I think you can get used to either iPhone or android. But one thing I do know from the last 20 years of guiding using nearly every phone model ever produced to take fish pictures over the years. Every single time I use an iPhone the pictures are near garbage in low light or even during the day. Nearly every customer has me take the pictures on my Samsung and send them to their iphone. Take it for what it’s worth.

I’ve also had a large number of clients that would not believe this at first but then I would use both phones and compare them for them. They would just shake their head and say I guess you can take them on your Samsung from now on.

crawdaddy wrote:

Joe, what do you do with the oil after the fish are all cooked?

I just let the oil cool a few minutes and through the whole thing in a Rubbermade tote… done. I’ll fry about 4 times and then dump it in my fire pit. So I get 4 cooks with zero maintenance and then I clean everything real good and pour in new oil.

I fry fish more than a few days a week and I was a cast iron fry pan guy. IMO it was the best way but I’ve since moved onto a much better way. A simple deep fryer. Not only is it easier and easier to clean up it also gives you a better product. I turn the oil to 375 and I have the best fillets with the least amount of oil soaked in. The fillets are full of natural moisture and no oil.

I use the ProFry on Amazon.

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Thanks, my kids are getting a bit older now so I have way more time to fish and do reports!

Before I used to work 40hrs+ a week, guided just as much if not more and had to keep the kids and wife happy. It felt like 4 jobs at once.

Now I guide full time in the summer and during the school year I teach at Alexandria College and I’m their fishing coach. It’s been a good change. I actually get to fish for fun once in awhile now.

My favorite technique this time of year is to find the spawning areas for shiners. Once you find these areas the fish won’t be far behind and very concentrated. The last two mornings I’ve boated nearly 100 bass. With eight of those being over 20in. Really any type of bait that mimics a shiner is killer right now. Biggest was 21.25″

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100% accurate! Unless you’re going to spend a lot stay away from shimano. I used to buy the $100 shimanos and they used to be great, not anymore. Not in the slightest. I’ll go as far as saying junk. On the other hand 100% of the Diawa’s I’ve purchased have been phenomenal.

Bass Thumb wrote:

I’ve used to be all about the Shimano Stradics. They’re great reels, don’t get me wrong, but they’re not cheap! I still prefer Shimano for my baitcasters; Curado for bass and Tranx for musky.

I’ve been incorporating more Daiwa spinning reels into my arsenal. Honestly, I’m very impressed by their value. They feel like a much more expensive reel, their weight is comparable, and they appear to be just as durable.

I’d recommend a Legalis LT or a Fuego. You could probably get 2 Legalis for $100 if you play your cards right.

Take this for what it’s worth. I used to be a die-hard Fenwick fan. In fact I still have some of the original Fenwick rods. But in the last 10 years I’ve purchased six different Fenwick rods. They all were brittle and snapped within the first year for sure or less. I have numerous St Croix and G Loomis rods. They seem to be flexible and I have yet to break one even with the abuse my clients put them through at times. I’m not sure what changed with Fenwick but they are not what they used to be. I personally will not waste another dollar on a Fenwick rod.

I don’t have any experience with Anderson but I’ve heard good things.

I just had two big picture windows replaced at my house facing the lake. Not cheap… I went with Marvin windows. Worst decision ever. My last Marvin Windows were trash and I got talked into doing them again. The screens don’t fit and the windows don’t even close right. Brand new and I can feel the air blowing in when they’re closed. Anything but a marvin. Contacted the rep and customer service multiple times. No response. Nonexistent customer service.

Sorry dutchie I completely disagree with this. I’ve fished out of all three of these. They are very different and have a lot of pros and cons.

Ranger has a nice layout in my opinion and yields to easy fishing of a lot of species. There’s a lot of nice dry storage and the boat tracks in the water really nice. But they are hard to find and relatively expensive.

The Skeeters are also nice but in my opinion and many others they are a lot more tippy. When you get a side wave they pitch and roll a lot more than a ranger does. I know a very reputable Muskie guide that had a skeeter and said he’d never fish out of one again. He went back to a ranger.

Warriors are also not cheap but they’re awesome boats. But they do not have the flat storage all the way around the outside like the Ranger does. (Nice for walking or sitting on) This is not bad it’s just different. The storage is different and how you will be able to use the boat is different. I recommend either a warrior or Ranger and I would fish out of both of them before you decide. They are both nice but depending on your needs one might be a strong frontrunner. Hope this helps.

I’ve had them follow me while fishing. They were very close. I almost got one of them with a rapala. Missed it by a couple inches. Then it stayed out of casting distance but was there quite awhile. I’d have zero problem shooting a drone harrasing me while fishing.

Spoon Minnow wrote:

It will always come down to numbers and quality caught. I got both and the logs to prove it.

Sounds like you got it all figured out. Have fun, thats all that matters.

By the way how many walleye have you caught in clear water during the day on your wire leader?

I actually have the luxury of owning and using all the major brands. I can tell you from experience they all have their strong points. Saying anything otherwise is simply uneducated.

I really didn’t need to come across this thread at 7:30 in the morning. I had plans to start tiling the basement bathroom right away this morning.. Thanks a lot guys. Now I have to cook homemade hash browns.

Congrats James!

This is very exciting news. I want to thank you for always being a true professional!

From the first time I met you on the ice to the first time we filmed together. You taught me a lot. In fact being around you it seemed your goal was always to help everyone you came in contact with. I will forever be thankful. I couldn’t be happier for you!

Well I feel really irresponsible now. I have a Honda 2000 and and a predator 3500. I change them about every 500 hours.

Honestly I go till the low oil light comes on and then I change it. I have no idea how old my generators are but they’ve been around quite a while. No issues. I do run them a lot though. Anywhere from 50 to 100 hours a week all winter.

I run the Kats block heater shown and it Works perfect. Barely gets the tank warm but enough to run the tank empty in -30deg.

Mark J. wrote:

RANT for ALL Companies – PLEASE ADD HYFAX to your sleds, so I DON’T HAVE TO!!!!! I’ll PAY MORE!

Mark

The reason the companies don’t put them on is because they’re really not needed. I’ve never had hyfax on one of my sleds. Nor have they ever shown any wear. I pull them down gravel roads, across fields and I’ve had the same sled for over 10 years. Probably quite a bit longer than that. IMO, Save yourself some hassle and don’t put them on.

John Ingalls wrote:

I have a Garmin LVS32 for sale, $200. Purchased April of 2021 and very little use. Part of a Garmin ice fishing bundle.

Can I ask how it got so scratched and beat up if you rarely used it? Use it as a wheel chock?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

You likely spent close to $3,000 on your Livescope system, why go cheap on the pole? The Summit pole is about $120

I think the summit pole looks like junk. Just my opinion. If I’m going to use junk it better be cheap so for that reason I made my own for cheap and I feel it works much better than the summit set up.

I was just up in Virginia yesterday. Like Grouse said lots of broken off trees next to the road. On the bright side it was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve taken in a long time.

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fishthumper wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>brandmoney wrote:</div>
x2 on the Milwaukee 2804

X3 on Milwaukee 2804. There is a reason you see more of these on ice drill setups than on all other brands combined.

No offense to the red guys but I have used Milwaukee drills for work over the past 5 yrs and curse at them everyday. They are beyond garbage compared to a Dewalt 996 or 999. I’ve seen numerous Millwaukees in pieces being used with an auger. I haven’t seen one issue with a Dewalt and we reopen holes with them and beat on them.

There’s a reason Milwaukee will no longer warranty a drill used on an auger. They simply can’t handle it. This is just facts from first-hand experience, guiding and fishing with 100’s of clients. Not really an opinion whatsoever.

It blows me away when I see someone recommend milwaukee. Makes me think they haven’t used one or really don’t fish much.

I’m very picky about how food is taken care of, cleaned and cared for. IMO 12hrs at that temp is nothing. Cook it all up and eat it. 100% no worries.

I’d rather eat that than a commercially processed animal any day.

I just burn coal to charge my electric car.

I bought the cheapest vest on Amazon… around $25 and I hooked up a Dewalt battery in the pocket an it’s worked great for years! Has multiple heat sections and settings.

Specially designed batteries will be smaller and more convenient. If you’re trying to do it on a budget use the battery you have and a cheap vest and it’ll do the same thing. If money is no object by an expensive one with special batteries and you’ll be happy too.

Bearcat89 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Ripjiggen wrote:</div>
Can’t believe the destruction to ft Myers beach. It is basically gone. Going to take years to rebuild.

Just for it to happen again one day.

And again and again and again. Then we can all act surprised it happened.

Tillers work great for tubing and skiing. If all I did was recreation I would get a council about. But I fish way more than I ski or tube so I got a tiller boat. In my opinion get a boat that matches whatever you do most of the time.

Coletrain27 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>3rdtryguy wrote:</div>
Be careful if it’s a hand auger that you can turn it in the corners of your house if it’s a hard sided permanent house.

thats a good point. and not sure if a hand auger will even be long enough. do they even make extensions for hand augers?

Yup, I do but the extension goes right into your cordless drill😁 adjustable extension built in👍

Drill/Auger Combination

Do you have a link to the event you’re talking about?

Homer was a blast and so was Seward. We played pool at the Salty dog in Homer and pool at Tony’s in Seward. We also climbed to the top of Marathon mountain which was a great hike.

We love fishing but there’s so much fun to be had up there.

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Lou W wrote:

Rain gear…..bring rain gear

Just got back from a 14 day trip. To my surprise we only had a bit of rain 2 days. 10 days of sunshine. The entire trip was the best I’ve had. Record numbers of fish and great weather. We brought home 540 pounds of salmon. 100% self guided. We just hiked and fished from shore. It’s more work but we’re not reeling in any 4lb weights and we are on our schedule. Guides up there have you wake up at 3:00-4:00 am. Heck that’s about when we go to bed😁

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