landry

Oh ya - the fish hawks are little wider and heavier than many other alums - 87" beam / 880 lbs. Need feedback soon. Thanks

I am thinking about buying a 1600 fish hawk with 50 merc on it. I am concerned about the power needed for this boat. Does anyone own or fish from one of these with the 50 hp on it? Do they plane well and what speeds will they hit? Do people like the 50 merc 2 strokes (newer models)? I have an older 1650 with a 70 hp 4 stroke and it runs really well but I am thinking of buying a brand new one with the 50!?! Thanks a ton! Landry

try searching: sitemash and the boat you like. Sitemash site will search NY for you as well once you are in. This site will list every boat (of your preference) on the web for you. I found 2 great boats this way - and great deals. Don't rule out Michigan - lots of deals there too. Landry

You sound like a great person Randy. I was moved and impressed by this post. Take care Landry

do NOT drill thru your hull as that info posted previously suggested!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep it simple and mount it on top of the existing seats. Do not cut out seats as that may affect the structural integrity of the boat. make braces between the seats if u want a hatch - which is a great thing to have. Use cardboard to make a template. then get 3/4" marine plywood (regular plywood with a couple coats of paint will suffice but it may warp if it gets soaked and u stand on it - I used regular stuff and it lasted 3 years just fine. It was free), and cheap marine carpet and glue from home depot. PM me if u want a pic of my old boat's deck. If I can do it anyone can - seriously. Landry

dave is right - stand on the seats and test it out. If it is okay then I would mount the deck right onto the top of the seats. That is what I did with my old boat and it was very stable, but it was a low riding aluminum. seanymph 14'6. I built in aluminum braces between the seats so that I could add a storage hatch in the deck too.

there is a nice used minn kota maxxum for sale in boat/motor classifieds by Les culp Jr right now. You may be able to work out a good deal on that one? Landry

I have a 70 lb on my 16 foot crestliner and I can get it to creep along. Go with the 70 - as long as it has variable speed and not 5 click like speed settings - that good deal at Basspro may not be variable - it was a great price though. Check their website for customer reviews on it first. I find people to be quite honest and sometimes cheaper units have cheaper brackets/mounting. Landry

I have had quite a few requests for my isopod recipe - so here it is if anyone is interested. • take a #18 tiemco 2487 hook and wrap a base of tan 8/0 thread on it • take a margarine lid and cut out a thin oval shaped piece to fit hook (for flat isopod body) • wrap plastic oval on top of hook shank while holding in place - wrap until it is covered and secure. You should now have an isopod shaped profile. • tie in tan scud back material at rear • sparsely dub almost white leggy dubbing material and wrap back to rear • pull scud back forward on top of hook while wrapping thread, with spaces, to represent segmenting • whip finish • use a fine sharpie to put a subtle line on the back turn some rocks over in the grand - these isopods (and caddis) are the predominant food item in the fergus stretch. The almost white dubbing darkens to match real scud legs nicely and the profile and size are VERY close to the real thing. Most commercially tied isopods are larger and not a close match to the grand specimens. I have tested these extensively and they work great. Landry

I used to fish the upper grand a ton. It is primarily a nymphing river. 9' 4 wt rod is the ticket. Use indicators and dead drift nymphs. Fish 5X tippet or lighter if u can. Make sure you have enough weight to get a dead drift down near the bottom. Sometimes 4 bb sized weights are needed in deeper, faster runs - more weight is always better than too little. You can get by with 5 fly types in the fergus area. Fish the power line area/willow tree hole or cedar run to start. stop and ask at troutfitters for directions. The flies that I did REALLY well on: • #16 -#20 pheasant tails • #18 isopods (on curved tiemco 2487 hook) - PM me and i will send u easy and deadly recipe • #18 and #16 caddis pupa in very pale green with brown head (2487 hook) • #18 caddis emerger (June)- same as above but on straight hook and with small emerging wings laying along body on the sides • san juan worms in pink or natural colours - sometimes the bigger patterns just plain work. You can get fancier, with many other patterns, spinners, dries, emergers... but the majority of fish are caught nymphing. Pick up some rocks in fergus area and look - you'll see why I fished these patterns and sizes often. Landry

ive used tyger for adding stinger trebles to muskie jigs or plastics but it was around 50#, It was good stuff. I would not use it as a leader though. I like flourocarbon. Landry

I flyfish them every spring. It is awesome. If I could only flyfish for one freshwater fish for the rest of my life it would be carp. They are spooky, smart and strong!!! It takes way more skill than catching a steelie or trout on a fly! You can sight-fish them and cast blind in some places. I like to stalk them and strip wooly bugger style flies past them:) Landry

hey weeds - how do you like the TI rod. I have heard great things. Should go nice with the new reel:) Landry

the 8'6" pete maina rod is practically identical to my st croix slingblade but 1/3 the price. I own both. Buy a Maina 8'6" if you can find it! the new rapala rods are way too short and behind the times. Most serious musky guys use 7'6" and longer nowadays. The 7'6" Rapala may be okay. I own an R-type bass baitcast rod and it is very nice for the dollars!!! (100$). This is an accurate and unbiased report as "I" am not spnsored by either of these brand - unfortunately. Landry

it was the worst show ever. he played mostly his new junk. And the sound was terrible - you could hardly hera the vocals. He went backstage at least 20 times to do god knows what while they played rambling nonsensical solos to fill time. I love GnR, was 30 feet from stage and would compare it to going on a timeshare weekend. I just felt like I was waiting for the one hour sales pitch to be over so I could get to the good stuu/music.

snug harbour marine. google it. a good place to fish the south end

I believe that the cherokee models were made by crestliner for ranger. And yes - I would go down there, test it on a lake and it does sound like a good price. I bought my boat in Michigan. It was easy to cross back into Canada with it - as long as you have the title for the boat and the title for the trailer showing no liens. The trailer must also have the proper trailer sticker too (weight capacity, model#...) If you have these things and it tests well on water then I would say BUY IT! Have you negotiated for 7000 cause if that is their asking price I am sure you can get it for lower if you give them cash and promise to get there soon. They are still struggling economically in the U.S. You'd be surprised at how low they might go. Landry

Bought eagle fishelite 642C unit. Can anyone tell me if the navionics gold SD map chip 14XG-2 has Lake St. Clair on it? Thanks a ton! Landry

I am planning on buying an eagle fishelite 640 0r 642C over the holidays. I am interested in some OFC feedback. Anyone own one of these units and if so what card are you running, navionics gold, silver or navionics hotmap premium. Problem is the hotmap does not have st. clair on it and I want it. I fish the Trent, Kawarthas and St. Clair mostly. Help! I know Jocelyn in Woodstock will guide me but would like to hear some other opinions. Thanks Landry

just get your passport and go to the states - end of discussion - seriously. Unless you are buying a friends boat that you know well this is your best bet. Stop asking questions and as my wife would say "get on with it". Landry

Buy in the states!!!!!!!!!!!! I did it . It was easy to do and you only pay PST and GST on the purchase. MI has so many cheap boats - they are really hurting down there. A year and a half ago I bought a 2003 Fishhawk 1650 with a 70 4 stroke, trailer... that was in super shape for 8500 Cdn once I paid taxes and everything. The same boat was actually selling, not listed, for over 12 000 in Ontario at the time. Not bragging just giving an example. My friend just got a 1700 FHawk with a 90 2 stroke that was barely used for even less - and yes he is bragging:) Look into it. Test drive the boat on a lake! All you need is the boat and trailer title and make sure the trailer still has the legal info sticker on it. You must have all of these things from the seller - not copies and titles must be clear. Stop in at the border and pay GST on the way back home. I figure i saved $3000 for driving 6 hours - that's $500 an hour. Well worth it to me. Landry

this lake is well past it's prime. it is very tough fishing to say the least. it used to be the best in the area. Having said that - I fished it last summer twice - got most of my fish in the shallow end near the launch with scum frogs and heavy flip'n jigs punched through surface slop. Dead sticking or slow fishing natural coloured senkos got me some too - BUT IT WAS TOUGH!!! I spotted a nice largemouth cruising a shallow flat and threw a 4 inch senko as far as I could to him. It landed 10 feet away and he bolted like a threw a two by four at him! My kids were at camp there so I toughed it out for a second day - same results. My friend, who wins some very big bass tourneys agrees with me on this. There are some really big bass in there still. Landry

i fish the grand with 4" white senkos rigged texposed (texas style basically) and I twitch them as they swing cross-current - works like a charm. In my boat o lakes, I fish smallies the same way but I dead-stick darker colours for largemouth. You can buy weedless wacky hooks from Gamakatzu and they work great.

try head lake and kashagawigamog. good muskie numbers there. fish deep edges and rock structure too. Start in Head lake at Haliburton - tons of smaller muskies there!!!

Thanks for the serious and humorous responses:) I will cast some muskie baits but it looks like a smallmouth mission. How is the fishing in Kushog in general?