Dontcryformejanhrdina

So basically if I fill out that form and mail it with a copy of the bill of sale, previous pleasure craft licence and a form of ID that'll be fine?

Thanks everybody. So the "pleasure craft licence" is basically the ownership papers?

Already got the trailor transferred to my name, but where do I go to get the ownership of a boat changed over?

Holy, what a porker! Congrats!

Wow, great catch! Are you going to start drilling bigger holes now? Might need to lol.

I wonder if people would be easier on Mike if the business he was starting didn't involve fishing? If he opened his own shop should his buddies be allowed free service? It's difficult because before Mike was just a guy who liked to fish but now he's trying to become a full time guide and can't just take all his friends fishing for free if he wants to be successful. I can't blame a guy for wanting to do what he loves for a living, and it's not like you can just sit around waiting for the phone to ring to be a guide. As long as his kid has a roof over her head, clothes on her back and food in her stomach I don't see a problem with it. As for what his fiancee thinks, that's between him and her. He isn't asking for relationship advice and maybe his fiancee pushed him to pursue this career choice. I know plenty of guys who started their own businesses (with varying success) and I never thought less of them for it.

I'm blaming the government for being inept. It's not like they were suddenly hit with the problem of creating licences, people were going to want/need them. ANY other time you buy something online, you get an email confirmation/receipt. Boater's exam, I got an email where I could print off the temporary licence afterwards if I lost/damaged it, or if I did it on a computer without a printer hooked up. Good setup, simple, effective. Yet the MNR can't do something as simple and straight forward as that? Especially since they knew there would be trouble getting the licences? Honestly, it seems like it's being run by a bunch of amatuers and this whole situation (NEEDING to legally have a licence that aren't even available to fish) is a joke. I never knew at the time I bought my licence online that it would take almost 2 months to deliver, either. By the way, I have plenty of ink, my printer just won't work. Turns on, but won't print. Don't even get me started on governments....

It's not really a black and white situation, difficult to say. I've never demanded gas money (or accepted) but I'm also usually offering to take someone fishing when I'm going out anyway so they're not costing me anything. There's been times where myself and others take turns buying bait but I'm usually fishing with family (who I don't ask for money from) or friends who's boat I've also used. I don't keep track of those things because friends should be willing to return the favour when push comes to shove. But what it boils down to is he really a good friend, or just taking advantage of you? Sounds like the latter to be honest. Everyone has a breaking point when they run out of patience and it sounds like you've had enough. Nobody likes being someone else's doormat. You're in a situation where you're starting a guide service, you want this to be a source of income. You're not just doing it as a hobby and he should understand that. I wouldn't keep his rod though. Like someone else mentioned it won't help your reputation at all (and that's huge for a guide since most of it's word of mouth). Just tell the guy straight up if you want to come fishing again then pay me first. Some people if you give them an inch they will take a mile and see how far they can get before you say something. Set firm boundaries for everyone from now on and take this as a learning experience. Money comes and goes, don't do something you might regret later for a few bucks, even if you do feel you're right.

I catch all of my pike on my musky rods/reels but I'm wondering if it wouldn't be a lot more fun to catch them on bass gear. I've never caught a pike over 30" here and it's just not fair catching them with musky gear. They hit hard and then the fight is over once I set the hook. Of course there's no pike over 20lbs in my area (not that I've heard of, anyway). Anybody else target them on bass gear?

Thanks! I'd rather buy one in person than order one online to make sure it fits right.

Bought mine in mid December and still haven't received it. My printer was broken so I couldn't print off the temp either. I emailed them but all they said was it should arrive late January so hopefully this week I'll get it. I was told in the meantime I can buy a replacement card for $10 if I want to go fishing before then. Thanks!

Is there anywhere to buy them around Belleville? I definetely need something this year and I want something I can move around in while musky fishing, nothing too bulky or stiff. I had to go into the water in Haliburton in the middle of October to get my trailor out of the boat launch (snagged something and bent the axle) and even before winter the water was cold enough that I literally couldn't breathe when the water hit my chest. If I fall out of the boat in fall while musky fishing I'd be in serious trouble. I'm a pretty good swimmer but the initial shock would more than likely be too much.

You weren't kidding when you said they were healthy, nice thick fish! Congrats!

Thanks a lot everybody! I'm relieved to know I can forget about using the downriggers for now. Hopefully I can stumble across some trout this Spring!

I might have to give that a try then in the future. In the meantime I might focus on Bay Lake since it's so small. Hopefully I'll be able to figure out a pattern and catch a couple this Spring.

On the fly? I'm not sure I have the patience for it. I like to power the fish in, probably why I like musky fishing so much. Hell, I even use 50lb braid for bass/walleye fishing. It would go against my instinct to fly fish, I think I would lose so many fish I'd end up getting too frustrated with it.

Weird. I've never even thought about what the lip was made of. But of course before last year when all I fished for was LM bass I hated using lures of any kind and rarely gave them a chance.

Good to know. I haven't really looked closely at any regs yet. I haven't had any lucky in Baptiste lately anyway, for any species. Do people ever fish the Bay of Quinte for trout? All I ever hear about here is walleye. Lake Ontario for Salmon is definetely something I'd like to do in the future but I think I'd rather go with a guide/somebody who knows what they're doing, first. Some of the stuff you guys are talking about I have no idea what it is lol I think I'd be better off seeing what it is and how you use it. I'm pretty lucky I'm less than an hour drive from a zone where pike is open all year. I guess I could start fishing for carp too for their fighting ability but to be honest I don't think I'd want to touch the filthy things haha. I've just always wanted to fish for trout so it makes sense to give it a try when nothing else is open.

I remember you telling me that when you sold me your boat. This REALLY worries me (especially fishing a lake like Baptiste that has deep water but also has a lot of logs in parts of it). I have wire and hook cutters in my boat since I'm into musky fishing but I don't want to be in that situation lol. A friend of a friend does a lot of downrigging for Lakers in that area so I'm going to try to get him to go with me sometime. It would be great if I didn't have to even use the downriggers at first until I got more used to the lakes, know where/where not to go. Once June rolls around anyway I'll be focusing on musky more than anything, anyway. As for fishing Lake Ontario, it's not that far but a water that size worries me since my boat isn't huge by any means (16' aluminum with a 40hp tiller) and I wouldn't even know where to start. I'd rather start with smaller lakes I'm a little more familiar with. I'm not looking for trophy fish, just something to keep me busy until everything else opens in May/June. The way I look at it is it'll be nice just taking the boat out again. Any fish I might catch would just be a bonus but I don't expect to catch any lol.

Is a Rapala tail dancer a good lure for Lakers? should I be running the baits 80-100' behind the boat?

The X-Hawg I caught my musky on when I was fishing with you has a metal lip. Granted I was using it as a jerkbait, not trolling it. Funny, earlier in the year I almost lost that lure when it got caught on a log about 10' down while trolling. I had to use my paddle to get it unstuck, could just barely reach it after several tries. I'm glad now I didn't just give up and cut my line.

Well, it's winter, I'm still waiting for my fishing licence to come in the mail so ice fishing isn't a possibility for me yet. I'm trying to do my homework in the meantime and learn some new fishing techniques. I bought a boat this past fall that came with downriggers and downrigging rods, balls, etc... but I've never tried fishing for lakers (or any kind of trout). I'd like to start fishing for them as soon as the water opens back up but I have no idea where to start. I know lake trout love deep water, but that's about it. Does anybody have any tips on what lures to use, what speed to troll at, general depths to focus on? How much line should I have out behind the boat/down rigger ball? I'm up around Bancroft quite a bit on my days off so I might try Paudash, Baptiste and Bay Lake since I've heard they have lakers. It'll be interesting trolling around deep water since I'm not used to focusing my efforts in those areas. At the very least I can enjoy a relaxing cruise around the lake, right? Any info would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Haha, yeah I only have a 6' box as well. Corner to corner can barely fit my 8' rod and I can easily fit 7'6" rods in there. Paul you should have no problem with 7' rods. I don't like having anything heavy in my bed (that sounds bad) when I have my rods in their, though (means the tackle box is in the backseat of the truck) 'cause I'm afraid of it sliding around and breaking my rods.

I broke a bass rod this year when a gust of strong wind blew my little 14' aluminum and I lost my balence and stepped off the seat......right onto my rod. I've got a much wider/more stable 16' now so hopefully it won't happen again, but I have 2 slots on each side of the boat where I can put rods. The pvc tubes vertically would be a good idea but I don't want rods vertically on my boat while musky fishing as they get in the way if I need to walk around the boat at all. The boat came with 9' downrigging rods so I can fit up to 9' rods there. Good thing cause I want to buy a 9' St. Croix big nasty, and it can't fit in my truck (8' rod just barely fits across the bed of my truck).

Nice crappie. Every spring and fall a guy from work and myself rent some cottages with a bunch of guys and have a bit of a tournament. Fall of 2010 was just a slow, slow weekend though. The 2nd largest fish caught was a 15.5" crappie, biggest I've seen personally. Funny cause there's rarely any crappie caught there.