The JAY

A very good friend of mine, who is not an avid fisherman by any stretch, are headed up to Lady Evelyn in a couple weeks, and he wanted to pick up some gear today. Okay, aside from CT, there are 2 tackle stores in the city that I know of. I favour one, but have bought stuff at the second. The second one is close to his house, so he decided to go there. He was looking to drop around $300. After standing at the counter for 25 minutes a guy came up and asked him if he needed help. My buddy explained that he was going up North for a week for eyes and pike and needed help selecting tackle. As the clerk was comming around the till another guy walked in the door, was greeted by name, and my buddy's clerk took off with the new arrival. After standing nearby for another 10 minutes or so, my friend say, "Guess you don't want my money" and started towards the door. As he's leaving he can hear one of the guys say, "What's his problem?" Long story short, he went to my favourite tackle shop, spent more than he planned, got a great selection of tackle and a good grounding in how and when to use it. As someone that has been in retail my whole life, I am appalled that some folks still run their businesses like this. (This isn't the first time I've heard similar stories about this place) Here endeth the rant...

Nice report Jen. Days like that are always great. The fish are just a nice bonus!

I know what I'm doing this evening! (That early morning stuff never works for me. I hate my alarm clock) Nice report, great pics!!!

Hey Shasta, good on ya! Any chance you found my cell phone yet? LOL! How the 'eyes been treating ya? I haven't had on in over a month now!

I agree with everything here, except #3. I can't speak for other stores/chains, but not only do I NEVER adjust the settings when setting up floor model displays, but after talking with regional managers, etc. it has become part of our merchandising directive not to do so. Again, I'm not speaking for everyone, but not EVERYONe does this. I also can't emphasize enough the importance of spending some cash on the sound, especially if you're a big movie fan, or listen to a lot of music.

Just finished reading this thread, and thought I'd throw my 2 cents in. I work for a BigBox, in the electronics department. I don't sell, I just hook up all of the electronics, and keep them runnin' 12 hours a day, 363 days a year. [center]BRANDS[/center] SONY - Avoid them. They're not what they used to be, but priced like they are. Sony has gotten out of manufacturing their own components. They buy parts from other makers, and that just increases costs. LG - Good TVs, that have come a long way in the 10 years I've been watching them. If 3D is your thing, they offer the best bang for your buck. Passive glasses and upconverting of ANY 2D signals on most of their TVs. (x5600-x5800 models, if memory serves) PANASONIC - More expensive than most, but their boards are delicate. They only TVs I've seen the connectors fall off of the boards were Panasonic. I've seen it more than once over the years. SHARP - Again, good TVs, but priced slightly more expensive than other manufacturers for similar features. SAMSUNG - Quality is among the very best, and their 3D is the most impressive. I'm legally blind in one eye, so I have almost no depth perception. The new x7000 and x8000 series, with the more expensive active glasses, showed me what 3D is. That being said, with the bells and whistles comes the price you gotta pay. HAIER - New to North America, but they have been making TVs since 1997. Their selection isn't as varied as the other makers, and their prices are low as they are trying to gain market share in North Amrerica. They also have the lowest rate of return among the brands I've listed, and more than half of their returns are to increase screen size. TOSHIBA - I actually own one, although it's 3 years old. Now, I would lump them in with SONY, and stay away. [center]SOUND[/center] All of these TVs, generally, come with 2 down firing speakers. 3-10 watts. For anything more than the most basic sound, you're going to want to add a home theater. Stay away from sound bars unless you're truly limited for space. Good sound can only come from moving air, and little speakers can't move as much as larger ones. Sound bars are generally VERY limited for connectivity. Make a list of how you are going to hook everything up before you go into the store, and let the salesperson know how you're going to do it. As I said, this is just from my own observances, dealing with these TVs for the past 15 years. If you have any other questions, fire away.

That would be appreciated! Thanks!

Hey Mark, There are 8 of us heading up there in September, and we've been keeping in contact with the lodge owner about water levels. According to out last update, Friday, the water levels are good. That's all I can help with, but it's better than nothin'.

Hey Jen, I'm Jay. Saw these pictures on a co-workers phone and was immediately jealous. That is a nice bass! (The Long Islands look pretty good too!) I'm always told I have to go up and do some fishing, maybe it's time to find some time! Nice results!

Relatively cheap rod, but I love my Shimano Voltaeus.... Some guys don't like them, but no matter what rod you chose, you'll find folks that don't like them. My 2 cents....

He asked for 'adjacent to the water'. I know there are no sites ON the water, but a 20 yard hike out the back of your site would be about as adjacent as you can get. As for water where no one else can be, it's Lake Erie, I think that goes without saying. His wish list is rather limiting, so I'm just trying to help him find something that will fit his wants...

Ummm, there is one or two sites where the lake is accessible... Byng Island also has sites right on the river. Both are close, and both have water, but neither one has produced well for me. They're both a little too crowded for me. The Pinery has a river running through it, and there are some sites with water access, but they are few, and I haven't camped on them. Pinery would be just at your 2 hour limit....

I would say that about Crysanthemums. There is a chemical in them, Pyrethrum, that deters/kills bugs. It is the main compound in most lice treatments, and the plant itself is usually enough of a deterrent. Just my 2 cents....

Meh, what have you got to lose?

Looking forward to seeing it. It will air later on the Canadian History Channel, but what can you do.... Would have been nice if the reporter did a little fact checking though, or did they move Thunder Bay down to Lake O while I was sleeping?

Inspired by this report, after getting skunked and losing my phone in the drink last night, I went out for 2 hours... 6 fish, 2 over 16"... THANKS for the inspiration! LOL

Very nice work... I do custom airbrush painting on bikes, cars, and anything else that will stand still long enough, even my dishwasher... Never thought to do a reel. Is it automotive grade paint? Clear? etc? Thanks for showing....

I don't remember seeing it as a wee one, back in the '70s, but I remember it appearing at the corner store around the time Wishing Well disappeared.... Just reminiscing... LOL As Spiel said, Vernors is available at most grocery stores, and most 'variety' stores as well. You might just find it in bottles at the smaller ones too... But plastic, not glass, sorry....

Nice collection of fishies! And I, for one, never mind seeing any pictures of finders, or anything else that I can use next time I'm fishing. Thanks!

Wow, great fish. I'm not too jealous. And, you can sing too! Damn, some guys have all the luck! LOL Great post!

I remember going out with a buddy, around '87 or '88. There were no GPSs at the time, and we read about some structure about 6 miles out of the mouth at Pt. Maitland. We took a compass heading and a stopwatch and nailed the throttle. At the site, best we could figure, we started long lining some deep Raps. Nailed a bunch of walleyes, the biggest about 6Lb, and a few decent bass. All the guys running downriggers were comming up empty, so when they saw us flatlining, they hauled them out too. Best morning of fishing I can remember... I'm sure with GPS, topo maps, fish finders, etc, it should be easier to find now. Maybe someone can do better than I just did to pinpoint it for you. Sorry for the vagueness, that was many years, and many more beers ago... Checked my MapSource, I can't fin it, unless it's the shoal 3 mi. 170 degrees off Rock Island.... Sorry.

Rough evening on the water for me too. 3 hours got me 1 largemouth... It happens...

Waiting.... waiting.....

Cool Vince. Let me know how they work out! I'm not fishing in the morning, but would gladly head out with you another time!

Yup, gotta have the big, juicy nightcrawler on there, or the walleye won't touch 'em.