Dan668

Its that time of year where I start to cast for musky. Looking to see if anyone has found a good pair of gloves that allows you to cast without issue. This post pretty much comes up each year.

Ive read on a few forums where people recommend Kast Steelhead gloves, but im not sure if they are available in Canada, and on their main site for the past year or two, they havent had any larger sizing so i am not sure whats going on with them. I seen on orvis' website they have the glove but again have to ship from stateside and guess my size. 

Currently ive just been using basic little black cotton gloves and bringing a dozen of them lol, just swap them out when they get too wet. And sometimes slip a handwarmer in. It gets me by. 

I thought about buying one for when im fishing alone or in the fall on the bow with the electric trolling motor. Im hesitant to buy one for when operating the big motor. Not much impact protection and ive seen a few stories from operators on bbcboards that were ejected from their bass boat and the inflatable never went off. Kind of scary. 

Which did you buy, i am looking for one as well. 

Terrible news, very sad! He last texted me on Sunday with pics of the new bow mount and seemed anxious to get out. Praying that he is found. 

Ive been using it. I wish the cards on the units had this functionality or atleast have the ability like Lakemaster, green and red highlights. 

1 hour ago, John said:

Yeah some of us know how dangerous the West Arm can be Lew. As you know, every year we were up there someone "found" another unmarked rock or shoal. Even those that have 10+ years boating up there. I can name a few right now including myself. What frightened me the most is in years of low water levels rocks and shoals appeared that we ran right over the top of in previous years. And of course navigating the trip through the big and little cuts to Monetville and the scary trip to Cross Lake....?

I hit an unmarked rock on the West Arm a few years ago, luckily i was only going a bit over 10 mph and just lost a portion of my skeg and an aluminum prop, everything else was ok. Navionics showed a depth greater than 10 feet, so goes to show, cant always trust your maps. Ive noticed this on Gbay in areas as well. I take a more cautionary approach after hitting something and study most lakes. 

The last time i was there, someone went right through the large opening before Cross, i tried to wave them down, luckily they werent travelling fast, still wasnt pretty. 

I wouldn't bother based on what i seen, but like Akrisoner stated expect smoke. Winds are staying the same direction which isnt good for the area. I drove up and came back home the same day. The smoke is terrible, i laughed when one lodge owner said its not that bad, and when the other was mad because there losing my business. Not going to risk my families health over a fish. They wont tell you a thing, not even a courtesy call. 

It was very smokey on Saturday when i arrived. I went straight home. I cancelled two weeks worth of bookings and lost my deposit. One on Wolseley Bay, the other on the West Arm. My dad has a heart condition so I'm sure it's not good for him. Trying to salvage the second week, calling everywhere, difficult as it's a long weekend. 

The air quality statement is still up, winds still from the SW so smoke will continue. They just issued an evaluation alert for the town of Alban today, thats the lower french. Fires still out of control so who knows. 

My gen 2 just had the same symptoms, ended up being the built in transducer on my trolling motor that was faulty. So like the poster above stated, try another transducer or another unit on the same transducer to rule out the issue. 

21 minutes ago, SirCranksalot said:

What area of the French were you in? We were a bit W of Woseley Bay(Gee, I wish they'd give those area lake names--they really are lakes!!i

 

pic from yesterday

https://coastwatch.glerl.noaa.gov/modis/modis.php?region=h&page=1&template=sub&image=a1.18210.1843.LakeHuron.143.250m.jpg

I was in Wolseley Bay. Thanks for the link, can visibly see the smoke. 

I was in the area this week on the french, couldnt handle the smoke, came back home. SW winds for a few days straight blowing smoke right in. 

I also had Greg make me a cover last year. I called this year as i needed to make some alterations to the bow because of a cable steer motor i put on. No one picked up, i called the shop around the corner and asked if he was still there, they said no, he moved back home. 

My neighbor had a cover made by Robert and it was just OK. Price was slightly more than my price with Greg and my boat was 2 feet longer. The cover in areas seemed like it had extra material, the fit definitely could have been better. Also had no extras such as vents and flaps for the cleats. They also made a mistake on where they put clips on the bow and just left a few holes there which looks terrible. I dont even think they offered a discount. Not sure why my neighbour took the cover, i know he wasnt pleased. But that's just one case, not sure how the rest of his work is. 

If you happen to find someone or do end up going there post a review. I still have to get some minor alterations done and am also looking for a reputable shop. 

Thanks, 

Dan

Nice catches, 

I have yet to get out for a full day of spring pike, maybe this weekend on gbay, launch out of honey harbour and see what i can find north. Or the kawarthas, for musky opener. I was out on May 24 with a few small pike on g pool, but spent most of the time doing maintenance on the boat, and changing out the bunks on the trailer. 

Mine also work without issue. Wasn't happy to see my sonar charts disappear, had to drop $100 to continue the subscription on my hotmaps platinum

For me they are definitely worth it. I use 580g Costas, green lenses on Sunny days, sunrise silver lenses in lower light. My brother strictly uses Oakleys, and after trying the green lens from my Costas, he wanted a pair. No fatigue, easy to see what i am fishing in shallow waters, and it protects my eyes when fishing with multiple people on my boat. 

Done

Not sure about the temp settings, but the Gen 1 HDS units arent able to share maps. That functionality came in from Gen 2 and on. 

I have a Carbon 12, Gen 2 10 and a Gen 1 8 and with the 8, its own mapping card is needed. 

As for the knots/mph, under settings, their should be a section with Units, i believe under system. Still have my boat put away or else i would of checked for you. 

Does anyone on the board make their own tackle? Im debating getting into it,  not for resale, just making my own jigs, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Judging by the cost of some of the items needed to start up, it doesnt look like there will be any cost savings upfront or for a while. Part of me thinks it may be better to find someone local to make what i want. 

Ill be out in Cochrane tomorrow for a few days. Looking to put on another 1000km

7 minutes ago, grimsbylander said:

I wouldn't say nothing...Erie is better now than it was 10/15 years ago. 

Agreed. 

I havent fished Weslemkoon yet, it was on a list of mine but had others recommend other lakes as they too stated its not what it used to be. 

My xi5 has been flawless. The spotlock works fantastic as well in windy conditions. Had the terrova prior which i had many issues with. It was a gen 1 but spent more time in the repair shop than on the water. The pedal could of been better with the xi5 but im already used to it.

Could care less about the auto deploy so if i were going Minn Kota, id pick up the ultrex which works great as well. A major factor in deciding is whether you own Lowrance or HB units, and whether you plan on using the link systems for control. 

I used one for a single outing last year after receiving it, caught a bunch of bass. So the early consensus, i like it. 

Ive been out of weed stocks for the past month. It was fun while it lasted. 

Good luck out there, Balsam has been slow for me this year.

Smallies were on fire on gbay as well, I thought they'd be deeper but we did great in the 5-12ft range. they were hitting ferociously on the dropshot/tubes/swimbait. I figured because they were active, I'd try a topwater, not a single hit