Gerry

Why pay $100 to see a live comedy show when you can have as much (or more) fun just sitting at a boat ramp for an hour or so. Have a look at these clips:

Fish Farmer: you've probably got the 20 inch tires. I have the 20 inch Pirellis on my F150 FX4 and they are expensive. Do yourself a favor and drive over to Niagara Falls, NY......you'll save $100 a tire.

Well, a record fish could mean a bunch of cash. You don't have to kill it to weigh it in at an official scale station. The record smallmouth in North America is 10lbs, 14 oz. and by the looks of yours it has to be all of that. My 7.3 lbs smallmouth was entered in a tournament and won me the event as well as the big fish contest....I did release it. I've got a pic of mine and I'll post it here if I can ever figure out how to do that. In the meantime, I can tell you that it's a dwarf compared to yours.....man, that's a big fish!

That's a huge smallmouth. Did you get a weight and measure? My PB is 7.3lbs which measured 21" x 18.5" girth. This one looks bigger and if it is, could be close to a record.

Here's my setup. http://i129.photobuc..._2006/Boat1.jpg http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p222/Firetiger_2006/Boat3.jpg

And that would be correct.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of spending a day on a Pantera II while fishing in a BASS tournament and I can say it was a sweet ride....fast too. And this coming from a guy who had a Triton TR21 at the time. You'll like the Basscat.

When's the last time you changed the impeller? It should be changed regularly, once every 3 years (max). An impeller failure at WOT will fry the engine very quickly...sometimes before the overheat warning buzzer is heard. And leaving the lower unit dry is NOT a good idea.

Now, that there is funny.

Bringing it across is easy, just make sure you have all documents in order and be prepared to prove the purchase price. You have to pay the taxes at the border. As to where to find deals, well that depends on what kind of boat you're looking for...bassboat or walleye boat.....new or used? Walleye Central is a great place for used walleye rigs and my Ranger was acquired via that website. I sold my previous Triton bassboat through BigFatBass.com. There are plenty of deals but you still have to be fair to the seller. Good luck.

Lew, I've been using Firefox for about 5 years. Once you switch over you'll stay with it.

If you're beaching a fiberglass boat you do need a keel guard/keel shield. The keel guard is the more expensive version but can't tell you why. I've always had a keel guard on my glass boats. I'm not sure if the keel needs to be repaired as the guard will actually cover that area. I do know that they should be professionally installed, they use some special glues to keep them fastened. I had one come loose on a bassboat and the dealer didn't want to touch it, they got a company rep fix it.

If you spent $6,000 in renos then your calculation would be correct.

This is when you should see an accountant. You risk losing much more than the cost of a qualified professional. There are several issues here and Dara doesn't have them quite right.

Can you PM me with the teacher's name and which school board, college or university she teaches at?

Havin' a bad day, huh?

That 12 foot Hammerhead (1200 lbs) that the old guy was referring to was indeed caught nearby, at Boca Grand Pass in 2006 I believe. I happened to be down there Tarpon fishing when it was caught but I didn't see it, saw it in the news however.

Wayne, I was there a week before on one of those cruise ships. Darn ship wouldn't slow down so I could do a little trolling.

Wayne, Sorry for not responding soooner, I was flying back from Florida yesterday. I have not tried it but it is my understanding that you cannot access O-Pee-Chee by boat. In fact if staying at the lodge you must drive about 1 km to the launch area to Red Cedar. Why the interest? If you want to check it out further contact me and you can jump in with me (next summer) and we'll check it out.

Fishnwire, He may be a nice guy but he's still a bad driver. What he did and his attitude proves that he thinks his agenda comes before anyone else's.

You got very good info from Smilley. I've been using Marathons for several years and they've served me well. I've had others and they weren't as good as the Marathons. That is not to say that Marathons don't have their problems. I've heard of quality control issues at the China plant. And 80 PSI sounds really high to me too, the standard is 50 PSI so you might have over inflated them. Trailer tires need replacing after 5 or 6 years regardless of tread wear. As Smilley stated, trailer tires are specially made with hard compounds and they deteriorate over time. Usually, the tire wall will explode without warning which is why you always need a spare. Your's at 2 years seem to have failed prematurely and this could be a manufacturing defect.

Yes, it's the Hamilton Nazis. I got checked in the channel at the lift bridge in Hamilton about 1 month ago and I got the same story...that I'm supposed to have paper charts. I agree that this is a ridiculous rule and I'm just not doing it. If I get charged I'm going to court because I want the judge to explain to me why local knowledge isn't good enough.

That camping location is called Rangers Point...no idea why they call it that. Nice report and the little fellas will remember those experiences....good on you. I'm leaving tomorrow for Red Cedar and I'll be there most of the summer.

You cannot access Red Cedar Lake from Marten River, it's dammed at Hwy 64.

I've never owned one but I have had friends and relatives who've had/have pontoon boats. The only caveat is that the shorter ones, under 18 feet, are difficult to control and handle in tight spots. Pontoon boats are verrrryy slowww, but as mentioned, are quite stable. They are a good choice for someone with mobility issues. I know of one that is for sale at a good price.