canadianguy33

Even though I know that med action rods make things easier, and are technically better, I still fish with an ultra light weight rig even when I'm fishing for pike. I don't know why, somethings I just like doing the hard way I guess. If you don't mind losing a bunch of fish then follow my lead.

Wow! Really glad to hear everything turned out okay. I think tonyb hit the nail on the head when he said that people get complacent out on the water. I'm not out on the water much these days, so when I am, the 'fear' is present, but I can see how all this went down. Thanks for sharing.

BOOKMARKED!! What an amazing trip! I'm definitely going to try and guy the guys to check that place out next year. Thanks for sharing.

Well, someone already pointed out that vacation pay still is mandatory in Ontario. I wouldn't know because I've been self employed for years and I don't have employees so correct me if I'm wrong. Also, we do have universal health care, so what's your beef? From what I understand, vacation pay isn't paid by my taxes. Rather it is in fact part of your pay that is deducted from your paycheck. I do disagree with the government forcing anyone to forfeit part of their earnings to participate in a mandatory vacation program, but that's really really low on my list of grievances with our current government. If I were forced to pay taxes so everyone had paid vacations you're damn right I'd argue against that. If you don't like the way you're compensated at your job then go out and get a new one. Stop passing the buck and man up. I did.

I agree with the first two. As for Huerta and Crane....I don't even know who these guys are. lol I don't think our boy Pierre will come out on top even though I'd like him to (I'm guessing it'll be a decision) and I think Coulture will submit Gonzaga in what will be a really boring wrestling match. None of these fights sound that exciting except for St-Pierre and Koscheck.

hey mugsy, I'm from ptbo too. I don't really fish the Otonabee much, but last year I saw three decent muskie in my boat (unfortunately, none of the good ones were on the end of my line). I'm not really a multi-dimensional angler so I keep it simple and stick to lures that have been successful for me. For bass I like fat shallow running crankbaits like this. Stay clear of anything bright and stick to the more natural patterns like perch and crayfish. I also like plain old jigs with berkley gulps. Also, you really have to get creative with your casting to get a decent largemouth. Try to cast through the fallen trees, beside logs and get your bait right near the shore. For muskie, I've found that you almost have to use top waters or something that doesn't go too deep because the weeds are thick and the Otonabee really isn't that deep. There are a couple of muskie hot spots, one of them is about a football field south of the boat launch on Park St. (under the overpass). This time of year I'm not sure if you'll see many guys out fishing, but in the middle of the summer at around 8pm you'll usually see a couple of boats in the area I'm referring to (keep your eyes peeled for the guys with flashlights pointed on the water). The thing with the river is that the bite really is dead all the time except for the early morning and evening. Usually, the fishing is only good when the damn bugs are eating me alive. lol Ummm...I really should know more about the Otonabee seeing that I was born and raised here in the patch.... I hope I've helped you at least a little bit.

lol you guys are too funny. Damn, I never thought about that. I should have married her just to make the story better. For those that were wondering, I was a hurtin' unit for about a week after the jump. I told my buddy about what had happened at school the next morning, and he couldn't help but tell my big mouth english teacher (a really funny guy) who razzed me about it in class for a couple of weeks. Also, I was really hoping one of you guys would chime in with a good story.

Yeah, I believe it would be nice, and it really would be beneficial if employers did take care of paid vacations. Someone in this thread mentioned paid vacations as an election issue, and I was simply stating that I don't believe that the government should control the people to that extent. I mean, there are a lot of things I won't do, and feel strongly against, but I try not to let my values and ideas impede on the rights of others. Even though I think paid vacations do have a positive impact on productivity in most cases, who am I to tell anyone how to run their business? Also, I've always envied entrepreneurs too, but not guys like me. lol I envy the guys that are smart enough to run their businesses without lifting a finger (I'm not sure those guys even exist though) Honestly, there's been several times in my life where I've envied the 9-5er's. Sometimes not having a boss breathing down your neck can be just as much of a burden as having one. I mean, for a lot of my friends work ends on Friday at 5pm, whereas I don't have that luxury. I'm sure there are others here that can relate. edit: @ Terry, I don't want to knit pick but I believe our current laws stretch way beyond our rights. Hence, I don't believe rights are the same as laws. To be perfectly honest, I think a big problem in modernized countries is that everyone confuses the two. For me, it seems that too many people believe it is their right, that the government takes care of them, from cradle to grave. Whereas, the reality is that they're just damn lucky that everyone is looking out for one another....I'm not quite sure I put that in the best words...it's kind of hard to explain my sentiments.

I was reading Anatz's post about his fishing addiction and it reminded me of a funny story that happened when I was a young pup like him. When I was 17 I had a girl friend who I kind of liked, but not really in girlfriend/boyfriend kind of way. I knew she had a crush on me and it felt good having her around to stroke my male ego, but I just knew I'd probably never go out with her even though she was quite a looker. Anyways, one day I invited her to come fishing with me under the bridge at Squirrel Creek on the Otonabee River. She was excited by my invitation so off we went for a fish. When we got to Squirrel Creek, we parked the car and headed down below bridge and began fishing. Not five minutes after our lines hit the water, a group of burley tattooed bikers pulled over on the bridge above us. We could hear the macho bikers contemplating jumping off the bridge and their conversation went something like: Biker 1: "Your brother really jumps off this bridge?" Biker 2: "yea, he does it all the time" Biker 1: "man, that's a long way down. Is it deep enough?" Biker 2 "I think so. I don't know dude, we're pretty high up." Biker 1: "do you think there's any rocks?" Biker 2: "could be...I'm not sure if this is a good idea" Anyways, the bikers carried on for about 15 minutes, talking about jumping off the bridge, and it was pretty clear that none of them wanted to jump. After listening to these wimpy bikers, me and my big mouth started making jokes about them to my girl 'friend' about how the bikers were chickenshats. Eventually, my girl 'friend' remarked, "if you're such a big man, why don't you go show them how it's done?" in a joking tone. Well, I wasn't about to forfeit my manly image to a girl that I kind of liked but didn't think I'd go out with so without even thinking I stripped down to my underwear and ran up the hill to the bridge. When I got to the top of the bridge, I started walking towards the middle and bikers took notice and stared at me down as I walked towards them. When I finally approached them, I said to them in a cocky tone: "my girlfriend is tired of hearing all your whining and whining about jumping off the bridge, and she suggested I show you guys some real balls." Before, the bikers even had a chance to respond I climbed up on the rail and jumped into the water. Unfortunately, I didn't take enough time to prepare my jump and I ended up hitting the water in a weird way. When I hit the water I knocked the wind out of myself a little bit and twisted my back in a weird way. To everyone observing my jump I'm sure I looked fine, but as I swam towards shore I could hardly catch my breath and I knew I'd twisted my back, but I didn't want my girl 'friend' to know it and think I was a pussy. I mean, I was hurting in a bad way...my back was focked, but there was no way in hell I was going to let my girl 'friend' or the bikers see an ounce of pain. Anyways, after we were done fishing we went for ice cream and played the most excruciating round of mini-golf at Milltown Golfland. To this day, I've never told my girl 'friend' (who I'm still friends with) the truth about that story. Well, that might not be the greatest story but I'm always up for hearing a good fishing story so post'em if you have'em.

That's a beauty! What lake were you on?

Wow! Great going to all of you guys that put that together. The painting is really nice. Sorry to hear about your brother Lew. I have two brothers and I couldn't imagine losing either of them.

AHHH! We agree on something! The sky is falling!

lol Anatz I'm more worried about kids that don't have a passion for anything then guys like you. Go get your license and invite one of the girls you like out fishing.

I'm self employed, so in theory, I can take as many vacation days as I want. However, things don't really work that way as I'm sure Tennesseeguy can attest too. I went about 4 years working 60-80 hours a week and rarely ever took a day off. Then one day I realized I was the spitting image of my workaholic father and decided to tone things down. I too believe that burnout is real and that everyone benefits from a vacation now and then, but I don't believe paid vacation time should be mandatory. Personally, I'm kind of sick of how so many Canadians expect and want our government to take care of every facet of our lives. If you don't like the amount of vacation time you're getting then get another job or take it up with your employer. Paid vacations are a luxury, not a right.

I came across this honey & crackers recipe and it sounds kind of unusual. I think I'll give this one a go since I love honey. from this site Uncle Bob’s Honey Dip Walleye Ingredients 8 walleye fillets 2/3 cup vegetable oil 1 egg beaten 1 tbl honey ¼ cup of flour ½ tsp sea salt Pepper to taste Cracker crumbs or bread crumbs Wash and dry the fillets. Heat the oil in a skillet at least 10 inches. Beat the egg and mix in the honey. Combine cracker or bread crumbs with flour, salt and pepper to taste. Dip fillets in egg mixture and coat with cracker/bread mix. Fry until golden brown (about 3 minutes per side) or fillet easily flakes. Serve with lemon wedge. then coat with cracker mixture. Fry until golden brown about 3 minutes each side. Serves 6-8