. By the end of today, Cliff's Small Engine Repairs will be operational but here is the deal. NO LABOUR CHARGES FOR ANY OFNr, if you have chain saws, weed eaters, lawn mowers, snow blowers....... anything small with a gas engine and can get it to me I will repair it (if it can be repaired) for the cost of the parts. If you have any of the above that are beyond reasonable repair and would like to donate them to me for spare parts, that would be most appreciated also. (By the way, thanks Beans for your donation) As you can probably guess this isn't really a "Money making business" it's a hobby and it's not full time (I already have a full time job/hobby as a small engine mechanic). I am only available on weekends and evenings so calling ahead is a good idea! 705-328-0750 If you are looking for deals on used equipment, let me know, I have started building a bit of inventory and will be adding more stuff as I get it, everything will be overhauled and ready to go and guarenteed. I might even have a line on a couple of new Briggs & Stratton outboards. I'll know better on Monday. Mods. if this post causes any problems or is considered spam please remove it immediatly. Thanks Big Cliff

Good thread, and some good responses! I am a meat hunter/fisherman so I don't target trophies, the bigger fish go back so they can spawn again. If I am hunting and have a choice of shots I am very selective, I won't take a doe that has young fawns with her because it reduces the likelyhood that they will survive. My choice if I have it one is a young buck, but I will take a young doe if she appears not to have young fawns with her. I think it is important to remember that only the very dedicated and most skilled (or very lucky) people ever do get a "trophy" deer or moose.

So you are smart and always have your PFD on or at least close by so you can put it on if you think you need it but how many of you have your whistle or flash light attached? Because I often fish in the evening and alone, I always wear my PFD and I have my whistle attached but I think I'll attach my flash light too. Might even try to track down one of those small strobe lights. This is a good story with a happy ending but it sure could have been different. This was copied from the 680 news site. Teens back on land after boat capsized Wednesday, August 15, 2007 - 04:05 PM By: 680News staff Toronto - Two teens are back on land after their boat capsized on Lake Ontario last night near the island airport. "When you have two people that are learning how to sail and one falls overboard, which we know happened, it's quite possible the other person just lost control of the sail...it's quite windy out there and the boat capsized," a police sergeant told CTV News. A nearby boater spotted one of the boys in the water and brought him back to shore. But the second teen was in the water for about 40 minutes while rescuers tried to find him in the dark. They were successful because they heard the sound of his whistle. He is now being treated for minor hypothermia.

It is always sad no matter what the age of the person is! Our condolences and prayers to the family and friends.

You could try this one. I have never stayed there but the owners seem really nice and they always seem busy. If you do book there, (or anywhere on Sturgeon Lake) let me know and I'll try to help you out with some places to try fishing. Lunge Haven on Sturgeon lake

I wish I could find the words to express how sad I am by this news, I guess God needed a very special angel. My thoughts and prayers to the family and friends.

Sorry to hear you guys didn't do better but that is why it's called fishing. Sturgeon can get quite rough and very quickly but you can laways find places to get out of the wind. That's why I suggested the Long Beach area on the West shore. Next time you are up this way, let me know and I'll try to hook up with you and if nothing else let you know what's been happening and where.