duh queen wrote:

On a recent trip to Lake of the Woods my decade(s) old Vexilar FL8 began failing. I called their service dept from the lake and we quickly diagnosed the problem, a failing motor. I had a follow-up trip scheduled for 2 weeks later and was concerned that shipping delays turn-around time wouldn’t get my unit back to in in time. I was able to persuade them to sell me just the motor and have it shipped ASAP. It arrived Saturday and I repaired everything last night. To be clear: this isn’t a repair to tackle unless you’ve got a background in the soldering of circuit boards, AND have access to the proper tooling. But I do and things went smoothly.
The reasoning behind this thread is to acknowledge Vexilar for their great customer support. Not knowing who I am or what my skills are, they were originally reluctant to send the motor, but they took the time to listen to me. (How many customer service depts can make honestly make that claim?)
Anyway, Hat’s off to the guys at Vexilar for the great service! And if anyone out there is on the fence, undecided what brand to buy, I hope this memo helps.

I drowned my old FL-8 and called Vexilar. They said send it to us-I sent the head in on a Thursday and had it back by the following Tuesday, for under 80 bucks including shipping. I was, and still am impressed by their outstanding customer service!

I freaking LOVE my SM 24v.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Still at it eh gents?

Serious question wouldn’t it be easier for the 6 or 7 of you to just exchange phone numbers or twitter handles and talk politics via text instead of starting a new thread every week with a different name to talk about the same things over and over and over.

Yes I know Dutch I can keep scrolling.
Just thought it may be easier for y’all..

I’m with ya Rip. I don’t understand their particular dedication to this brand of crazy, but I have to grudgingly admire their dedication to it. I too, aspire to one day have the time to dedicate towards pontificating on my overly simplistic world views.

Bearcat89 wrote:

I ha e no luck with either, no faith in them so I don’t fish them often. But I have caught more fish on a slab rap over jigging rap, but a few nice walleye on a trip up north a couple years ago. My neighbor gave me a clam tikka minnow variety pack the other day I will give them a fair chance as well, they look nice. The neighbor guy works for clam so he has been trying to get me trying some of there products.

I was in the same boat as you Bearcat, I had some but fished them rarely and didn’t have much confidence in them. Last year I just got tired of watching all these other guys fish and swear by them and decided I was going to fish the heck out of them until I caught some fish on them. I won’t say I’ve gained enough confidence yet to make them my first choice, but they’re quickly becoming something I reach for quickly, especially if I know I’m over fish-and I’ve had some very good success with them over other baits. My satisfaction just keeps increasing.

biggill wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
I find it funny when Gas Prices were really High, The president and other politicians around him said ” You do realize that the president has no control over Gas prices right ” But once they went down, The president and once again Politicians around him stepped up and attempted to take some credit for it. So I’m confused, Does the president and politicians have any control over gas prices or not ???

100% agree. So which is it? Is the president responsible or not?

Simple answer? No. However, those that DO have relative control over the gas and fuel prices certainly have a political agenda to drive, and incidentally an incredibly large influence on many politicians.
Do you believe that it’s complete coincidence that fuel prices started spiking upward leading up to the mid-term elections, and have been edging downward ever since?
Oh, and for whomever said it, on the world stage anything under $3/gallon IS cheap gas, and has bee for quite a while now.

Happy Holidays!

Brian Klawitter wrote:

So much for “bringing this back to fishing”.

I hear you BK! That was actually a pretty fascinating video, lots of food for thought. On here I’m sure we could argue whether causation=correlation until the moderators toasted it, but you have to admit it’s pretty compelling to see the information laid out like that. Thanks!

I’ll be skipping those crowds and perch fishing on the river. Tuesday will be early enough for me to chase ‘eyes once the southerners have returned home and it’s less crowded.

Steve Root wrote:

Over the years my daughter Sharon and her a late husband Billy would hop in the boat with me for an annual spring <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>panfish trip. They would bring along waxies, crawlers, minnows, and make a heck of a mess in my boat. I’d be throwing small flies with a light weight fly rod. And I was fishing circles around those two. Eventually Sharon was using one of my flies under a bobber with her spinning rod just like it was live bait. Billy took a little more convincing, but eventually we stopped using live bait altogether. And we caught a lot of fish.

SR

@Sharon is this true or is Steve telling fish stories? Did he really fish circles around you?

Back in the day, I was evidently a little “off” amongst the fishing and boating crowd I ran with. They saddled me with the moniker “Reverend” due to my given name being Jim and my (perceived) behavioral resemblance to a certain “Reverend” Jim Ignatowski of “Taxi” fame. Added a birth year and a user name was born.

Of note: I used to use the shortened version “Reverend69”, but for some reason that raised a lot of eyebrows in the online dating sites.

crappie55369 wrote:

i dont have personal experience towing with a tacoma but i do think John raises some good questions. what would you make the move for? I own a Tundra and my research tells me the MPG savings from the Tundra to the Tacoma is around 2 MPG. Not worth the sacrifice in power and room IMO

I went from a Tacoma to a Tundra, and this is absolutely true. I hauled a 17ft Alumacraft back and forth to Canada more than once, and was hauling a 26ft camper as well with the Tacoma. It pulled both just fine(though the weight of the camper was in all reality too much), and I have ZERO complaints about the Tacoma. I put 100K miles on it. I upsized to the Tundra for one basic reason-towing that camper and thinking I’d be using it more than I have. The second reason became the insane amount the dealer offered my for my ’13 Tacoma and the stupid low rate my bank offered for financing. For once, it was just too sweet.

All that said, daily driving on my Tundra vs the Tacoma mileage wise is nil. Running 65-75mph on the interstate is the Tundras prime mileage(15-16mpg); towing the boat there is less than 1mpg drop off(14mpg, if any). Pulling the camper fully loaded at highway speeds, I’ve been experiencing about a 2mpg drop. Averaged 13mpg driving up into Musining from Rhinelander last fall.
Tacoma at 17mph highway, with boat-14mpg, with camper at highway speeds-9 to 10mpg at best.

That said, I loved that Tacoma. It was a great truck-as is my Tundra now.

Ripjiggen wrote:

Why not just leave CRC alone. He got vaxxed hasn’t been sick. Move on who cares. It goes both ways.
Starting to get sick of both sides arguments.

X 2, thank you.

Ok, wait. So now we get PO’d when the new doesn’t report in the order we think it should?

Matt Moen wrote:

I’m a huge fan of truck trolling but you can’t call yourself an ice fisherman unless you’ve hauled all your gear across a mile and a half of snow to get on a “hot bite” only to get skunked.

The walk back feels like 3 miles. And there’s always a big ass hill at the access…

That right there. I did a 3/4 mile one way in the winter of 13/14 through deep, knee deep, snow with slush. I stayed until well after dark simply avoiding the inevitable. The slog back was brutal. I’d make myself do 25 steps and stop for breath, repeat. The high bank at the end took me a full 20 minutes to get up and another 15 to load my gear I was so exhausted by then.
I’m in pretty decent shape, but in hindsight that was stupid of me and could have easily gotten dangerous.

I’m sorry to hear that Randy. My own divorce finalized Jan 5th, two weeks after filing; possibly the quickest divorce from file to final in WI history.
I got lucky, we agreed to a 50/50 full custody and we’d liquidated the house prior to filing. The rest of the debt-she took hers and I took mine.
I was terrified going into it based on all the horror stories I’d seen over the years. In the end, all she wanted was out.

I hope for you it all works out at least somewhat fair, and you get to move on well. Good luck man.

Pat McSharry wrote:

I was down in Arizona hunting quail last weekend and gas was 3.80 for 87 octane

Not to pick on you directly Pat, but these are examples of our 1st world problems. We’re complaining about-the price of fuel for our snowmobiles, while on a hunting trip, etc. For us Americans, it’s easy to forget that we enjoy the lowest fuel prices of any nation outside of the middle east by far.
I get it, it’s what we’re used to. But I try to remember that I paid close to $4/gallon twice 20 years ago headed to/from Canada on a vacation.

That said, I’d happily pay $3.199 at my local pump where I live right now…

icefanatic11 wrote:

Appreciate the advice. Mostly targeting the big mama wall mounter types. I tend to agree with the belief that the biggest eyes are suspending during the day, my only quip with spot D is it feels deep to me (It tops out at 23/24 didn’t include that in the initial post). Especially with past experience ice fishing eyes, not particularly on this lake, but I have not done well in the peak windows dawn and dusk once I get out past say 15 to 17 feet. Maybe I might fish spot D during the day on that mid lake rock hump then as the bite window in the evening looms move to spot A.

If you’re thinking of the lake I think you are, shoot me a PM and we’ll figure it out together. You and I have talked about getting out in the past, and I’d be down for an adventure that might lead to a skunk.

Got any pics you can message to me?

404 ERROR wrote:

I guess I’m the rare 1 man house fan. I rarely use a heater in mine. I fish outside much of the time so having a small and light 1 man shack to carry all my stuff in and act as a wind break when needed, is nice. Paired with a little buddy if I bring a heater and I could fish in it all day.

This is me too. 90% of the time it’s just a wind break. Great for packing light and keeping mobile. I almost never remember to pack my heater, but if I did and was willing to park my butt long enough, I’d toast myself out of there in no time.

Coletrain27 wrote:

last weekend i knocked the tv remote off the ledge and straight into a hole. luckily it was the last day of fishing for the weekend. i ordered a new one on amazon and will be attaching a float to this one what else has everybody lost?

Am I the only one who read “…knocked the TV remote off…” and thought it just didn’t sound right related to ice fishing? It’s like saying you need new vinyl siding on your camper.

Happy Birthday Sharon!

Deuces wrote:

Weekend before last I watched a 10# eye in 12′ clear water eat my crappie jig.

Guys always say deep deep deep basin basin basin, but I like shallow structure. Waiting out for bigger fish on a spot, might only get one but y’all can have the 14″s. Just my 2 cents

Over the years one of my learning curves has been continually having to relearn just how often I find the bigger walleyes shallower than my thinking/training would have thought. My instincts send me to steep breaks and deep water, then I turn around and thump them in 5′ of water. You’d think I’d be able to unlearn this, but it’s hard to override instinct I guess.

A PITA for sure, FUBAR by now. SMH

Bearcat89 wrote:

Lady Got t boned in the buick yesterday. 2019 with 19k on it. Totaled. Now looking at a Tahoe or 4runner. More so the runner just because fully loaded is 17k less. Any one run one and how do you like it? Or any one have a 21 Tahoe and what are your initial thoughts. She is also interested in a traverse. But im not a fan.

On my 3rd Toyota. One was the 4-runner, and loved it. Damn things will run forever, and the stupid little mickey mouse things like rear wiper motors just don’t break like GM stuff.
I currently own a Tundra, and ex wife just traded her 4 runner in on a Highlander.
My sister and brother in law were just hit head on at highway speeds in her Toyota Highlander. They were pretty beat up but lived to to buy another one.
I’ve driven all kinds of makes and models over the years raising kids.
I don’t know what it will take to get my away from Toyota. Sorry GM/Ford folks, Toyotas are just built better.

buckybadger wrote:

Another thing I didn’t already mention is that there are more and more people who retire early but then work cash jobs, barter services, or work lower paying PT jobs that they genuinely enjoy (mowing, plowing, aides at schools, etc.)

My plan is to follow this if my health allows. I cannot really sit still for long or not be doing something. As much as I love hunting and the outdoors, I don’t see my self ever being 100% truly unemployed and fishing 7 days a week. I’ll likely coach, mow greens, plow, continue to manage family ag land, help out contractors on big jobs, etc as long as I can do so after my official “retirement” from my main job. My plan is to retire from my main job after my kids are into their own careers (likely late 50s for me) but be flexible along the way to any curveballs life throws our way.

I’ve said for a few years now that when I retire I want to spend my summers around here as a campground host and my winters grooming snowmobile trails. I enjoy being busy, “puttering” is what my Grandpa would have called it.

As mxskeeter just stated, the Minocqua Chain is C&R, but plenty of options in the immediate area. Call Kurt’s Island, he’ll have the latest on ice conditions and whether ATV travel is “safe” or not. I checked my local lake this week after the warmup and re-freeze, was happy to find 8″ and no slush. We got 4″ of fluff on Tuesday, and as I write this we’re getting a little more. Shouldn’t hurt the ice, but will slow the development of more. I’ll be out checking ice and doing a little fishing in the next week, so I’ll post more later.

I AM hearing reports of ATVs on the ice, but it’s scattered and very lake-specific so far.

Eagle River/St. Germain/Minocqua area here is also overloaded with opportunities for all species. Anywhere from easy access to remote “need snowshoes or a sled to get to” waters. Lots of options, lots of lodging options.

@Mark Benson lives here too, and knows it much better than I do.

-Rev

blackbay wrote:

10 inch plus bluegills
12 inch plus crappies
A hot walleye bite
Multiple 50+ inch muskies caught
10 inch plus perch
5 lb plus pike
5 lb plus bass…

My thought is panfish, specifically big crappies.

I’d have to agree, with walleye #2. What used to be my go-to lake for crappie and walleye is ruined. It used to be pretty uncrowded and overlooked. 12″ crappie were common, 15″+ were available. Same with walleye-plenty of 30 fish days with good size and year class structure. Somehow word got out; not by me-I’m the guy that will tell you there isn’t a fish to be found in that lake if you ask-and within a year the average crappie size was dropping, within two years so were the walleye. That winter, some asshat organized a crappie ice-fishing tournament that drew a large-ish crowd to “my” little 400 acre sweet spot.
These days, crappie and walleye can still be found, but it’s work. 9-10″ crappie is more average now, and much less of them. Same for walleye-they’re hard to find now, and when you do they’re pretty much 12″ cigars or the occasional fish in the release slot. Breaks my heart…

My son has a couple of t-shirts that the tag inside clearly states, “Remove child from garment before washing”.

Brian Klawitter wrote:

N1833 785th St, Hager City, WI 54014

Next to the Hi Way 63 gas station about a mile North of the Wi Back Channel launch.

Thanks Brian!

munchy wrote:

About 15 years ago I had a warrant for my arrest from a speeding ticket Iowa claimed I didn’t pay. Took a few weeks of me going back and forth with the bank and county. Turns out they put the check I mailed towards a guy with a similar name.

What are the odds of TWO lead foot drivers named “Munchy”?