danklegrand

Thank-you ch, Very much appreciated.

Hi all, Looking for some clarification regarding the boundaries of the inner bay fish sanctuary, which is closed for fishing from May 15th, to the Friday before the 4th Saturday in June. According to the regs, the boundry is stated as "Lake Erie (eastern portion of the Inner Bay) - Walsingham and Norfolk Twps." After a quick google search, I found a map showing the boundry on Stamp's Long point page. My question is: are there physical buoys marking this area on the water? It's been years since I fished the bay. We were considering trying our luck for some pike this weekend, but being unfamiliar with the area, I don't want to be anywhere near the sanctuary. I also don't want to be gettting into any OOS bass during the spawn. Don't want to ruffle any feathers here, just looking for some advice. Would it be better to avoid the bay altogether until bass opener? We're just looking to get into a few C&R pike locally, since we can't get up north this weekend. Thanks.

X3 on this one. Excellent post.

Done and done!

Just another reason I love this site! Thanks again slayer, might just see you on the water one day.

Hm, that's two votes for Restoule... Thinking a multi-day trip might be in order here.

Thanks bowslayer, Exactly the kind of suggestion I was looking for. We've actually been to Restoule as well. We went 2 summers ago and I still love that park. I remember going there as a kid with my parents and trying to scope out the best sites. One thing about Restoule, if you can book early enough, there are some incredible sites on the water where you can pull your boat right up. Two years ago we did ok in Restoule Lake, but had better luck in Stormy... It was a little quieter too for the 12' tinny that I had at that time. I'd definitely like to go back and fish Restoule again. I was unaware that PP passes got you into other PPs as well. A day trip to Restoule will definitely be considered!

Oh, I hear you there BillM. I recently just switched jobs, so I wasn't sure if they'd let me have a full week this summer. After a quick chat with the company owner and swapping some fish stories... ... I have a week approved and we just booked our site! If they would let me book my holidays that far in advance, I'd be booking next years trip now too!

We're headed to Mikisew Provincial Park on Eagle Lake for the last week of July, and I'm pumped... Even though it's MONTHS away. My girlfriend and I spent a weekend at Mikisew last summer and really enjoyed the park, so we decided to come back for a few more days this year and spend some more time fishing the lake. We did pretty well for smallmouth bass last year, and hoping to find them again. I've also heard about Pike, Whitefish and the odd Rainbow being caught here.... Apparantly the Walleye population is next to none. Since we'll be there for a week, we're considering a day trip into nearby Deer lake (just down the road). I haven't heard much about Deer Lake, and I've been searching around with limited results. Does anyone know if there is a public launch on Deer? I know I've snowmobiled across in the winter, but never really checked it out. Any idea what species we should be tageting there? We usually fish catch-and-release. Just looking to explore the scenery in a new lake and hopefully catch a few fish. Not looking for hot spots... Feel free to PM. Anyone else book their summer vacation yet?

X2 I have the Ambassadeur C4 5601 (lefty) and I love it. This reel is truly a quality multi-purpose reel, and it's tough. I mostly use it for pike trolling, but as mentioned above, it is a great casting reel for larger baits. I've even run it out on Lake Ontario a few times with a dypsey... You would not be dissapointed with this reel. That being said, I also bought a Caenan last summer which I use mostly for bass fishing. Also a nice reel, but if you're hoping to get into some ski's, I'd want the C4. Both great reels IMO.

Yes, this is a scam. This reply and others like it are very common on kijiji. I've bought and sold numerous items using kijiji with no problems, but I've also seen this many times. Usually a weird name, usually sounds WAY too good to be true. Basically, if something sounds fishy on kijiji, stay away. I also usually reply back to these kind of people with fairly blunt remarks stating that I don't deal with scammers. If you want it, come take a look at it and pick it up in person with CASH. If you want to ship it, fine. Call me and make proper arrangements over the phone. Kijiji can be great for buying and selling with the right people, but beware... If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. If someone is serious about buying what you're selling, they'll usually call... Lots of emailers out there looking to low-ball or scam... Drives me nuts. Good-luck with your sale. The right buyer will come along eventually, and you'll know it when they do.

This looks awesome DRIFTER! I was hoping someone else had done something like this too. It may take a little time, but that custom touch to an older boat to make it "yours" is well worth the effort.

Thanks for the comments. I can't let Dad take all the credit though... He was the fiberglass "supervisor". I cut all the matting with his guidance and did most of the "glassing" dirty work. He was there to help make sure I got all the bubbles out and got everything covered properly, but most of the work I did myself. Especailly the sanding... That was ALL me! And Dad will always have a seat in my boat. After years of sitting is his, he's got a seat with his name on it as long as he's able to fish!

Since softwater season is fast approaching, I'm wondering if anyone else has the itch to start "tinkering" with their boat to prepare for the upcoming season... Any upgrades, modifications, repairs or even general maintenance get me excited to be out on the water! Two years ago, I bought a used 1994 Grumman 16' side console in need of a little TLC. She's a great boat, but I've spent hours getting her the wat I want her. The first project was the floors. Unfortunatley I don't have pics, but I ended up replacing the entire floor and casting decks with new marine grade plywood and carpeting. Big job, but I'm sure it'll outlast my lifetime. Plus the pride that I did it makes it feel "mine". I figured I'd share a few photos of the console renovation I did with the help of my Dad (autobody repaiman for over 20 years) last winter. I believe the boat originally had a plain aluminum "box" console, but the guy before me made a custom fiberglass dash and guage cluster and covered it in vinyl. As you can see, it looked a little rough. I decided to pretty much scrap the old one because it was looking pretty weathered... Then I started to mock-up a new version using the existing aluminum "box" as a template. Once I was happy with the shape and added some wood moulding for style, I started my first layer of fiberglass. I opted to use the woven stuf in lieu of the matting. It was way easier to work with. I decided to re-use the original guy's "guage pod" since it was pretty well done. I just cleaned it up and sanded it smooth... Then I sealed it completely with resin to help weather-proof the inside. Ater about 3 layers of fiberglass and a LOT of sanding, it started to take shape. Primer! We had some blue metallic left over from one of his projects, so we opted to use it to match the boat. Once it was all done and looking shiny, it was time to install it on the boat and add my goodies... Then I added a seperate aluminum panel underneith and installed a marine radio to have some tunes on the water. All in all it turned out pretty well and really imprived the look of my boat. Special thanks to my Dad, cause I don't think the glass work would have been NEAR as nice if I did it myself! Anyone else working away on something?

Hi all, it's been a long time since I last checked in here... I've recently been to both Mikisew and Restoule in the last few years, and both are beautiful parks. If you book early enough, Restoule offers some AMAZING waterfront sites, some of whick I believe are electric. I mean, pull your boat right up to shore at your site and come and go as you please. Also, it gives you peace of mind being able to keep an eye on your boat while you're at your site. However, these sites are on the main lake side (Restoule), which is fairly busy and fishing seems slower than Stormy lake, which you also have acess to within the park. Mikisew is also a fantastic park. My girlfriend and I camped there last summer (I still owe you all a report with pics). I loved Eagle lake. There is so much structure and Smallmout bass were all over the place. If you've been there, I'm sure you already know. I think we'll be going back to Mikisew this summer if vacation time pans out. Although the park offers some great sites, I don't believe there are any waterfront ones. Most people were leaving their boat on shore between the beaches, but I usually just pulled mine out at the end of the day. I'm really looking forward to going back there: I have a lot of Eagle Lake left to explore. Hope this helps, but in my opinion you pretty much can't go wrong wherever you decide. There is nothing better than camping and fishing with your girl!

Thanks for the replies guys! Again, I'm a bit of a newbie to the downrigging side of things and had heard different opinions about the colour of the cannonballs. I think the ones I got are home-made, and I'd guess they weigh about 8lbs... One thing that I haven't got yet are the releases. I'll search around on here, but does anyone have preferences on what to buy? Thanks again.

P.s. I'll add photos when I get them mounted on my boat.

Just picked up a set of used Big Jon manual riggers for a great deal! I don't have a lot of experience with controlled depth fishing, but both my Dad and my girlfriend's Dad have spend a lot of time doing it years ago. Anyways, I thought I's expand our horizons a bit and gradually get into it. I have a question about the cannonball colour. The ones I got with my riggers are pretty beat up and most of the paint is chipped off. I cleaned then up and was planning on re-painting, but I'm unsure which colour I should go with. They were originally red... Most of the new ones seem to come in either black or natural? Is cannonball colour just a personal preference? Do they actually help attract fish to your lure? Any advice, personal opinions, myths or legends are welcome!

Interesting topic! "SouthPaw" is also the name of our boat. Both my girlfriend and I are left-handed, so that's where the name comes from.

As a brief follow-up, I would like to say thank-you again to T.J for the VIP passes. We arrived plenty early and met The Urban Fisherman and some other members when we dropped off or food bank items and picked up our passes. A short time later we were in a little room downstairs eating Subway subs and shaking hands with Dave Mercer, J.P DeRose and Paul Powis! The show was great! All 3 guys put on an awesome seminar full of great tips and good laughs. Took some pics from my phone, but none of them turned out nice enough to post. It was entertaining and informative from start to finish, and a great way to kick off the long weekend!

Thank-you! See you guys there!

Thanks guys, PM sent!

My girlfriend and I are both looking forward to the show tonight. VIP passses to meet Dave would be awesome! However, being a new member to the board and limited passes, please give priority to the more "senior" (not meaning age...) members and their families.

I have to be the one to ask... Only because I've this myself.... Is there any chance your new impeller was installed backwards with the splines bent in the reverse direction? When I did mine, I read the manual and was certain I had installed the new impeller correctly. I fired the motor and had a perfect stream coming out the pee hole for about 30 seconds... Then it just stopped. Turns out I put the impeller in backwards and half the splines had tried to flip in the correct direction. I took it apart and installed it correctly. Felt pretty dumb, but I don't think I'll make that mistake again!

We went down last night on the GO train from the Burlington station to save a few bucks and the stress of driving and parking my truck in Toronto. For $33.20, I got two return tickets for a nice relaxing ride on the train both ways, arriving at the show at 5:15. Then I got 2 show tickets for $10 due to the $5 after 5 admission promotion. Good deal! We rushed through fairly quickly to ensure we saw everything... It only took an hour and a half. The biggest pain is walking from the fishing section to the outdoors and hunting sections. Ater we walked through everything, we went back and did a more thorough sweep of anything we really wanted to see. The show was very similar to past years, but we enjoyed wandering around none the less... I would have been dissapointed if we had to pay the full admission price . All in all, it was a fun relaxing night with the girlfriend just hanging out and looking forward to the excitement of the fishing season! If you're still considering going, I would do it just for that... But as long as you're not trying to catch a seminar or something, go after 5! Cheers!