digitalkreation

Anyone know if Nogie's launch is avail to use? Don't want to make the drive if it's barricaded..

Love those colors. Congrats!

Thanks everyone for the replies, I got a lot more than I thought I would, just like my last take at panfishing.. Question, what can I expect (other than Pike) to fish in a small boat close to shore on Lake ONT?

Hi all, I'd like to try my hand at fishing the bays in and around Toronto on Lake ON. Does anyone know of any free launches near some good spots? I've only got a 14' Springbok, so I'll only want to venture out on the lake in calm waters and stick close to shore.. Thanks for any and all replies! Mark

Hi all, I want to give my motor (1986 9.9HP Johnson) a nice checkup and have just received my TinyTach in the mail. I want to also check compression, but am not wanting to waste time in getting the wrong one. Can I find a decent one at Princess Auto or Crappy Tire? I know that outboards sometimes have a weird size plug (different from cars), so if anyone has one for a small Johnson, could you steer me to a place to pick one up? Many thanks, Mark

Yep, rope is there, flashlight is loaded with batteries, all is good on that end. The boat has no nav lights, I plan on putting some in, within the next few weeks, as I want to do some night fishing.

Hi all, So, tomorrow I pick up my new (to me) boat and set it into the water. I've rented a small slip at a launch on our lake (our cottage is on an Island). The boat is an 80's 14' Springbok with a 9.9HP Johnson. Help me out here, what do I need on board in order to stay legal and safe? I've got a small safety kit which I got for free with a mag subscription which includes a bailer, whistle, flashlight and rope. In addition to that, I've got 2 life jackets on board (I know about having 1 per person). What else do I need (I'll deal with nice to have's later on)? Also, I'm new to this, will I have to provide my own lines for tying to the slip? I'm pretty sure my small boat has no cleats, so I guess I'm just tying to those braces between the gunwales and the seats? As for motor oil, can someone recommend a particular brand? I'll likely pick up a few bottles of it and keep it in the truck. Any other advice to a new boat owner is muchly appreciated!! Best, Mark

Hi all, Just a question from a noob, since I see so many posts about people releasing large Pike & Muskie.. Does anyone keep em? Are they good eating?

I don't mean to hijack the thread, but could someone please explain how to use a twister tail and a spoon together? I know all about twister tails and spoons on their own, just looking for into on using them together.. Google produced no results on this.

Hey Bill, I'll be up on Goucester this Summer in my first boat, what's good in there and when? Best, Mark

All replies that mention heat are 100% on the money. Your transmission will heat up rapidly when in OD and you'll end up cooking the bearings in your Torque converter. Generally speaking, it's about $800 to replace the TC on most vehicles. You won't know anything is wrong until it's too late. Suck it up, pay the extra $ in gas while towing..

Thanks so much everyone! This is perfect, just the information I was hoping for..

Thanks guys. So, just a basic heavy line and some wire leader? I've seen some fancy rigs set up using slips, floats and weights, kind of blew my mind on the complexity. Nice to know they feed on a lot of different presentations, I have some spoons, but I'll check out some top swimmers and the like. What about using live bait? What's good?

Hi all, I'm looking to try my hand at Pike fishing this year. I have a Shimano Curado reel paired with a 6' med/hvy Berkley Lightning Rod. Now, I know I'll need to spool the reel up with 15 or 20lb test, but that's where my knowledge ends. What type of line is best suited for the main line, mono? Clear or coloured? Do Pike take their baits from the surface, close to the surface, or from the bottom? Can anyone illustrate a simple (but typical) lure setup? I'd also like to see a simple baitfish setup, along with a good recommendation for bait to use. I know this is a complex set of answers I seek, and I wouldn't be asking if the stuff I've already seen wasn't wildly complex.. Best, Mark

I emplore anyone who thinks that more Guns in Canada would benefit anyone, to watch "Bowling for Columbine". Here, people smarter than most look at the facts and compare (quite often) the relationships between gun legislation and crime, between the USA and Canada. Guess what? There is no comparison, we are much safer with our current legislation. Down there, you need only a few days wait to go out and get a handgun, let alone automatic weapons and do whatever you like with them. Now I don't know about anyone here, but I personally sleep well at night knowing that the loser that robbed that one place in Chatham, did it with a FAKE gun. Sure, he may think twice if he knows the clerk may also have one, but I bet the CLERK sleeps better at night knowing that it's pretty tough for the roaming public to get their hands one one with the state our laws are in right now. My 2 cents..

Case closed! I made it up to B.P.S. today and tried out the Humminbird 587CI and this is the machine I'll be picking up shortly. Has almost everything I need: It's quick-disconnect so I can keep it safe, has the internal GPS and the OEM maps are pretty good for where I will be fishing, and the maps are upgradable via SD card. Now on to wiring up the boat, so I can run this and other toys.. Thanks again to all for the fine info!

Thanks for the info. I'm having a hard time finding the 500 series though, the only ones I see are in the legacy (retured) products and the ones listed there (510C & 515C dumb ass) don't show GPS as a feature. Do you have a specific model I can look for?

Yep, the 383C Portable is pretty much the same type of unit as the Lowrance unit I looked at, but again, it doesn't have the SD card slot for external map source, so I'd have to ensure that its mapping in these small lakes is up to the task. Humminbird doesn't have online demos of their products, so I'd have to get my hands on one to see the level of detail they have in Canada, especially the Trent Severn.

Hey all, So an update on this, I spent the WHOLE day researching and I've stumbled upon quite a few makes and models who have 95% of what I want, but lack something important. I was THIS CLOSE to purchasing the M86C but when I used the demo, it had no real mapping for the small lakes I'll be on (in the Trent Severn), so that pretty much ruled it out, since I want the Sonar/GPS combo, so I can set waypoints of the "good spots". I looked at the current model by Lowrance, and same thing. This ruled out the portables at Lowrance. I moved on to Humminbird, and same thing. So I took a different approach and started off by finding units that were Hotmaps friendly, and found that none were "portable" units. But some were "quick disconnect", which would also be ok, but without their own power source, I'd have to wire something up. Not out of the question, since I want to install nav lights anyhow, so I'm currently looking at these types. Anyone have a "quick disconnect" type?

Hey all, Wow, thanks so much for the replies and great advice. My boat (pics to come soon) is the typical 14', looks very much like a mid-80's Springbok. It's not a deep hull, so my motor options are limited, but I have a mid-80's era Johnson 9.9 on it now. No, it has no charging system that I know of. The motor is also a manual (non-electric) start. I thought initially to place the battery at the bow, to keep it down when accelerating, and just to balance out the boat while I'm running it solo. As I said earlier, I have a larger than normal area that's covered up there, so I have a great spot to mount the nav lights, and I thought to use the real estate underneath, I'd put the battery up there. I just don't know if I'd fabricate some wood or aluminum to "wedge" in that space which would float it above the keel or if I'd try and suspend it from the top. I also thought that I'd fabricate a small homemade guage housing, which I would mount on the gunwale opposite of where I'd sit, so I could check a guage for the battery charge remaining and I'd also likely have my switch(es) there too. Yes, it's a bit of wiring, but I never shy from work if it ends up being a nice end result. Thoughts? Anyone done something like this?

Hi all, I'd like to install some nav lights on my boat (basic 14' aluminum) and am wondering how to place the battery. I would think I'd be installing a car battery of some sort, and it would be best placed up at the bow, as I have a medium sized lip up there already. I can place the battery below this, but how do I suspend or secure it to the hull? Anyone have any experience with this sort of thing?

There are a ton of small companies that fabricate small trailers, some guys do it out of their homes. I bet you could approach someone like this to do it for you, they'd likely be happy to have the business.

Question, there are 3 mount options, but I'm looking closely at the standard with LCR mount. What's the LCR? Is that the actual display of my Fish Finder they are referring to? If so, I'd guess I could mount that up on the mount and take advantage of having everything together?

Hey, thanks alot D! This is exactly what I had been looking for..

Hi all, I'm new to the OFC forums, but not a stranger to forums in general, I'm a member of a few others in the Photography and Mountain Bike communities. Some background on me, I've been passionate about fishing since as far back as I can remember, but my technique is very unrefined, as is my knowledge at this point. Both things, I wish to improve upon. I've just purchased my first boat, a generic 14' Aluminum tub powered by a 9.9 Johnson. I guess my first question is aimed at people "in the same boat" as me; what is the recommended portable fish finder for these types of boats? I don't want to install anything that could grow legs and walk away, but I want a good unit. I'd even consider one with built in GPS, but I doubt I'd find a good portable. Or would I? Best, Mark