John Bacon

That remains to be seen. If they are not sterile and their population grows, they may eat large amounts of vegetation and negatively affect the fisheries.

Thanks for the all of your input. I was able to get it out on the water yesterday. It did a great job of keeping the boat straight while I trolled with the kicker. This is the main reason I wanted the Xi5/iPilot versus a cable drive. I still have a lot of other features to test such as the anchor lock and memorizing routes, etc.

Your posts implies that private residences and cottages, etc. are not subject to building codes. A private residence still needs to adhere to building codes regardless of whether it will be used to earn income.

Yes, unfortunately a lot of fishermen are pigs. TUFA also organizes shore cleanups. Hopefull that will help.

Thanks, it has been a while but was it you that mentioned using a twist lock plug for an electric motor? I want to replace the plug that was prewired on the boat because it seems cheap and low quality, and because they used 12 gauge wire for a circuit that will draw around 55 amps. I want to replace it with a quality connector using 6 or 8 gauge wire to the battery. Is this type of connector something that I would need to purchase at a specialty store? Or, is it something that I can pick up from a hardward store such as Home Depot or Princess Auto? p.s. Does your motor have a connector on a short wire near the lever that you need to raise and lower the motor. Do you know what this is for? There is a second connector on a longer wire that is designed for a Lowrance graph. Thanks for your help so far.

If you have two trolling motor batteries then I assume that you are probably running a 24 volt trolling motor. If so, you cannot use a common ground. It only applies to to 12 volt systems.

The manual for my trolling motor recommends that 12 volt systems share a common ground between the starting and trolling motor batteries. I.e. the negative terminals of the two batteries should be connected by a wire. But there should not be any connection between the positive terminals. This is supposed to improve sonar display, reduces corrosion & electrolysis, and reduces interference with other electronic equipment. Has anybody heard of this? Does anyone here have the technical expertise to confirm the effectiveness of doing this?

Thanks for all your input. I ended up picking up an Xi5 12 volt. I have to motor mounted on the boat now. I hope to get it working tomorrow. The motor does not fit the quick release plate that came with the boat. But the bolt pattern is campitable so I didn't have to drill any new holes. I ended up putting the quick release plate underneath the deck and using it for backing. It spreads the stress over a nice large area.

Some releases are adjustable. I have some that have a tab that you can pull it out and tightens the release. Also, if your release is too light you can loop the line around the release to make it hold better.

The engine wouldn't work if it was.

Hopefully a link to Face Book works. Some shore line in western Toronto was posted with no fishing signs this month. TUFA (Toronto Urban Fishing Ambassadors) was successful in having the signs quickly removed. TUFA was formed when city council banned shore fishing in Toronto harbour back in 2012. We have shore fishing opportunities in Toronto in a large part due to the efforts of the TUFA group; especially one of the founders in particular David Clark. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=610558839086419&set=gm.1051864634837746&type=1

Here is another article on the topic. http://www.mykawartha.com/opinion-story/5812878-in-the-pigeon-lake-wild-rice-dispute-this-man-is-on-the-side-of-the-rice-and-the-first-nation-comm/;send=false

I am happy with the service that I got from Central Outboard Marine in Markham.

Thanks, yours is a lot more open than mine. I am not sure that would work for mine; but I will have a look.

No hard cap like there is in the NHL. There may be a luxury tax on high salaries.

I definitely had better luck this year than last year. I have not been fishing Lake Ontario regularily for many years so I don't have much to compare to. The last few times that I have been out the other boaters seem to have caught quite a few fish.

Thanks, I am leaning towards the MotorGuide. The plate that I have is for a MotorGuide power steer motor. Do you know if the Xi5 uses a different plate than the other MotorGuide power steered motors? My boat is a 2008; I don't know if they still use the same plates.

Yes, that is the main reason that I am set on an Xi5 or iPilot. I plan to use a gas kicker for power and the bow mount to steer the boat. A few others have mentioned using the same setup. I often troll alone with down riggers, etc. If I am trolling into the wind the boat can do a 180 faster than I can rig a rod. Thanks. Do you have both a foot pedal as well as the fob? Do you know if the fob is waterproof? Is there a lock for the quick release plate? I like the idea of being able to quickly release the motor. But I don't want somebody else to be able to easily remove the motor. I have a 16' Aluminum, the boat is around 800 pounds before adding motor, etc. I used to have a similar sized boat with a 42 pound thrust motor and never felt that is was under powered. I will need a new fish finder soon, so I can go with either Humminbird or Lowrance depending on the motor that I choose. Thanks again for the info.

If mixing sythetic and natural oil is so bad, then why do they sell a blend of synthetic and natural oil (aka semi-synthetic)?

Thanks, are you running two batteries in parallel? Or, just a single battery? If you are running just one battery, do you usually get quite a bit of fishing on one charge? I have a Princecraft Holiday Dlx, so my boat is just slighly larger that yours. Unfortunately, my battery box is only designed for one battery so I would have to modify the boat to run a 24v system.

I agree with Brian. If you don't have clear sight then you better slow down. It is your responsibility to see and avoid kayaks and other boaters; not their responsibility to stay or your way.

Quick turn around today. Down 5-1 in the first, up 6-5 after three. That has got to be frustrating for the Angles fans. Getting a 5-1 lead in the first after two blow outs only to have the lead gone two innings later and end up losing 12-5.

I hoping to buy a new bow mount for my boat. I am trying to decide between MotorGuide and Minn Kota. I have always been a Minn Kota man but am trying to keep an open mind. I definitely want the iPilot or equivalent. So it would be between the Xi5 or Terrova iPilot. I will most likely go with a 12 volt motor because my battery compartment is designed for a single battery. I would rather not have to modify the boat to carry an extra battery or two. I have a 16' boat with a 50 hp 2 stroke so the 12 volt should have plenty of thrust. My boat came with a quick release plate for a MotorGuide; so if I take the MotorGuide it will probably be a little easier to mount. I would appreciate any feed back that anyone could provide on either of these motors. If you have used both, then even better.

I wouldn't go that far. There are several extinct species such as wholly mamoths, sabre tooth cats, etc. that were present when the first nations first arrived in North America. It is possible that first nations peoples caused, or at least played a part, in their demise.

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/property-owners-first-nations-square-223246501.html There's a battle brewing between property owners on a lake in Ontario's Kawartha region and a First Nations group using the lake bed to seed and harvest rice. At the centre of the dispute is Pigeon Lake, located north of Peterborough near Bobcaygeon. Larry Wood, whose family has lived on the lake for more than 70 years, told CBC News the problem began about six years ago when a local man began seeding rice in the lake. Wood, who says he is joined by more than 200 families opposed to the planting of rice on Pigeon Lake, says the rice has now spread from "shore to shore" choking out other plants and hindering recreational uses of the lake. "If this is allowed to continue, Pigeon Lake as we know it will no longer exist," Wood told CBC News. Wood is careful to point out that wild rice has grown in the lake for decades; a small patch has flourished near his property for as long as he can remember. But what he and a group of property owners are opposed to is the seeding of rice plants in the lake. Images his group has posted on the 'Save Pigeon Lake' website show rice plants growing over a large area on the lake — from above, it looks like a farmer's field. He said the rice farming benefits one business owner to the detriment of all other lake users. "It definitely is a commercial enterprise," said Wood. "No person should have the right to create their own fields to raise their own crop to sell something commercially that he personally grew in public waters." Rice grower unapologetic James Whetung of the Curve Lake First Nation is unapologetic. He plants and harvests the rice, selling it for $12 a pound under the brand name Black Duck Wild Rice. He says that it feeds his community. He sees the issue as one of aboriginal sovereignty and aboriginal peoples' right to access traditional foods. "They hate me and what I'm doing. And they hate my people," said Whetung. He says landowners accost him and call police when his family tries to harvest the rice. "They don't want to see Indians getting rich and they use us for scapegoats for all their problems," he said. ​Whetung says his people have gathered rice long before the cottagers came to the area. "Why don't we kick them all off and take it all back," he said. After spending three years lobbying various government bodies to prevent rice seeding on the lake, Wood said he and a group of neighbours were issued a permit by Parks Canada, which administers the Trent Severen Waterway, to "harvest aquatic weeds" from the lake at the end of July. A private company was hired to remove the rice from shoreline areas using a harvesting machine similar to a combine. The weed harvesting was halted after a few days when a local First Nations group complained, arguing they weren't consulted about the removal of the rice, which is typically harvested in September. "It's our right to harvest and gather so if any permits are given it should come through First Nations and not the Canadian government," said James Marsden, the chief of Alderville First Nation. Parks Canada officials are planning to meet with First Nations groups next week to hear their side of the dispute and possibly reach a compromise. Wood says property owners are "very upset" that the removal of planted rice was halted. He said they're also frustrated by a lack of clarity about which government body has jurisdiction. "When they bought their properties, none of this rice was here," said Wood.