Raf

mine was outside last year, I built about a 5.5' tall a-frame placed inside the boat out of 2x4s and covered with tarp. worked well, lots more airflow available than shrink wrapping and no snow accumulated. this year, she will be sleeping inside. my 4stroke is dead easy, change the engine oil and lower unit oil. I run stabil in the tank the last few times I am out in case I need to put it away earlier than expected. batteries come inside for the winter.

angling specialties will redo guides. three locations in the gta, the rod work all goes to the one on hwy 7.

'in the water' as in whered you catch that? 'in the water'

there's a few walleye in some of the lakes and lake trout.

if you are only planning on one rod ever....then get a 7'6 premier heavy pm76hf or equivalent -- it will do everything. the rod you listed is a good small bucktail and straight top water rod but not great for jerkbaits, large bucktails or anything too heavy really. most people end up with two rods, one for jerkbaits one for bucktails. the rod i mentioned above will be a good jerkbait / trolling rod if you decide to get a 2nd, longer rod somewhere down the line. i'd go heavier on the line, 80lb minimum.

why doesnt it go down when the weather is great and profits are at all time highs? reminds me of enbridge this spring boohooing because of the harsh winter drying up their reserves and forcing them to buy at higher cost. there are good years and there are bad years.

great video. nice job

Ironmaker, I thought about going from up top using a carriage bolt and nut on the bottom -- it would certainly ensure that they'd never back out but, that would require me to have the boat off the trailer, measure and drill (countersink as well) then wrap it with carpet. Just dont have the luxury of doing that at the ramp. This way I had the bunks ready and it was as simple as dropping the boat, unbolt old, bold up new and done. Took no time and the Lag bolts from bottom lasted however many number of years -- if I keep an eye on them making sure they are snug I figure I'll be fine. Honestly, if I still own this rig and have to repeat this in 3 or 4 years I don't think it will be a big deal either. No side steps on mine, just a simple 2x2x4 bunk setup. "only" a 15' boat.

by the sounds of it, the 2011 explorer tow package included a bigger rad, transmission cooler, engine oil cooler and the ability to lockout overdrive (unclear if it is the same transmission or not) but i am guessing you cannot do this with your model which is pretty important.. in addition, the 5000lb rating is only with a weight distributing hitch. again, i'd be looking to trade it in for something more suitable. that generation explorer went the way of crossover vehicle not truck.

after paying for all the upgrades you'd be better off trading your vehicle in for something more suitable. how big a boat are you looking at?

brian will be barrie? storm should dissipate by 1am.

it's a quick hitter. the wall cloud at the front was impressive and tried awfully hard to rotate bringing lotsa people outside but thankfully just a light and sound show.

I didnt find the SS staples at HD either, got them at home hardware -- same ones fisherman linked to.

thanks all for the input. got the cedar 2x4s, new lag bolts, HD indoor/outdoor carpet, SS staples.. see if I can put them together before the storms arrive today and head down to a lake tomorrow. i've a 18v impact driver which should make things go quickly when i dump the boat in the water.

Great, thank you stonefish. should be fairly painless I hope. Pre-build the bunks w/stainless staples, drop the boat in and replace existing bunks/brackets use lag bolts from underneath to attach to the 2x4s. should I be drilling pilot holes for the new lag bolts? sorry never worked with them before.

thank you what do you mean by 'clean' cedar? untreated? boat is a riveted 14.5' & I plan on going carpeted. my launch routine is winch strap undone well before water.

from what i've gathered, cedar is a good choice for the wood and pressure treated can be a no-no for aluminum boats what do you suggest for the carpet? can i find it at home depot?

seriously consider the new diesel rams or older/new diesel grand cherokees i get 9L/100 on the hwy and 10-10.5 towing in my gc. wont comment on city mileage as i rarely spend any time in the city. towing capacity is 7500 lbs.

not canadian but try moore's lures in WI. I've never had an issue ordering from them and no surprise charges.

it's the inverse of the price of gas. i don't do many one day trips anymore due to cost unless it is within 2 hours or so. however, i do more multiple day trips if that makes sense. just takes more planning.

mine's 65 one way, about an hour as well. don't consider it all that bad?? i do tele/internet commute as well though. when i lived in Toronto my commute time was the same, the distance much less.

i dont know how wide and heavy your rig is but i would think the 7.5 will do 4-5 mph on your boat it's just that it would have work that much harder (ie. more throttle). a 9.9 would be ideal imo. the difference is 25% power afterall.

if you want to use it to troll at muskie speeds get the 9.9. otherwise i think the 7.5 will suffice for slow(er) trolling and as a backup

I think every lake has a mnr netting 'fable' that indicates a megalodon muskie was trapped there. the other body of water, and only non-canadian that i think has potential is the other gbay, green bay. happyness is a 10lb whitefish away.

scugog the heaviest fish come from gbay, the longest from the larry. st. lawrence fish just don't pack on the pounds for whatever reason so my money is on gbay. everywhere else is a grade or three below that.