OhioFisherman

Schools are closed here, sisseys can`t walk 8 miles to school. LOL I wouldn`t let mine anyway, I don`t even let them drive in this unless they have to.

LOL you mean red snapper was wrong?

As a kid and young man I fished with live bait a lot, sort of a pitching, flipping technique, with a bobber and shiner or chub. Bait size wasn`t as important as sticking the bait in front of the fish, you got it in front of a fish, especially a large one and the bobber never got a chance to settle, it just kept sinking. I had very few fish injured, I was alert, expected a quick response to a minnow dropping in on a good fish. Also seen fish injured by lures, it happens as much as we try to avoid it. Just my feeling it is more important to locate places where big fish frequent than bait size, the small catches all thing, they don`t pass up an easy snack? It was relaxing sitting around in a boat with a 6 or 8 inch minnow swimming around looking for trouble at times, but if it`s not legal I can adapt, sort of what it`s all about anyway. Adapting, the better you are at it, conditions, laws, seasons the more often you will be successful. Good discussion, no perfect answers, just be aware of your fishery, if you want it to stay good, adapt.

About what I expected 0, I don`t do ice.

If you shake more than once? You need to buy a reel toy!

big guy brought up some good points, technology has made it easier to be more consistent. A good thing? Also some mixed emotions on that, for the casual angler 3 or 4 days a month a help, for a guy with a cottage or home on a lake that uses it more often, on a lake with a lot of homes and cottages, with a lot of people insisting it is their right to keep a limit every time out a possible disaster. Real hard to keep accurate catch numbers, they don`t check everyone, every time out. Guesstimates. Competitive fishing? Bass fishing here is about the best it has ever been, a change in thinking, the fish used to wind up on a stringer when I was young. Now most if not all are live released, TV and money have helped, and hurt. Big motors on small lakes, needed? People running up and down a lake at 60-70 miles an hour? Fishing for nesting fish? More closed seasons needed,no fish should be a target during the spawn. Just to me the tournament trail of organizations like bass and flw (follow the spawn) don`t make a lot of sense, just a lot of money.

Not really a lot of snow here 3 inches maybe, it changed to rain, more snow expected later, for now we have the black ice warnings, nice!

Definitely not a specialist and I no longer have a mortgage. Go in with as much money down as you can, I never bought a home without 20% down at least. Unless you are able to predict the future don`t get a variable rate loan. Stuff happens, don`t mortgage yourself to death, save money and try to have a years payments in the bank. Don`t buy a home because you want to, make sure you can afford it. 15 year loan will save you a bunch of interest, 10 year even more. LOL I have had 2 new cars, 1 in 73, 1 in 79, a home that was paid for was more important, I didn`t need a new car to park at work, a beater usually got me there and back. 1 new boat in 89, you can catch fish without a new boat and be able to afford to go more often. Study the mortgage crisis here in the states, most seem to have leaped without looking, 94% increase in foreclosures since the same time last year. Home values in a lot of area have dropped, like 2.4 million homes being foreclosed on have flooded the market. The biggest investment in most people lives, do it wisely. Nice to be able to keep a roof over your head if you become unemployed or disabled, I haven`t worked since 2003. Still could afford the home.

LOL enough snow to build another Fort Erie!

HF, I have eaten Tilapia, not bad as far as fish go, spam is preferable. LOL whatever that comes from! I have seen them netting carp and buffalo here in Lake Erie, LOL tons of them. Actually talked to the guys doing it, didn`t think to buy them a 12 pack. They clean and smoke them and ship them to New York city, LOL along with the lead and mercury they contain? Dang Hoovers! Fun to catch though, but not on purpose!

LOL yes! eat more Carp! the other white meat?

25 cm? LOL you guys were in trouble when you ran out of feets! Up to 10 inches (5/6 of a foot) expected here.

Consider this the ramblings of a grumpy old man. A body of water will only support so many fish of a certain species. Stocking, unless initial stocking of a new lake or recovery stocking after a problem is a lot like taxes, it never stops. Some species can`t naturally survive in some bodies of water, why stock them and perpetuate a stocking program? Why stock fish and not adjust harvest limits to allow them to self sustain? They are a resource that can become depleted. The population up there has grown tremendously since the 50`s and 60`s it affects fishing pressure and sustainable limits. Catch and release seems to be a viable option, if practiced. LOL, lake erie walleye, from canada, 9.99 a pound here! Haven`t seen Lake O muskies for sale, yet?

What? They forgot the enema? Sorry your down Glen!

Just something I have noticed is the boat prices seem very high up there compared to here in Ohio. The exchange rate made that sort of understandable before, now a deal might be here.

LOL Brian, 70MPH? not exactly a good day for it! I bet boat traffic was down!

Haven`t seen one of them by me, yet. They have some in Cleveland nesting on the buildings, pigeon control! The buzzards keep me company! Some owls, not sure what kind, Red-Tail hawks, some other big birds but not sure what, they don`t let us get to close. Turkeys, deer, skunks, groundhogs, wabbits, posums, Pheasants, coons, snakes, turtles, fox, reports of Coyotes, I haven`t seen one. I am aways from the city though.

Isn`t Rice Lake on the Trent-Severn waterway? Locks? do they really expect them to lock out gobies?

Winter driving can be an experience! Went to work one morning in 76-77(great winters here) after a 4 hour drive (usually 45 minutes) I got to work, everyone had gone home. On the bright side I had found the passable roads and it only took 3 1/2 hour to get home! Can`t imagine the 401 or other highways around Toronto in bad weather, a lot more traffic there. No snow on the ground here! LOL the tropics? 30 something years of driving trucks and only one night away from home, caught in a snowstorm and they shut the roads down. Had to sleep in the truck parked in a little truck stop, punk kid dispatcher whining what do you mean you can`t make it in? Dude things are a lot different 75 miles away! Always take care in bad weather!

Nice pictures, Dad took us out to do that as kids, think it was late March here.

Great pictures and report Gavin! Glad to see you enjoyed the stay at the neighbors house, it`s a beautiful place.

Do the Browns play in the Grey Cup? I know they don`t play in the Super bowl!

If you got to break ice to get a drink or bathe it`s time to head south! Great pictures, but green beats white!

Congrats Lew! It does get boring not working, and no doubt the extra cash will come in handy.

thanks a lot Ohio!! LOL Raf, it`s Canada, your supposed to have snow! Just lucky most of you didn`t get it in August! Drive safely! Slow down!