Baldy

Funny, I understood that if you want to access private property either to hunt or fish you must get permission from the landowner. This is excerpts from the MNR website regarding access to private property: "When it comes to crossing private lands to access fishing opportunities the property occupier has the first and last word about who can enter the property. It is up to the occupier to allow or restrict entry onto their property or to allow or restrict the activities that occur on that property. In general terms anyone may enter onto private property to do anything which is lawful without occupier permission unless the entrant has been given notice that entry is prohibited. So, a privately owned bush lot is available to the general public until the occupier notifies people otherwise. The occupier has a number of options when it comes to letting people know that entry is prohibited or that activities are restricted. Another common method of notice is coloured markings. You will often see red or yellow dots painted on trees or fence posts on a property boundary. A red coloured marker indicates that the occupier is restricting all access; entry is prohibited. There is a long list of other things which are forms of notice and must be considered the occupiers intention to restrict entry on property. This list includes: * Maintained fences and gates; * Land under cultivation; * Orchards; * Planted trees under 2 metres in height; and * Established lawns and gardens When it comes to signs, coloured markings and fences (gates) the occupier is only required to place them at the normal access point to the property. Generally that will be a laneway, private roadway or trail. There might only be one sign prohibiting entry on a very large, undeveloped woodlot for example. It is the responsibility of the entrant to determine whether or not the occupier intends to restrict access to the property and where the property boundaries are; the occupier is not responsible for marking the entire property boundary." Seems pretty clear that these 'fisherman' knew what they were doing. They didn't deserve to be shot at but it could have been worse, could be on the missing persons list. Why take the chance, doing something illegal, when you are unsure of the consequences. Gives us all a bad name!

The 16 Mile does not get anything close to the runs of salmon & steelhead that Bronte & Credit get. The run that it does get is spotty at best. I think that the 16 Mile is slightly colder than Bronte and the Steelhead could last a little longer there. Are you certain that it is the 16 Mile where you are seeing vehicles? More likely it is the Bronte, usually Bronte gets a lot of activity this time of year whether the steelhead are long gone or not.

I have had a C of Q for over 35 years and been contracting for about 1/2 of that and firmly believe that HONESTY and FAIRNESS are always the best values to have in this business. Probably sounds corny to a lot of people, an oxymoron perhaps, 'honest contractor', but it has served us well and we formed a very solid customer base as a result. If you truly believe that you did the work to the best of your ability and that it was an act of God that destroyed the building then you must at least be paid your costs of doing business (fuel, employee costs, insurances, misc. items, etc). If there was any amount of neglect on your part, this is where the HONEST part comes in, then you have to rebuild this structure properly at you expense, at least the owner is footing the bill for the materials. I do hope that you examined the structure laying on the ground to make certain what caused it to fail, after all how do you know that the building has not been backed into by a tractor quite a few times or had some other influence to cause it to weaken? A good examination would also show sloppy workmanship, not enough or wrong kind of fasteners, not framed properly etc. Both yourself and the owner should be honest about why the structure collapsed and fair about the cost to rebuild.

Roy got it pretty much bang on. 'Products of Combustion' (POC's) are what usually trigger the detector into alarm, carbon based particles produced by heating or overheating an object. Dust, as Roy mentioned, will set of the alarm devices as well but dust is harder on photoelectric detectors. High humidity or condensation will cause these detectors to fault into alarm as well. Photoelectric detectors are similar to a photoeye with the LED light beam blocked to the receiver in the chamber, POC's etc. will refract the light beam to the receiver causing an alarm. These types of detectors are generally cleanable in the optic chamber. It is best if you can get 120V interconnected detectors although in an older home it can be quite a job, however if you plan any remodelling in the future it would be advisable to do this. That way if one detector faults into alarm then they all will sound.

All of the centerpins mentioned above will do the job adequately if properly maintained. The Okuma Sheffield is undoubtedly the best bang for the buck. I bought one when they first came out for $249.00, a little glitter, top notch German bearings and a nice weight. This reel used to get a lot of use. If you have no budget restrictions then there are a number of makers out there with quality products. Arnold Kingpin & Islander Steelheader are 2 of the more popular reels and both are quality units. I also have a Kingpin and have used a Steelheader and I don't really find them any better than the Sheffield. If you can find an older Stanton (AL reel foot) with little use and good bearings then you will have a reel that will spin all day. The Milner Kingfisher is also a quality Canadian made centerpin, a typical one man shop, hand made product. Great reel, priced a little more than the Steelheader but IMO a better reel. There are also a number of smaller diameter float reels that mate well with shorter rods for smaller waters. Any that I have or have seen are from the UK or Germany and range from 3" to 4" such as Hardy Conquest, G&Y Gypsy D'or, Young Seldex etc., none of which are made any more but are useful if you can find one in excellent condition and you like to fish smaller waters in the summer for panfish & trout.

Check your messages!

The majority of browns caught on the Grand are caught by flyfisherman. Brown trouts main food is insects and by 'matching the hatch' you can zero in on the bait of the day. It can be quite a revelation when you hit the river nymphing, notice quite a number of mayflies of a certain colour which you just happen to have in the fly box, tie on a matching fly, and consistently catch fish until the that particular hatch is over. Kind of wakes you up. The Grand has a lot of crayfish and sculpins that you can match with a spinning outfit. White twister tails on a pink jig head are the lure of choice and as mentioned tube jigs are quite good for smallmouth. Also most baitfish or small trout imitations will work well especially at night. Most important is where you are fishing on the Grand. This time of year the deepest holes below riffles are the best producers. You have a lot of good water around your area.

Fly fishing is not hard at all however I would recommend a guru who can show you the ropes so to speak. The hardest part is fighting off the addiction of accumulating a closet full of rods, a shelf full of reels, a desk full of fly tying material and tools and a room full of waders, vest, boots, fly boxes etc. etc. etc. Casting is really the hardest part (next to figuring out what hatch is in progress) but as Dara said below you are casting the line rather than the fly. This is a hard concept to understand especially when you are trying to land your fly in the seam, just have to remember how long your leader is. There are a number of guides or tutors who can help for a fee but the best bet is if you have a friend who can help you get started as most fly fishers are more than willing to help a convert. If you do have an interest and are thinking of getting started I would suggest getting a 5 weight rod, reel and line as this will be good for trout, bass, panfish, small pike etc. Not good for steelhead or salmon as you would need a 7 or 8 wt. for this. If you find that you enjoy it you may want to get a 3 or 4 wt. for trout and panfish. Then you need a 6 wt. for bass and so on and so on........ I have left the spinning gear and the float rod in the closet for the last few years and only use fly rods to fish mostly browns, rainbows and smallmouth however we do have incidental catches of walleye, pike, largemouth etc. Give it a try, you already have experienced the joy of using flies and with a fly outfit and some knowledge of what the fish are feeding on you will have a blast.

Post the same question here...... http://www.hipwader.com/ I have read quite a few reports and postings from flyfishers who live and fish that area.

Also float reels, AKA centerpin reels, are usually a larger diameter than a typical fly reel with the exception of the big salmon fly reels. Float reels in the Great Lakes area are in the 4" to 5" diameter range and a fly reel for rivers and streams around here are 3" to 3 1/2" or so. As well, the line capacity of a float reel is huge compared to a fly reel as the spool is usually fairly deep. Fly reels may carry 100 yds. of backing and 30 yds. of fly line and a centerpin can have 200 yds. of backing and 2-300 yds. or more of mainling. Float reels mostly have 2 handles while fly reels have 1 and sometimes a counterweight. Most float reels have an exposed spool rim for palming. Some fly reels have a palming rim. Most float reels have bearings which the spindle rides on and most fly reel shafts ride on a bushing. As mentioned above the float reel has a definite purpose (allowing the line to ride with the current unimpeded) while in most cases the fly reel is only there to hold fly line, again other than in the heavy trout or salmon sizes even though a lot of fly reels down to 2 & 3 wt.'s have a disc drag. You cannot use a fly reel to float fish and a float reel, even with a clicker, is not practical to use with a fly rod. I started off with a fixed spool reel on a float rod and then used a centerpin all year round for trout, salmon, bass, walleye, pike and with great success. You can use a float reel and rod for any species residing in a river or creek. The better float reels are in the $3-500 range Actually I have not used the float gear in a couple of years, been fly fishing and loving it! Hope this helps.

There was a saying that I first heard 30 or so years ago that stated "10% of the fisherman catch 90% of the fish that are caught" and I fully believed it. Has the influence of the internet and the many TV fishing shows and fishing magazines changed this at all? Is the average angler catching consistently more fish which would change the ratio to 30 or 40% for example or is every angler catching more fish and the ratio has stayed the same? Or has this changed only on the waters where great catches are reported on internet message boards? If this has changed is it directly influenced by the information on techniques and skills, new products and baits? Or is it more as a result of anglers reporting on the internet that 'perch are biting', 'the steelhead are running' etc. causing more anglers to get out to their local water mostly when conditions are good and the chances of catching fish are greater? I seldom hear this saying anymore and have often wondered if it is still true and if not why has it changed.

Very nice use of rabbit strip. Are any of the collars made of rabbit (crosscut) or are they synthetic? I notice that only the last picture shows any kind of body and the back end of the rabbit strip tied down. I tend to use ice dub, pearl mostly for steelhead and blending colours for rainbow & bass, for the body. I also have used mylar tubing over a built up hook shank and found it effective as a body. I find the magnum rabbit strip a little too wide and have found narrower strip from private sellers or I have used an exacto knife and a straight edge to thin or taper the strip. I also have split the tail strip on darker colours to more closely imitate the leech action on retrieve. This pattern can fool big browns and rainbows especially if the size and colour can imitate local leech, baitfish, crayfish. It may scare the smaller fish but they can be caught all day long on nymphs and dries. If you figure that there is about 50 cents worth of material and about 10 minutes work then this fly is worth about $4-5. I have not found a spoon, jig or minnow type lure in that price range that is as effective.

There is quite a bit of info and help on the internet. If you are into graphite try these sites: http://www.rodbuildingforum.com/ http://www.rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 If you are interested in building a bamboo rod from blanks made by a competent maker: http://p205.ezboard.com/bclarksclassicflyrodforum There are a lot of tips and tricks on these sites and the regulars are only to eager to help a newbie. Just ask the question. The best way is to find someone who is local to you and is a competent builder and see if you can watch a rod being built. Most important tool is a wrapping jig with a drying motor. It sure makes life easy.

I tend to fish quite a bit in waters which are posted with special regulations, i. e. single barbless hook, no organic bait, catch & release only, and usually have a higher success rate than other waters that I fish. These waters tend to mostly be trout waters and I am curious to know why the season is the same as 'catch & keep' waters. I can understand closing the season during the spawning periods and would even support making the prime spawning grounds and nursery areas in to a year round sanctuary. There does not seem to be a reason to close the season on September 30th when rainbows typically do not spawn until the spring or conversely when there are brown trout in the rivers who are usually fall spawners and the season does not open until the last Saturday in April. It would make more sense to close the waters when the temperatures are unusually high and the fish can become very stressed when hooked. It just seems strange that if you are a responsible angler and always 'catch and release' because that is the rules, and the fish become bigger and more abundant because of this, why the season could not be longer. Would more anglers support an increase in waters with special regulations if the season was made longer?

I did not go to the Spring Fishing Show last year as I had become disappointed with it in the previous couple of years. I wa dragged along this year with a friend and went with the sole purpose of buying a couple of fly boxes as I have been tying up a storm lately and have a need for boxes for larger streamers & clousers. I came away without any fly boxes, however I purchased quite a bit of tying materials, hooks, thread etc. and actually found some new products and some materials which I have a need for. The prices were good, I saved a bit of money, and I was enthused with some of the new fly tying products. There were some other interesting booths and I must say that I enjoyed the show. The flea market type vendors were mostly gone, probably they will surface at the Sportsmen's Show, but I was looking for some of the vendors and exhibitors that weren't there, most notably the MNR. I used to stop at the MNR display and speak to the CO's to get any news or updates and pat them on the back for a job well done. It really is sad that they were not present, kind of a reflection of the governments commitment to fish, wildlife and nature as a whole even when the federal government, in a vote getting tactic, is befriending the environment. Too bad that they do not realize that fish & wildlife are real monitors of what is harming the environment. I was glad I went to the show and will probably go next year. One observation I noted was that there seemed to be quite a decline in attendance. I hope the show keeps improving and hopefully the people will return.

Lay out some hamburg or dog treats laced with cayenne pepper (hotter the better) in the area that the dog usually goes on your property. Doesn't really harm the dog, causes a burning sensation for a few minutes, but not likely the dog will return to that spot again. Worked for cats making a mess of my yard, don't see why it won't work for dogs. Dumb animals can't figure out what is causing it and associate it with where they were. If it is true that "dogs think they're human, cats think they're god", then your neighbours dog must think he is Jim Carrey.

Wow, didn't realize that Black Sabbath were still around. We saw them with Humble Pie at Beggars Banquet in the Borough of East York Stadium in 1970. It's all kind of a fog now, was then too I believe. That must make all of these guys well into their 60's. Must be hard to jump around at that age.

I have been using 2 of these for a while now, used to have them with Bell Mobility but switched a couple of years to Telus and have one for each service truck now. Actually the men who drive the trucks have them and it not only provides us with instant communication, which you would also get with a cell phone, but it gets work reports back to the office sooner via email. When it was paper reports it would take days, if we got them at all, but now we receive most of them and can usually remember which reports we did not get. Now communication with customers is improved and invoices get out quicker. We found that it was a bit of a novelty at first and we were communicating all the time and this fell off after a while. After some prodding we finally are getting the proper use out of them. Using the web browser and using text messaging can run the bill up. It does pay to have a good agent who will fit you into the right plan and actually review the plan down the road and make suggestions to modify the service plan (we have 3 cell phones and the 2 RIM units) and actually save us money. Bell would not even think of doing this.

I am not certain if I believe EVERYTHING that has been published regarding Global Warming but there is no doubt that humans have polluted every place and thing on the planet. This pollution has to affect every living organism on earth in different ways but I do not believe that it is too late to do anything about it. Over fifty years ago I learned to fish on the Grand River which at that time was good fishing but not the cleanest river around. This river became a lot worse as the population of the communities upstream increased and the river became a dumping ground and cesspool. There are still a very many people, anglers and non-anglers alike who still think the Grand is just a sewer. Through the efforts of a number of dedicated groups and people the Grand River has rebounded into a beautiful river abounding with fish, wildlife, insect life, etc. If the efforts of groups like the Grand River Conservation, Friends of the Grand et al were mirrored by all countries and peoples in the world then at least we would be headed in the right direction and doing our part to help our environment and provide a safer, cleaner world for the next generations.