JohnF

Canon. Got it hooked to a neck cord so it can hang inside the bib of my waders. JF

As long as my aged brain can keep processing all this input I'll be a bass/fly authority soon. Seriously, this stuff is great. I'm making notes. We'll start to put it to the test a week from Saturday. I'm really looking ofrward to it. I don't expect wondrous results first time out, or perhaps even the second, but if I get skunked on my third time I'm firing all of you and going back to the spinning rod. Actually, I've got a new Quantum baitcaster that needs some practice. That might be my next challenge after the flyrod. JF

I'm up for that too. Lots of carp where I hunt bass. I've got one pretty decent spinning rig with some backbone and a sensitive tip that might just be a lot of fun with 20# of carp trying to break it. Or there's a spot where two rivers meet where you can hunt carp in one pool and I can be 50' away on another pool usually good for some nice bass. JF

The problem with being an average Joe is that we're in the majority here in Canada and therefore the most likely to be targeted for tax revenues. If they drop the tax on petroleum products they'll just have to add it onto something equally in demand by us, the middle of the road majority. Canada's an expensive operation to run, and who else is gonna pay for all the advantages we have but those of us who enjoy the advantages? We want all the percs our American friends enjoy. We'd get a tax break if we could somehow increase our population tenfold to match our American neighbours, but then we'd also have to put up with the attendant disadvantages of more crime and violence, bigger cities, etc. Imagine a few cities close to Toronto in size in every province. Makes paying extra taxes almost palatable. JF

So explain a hammer drill. JF

I have friends in the States whose kids have been or are now stationed over there. To them it goes beyond politics. It's their kids' lives. Despite that they still believe in the cause. I don't think it's easy for some of us up here in the frozen north to understand the issues involved, many underlying and not quite as simple as the official party line. Even with the American gov't lies & shenanigans I can't help thinking that somewhere in all that posturing and lying there's some intent to do the right thing, albeit misguided according to many, and abused by some. When I hear sensible American folks say they really believe in what's happening, and these are Ph.D's in some cases, not illiterate gomers, I have to really step back and wonder who's right. One guy actually worked for the govt on a somewhat clandestine basis at one time not so very long ago, and tends to be pretty cynical about that gov't on many other matters. Doesn't matter where it comes from, the taxes are still gonna be heavy. Probably falls into the same line of reasoning that makes Canadian wine at least as expensive as the Euro imports. JF

Let me know when you're coming. I may even defer to your safety concerns and take the spinning rod. JF

Opener's next week. I'd have thought the worm & lead combo would be a tad heavy for flycasting. JF

Very kind of you sir. PM sent. Thanks JF

She mentioned getting sozzled on wine. Mayhap in her inebriated state she forgot the pics. I'm sure we could all come up with a bunch for her - or Joe, as the case may be. Besides, I think she was a fake. She had none of the Southern Belle manner about her. Virginia gals are supposed to say stuff like y'all, grits and corn likker. She sounded more like a Massachusetts college girl with her fine wine and Yankee vocabulary. Mebbe she was really one of Joe's paramours checking up on him? Who knows how many "fishing" trips he goes on in a year? JF

Congratulations Pop. JF

Fish? JF

Cutting and hammering cedar in the back yard, and probably cleaning the pool. Other than that, some garden weeding. Oh, and getting all my stuff ready for the bass opener next week. JF

Nope. It asks if you wanna import 'em. JF

I'm not a geek either but I can tell you that my machine now runs like it's got a rocket up it's butt (on the internet), at least compared to the way it ran outa the box on IE. I'm impressed, seriously. It doesn't change your other apps like IE. You can choose whether you want it to be the default browser. Try it. I'll bet you'll like it too. This machine is only a few months old with pretty good RAM etc and is running on Vista. I even screwed up and activated the Norton freeby that came with it and this browser doesn't seem to be slowed down by it. IE sure was boggy. I've used Firefox before, several machines, but never experienced the results this one gives. JF

I met Ian one night in St.Marys when we were both wading the river. He was, of course, flyfishing, for carp of all things. He kinda sniffed at my little bitty ultraultralite rig. I admit it's a pretty weeny combo (4 1/2 footer with absolutely no backbone and a little bitty golfball sized underslung trigger spin caster that holds about 75 yds of lite line. A minnow with attitude could overpower the drag system. I bought it at Dick's Sports for $14.95. It looks like a kid's setup, and perhaps it is, but it sure is fun with those little river bass, and I can carry it through the underbrush without hanging up all the time. My fishing buddy liked it so much he sent me back to get him one on the next trip to Cleveland. He wanted it for the kayak. Thanks for reminding me. I was gonna get in touch with Ian for some of his flies. I'll do that right now. JF

Thanks Dan. I've marked those pages and will start reading 'em tonite. I may have to take you up on the book loan offer. Are you far from Stratford. I'll check first at the local library in case they have it. Thanks JF

I'm pretty sure that's the guy a friend of mine bought a knife from not too long ago, just before he (my friend) died, sadly. Not a fillet knife, just a camp knife style in a leather sheath. It was a piece of art, and so it should have been for $300. I have a sneaking suspicion it's just sitting in some of his stuff in the attic or on a closet shelf now but I haven't the nerve to ask about it. I suppose I should say something though, just so it doesn't get sent to Goodwill or given to some kid on the block. JF

Thanks Guru. And good luck with finals, and great luck at Lakair. JF

I'll go through it again. Mebbe I'll see what you're saying. As for the hockey connection, I thought that was pretty à propos considering the obvious interest of some Canadian fishermen in the NHL as reflected here in the group this winter. I can better relate to a fantasy of a day's fishing with a celeb athlete than a fantasy of me actually understanding all the nuances of fish behaviour in locales unfamiliar to me. Hell, I struggle to understand the fish in an area I'm familiar with. I think it's probably pretty tough for a new publication to actually identify it's target audience. The study and interpretation of demographics can be pretty sophisticated. With a magazine they have to weigh the advertisers' wants against the subscribers' wishes. The real money comes from the advertisers, but without subscribers there'll be no advertisers, and no magazine. Seems to me it would be great for us here in Ontario to have a publication dedicated to our own home grown bass instead of those tournament monsters in Alabama or those South American aberrations. I hope it works. JF

Forgot to mention - all smallmouth in that part of the river. But that looks like a good article. Thanks Dan. JF

Shade I can arrange, but stumps are problematic. This is an old natural waterway that flushes itself pretty well each spring so it's mainly just rocks. My favourite spot has no shade but the grass and weeds grow tall on the shore right down into the water. That's usually a productive spot to cast into when the sun's behind the weeds. There's another spot with lots of overhanging trees that we'll try. JF

Yikes! That is one big gator. That's even big for a croc. Reminds me of my first venture into cave diving in the Yucatan. We got geared up and were floating in the centre of a crystal clear cenote while my instructor gave me the drill for the dive. To stall off the entry into the cave (did I mention how intimidating one's first cave diving experience is?) I pointed out how pretty the setting was with the mangroves surrounding the sparkling pond. He said "It's even better at night with all the red lights in the trees." I asked "Red lights?" His response "Yeah. The crocs eyes reflect red our lights. They're all around us right now." ..... Crap!!!! It sure made me feel a lot more inclined to get way back in the cave real quick. Somehow I doubt a 12' tinny on that lake would feel quite as secure as 1,000' of cave passage if I knew the water monsters in the area were 28' long. JF

I'm really looking forward to bass opener, as are many of you. I'm in a quandary though since Young Bill introduced me to the fly rod last week. I've been wanting to flyfish for a while now and having had a chance to put Bill's instruction to practice in my pool, I'm pretty comfortable with the casting part of it, tight loops and all. My plan is to take the fly rod with me on opening day, barring hurricane winds, but I can't decide whether dawn or dusk would be better, or late afternoon. I'll probably hit the Thames twice that day. My problem is that I usually get in the water and wade quite a distance from the car, usually for a few hours, so carrying an extra rod isn't feasible. I figgered I'd do one walk with the fly rod and one with the spinning rod and so I'm asking you experts whether morning or evening would be best with the flyrod. I'm already familiar with the spots to look for bass in my river and since it's generally shallow I'm accustomed to topwater style baits. So, that being asked, which patterns should I use? My selection is limited to a box of mainly dun-coloured bits of fuzz (ranging in size from smaller to ridiculously small) that a friend bought at a garage sale way back when. I'm prepared to go out and buy flies (until I learn to tie my own) but need to know where to start. I've had recommendations of crayfish patterns, and hooks starting from #8 but that suggests wet flyfishing. I picked up a few popper style flies at BPS before I had a clue what I was doing. I kinda like the idea of dry so I can see the little bug and have some kind of clue when a fish takes it. Is dry a waste of time for bass? I discovered in my box of flyfishing stuff (donated by my nephew who hasn't time for it right now) a reel with two spools, one wet, one dry, apparently the right weight, so I can go wet if I must, or Bill showed me how to a strike indicator for trout with dry line. All advice, tips and hints appreciated. JF

Wow! I hadn't bothered with it since I tried it on an old XP machine a few years back. This version makes Explorer look like the proverbial turtle. I've got it loaded now on my new Vista machine and I'm impressed, very impressed. Thanks Rick JF