JohnF

Anything I haven't already tried, and there are lots of fish I haven't caught yet. The second time around it's still good. JF

It's amazing we all didn't drown in beer. JF

Has that perhaps got something/anything to do with our ice going out much earlier? JF

Yeah, but can these guys even skate????? JF

That's what I'm talking about. Don't ruin the fun you have fishing and hunting by making it a job. Work around the periphery, do things to make a living that use what you know about (and love) without actually making them an integral part of your work day. If you know about fishing and fishermen, then sell tackle, or lodges. But keep some separation between the fun stuff and the money making stuff. I'm sure the charter guys or the lodge operators enjoy what they do, but ask 'em how much time they have to themselves to hunt or fish in season. When the fish or other game are ready to be taken all the other fishermen and hunters are ready to rock and roll, and you get to cater to them instead of yourself. If you work behind the scenes, selling tackle or lodges or whatever, your heavy workload is in the off season. In season you get to visit the clients, say hello, borrow a boat and go out to fish while they work the front desk, or put lines in the water for the paying customers. That's working smart. Once upon a time I thought the greatest job in the world would be to have a marina in the Muskokas, at least until I started spending time at a friend's cottage there, and saw how hard the marina guys had to work while I was having fun. That cured me of that particular obsession. For a few years, not so very long ago, I dreamed of another career as a scuba writer for periodicals. I even had a plan worked out and i had some tentative offers. I'd document my experiences in each of a number of different facets of the sport - ocean/reef diving, freshwater wreck diving in the St.Lawrence and Toby, braille diving for shark's teeth in the Cooper River, bug hunting in Key Largo, cave diving in Mexico and Florida, doing serious deco on 250' wrecks (easy ones) at age 60 etcetera, all things I'd done that seemed worthwhile to share with the tourist divers world looking for a little vicarious titillation. But when I started to check it out I realized that I had great fun doing them on my own dime, but I really didn't want to do 'em all again on someone else's schedule. T.J. has it figgered out pretty durned well. He makes a living working with stuff he knows and loves while he gets to bugger off to his very nifty camp when he wants. Pay attention to the distinction here. His work isn't fishing. It's providing the facilities needed for others to enjoy the fishing with a couple of degrees of separation thrown in which should free him up when fishing's at it's best. I like his thinking. Those of you still looking for a career could learn something from him. Target what you know and love, look several degrees off to the side, and try to see a place for you right there. Mebbe a tad abstract, but for those who get it, terrific. Confusingly JF

You obviously don't know about our sneaky carp. They can be better than adrenalin overload. JF

Thanks. I've been meaning to try that part of the river. They should work upriver as well. There's lots of crayfish on the limestone bottom. JF

That's what I'm thinking. I've already decided to use the flyrod on Day One. Of course the Quantum will be in the car just in case. I have absolutely no idea what patterns to use though. I guess I'll just have to see if I have anything that looks like any of the bugs flying around me. If that doesn't get their attention I'll just let something sit on the bottom. I might even have to see if I can flycast with a live worm on. It oughta be fun. JF

The job list is too long and boring to even start on but it began with teaching and is currently at real estate sales (and related stuff). Who knows what the future holds though? I've only been doing the real estate thang for about 33 years so there's still time left. Seriously, play to your strengths and trust your instincts. By that I mean: 1. Make a list of your likes and dislikes. Avoid your dislikes. 2. Decide how you want to live (high and handsome, driving Porsches and Bentleys, or down to earth, driving Chevies and PT Cruisers). That determines the budgetary needs i.e income. 3. Where do you want to live? Weigh the economics (cost of living and job ops vs the attractions of an area) 4. Are you willing to raise a family and live without the security of a good benefits package and an organized pension plan? 5. Are you a self-starter, a go-getter wanting to shoot for the moon (as in run the show) or will you be content working under someone's direction all your life? This is an important one. I know some very intelligent, very skilfull people who either have no interest in being management or absolutely no talent for it. They understand the Peter Principle and are smart enough to live by it. 6. Are you willing and able to handle more time in school or other formal training? 7. Avoiding your dislikes doesn't just mean going straight to a career in fishing or some other hobby. A lot of people will tell you that if you love something, keep it as a pastime, not a career. 8. Once you've done all this, objectively, you'll have a clearer picture of your options. There are lots of fun jobs out there. Unfortunately, too often fun translates into lousy pay, unpredictable future, or no opportunity for advancement. I envy those lucky few who turn their hobby into a career. I've seen too many try to do that and either have it or themselves fail miserably. I'm a good example of that. After university I accepted an offer to go into the snowmobile distribution business. I loved bikes and sleds. It was very cool at the time with something like 70 brands having hit the market over the previous few years. I had the world by the tail - a company car, great salary plus commissions, expense account, 4 place trailer with sleds for my personal use, free parts for racing etc. I was still in my late twenties and soon the company was trying to get me to come in off the road as sales manager. But then suddenly that world shrank - big time - to the few brands we see today. I saw the writing on the wall and bailed early. But that's what I mean about job security. You probably know a few folks who say they were "down-sized'. That's corporate speak for the market went away. Another mistake I made was going against my instincts. I've always known I was outgoing and liked the interaction with folks, yet I was lured by the obvious future of computer technology and found myself in my early 20's running a big 360-20 IBM in the late 60's. I barely lasted a year before walking out of that one. I was going nuts being isolated all day long in an environmentally safe room with nothing but the MFCM and the card sorter for company. That's when I decided to go back and get a degree at Waterloo. But then, a few years later, I lucked out. There was no good planning by me, just dumb luck. A friend was in the real estate business and he convinced me to get a licence and come to work for him. That was 33 years ago. Turns out this was what suited me and it has done a pretty good job of providing for us over the years. The upside is I'm not tied to a desk, I spend time with people, and my hours are my own. The downside is there's no formal pension plan, no benefits package, no guaranteed raises, no bonuses, and very little income security. On balance it's worked well for me. I've had stints in management when they needed help but I prefer to be on my own. Now I'm able to use what knowledge I've accumulated to teach the business to others. The great thing about my business is that it's one of the few where the sky's the limit. Your income depends on your own initiative, your inherent people skills and your work ethic, not your education, looks, or seniority. I know guys in very small towns earning $400k per annum, going to work in Dockers and sports shirts much of the time. I know lawyers who've gone out and got real estate certs because they enjoyed it more than practising law. On the flip side I know people with degrees who failed miserably at it. It's really up to you what you make of it, not at all dependant on the letters that come after your name. So what I'm saying is that an education is great. It will never hurt you. The experience alone of going to university makes it worth the effort. But at the end of the day it may not be enough to guarantee a successful working life. Decide what you want to do then get whatever formal training you need to do it. As some branch of the military says "Be the best you can be." Almost any career will reward you if you give it your best. All the best JF

I overheard someone say that Beans was sitting on the floor from now on. JF

Thanks. I'm not at the point where I'll throw away the spinning rod yet, but flyfishing sure looks like it's gonna be fun, and smallmouths are the target of choice, and necessity (other than carp), around where I live (Stratford). JF

Thanks for rubbing it in. JF

I used to order a lot of scuba gear from the States. It didn't take me long to figure out that I didn't want it being sent via some of the courier outfits. I could always count on a hefty brokerage fee plus whatever duties applied. If memory serves the worst was an order for about $300 US from Colorado. The various duties and brokerage fees came to an extra $140. A sensible dealer in Pennsylvania finally explained to me the difference between letting the sender use couriers and insisting on mail service. The couriers pick up from the dealers but not the post office. He warned all his foreign customers about it and took the trouble to put it in the mail. I for one appreciated it. JF

Thanks, but yer money's safe. I've not been exactly overwhelmed with offers of big advances from publishers to date, and considering that "to date" involves some 60 odd years, it's safe to assume there will be none in the future either. Jeez. Writing for a living might take the fun out of it. JF

But his are the real deal. Mine are just comic relief. To paraphrase some sage soul - "Them what can, fish. Them what can't, write about fishing." Drew is one of those lucky few who can fish AND write about it with style. As I've already said, there are others here blessed with that same combination of talents. I'm just a one-trick pony till I learn to actually catch the durned things. JF

Fish? They're those smelly squirmy things some of you accidentally hook while communing with nature, right? If it wasn't that I needed instruction and enjoyed good company I'd be happy as a clam casting my assortment of unmarked fishing lures into the pool in my back yard. As long as no one is swimming there's no chance of hooking anything that might spoil the mood. Pool fishing is great. No expensive boats, no live bait issues, no MNR officers checking up on me, and the cold beer is only as far away as the kitchen fridge. I don't even have to set down the rod to get one. JF

I snuck a quick peek in his flybox and saw something suspiciously marshmallow-like. Pride may prevent him from sharing that particular piece of fishing lore with newbies. JF

So Young Bill had made the mistake of volunteering to teach me something about flyfishing, and after a less than subtle hint from me in the chatroom he made good. He said "Say when." and I responded "Soon, and where?" His answer "Meet me in Paris." so I did. After the initial round of first time meeting handshakes and sizing up he led me down some backroads to a ... Church Camp????? Hey, what do I know? Mebbe flyfishers are more religious than the normal run of the mill heathen redneck caster. I figgered we were gonna offer up a bit of prayer for a good day on the river. However, all that happened was a nice lady took a bunch of personal info and stripsearched us (presumably to verify that we indeed carried no concealed barbed hooks or live worms) and then off we headed to the first of Bill's tried and true, gay-ron-teed honey holes, so full of trout they'll just leap into our hands. Of course the rain had turned the river to chocolate milk, but Trout Boy says, "It don't make no nevermind. They always hit here." He gave me the short course in good flycaster technique and river lore (hold it in yer right hand, keep a straight wrist, that's the river, fish live there, watch the riffles, find the seam, do it). So I did. My first cast was almost perfection. It was also short, very short. But I learned what a wind knot was and I lost the little pinky orange glob of stuff that he made me squeeze around my line, as a bobber I think. Meanwhile he unfurls his magic wand and starts into this smart alecky routine showing me what my casts are supposed to look like. Right!!! That's gonna happen soon. At least his first stylish casts got exactly as many trout as my less than perfect feeble firsts, so I didn't feel too bad. But then he settled down to really working the water. I was so impressed with his style that I decided to get some pics of him instead of embarrassing myself more. This pic is like a capture from "A River Runs Through It", only without Brad Pitt. I apologize for the picture quality. You don't get much these days in a camera when it comes free with an HP printer. This was one of Bill's fatter loops, but he nailed the seam. After a lot of unrewarding practice casts for me our guide decided to move on. I guess he didn't like practicing either. At the next "hole" we worked our way through the briars and brambles, finally emerging beside a pretty little torrent of muddy water ... and a very focused flyfisherman ensconced in his work. We graciously beat a reasonably silent retreat and headed through the trees (and briars and brambles) to the next best pool. There Bill immediately headed off to look under rocks, he said, for what sounded like Cabbage Flies, Olives and Nymphos. I could hardly wait to see what this produced. Here's a pic I shot while he was "looking". As you can see it would appear he was really just peeing in the river. It was about this time I learned how intelligent flyfisherpersons do it, and save energy to boot. Instead of humiliating and frustrating myself with windknots and hooks in the back of my shirt (only one) I just dropped the little bitty fly in the water and payed out line as the little hairball drifted off to the next county. I figgered it was time to call him back when I hit the backing. Much less effort required. And it caught exactly the same number of trout as the old fashioned method of casting and mending, casting and mending. Just when I was starting to get into a flyfloating groove Bill screamed out "BEAVER". My first thought was "Sheesh, I was never this horny when I was 18." I turned to tell him to throw cold water on it, we were there to fish, not chase tail. I'll be jiggered. There's a beaver, chewing on a tree. Neat. We wandered up and down that stretch of creek, wading in places till the current and/or depth chased us back and finally, around 8:30, Bill's conscience got the best of him and he decided he should get back to hit the books for the next day's exam. So we caught nothing, for which Bill offered profuse apologies. I didn't mind. I had a great time. I learned a lot about fly fishing and spent a day wandering around in the trees and rivers in excellent company. How can that be bad? Bill's a good guy, mature beyond his years, and already well-versed in fish lore and practical fishing knowledge. It was a great day, and I have only young Bill to thank for that. Thanks Bill JF

Interesting responses, albeit pretty predictable. Further proof we're all pretty much the same way down deep. Seems to me we all need some alone time, whether fishing or just goofing off other ways. I don't count working as alone time, whatever your job, because no matter how much you love your work, there's always a degree of stress involved and we need some real down time to release that. We even need time away from family, friends, kids and spouses to unwind and get the attitude adjusted. I seriously doubt that any of the hobbies I've had in my life have been as good as fishing for loosening up frazzled nerves and renewing the spirit. For that to be done best I think we need alone time. I for one really look forward to those evenings when I can drive out to a quiet spot on the river hoping no one has beat me to it, hide the car down a brushy trail and go wading in the creek for a few hours. Then it's just me, the grasshoppers, the bass and occasionally a deer or muskrat. Sometimes I get so relaxed I don't even fuss about finding a lure that works. I just keep throwing and cranking the same thing once I find one that feels good to my arm, getting off on the rhythm and the solitude, trying different casts and retrieves just for fun. Time loses all meaning and it often takes a few man-eating bugs to remind me that the sun's gone down and I'm about to be stuck a mile or so down the river with no lights, darkness fast falling and a long walk over invisible slippery rocks ahead of me. Some folks will describe fishing as very spiritual, even transcendental. On reflection that's probably a pretty accurate description of some of our fishing experiences. We get to, for a few really wonderful moments, commune with nature at nature's own level, not ours, forgetting all the trials and confusion of our hectic lives, and just being (and I know this is going to sound trite) - just being one with nature. Think about it. I hope you've all been there. And I sincerely hope none of you have become so innured to the hunt for meat that you've lost that feeling of just being alone with one great fish in the water, straining to break off your line while you play him, finessing him to the net, kind of An Old Man and the Sea thing. But all that being said, or at worst pontificated, there's lotsa fun to be had fishing with a good buddy, your spouse, your kid(s), or mebbe just someone who shares your enthusiasm for it. Rob (nature boy kayak drivin' artist friend. Below is a sample of a Rock Bass he immortalized. It's hanging on my office wall.) Anyway, Rob and I will often head out with (or without) our waders, our lightest ultralite rods and a shoulder bag holding a few lures and a bottle of water to wade the creek for hours. Even then we're essentially alone because we just naturally look for separation so we don't overwork and spook a pool. We usually hit the first one straight on, the first cast often resulting in a nice bass, then one of us splits off to the far side and starts working down that shore while the other forges ahead at a little faster pace to the next pool. Before you know it we're literally hundreds of yards apart, often out of sight of one another for several hours. It always seems to work out that whoever's driving that night hangs back and eventually the bugs and the darkness conspire to drive the driver back to the car to idle down the road nearest the river. When the one still fishing sees lights waiting up at the road that's the sign to get out of the water and head home to drown some ice cubes in good scotch. That's when we tell all the lies about what we caught and the one that got away. Rob, with his artist's eye is forever saying we need to, we have to, take a camera when we go so he can record some of the images he sees. We always forget though and he spends an ounce or two of Famous Grouse describing the perfect shots he missed, how a certain bass or pike looked in the red glow of sunset, or how I looked in profile, pole bent to the max, concentrating on keeping a hook in our next story subject. That's how we invariably finish our twilight fishing forays, Famous Grouse on ice, telling lies and truths, sitting around a cedar fire by the pool in my yard - a grand way to end a grand day. So I guess what I'm saying is that fishing is a very personal experience, whether alone or in company, and it doesn't matter too much whether you start out with company. At some point it's just you, the water and the fish. I suspect that it's not too dissimilar on a boat. Betcha the distance from the casting deck to the tiller seat probably grows to a football field every now and then. Alone or in company, it's all good, isn't it? And it really makes the next day easier to tackle. Most of you know what I mean. JF

Ya run what ya brung. I know that wasn't meant to apply to fishing, but I said it anyway. Bass are what we got, or carp, or suckers, with the odd stinky little pike in the mix, just enough of them to make it tough to know whether or not to use a leader. JF

I got the Energy reel a few weeks ago and it didn't take much practise out at the pool to get the feel of it. I'm feeling so good about I'm taking it out for the bass opener instead of my trusty spinning reel. I did go back and get a medium action 6' rod though. I decided the 6'6 MH was a tad stiff for the little bass I catch. I'll keep the heavier rod for if and when I ever get to chase bigger fish. For what it's worth, I recommend it as an easy learning reel. The only thing I wish it had was a twitching bar. I didn't know what they were when I got this reel but having since had a chance to try one I'd kinda like one. JF

Aw shucks, thanks. But I'm pretty sure you don't get fiction in the fish porn mags. Truth is harder to do well. My way it's just a matter of invention. That story wouldn't be nearly as good with a 10 inch smallie now, would it? I'm going to that same pool on opening day so here's hoping that that PB is waiting for me. I'm working at erasing the hookage from the visual though. Either way, I'll do a report, an honest one, with pics even. It's a pretty little pool in the evening, and it definitely holds bass. JF

Wading the Thames JF

That's what the ladies do on the dive boats. Sometimes modesty gives way to necessity. JF

You sound just like my dentist, but he doesn't give worms. JF