Millhouse2020

Looks like its down-easters for me then. I do have some seperate trolling rods I just acquired but would like to be able to use any of my rods in trolling if need be. Maybe I could coat them in a liquid rubber material or something or use some hockey tape to keep them from scarring up rods and reels. Im sure I can figure something out. It seems 99% of the muskie hunters swear by this model so I suppose I better listen up. I may still get the clamp on adapter for the scotty's as well since they are almost useless the way the previous boat owner set them up. You can only put the but end of the rod in the holder as they are set up now. It works OK for light trolling but i think I still risk loosing a rod and reel with them as is. Thanks for all the input guys its very much appreciated! I hope to post again in the coming weeks with a pic of the big muskie I caught using these rod holders.

Never tried it myself but saw an article once that suggested using small elastics to attach crayfish to a long shanked live bait hook. Apparantly this kept the crayfish alive much longer and they are much more lively. I have great success on smallies with live leeches this time of year. Any Berkley gulp product works well also and you dont have to worry about bait dying on you although leeches are very tough and will keep in a fridge for quite some time.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your input. Looks like I will be getting some down-east Salty's on my next trip to the tackle shop. I like the fact this model can be easily removed and transferred to another boat if you want. I also won't have to drill any holes in my boat. This may be a stupid question but do I need to be concerned about the metal hardware damaging my rods and or reels?

Hi there, I'm looking for your opinions on rod holders for muskie. My boat came outfitted with Scotty rod holders and I would like to know if anyone uses these rod holders for muskie trolling? They are plastic but seem to me like they would be durable enough to use on ski's. A fellow I spoke with at the local tackle shop this weekend recommend down-east rod holders for muskies as this is what he uses. Would be interested to know what the other muskie hunters on the board think about rod holders. Thanks everyone, Millhouse2020

X2, the hunt was cancelled because it was an easy target for anti hunting groups who want to take hunting rights away. They used emotion and false information to get people on board their cause. I remember them showing videos of poachers shooting bears treed or cornered by dogs... this is not how bears are hunted in Onatrio. Furthermore, they tried to paint baiting as an un-sporting way to hunt bears but anyone who is a hunter understands baiting is necessary to properly asses the bear for its sex before harvesting it. If you think these anti groups pose no threat to you and your fishing rights, I seem to recall a nice billboard on the Gardiner with "Fishing sucks.com" on the banner and a pic of a dog with a lure in his mouth. They're are out there, they are persistent and creative and some wont be happy untill we can't hunt or fish AT ALL in my opinion. I have noticed a rise in the bear population in my region in northern ON since they cancelled the hunt. There are far more bears around and naturally more become nuisance bears. Hunting is and should be used as a wildlife management tool. When the spring hunt was taken away, less bears are harvested which means there are more left in the bush, its simple math. Lots of hunters, including myself, are busy pursuing other game through the fall so we hunt bears little or not at all but we would if there was a spring hunt. Furthermore, lots of non-residents hunted bear during the spring via guide services. Their livelihoods were hurt by this decision as well. I dont think anyone is suggesting that we should fear every bear, or that culling bears is the solution. Use hunting, including the spring hunt, to better manage the number of bears in the province. There are clearly more than enough to support the spring hunt. It would bring revenues in to the province in liscense fees and to rural communities for guiding services, accomodations etc and there would be fewer nuisance bears over time. Of this you can be certain. Right now, you have money wasted on relocating bears and many bear encounters being unreported since the locals simply killed the problem animal. For the life of me, I cannot understand why this is a better solution than having a spring hunt. Rest assured many bears are being killed by people who feel they have no other options, I know of many personally... In my opinion, reinstating a spring hunt would help reduce the number of problem animals, bring revenue into the province and give sportsman more opportunities to enjoy their sport. What is so wrong with that???

I bought my first rig, used, last year. I would have to echo most of the comments posted here, bigger is definately better for motors for a numbers of reasons, safety, power, even fuel efficiency since you dont have to run a bigger motor flat out to cruise at a decent speed. Legend is a mfg that packages boats with smaller underpowered motors to put their product at a more favourable price point. I noticed that when I was shopping. When you step up the power to its max range, package prices are comparable to other brands. My buddy boughgt a new legend 24 foot pontoon boat last year and that boat came packaged with a 15hp motor if you can believe that. With the top up and the wind blowing, I think you barely tread water with a 15hp in such a large boat. Even the salesman said you can't use the 15hp motor when he was putting the package together. Why sell it like that is beyond me???? If you do buy used, be sure to remember that you will have to pay taxes on the purchase. The seller I purchased from gave me 3 seperate invoices for the boat, motor and trailer. I was charged HST on the value of the trailer when I changed the registration to myself. Do your homework if you buy used and make sure you get a unit that has not been abused. Paying for a review of the rig by a professional is not a bad idea or perhaps a diagnostic test on the motor by a certified mechanic to make sure there are no issues. I had a fuel injector go on my motor a couple months after I got my rig, fortunately it was covered under the warranty but the process of getting it covered was too onerus to write about here. I will only say remember to get any warranty coverage transferred to you as soon as possible after purchase. Hope this helps. I'm excited for you, new toys are always fun!

I find knives like a lot of other pieces of equipment are a matter of personal preference. Over the years I have accumulated several knives in various sizes, mostly Rapala brand, the trusty old 6 birch handle thats about 30 years old and still going, a small 4 inch birch handle and a 7.5 inch newer rubber handled version are my faves. I have a couple presentation grade ones I am saving for gifts since they are still in the packages. I plan to get a 9 inch rubber handle Rapala as soon as I find one on sale to round out the group. I like to have all 3 available if I have a lot of fish to clean. The larger knife is great for the main cutting work on mid size fish while the small knife gives me better control for deboning and working on smaller fish. I find Rapalas are a decent blade for the price and will last with proper care. I also find them to be the right level of stiffness for me personally and how I fillet fish. There are some beauty knives out there but I find the custom blades I have sampled to be far too fine and flexible for my taste. Personally, I opt for a stiffer versus more flexible blade. But that's my preference. I'd buy an expensive custom blade if I ever find one thats the right stiffness for me. The rubber handled rapala I got last year is my favourite right now since the rubber handle gives a more secure grip than the birch. The wood can get slippery if you are cleaning a lot of fish or your hands get wet or slimy and the knife does not have a good hilt (blade guard). I have not had any accidents but I did see one fellow who was using the old birch handle model and his hand slipped and cut every tendon in his hand, ouch... Hope whatever you choose gets lots of use!

Well said, I'm learning from reading some of these posts. It's great when people share and can admit on occasion they themselves are not perfect.

Since there seems to be a number of threads touching on stupid things other boaters and pleasure craft operators do on the water, I wanted to know who wins your award for biggest doofus??? (sp?) I have had run ins with silly (possibly drunk) people driving too close or at too high a speed but the all time best had to be when my best friend and I first caught the muskie bug and decided to take a trip to the Kawartha's. We were fishing our first morning on Buckhorn Lake, casting a shoreline while it was nice and peaceful when all of a sudden a doofus in an air boat comes flying right by us within about I'd say 30 feet, 40 max. Now he had the whole lake behind us but decided it was better to drive by right in front of us along the shore where we were casting. He waved as he flew past, friendly chap. My friend and I just looked at each other like, did that really just happen??? Fortunately no persons or equipment were harmed during this incident. We still laugh about this ignoramace every once in a while. What are people thinking???

I have to agree with the internet comment or even just sharing information verbally. Word gets around faster than you think and your favourite spots may eventually look like a traffic. I am very careful these days about the specifics of the info I give out, I will give some of the answers to the test but I wont take it for you... Want to know what baits and tackel Im using, fine, general location, ok maybe, but GPS or map coordinataes, I dont think so. Go out, burn some gas and put some effort in yourself. People that are not willing to do that should not call themselves fisherman, hunters, outdoorsmen or whatever IMO. You dont want it bad enough if you are not willing to do that. The amount of info out there now on the net, television, magazines etc is enough to get you well on your way and elminate a ton of trial and error...

What a beast! Congrats! I may get me one of those spoons now...

X2 I would also have to say I have had success using natural colours in clear water. Silvers or blues to stand out and black, brown or pumpkinseed for subtle colours. I find in the clear water I fish for smallies, or anywhere really, they find it very hard to resist a lively leech this time of year. I have slayed the bass on slip bobbers and leeches or carolina rigged leeches. I have also had great success with berkleys gulp products on smallies, wacked rigged worms, jig and minnows, etc. In one spot I fished hard last year I caught several fish multiple times and they were caughing up gulp baits they had eaten prior... Call me a spammer but its true...

I missed what I figured was at least a 5lb smallie off the dock at camp this weekend. I did exactly that, watch in surprise as it inhaled my jig. It absolutely dwarfed all the other fish around. It spit the bait just as I was about to set the hook. On this small, clear, deep and cold lake, thats a huge bass, bigger than any I have seen before in years. It would have been nice to land it. We have all had similar experiences, I had a possible PB muskie on a few weeks ago right behind the boat and lost it. Plus many more big ones that got away stories no one may even believe, but I digress. Its moments like these that keep us coming back for more and keeps fishing exciting. You never know when that fish of a lifetime will show up. Rest assured it will be when you least expect it... GREAT STORY!!!

This story is painful to hear...

Great report! It makes me want to head out there ASAP. I have never targeted large mouth in the west arm before but I'm thinking I should try...

Nicely done!!! I have been dying to get out for rainbows on Manatoulin but it sounds like they are not in yet. Great that you were able to switch gears and catch some fish!!! Millhouse

Bona joba Riccardo! Congratulations on your first Canadian "luccio" pike. Millhouse

Some excellent tips here. If I may offer two more... I used to get results using a floating crankbait or rapala type lure. The old balsa rapalas work great for this since they float. If you are concerned with snags, cast the lure out, retrieve it a few feet to let it dive a bit, then pause and let it float up. You can let is rise right to the surface and sit there, like a dying baitfish. This method works well shore casting for pike, or anywhere for that matter, and helps avoid snags since your lure isnt being allowed to dive very deep with short retrieves and pauses. Second tip for shore fishing pike is to use a bobber and either live or dead minnows. You can adjust depth easily with the bobber to avoid snagging bottom and pike will take bait most of time. Big dead bait is a deadly tactic for large pike in particular. Garry is correct in saying that large pike move out of the shallows as the water warms but you can still catch decent fish from shore. The smaller pike are almost always around and the bigger fish will still come shallow now and then especially after a cold front. Hope this helps. Good luck! Millhouse

I protect my rods with bass pro rod covers, and 2 elestic velcro straps from the dollar store. The bass pro covers are one size fits all and I can actually put 4-5 rods in there with no issues once they are firms secured top and bottom with the straps to hold them together. This is only for transport to lake so they dont roll around in the truck or car. I have also taken to reel covers for my new reels since I think a few bucks to keep your reel as scratch free as possible is worth it, especially as you get into more higher end equipment. In the boat, I have 4 vertical rod holder tubes and one horizontal rack similar to the own shown earlier. They are OK. My boat is an 18' tiller model does not have built in rod storage, except for the racks on the side, so this is a bit tricky since I normally bring 6 rods or more on any outing these days. I can normally lay them gently together along the right side of the boat out of the way. Its not ideal but it works for me and my fiance when were out. I have found in the past if I do any damage to my equipmemt, its usually because its been knocked around in transport. Cheers, Millhouse

X2 Good advice. A sting from pretty much any fishes fins can and will give you an infection or simply cause a leision where bacteria can get in later and cause one. Their slime has bacteria and so does the surrounding water so its easy for infections to set in once the skin is broken. If this remedy does not improve the wound in a couple days or if you see puss or fluid you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

I have a 2006 60Hp E-Tec tiller which I bought in 2010 used. It around 225 hours on it after last season as I recal and toward the end of the season was giving me issues with stalling. I spoke to the local dealer and after trying all of their fule system products finally took the engine in since it continued to give me problems. It needed a new fuel injector and has been running fine thus far this season. I was told it was a problem common to that model, news to me... Since then i have been running the highest grade of 2 cycle oil that evinrude offers and I run super grade gasonline in the engine. Thus far this season I have had no issues and I do a lot of trolling. Im not sure if this is at all related to your problem but thought I would offer it up. I found that in this process and with another issue I was having with the dealer and installation of a steering friction kit, evinrude customer service was of no help whatsoever for me. Hope your issue gets resolved soon. It sounds like the unit is still under warranty which is fortunate. Millhouse

Absolutely stunning pics! Its like I was there myself...

I agree with Bassaholic from the point of view that eventually you have to put a stake in the ground and say enough is enough when you see unlawful activity... "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Edmund Burke, Irish Philosopher 1729-1797

This is interesting info. I think it would be a shameto kill a tiger muskie, maybe even more so than a muskie since as a hybrid theyare pretty rare. I release all my muskie and would do the same with a tiger. Ikeep the odd pike for a fish fry and don't mind doing so since they are farmore plentiful than muskies. The areas I fish have both species available. Ihave never caught or even seen a live tiger muskie but would consider it a privilegeto do so.

You are fortunate to have your better half as a fishing partner. I would invest in some good gear that she likes. Its all about making the experience for her more enjoyable, the more she enjoys it, the more she will want to go, the more you get to go... Everybody wins!