mattybculp

Brian , I think 325 degrees is an overall good number for a temperature. When I do my wings I will do about a dozen at a time, I will get my temp up to about 360-375. 360 degrees for thawed wings and 375 for frozen. When those cool wings hit the oil, the oil temp naturally drops and I try to maintain a temperature over 300 degrees at around like 325. Then before my next batch goes in, I crank it back up to that 360-375 degrees and repeat. I would say on average time wise its about 6-8 mins per batch but generally when the wings float they're done. For chips I try to maintain a 375 degree temp, I found that if its too hot they obviously will burn on the outside and too cool will just make the chips oily and mushy. I always peel, split and soak my wedges, it helps get the starches out, my little secret ( and i'm sure its no secret) I will boil my chips a little bit in a pot of water, let them cool and then deep fry, talk about delicious! its just something that sets some chips a part from one another. Some of the best fish and chips places in the UK, use that method for there chips, it gives you a nice crunch on the outside and fluffy deliciousness on the inside and usually only takes 2-3 mins to get the job done. Assuming your talking about a battered fish, I will do mine at 375 degrees, as for time it depends on the size of the fillet, Im usually around 5-8 mins (say a good thick halibut fillet) and 4-6 mins (for a standard walleye/ cod fillet as they are thinner) I just make sure that batter is golden brown. Not sure if this helps, or saying its the best method as I'm sure others will chime in, but I've eaten my fair share of homemade wings, fish, and chips and this method has always worked for me. You looked like a pro doing that turkey, as if you've done it many times before, it looked delicious. Lastly don't cheap out on the oil, ( as I'm sure you don't) if no allergies are around I like a peanut oil its not for everything but it sure does have its place. Experimenting and trying new things is fun, and who knows you may just discover the next big thing in the culinary world. Cheers Matt

Nice job Pete! Let me know if your ever solo and want some company! Im usually out pretty hardcore from here till freeze up !

jimmer if you think pigeon was bad saturday you should have seen rice lake it was absolutely nuts. I swear every boat that was out was fishing. I travelled from the otonabee to past the Ouse and every decent spot from top to bottom had 5-10 boats on it. Just crazy. I wasn't going to put up with that so I headed in. Can't wait for mid October. Less people + decent weight muskie = a good time. Going to be out on pigeon this Saturday, it will probably still be busy. Nice ski.

I was out on rice lake early this past Saturday. There were a few non-local guys at the launches who were taken back by all the gun shots going off. I told them that it was opener duck season and to be conscious of it where they were travelling. I glad every one ended up ok.

I Really like the trokar hooks especially bass fishing but if not then gammy's or owner hooks. I don't cheap out on the rest of my equipment so I refuse to on my hooks, its not worth it to me.

Prayers and thoughts are with Diane and you if there is anything I Can do don't hesitate to let me know. Keep positive and know lots of good thoughts and prayers are being sent your way ! Matt

Welcome ! Lots of great muskie people on the board with a wealth of knowledge !

Wow. Can you say 4 way stop ! I don't know which vehicle is in the wrong here, but that cyclist definitely has someone looking out for him.

Welcome to the board ! I have a couple abu's for musky fishing and there a good starter reel for sure. Having a good heavy or medium heavy rod and heavier braid ( I use 50-60 lbs power pro ) Makes the fight end sooner and prevents exhausting and stressing the fish. The biggest tip I can say in terms of tackle is if your serious about musky fishing invest in a large net, I own a lucky strike net that's just huge and can be had for around 75-85 bucks, but it just makes life so much easier on you and more importantly the fish. For me the fish rarely leaves the bag and is always in the water, I can remove the hooks with out removing it from the water 90% of the time. I let the fish re-coop, then a quick pic and back in she goes no worse for the wear. A couple other things, invest in a large pair of pliers, I have a large pair of needle nose, bolt cutters ( not the ones for cutting a lock off a locker but the hand held ones) and jaw spreaders, and a good tape I have a floating 60 inch pole that I could lay beside or on top of the fish to get a measurement just before its released, and of course a camera for the memories. I just found being prepared for theses toothy critters makes yours and the fishes life easier, and less stressful on both fronts. Those musky should be putting on the weight this time of the year, and those tri-lakes snakes will be turning into cows. I fish em' straight into November, and if you wanna travel a little further head over to pigeon as I have always had better luck on north pigeon and have seen several 50 plus inchers taken in the fall. Good Luck and welcome to the board.

So sorry to hear that news. My deepest condolences.

just gave gramps a call, good news is they open at 7, not so great news they have no minnows, although she said Dan is out trapping some, but couldn't make any guarantees that there will be any, so I will call Monday and if they have any by then hopefully they don't sell out by Tuesday morning. I'm going to keep looking around to have a back up plan or two just in case they do not.

Thanks nipfisher for the kind offer if I get in a jam I will certainly take you up on your offer, I think gramps bait and tackle is looking like the ideal spot for both convenience and time line.

Just awesome guys thanks so much for all the help, I'm going to check out gramps right now !

That's great information Joey. Thank you.

So I looked up northbay outfitters and it looks ideal but noticed there hours of operation which opening is at 9 am. I should have mentioned that time is an issue since we have to meet our boat ride to our spot at 10 am. I think I may be able to swing 8 am and still make it to the launch by 10 am. I think I have a couple hours ahead of me to mowatts landing. I guess I assumed most tackle shops would open a little earlier, and if this time wasn't already pre-set to meet I would definately hang around. I noticed there was a tackle shop called billy bobs bait I believe. Anyone know if he carries minnows ( I assume so ) and what his hours may be for a Tuesday. I'm going to call and see if they have there hours on there voicemail.

Mike, thanks so much. I will look that address up

I'm sure I've seen this question asked in a post before, I did try searching the database however I wasn't able to come up with anything, so I apologize to anyone who may be put off by the redundant question. I'm heading up to lady evelyn next Tuesday and I'm pretty sure we are heading up north on hwy 11. We are leaving my place around 2:30-3 am so that we arrive at mowatts landing for around 10am. Im looking for a tackle shop in Northbay that isn't to far off the hwy11 route, as to not waste to much time going out of the way, mainly looking for minnows. Any advice would be great, and much appreciated.

Thanks guys! I'll let you know how I make out tomorrow at sail.

Hello all, heading up to lady evelyn in a week and a half and the weather is supposed to be cool. Anyways I'm stopping in at sail this Saturday to pick up a little terminal tackle but wanted to pick up a pair of decent waterproof pants or overall style pants. I'm looking at a budget of about 100-120 bucks. I mostly will be using them as a spring and fall pant. Your suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks for your input.

Sounds like a great time had by all. That's a beauty walleye

Its always a topic of discussion about upper and lower buckhorn and confuses a lot of people. My thought is, that although lower buckhorn falls on a more northern latitude/longitude location then upper buckhorn, lower buckhorn is of lower elevation then upper buckhorn thus the dam that flows from upper buckhorn down into lower buckhorn, and if you wanted to travel from lower buckhorn to upper buckhorn you would take lock 31 "up" to upper buckhorn. Both are great fisheries. Would love to have seen that 7lber, that's truly a giant. I have seen a lot of people say check out our 7lber,and it ends up being a high 4 - mid 5.5 pounder. Some don't realize how big a 5.5 pounder is. However I don't doubt there in there, just rare thus why I would love to see one. Glad you had great trip Dutch01 your right its a beautiful area and great fishery if you have some more time on your next stay, venture over into stoney there are some tank smallies in there! Just be careful navigating, as stoney has claimed many a lower unit, stoney lake can live up to her name ! PS. don't give up on upper buckhorn I have found the fishing to be lights out good, getting three new PBs for the tri-lakes this year.

I cant believe that ! I'm all for wearing life jackets, they save lives! That being said I never wear a life jacket, unless crossing big water, and the moment I start fishing it comes off. But to fine a guy for having a tear in his jacket, when he has other jackets in the boat ? That's dirty! At least the guy took the initiative to put one on ( maybe he didn't notice a small tear in the back, I know some jackets can tear quite easily, and it easy to miss a tear that's not the length of the entire jacket) and then fine the guy? I have one question, you go into the water and are in bad shape, would you rather have A) No life jacket or A life jacket with a tear in it. I think I may choose option B. So if the guy wasn't wearing a jacket at all he wouldn't have gotten a fine? It just doesn't make sense. If that's the case then they should fine everyone driving around with no life jacket on, cause I'm not sure, but I think it maybe safer driving around with a jacket with a small tear vs not wearing a jacket at all. I would have taken the fine but a piece of my mind would have been given, clearly a money grab. That cop should feel shame, a good warning a telling him to switch to one of the other jackets would have been the right thing to do imo.

I think what bill said is bang on. I had some holidays in early august and it was when the weather really took an ugly turn. Cold, overcast, and windy, which played more mentally on me knowing the fishing would be tough. I Checked out some of the usual spots nothing was happening. So I took that opportunity to go off the board and spend some days scouting new areas and techniques and it ended up being an amazing few days of fishing ( largies, smallies, and walleye) I'm talking numbers and size all three achieved new personal bests both mid 5's for largies and smallies and a 29 inch walleye which on the tri- lakes is pretty decent. I went back out this Saturday to hit up some bass and was off the water by noon because I limited out and what was the point I had 16.6lbs for 4 fish.( which were all released of course.). Sometimes its better to quit when your ahead. Last year was great bass fishing, this year I have found it even better. I'm not finding them in pads or slop but weedflats in open water, but much deeper than last year. So I would say what ever your usual spots and presentations are, if your struggling, change it up, search for new water and try new techniques(as Bill M said), and the best part of it is for me, is that I just added 5 new spots to my milk run. It was definitely a confidence booster for me.

That's Funny I read that article late last night singing dog. It was pretty much what I was looking for ! Thanks ohio fisherman, when I get a minute i'm going to look at those articles. Akrisoner, for that study, pretty much. But I do know some tournaments, will have multiple stops to release fish so they're dispersed more evenly, more so on larger bodies of water.

So I've been doing some thinking lately, which can be scary. I am very familiar with seasonal bass patterns from spring to fall. So I fish the tri lakes a fair bit and have fished a few local tournaments and have done well. But I will pose the question and ask your feedback on your thoughts. So I filled the live well with five decent largies, I go to th weigh in and some tourneys will have a boat that releases the fish in certain areas whether it's the chemong causeway or Gannon's narrows bridge area. So my question is do or will bass return to the area they are caught ? Or just find closer ideal structure to where they are released? Now my milk run spots do replenish with fish whether there the same fish or not is uncertain. But since it can be quite a distance say Gannon's narrows to north pigeon I feel as though I may be giving them a little to much credit on how "smart" ( which I know is the wrong word) they are. My instincts tell me they just find ideal structure close to where they are released, but I am truly curious. I looked around for info on the intranet but it was just giving seasonal migration patterns which Is not what I'm looking for. So what do you think? I'm hoping this isn't a dumb question but I was curious. But I know I've gotten a few PBs thrown it in the live well travelled back to the house on upper buckhorn Got a quick shot then released it at the dock. Would they be enept to kinda hanging around or are they outta dodge, trying to head back home. Thanks guys.