crappieperchhunter

LOL. Nice to see someone with a sense of humour. I'm in the same boat a bunk. Used to golf tons until right around the time we bought our cottage. Then slowly being at the cottage and fishing or just hanging out there became the norm. Still love the game....but the clubs haven't been out of the basement for probably 10 years now.

My fav Petty song and they did it justice.Thx for sharing.

Never thought of using a straw. Gotta try that. Thx for the tip.

My take. I have a big veggie garden and I have also always bought bigger cuts of meat on sale and cut up and froze into meal size portions. I tried a good food saver unit about 10 years ago and it lasted a year. Maybe I just had bad luck or maybe I used it a way more then your average Joe. Anyway since then I have found that if I take my portions and carefully wrap in saran wrap then seal in a ziplock bag it works just fine. I have had packages of frozen perch get buried and lost in the freezer sometimes for over a year and I know this because I date everything with a sharpie when it goes in the freezer. I find it, take it out and cook it up and it's just as good as stuff that has only been frozen for a couple of weeks. Wrap it in saran wrap carefully and squeeze out all the air and you will get zero freezer burn. I will never spend another dime on any type of vacuum sealer.

Well at least they still got some work done. Things would have really went south if the hole digger took a sick day?

Come on you guys. Suck it up, get your spud bars out and give us an ice fishing report?

No fish....what a waste of time? Just kidding Brian. Those type of days are the best and the reason many of us get out of bed at ungodly hours to spend time outdoors.

Since this topic has moved into pensions I would strongly suggest anyone working and close to retirement look into the option of taking a commuted pension, especially if your companies pension fund is already in an underfunded state. I did this and retired at the end of June. The first week of October I got my lump sum commuted pension in the form of 2 separate cheques. My employer of 36 years has been declining all over North America much the same as GM and they even have a 5 year loan from our government right now to help pay their pensioners. I was truly concerned that someday getting a pension from them would disappear. The pros. I got my money. If the company goes under now it will have no effect on me. The amount I got was the equivalent of 25 years of what I would have received as a monthly pension. I can invest it how I see fit. The cons. Lost all my benefits when I severed my ties with the company. If you have no coverage elsewhere...like a spouse with benefits...or you have expensive medical/dental issues this could be a problem. Do your homework and figure out what is best for you because in my experience you will always do better for yourself then somebody else will.

I agree with this Brian. I ruined a guide this way on my most expensive rod. The worst part was I never found the true problem right away and I repeatedly lost fish and tackle to line breaks until I figured it out. I still use a swivel to help with line twist but I ALWAYS tie my leader short enough so the swivel NEVER enters my guides.

I have just always used a short enough lead so that I don't have to worry about the swivel going into the eyelets. I really don't think a shorter lead scares the fish especially if your after lakers or anything in deeper water. Another option I have used is I tape some black electrical tape around the bottom of the butt of the rod. Then when I'm ready to call it a day or I'm moving I hook my lure into the electrical tape which saves your cork or whatever material is on your butt from getting damaged. Taping it to the very bottom also will give in most cases at least another foot longer you can tie your leader.

Best of luck with all of it. It sure sounds like you have been a busy man. I don't know you at all but you sound like someone who enjoys work and there is nothing wrong with that. My wife and I where going to retire together this year at 54-55. I did but she did not. She still loves her job and going into work everyday and the social aspect of it. Truthfully I think she will work for many many more years. You gotta do what works for you. More importantly best of luck getting out fishing more, because we all know that is the most important?

Yesterdays Courtice paper mentioned that the current agreement actually runs until Sept 2020. I would think that is about all they can fight...but that only buys the employees one more year.

I moved to Oshawa in 1983 and worked in a printing plant right next to the GM south plant. In 30 plus years I have witnessed it's slow painful death. Really surprised it has actually taken this long. Lotsa finger pointing going on, blaming the union, blaming the company, blaming the government. All valid points. There is no singular group to blame IMHO. It's just the reality of manufacturing in Canada in general right now and one magic pill isn't going to fix it either. I feel badly for those affected and wish them the best in moving on.

Agree 100%. 20 years ago I firmly believed that there was no such thing as bad kids...just bad parents... and I had a very heated argument at my sons soccer game once with a fellow parent who was a school principal and said he had seen the best kids come from the worst parents and visa versa. As the years have past I now have seen this for myself and no longer blame all parents for there kids turning out rotten. No matter the circumstances some people just turn out to be low lives. And as Jimmer mentioned mental health can play a role as well which no parent can control.

Perhaps your Erie charter guy should give Simcoe a go then OI? My nephew got a 15 four or five falls ago at a favourite fall spot we fish and I have two other Simcoe perch fanatic friends who have both done it. So I can safely say they exist on Simcoe. I just have not been lucky enough to land one in my 1000's of attempts.

Same thing as every year. A 15 inch perch. Have probably caught 100's by now over 14 with 14 7/8 being the biggest but I just can't get that 15 incher. In 30 years on Simcoe I have had a few that I have lost at the hole while ice fishing that I'm sure where over 15...but they don't count.

My love of the fall is more weather related then fishing related Brian. Just love the, throw a hoody on weather, with no bugs to boot. After the 1st week in October when it got up to 27 celsius we have had very little of the fall weather I enjoy. Most days that had the temps I like had rain or too much wind to get out and enjoy them. This fall we where raking leaves at home, at the cottage and at my folks. Literally had 5 days during the last month that a would call decent days to get out and get yard work done. And now we have 4-6 inches of snow on the ground in Bobcaygeon. Just glad I got the raking done. Now it's back to fishing.

For years I have said the fall is my favourite time of year. What the hell happened this year?

I've been telling people this for probably 20 years. Get a box of 3/8 hex head screws and drill them into the bottom of your baffins. Replace worn screws as necessary. I usually have to do a few every season. A box of 100 screws will last a long time. No slip on crap to worry about.

Thx for that Dan. My folks do not have a computer but if I get the chance I'll show this thread to my mom. It would make her very happy to hear others speak of her uncle that way.

Seems someone posts this song on here every year and I'm always happy to see it. It is well done and really hits home for me. My mother's Uncle on her moms side was Leonard Birchall. I never met the man but I have heard countless stories about him from my mom. I have seen pictures of him in uniform with so many medals pinned on him you wonder how he stood upright. Take the time if you wish to google his name and read about his military career and accomplishments. I find myself doing it every year at this time and wish I could have met the man. Going to war is something I have never had to give any thought to. Remembrance day is a yearly reminder how lucky those of us are to have never experienced any of those horrors and how thankful we should all be "To the boys and the girls who went over".

Beauty day to be fishing....well done. I spent mine raking leaves? Well at least I got outdoors.

I love bass. Easy to catch, abundant and put up a good fight. But most importantly lotsa people fish for them. Which is good because while those clowns are targeting bass they are leaving the fish that I'm after alone?

Betcha you where both happy with that outcome Lew. I have a ring story as well. I got a silver ring with the letter S engraved on it for a grade 5 graduation present from my grand parents. It was also too big. One day at public skating at the arena I lost it. Made a report in the office but never expected to see it again. Gord Brown who ran the arena and was also my coach one year said he would keep an eye out for it. Fast forward to the spring and my folks get a phone call and you guessed it my ring was found. When they where taking the ice out at the end of the season it was frozen right up tight against the boards behind one of the nets. Can't imagine how many hundreds or thousands of people skated past/over it for the months it was stuck there.

Thats a beauty Lew. And yes it would be nice to have especially in the winter. I used to play a lot of pool and always wanted a table. When we built our house in 88 I specifically had a steel "I " beam installed so my 24 X 24 basement would have no jack posts in the entire room....leaving me lotsa room for a pool table. Cost me a good penny extra back in the day to have this done but I wanted a pool table. Fast forward to the present and I still have no table...lol. Still love to play but things just progressed differently and the room always ended up getting used for other things. No regrets whatsoever and I no longer want a table....but DAMN....that set up you have looks good. Enjoy it Lew. I can just imagine the hours of enjoyment you and your friends and family will get out of it.