Zib

What did Canada win?

Can you define "losing a war"? In Vietnam we won every battle but the war was unpopular with the public so it was a loss. The same thing is happening with Iraq. No country ever "WINS" a war; they are just declared the winners for the sake of having a winner & a looser.

Actually Mexico has been crying about losing business to China. I find that funny. Now they know how it feels.

I guess I'll have to plan my vacation in my own state of Michigan instead of going to Ontario next year.

I don't use live bait that much. Usually only use it when fishing with my kids or during the spring walleye run in the Detroit River. After having great success with soft plastics like gulp minnows I'm done using minnows for spring river walleye. My buddy & I caught a lot of limits this past spring using soft plastics on the Detroit River.

It's funny that you ask about swim baits. We were just discussing them on another site that I belong to. One of the tournament guys said the same thing as you. He said he had a lot of follows but no takers. I bought some of the Storm's as well but haven't tried them yet.

Ditto

Cool pics. Thanks for sharing.

Ditto.

You could run lead core line, in-line sinkers, or snap on weights. If you troll on a regular basis then you should buy the book, Precision Trolling. It gives valueable info on how deep lures dive based on the amount of line let out, etc. It costs about $30 US but it's worth it. http://www.precisionangling.com/

Not really. The only time I fish that deep is when trolling for salmon or jigging for walleye on the Detroit River.

I think all areas have their own unique baits, which I like to find & use on my own waters. When I'm on vacation I always make it a point to stop into the local B&T's just to see if they have any unique lures that I might want to try back home. Plus I always look to see if they have the old Rapala Shad Raps in chartreuse (no longer made) because that's a hot lure for walleye on my favorite lake.

I've never heard of Sledge lures. I guess they must be more of a local bait to your area. Here on LSC Harvo's, Loke's, Wiley's are the musky baits of choice. If you have people asking for them then they would be worth stocking but if not I'd pass on them.

The people I know that owned 4-stks keep up on all the maintenance on them. They complain that it's too much maintenance compared to a 2-stk. Generally 2-stks are louder but my buddy's 250 HP 4-stk is loud. A new motor in it's first year of use shouldn't need to go in for repair 3 different times with less than 25 hours of use. BTW what does Suzuki know about making marine engines? They need to stick to motor cycles. My POS 1990 35HP Force 2 stk has only needed repair twice (water pump & fuel pump) in the 12 years that I have owned it. The only maintenance that I do on it is winterize it & change the spark plugs every 2 to 3 years. I use it 2 to 3 times a week between the end of March & middle of October.

Try telling that to my wife's uncle. He has twin 4-stroke 150 Yamahas on his Pursuit & he's had nothing but problems with both motors for the last 5 years. Mainly carb/injector problems. I'm waiting to hear what the marina says about my buddy's 2006 4-stk 250 HP Yamaha. It started rattling pretty loud 2 weeks ago.

Congrats on winning the tourney. Suicks might be as old as dirt but they can still catch fish.

Fiberglass will give you a better & dryer ride in the rougher conditions. Aluminum will give you better fuel performance (both driving the boat & towing) because it’s lighter & it will be less wear & tear on your tow vehicle. Aluminum boats are generally laid out better for fisherman while fiberglass tends to be laid out more toward the fish & play type of boat. My boat is a riveted aluminum that’s 21 years old & no leaks. People have both good & bad luck with riveted boats. A friend of mine has an all welded aluminum boat (2005 Lowe FM175) that had 5 stress cracks in the bow were the support beams for the floor were welded to the hull. This happened this past May & his insurance company paid for a replacement. I’m no expert on metals but I have been told buy welders that aluminum doesn’t weld very well & has a tendency to crack at the welds. For fiberglass Ranger & Stratos both make some really nice walleye boats that are in the 18 to 19 foot range. But you will be paying a lot more than $10K unless you find a used one & used fiberglass fishing boats in your size are harder to find. For aluminum boats Lund is always the preferred choice but way out of your price range even the used ones. Alumacraft, Tracker, Lowe, & Crestliner all make some nice boats that are in the 17 to 18 foot range. You’ll have to buy used to keep it below $10K for the size boat that you want. 2-stokes require less maintenance, generally last longer, are lighter, cost less to buy & repair & generally you get better performance as well. 4-strokes are quieter & generally get better fuel economy. Of course the Evinrude E-tech gets better fuel economy that the 4-strokes but it cost an extra arm & a leg. Your best bet is to look around at a lot of different boats before you buy. Talk to sales people. The sales people are always going to tell you way the boat they have is better so don’t get pulled in so quickly. Wait until you have talked with places that sell the different brands & do some research before you buy.

I hope that guy gets a good beating. A nice cattle prod to the family jewels & a nice cainning is in order.

Just in case you didn't know. NOTHING in life is FREE!

I'm glad to see they got punished. Too bad they didn't get a nice cattle prod up where the sun don't shine.

Nice fish. I love the pic of the fog rolling in.

I have used both cable steer & PD, in rivers & lakes under ruff & windy conditions. I prefer the cable steer because it responds quicker & uses less juice. The down side to the cable steer for me is the sore foot from using it all day. The Co-pilot feature of the PD is nice if you fish alone. When fishing the Detroit River for walleye with the PD I wanted to throw the damn thing overboard. Definitely like the cable steer for the river much better.

I you are casting for musky then braided is the way to go. If you are trolling for them then mono is what you want because you want some stretch else they could tear the hooks out of their mouth (or rip a bigger hole) & have a better chance of losing the fish.

I have no idea. It was taken on a higher quality setting & then when I uploaded it to Photobucket the size was adjusted automatically.

I use both 6'6" med & med light action rods while jigging for walleye in the Detroit River (about 7 mph current) & I don't have a problem with any of them. Are the rods that you are using one piece or 2 piece? I find 2 piece rods too flimsy so I stick to the 1 piece rods.