Bernie

Went to work right out of high school. Got caught up in a job, stuck with it , liked the money. Then came a new car, a house, an ex-wife and..........payments. Hmmmmmmm. Finally went to college at 28 years old. My advise? Go hunting. Just don't get caught and wait too long getting back to the books.

I agree Sonny. A mig wont hurt anything.

Very well done! Nice fish!

Take the wheel and hub off as an assembly. If you have a good rapport with your mechanic he may cut the nut off with a torch for you. Then replace the stud and nut.

I use zip lock bags. Put in your fillets, add water. Zip it almost shut. Squeeze the air out. Turn the bag upside down and drain the water.It will vacuum out. It takes less space in the freezer and easy to thaw out.

Your smile says it all Cliff. Way to go, nice fish!

Good report there Bill! Wondered what you have been up to. Enjoy your trip. Looking for part 2.

Leave it down. Water can collect in the lower unit and freeze if outdoors. It also keeps the gears covered in oil.

I read it all. It took a while. Stunning report. Fantastic story and pictures. Magazine material for sure. Very well done! Thank you for taking the time to present it to us.

Very sorry to hear of this. He will be missed. My condolences to his family.

I think the one in the pic you posted looks more stable than some 12ft tinnys. It appears to be wider at the front. Took a 12ft tinny for a ride this spring-never again. Would rather struggle unloading/loading a 14ft than ride in a 12ft.

Whatever snow tire you end up getting Nancy make sure you put 4 on. Lots of people have made the mistake of 2 only and ended up in the bush. Snow tires give you an amazing amount of traction in comparison to all-seasons. Your vehicle has most of its weight on the front tires which gives you more traction up there normally. If you dont have snows on the back there can be a tendency to lose traction in a turn or hard braking. But it's harder to feel it going to happen because the front feels so good with the snows. No one has mentioned the Kumho KW19. They work very well and are generally quite a bit less money. I use Wintermarks on my F150 and have been more than pleased with them. Sometimes you do pay more for the name. Blizzacks I find wear too quickly but they do work very well the first Winter (this will depend on how much you drive). Personally I find most Michelins too soft on the sidewalls but that's most likely because I like crisp steering.

Figured that I better throw in at least one fishing report for this summer. Been out a few times but didn't ever remember the camera. Mixed success through the summer months but did end up with some walleye for supper on occasion. My wife Karen and son Alex and I went out before it got scorchingly hot yesterday morning. Bagged 2 pickerel on the first two casts and said yahoo I'm on it today. Spoke too soon as usual, no more for me. Karen picked up one more pickerel before we left. She also caught a sheephead and me a sunfish to toss back. A friend in a boat nearby caught a dandy smallmouth but didn't take a picture. I would guess about a 20 to 23 ". We fished a little over an hour before it got too hot. May give a go this coming weekend as it's supposed to cool off some.

It is a possibility of a head gasket leak Maureen. If it's a small Johnson twin cylinder they are usually an easy fix. Half an hour to an hours work to replace normally. You need to pull the cylinder head anyway to check it out. An overheated engine can score pistons/cylinders and seize rings. Don't junk the motor until you get it checked out.

Nice Bass! The seagulls don't even eat them. Yuuuk

Two years ago they had a net set up in Fish Bay in Nipissing. It was more like a maze than a net. One of my customers is a CO. I asked him if they caught any big fish in it. He wasn't the one who checked it out but he said there were plenty of large fish.

Very nice fish there Lunker! These largemouth reports from Nipissing are terrific. Never seen one yet. Guess they are not as rare here as I thought.

If you can wait until next week Terry I will ask the guys at the shop what the service record is like on them. It seems to me they had some issues. I will also ask about the value for you.

Last weekend of the summer but going to make the best of it. Looks like great weather coming here too. Today I dug a trench for an outside phone jack at the cottage. Just to be able hook up the laptop in the great outdoors on nice days. The seadoo might get a good workout with the kids. Have to attend the Powassan fall fair on Sunday afternoon. I'm the pit crew for the two cars we have entered in the demolition derby. That's a fun time. Just may go fishing a couple times too.

Bombardier Spyder

Took this a couple days ago on my dads boathouse. Fairly large one but have seen bigger ones. This one is protecting it's nest. It was there for several days.

Being around boats all my life that's not the first time to see that. Fumes in the engine compartment is the usual cause. Also seen guys cheap out on using the wrong parts too. Using a car alternator in place of a shielded I/O alternator is a good example. When the fumes explode there is no time for an extinguisher. Good reminder for us all Dan!

On my old Panasonic I could use my amp to power up the speakers in the TV. You could turn them off via the remote and use inputs on the rear. Not sure if it's possible on yours Joe.

Great report there Mike. Looks like a fun vacation. It gets harder to hold it in as you age I guess.

Seen you guys fishing down there. Awesome fish! WTG Gonna take a rod with me next time I go in there duck hunting.