fishinggeek

If you're already going to Le Baron, you'll find they have comparable selection and much better prices than BPS. But if you want to see a spectacle, like their fish feeding, along with a mall attached to it, BPS can be entertaining. I rarely buy anything from BPS but I go there for the experience. I save a lot of money from going to Le Baron.

Bit of a drive, but Le Baron has great prices and selection. See their catalogue online. Compare their prices with other tackle stores and I'm sure you'll be glad you did. I must sound like their spokesperson. I swear I have no stake in it nor do I know anyone with a stake in it. I'm just a loyal customer. If they don't have it, JB's has probably the best musky selection I've seen, but be prepared to pay for it. I've noticed they have reduced some of their prices though. BPS has a good musky selection too, but again, you'll pay top dollar from what I've seen. If you don't need it right away, some members have suggested Cabelas, which has good prices and saves you gas.

It was removed on the edit apparently. I don't see why people care about how big a fish is, both the person who caught the fish and the others that see it. Maybe it's a competitive thing. I just like seeing the pictures, like Lew's beautiful West Bay muskie!

Good for you! I'm also a big fan of idexed products. It's a great way to save money. And when one's portfolio becomes big, the savings can be pretty significant.

Not to hijack the thread, but how does one attend one of these seminars? I'm interested in checking this out if it's close and free.

Well said! I agree that banks aren't scams. They are an invaluable component to an advanced economy. Without them, there wouldn't be the degree of financial intermediation that is necessary. Borrowers, largely businesses by volume, want money to do things with. Savers, largely households by volume, want a return for their surplus money. But these savers would almost never lend to these borrowers if left to their own devices becauses businesses want loans that are far larger in size and far longer in duration, and they want to use the money for far more riskier investments than savers are willing to lend to. As well, savers don't want to bear the costs of adjudicating and maintaining these their loans. So banks play an important role in matching these counterparties up; they take the money from savers and transform the size, duration, and risk into something both savers and borrowers want. And because they have scale and expertise, can do this far more cheaply. So giving savers their return and letting borrowers grow their businesses (without which a healthy economy is practically impossible) is a fair way to earn profits in my opinion. And to the Primerica reps, all the best to you! Just don't PM me with a pitch!

John, interesting opinions! I agree this is likely a scam, but I'm not sure businesses operating under MLM structures are always unfeasible. To me, it is no different than other zero sum games such as the markets for futures and other derivatives. There are losers that pay the winners, but the trick to profiting is being a winner. Even if everyone in the world plays and there are policies to be sold, there would be a select few who would greatly profit, and the majority would lose. And if all the players were willing to risk this zero sum game for a shot at great profit, then maybe it's sustainable. Lottery players have a similar mind set. Interesting perspective, Roy! I respectfully disagree with the tangible part of it though. I think "products" need not be tangible, that is reserved a physical "good". For example, a rare stamp is valued at well over its face value, so is this tangible or not? Based on your argument, I'd guess you'd agree it was tangible but it has far less physical mass than the paperwork that Primerica would give you if you bought an insurance policy, applied for a loan, or paid for some type of financial plan. I'm no legal expert, but if the pyramid scheme test were a transfer of product, be it a physical good or a service, than Primerica would not be such a scheme. But I have to admit my friend sat through one of their pitches, and boy did it sound like a scam in my opinion. My friend didn't know what it was at the time, thought it was a job seminar or something like that, but he were really laughing it up after 10 minutes into it. He stayed for the free coffee then scrammed. If it was me, I'd stay far away from any business opportunity that relied on recruiting others.

Yes I find JB's prices to be pretty high as well, on average. Sometimes their lures are a 20%-40% higher than the prices at Le Baron. But for some brands, they're the only game in town.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. I believe it too, because I saw a Beckman there without a handle blocking an aisle. I had to move it to get through. Where is Pro Tackle Muskie? I tried searching for it but couldn't find it.

Roy, can I get a copy as well please?

Thanks for the guess. Sounds right to me. Thanks. I would've guessed the same thing. I'm out for this deal. Nothing more annoying than an under-powered boat with several adults and rough waters.

Interesting proposal, and I'm looking for a boat myself. The Lowe Stinger, according to my Lowe catalogue, is 17.5 feet long, 85 inches wide, hull weight of 1110 pounds, with a max hp rating of 75. Do you think the 40HP 4-stroke has enough power to make it plane with 2-4 adults in it?

Great info! Hopefully all of us can save money, maybe not from this thread, but from OFC in general.

Ironically, I read in the news Ford had a huge loss this past quarter. Said they are too heavily invested in trucks and SUV, which consumers don't want right now. I was also watching a show saying that it's just not cool anymore to have an American vehicle in the urban areas. People are saying they wouldn't be "caught dead" in an American model.

Thanks Terry. That was the thread I was referring to. Although I haven't stayed on any resort on that lake, just reading that thread made me shudder and I don't have the guts to take the plunge there, especially at gas prices so high and vacation time so valuable.

Yes I've been a couple of times and wasn't that impressed by the selection or the prices generally.

I don't know. If you're "just trying", you want to buy a brand new musky combo that'll run you over $200? I say wing it with your setup, but don't get huge baits so you can cast it decently. Maybe the super shad raps or smaller bucktails. If you like it, then consider investing in another combo. I mean, if you cast all week and get nothing more than a few frustrating follows, you may never want to try it again.

I'll only drive a Japanese car myself. So many horror stories from American and European makes.

I think it's much softer too, so it probably quivers more (and breaks more). Considering they don't last and the far higher prices, they really are much more expensive than comparable brands. I've had good luck with the Yum brand myself.

Dingers have been great for me, and LeBaron's carries them. If you're set on Senko's, LeBaron's doesn't carry them (at least for now). I know JB's and BPS both carry Senkos, but I'm not sure which is the cheaper one.

Piker, do a search for the lake here. I haven't been there so I can't say personally, but if I remember correctly, there's been some really mixed reviews regarding that resort. To be fair, perhaps read them all and make the call youself.

I agree. This incident sounded like there was no harm at all. I'm all for making friendly conversation with our men and women in uniform, especially if they're fellow fishermen like yourself (and I did that last time a cop asked for my fishing license while I was fishing - that OPP guy was really cool). I just think that when a peace officer asks for something in the course of her duties, and I don't have any obligation to comply, then why do it? I may be facilitating some compilation of evidence against me. It probably won't help me but might possibly hurt me. I'm very careful to comply with all laws, even municipal ones. I don't park in no parking zones even when I know the likelihood of a $20 ticket is very low. But if I'm asked for a fishing license for after buying a bag of lures (hypothetically), I will respectfully refuse. I've been asked for my DL after tripping my parents' alarm by mistake and I didn't produce it. I just said I was their son and they changed the alarm.

Lots of good stuff here, and I thought I'd add my 2 cents. Considering going in straight after high school and working part-time to fund it. Your education is an investment, and you only have a fixed number of years you can work, so the earlier you get it done, the more return on it you can potentially make (assuming you're ready for college which it sounds like you are). Regarding student loans, if you need them, they're a good thing. They help people go to school that would not have gone otherwise, so that can't be bad. Remember that the interest on OSAP has a tax shield, so you are effectively paying less than the interest rate by paying a bit less in income taxes (depending on your tax bracket), so the payments should hurt your wallet less. I wouldn't be scared of the OSAP interest if what you plan to study generates additional income for you after you graduate, which is usually does. A lot of people seem pretty passionate on what occupation to do, such as trades, military, etc. Certainly these are honest, hard-working careers, and considering Canada's shortage in trades, you can make a very decent living. But no one knows you better than youself, so only you can really chose your own career path. People have tried to steer me into certain careers when I was younger too, and thank goodness I choose my own career path based on my preferences. Narrow your search into things you like to do, then see if they can give you a comfortable living. That is precisely what I did against the advice of some friends and family members, and now I have a very fulfilling career that provides me and my family a very comfortable living, likely far better than I would have done if I listened to others' advice. Also remember that now people tend to have many jobs, often in multiple industries, throughout one's life. This is quite different than previous generations where one would work in the same company/industry until retirement. So you're not "sentencing" yourself to a career path by going to college. You can still learn a trade, join the military, go back to school, or whatever after your program.

Anybody every try the Bucher power knot? It looks like an improved palomar knot. Though it's a bit more difficult to tie, maybe it's better. I haven't used it yet but it's on my "to do" list.

I wouldn't refute it solely because it was on TV. I think the advantage in not divulging info when not obliged to is one of information asymetry. If you're clean and you get a "good" cop, giving information or not leads to the same outcome. If you're dirty and you get a "good" or "bad" cop, giving information is probably not the best thing to do, and will also lead to the same demise. And if you're clean and you get a "bad" cop, I'd still take my chances and withhold information and let the courts decide, as it might not be difficult to prove I'm clean. Regardless if a defence lawyer on TV says so or not, I think one often has very little to gain and much to lose when giving out info. Just a thought. I'm not a lawyer, but doesn't that only apply to municipal offences (like parking) and not provincial ones (like fishing)? Sounds good to me, but I'm not sure what the law requires if you were transporting sportfish you caught at the cottage back home. Maybe someone can clarify that?