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Starting to get requests for other ties . Some are from BC. I am always willing to try and please customer requests. It,s a new challenge for me,but once I got rolling, it,s alot of fun. Was on the river this morning and trying to fly fish the last tie, but the wind was brutal . There was a guy very curious on what I was using. He was so impressed with it, he ordered 6 of them along with 6 of the pink. I was wowed. Did not even know this guy. 20241101_083929.mp4

Yesterday while saying good bye to my Daughter out on the front lawn a Hawk came swooping low over us from over the roof and landed across the street in the neighbours driveway. It did have something in it's talons and this morning I discovered just exactly what it was. The only thing left of the Pigeon in my backyard was it's feather's and wings. A few doors down the street is a Pigeon coop which does allow for both Cooper's and Sharpies to often be seen hunting them and I've seen them in action numerous times, both are incredibly agile predators on the wing and while I can't be 100% certain I do believe given its size that this one yesterday was a Cooper's Hawk. This is as close as I let my daughter get (cell phone picture) so as not to spook the bird off her meal. This is what she left behind in my backyard ......

My buddy came up to visit me at my cottage today, with the plan to fish a neighboring lake. Unfortunately,he got held up and we didn't get out on the water until 1030am. He wanted to take home a couple of Walleye, but with the late start and bluebird skies, I wasn't very confident that was going to happen, as he had to leave by 4pm. However, the combination of a south wind, chop on the water, a falling barometer and an approaching cold front had the Walleye on a mid-day bite today...even though this is a clear water lake. This is in Frontenac which is zone 18, so the restrictive slot size often makes it difficult to put together a fish fry. We caught several others (larger than 20") outside the slot that went back to swim. Drop shot Jerk Minnows in 25 to 30 fow got almost all the bites. As usual, my Vizsla had to photo bomb any shot I took of my buddy.. A beautiful few hours to be out on the water for this time of year.

Spent a ton of time fishing Temagami, Field, French river and Parry sound this fall. I caught the cycle on one lake in 20 minutes (all four major fish species). Then it finally happened. One warm evening in late September I was able to hook into and land my PB walleye. Just shy of 8 lbs Followed by a couple weeks later seeing an amazing northern lights show. Was a great fall and I can't wait to the Spring!

My dad joined the Navy in 1940 and his brother joined the Army the same day. Both put their lives aside for the next 5 years but came home alive. Mom's brother also joined up in 1940 and became a bomber pilot but was killed along with his crew when their plane went down. Dad's father was in the British Army and was a sniper in the trenches of France and said he killed too many people but it had to be done.. He was wounded with shrapnel but came home alive. Mom's 3 uncles all fought in the Canadian army and they too came home in 1918 but all with terrible memories of what they went thru in those years. I'm extremely proud of my family and how they all gave up a bunch of years of their lives to do what they knew was right. The ship my Dad served on, H.M.C.S. Kitchener

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FBIW590ZLv_Q%3Fsi%3DafVL_RX7eAymCG5B%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3wmSozy5Ov_d0SvwPqv_mz8p9ZsM7Qts_WdSHv890pL-FrZULN-5ffsek_aem_bSDhF6JAbLLevcbkQOHFRQ&h=AT0DbuuSHnoHK2AXo83FUUSPSUG9wwOW9ivkhPH4BWzLCi_nT0Nacz4TpXvYfdfyDrkZ4LSczge8M-MhcEAo20S4fZruTYCOjbrRfADd98GFjI25H8u9pZbUpc2dv9NuIArB2A Here's the link if anyone is interested, Cliff very kindly sent it to me on Facebook.

A couple of weeks back now when I shared the pictures of "Project 10," the Wine Bottle Stoppers a long time friend of mine shared the pictures with his wife who immediately loved the pink ones, not for her desire to have one but for another reason. She quickly called me and stated how much she loved the colour and asked if I could somehow modify her Umbrella to replace the handle with the pink acrylic, I said I'd be more than happy to try. So my friend brought me the Umbrella on Sunday and as I had feared it was an auto pop up with the mechanism built within the handle so a full handle replacement was out of the question....so onto plan B. The first thing to do was take apart the handle with a plan in mind ..... The plan was to add a "Butt Cap" style piece to the rear of the black rubber grip cut and finished at the required angle ..... But that idea due to perceived difficulties had me change my mind and I then decided to square up the rubber grip and go with a perpendicular mount .... And the acrylic turning begins .... Testing the dry fit .... Now that it was ready for gluing I had to make sure that the process did not allow the epoxy to run into the handle and seize the auto open/close mechanism, so a clamp was made to hold it upright (in the open position) while the glue set overnight .... And today it's all done, still working and ready to go back home with the hope that my friends wife will be pleased .... Thanks for looking.

I hope everyone is celebrating remembrance day for what it is and means. I never had the opportunity to meet or get to know my grand fathers as they lost their lives in the first world war long before I was born. On a lighter note just a few trail cam pics. Finally got some cougar pictures. Some pics of whitetail deer with the forest ground covered in yellow poplar leaves, not near as pretty as the maple leaves you folks have in the eastern provinces but still kinda nice.

Hi all,

It's that time again to give my Big Chief smoker a good work out. A couple of weeks back both Atlantic Salmon and Steelhead trout were on sale at half price for $10/lb and it's been a too long time since I did fish so I couldn't resist, best birthday gift I could give myself. Around 7-8 lbs. Put them in the freezer as frozen fish smokes better and took them out a couple days back. Made a gallon of brine yesterday and they spent the night in the spare fridge in two pots. Took them out at noon, patted them dry and the 29 pieces completely filled the five racks. After running a fan on them for an hour they developed a nice shiny, sticky pellicle and then it's that time to go outside for a 6 hour smoke I figure, maybe a bit less for the thinner pieces. Wood chips of choice is Cherry. This is where the fixed 160 degree temp comes in perfect for smoking fish at low temps over a longer period. The last couple of hours I will be brushing them with maple syrup for an extra sweet treat. This is going to be oh so good. EDIT: I was way off on my time guess. Between a windy cool day and water in my drip tray which I don't normally do at six hours the fish was still mushy so I did the syrup brush, removed the drip tray and it took eleven hours total before the fish was nice and firm but still plenty moist. It was worth the wait, I had family over the next day and a everyone was raving about how good it was. Now the hardest part is having enough control to not pig out on it too much and freeze some for later. Cheers

Thanks for the comments all . I really like working with something new . Gets the brain waves al giddy . I bought a lot box of fly tying stuff . Some stuff was old and useless, but, there was this interesting vise with an adapter on it . Research and low and behold,it,s for tube flys . Search the box and there are some supplies and 2 rod needles . So youtube I go . I only have limited supplies, but managed to come up with my first go of a tube fly. Reverse palmer .There is a Canadian company that sells supplies . Looking forward to another adventure . Can always teach an old dog new tricks .

Hi all, Still enjoying the mild weather here, been a great October. Got out for a bit of jigging for whatever was around in the pike bays near home on Lake Wabigoon before spending the late afternoon casting for pike, lots of fish of all sorts and sizes.

they roam my yard mid day too in town. As far as im concerned, they are free pest control. They recently caught a red squirrel at 2am on my front lawn. The noise they made as they fought over the meal scared the bejesus out of us as it was literally 15 feet from our bedroom window, however another red squirrel dead is great as far as I am concerned. Free vermin removal.

Open carry

Hi all, Weather was great again yesterday, had to go...lake was calling...lol. I boated a bunch of crappie and quite a few nice bass on the brush piles, nicest smallie was a 19"er. I did a bit of scouting around shore lines I don't usually pay much attention to, found some interesting structure holding fish(crappie, bass and walleye) always fun finding new stuff. Got a really cool picture from the Active target of a complete pine tree lying on the bottom in around 30'FOW. Had to get back to get my kid from school but decided to spend half an hour at the entrance to the creek and cast for pike, got a bunch of snot rockets and missed a doozie.

Well the first batch of Wine Bottle Stoppers I made generated enough interest that I was motivated to go ahead and make 10 more. One of them is left over Moose Antler I'll be be gifting to the client who had his custom rod reel seat and butt cap made from it. Can you spot it?

My Grandfather at Arnhem, and my Uncle at Monte Cassino both lost their lives so we could live in freedom. I'll be at the Cenotaph here in town this morning to honour them and all the others that made the ultimate sacrifice.

Hi all, Yesterday was just too windy for fishing, gusting to 65kmh, and the wind direction was all wrong for my shore spot so went 30kmh north of Dryden for some chickens around 2pm. I saw five and got five in an hour and a half, got home before dark….perfect.

Dip netting is not a legal means of angling for most sport species , usually just legal bait species, smelt and coarse fish, there was an actual season that it was permitted as well. You really need clarification from a C.O.

Yesterday was wild game day in the kitchen, doing some cooking before rifle season for deer........ First up was a big pot of rabbit noodle soup, using a couple cottontails. Next was squirrel pot pie with a couple tree rats. 😉 see pic I also had a couple more cottontails in the pot with the squirrels. They will become rabbit pot pie and rabbit stew. In the meantime, I had a deer neck from last November simmering away all day in the slow cooker. I deboned the meat last night, and this with the stock will become a big pot of hearty venison barley soup. And for supper, I had moose tenderloin with fresh free-range eggs, yum yum!!! Life is good. Doug

I just had to share this. My daughter's near 13 year old Lab has had a number of major health issues in the last 3 years, among them the loss of a cancerous leg 2 years ago and a cancerous spleen last November. But he's a fighter and as strong as a plow horse when I'm walking him, almost daily. My daughter always makes him his annual Halloween Costumes and last year he was Bat Dog and this year he's a Pirate Dog. Too cute!

Definitely mange going around in a lot of them I see in town. Might be nature's way of keeping the population density under control. I agree with you about "rural" Coyotes. Up here at my cottage in Frontenac, they're like ghosts. We hear them howling at night, but if you do see one it's always at a distance...usually further than the lethal range of a .223. Perhaps that's why...

That's just it exactly Bill, rural Coyotes don't behave in the same manner as city Coyotes who seemingly have no fear.

keep you squeaky toys on a leash

That's wild man! I guess the coyotes out here are still 'wild' per say.

I will always treasure the memory of fishing with him off of Big Cliff's place. He gave me some very good counsel when I was going through a particularly bad time in my life. The story has been shared on this site more than once.

Just seeing this now. I have so many fishing memories of time spent with Beansie. Crappie fishing in Bobcaygeon, carp fishing in Caygeon and Peterborough. Perch fishing in my boat on Simcoe every fall. Norm was a good man who was always positive and funny and a joy to spent time fishing with. He will be missed by many.

Common occurrence here at the house in Scarborough. Not unusual to find Dove parts on my front lawn. Pretty cool to watch when they zoom in and start the case. HH

Sad indeed. My condolences to his family and his many friends. A quick search in my photo archives found me this picture of Norm at one of the "Fishing for Tyler" events. R.I.P Mr Beans

Some very brave and courageous men. All to be remembered Not only this day but always

I would definately seriously consider coming back to Ontario for one more of these Crayola!!!

For my Wine loving customers. Over the years I have saved a rather large collection of unused pieces (I shy away from saying scrap) from many rod builds, acrylic, burl wood and even some Moose and Deer antler. I never really knew why or for what purpose I saved them but I'm a gatherer collector (of Scottish decent ) and I have finally found a use for them. Some will be given to the customers who actually have the rod builds that the leftovers came from. It started on a whim about 2 weeks back when I shopping online for needed shop supplies. I came across some Canadian made stainless steel Wine bottle stoppers so I purchased 10 on a whim. It quickly became what I refer to now as "Project 10." The interest has already generated enough demand that I had to order another 10 stainless stoppers for "Project 10" - 2.0, which arrived this morning. Don't mind the very crude stands, they were quickly made to hold them upright and level while the resin over my logo cured. Cheers

Those look awesome...would make a great Christmas/hostess gift ! However, in my house when we open a bottle of wine, there's rarely anything left to put a stopper in it for later..🤪

That's my dad with our St. Bernard we had back in the 60's. His name was Tiny...the dog, not my dad... and he was an absolute fantastic & lovable pooch. The colder it was outside the more he loved it. Sadly he only lived 7 years but left lots of great memories.

I used to do a lot more trout fishing and back in the day you used to be able to buy frozen whole Lake Trout, Pink Salmon and Whitefish in any grocery store so I used to do a lot of smoking fish. The best of the bunch though was the 13 years I worked at First Air where I could get fresh caught and frozen Char shipped for free from up north for crazy good prices, at the beginning I think it was like $3lb. In the winter they still had the guts in them as they froze so fast out on the ice after being caught or netted. Best smoked fish I've ever had by far. I would also cut nice thick steaks off the frozen fish and put them on the grill, they were so good. That Sockeye would be real good too if it was available, otherwise I did find some in BC but with shipping it was quite pricey. In the meantime I still really liked what I did up last week, no complaints at all even though it was farmed.

That's what I thought. I will purchase a licence and get clarification. Cheers, Brent

I tell people that smoked steelhead can last for months in the freezer, weeks in the fridge, and minutes on the plate. Looks delicious! Doug

My Pointer, Zoe, and my granddaughter, Charlotte, grew up together. They were born 9 days apart. They're the best of buddies...and sometimes I worry more about Charlotte nipping Zoe than the other way around...lol..

Nice man! The spey guys will want to swing those things for sure

Hi all, Days off just at the right time, clearing up before the snow hits and getting stuff power washed while the hose still works and ending the day with a few casts up the road in the evenings.

You just described England year round, there’s more than one reason I moved over here…. Lol

I hear ya on that, but even with all the snow and ice we get here winter is too long in my opinion, I’m getting old.

That poor guy has some serious mange.

Same in Oakville. A pair come strutting down the sidewalk in front of my house every day at 7 am like clockwork, for over a year now. Must be making/marking the rounds of their territory. They have occasionly followed me at a distance (50 to 100ft) when I'm walking my dog. I don't think they want to eat my Pointer, it just seems like they're curious about a fellow canine. If my dog gives them a little growl or I turn around and say "boo" they bolt away with their tail tucked between their legs. My understanding is when there have been interactions with domestic (pet) dogs, it's more of an aggressive/dominance behavior...like two alpha dogs fighting...rather than the Coyote looking for a meal. Just part of the local urban wildlife scene now. They apparently do a good job of keeping the local rodent population controlled. My buddy that owns a restaurant up the street, says he no longer sees many rats in the dumpsters behind his strip mall. They're just like Raccoons without the mask...they've also taken over the cleaning up the curbside garbage role. There's little old ladies with their Yorkies and Chihuahuas in the neighborhood who get freaked out when they see them...but in my opinion, they're harmless. There was only one instance of a person being bit by a Coyote last year in Ontario...someone was regularly feeding it, so it lost its fear of humans. Meanwhile, there were over 5000 dog bites that required a visit to Emergency last year in the Province. I assess my risk accordingly.

Not here in Hamilton, they're highly visible, even in mid day in many high traffic areas. I myself have been followed by them when walking my dog. Where my daughter works (west Hamilton) they're often seen following dog walkers in broad daylight, in fact she was just telling me of a close encounter yesterday morning where the dog owner said she's often followed by Coyotes when walking her (large) dog.

Yum!

AKRISONER just a little word of caution. Been in the marine business for over 20 years. As soon as a boat comes in take a picture of all sides and any damage, scratches,etc. Take pictures of before work is done and after work is complete. Get the owner to fill out a work order in advance in his or her hand writing being explicit as to what they want done and ensure you document the date and time you call them to come and pick up their boat, and how many times you call. While most boaters are good people there are others that do not belong on this planet and will try to take advantage of you. I've seen it all. They come in for an oil change and want a new boat back, or accuse you of damaging their boat and will settle for a free repair. Electrical problems are the most time consuming and expensive repairs if you have to chase the problems through out the boat and through the different harnesses.You fix something, they come back a year later after having used it for a full summer and tell you something is wrong again, and want a warranty repair. Get a credit card or a substantial deposit to ensure the boat owner has some skin in the game, if not, you may be the owner of a boat and it will cost you 500 plus to scrap a boat or a lot of heart aches to try and sell it for what you have in it. Its a cheap way for someone to dispose of a boat.Its not a neccessity like a car. They just leave it with you. Not a joke... I know...Anyone want to buy a boat, or seadoos I have a few of them.

We fished hard last week with absolutely no luck on Wednesday and Thursday during the day. Nothing was biting. But Thursday evening we got a 44 inch musky. Then the bite got better the next few days and we landed about 5 muskies. We could see the muskies breaching the water but they just weren't biting the first 2 days. Me, I got skunked!!! LOL!

you’re lucky Come on winter cant wait, love winter