danc

On a related note, I changed my bottom end oil a few weeks ago. It looked fine. But I couldn't find the o ring that should have been on the drain screw. I have two vent screws up top and both o rings were there. One stayed on the screw and the other stayed in the threaded opening. I was dumbfounded as I am very careful about such things. I had no idea what happened to the drain opening o ring. I was positive that it was there when I changed the oil last spring. I know. I should have changed it last fall for storage, but I didn't. Anyways, no big deal. I proceeded to change the oil anyways. I'd use one of the o rings from one of the top vent screws and replace it later. I have one of those pumps that screw into the bottle of oil. So, I proceed to screw it into the oil container and when I went to screw the nozzle into the motor, there was my o ring. It had came off and stayed on the pump nozzle when I last changed the oil. As you know, this must be a very quick procedure. There's not much time to check things out between removing the pump and installing the screw. So apparently I left the o ring in the drain/fill opening, knew it was there and thought all would be fine. I ran all last year with no o ring on the bottom drain screw. As I said, all looked fine with the oil, so I got lucky. This is probably a rare occurance, but since we're on the subject I thought I'd mention it. Don't leave your o ring in the threaded opening. Take it out and put it on the screw. And while you're at the dealer, buy new o rings each year. They cost pennies each.

Thanks so much for the fantastic comments guys and gals. It's those type of comments that keep people motivated to put the time together to put such posts on the board. So keep them coming for all reports. Sorry about the late reply, but I had to head out of town Tuesday morning for a job at a gold mine in Marathon. There's a few people that had queries about my post that I'll be replying to through pm's. bucktail, Pam and tjsa to name a few. I'll be getting back to you guys within a few days. Guidofisherman??? It's time to go Bud. See ya out there.

If you've already read tjsa's report, then you know that it was unseasonably cold up here for most of this past weekend. But it's nothing that we haven't seen before. When you live "up north", the May long weekend can be 30C or -10C. This year much of it was -10C. I arrived at the lake with the boat in tow an hour or two before my partners were expected. They'd be pulling a camper. I thought that this would be a great opportunity to launch and go and catch a fish or two before they showed up. But when I looked out at the lake from the launch, I quickly changed my mind. A wicked wind was blowing right towards the launch churning up major white caps and stinging any exposed skin. I parked the boat on shore for the night and when my partners arrived, we set up camp and discussed fishing tactics for Saturday. However, this is what we awoke to Saturday morning. Snow, freezing rain and those same biting winds kept us huddled in the camper for which turned out to be the entire day. A few games of cards and a couple of short walks kept us entertained for Saturday. On one of my walks, this guy flew up into a tree right in front of me. He was really chowing down on buds from this tree. The skies started to clear on Saturday evening. This was a good sign for Sunday. My buddy said that this was Venus beside the moon. I wasn't sure. Sure enough Sunday morning greeted us with clear sunny skies, although the wind still had a bite to it. As we gathered our gear together to launch the boat, we were treated to a rare sight. Two flocks of Pelicans circled over our camp site for about 10 minutes. I'm not sure if you guys have them in Southern Ontario, but they are a rare sight up here. They are awesome flyers. They reminded me of the Snow Birds the way that they were grouped in tight formation and their precision maneuvers were nothing short of amazing. Finally to the fishing. We had to work for them, but we did ok. We ended up with about a dozen Brook Trout from about 14 to 21 inches in size. They were pretty good scrappers considering the 38F to 41F waters temps that we caught them in. Here's a few fish pictures to round out my report. I hope that your long weekend was at least warmer than ours.

Geez people. We're in first place. Canada has some awesome places, as we all know. In fact I'd personally pick a few others over the Giant. But we'll take it. Our entire city had rallied to get votes for us, much like I have done here. The message to vote for the Giant has been in the newspaper, on the radio and no doubt sent through thousands of e mails and message boards. Thanks to you that have voted for the Giant. If anything, it certainly can't hurt our depressed forestry based economy. If you have a moment, give the Giant one more vote. Thanks...

Thanks Lostchild. That would be a sunrise, looking east.

It's like a desert in the Thunder bay area. Forest fires everywhere.

Another enjoyable report MB. Better hide those backgrounds though or your spots will be crowded in no time. Keep 'em coming Bud.

CBC is hosting a contest to honor the 7 wonders of Canada. There are 50 nominees. All are worthy of being in the top 7 IMHO. We (Thunder Bay) have one entry. It's called the "Sleeping Giant". It's what we see as we look out over Lake Superior every day. You don't have to look too hard to see the figure of the giant. His head is to the left in case you haven't quite figured it out from the photos below. We, as a city, are pushing quite hard for votes to try to get on the top 7 list. I guess you can call it a civic pride thing. The photo on the CBC page isn't quite so flattering, so I've posted a couple of my own which may, or may not, inspire you to vote for the giant. You can vote for 7 nominees at once. So I ask you, please vote for the giant, if you find it worthy. If not, vote for which ever nominees that you like. Here's the CBC page where you can view the nominees. 7 wonders of Canada And here's a couple of my own photos of the giant. We'd appreciate your vote if you find it worthy. Thanks.

Very nice Brian. I didn't receive any fishing goodies in the mail lately, but I did receive a Pamela Dallaire print of a cougar photo that I took a while back. It is simply amazing. I have it framed in the house and everyone that walks in asks about it. When I tell them the story and then show them the photo that was the blueprint for the painting, they are awestruck. The eyes of the cougar in the painting are hypnotizing. Geez. I just went to Pams web site to find my print on the front page. Pamela did this painting for the Ontario Puma Foundation. Thanks again Pamela. Pamelas web site

Stellar report guys. Thanks for sharing.

Judging from the photo, I'd say that 18 Molson Canadian costs exactly $38.00 where you are now. Am I right??> You'd better not stay out there too long TJ.

Enjoy it Bud. You are the envy of many. I'll get out next weekend as well. Can't wait!!!

All the best Bud from Sis and I.

That's what I'd do. In fact, I did just that today and found my problem.

bump

Keep your eye on those Staal boys. Thunder Bays finest export.

There's literally hundreds of lakes in Northwestern Ontario that produce trophy northerns. But the locals never target them. I happen to catch a 15 to 20 lb. fish every other year or so by accident and I'd really rather not catch it if I had my choice. I don't need a big, ugly, stinky fish flopping around in the bottom of my boat. But they're up here in droves if that's what suits you. Lake Superior is a good place to start. You can get them right in front of town and have no competition. Come north. They're here and plentiful.

Jr. is a decent guy, but he'd better get his butt in gear if he ever wants to prove that he's nothing more than a mediocre driver. Mind you that silver spoon will carry him for as far as he wants to go. I have nothing against the kid but he's far from the God of Nascar that his fans portray him to be. It's all about winning and being on top and he isn't even close right now, nor has he ever been. He's not getting any younger either. He's got a lot to prove in a rather short time if he's going to be the anywhere close to the top of the field. This move could either make or break him IMHO.

As Tom said, it's a serious situation here right now. We ended last fall in extreme drought conditions with fires burning as late in the season as I ever recall. Then we were blessed with a very mild winter with virtually no snow. I think I shoveled my driveway once. Now it's spring. The forests are tinder dry. Folks relying on well water are out of luck. Lake Superior is down 40+ inches, an 80 year low. And it was at least 80 degrees F here today. Unheard of. And more heat to come.

No need to apologize Phil. But your story is a good reminder to those that decide to wear them. I rarely wear mine. But one thing that I always do when traveling in rough waters is to attach my kill switch cord to myself. Misfishs story above is a good reason why you should always do that.

Many of the problem suggestions won't trigger an alarm such as a bad battery connection or fuel pressure problem. It's the things that will damage your motor that will trigger an alarm and reduce your rpm's such as over heating. I have no other suggestions, so take that for what its worth.

Sounds like fun Brian. Must be nice to get out again. It'll be two weeks before I get out. A red anchor, huh? I wonder if it's the same one that Dale Jr. drags behind his car??

Could it be Clearwater Lake?

It doesn't seem that this lake has much structure. I'm no so sure that I'd buy a map for it. A depth finder should do the job.