John Bacon

It depends on the size of the walleye. I was speaking with Al Davis a few years ago when he was first trying to get walleye for Baptiste Lake. The pond raised walleye from the Quinte area sell for about $0.50 an inch. Fall walleye are usually about 6" long so that worked out to $3.00 per fish. I guess a spring stocking would be cheaper, but the smaller fish would have a higher mortality rate than the 6" inchers and may not offer as much value for the money. Also, if Scott Martin is still raising walleye at the ponds owned by Dicks; than he is probably able to produce fish for a lot less than $0.50 an inch. If the MNR is raising them themselves that I doubt they will be any cheaper... probably ever more expensive. The formula that Al Davis gave me for ideal stocking was three 6" fish per acre, which worked out to 15,000 fish per year for Baptiste. Most of the Kawartha Lakes are larger than Baptiste so they would require more than 15,000 fish per year for ideal stocking levels per the formula that Al Davis was using.

The pounding has hurt my 15+ year old portable charger that is stored in the front of my boat. I had to put a new plug on it this year, but it still keeps my batteries charge. I have seen some of those on board charges selling for $500+ ... I would be pretty upset if it only lasted three years.

Canadian Tire also sells Minn Kota's. I am not sure if they would have the higher end models though. Le Baron's probably will be the cheapest for buying at a store. When I bought my Minn Kota, Cabela's was cheaper than buying local; that was in 1994 so that may not be the case anymore.

About 33,000 ... I believe that stocking sized pond raised walleye sell for about $3.00 each. Plenty for a Kawartha lake; but not for the whole chain, let alone all of the other lakes in Ontario. Scott Martin in Caledonia probably raises more walleye than the MNR and probably for a lot less money too. Sounds like more of a vote buying scheme than a real or even partial solution to any fishery improvement.

Should that read "if your boat is over 2,000 lbs? Was that $55 for all four gliders? I am planning to put new bunks on my trailer this year and would prefer the gliders to carpet.

It is still the law that you get a minimum of two weeks paid vacation each year. You are legally required to take the time off; it is illegal for a company to pay you not to take two weeks vacation. I am not sure what you mean by benefits; if are referring to stat holiday pay, then you no longer have to be employed for three months to earn stat holiday pay. You are now entitled to it immediately upon hiring. However the pay is based on your last four weeks of earnings so you may not get paid for the full day if you are new. If your are referring to health coverage etc. as benefits... companies have never been required to provide these types of benefits; it is strictly optional. The above points refer to employees; if you are self employed that is whole different ball game. However, most so called "self employed" people would be considered to be employees if they or their companies were ever audited.

I think that this would be much better than the trailer/boat combo that was at the Sportsman Show. May need to mount an electric motor to make it the ultimate back lake fishing machine. http://www.metacafe.com/watch/781170/jetski_or_atv/

I have used deep cycle batteries as a starting battery in my boat for over ten years. They seem to work fine for me. I usually get over five years of use out of a battery so it can't be all that harmful to them. I don't think that the lack of current from a deep cycle will be an issue for a 40hp; it may be an issue with bigger motors.

There is actually more than one place on the lake that can be described as Lavalley Bay. Lavalley Bay Cottages is located on the second bay to the east of Dog Bay; that may be the bay that you will be on. The bay to the north west of Blueberry Island (see map link above) is also referred to as Lavalley Bay. I have never actually seen the area labelled as Lavalley Bay on the map being referred to as Lavalley Bay before; we certainly don;t need a third Lavalley Bay on the lake. There are only a few spots on the lake where rocks are concern. Logs and stumps are much more common. The predominant species in the lake are pike and rock bass. There are also good numbers of large and small mouth bass. Muskies were once plentiful but have declined since pike appeared in the lake. Walleye and lake trout are more difficult to catch. Keep in mind that there is both a slot limit and a shortened season for lake trout on the lake. Dog Bay is a good spot for a variety of species. The area between the mouths of the two narrow outlets at the back of the bay usually produce for me. The rest of the bay has good spots as well. The area around Blueberry Island is also good; especially near the two islands to the south west of Blueberry. The entire area between the narrows by Hay Bay up the Ripples produces well. If you see an Alumacraft with a 55hp Suzuki; that is my boat... my brother uses it too so it may not be me in it. Good luck

Boiling the water to reduce temporary hardness will only work if you remove the precipitate that forms when it is boiled (preferably before it has cooled). Even than, impurities other than calcium carbonate will have increased in concentration.

I believe that Sylvan and Legend hulls are both made by Smokercraft; so they are most likely of similar quality. It may not make sense to avoid one and buy the other. I heard a lot of bad things about Legend quality 15 years ago. Most of the recent reviews have been more positive. As already mentioned, their packages are very underpowered; be sure to include an upgrade to higher power motor in your budget if you do go with a legend. I think that I got good value for my money with my Alumacraft Lunker V16 Ltd. I purchased it in 1994 and haven't had any problems.

Why would you want to boil the water? I think that would be even worse than using water straight out of the tap because it would increase the mineral concentration due to water lost through evaporation.

Is there any chance that they could be buffalo? Buffalo are a native fish that closely resembles carp in appearance. There are both small and large mouth buffalo.

I have seen largemouth with rockbass in their bellies, so they definitely do eat them.

Thanks for all of the advice. I ended up buying a new Pontiac Wave rather than fix the ailing Aerostar. A little less cargo space, but it should be easier to park and better on gas.

Thanks again... maybe I can replace an Alternator myself after all. Unfortunately, the engine compartment of an Aerostar does not have a lot of room to work with.

Thanks for the tips. I was hoping that it was the battery (I assume that a battery is cheaper than an alternator and I can replace it myself); but the evidence is starting to lean more toward an alternator problem. I was able to start the van after hooking up the charge for a couple of hours. Plus, the charger is now indicating that the battery is fully charge. This would seem to indicate that the battery is capable of holding a charge, it just isn't getting charged. If my logic is wrong, please let me know. How much will I have to pay for a new alternator including installation?

I am having problems starting my 1996 Aerostar. When I did get it going, the volt meter had a very low reading. It did increase when I turned the air conditioner off but still remained below normal, even on the 401. The reading dropped to zero when I left it idling. It continued to run but I couldn't restart it once I turned it off. Thankfully I had the foresight not to turn it off until I had it parked at home ;-). I am hoping that it is just the battery but I am concerned that it may be a faulty alternator. If I had a properly functioning alternator would I get a normal reading on the volt meter regardless of the condition of the battery? Or, would a dead battery cause a low voltage reading even with a properly functioning alternator?

I believe that the 40 minnow limit only applies to minnows that you have trapped yourself. There is not limit on how many minnow that you buy... it's a good idea to have a receipt.

I have never seen an outboard with the carburetors at the back before. They are usually at the front of the motor. Some motors have a plastic cover over the carbs; you may have to remove that. if you choke the motor the choke throttle plates will close the opening to the carburetor; that is where you will want to spray.

I have thought of using them myself. I do have some concerns. The cargo may hide the license plate and/or lights. This would be a legal and safety concern.

These is an article in this months Ontario Out of Doors. According to the article, the University of Guelph has found Columnaris disease in the carp that it has tested. This disease is a common problem in catfish ponds. It appearently can attack trout and salmon too.

That must be why it is so much easier to breath underwater which is mostly oxygen (by weight) than in the open air; which is only about 20% oxygen All kidding aside, comparing the total number of oxygen atoms doesn't any merit. The oxygen atoms in water are each bonded to two hydrogen atoms. The oxygen atoms in the air are each bonded to another oxygen atom. They will each react differently in a chemical reaction. Corrosion will occur underwater; just not as quickly as it occurs when a wet piece of metal is exposed to air.

I am not sure about 4 strokes; but with 2 stokes the standard advice was to keep the motor submerged until you could restart it. If you couldn't get the motor started it was best to re-submerge the engine until you could get it to a mechanic. The corrosion occurs after the engine is exposed to air.

The main species in Baptiste Lake are pike and bass. Muskies can walleye are a bit more challenging. The Lake trout are quite hard to come by. I recommend that you try Dog Bay. That is the large bay just to the left of the resort. Try the mouths of of the west and north inlets of the main body of the bay. Great for pike and bass with a good shot at walleye too.