Abe's Marine

02/22/2026

A Few Fishing Definitions

HOOK - (1) A curved piece of metal used to catch fish. (2) A clever advertisement used to lure a fisherman to spend his life's savings on fishing supplies. (3) The punch administered by said fisherman's wife after she learns what he spent their life's savings on. (Usually accompanied by word "right" or "left.")

LINE - Something you give your coworkers when they ask how your fishing trip went.

LURE - An object that dangles from the end of your fishing line and is supposed to encourage fish to bite it. It is the fisherman's equivalent of sports cards, comic books, buttons, lint, and other things you collect that generally have no purpose.

REEL - A weighted object that causes a rod to sink quickly when dropped overboard.

ROD - An attractively-painted length of fiberglass that keeps an angler from ever getting too close to a fish.

TACKLE - What your last catch did to you right after you brought him into the boat and right before he jumped back overboard.

TACKLE BOX - A box shaped alarmingly like a good first aid kit, only a tackle box carries an extremely large number of sharp objects, so that when you reach in blindly to grab an adhesive bandage, you soon find that you will need more than one.

TEST - (1) The amount of strength a fishing line affords an angler when fighting fish in a specific weight range. (2) A measure of your creativity when trying to come up with yet another explanation for why you have come home once again empty-handed.

02/14/2026

Free fishing weekend in Manitoba and look at Lockport. A whole ice fishing community! Have a great weekend and enjoy that it’s a long one.

12/05/2025

It's been a long time since posting here. Summer is already a distant memory and I think we're all looking forward to the next summer by now. This past summer was extremely challenging for Abe. It rained often but rarely much, but just enough to make getting work done without a shop difficult. Add to that, the strong winds that seem to have become the norm. Finding an indoor space to work is essential to getting work done and that is something that hasn't happened to date. Abe didn't get nearly as much done as he wanted because he was constantly hampered by weather conditions. If anyone knows of an indoor shop for a reasonable rent, Abe would be very grateful to have it. If not, this could well be the last year for him repairing boats.

05/25/2025

It’s almost June. It’s a beautiful day today and Abe is taking advantage of it by having a fishing rod in hand. One goldeye so far and one baby walleye .

As some of you have already found out, the shop did not pan out. It was a great idea and offer but not workable. That means another year of service calls. Service calls mean not being able to take on a full workload. It also means being at the mercy of the weather, which most of recognize has become strange and abnormal. Abe will always do his very best to get your boat ready for a summer of fun. Let’s hope and pray that God will grant us all a lovely summer after the winter we endured.

02/23/2025

Lockport is busy today even though it’s raining a bit and it’s windy. Still a nice day though.

02/04/2025

It's been a long time since I've posted anything here, but I'm letting you know that Abe will still be repairing boats come spring. This past year was one of service calls since he had no real place (other than home) to work from. Someone has graciously offered Abe a shop to work out of, but not a public one. That means no customers at the shop, so customers will have to contact Abe by phone and meetings to drop off or pick up boats by arrangement only. We have no issue with respecting the shop owner's wish for privacy and hope it won't be one with anyone else either.

What are your thoughts on this winter's weather? I have never experienced a winter like this where the wind changes direction pretty much every day and sometimes more than once a day. I believe it's the reason for the excessive winds, because it's weather changes that create strong winds. The winds have been crazy, and the temperatures too. I'm more than ready for this winter to be done and just be a bad memory. Let's hope and pray that in exchange for this awful winter, we have a spectacular summer.

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09/04/2024

It's been a long, tiring summer for Abe. Being on the road doing service calls is not efficient. Too much time spent driving, often multiple times to the same boat. Next year will be different and hopefully, better. Thanks for your patience as we worked through this challenging year.

06/17/2024

06/17/2024

With Abe not having a shop to work from, this is a very different season for him. Abe is trying to work out of his truck, with his inventory being 40 miles away, and the truck just isn't big enough to carry everything needed. We are grateful for every customer who continues to reach out to Abe for help with their boating issues. We thank you for your patience during what has turned out to be a bit of challenge for him to get work done.

It's also bit of a challenging boating season with all the wind we've had. Today, it was sad to see so much top soil in the air with 90 km/hr (55 mph) winds. Let's hope and pray that the winds will settle down so that we can enjoy outdoor activities. It's not just boating that's affected by the wind. Almost all outdoor activities become challenging with these strong winds.

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02/19/2024

I’ve wanted to say a huge thank you to Neil, who selflessly gave of his time in late September, helping Abe move his tools and inventory. It was a huge job and without Neil it wouldn’t have happened on time.

Since then, Abe has done a bit of work, but it’s challenging when you live close to 40 miles away from your tools and parts.

Spring is not that far off and some of you may be looking to Abe to work on your boats. Abe will not be taking on as many jobs as in the past, but if he can find a reasonably priced shop to work out of, that would allow him to take on a bit more than if he has to work from home.

That’s pretty much everything except that we really need to pray for snow and/or rain so that the lakes and rivers have enough water for fishing and leisure. As it stands now, we are looking at very low water levels unless we get significant moisture from above.

02/19/2024

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. I’ll start with Ninette today. It’s a sunny, mild day and there are people taking advantage of it.

09/18/2023

I'm sure many of you have already heard that Abe will be shutting down at the end of this month. His lease is done at his current location, so he will be moving boats and inventory to a private location in order to finish the work he hasn't finished to date. He will begin the packing and cleaning Wednesday of this week. The location is private because it's on a personal yard and the owners cherish their privacy. We want to help respect that. Abe will be retired after finishing those boats until spring. If he can find a reasonably priced location to work from that's between Manitou and Morden, he would be willing to work part time. These last 3 1/2 years have been exceptionally difficult for everyone, him included. Finding parts has always been a bit of a challenge, but it has become increasingly difficult and frustrating to source parts and to source parts that are affordable. If any of you have some free time in the next couple of weeks to help box up parts and load them into a trailer, and when that's done, to help with cleanup, that help would be greatly appreciated.