mooseroo

Nice fish! Congrats! Is it me or are the salmon coming in this year looking healthier than last year!? I recall a lot of bruised, battered, injured, diseased fish popping up last year. This year the run seems to be coming in healthy! Anybody else notice this or am I just imagining?

I've heard that much of it has to do with the way the MNR is stocking the salmon population these days. No actual knowledge of this but... apparently the MNR is dumping the salmon fry from break walls along the lake shore rather than dumping them way upstream. Apparently, the reason this is impacting stock is that the salmon "imprint" on the river and return to the same river to spawn. When they are dumped directly in to the lake, the imprinting doesn't occur. Another possible thought is the clipped fins on all stocked fry. I gather the MNR "marks" each fry as stocked by clipping off a fin on each fish. Some believe this lowers the fishes ability to chase down bait fish and is resulting in smaller fish. Invasive species like the two mussels (zebra and the other one whose name escapes me) and the goby are also likely impacting the food chain and possibly limiting food supply. I'm not wildlife biologist so debate this until the cows come home... just passing on what I've heard in recent years.

That's my biggest complaint with Bass Pro up here in Toronto too! I wish they had a CDN$ online store. I'd be up there much more frequently if I could see the prices from home and create shopping list.

So I have a birthday coming up and I'm thinking about asking for waders. Since a boat is a bit pricey for a birthday wish list, I'll have to settle! I've never owned a pair before and I wanted to get some advice on what to look for in a pair of waders and which brands I should look at. I'm interested in getting into spring/fall river fishing a bit deeper (pun intended) and waders are definitely the way to go. I'm currently confining my activities to spincast reels/rods but eventually might try my hand at fly fishing. I'm also keen on trying a float tube in the future. That's for another post though. From what I've seen, there are a few choices in style (booted or sock foot) as well as material (neoprene, breathable, etc). What are the advantages of sock versus booted? Which material will last the longest if treated with care? Which brand have you had good experiences with? If you've got advice, can you break up your replies based on a) style and material? This is probably the easiest way to narrow down the choices. I'm near Toronto but have occasion to visit Buffalo so you don't need to limit the advice to Canadian brands/vendors completely. I can also get to Gander Mountain, Dick's and a few other places. Thanks in advance for the advice! Want to get a pair that will last me a few seasons and avoid the dreaded soggy -bottoms. Moose

That's definitely not mercury related. That's just a resilient fish!