pigless

I went by the Hiawatha ramp this past Monday. The shifted concrete has made the ramp unusable, but seemed like there was room next to the concrete to put in on the gravel but I didn't try. There's also new signs up saying that this isn't a "free" launch and that $10 parking needs to be paid or else you get towed.

I sent a rod in last spring after snapping the tip the first time out. They even waived the $30 fee for me. I sent it to Mississauga and there weren't any problems with that. It's cheaper than sending it to Wisconsin and you don't have to deal with filling out a customs form. They sent a new rod back to me in the same container I shipped the broken one in so I'd use a half decent one so that your new rod comes back to you safely. I used a PVC pipe that I cut and sealed each end. Mine was a 1pc so it was long but should be much easier for you with a 2pc.

I've been using a BPS Pro Qualifier suit the past 4 years. It's been money well spent! Has kept me dry even in the worst weather. I believe they're in sale right now too

A buddy of mine has a Terrova 80 w/ iPilot on his 17' Crestliner with a 115 Johnson. That boat's a tank but the electric pulls it great even in 25-30km winds. When it's windy, the boat can still get up to 2mph+ at only around 40% power. If the wind was blowing 20kph, you could probably still troll at 1.5mph at 50% power or less.

HST if you buy it after July 1...

I've also heard that Petro-Canada/Sunoco has ethanol free premium as well but haven't been able to confirm that.

I use to fish out of one years back on some smaller lakes. It's ok if you don't go too far from shore... They're not the easiest to paddle long distances. If you're inflating them with a manual pump, it takes a LONG time. You'd also have to be careful with your hooks at the end of your rods. I've had a few close calls where a hook nearly punctured the boat. Then you'd be in big trouble...

I've had 2 Quantum Energy baitcasters and 1 Tour Edition baitcaster. I've had to bring all 3 in for repairs with under 2 seasons of use - the Energy reels both for drag/anti-reverse problems and the Tour Edition for a broken clip in the thumb bar. Meanwhile, my curados and chronarch over the same period are still working just fine. No more Quantum reels for me.

Garrison makes a pretty good sounding guitar. The ones I've tried have all had a very deep & warm tone to them. I believe it's also Canadian. Not entirely sure what stores carries them, but I've seen them at Steve's on Queen St.

Can try the bargain bin section on cabelas.com or the clearance section on basspro.com, sometimes they have some pretty good stuff on sale. But you'll need to account for customs & duty coming over the boarder. Sometimes it's still worth it though.

You'll probably also want to look into flat braids vs. round braids and "fused" vs. "braided". I find that the flat braids (Fireline I believe is flat) don't work as well on baitcasters. I tried Fireline crystal on one of my baitcasters one time and it kept digging into the spool and then breaking off. Switched over to a round braid and haven't had an issue since. Also, I find the "fused" lines are usually the ones that end up like dental floss as each strand begins to separate after a while.

Make sure you buy it from a Canadian retailer. You can often find these pretty cheap from different US sites (Cabelas or Bass Pro...etc) but the ones sold in the States are US Coast Guard approved and not Canadian approved. So from my understanding, you can wear one of the US ones but would then still need to have an actual Canadian approved life jacket somewhere in the boat.

I'd say buy used... you can get a pretty decent package used for $12000 that would suite where you want to fish better than the Legend. A 15 or 16 foot with a 20 or 25hp doesn't sound that great if you want to fish big waters like Erie. You'd be better off spending that money on a package that's 3 or 4 years old but bigger with a larger motor on it. If you're patient, you can usually find some decent deals on Kijiji, just check it every day for new postings. I bought my Lund last year off Kijiji after looking for about 2 months. The marina that I brought it into to get the motor tuned up immediately offered me $2000 more than what I paid to buy it off of me... Deals can be had.

If the trailer was originally registered under the seller and it's just a matter of him losing the ownership paper, it's easiest just to have him go and get a replacement, then sign the sale portion of it and give it to you. MTO would have a record of it if it was actually registered to him and can give him a replacement copy with proof of ID.

My glasses came with "easyclip" (brand name?) clip-on sunglasses that are polarized. I bought them at Costco for around $150 (frames & clip-on only, lenses extra). I usually wear contacts and regular sunglasses when fishing but the few times I've kept my glasses on, the clip-on still worked pretty well. I'm sure you can find them in most eyeglass stores - the clip-on is made to fit that specific frame and uses small magnets to attach. At Costco, there were like 20 different styles to choose from.

Brand or cable/electric aside, if you spend a lot of time on the water, especially when it's really windy, you might like having the extra pd thrust from the 75... I have a 55pd powerdrive v2 on a 16'8 Lund and on windy days, I need to run the trolling motor nearly at max to cut through the wind. Having that extra power may help you with boat control in really windy conditions.

Worm harnesses with bottom bouncers right around Foresters Island also seems to work well this time of year

I'll also add that if you fish for really long periods of time, a baitcasting setup is easier on your wrists. I find after fishing 7-8 hours with a spinning rod, my wrists get sore but it doesn't happen with casting gear.

There's a launch right at the mouth of the Trent River, behind the Price Choppers, roughly here

I tried it in 40lb test a couple of years ago. Similar to Fireline, it starts to get frayed after a while and eventually the different strands separates. I used it until a trip where I snapped the line on 3 or 4 fish in a row on the hookset. Went back to Powerpro and haven't had that problem since.

When I was looking a few years back, I was told by my mechanic that if I wanted something that will last me 10-15+ years, then get a Honda or Toyota. But if I only planned either on leasing for a couple of years or keeping a car for 4-5 years, then some of the other brands like Mazda would be fine. I was first looking into a Mazda 6 but in the end, purchased an Accord. No regrets whatsoever!

If you want a lower price alternative, I've been using the Kirkland deep cycle batteries from Costco and they've lasted me 4 seasons. I think regularly, they're around $90 but every spring around this time or so, they go on sale for something like $20-25 off. As long as you charge them with a quality charger, they'll last you a long time. I can usually go an entire day (8-10 hours) running my 55pd Minn Kota on 1 of those batteries.