doubleheader

I couldn't agree more to John F's post. I did a 3 year stint in Budapest Hungary in the 90's, so even though I'm not a Canadian citizen I think I can add some advice. After you check things out, if you think you might be interested go back to your boss and negotiate. My salary was doubled when I went to Budapest, and while my situation was somewhat different it was common for me to offer salary adjustments of up to 50% for employees that I brought over from the States. Don't be afraid to discuss a "stay" bonus, which is money they would pay you at the completion of the tour. Make sure your job back in Canada is guaranteed upon your return. As far as medical care is concerned we had insurance that included a chartered jet back to the US within 24 hrs. in the event any of our US employees had a medical emergency. Housing- negotiate, ours was paid. Travel back to Canada- I had two trips /year paid. Vacation- negotiate. In the end, if you get a deal that sounds good to you get everything in writing and take it to your attorney for review. Be adventurous but be smart too. If they want you they will negotiate and if not you're better off knowing up front before you turn your life upside down. You have a skill they need, don't sell yourself short.

I bought a 9.8 HP Nissan for use as a kicker. I'm very satisfied with it. I have a manual start and it always starts first pull and never misses a beat.

There is also a Cabalas in Hamburgh PA, which is probably 5 hours from Buffalo NY and in West Virginia about an hour south of Pittsburgh.

I can't speak for most of the lake but around Erie PA it's been slower than usual, but some days have been pretty good. I think the weather has things kind of fouled up. Fish seem pretty scattered.

Here's a good website http://www.fishlakeerie.com/

Fang, thanks for the input, btw, cool fish icon.

Thanks alot for the response, very helpful and it pretty much fits what little I've been able to pull off the net. At this point I'm wondering if we might be better off looking elsewhere. We've been going to the west arm of Nipissing for years and are just trying to locate something new. Again, really appreciate your response and I hope to maybe hear other suggestions for places to go from others on the board.

Hi all

Planning a long weekend and considering a visit to Lake Temagami the end of August. I know it's a long drive for weekend but it's kind of a scouting trip for future longer stays. Just wondering what type of fishing we might be able to anticipate at that time of year. I guess we aren't too species particular but generally focus on walleyes. I haven't been able to locate much information on the net. Appreciate any input. Have a great weekend all.

I've got to believe there is some problem with that motor. At very minimum you should get down to 2.5 mph, and I would be more inclined to believe 2 mph is possible. Since the motor has already had a break-in period I would take it back to them, something isn't right.

Usually with cranks or harnesses I am slower in the spring and speed up as the water warms. With harnesses that can mean as slow as .5mph using smile blades and floats to keep the harness from snagging and whatever the minimum speed I might be able to get away with depending on the crank bait I'm pulling. That said, I'll often run a zig zag pattern and see if the fish tell me which speed they prefer. I've seen occaisions when you had to go over 2.5 mph. Once I was fishing with another guy, each in separate boats. He forgot to charge his trolling motor batttery and was pulling harnesses at over 2.5 mph and whacking a fish every 15 minutes. I couldn't buy a bite until I copied him. If I were to pick one speed it would be .9 mph for harnesses and 1.8 for cranks.

Hi Wayne, we mety briefly at Lakair a couple weeks back. Very sorry to read the news of your sister. My condolences to you and the entire family.

I just returned for the west arm of Nipissing last week. That area was loaded with shad flies the week beginning 6-30, and to a somewhat lesser extent the following week.

This is one of the more fun non-fishing posts I've read in awhile. It's interesting finding out what's behind some of the OFC nicknames. For me I was born with two heads, right..., actually I was born with two loves, baseball and fishing, and as a doubleheader is about as much fun as one can have in either sport, it just seemed to fit. My wife is actually the one who started it.

Big Cliff really nice rig. My favorite boat name from days gone by was our old pontoon "Mostly Sunny" . My wife and I named her appropriately for the way we try to view life, and we've found with 4 girls a positive outlook along with an occaisional adult beverage helps keep us sane. Also, it seemed especially appropriate here in western PA where we get a lot of "mostly sunny" forecasts that become liquid sunshine by mid afternoon. Anyhow, it worked for us and I still like the name. Again, great rig.

Scooter,

If you have a Lowrance you can go to the website and there will be a cross reference so you can see if the current transducer is compatible with your new unit. I would imagine other mfgrs. have a similar feature on their website but if they don't just call their customer service. It's hard to say how difficult it might be to add a new transducer without knowing your set-up but most times it's pretty simple to re-route a new transducer wire. If the transducer is mounted on the starboard keel you're really just running it from there up the starboard side and to your console. Probably just cutting a few wire ties to take out the existing one, running your new one, and replacing the wire ties. Most boats have removable panels, and so if it were done once it can be done again.

Hi all, our Pennsylvania group will be arriving Saturday. My wife Amy, our beast Labrabear pup Cooper, and our good friends Gary and Ellen Hubbard. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

Rich- A ride home to PA can easily be arranged but you may have to ride with Cooper!!!

There are quite a few out there. I've used Stamina quite often. If you do a search do it for "Stamina fishing tackle" or you'll get some interesting but unitended results. I buy most of my harness blades and hooks there, but the sell all kinds of components for luremaking, as well as soft baits. If you are interested in pouring your own swim baits try Larry Dahlberg's website. Pretty neat stuff there.

What was a few years back a really informative magazine went on a steady decline until it was almost just one big Berkley advertisement. I cancelled my subscription a couple years back, but hold on to those older editions because the information is still valid and the magazines themselves may be worth a few bucks some day.

Two years ago my buddy bought an Alumacraft. He put a deposit down with a dealer in PA at a big boat show. I found him the exact same deal for thousands less at Lacannes Marine in Faribault MN. The PA dealer couldn't touch the deal nor anyone else we contacted. He saved almost $3K after the cost of going out and getting it, which was over 2,000 miles round trip. Plus we had a fun road trip and I ate the best wings I've ever had in my life.

I've had no problems trolling with LC "on the rod" while trolling. Another option for connecting your leadcore to your leader is a small Spro straight swivel. I don't remember the size but they are tiny but still have something like a 40 lb rating and I know they will reel right thru the guide on the reel; at least they do on my Sealines. It was something I picked up on the Next Bite website, you may be able to find the article in their archives.

I have 4 Diawa sealines reels set-up with leadcore. I have two with std 10 color set-up and 2 with only 5. Many times I have fewer segments in the water than what's on the reel. The problem as i see it with so many segments in the water is the line sinks when you turn so you'd really need to be fishing some major open water areas that allow you to go i pretty much a staright line. I know my reels can't handle more than 10 segments, so check your line capacity of the reels you plan to use.

I think you might improve your options considerably if you were open to both a riveted boat and welded boat. I have a welded boat, a Crestliner, and it's a decent boat, but I've also owned riveted boats that have been good to me. I'm just saying you'd have more options and a better chance of finding a deal. Personally I think one of the best made boats on the market today is Alumacraft, but besides them you could look at Lund, G3, and Princecraft. Dealers should be willing to negotiate this time of year. One nice thing about the Alumacraft is the double hull, especially if you fish the rocks.

I broke my skeg on a 50 hp Honda a few years back and purchased a Skeggard. Great product, worked as advertised, and actually improved my performance some.

I'm speaking about mandatory service now, not an opinion on what would be right for Canada as I'm a US citizen. I served in the US Navy during the Viet Nam war, and while I volunteered and would not have been drafted due to my draft number, many of those I served with were drafted, and it is from that group I draw this conclusion. While mandatory military service may be good for many young people, but it's not necessarily good for the military. I don't think it should be the military's nor the taxpayer's responsibility to try to train the untrainable, and at least in the U.S. there are a whole lot of 18 year old kids that would be nothing but a burden on our military. If my life were on the line, I'd like to know that the guys or gals I'm fighting with chose this career path and have proven they belong.

Lakair morning

Early in the morning,

I’m the only one awake,

I like to sneak out to our deck,

And gaze upon the lake.

The leaves they rustle just a bit,

The water laps the shore,

My mind fills with memories,

Of years past and more

Not sure where all the days have gone

Nor the number yet to see

Just lost in treasured memories,

Of how it used to be

I’d like to think you’re here with me

Right here, on this painted deck

Is this what calls me to this place?

Is this why I make this trek?

The sun will rise half hour from now

Everyone up and about

But these moments belongs to only us

For that there is no doubt

See you all soon

Absolutetly the best boat customization article I've ever read. I'm keeping a copy.