Steve

Irish, you should have seen the bankers face when i applied for my truck financing, and I said I had 10G cash towards the purchse. Cash?, she said. Yep, i said. She looked at me like a pure criminal, and told me i wouldn't get my loan unless i could account as to where the cash came from...i told her a shoebox. Needless to say i got the loan, but man........is cash that hard to believe?

Irish, i agree with what you posted, except i have to point out one error. commercial bait fisherman have licenses that determine where they can net. its not quite as easy as 'picking up and moving up north.' you need a license for the water up north your netting from, and trust me, commercial bait licenses are not easy to come by. they have all been granted to baiters, therefore, in order to get rights to an area, they have to be purchased from the owner.....not cheap. that is all.

Thank GOODNESS sam keeps such a great stock in.....during my December QUinte vacation, we had a disaster happen on one of my rods, and lost all five colours of leadcore.......it was our hottest stick. made the calls to the local shops, and not one had leadcore.....thankfully i remembered carra outdoors had recently moved to belleville....gave sam a call, and YEPPERZ!!!! he had it!!!!! not to mention some other great quinte tackle, and i'm not talking simply manns stretch 20's. after saving our trip, i'll always keep my business at Carra's when in the Belleville area. Thanks again Sam.

the 8 cylinder model for 4runner is what i was looking at, but it appears both the 6 and the 8 cylinder model engines need premium octane gas? i hope that isn't the case, as the costs associated go way up.

again, thanks harrison. its tough when i go to the dealerships and they recommend some little s10 or something because i'm not towing too much....however, when i try to explain some of the various launching conditions i've been through, they just roll their eyes and recommend me a little pickup. now frenchmans bay in february, thats the kind of launching conditions i will be doing.....i took a couple pictures of my launching conditions with me to the honda dealership when i went there.....the launching in january at pyzners/Quinte had him calling me nutz, and advising me that honda hasn't released anything that would be of my benefit....but at least he was being honest. I'm checking 4runners right now, and they are rather affordable....i think i'll try testdriving a couple 2004 4Runners..... thanks again man. (spring salmon is less than 3 months away. )

thanks for that advice Harrison. I'll definitely take a Hard Look at the 4Runner when making my purchase. Any year(s) better or worse than another?

thanks for the help all.... i think its good to see when it comes to work trucks, trucks that are going to be used, the domestic companies still rule..... my foreign options are very very slim. two or three options. Domestic i could look at at least six or seven models. although the domestic manufacturers have a long way to come to join the imports regarding cars, when talking trucks, the domestic market still has the strongest vehicles. who knows what i end up with, but it'll be better than my chevy lumina car for towing.

Clampet, do u have any suggestions for my situation?

actually, the 4Runner is a little cheaper for the comparable year and km Tahoe. never wanted to own a Toyota though....hmmm..... do u know anyone who has ever used a 4Runner for real work situations? Id love to talk to someone who has put their 4Runner through some extreme conditions..... (not saying it wont at all, just would love to hear some first hand knowledge...) Thanks for the advice.

Question for those who dislike the north american vehicles. I'm looking at buying a four wheel drive SUV, that has a V8 Engine. Currently i'm looking at a 2005 or 2006 Tahoe. Is there ANY foreign market vehicle that could be trusted towing out of the Niagara River in February? I know the cars are better build overseas, but is there an SUV (i dont need a pickup, as i need the room inside an SUV for rods), that can meet my needs that isn't domestic? I've spoke to a few auto dealerships, including the Honda dealership, and when showing him teh launching conditions on the niagara river and quinte in the winter months, he said he wouldn't recommend any Honda's for my purpose. I'd like to at least weigh my 'foreign options', but so far i've yet to find one. I know about the Armada, and thats just too expensive.

listen to Headhunter, he speaks the truth. i've owned about six or seven Okumas, and all the Convectors have failed, and two magda's have failed. however, i use my stuff quite a bit. if i was ONLY using them for walleye, i'd have full 100% confidence in the Okuma Magda series in size 20. However, because you are talking salmon, i'd go with the medium sized Diawa Sealine....i wouldn't buy the 17 size reel, as it'll be far too small for salmon, and they will strip those gears.... Hope this helps..... (if you dont need a line counter, the penn 309 is a dynamite reel!)

no problem pam. sounds like your husband is all set! i've found dipsy's were my single most important tool when going onto lake ontario....the day i forgot my dipsy box i just went home.... the fireline sounds good. braided line is important so there isn't line stretch. the hits are very vicious with dipsy's, much more than a rigger, therefore the rod holders are important. hope he has fun, and join him if you have the time....i've found nothing beats the quiet times trolling in open water.....

to get a diver down 30 feet, you'll need the number as was mentioned above, you'll need the proper equipment if you want to run either of the two bigger ones. rod holders that aren't plastic (scotty, big jon). Down Easters will work best. Second you'll need a longer, stronger rod. Quantum Affinity makes an affordable dipsy rod at 10.5 ft. finally line counter reels are used most often, so when you do get a hit, you can try to mimick the amount of line let out...... finally, make sure your pulling them with strong line. personally i use 50lbs braid with 30lbs flouro leads (for salmon)..... but even if your using them for a more dosile fish, like erie walleye, make sure your using the correct tackle..... have fun. dipsy's caught more salmon and trout for me this year than anything else on my boat. Hope this helps Pam, STeve

nice to 'see' ya out there HH. Glad to see you guys did pretty good. It was the toughest day i've fishing Quinte this year. (or i guess last year now) We had a first timer on the boat, and managed his personal best.....which is great. we ended up going 7/7, all fish coming off body baits.... (shhhhhh on the leadcore) Gotta love Quinte....i'll be up again next week. Steve

Dax, those buildings in your picture....I help Underwrite the Insurance required to build them. Generally I help Underwrite highway projects/extensions, large scale building/condo projects, hospitals, etc.

Happy Birthday Buddy!!!!!! Thanks again for the great company this past spring.....we'll do it again this spring, however, this time you'll be in your boat, and taking another person for their first time.....Captain BPS Bassman! Hope you have a great christmas, and wish your family the best from me and Theresa! Take it easy Rog, Steve

BnB, i'm alive and doing great.....it was real nice of ya to inquire about my well being..... i certainly think it deserves a reply. I have been working full time in the Insurance Job I acquired before i graduated in the spring. Although it has left me less time to fish, I simply make the time available count! I'm loving working at a job that I went to school for. The job prospects in this market are incredible. Specifically I am working as a Construction and Contracting Underwriter (basically means i write policies for job projects and the companies who do them. I am able to join the inspectors at the job sites to learn more about what i'm underwriting, which is fantastic!) As for fishing, this spring was incredible. I won some money in a few Salmon tourneys, and lucked in this summer doing the same. This fall was great for bass fishing in erie, and of course, walleye fishing at Quinte. Although our goal of a 16lbs'er was not accomplished, myself, my father, jackson, his father, superdad.....all managed personal best walleye's. Fishing locally has substantially improved, and i was even able to test my skills this fall at a local bass tourney on Hamilton Bay which i was lucky enough to place first in. That was a very big thing for me! But of course, the biggest and best accomplishment i made this year was landing my dream job.....something i worked very hard for. Hope all is well with you, your family, and the rest of the board members this holidy season. Tony, although i agree 100% with what you said, it wasn't at all the reason for my departure. I keep my eye on this board from time to time....I'm glad to see its doing just fine..... Steve ('n Hamilton) oh, and CH, i've bested my personal best bullhead....i'm now up to 11.45382 lbs on the digi.