JohnF

Hopefully. JF

Share! I guess that's quite possible, even probable. Nature drew some invisible fence around Stratford that won't let trout inside. They're close by on the southeast and up towards the Grand if you go Wellesley way so it's very likely. Dunno if they're in that part of the Nith. Anyone? JF

There are probably folks here who know more about the area but I always think there should be something in the water off that park area just north Of Dundas St (Hwy 2) in Thamesford. Turn left at the Tim Hortons and the park is on your right almost immediately. Looks like bass water (smallmouths) pike, and naturally carp and suckers. It looks like there are some good weedbeds in the summer. There are even some trout in some of the creeks down that way so who knows. I'd sure be tempted to give it a go. The other option is to go anywhere on the Thames which runs down from St.Marys to London just slightly north of where you'll be. Find Thorndale and look slightly west of that. If you're adventurous find Plover Mills Rd or Hwy southwest of St.Marys and try any bridges you find. Bass and pike generally are there. Wading's easy or just fish from shore. The water isn't too disgusting. We wet wade regularly and haven't had any body parts fall off yet. Closer to London you may even run into some walleye or even gars (so I'm told). The London guys (like Beats) can fill you in on that area better than me. Rick (Woodsman) might be the best to talk to about the Thamesford/Thorndale area. Speaking of Rick, the tail end of Wildwood conservation lake is very accessible and produces great pike plus some very nice smallies. You can park and fish from the causeway easily. Fishermen drive all the way from Toronto to wet a line there. It's only about 15 minutes up the road from Thamesford. PM me if you want a map. Or better yet, let me know when you're coming and I'll try to arrange an excursion out there myself. I keep saying I'm gonna do get some pike there and have only been out twice. NO PIKE YET DAMMIT. But I had Marko with me once and he jinxed me. The other time it was so windy I had heavy spoons flying back at me. Since it's only a 15 minute drive for me I'm up for another shot at them. Good luck and let us know what you find. And don't forget you need a licence in Ontario. They have a temporary visitor's deal I think. Not expensive at all. Check it online under MNR fishing. JF

Hear, hear. Or anything that is informative for newbies like me and still of interest to the guys who've done it all. JF

At the moment for me it's a variety of floating minnows twitched across the surface, but I'm very fickle. My buddy Rob uses virtually nothing but original floating rapalas in a size 7 ( I think without checking), the grey & white colour. Mostly all we fish are creeks and smallish lakes for bass and the occasional pike. JF

Tie them. Even I figgered 'em out from the internet and now I know they work, at least on suckers. I'll give you some we meet up next and you'll see how easy they are. JF

I've been avoiding jumping into this particular fray, but hey, my name's on the durned thang. I can argue both sides of this so forgive the contradictions to follow: We have a lot of Mennonites in our area, obviously. When my wife finally went back to work after rearing the kids to school age we arranged for the neighbour lady to keep them after school etc until one of us was home from work. The first summer she asked if they could go to vacation bible school with her kids as she was one of the people running it. We said sure. We knew and trusted her and her family implicitly. After some weeks our kids said we were invited to the bible school final day so of course we went. We were aware that it was a country church but were a little surprised to see all the black cars, some buggies, and a predominance of long dresses (on the women) when we arrived (and no a/c in the church on a very hot muggy July evening). If you were to meet the members of that family you'd never guess they were practising Mennonites. Some years ago a young friend of ours (actually he'd been a best friend of our eldest son and had kinda adopted us as family) started bringing his girlfriend of the moment to visit us - a very nice polite modern young lady dressed in the latest styles etc. I was so impressed with her that I arranged for her to work as a part time receptionist at our office. She graduated from high school and left our employ, presumably (by me) to go on to post secondary edykashun etc. By this time she was no longer involved with our young friend. He went through girls like I went through beer. I was quite surprised, even mildly shocked, to run into her on the street one day wearing that long dress and apron favoured by the good Mennonite women of the Wellesley area, and the little coffee filter like hair thingy. She caught my surprise, laughed, and explained that her folks were of the older more orthodox (not sure she used that exact word) order and that through her teen years she really didn't want to live in their style. Around the time she finished high school she made a life choice to return to the fold so to speak and immediately her folks arranged a marriage for her and she became a part of that old order community. I have since run into her several times, even calling her to come in as a sub at the office on occasion, and she tells me she's happy as a clam with that simpler life. She's not a dumb little girl, far from it, and it was meaningful to me to hear her describe how much happier she is in that life style. On the other hand in my high school and university days I worked with some of the boys from the Mennonite community, with many levels of acceptance of our modern trappings, and one constant with most of them, they could party with the best of us. There was nothing staid and somber about them when they got a snootful of lager. The only complaint I have is that at times they present something of a traffic hazard. If it isn't tourists gawking at the anachronistic mode of transport and dress, it's one of us locals trying to figure out what new modern automotive components some enterprising Mennonite has been able to incorporate into the evolution of his ride, or just having to slow down to swing wide to get around the buggy. I'm just not that familiar with horses and the idea of the horse spooking and swinging out in front of my vehicle concerns me, despite the extra wide road shoulders provided for the buggies in certain areas. I'm no farmer so I can't comment on their nutrient, land or manure management practices, and it's obvious to someone who has grown up seeing Mennonites all around that it's getting more and more difficult for them to maintain their old order ways as they become of necessity assimilated by our modern society. And in a way that's a shame. I often think of the aforemmentioned young lady and how content she seems with her life now. There are virtues that escape most of us in that old order lifestyle, and some criticisms that can made too. Basically it's none of my business how they or anyone else choose to live provided they stay within the law. So, that being said, why shouldn't they be required to buy a fishing licence just like me? Respectfully, and with abject apologies to Roy (the devil made me do it) JF

You're the only OFNer I know who has his internet handle painted in huge letters on the side of his van - and you expect anonymity??? JF

Perhaps you should just learn patience, my son. JF

Ya mean like you are with the boats you've got now? JF

Change the motor shroud. Who'll know? JF

Wouldn't the headers scare the fish? JF

Have ya got a cast on it now? That oughta get ya some looks from the distaff side. JF

I know the area. I'll check it out. Mebbe those boys have a honey hole in there. JF

I think I recognize the spot in your pic. I'll have to check it out to see what might be in there. JF

The others have probably nailed it. We don't see trout above Stratford, at least not that close. If you go just a bit south and east of Stratford you'll find the trout, or at least so I'm told. I've often thought I should head over Wellesley way to try some of the creeks. To be honest I'm not certain what I'd find fishwise. Generally we have carp, suckers, pike, and lots of smallmouth bass with just enuf little bitty cats to say we got 'em. JF

I usually recommend that the prospective landlord gets some advice from his accountant before getting in too deep. Decisions like whether or not to depreciate are better addressed by professionals, particularly the ones that are gonna be the buffer betwixt you and Revenue Canada. On the whole rental housing can be an excellent investment, particularly for young folks trying to get established financially. Common sense and due diligence will keep you out of trouble. JF

Glad to help. JF

When mortgage rates dropped to 3 & 4% the average quality of tenants started to slide. The good people couldn't resist the cheap mortgage rates and went out and bought houses. There's a pretty good chance that tenant quality will rise slightly with the economic times because of lowering job security etc but landlords will still have to vet the apps carefully. There's a lot to be said for being a resident landlord. For some reason tenants under the watchful eye tend to be more dependable. Of course there are exceptions to every rule. JF

By that reasoning I'm not fishing if I don't catch anything, just wading down the creek beating the air with a graphite stick. JF

The rental income is simply tacked on top of your other income for tax purposes. The benefit part is the deductions you can claim (operating expenses for the rental portion of the property). You need to understand that if a part of the principal residence is used to generate income you won't be able to claim the full tax exemption when you sell it. As for the mortgage, the lender will not consider 100% of the rental income when determining your GDS & TDS. These are the ratios that determine what your maximum borrowing ability will be. PM me if you have any questions. I'll help however I can. JF

We need an emoticon for a great big wet raspberry. JF

Are you implying that I am sometimes long winded? JF

Golf is a great game. My son the golf pro tells me it's even more fun when you learn to do it right. JF

Whether you like it or not we do in fact have seasons for bass in Ontario. Therefore to defend selectively ignoring the regs with which you disagree is to in fact defend all poaching. Pro poaching - Is you is or is you ain't? JF