mepps

Great tribute by your daughter, Lew. A perfect reminder of why we should cherish our loved ones ever day!

A quick clip with for the first voyage on Lake O with the family, including new pup! (my oldest son wasn't able to join us, but he will next time!) I kept things slow and steady as the wife was a bit overwhelmed being on big water, luckily it was nice and calm! I had to speed up the footage to give the illusion of going fast! https://streamable.com/klrh8m

Someone once told me the happiest you'll be as a boat owner, is the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat! I'm expecting to put more money into this boat in the near future, but hopefully the cost of ownership isnt crazy!

lol, I'm confident I could sell it for 3-4 grand more than I paid, but there is no chance I'm parting with it any time soon!

I can use the bailer from the boat, no? Thanks everyone! Feels like a lottery win for sure. I had been looking for a few months and there aren't a lot of great options unless I wanted to pay over $7500 which wasn't going to happen (unlesss I wanted 20HP and less). The seller said he had 40 people contact them within the first few hours, and even though I offered to buy it unseen (they had posted lots of photos), they said I had to go in person. I got there as another guy was viewing the boat and I started chatting with the owner about fishing and found out he has a place on Lake Nipissing (which I visited years ago at Lakeair during an OFC trip, so we had a great chat). The other guy, who didn't look away from his phone (Facetime) and didn't even say hello when he arrived made a low ball offer, and the owner looked at me and said "You want to buy a boat?" of course I said "Absolutely, I would like nothing more than to own this boat!" and he told the other guy "Sorry, it's sold." One of the happiest moment in my life, I felt a connection to this boat the moment I laid eyes on it, and the Yammy is exactly what I wanted!

After years of pounding the pavement, paddling kayaks and canoes, renting boats and hitching ride with friends I've finally taken the plunge! With our cars and credit cards all paid off, we are completely out of debt (besides our mortgage!) and I was able to negotiate some spending with the wife. As I'm sure most of you are aware, finding a used boat in this current market is crazy, but I got "lucky" and found a family selling their second boat at a price. It's a 1993 Sylvan Sea Monster side console with a 2000 40HP Yamaha outboard, and ready to fish! I'm the 3rd owner of the 15.5 footer, and the previous owners always kept in the the garage and provided all of the maintenance and purchase records since 1994. Looking forward to getting the whole family out on the water (which was a problem in a canoe). For anyone wondering how the negotiations went with the Mrs, she is getting a dog...a fair trade to bring my dream to a reality! I just got my hitch installed and will be bringing her home as soon as possible! She is neatly tucked away in @JonnyButts driveway and we are already counting down the days to musky season. Let the adventures begin!

I've spent 20 years shore fishing the GTA and pretty much everywhere you can legally access Lake Ontario in the GTA will hold fish. Pike are around all year, especially in cooler seasons. You have hundreds of KM to explore in and around the GTA. Personally, I like to start near Marinas. These spots often provide some deeper water and less snags. Be sure to have a net, as many areas will be tough to land fish otherwise. I also recommend using rods over 8 feet to get the most out of your casts! For lures, spoons, spinnerbaits, swimbaits...

Another great read, glad I got to be part of this ongoing journey! Here's top all the big fish yet you come!

Figured I'd share the lure that was most productive for me and Johnny this season. Hooking 8-10 musky on the Niagara and LSC. It isn't a lure I've seen in other muskie boxes. It's not a bait that I would have purchased personally, but Johnny had one, and I tried it out and landed a muskie on the second cast! I went on to get another muskie on the first cast a couple of weeks later, and then another on the second cast at night fishing LSC. We each bought 5 more! Live Target Golden Shiner - 8 inches, 5oz - Comes in gold and silver blue (the blue worked at LSC) and costs around $20 CAD It has a cool magnetic hook system, with super strong hooks despite their smaller size. We ended up replacing the back hook with bigger hooks on a few baits. The action is a slight wobble, with quick tail vibrations (very little body roll compared to other soft baits like Shadzilla and Restless Riders. It casts very well and can be fished at speed in shallow water, or nice and slow in deep. The hook system is pretty good in the weeds too! The only down side is the tail get ripped off on several baits, more so than other soft baits I've used.

I have given black/orange a try in many shapes, size and depths and its never produced for me! That said, Black/yellow has been solid! Most fish caught last season were on natural gold colours baits, but I never had success with gold in previous years. I always stick with the 2-3 colours that worked best in the past, and if they arent working that day, I change it up.

Great memory! June 2007, Little Vermillion Lake pike and walleye! That Canon G5 is one of my all time favorite cameras, even considered buying the new G cameras because of it! Thanks Pump!! I still cant believe we have never crossed paths with the amount of fishing we do around the GTA.

Lol, it was an arm busting good time! Incredible power for sure and loved it, but I'll take casting for muskie if given the choice...well maybe 8 out of 10 times I'll take muskies! We got lucky to find a relatively low pressure area and timed it right for a month of solid fishing until October, then no sign of any fish near shore! Only saw 2 other muskie guys fish the area. Hope to hit the same area earlier in the season this year! Glad to hear, thank you!

Heck of a year, bro! I cant believe both of you had 2 fish on one bait, thats insane!

Thanks Connie! All of my May pike were caught on my spinner baits (silver/orange), but these days I take out the hooks before taking a photo (saw a buddy get hooked in the hand!). Next batch of baits I make I'll be sure to put aside a couple for you. I'll be in touch with you soon, may be able to do an LV trip this spring of restrictions don't prevent it! I had shaved at the end of August, then I saw you sporting a beard and I've been trying to catch up! Just made a deal with Jonny, no shave til one of us gets a 50 inch muskie!

Thanks guys! I never left Lew, just been keeping an eye on things!