buckhorn250

Ok. Quick update based on my drive to Buckhorn last night.

Scugog...no ice visible from Hwy 7

Lower Pigeon ...completely open, some ice one the west shore, but not much

Gagnon Narrows...completely open, can see some ice on the far south shore

Upper Buckhorn...bays still iced up , water level is still low.

Was up at the cottage yesterday. Gagnon narrows is still completely open. Only ice is that piles up in the inside corner of Pigeon.

Buckhorn is completely ope right up to the two islands.

Can the front steering bar stay on all the time or do you have to remove it?

sorry...my mistake.

Changed my mind and went with a motor with built in power trim

Thanks guys.

I checked out all of these units. None seem to have power trim control...any suggestions on how best to control tilt?

Managed to get up to buckhorn on Friday. On the way up there was no ice what so ever in Gagnon Narrows. On the way back just a thin coat.

Even our back bays had poor ice. After the next two weeks of forecasted weather I think I have a better chance of splashing my boat then taking the sleds out.

havent been up for a couple of weeks...is the level finally down on Upper Buckhorn?

Add me to the list of 'worst fishing related purchase I ever made" ...finally sold mine.

Thanks guys...appreciate the insight.

Hi

Looking to add a kicker to my Lund Impact 1875. Most likely will go with a used Mercury 15EL with a Panther tilt and trim.

My question is what is the best way to control steering, trottle and shift. Was planning on using a steering bar but still not certain about best controls.

Any recommendations would be appreciated.

thanks

Yes Jimmer I believe your correct it is illegal for me to harvest wild rice.

I'm willing to take it to the courts...the rice I remove is not wild...it has been seeded and intentionally planted and does not meet the criteria outlined by the statute.

Its a pretty sad situation. To be clear any resident of Canada has the right to harvest wild plants within the restrictions provided...protected plants, trees, shrubs, personal property.

The issue here is not the harvesting which is an absolute right....its the planting and seeding of the rice. Equivalent to one of use trying to plant a cash crop like corn in a public park. The treaty, permit and rights of this individual do not cover seeding. Its not his right to determine how much rice there should be in these lakes.

Also, another interesting angle were looking at is that he is marketing his product as "Wild Rice"...there is nothing wild about it...its a planted cash crop. I have a number of friends and colleges in the restaurant business in Toronto who have been approached and have purchased this product. They were shocked to hear the background (they advertise it as "wild rice") and there is a up swelling starting. Kill the market demand...kill the product.

Also to be clear this is one guy...its a shame that he is hiding behind his heritage and creating a negative association...its an individual not a group that has created this issue.

Thanks guys

Appreciate the perspective. This will end up in the courts if the authorities don't act...there is too much at stake for property owners.

One of my neighbours has given me a heads up on a potential class action law suit.

Looking for some idea of the level of awareness of the wild rice issue on the tri-lakes. I am supportive of the harvesting of wild rice, however I learned this year that the rice that has taken over our bay is not natural and is being planted by an individual from Curve lake who openly admits that he is planting seed. Ive done a bit of research and sounds like Pigeon is even worse. The rice is being sold commercially under the brand Black Duck. Again the individual has a license to commercially harvest rice, but the planting of rice is clearly illegal.

As I indicated in the title its not really a fishing discussion but I have definitely seen the negative impact to the bass fishing over the last several years.

Any way looking to see what others think

Upper Buckhorn was at least 2 to 3 weeks late last year. Most years the majority of ice is out during March break with the exception of the smaller bays...last year wasn't out until end of March. I suspect this year will be as late. No soft water until early April...then the flooding starts.

I was in the US this week and was surprised that there wasnt the BPS Spring fishing sale...its usually the last week of Feb down there.

Did I miss something? They still doing it?

Another vote for the Minnkota Terrova...great unit with a ton of features...but its the construction that impressed me. Its a much more solid unit then the Motorguide I replaced. Definitely worth the extra bucks.

I couldn't agree more. Shimano has always provided excellent service. I snapped the handle off of my Curado..my fault. Brought it in for repair, told them what happened. Their response was..."shouldn't have broke"...I told them I fell on it...I'm a big guy. "Doesn't matter, handle should not have snapped the way it did...No Charge!!"

Last year there were some delays in replacements that several people experienced, including myself. Based on a challenge the whole industry faced with having to to lower production since demand in the US for fishing gear plummeted. Guys that hunt typically fish...threat of gun regulations in the US had people forsaking fishing related purchases and buying guns...Shimano and everyone else had a challenge when demand increased. A minor blip in an impeccable record as far as I'm concerned. Handled the issue well...spoke to a senior guy who was awesome...honest about the situation..listened and apologized. As far as I'm concerned stuff will always happen...the real test is how the manufacture responds when it does.

I have all the confidence in the world that Shimano will treat me fairly if there is an issue.

Its the only brand that I purchase...added 2 new Chronarchs, a Metanium and a couple of Crucials to list this year.

Oh...and here is the standard disclaimer... I do not work for Shimano, never have, am not sponsored, never have been.

Congrats....great reel

Do yourself a favour, learn how to clear up backlashes, there are some good techniques you can find on YouTube. So many people get frustrated during the early days.

Good luck

I thought I would provide a bit of an update. Did take the advice to post on TackleTour and received this response from Shimano Rep. Although not a great response and a bit deflective...they did respond. Will let you know what happens.

From Shimano Rep

You have every right to be discouraged. Currently US Customs is holding a container full of rods for inspection. They are saying it will be a 3 week hold...unfortunately this is completely out of our control. Since all of the rods ship from our location to Canada, they have less control over the situation. We are at the mercy of customs on this one.

The backorder situation is something we are trying to improve. Demand caught us off guard and due to lead times with the factory we simply cannot speed up production. We anticipated this container to show up last week which obviously has not happened due to the problem I discussed above. Unfortunately there is nothing I can do to speed this process up and get your rod back any sooner. The dates the CS rep sees on the computer are generic. They will update daily/weekly/monthly depending on the date of the PO. More than likely the rod will be here sooner than October. Given your original rod order was placed earlier, the rep should try to move your new order up in time. If you send me a PM with your info I will see what I can do. I will send the info up to Canada and maybe they can bump your order up.

I also wanted to add that we respond to every email we receive. More than likely the response when to your junk or spam folder. The address from us will be from fishsitefeedback.

He wants them to at least engage in a discussion and call him back. Maybe offer him some kind of option. Is that too much to ask spinnerbait?

Thanks Landry...that's exactly it. Customer loyalty (and mine with Shimano) is often built when something goes wrong, The manner in which a manufacture treat you during issues is critical. I had 2 warranty experiences with Shimano bad guides on 2 rods...exchanged the rods no questions asked and actually upgraded me, and I broke the handle on one of my Curados...went to get a paid repair and the refused to take my money...kept saying " it should not have broke". These happened several years ago and based on these types of experiences, why would I buy anything else. But like I keep saying...something has changed.I kept reading that they were clawing back on their warranty process but didn't want to believe it. Thanks again for all the feedback

C

I should hold back a little here as Shimano takes care of more customers rods and reels than anybody else, but you have made some good points. I see dozens of rods yearly turn around quickly and not very quickly and a lot of hit has to do with new lineup's of rods and backordered products. The US gets many rods before us north of the border and a backordered replacement is quite common. Ugly Stick travel rods were backordered for 4 months from Pure Fishing so customers waited months for those...just a example.

 

When I send out rods Shimano gets them within 3 days and what is in stock and around them in Peterborough get's sent right away. If they told you the rod would be back late August then you should of got it then or at thee worst early September. What model did you break? I've seen some Worm & Jig replacements come back as well as several in the "Spinnerbait" lineup in under 4 weeks time. I love Shimano still because they always seem to offer a no charge warranty and they do a immense about of contributions in our fishing industry.

 

Hope you see your new rod soon. I'm still waiting 2 month's for my uncles Pflueger Spinning reel, and on week 13 on a friends Fenwick so your not the only one. Chris Giles is a pleasure to deal with at Shimano in Peterborough (Warranty/Repair) if you can find his contact speak with him over the phone. Timing is not Shimano's fault or yours...you could of broke it earlier in the year and had it by now...It's just bad timing man I called and knew ahed my 6'10MH Cumara Spinnerbait rod was backordered after it broke so I ordered a Looimis so I wouldn't miss out (guide rapped too tight instant snap opening week just like you).

 

Regardless don't hate too much, Shimano is very good but I wish they stocked more rods for warranty.

Thanks Mike...it is a worm and Jig rod...the 6-6.

Like I said, I have been a huge fan of Shimano. I work in the Customer Experience and Loyalty industry and I have used them as an example of a company that get customer experience. Writing this post was really tough for me. But I did some searching and it looks like this is not an isolated incident and that something has changed. It sad to see a company that really got CE fall so far so fast.

Pick up the phone and talk to someone. Relying on email is like relying on a letter put in the mail.

Sorry...forgot the mention the numerous phone calls I have also had.

I'll start by saying that I have been a loyalty Shimano customer for years have have over 50 rod and reel combos (nobody tell my wife). Over the years I have been vocal at the amazing service I have received and have posted such messages on OFC.

But something has happened. Over the winter I purchased a new Cumara rod and in the day of bass opener the rod snapped on a cast ( at the handle). I dropped it off at Shimano in Peterborough and they said it definitely looked like a flawed blank..but that the rod had to go in for review to see if it qualified for replacement...not the greatest experience compared to the past but tolerable. 3 weeks later I was shipped a replacement rod...a Crucial. They downgraded the replacement for some reason and I called in. 'No problem just ship the Curcial back and we'll send you out a Cumara'...which I did. Then I was told the Cumara was back ordered until mid August...late August comes..no rod. I call in, now its backordered until end of October. So I buy a top of the line rod and miss out on the entire season.

This type of frustration with Shimano was a new experience for me, in the past it has been all surprise and delight. I submit a complaint through their website, no response, I submit an escalation complaint...that was 5 weeks ago. Still no response.

I hope that Shimano monitors OFC for related topics (if not, they should this is a wealth of customer feedback for any manufacture) So my question is simple

Shimano, what happened to your customer service !!??

If this is a strategic change in direction, its the wrong one. Focus group of one, but I'm looking for 3 new combos, in the past there would be no decision other then which Shimano product to buy...not so any more. Sad day.

thanks for allowing a forum for me to rank

A former loyal Shimano customer

I snapped the handle off my Curado...fell on it. Brought it to Shimano, told them what happened, expecting to pay for service. Thier response was unbeliable..."dont care if you fell on it, should not have snapped" repaired it at no cost. Amazing customer service...Shimano customer for life.