crappieperchhunter

Some here are questioning this. Having worked 4 different 12 hour shift variations. I can tell you that this rotation is by far the best for your health in my opinion. Every time you walk out the door at work you come back in on the opposite shift after your days off. It sounds brutal but here is why it is better and has been proven to be better. The old standard is a static 2 week rotation of days and then a 2 week rotation of nights. It's all cookies and cream for your 2 weeks of days. Then you hit nights. Your body tries to adjust to nights for your 2 or 3 working shifts and then tries to adjust back to days on your days off in between then back to nights for your next 2 or 3 shifts then back to days etc etc until you get through your 2 weeks of that rotation. Switching it up means you tough it out for your 2 or 3 working nights and then your body is on days for a week. This was my 4 week rotation. Is yours anything similar G? S-off M-days T-days W-off Th-off F-nights Sat-nights S-nights M-off T-off W-days Th-days F-off Sat-off S-off M-nights T-nights W-off Th-off F-days Sat-days S-days M-off T-off W-nights Th-nights F-off Sat-off If you look at it and think about it you will notice the benefits. You work your nights shifts and then your body gets to go back on days for an entire WEEK. Then you work your nights and your body gets to go back on days again for an entire week. The only time your body is really on nights is while you are working. When our company proposed this rotation we ALL hated the idea. No one wanted to do it. The company was sure it was a better choice so they agreed that we could try it for 6 months and then vote on whether to continue with it or go back to the old 2 weeks days/nights rotation. After 6 months we voted and I was one of the workers on the floor who got to count the votes. Only 3 people wanted to go back to the old rotation. If your rotation is the same or something similar G..you have the best 12 hour rotation out there IMHO.

Worked 7-7 12 hour day and night shifts for 18 years G. Absolutely loved it. I would kill to have it back. Have been a Monday to Friday guy since 2003. Still can't stand working 5 days in a row after all those years of 2 or 3 days in a row. The sleeping part. Well here is what worked for me. Pitch black bedroom. I mean you can't see your hand in front of your face. I made up cardboard frames with foam around them to fit snugly in my window sills. No light was getting through those babies. I just threw them under the bed when I wasn't using them. I even stuffed towels under the bedroom door to block light.So now it's nice and dark. But the dang neighbor is cutting his lawn at 10AM...THE NERVE... just when your drifting off to la la land. Buy your self a fan. Test them out and pick a real noisy one. Turn it on when you go to bed. You will get used to the noise of the fan running in no time, it will become background noise you won't even notice. Plus it will move the air around in your bedroom which is a nice bonus in the summer if your dark airtight room gets a little stuffy. The main purpose of the fan is that it will drown out a lot of noises that will wake you up. The wife starts a load of laundry...you can't hear it. The TV is on... you can't hear it. A neighbour or your kids friends pop in..can't hear it. Your family is just having a chat...can't hear that either. Your $19.99 fan from Walmart will become your best bedtime buddy. Trust me on that. Our company was very proactive on sleep and shift work. Others have already mentioned coffee and booze. I have nothing to add there. Research they found somewhere was always being passed on to us. One trick they suggested seemed to work for me on the days I tried it. When you have a shower just before you go to bed turn the water temperature down as low as you can tolerate for the last part of your shower. The reasoning is that your body temperature actually drops a little while you are sleeping so by having a little bit of a cold shower just before you hit the hay you are actually tricking your body into thinking it really is bedtime. Another thing they mentioned wear dark sunglasses on the drive home in the morning when you are just going back to bed because you have to work again that night. The reasoning there is it will be brighter outside..in the summer time anyway...then it was in the workplace. So your body will want to stay awake. Sunglasses will lessen this effect. The swing days. When you work until 7AM in the morning but don't have to go in again that night. I handled them in 2 ways. If I had plans that evening..sons hockey game etc etc... I would come straight home from work have my cold shower and go right to bed and set my alarm for 1PM. You WILL feel like death when that alarm goes off but drag your butt out of bed. Have a coffee or do whatever to get your heart pumping. After awhile if you have not committed suicide you will feel fine and you will be wide awake for whatever your plans are for that evening, but you will still be tired enough to go to bed at your regular bedtime as if you had been on dayshift that day. The other swing day option is come home in the morning and just stay awake all day. It's not as hard as it sounds as long as you keep busy. These used to be my fav midweek fishing days. I'd have the car packed and head for the lake right from work. No weekend crowds just me and the fish. Fish as long as you want but don't stay out past the point where it would be unsafe for you to drive home. These days I would come home from fishing mentally and physically exhausted have supper with the family and then pack it in early and sleep right through until the next morning. Others mentioned some of the cons of working weekends when the rest of the world mostly works M_F. They are all true. But there are some positives there as well. You get invited to something you really don't wanna attend. So you just dust off the... Well I'd really like to go but I have to work that weekend It will come in handy Good luck with your new job and your new hours G. If you have any other questions about shift work feel free to shoot me a PM.

Christmas came early. Enjoy your CT card my friend :thumbsup_anim:

I live in Oshawa and seriously have no clue what your talking about??? Heading east of Oshawa in the morning is a piece of cake. Virtually no traffic at all. Now heading west towards Toronto...that's another story all together. Did it for 2 years and don't miss it one bit.

I ice fish pretty much every weekend all winter. I'm on my 3rd VW Golf and have never had snows on any of them. One year when I wasn't paying enough attention my treads got real low and when that winter started I lost control of the car once on a slippery snow covered road. Thankfully no injuries and no damage...well except for my underwear The next day I had new All seasons put on. That is all I have ever owned. I believe the snows would give you better traction, I would never dispute that. However I have never felt that they where necessary. Drive safe and maintain your tires and your gold. I do tons of winter driving on roads that have not been plowed and except for that one time when it clearly was my fault and not the tires... I have never even came close to having any problems. However I'm not a Government basher either. If the powers that be decide that it would be beneficial to mandate all of us to put them on...well I'm on board 100% with no complaints.

My old man too. Packed on a lot of weight and still gaining! From the outside looking in I'm not sure which is better. The before or after.

Sounds like a plan my friend

Your stash always looks good Bruce Thx for reminding me about festive season traditions. I will have to get out for our annual bottle of dark rum and a couple of cartons of eggnog...oh and I better check the spice rack for nutmeg too

49 and I've still never been given a scientific measurement for that. Just how cold are we actually talking? Can you ball park me a number for that

I hear what you are saying and I agree to a point. I also compare it to my veggie garden. In 87 I bought the top of the line rototiller to till my garden. I probably still have not recovered that expense. But I also highly doubt I would still be enjoying my garden if I was still just turning it over with a shovel. Fishing Hunting and Vegetable gardening are 3 of the few activities/past times we can do and get something substantial back in return. In these cases it is food. So I have always looked at spending $$$ on these endeavors as something free cause you get something substantial back. Not many pastimes can boast that. Electronics will make the experience more productive and also more fun. That is what I have found anyway. In the big picture it would probably be cheaper for most if not all of us to buy all are veggies/fish/meat from the grocery store. If I went that route I would be one grumpy miserable person to be around....but I'd probably be rich

Who pooped in your cornflakes this morning Shayne Just ribbing you buddy. I think you need an extended hunting or fishing intervention.

I was a hold out on getting into the electronics for ice fishing. Even when I got a good deal on a used Vex SE8 it sat in my basement for 2 years before I dusted it off and gave it a go. I always figured I mostly fish perch through the ice and am usually in shallow water so what do I really need one for? Well after one outing I can honestly say I will never fish blind again. It helps in so many ways. I have learned 2 or 3 new methods of triggering no so aggressive fish to hit that I NEVER would have learned without watching how the fish react on the Vex. It also keeps you from sitting on dead water wasting your time. It helps me catch way more fish...no doubt about it. But besides the advantages it gives you...I just plain enjoy it more watching "fish tv". The first season I used it I was testing it to see how long it would hold a charge and a couple of times the battery died half way through a day on the ice It was unbelievable how much I absolutely HATED fishing blind after doing it for 25 + years. I hope your buddy gets one. I know he will enjoy it.

My sister in law has one. The most time she spends outside in the winter is walking from the front door to her car. I just don't get it :wallbash:

Nice mount. Your young lad should be proud Always said if I ever get anything over 15 it's going on the wall. 25+ years on Simcoe and I'm still waiting Again...well done and thx for sharing.

Been years since I bothered with minnows. But when I did I had two 5 gallon white buckets. Filled them both with water and kept them in the cold cellar 90% of the time. For fall fishing once the weather cooled I would sometimes just leave the buckets in the garage. I let the water sit for a week before I put minnows in them. I also had two 2 litre juice bottles full of water and frozen to use as ice packs. The minnows would go in one bucket with one of the ice packs. The pack would last at least a couple of days depending on the air temperature. As soon as the ice pack thaws out throw it back in the freezer and put in the other one. This will keep your water cold...a MUST for shiners. Once a week switch the minnows into the other bucket of fresh water. Keep switching your water buckets once a week and keep the water cold with the ice packs. I also bought goldfish food and once a week sprinkled a little in the pail. Go easy though..they really don't eat very much. The food is not necessary if you are gonna use the minnows up with a couple of weeks...it is more of a long term keeping requirement. During winter ice fishing I used to net my own minnows in the fall and this method would keep me in minnows all winter. I never had to buy any. Edit to add. Check them everyday and get the dead ones out ASAP.

Sorry to hear the news of your wives passing Bob. It sounds like you and your lady shared something special. I see far too many people stuck in a train wreck of a marriage. So sad to see people wasting there lives like that. Get through your grief in your own time, hold your head high and count yourself lucky because of what you two shared. As far as the money goes, congrats on that. The book of your life has began a new chapter and you are the writer. Pick the happiest ending you can.

I slipped on the ice a few years ago and fell on my reel It broke in pretty much the same area. It is a Diawa reel. I just took the handle off another Diawa reel that I no longer use. It looks a little funny cause the handle is off another larger sized reel and is a different color but it saved my favorite perching reel for ice fishing. I still use it. Check some old reels you don't use G. You might get lucky like I did.

Thx for reminding me that this is my "I hate Limey" time of year. I can hardly wait for your first ice fishing report so I can print off a picture and have something to throw darts at Play safe.

Always love your stories and pictures Mike. Thx again for taking the time.

As mentioned up farther in this thread, I just have peace of mind having an "expert" inspect it once a year. Peace of mind also includes that little piece of paper that says an "expert" had a look at things should anything unfortunate happen. I don't feel my new "experts" are doing a proper job, but I'm sure that my wood stove usage will never cause a problem. AND now I got me that little piece of paper Thx for the offer though my friend, much appreciated.

Just started using my woodstove again after years of it sitting idle. I have always paid some one who is WETT certified to come and clean it once a year. He got up on the roof and did whatever up there and he cleaned out my trap door cleanout outside on the bricks of the chimney. Did all the pipes and woodstove inside too. Well he retired and sold his business. So the new guys come and do nothing outside at all. They just come in and work from the inside and claim that they are getting all the way up to the top of the chimney from the inside. It is a distance of about 30 feet I would guess. Then they charge me about double what I used to pay my former chimney sweep. Now I always paid to have it done because I never wanted to be climbing ladders or working at height from a ladder. Also I got peace of mind from having someone WETT certified having a look at things once a year. However having seen this done without using a ladder at all I am thinking I can just buy the tools and do it myself. So my question is this. Can you do a proper job just from the inside without climbing a ladder or are these new owners doing a piss poor job. My main concern here is not saving $$$$. My main concern is safety. I would appreciate any advice or comments anyone from OFC has to offer. Also if you know someone in the Oshawa area who does chimney cleaning I'd be happy to get there number or email address. Thx in advance for any helpful advice.

Having done a wee bit of wood working I can truly appreciate the effort that went into this project. I hope he is proud of his work and gets lots of enjoyment out of his "New" boat. Thx for sharing with us and please share anymore pictures you might get.

thx for the smile Bruce :thumbsup_anim:

Alot of assumptions here. To turn this into something that happened because a car was parked at a fishing location is way over the top. Not saying it isn't a possibility. Just saying it's a little irresponsible to make those kinda accusations.