Chris

Hi, I drove an hour each way to work for 5 years. I would not suggest doing it, it took 10hrs. of my time each and every week. Plus on nasty travel days you will be regretting the decision. C

Maybe I'm just too damn skeptical/jaded/cynical to care, but on top of not falling for any of this hype (it's mostly political Bull, not scientific) we have decided that we will no longer be voting. Yeah, yeah, yeah.....I know "don't complain if you don't vote". To those I say.....I'll complain all I want about politicians who meddle in my life. Go on, continue playing the game, thinking that you are making a difference. Well after 32 years of voting for all of the 3 major parties (at all levels of gov't. I might add) I have concluded that it's no longer worth the effort of draggin' my butt to the polls because NOTHING ever changes. I am only interested in gov't. accountability. With it, we would not even be discussing this issue IMHO. Accountability is ALWAYS overshadowed by the "hot topics" and "3 second sound bites" of the day. In my opinion, accountability has decreased to an all-time low and shows no signs of changing in my lifetime.....so what's the point of voting. Global warming is just more Bull politics and nothing else. The age old saying "don't believe anything you hear, and only half of what you see" best sums up my feelings. OK so I'm havin' a bad day....but I did say that I was skeptical/jaded/cynical

Bon Apetit'

Thanks Nauti, just had a good friend pass away Feb 23 at the young age of 49. He was the drummer in our band and I knew him for 42 years. Very nice poem.....please thank your friend for sharing it.

I'd like to know the name of the band playing the background music. Sounds like Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) singing......does anyone know???

holdfast: Got to agree with you on that one holdfast. Used to love Meissner's show. He used to fish the Salmon, Raquette and Green rivers dumping intop thew St. Lawrence. He'd just launch and then drift down the river casting. The thing I liked about his show was that it was like you were at the other end of the boat watching him. And he was humiliated many times by losing big fish at boatside, showing the "real" side of fishing, not like some of the "pros" who would have you believe that they hammer fish steady all day without any problems. I haven't seen the show for years, is it still on???

Hahahahahaahahahaha crazyhook what a nutjob

No store has ever contacted me after they have overcharged me. I do not contact stores that have undercharged me. Sure, if I were to spend the time to go back to the store, put gas in the car to get there, etc., etc., they might give me my money back....if I could prove that they overcharged me. And I would be glad to give them their money back.....if they call me back and can prove that they undercharged me. I think the stores karma and my karma have pretty much balanced out over the years.

Habs better watch out for the red hot "Bruins" haha Can you tell I'm a Bruins fan Darren???

Hi, most Canadian companies have poor customer service compared to their U.S. counterparts (been shopping in the US lately....the difference is VERY noticeable). I'm tired of dealing with Canadian retailers whose staff actually seem perturbed about having to serve someone. However, other than crappy service, I have always found what I want at LeBarons and their prices are pretty good. You can also sign up for their card for savings at the till. There is a small "mom and pop" fishing store in Winchester (middle of nowhere) called Paddletales. Ed the owner told me that his sales tripled immediately after offering services online. Those who feel that going cheap on the website is the reason they can sell for less, better rethink that one. What's it cost for a website.....less than a few grand to set up and a few hundred a year to maintain. I don't think that kind of chump change would equate to savings at the till. Especially with triple the revenues. I know for a fact that Ed at Paddletales will go out of his way to make his customers happy ......see if you will get that at Lebarons or BPS.

Raf: Big spinnerbaits are used quite a bit on the Ottawa River for muskies....for good reason....they produce. Yes they can be used for slower presentations but they are also excellent for faster presentations. I use mostly Rob Dey spinnerbaits and have trolled them over 5mph. They are also deadly cranked fast over the shallows. I have also had luck on the O with in-lines, however they seem to tangle more and twist the line from time to time. Another reason I use the big spinnerbaits is for ease of unhooking. The fish usually only have one big hook to deal with as opposed to a set of trebles.

Hi, I just watched a show on CBC where they were talking about how cables can be a rip-off. They compared cables made by Monster (over $200) cables by Rocket (over $100) and some cheapie cables they bought off the internet for $12. They took them to CBC's video engineers and they had them all hooked up and tested. The guys conducting the test found no difference in signal quality. They also claimed that retailers do not make very much from the sale of the TV's. Most of the money is made selling accessories like cables, screen cleaners ($30 for a tiny spray bottle) etc. I don't know much about electronics, just relaying what I saw on TV.

You'll notice a decrease in your gas mileage trolling one of them around.

Kinda says it all.... Now, once I renew my "sports" card, I gotta go and apply for a new "sport" fishing license, then I'm going to CTC to check out the fishing gear in their "sports" department. If I can't find what I need I guess I'll have to go to the "sportsman" show. But I'll be a good "sport" about it. After all I'll be "sporting" new gear.

Message to special interest groups: LEAVE OUR FISHING RIGHTS ALONE!!!!!

Way to go dude, congrats to you and Andrea. Haha, I know what you've been doing instead of ice-fishing.

Haha, reminds of the farmer who won ten million dollars in a lottery. When asked what he planned to do he replied, "I'll just keep on farming til it's gone."

Is it really true? Looks like they are now backtracking on a reg that never should have been there in the first place. http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/c...8e-21c75886554e

Oops, sorry Clampet, just noticed you were referring to your ram not your HD. Right click on your HD and it will tell you how big your HD is. That is what you will want to back up.

Hi, Clampet, Future Shop also had a 250G unit for around $100. That is all you need. I just recently upgraded to a faster computer and it has a 500G HD that's why I bought the 500G ext-drive. I will probably never fill it. My last computer had two 40G hd's and I was no where close to filling them.

Hi, I just bought a 500G external drive, it was around $149 at Future Shop. It works just like a flash drive (memory stick) only you can set it to back up your hard drive at set times. Plugs right into the USB port....works excellent so far.

What really scares the hell outta me is the thought that more money is gonna help anything. It's not. When since the history of time has more money thrown at any Gov't. agency had results??? We've been throwing more and more money at health care and education and those two institutions continue to be nothing more than a house of cards waiting to collapse. It's blind to think otherwise. We need to push for Gov't. accountability 1st and foremost before we see any improvements.

Grimace: Well said. Holdfast and cookslav make some good points too.

That's actually a good idea Matt. The only thing I would add to it would be to get as much info (not opinion) as we can on the subject and post it hear on the board so that we can all make an informed decision. To me, this is much better than eroding fishing rights with restrictions on bait etc. Someone else brought up a survey with our fishing license. This could also be a great tool for getting MNR/anglers informed feedback. With each license application, there could be a small report on the status of our fisheries (or a particular fishery) along with a questionare to be filled out by the angler. This would be very helpful in determining how many anglers are actually pounding the water every year.....and for what species, etc. The possibilities are endless. I would like to see the size limits, possession limits and gear restrictions left alone across the board. Then if a problem arises on a particular waterbody, temporary restrictions can be implemented to assist in the rehab of that waterbody. This way fishing rights are not being eroded, only temporarily adjusted. The idea of higher fines is also a good idea. Not only would it make some of the scofflaws think twice, it could maybe fund a few more tanks of gas for the CO's. I agree 100% with the idea that we need more enforcement of the existing regs. That alone would help the fishery significantly. We do not need more unenforceable regs that in reality equate to eroded fishing rights. We all want the best fishery possible, but we have to temper that with wanting to have the best opportunities to enjoy the fishery as well.

Hi Smokey, if you would take a minute and go back you will see that I HAVE answered Marc's question. He asked what everyone's thoughts were on the resource and I answered that I think that many unneccesary new regulations have been introduced, many because of lobbying by well-meaning but overzealous clubs and special interest groups. And yes (now that you've mentioned them) I do feel Muskies Canada fits that description. What, are they above scrutiny??? Should we just shut up and agree with everything they say??? Is anyone who questions a fishing club's motives "attacking" the club??? Aren't you attacking me for holding a different opinion than you (the same way Matt attacked those who had a different opinion than he did in his original post)??? Have I said anything in any of my posts that is untrue or slanderous??? You and I simply share different opinions. If you are unhappy about me pointing out the fact that several large fish were harvested, maybe you should take that up with the anglers involved. Geez you guys are intense. Lighten up it's Christmas time.