JohnF

Good stuff. This arrived in an email today and it just seems appropriate to the moment. I never keep these but this one was just so perfectly compact that I saved it. Now i know why. Heavenly Father, please bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of Your peace, prosperity and power as he/she seeks to have a closer relationship with You. Amen. JF

Lotsa good and bad in this legislation. Business and commerce is going to love it but the average consumer is going to feel the pain. JF

Imagine where we'd be without that kind of "terrorism" though. Of course that raises the question of attacker and defender status, and even that line gets blurred in the throes of a good war. Our world is soooo confusing. JF

Anyone who dresses in camo, wears a mask over their face and carries a weapon is a terrorist in my book. Of course they could also be a deer hunter. JF

Someone nee3ds to explain to them that you don't draw attention to someone's assholery by commiting grander assholery. JF

Two sided velcro tape and bungee hooks. JF

Buy ya already got a big hole in the ice. JF

Some of the stuff they do is just too cute. But there's some that deserves getting neutered. JF

I'd classify them as ecoterrorists, just like Green Peace. It all started out of high ideals but got dirty somewhere along the way. JF

Pretty much all of the above: - makes the ice less slippery for the floundering goalie - slows the puck down in the powder - eliminates little bumps that might cause the puck to jump over the stick JF

That era had some of the most entertainig hockey games, but for truly skilled hockey I'll take today's game. As someone said here recently even the Junior game is pretty damned good. Watch one of the Junior games starting Labour Day, then immediately switch to one of the nostalgia channels and catch a pro game from the 60's & 70's. Watch the difference in skating skills, passing, shooting, etc. There were some guys who did some of those things pretty impressively back then, but there are a lot more guys today doing a lot more of those things impressively, and at a younger age. And that's just my not so humble opinion. JF

What's the language in the policy? It may give the insurer options. JF

I'll defer to yer experience, oh learned one. Besides, I fail to understand why any person in full possession of their faculties would wanna stand in an icey creek all day. JF

For what it's worth I had some experience with neoprene and trilam in drysuits back when I was diving. Many of us found the neo just too durned bulky and constricting and learned to layer under the trilam. I have spent as long as 40 minutes underwater in 34 degree (1 degree C) water in absolute comfort in my shell (like breathable wader material) wearing a combination of thermal longjohns and some kind of insulated jumpsuit over that. There are lots of products on the market, in fact I still have a set or two of the thermals that I used to wear. The only thermal stuff was the hood, gloves and booties. I don't think I could ever go to neo waders now. JF

This thread probably took on a tad more life than I'd expected but it's brought out some interesting points. All I'd really meant to ask was why more obviously accomplished fisherpersons, like you for instance, didn't try to find ways to let fishing help support itself. It can be an expensive habit, and just like drug users turn to dealing, for a while at least, it seems to me a no-brainer for those among us spending way too much on a habit to try to get something back. On the other side of the coin I know there are fisherperson wannabes like me who would happily pay something for the privilege of some river time and tutelage from the like of Mike (or you or Moosebunk or Garry or Lew or any of the many) who have attained icon or near-icon status through their sharing of knowledge and vicarious adventuring. I fully understand the risks in turning a hobby into a job. On the other hand what could be better than a part time job that remains a hobby and more importantly helps offset the cost of the hobby? I thought of another analogy that might better apply here. In Stratford we have a lot of folks who have gotten into the B&B business because of the Shakespearean theatre here. These are folks with big old houses and often nice retirement plans. In some cases they are folks who've come to town specifically to set up a B&B. For many it becomes a lifestyle thing. They meet a lot of new friends who come back year after year. These guests are happy to pay something for their accommodations because they start to feel like part of the family here, they get into a comfort zone and it works well for everyone. They'd be paying for a hotel if they didn't stay at the B&B. Admittedly some of these B&B operators get tired of the pressure and the loss of privacy in their home but it's a relatively small percentage. I liken a casual guiding venture to the B&B business. Not necessarily for everyone but a great thing for those who thrive on it. Considering how much money some of the serious fisherfolks here invest in their fishing each year I sure don't blame some for taking advantage of an opportunity to offset those expenses, and considering the vicarious thrills we OFNers enjoy through their generosity I believe they have something just as worthy as a warm bed and pleasant company to offer to their guests. The tradeoff for the client is good company, confidence to try new things, exposure to knowledge and previously unacquired skill sets, and generally an escape from merely enjoying the grand adventures vicariously and jumping right into the stream and actually participating. Dayum! That sounds good. Here's a scenario for you. My buddy Rob (another crazy artist) has been a kayak fishersoul for the better part of his life. His best moments are getting hisself lost in the Everglades in his kayak, communing with the snakes and alligators. He's been relentlessly hounding me to get a 'yak of my own so I can do some communing too. So assuming I were to get one of the infernal machines, why wouldn't I want to be shown around some of the best fishing in the province by someone who knows their way around kayaks and fishing both. I'd think it was great if I could confidently approach someone like you with a request for a day of kayak fishing for bass in the Kawarthas. How do I do it without feeling like I'm imposing? By knowing that I can offer to compensate you for your time and knowledge, so I make the request fully prepared to pay a few hundred bux. It makes it a win/win deal. I get some great guiding and tutelage and you come away with a bit of money to buy more flyline, or 'yak paddles, or bits of deerhair and owl scrotum or whatever esoteric pieces of the animal carcass you guys use in yer arcane little fly tying obsession. In the process you get to make new friends, just like the B&B operators. And just like the B&B operators you get to pick and choose your clients and where you will take them. Of course, for those who absolutely do not want anything to do with selling themselves for a silver-crossed palm, there's the unquestioned right to never go commercial. For those who do there always remains the right to quit at any time it's no longer fun. And now I'd better stop this push for commercializing fishing. I hadn't ever meant for it to be a campaign to turn everyone who has over achieved in fishing into a fish hooker, so to speak. JF

I hoped so, but then she stayed. Just kidding. We'd been talking about it for years but couldn't pull the trigger. She took the bull by the horns while I was off playing with 2rs. Works for me. JF

I think the hockey I enjoy best the last few years is the world juniors that starts on Boxing Day. It's really disappointing that we leave for Mexico around New Years and they think sport begins and ends with American football at our resort and on Mexican TV, at least at that time of year. JF

Talk to yer friend Mod Chris. He finds pike in cold dreary water. Of course he needs me to aim his cast. Seems to me I suggested he use a light jig with a plastic minnow but you should ask him. JF

This year kinda sucked for me, but it's hard to have a good year when you don't get out a lot. I snuck away for a few days with 2rs and my wife sold the house while I was gone. That kinda did in my fishing excursions till we got the stuff all packed for the move. Then the weather conspired to louse me up after that. I suppose I could go out steelheading in the next week or so but that ain't likely to happen. Is that enuf whining yet? JF

Jeez. Yer taking all the suspense out of it. What's the fun in knowing the little finny fellers are hanging out just exackly where yer gonna drop the unnaturally natural lure of choice? I once told my brother in law to can all that and just buy a few nitrox fills for me and I'd swim under the boat and report where the fishies are hanging out. I figgered I'd get to dive, see the purty fish, and he'd still be dangling his worm just like always. Seriously though, it's funny how the fish don't really mind us divers swimming thru their space. I've said it here before but I've literally rubbed shoulders with 4' muskies in the St.Lawrence and gigantic tarpon in the Caribbean. Just a thought. I'm old but I can still dive. JF

I want my lost river rod & reel back. It had great balance and was 5 1/2' long so it went anywhere yet could handle decent sized bass. JF

Great points. JF

Done. Don't wait for the fishing though if you have any questions on the real estate side. Happy to help. JF

Thanks Roy. And it's still fun. Go figger. JF

Yes. Exactly. It'd have to be in the bar. Will you be buying? Seriously. I posted this as one relatively new to fishing (after a 5 decade hiatus at least). Now that I have gotten comfortable with bass fishing I would like to have someone as knowledgable as Mike show me around some rivers to help me get the fundamentals float fishing down instead of fumbling with knots and gear and perhaps giving up in frustration. I was fortunate enought to run across Garry2rs who showed me a whole bunch I didn't know and took me out on his bassboat to boot. I had a lot of fun, saw a lot of techniques I'd never have figured out on my own, learned to cast better, even with a baitcaster, and picked up a lot of tidbits about bassfishing generally that I now can apply when I go wading around here. Sure, I'd love to catch the monsters Lew's talking about, but aren't monsters the exception, not the rule. As soon as they become commonplace, they're not special any longer. I'm happy as a clam just catching decent fish with some small degree of competence. I didn't mean to get into the relative merits of guides, only what the value of the right guide could be to a neophyte fisherperson, and why aren't more of the accomplished fishermen getting a little money back from it. If I was an accomplished fisherperson then I might be tempted to try to buy an expert like Lew into taking me out on a musky hunt but since the only muskies I've ever seen alive were either in an aquarium or hanging in the lee of a wreck in the St.Lawrence 30 feet below the surface then I'd settle for any puny little musky that might be willing to chomp down on my lure. Given the old saw about muskies being the fish of 10,000 casts, or was it 100,000, then I'd consider myself privileged to be shown around by someone with Lew's expertise. My question doesn't preclude Musky experts letting their hard earned knowledge pay for new boats and gear. JF