JohnF

Bah! I've never caught any smaller than that. JF

Man, I thought we had ugly burbot over here! JF

You live in a benevolent community. I can tell you stories of property owners who were ordered to cut out paving that exceeded the allowed limits. Typically in subdivisions around here the front wall of the house is right on the 25' setback line and since overnight parking is technically illegal within the prescribed setback area the municipality does not allow a drive wider than the garage unless there's sideyard available for legal parking, and of course, because of the high cost of urban land today, most modern houses go right out to the minimum sideyard requirement (generally 12' total) so there's no room for a car there. JF

Kinda wishin' I hadn't sold all my cold water gear. Sounds like there's lotsa call for icedivers. JF

Be careful with zoning regs. Some municipalities are kinda tough about driveways exceeding garage capacity and setback/parking regs. JF

Palomar unless it's a lure that likes a loop. JF

Don't blame you. It's easier to find these days than albino eunuch eyebrow hairs. JF

Yup, that's a ***** post fer sure. Move over, Solo and Moose. JF

I always chuckle when someone finally goes to a proper accountant and finds about the different legitimate deductions they didn't know they could make and how much more than the accounting fees it would have saved them. Not to say it happens for everyone but if you have a rental property, or do business from your home, or have tuition fees and school expenses for you or the kids, or use your vehicle for business, etc. there's a good chance you're missing out on deductions. JF

Right. Like a pretty girl is gonna hang out with her old man when there are young men about. JF

They sound like steelheaders. JF

I agree that in it's simplest form income tax should be doable by the taxpayer with a program to guide him/her along. Unfortunately there are few of us any more whose income is not subject to various deductions and adjustments like CCA, dependents and secondary revenue sources and the chance of missing something that might be to your advantage is too great to risk DIY. I understand that the revenooers will point out errors but they can only correct what they know about. If you missed legitimate deductables that do not appear in the filing there's no way they'll be able to help. JF

I've attended presentations by John Wilkinson (he's a local guy) and spoken by phone at length with one of his department people and I remain convinced that it will be detrimental to my business (real estate). The average home buyer/seller is going to get nicked pretty good. I appreciate there are potentially some benefits for certain businesses but my jury is still out as to whether or not the net effect will be good for Ontarians generally. There was initially some talk about it being imposed by the feds with a threat that provincial transfer payments would be adversely affected but that talk suddenly died off. I suspect the difference in partisan power between the federal govt and the Ontario govt came into play there somewhere. I'd really be interested in seeing how this would play out if there was no partisan in politics. JF

I was just going to say the same thing. I ran into him one evening on the Thames and he was a hoot. He was flyfishing for big carp. His book is well worth the read if you can find it. JF

Wow. You call that bashing? JF

I'm a big fan of DIY in some things, but when it comes to my money I prefer to put my trust in an accountant. If you provide him/her with properly organized records and documentation it should be quite painless cost-wise. In fact I don't understand why so many folks run to a street corner short term rental office to have it done by someone who's on temporary employment when there are qualified professionals out there to do it. Part of the deal is the consistency of having one person do it regularly, someone who has your records from past years to reference. I can't count the number of times my accountant has identified something that I'd have missed, whether it was a legal deductible expense or something that I would have overlooked and perhaps run afoul of the revenooers for. YMMV JF

So is the speedo to protect against wind knots? JF

I'm afeared NHL hockey all looks pretty pedestrian after those Olympic games. Perhaps it'll pick up once the top teams settle down to the playoffs. Even tried watching Major Junior play last night. In the meantime I might have to watch something else. Fortunately there should be some great curling in the next few weeks. Hopefully I'll be back in the mood next fall. JF

I have "friends" in Florida and Tennessee who would tell you that's a great argument for concealed carry permits. I italicized the friends because after they spouted that nonsense and I gave them my thoughts on arming up our friendship got a little chilly. Pretty sure you'd have trouble convincing the court your ice hole is your castle, even in southern Fla. JF

But it should still be covered. Most of the box stores have approved service dealers locally. JF

No warranty? JF

Great advice. a couple of years back I mentioned on here that I wanted to get started at it and young Bill Parker (he who disappeared into the Pacific wilds) offered to take me out. I caught nothing but it was a great learning experience seeing how to set up, what to look for, and how not to get washed away when crossing streams far too swollen for an old fogey to be wading. The best part of the learning experience was seeing it happen in context. Simplified a whole lot of it and clarified things I'd only read about on the 'net and in books. At one point I thought Bill had kneeled to puke in the river but discovered he was only turning up rocks to check the hatch. Unfortunately the weather conspired last year to make neophyte solo flyfishing unappealing to me but I'm determined to get out this year and chase down some smallmouths with those flies Singingdog so generously gifted me with a while back. Got my fingers crossed for less wind and more bass in the creek. JF

That's a family of 40 or so. Would that the fish were such prolific breeders. JF

It's easy for all of us to give you advice based on our personal preferences. Some of it will even be good. But I think what you really should do is find someone who lives there and who knows what they're talking about to help you figure out what to target and what equipment to buy based on your budget etc. Drag him out to the fishing store and listen to him (or her) and the shop guy and buy the best you can afford based on what they suggest. Then take yer buddy out for a few beers as a reward. Don't buy too cheap. You'll regret it. You'll throw it on the shelf right away and buy better or you'll get frustrated and give up fishing. That doesn't mean you need to break the bank. I think you can get an acceptable spinning rod setup for under $100 - $125 with two full spools of line (6-8 # mono and 15 # braid) if you shop a bit. Make sure the rod has backbone and isn't rock heavy. Don't start with ultralite. You'll figure out if that's what you want later. Get a middle of the road sized reel like a 2500 series and stick to brand names like Shimano, Quantum, etc. Attach the reel to the rod in the store and try the balance - see if it feels good in your hand. As has been said 6 1/2 - 7' Med - Med Heavy rod. Personally my favourite creek smallmouth rod is a 5 1/2' ML with a small Quantum Energy reel but when I lost it I went larger and longer for the versatility. My wife really liked that one for the size, weight and how easy it was to handle. I'm no expert as any here who've fished with me will attest but I'm learning what I like in gear. Have fun. JF

How late do they actually start getting into nesting mode? JF