tuffishooker

Mollie our 11mounth old GSP has changed in a hound ! It looks like she is going to be a " two year dog " ! { ie two years until we can do field work with her ]

Thanks for bringing up the thread ! Bottom line " Mollie " is presently at class as I post ! She is 11months old and may be a" 2 year dog" ! Generally dogs are 100% genetics [ less 10 % ] . She comes from a long line of field dogs and is CKC recorded ! It was clear too us that she was born to hunt and point ! { We have a large yard enclosed on a creek .] She is smart and stubborn and does not like to be told ! " You get out of a dog what you put into it " { again less 10 % who are hopeless and make good pets ! ] She is not " gun shy " but will run away which is a major problem ! To soon to post if she can be field work !

Falling barometric pressure [ esp. if it is falling rapidly ] can be a good sign of bad weather !

I had a similar concern putting the Yamaha 9.9 on my 16 ft. Starcraft with a 70 hp. 1984 Evinrude [ should have got the 60hp. instead for better trolling control ; my 8hp. Evinrude kicker was getting old and tired ] Have had the Yamaha for 2 years and never looked back ! The 4cycle engines are an amazing improvement ! To deal with your specific concerns stern weight was NEVER a problem for us !

One aspect I dealt will more than once with a 16 ft. Starcraft is the bigger boat friends ! ie. generally looking for a "cheap " charter ! I will take out a " newbie " even some one I do not know to try salmon fishing [ for free] Their usual first reaction is the size of the boat and generally goes down hill after that and they do not ask again !

No doubt that coyotes hurt the turkey population IMO !

What did you " love about Trudeau " ?

I thought this was a " no brainer " ! East wind generally heralds a low or falling barometric pressure which can be a turn off for fish and a rough lake 1

Another great " Bottom Line " sk8man ! Captain Dan Keating in his most recent book " Big Water Wisdom " discusses this in some detail currents and there importance plus extoling the virtues of speed and temperature probes .IMO pays your money and take your chances but do not " forget about the basics " !

Ditto on " You just cost me a lot of money " ! How did we manage in the 1980s without these "toys " ! We caught more fish then and were limited to only one rod in Ontario then !

As previously posted there is no " perfect " boat ! Lot of good hands on advice as usual for the topic ! My passion , living on Lake Ontario is fishing & have been doing it for 35 years . An aluminum boat works for me , most of which has been posted . I trailer the boat had the boat docked at a local marina but for a smaller boat it was not the best all round usage . As far as the manufacture you generally get what you pay for ! The comment on Lund boats was interesting and would have to be considered when making a purchase ! I pick my days the best I can because once it gets scary it stops being fun !

The Lund 18.5 would be my first chose ; how much trailering will you be doing and with what vehicle ? Those who suggest fiberglass usually focus on better cruising and a more stable platform on the water ! Everyone still has to pick their days ! I would also look at a Yamaha engine but the Lund probably comes as a package ?

Captain Dan Keating in his new book " Big Water Wisdom " ; one of the Q&A was " scent " . He wrote , quiet honestly that " he just didn't know ! " Probably another smoke and mirrors but if scent works for you stay with it until it quits ! [ " Zapper " from Tillsonburg Ontario finally told me his secret scent ; cod liver oil, brown sugar and citrus ie lemon juice . As previously posted it could have been the nicotine on his fingers because it did nothing for us ! we would mix and match scented spoon on port and same spoon sans scent on starboard side no apparent difference IMO !

Ditto again " less is more " !