JohnF

No Fault insurance was in part created by politicians. Why are you surprised it doesn't exactly do what we expected? JF

My understanding of no-fault is that your insurer picks up the tab then collects from the other guy's company once liability is determined. Maybe there's some question of being reimbursed and they're just going by the book. If they get paid then you'll get your deposit back I assume. JF

Pink, hands down. JF

Had one of those in my hands when I bought the Cumara. Awesome - feel and price. JF

Me too. I like the lightness of it compared to the fishing specific bags I've bought. Mine has an easy slider strap adjustment for when the water gets deeper. I stick an assortment of worms in a ziplock, an assortment of hooks, weights and leaders (for pike) in a small peppermint lozenge tin, and fill one plastic tray with the lures du jour and a few premounted weighted tubes. The good sidecutters (for bigger pike when I'm stuck in the middle of the river) go in the bottom but are easy to get at. I carry a sturdy pair of pliers on my wader belt and hemostats & clippers on a stretchy necklace. I hang a small absorbent towel off the strap by a stainless caribiner clip. JF

I am in no way an authority on this rod business but I know what feels good. I started back into creek fishing about 4 years ago and of course cheaped out on gear because I didn't have a clue about it. I was reasonably satisfied with what I was using until I encountered OFC and the filthy rich beggars who play here. Of course in no time my cheesy gear just wasn't acceptable and my head was filled with all kinds of ways to spend my money and get in trouble with my wife. In a very short time I went from bargain bin $6 rods and $19.95 combos with all the backbone of a wet spaghetti noodle to mid-priced Quantum Tour Edition rods. I was starting to get the feel of backbone, tip speed and sensitivity but still not completely satisfied with the results. It seemed the higher I went the more disappointed I was. I wasn't getting the results I was told to expect. I'm not talking fish here, just feel, weight, sensitivity, etc. The better rods handled bigger fish better, and I was learning to find the right rod for the bait being tossed. But it wasn't quite right. Along the way I was lured into the wonderful world of baitcasters and fumbled along there as well. At least I had learned to start well away from the bottom end. But that's a story for another day. Today's is about spinning rods. I finally took the plunge and picked up a Cumara M Xfast. By this time I'd learned to take the reel with me to try the balance. None of my Quantum reels felt right. Naturally the Stradic CI4 mated up with it perfectly. Dayum! I was looking for a rod light enuf to carry for hours while wading, long enough to chuck wacky worms across the creek, strong enough to handle stickbaits and crankbaits, and sensitive enough for dropshotting when I got out on a boat. The Cumara does it all in spades. I can't explain the technical stuff but I can say with no doubt it's wonderfully light, I can sidecast under the trees with just a wrist flick and stll get the length I would get going flat out overhand with cheaper rods, I can feel every pebble I drag over with it, and it handles all the sizes of fish I get beautifully. It's also the lightest combination I believe I have ever picked up and from the reactions of my friends I know they're impressed with the weight too. It just does everything noticeably better, except save money. If I knew then what I know now I could have probably saved money and had at least two more Cumara/Stradic spinning rigs instead of a collection of noodles and just okay rods. Of course I might not appreciate it if I hadn't experienced the lower end of the spectrum first. And I'm sure Cumara is not the only solution. GLoomis and St.Croix both sound like worthy candidates for my money as well but I think I'm okay for spinning gear now. JF

When I was doing some cave diving training in Mexico we were floating in a pretty cenote in the jungle one day. I commented on the interesting mix of fish life in the water. This is only about 100 yds from the Caribbean and has a connecting tunnel to the sea so the baby barracuda etc come in to feed and stay safe from big predators. My instructor said we'd come out there some night to dive so I could see the crocs all lined up in the mangroves. He said the entire pool is surrounded by little red eyes glowing in the dark. I asked where the crocs go during the day. I wish I hadn't. But we spent hours in that pool and never saw a big critter once. JF

Never forget that no government will ever get credit for addressing a problem unless they give us a concrete solution to see. It really doesn't matter about the viability or practicality of the solution. The important thing is for them to have restrictive measures in place. The fact is that many of our laws really matter only to the law abiding. Those who aren't law abiding could care less about the laws and penalties. It's just one more thing to work around for them. In fact there's some thought out there that tighter regulations simply give the lawless a bigger sandbox in which to play. JF

I'd better be careful. He might start some kind of legal action against me for destroying his sexy image. If you asked my wife she'd say I'm about as sexy as a garbage bag, particularly when I grow the beard. JF

I'll get a new pic when I grow my winter fur. Hey, there's worse things in the world than being compared with Sean Connery. Worse things like when folks actually meet me and say stuff like "What happened to Sean?" JF

I run a real estate office, teach pre-registration and Continuing Ed courses for the Ontario Association, and serve on a variety of committees within the industry. If you've used any common Ontario real estate form in the last few years there's every likelihood I had something to do with the content. JF

I'm always dubious about eating something shoved up another food's ass. Twice shoved is even more doubtful. JF

Y'all shouldn't be surprised. There are lots of examples out there. They go by various handles like group dynamic, strength in numbers, team spirit, esprit de corps, brothers in arms, kindred spirits, brothers, etc. Essentially it's the result of a group of disparate individuals with a common interest brought together by some fortuitous fate. In this case OFC. We came together by good fortune merely because we shared an interest in fishing. But once we came together we quickly gelled into a cohesive unit sharing trust and a bunch of other things. It's actually pretty cool. In the real world do we immediately (almost) accept and trust folks we've never even met face to face. Yet it happens. We've all seen it. Like I said, it's pretty damned cool. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Just accept it for what it is and be careful not to expect the same kind of trust and good faith from every stranger you meet. They may not all be under this same magic. JF

I had a vacant house for sale one time. Was showing it to a potential buyer and we were standing in the upstairs bathroom. I'm not sure what exactly happened but I reacted to a noise or movement and happened to backhand the biggest damned bat I've ever seen around here. I nailed it perfectly - right into the open toilet. I slammed the lid down while it was swimming. Then we lifted the lid just enuf to see him. He was huge, like a flying rat. The next problem was getting him out. I ended up going for a welding glove, donning it, then feeling around under the lid till I got hold of the critter. Then he was released outside. I didn't mind barehanding little bats when I wuz a kid but somehow it's just lost it's appeal now. They're yucky nasty creatures. JF

4 spinning reels and 1 baitcaster. I had another Energy PTi spinning reel which I lost. Too bad. That little Quantum was my favourite creek reel. Of course I didn't have the little Stradic CI4 then so who knows? JF

I've got 4 reels with the titanium bail and none has ever opened on the hookset or any other time accidentally. I'd say you've got a setup problem there. The only problem I've ever had was a bail (casting) breaking when dropped on a concrete floor. It was replaced within a few days for $24. JF

Be careful with it when using a PC. There are issues moving between different OSs as my son learned. The Protools company offers excellent support but the issue I believe is drivers to cover the newer Windows Operating Systems. Matt bought it to run on XP and has done all the upgrades but is now snookered other than using old XP machines. It's a pretty expensive way to go anyway unless you're really seriously into the music. I gather there are some pretty good multi track input devices and processing software available for PCs at reasonable prices. If you want to talk to Matt about it just send me a pm and I'll have him answer on my machine. He's got this whole PC music recording and mixing schtick pretty much sorted out without spending an arm and a leg. My brother has a professional studio setup and he even asks Matt questions sometimes. JF

Bats are worthy opponents. A tennis racquet is a great tool to use. JF

Of course the risk there is that he'll publically respond "They paid me a lot of money to say that." or more likely "Time and technology changes all things. Quantum has made some good improvements." etc etc. There's also the legality of using his name, voice and image in ads after their contract has expired. They no longer have consent I suspect. This whole thing with touting sponsor's products is a dicey game, not one the sponsors or the promoters want to have closely examined. JF

Or if you don't log in. JF

They are. Supposedly a vegetarian model but don't put much smaller fish in with them. JF

The fun really starts when their hockey coaches start giving out ultimatums that the kid has to skip AA OBA's to attend fall Peewee tryouts AA. Steve had played virtually every inning that season and always in the 4 hole so you know what he meant to the team. He told the hockey coach to shove it. Of course the hockey coach relented and invited Steve out for the final round of cuts. He didn't go. Same thing happened with high school volleyball (AA/AAA) and basketball when he was in Grade 11. He chose volleyball. Eventually he also ditched baseball in favour of volleyball as he was playing year round by then. He said volleyball nationals were better than OBA's. Hopefully the various associations lighten up one day and let the kids just be kids instead of pre-professional trainees. Unfortunately many parents are so deep into the Wayne Gretzky syndrome that they support the association nonsense. Can't see thru the stars in their eyes. Good luck to you and the kids. It's a crazy time. JF

I think we're in the hot summer doldrums. It's fairly normal for a bit of a downturn now. People have vacations on their minds with the kids out of school. People who need to get moved before school starts have probably already done their deal. It'll start to pick up again shortly. Not to worry. The late summer market should be great. JF

I forgot to say "in season". In the hot weather make sure the a/c is running. I've never understood why someone would leave their house for a showing and not have the a/c blasting. JF

Maybe, maybe not. A lot of home staging advisors suggest baking cookies, pies or muffins just before a showing to fill the home with pleasing aromas to create a nice atmosphere. Cinnamon is one of the best. Right in there with have a crackling fire in the fireplace during a showing and tasteful music playing softly in the background. JF