Rayman96

i will be sure and spend more time researching next time...my apologies to you

No need brother......didn't mean to dash your fun.....go for it!

It's old....seems to show up at least once a year............

The resurgence of deer herds and wild turkeys around the great lakes region and north America has given predators an easy and unlimited food source.

Here in Ontario the coyote population has exploded.

The cougar is also known as a mountain lion, panther and puma.

It's home range is from Alaska to Florida to south America.

They are a nocturnal hunter for the most part but when pushed by hunger will hunt during daylight and have little fear of man.

Mark I agree, they are here, but not in great numbers. I certainly would not like to meet one face to face!!!

If it was me, I would have froze my fish and found a place to weight it even if I had to pay a small fee for that privilege.

Its been pretty much debunked...the "DNR" officer in the picture I saw was not a michigan DNR officer. Please post the pics!!

NOT MICHIGAN! Try New Mexico. At least according to this with attached photos.......

http://www.upnorthlive.com/news/story.aspx?id=352016

DNR report on another sighting...........

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10371_10402-225573--,00.html

What if you used a heavy plastic bag so the fish never actually touched their scale.

Also a butcher shop that processes deer for hunters would be equipped to weigh fish for you as well.

Seems to me they couldn't be bothered. That's too bad.

The MDNR lists grocery store and meat market as locations to weigh your fish.

State records are recognized by weight only. To qualify for a state record, your fish must exceed the current listed state record weight and identification must be verified by a DNR fisheries biologist (see office locations page 47). All fish, whether state record or qualifying catch and keep entry, must be weighed on a commercial scale (grocery store, meat market, etc) and record the business name where scale is located. If possible, attach weight slip.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_52261_10948-70758--,00.html

LOL....I never weighed it on a certified scale. I still can't find anywhere around here that has one.

Steve;

Every grain dealer and butcher shop, meat counter or abattoir will have certified scales as per state or federal regulation for resale of product.

HIH

This guy single-handidly harvests close to a million pounds of whitefish. :eek:

I think he should loose his harvest license to save him from the agony of releasing all those walleye!!!!!!!!!!!! :o

Great job there Dan, on the water and in your reports. Always a good read and good information.

Walleye Express.................very appropriate......!

I use a #2 treble for pike on our tip ups. My uncle just uses frozen smelt from the grocery store for bait and I couldn't believe how well it worked, no action to them whatsoever.

Reminds me of how I started out ice fishing some 50 years ago. Dad taught me the same method. We used heavy black dacron fishing line and the pike did not care.

Whole shad, sucker and smelt work very well. The shad I like to brine and they keep that way very well for a long time. Actually the next best thing to a shad for bait is a small perch.

The pike cruise around the shallows looking for any easy meal. Sunny afternoons are always the best time for me, with a lot of action late as the sun is low in the sky.

To date, I have not caught a walleye worthy of a mount. It would have to be 12 lbs. or bigger. It would be documented, released and have a replica mount made.

Question..........How many have real mounts??

Here are multiple recipes. I make a few changes to suit my own taste.

http://www.recipegoldmine.com/smoke/smoke.html

Found a temp chart..........

http://www.smoking-meat.com/smoking-times-and-temperatures-chart.html

http://pdfdatabase.com/index.php?q=mariner+8hp+manual

HIH.

Yep....Maybe at the end of next season, they(our boats) will meet in front of the storage building again.

Interesting.............who will stalk who next year?

Your boats have all winter to talk out a plan and take you guys for a ride! :lol:

Would be good if there was one that had a photovoltaic cell which could charge the rechargeable batteries.

The only bad thing that I have heard about the Special Mate boxes is that the type of plastic being used in their manufacture is very brittle during late and early season cold weather.

I prefer to use clear Plano boxes that I store in small duffel bags according to type of baits. Each duffel bag holds four of the Plano boxes. I buy one model of box and modify compartment sizes to fit particular baits. I cut out dividers with a dremel tool and cutting disc.

The pic below shows how it was rigged as an inline. Not my photo but borrowed to illustrate how it can be adapted for boat use.

Found these boards on another site and thought you guys might want a look.

Should be able to handle the longer copper and core set ups.

http://www.sideplaner.com/index.html

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1148442.html

http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/09/24/ontario-green-energy-act.html

http://green.venturebeat.com/2009/10/14/siemens-closer-to-wind-dominance-with-900m-in-turbine-contracts/

The latest is the installation of smart meters. They keep asking for my permission for them to over-ride my A/C setting during peak demand. It's only a matter of time before they mandate this control.

Cap and trade or carbon tax. More than likely a carbon tax for all of north America. It'll end up smoke and mirrors and my costs will skyrocket to the point where spending choices will have to be made. At some point the boat will have to be downsized or eliminated all together.

Ten years ago I drove a V8. Now I drive a V6 and limit my trips to a needs basis only. Did my cost of ownership come down. Not a chance.

Same goes for my home. I have mostly natural gas appliances and a wood burning fireplace. Electric for other essentials. All utilities are used as sparingly as possible. I got rid of the pool a few years ago. I started changing over to these compact fluorescent bulbs. Still waiting for a return on their investment. Also because of mercury content they have to be disposed of as a hazardous waste and not in the regular trash.

So, after pulling the reins in on my utilities, was I rewarded with any savings???? Not a chance. As I use less they increase the service fees to offset profits which came with more consumption.

Under our system there is no personal reward and whether our environment will acquire any benefit is at this point is debatable. By the time we will know for sure we will be in too deep.

The worry is not while I am still working, but when I will be on a fixed income. I've already worked for over 40 years. At this rate retirement is a long way off or may not come at all.

Boys, it's no better here in Canada. Big government and big business push their own agendas and we are left behind in the dust.

Opposition may be growing but we have no power whatsoever.

Ask an intelligent question and all you get back is double-talk.

Little is known about effects on humans and wildlife in general because up until now all projects were built isolated locations. So here we are in the middle of North America and the middle of the great lakes, adding an unknown quantity to our environment, right close to where we live.

One thing for sure, is that no politician who will have one in his back yard.

Jim, you hit the nail on the head. If these politicians have done the math, then they need to go back to school!!!

All of the power that is generated is direct current. DC current is cheap. The cost escalates when converted to useful AC power.

Recently there was an tv program on one of the local stations that featured a home that was totally off the grid. The house was 3/4 under ground. Two wind turbines and a large solar array produced the power which was stored in a huge lead acid battery array out in the garage. He used a corn stove to heat the garage. Propane stove was used to cook meals with in the home. Solar water heating panels were used to heat the home.

I don't recall all of the details, however the home cost him over a half million dollars to set up, not including the price of land. He will not see a payback in his lifetime!!!

The same will be for these wind turbine projects. You will notice that all of these projects are owned by large consortiums. They are mostly global in nature and have no ties to us. The prices that they are paid for KWH is insane. When the crap hits the turbine and it will, they will disappear leaving us holding the bag and owning responsibility.:angry2:

Opposition to wind turbines starting to grow

Citric acid is strong enough to actually start breaking down the tissue. It will pull out some of the oil and tenderize as well.

Adds a whole new taste dimension and shortens the cooking time.

Try your recipe and grill on a cedar or maple plank skin side to the board. Presoak the board overnight and keep a water spray bottle handy to keep the wood from flaring too much. Your cooking time will be a little longer but the smoky flavour can't be beat.

For a sweet variation drizzle on some maple syrup.