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Not true. The X-4 does it too, if you turn on that feature. As other have said, it's not worth having it on. My old depth finder was a Humminbird and I hated it. But to be fair, it was one of the first ones that had color, from the 80s, and it looked like a game of Tetris on the screen. This doesn't really add anything to the conversation, but here you can see I am using it in the rain and caught a little walleye.

I recently bought this one. It's pretty basic. I only used it once so far, and I didn't see any actual arches (though I caught five fish - maybe I was going too slow?) but I saw structure and weeds and/or bait/fish at times. It tells you the surface temperature and depth. The package I got uses 8 D cell batteries... I think there is an actual rechargeable you can buy for this, but I think for the amount I will use it, the D batteries should last quite a while. Time will tell. I put the transducer directly on the suction cup (so it's rotated correctly - I'm unsure if it makes much of a difference, but figured it may) and stuck it to the side of my Sportspal.

I was fishing a little lake accessed by travelling 3-4k up another lake and then walking an old bush trail for 10-15 minutes. I caught and released 3 specks in about a half hour of fishing when I heard what sounded like lots of tree branches breaking. I figured moose or beaver but across the lake a wolf walks out of the bush to the water's edge. Then 2 more that I could see. They were much bigger than I thought they would be. They stood and stared for about 5 minutes and then took off. About 10 minutes later, I have my 4th trout on the line and I hear rustling just to my left. I look over and one of the wolves is slowly creeping up the shoreline, maybe 50 feet from me. The nearest people were a mile or 2 away at best and I was kinda scared. Landed my fish then yelled as I threw a rock. The wolf bolted when the rock splashed in the water. I caught another trout a few minutes later and then packed up and left. People with decades of bush experience say this will likely never happen to me again. I hope not.

Congratulations!

Awesome catches, man!

I caught a speck with its bottom jaw split in the middle, as if it was on a stringer and ripped through to free itself. About a month later I caught a speck with only one eye. Better only one than a third, I think.

Awesome report! I am so looking forward to the day when I can do this stuff with my kid.

Pics when it's built, please!

Can't say it any better than Roy did. Good job!

I'm with you. Sadly, I used to think Ugly Stiks were good, but only because I was ignorant and inexperienced. That changed when I got a Voltaeus. That really is a pretty good rod. WAY more sensitive, I can cast further with a shorter rod, and pretty hardy. If you don't want to spend your full budget on a rod, and want one that is built specifically to be durable, my vote is for the Voltaeus. I've used my 6'6" MH for everything from 8.5" brook trout, up through bass and walleye, up to my 34" pike and it's been good all around. It's still a little heavy, but nowhere near as bad as my Ugly Stik was. Even my cheap 5' UL Shimano Sojurns are pretty good, considering the $20 price tag. I've caught brookies up to 16" on them and I have no complaints. I have no idea about durability though. That's why I got two. And for my birthday this year I picked up a 6' ML Bob Izumi rod which I intend to use for trout and walleye. I haven't used it enough yet to say how much I like it, but it looked quite nice, I like the split cork handle, and I had read pretty favorable reviews of it. I don't think you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a rod to catch a fish, but if I were going high-end, I'd look at G Loomis and St. Croix, though I suspect I'd still walk away with a Shimano. I just have nothing bad to say about them. Yet. I don't see myself ever going with such a crazy expensive rod though, just because no matter how careful I am, accidents happen and I'd be crushed to lose such a pricey rod. And it always seems the more pricey something is, the more chance there is I'll make a mistake and break it. Edit: THIS! But I'd be afraid to use it.. Very pretty work that would probably go on my wall instead of in my boat.

Happy birthday, man!

Shore fishing in Lake Temiskaming can be done in various places. The easiest access is at the piers right behind John's Tackle Box, or in Haileybury. I don't fish the lake much, it's so big and boring to look at. And worst of all - no trout. Also, they estimate between 10 and 20 thousand kilograms of arsenic are carried in via Farr Creek every year (based on rate of flow and water samples.. thanks to the old mine tailing contaminants from Cobalt's mining days). I have fished from shore a few times this year and last, but never caught anything. I did see one guy catch a small pike. But that's about it. I really don't spend my time there, but if I did, I'd likely be using what the other guys are using - pickerel rigs (of which I own none) and shiners. I was casting lures and had not even a sniff. I got a jig caught and had to cut the line. It's very rocky around the piers and shoreline, so be warned. A friend of mine swears by the Blue Fox #3 spinner in silver, and claims he catches all kinds of fish off the piers there, but I tried that too with no luck. As for tackle shops, you've got John's, which is decent for some things. But WalMart and Canadian Tire seem to carry more stuff. I often check John's first, but it's rare to find, for example, a Mepps #3 dressed or Blue Fox #3 or Little Cleo, there. Restaurant recommendations really depends on what kind of food you like.. Roosters does a decent salmon. Gilli's is decent. Steak Villa's trout was pretty good the one time I had it, though my friend found a big house fly in her salad... If Marco's is open, the poutine is good there. If not, you could try King of Fries in Haileybury. R U Hungries in Haileybury is another decent shop.

Actually, my arms thank Minn Kota!

Yeah, well, we're talking about apples and oranges, here. You don't paddle a Sportspal. Or at least, I wouldn't! haha. Row it, maybe...

*chimes in* I love my 12-foot Sportspal that weighs like 35lbs and sits on top of my '97 Achieva quite nicely. I am looking to get a 44lb 14-footer though, so I can fit a third person or up to 300lbs more gear and it'll have a keel or three so it stays a little straighter. And it'll fit on my van better. I'd say make sure you have a keel at least (all the new ones have them, but my 12-footer is - I believe - one of the original 5000, and has none).

Sounds like you had a great time! Good job, man.

Did he put a hook on at least? If he did, he may have been targeting pike.

I only tried from shore once, and that's the only time I caught anything. I am sure I'll try the lake again, but there are hundreds around here for me to choose from. Are you from this area?

Good job, man! I fished Net Lake twice, once this past Saturday and caught NOTHING and once last year, when I caught this hawg: Edit: I actually just remembered I fished it once in the winter. I had one bite, I guessed to be a laker, took my minnow off my tube jig right as it hit bottom. Other than that, nothing but the son of a perch in the pic.

GPS coords? Thx

I have a 12' Sportspal bought in 1968 and it's done me well over the past year. I am looking to upgrade now, likely to a 14' Sportspal, and hopefully it will have a keel as my 12 footer does not. THAT makes it super annoying to paddle in anything other than zero breeze. I almost always use a 40lb Minn Kota, though, and it's decent (but still requires constant adjustment to keep straight). There is another company in the US that makes "Sportspal" canoes that look similar, but are not related at all. Meyer or Meyers I think they're called.

I made only one lure when I was a kid. I made a spoon using a spoon. I bent it repeatedly until the handle came off and then drilled holes. I didn't catch anything with it.

I bought a Fuji FinePix XP50 specifically for outdoors stuff (primarily fishing). Someone in another thread commented on the quality being quite good, so I guess it's alright. I don't think the pics are as nice as my Canon P&S, but that cam isn't waterproof. Here's a quick test clip I shot from my canoe just by sticking my hand in the water. This is near the boat launch. The water is kinda greenish, and sometimes the camera filters it out.. The shifting in color is kinda annoying, but it doesn't always do that. I'm not sure if there's a setting I can toggle to make it consistent or not, but honestly, underwater video is not the primary reason I bought it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQMFxvXyE3k

It has to be that any fish at all, target or not, avoids the skunk. There's no way I could say "I tried for splake and I got skunked... and this 34 inch pike," you know what I mean?