fishinggeek

Personally I'm not a fan of the spiritual ending. Al can tell me how to fish, but I'm not sure he's one to tell me how to live. But I can respect that part of his show. He does it knowing many viewers, like me, don't like it, but puts it on anyways. Other shows, like FNC Uncut, put things on to gamble that viewers will like it (IMO). So even though I dislike both Al's spiritual bit and FNC Uncut, I respect the former for being himself but not the latter for trying to artificially differentiate their product.

Though I'm sure electric and custom ones are amazing, I'm all for the cheap Rapala one. No complaints and I've used it for years. And if you lose one, it's no big deal. I figure you can get many Rapala knives for the price of a single top end one, yet the likelihood of losing each are very similar.

Look into the rates for withdrawing at a foreign ATM. I know credit cards use an exchange rate that is the spot rate plus around 2%-4%, and this rate is implied. So you're actually losing quite a bit on the spread. Not sure how European bank machines work, but if that's buried into the transaction, plus the inevitable service fee, it could be expensive. I would get what you think you need before hand, haggling for the best rate, and top up there at a bank machine if you run dry. I would definitely stay away from using your credit card overseas because of the infavourable exchange rate spread they bury into the transaction.

I'm with you on this one. I couldn't care less what it weighs, or who caught one bigger. Nice fish, nice picture, and nice report is all I need.

Yes thanks. I'll be bringing my LeBaron catalogue with me every time I go to BPS now. I hope they don't give me a hard time with it though, as some others have experienced.

Lots of good advice here. Hopefully you won't regret whatever decision you make. Be wary of certain cognitive biases. For instance, some people have mentioned future regret as a reason to go for it. Others have mentioned going with your heart. These might lead to cognitive biases as you might be apt to regret things you didn't do that you like, and listening to your heart might also be biased towards things you like. I say keep a clear head and honestly weigh the factors in your decision. In my opinion, we are built to work and should be responsible and do the right thing. Life isn't only about having fun. That is why I broke my back through undergraduate, then graduate, then professional certification. That is why I put in so many hours a week at the office. That is why I chose to work where the money is, instead of jobs that are more fun. That is why I won't ever buy a bass boat, go on a saltwater charter, fly-in trip, etc., not because it's out of my budget, but solely because there is more to life than this. Why would I do these fun, yet rather trivial, things when I can live in a frugal way and not only afford to have as many kids as we want but also to put all my kids through the best schools and class trips money can buy?

I have to admit it's one of my favourite channels, but yes it has gone downhill. A lot of shows that are irrelevant for me and probably a lot of other OFC people too. If it goes downhill more or they raise the price, I might be bailing out.

I say if you have no dependents and aren't planning any, do what you want. NZ certainly sounds like fun. But if you have dependents now or in the future, they have to live with the consequences of decisions you make, such as taking an extended leave and not being as financially stable as you would have otherwise been. If there is any doubt about it, I say don't go. It sounds almost childish if you aren't independently wealthy. I'd save it for your retirement. Do what Lew's friend did. When you're in your 50's, things are much more certain in financial terms. Your kids might be educated and out of the house. You might have a nice chunk of savings. That's the time to be childish. If your teenager wants to study at a top university in the states in the future, it isn't cheap. A lot of parents would think paying so much for a degree is outrageous when compared to the costs of a Canadian education. But to me, there are a lot of things that are far more outrageous such as fly-in trips, bass boats, or backpacking in your 30's for an extended time. I don't have children (yet), but when I do and I can't pay for the things that might give them the best head start because of choices I've made in the past, that is irresponsible IMHO. After all, I would dread having to tell my daughter she can't go to Harvard because I went backpacking for a year in my 30's.

Are you allowed to put the guts in the water? It doesn't sound harmful in the least to me, but I wouldn't want a fellow OFC'er to get a ticket. I'd imagine the park is pretty heavily enforced, though I've never been there.

But can I bolt it myself or do I need a dealer to do it for me?

The tinny I'm getting has the option of mounting a portable outboard versus the other kind. What's are the pro's and con's between portable and non-portable mounting? Sorry, I'm a boating newbie.

What about the advantages and disadvantages of a portable-type mounting unit versus a permanent one?

Thanks Roy. I thought I saw that on a show once. I know it's a dumb question but I've never had an outboard before and never had the need to try that on any friend's or rental boat.

If an outboard motor with an electric ignition is hooked up to a dead battery, can it still be started manually?

That really sucks and ruins things for a lot of us. I don't even fish for stealhead but I enjoy reading the posts. I don't think anyone here should be looking down on you and telling you how to post.

Hah! Never thought of that. Maybe Ken didn't use a Rapala after all!

Isn't this what insurance is for though? If I was the structure owner and thought the contractor did a poor job, I would be talking with my insurance company and my lawyer. And I certainly wouldn't want the same contractor to re-build the structure. Again this is all assuming I thought the contractor was somehow negligent.

To each their own, I suppose. This is all hypothetical, as I'll never catch it, but I would keep it. It would be the only muskie I'll ever keep. Keeping any sport fish, including muskie, is not sacreligious. That's why they aren't on the endangered/protected/extinct list and that's why there are possession limits. And I don't think killing one fish, muskie or otherwise, teaches children to kill because one can. If that were true, that argument could be made for consuming meat, leather, or other intentional acts of killing. Keeping any fish, in my opinion, is not harmful to children in and of itself, including the killing of a mess of perch or a world record muskie. Plus the grand kids would see me in newspaper! And Charles, I'm not sure how much a world-record muskie is worth, but I'm guessing not much. I mean Ken O'Brien lucked out by catching his with a Rapala, one of the biggest fishing companies out there. I'm not sure how much he made, if any, but my gut feeling is not enough to be life changing. I certainly wouldn't be doing it for financial gain.

I've caught a few muskies and never kept one. And I wouldn't even if I was fortunate enough to catch a 50 pound one. But if I caught one that I thought had a good chance as a record, I'd definitely keep it. It'd be neat to tell the grand kids I had a world record!

Who knew people get so attached to their outboard? Certainly I can understand it when a person receives some income from the company, such as sales, service, sponsorship, works there, or whatever. But coming from a hobby angler surprises me. I just wanted people's opinion on pro's and con's for each brand to make an informed decision. I care not what other people drive, nor what they think, of any particular brand. Can't wait for the Honda! I hope the silver coating doesn't scare away the fish...

I was gasping at the monitor when I read that! I noticed one of Steve's previous post had the same string and was cleaned up, at least I assumed it was cleaned up because it changed without having an edit footnote.

What happened to the rules on swearing?

I should've worded it differently!

Thanks for the all the info everyone! Between this post and my other one asking if I should max the HP, I've settled for a Honda 4-stroke at the max HP. Good to know that most people think the differences between brands is not as major as in some other products, as it makes potential regret a bit more palatable.

Love reading your posts for the humour, great reports, advice, etc. I haven't been around the longest nor do I read all the posts, but I was wondering how you became a regular here, seeing as you're one of the farthest from Ontario. I always wonder that whenever I see you post.