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I guess it depends if the paddles are the upscale carbon fiber models. And if you also have carbon or graphite rods and reels, and a cooler full of carbonated drinks, the carbon tax could become quite scary.

This is why I invite you all to call the Ministry's phone line (1 800 267 6687 as per their website) and see if they give us all the same version. I called in the middle of the afternoon and spoke to an agent immediately, no waiting at all.

Hi. Mine expires in Nov 2022. So I called the following : Licensing a pleasure craft Office of Boating Safety Toll-free telephone: 1-800-267-6687 Email: [email protected] The agent said that there is nothing to do now. I will automatically receive a letter 3 months before the expiry date with instructions on what to do, and the renewal will be processed free of any charge. She was very clear but feel free to call to see if you get the same response.

I shopped in their stores frequently when I lived in France. They are notorious for their corporate QA department who rigorously tests the products they sell. They also have contract manufacturing of a lot of items that they under their own brands (Caperlan for example), under their own specs which are quite good, and they sell these items at very competitive prices (see the fishing lures for example). Fishing and hunting are not their primary departments. They are more famous for Cycling, Hiking, Gym and other sports gear.

I had the same problem on a 16 ft Cutter pushed by a 70HP Evinrude, and for years couldn't find the cure. (I received a lot of useless advice including from licensed and experienced boat mechanics who made me change the prop, add a planing wing, move the battery and gas tanks, etc). Until one day I discovered by pure chance that by trimming out the engine (which did not have power trim, just a pin) by 3 positions the problem was fully resolved. I encountered this again on another boat and sure enough the same remedy worked on it too.

According to this notice posted last week on the provincial government site, fishing and boating are not unlawful any more, at least in city parks. (Sadly It does not specify what regulations apply outside of urban areas, and outside of parks, so we must assume it's still illegal there). Parks Fact Sheet April 30, 2020 The Use of City Parks during COVID-19 Based on recommendations from Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health to stop the spread of COVID-19 and save lives, the City has made changes to how City parks can be used. As the nice weather approaches, we want to leave parks open for residents. We know how important parks are for respite, serenity as well as an escape to nature and green space in our city. At this time, a park is not meant to be a destination:  You are encouraged to get fresh air and exercise, and to keep moving.  We are asking you not to bring a picnic to the park as it can lead to people congregating together.  While visiting a park, you must practise physical distancing. Under the City’s physical distancing bylaw, any two people who don't live together, who fail to keep two metres of distance between them in a park or public square, can receive a $1,000 ticket.  Under the Province's Emergency Order, a social gathering or organized public event of more than five people is prohibited, unless everyone gathered together live in the same household. This applies in parks. What remains “open” in a park? People can walk/run/bike in the following areas:  Park and ravine green spaces  Beaches  Trails  Boardwalks  Dogs can be walked on-leash People can also:  Fish (with a licence)  Boat, kayak, canoe All amenities in parks are closed The City can close a park, or any part of it, in the interests of public safety. The General Manager of Parks has temporarily closed parks amenities. In addition, the Province has issued an Emergency Order to close outdoor recreational amenities. While in a park, residents must not use park amenities or congregate in groups. Closed City park amenities include: Parks Fact Sheet  Playgrounds, play structures and equipment  Sports facilities and multi-use fields  Soccer fields  Basketball courts  Baseball diamonds  Tennis, platform tennis, table tennis and pickleball courts  Off-leash dog areas  Skateboard and BMX parks  Picnic areas and shelters  Fixed barbecues  Outdoor exercise equipment  Greenhouses, nurseries and conservatories  Zoos and farms  Golf courses and frisbee golf locations  Allotment and community gardens  Ice rinks (with or without ice)  Park washrooms/shelters  Marinas  Parking lots What about benches? The focus of enforcement has shifted away from issuing charges to individuals solely for the use of park benches as a place for temporary respite. The focus in relation to the use of park benches is on individuals who are not in compliance with the prohibitions on social and public gatherings, and who do not practise physical distancing while using park benches. Benches are not destinations where people should congregate. Benches are not sanitized. People may unknowingly spread the virus by sneezing or touching the bench when the next person comes along, sits down and touches it. Can I use a picnic table? You cannot use a picnic table at this time. Picnic tables are considered amenities under the provincial order. Much like benches, picnic tables are not sanitized and can also promote congregating. Can I have a barbecue? You cannot use a privately owned, portable barbecue or hibachi in a park. No portable barbecue can be used without a parks permit, which are not being issued right now. TOParks_FAQ.pdf

Don't kill the dream: execute it

So it seems that for many of us this fish finder only works connected directly to the battery. Fish Finder is actually a mis-nomer for mine, because, contrary to the previous (and simpler) units I had, this one never seems to locate any fish ... Maybe it's because there aren't any left within my reach (a couple of hours drive around TO).

Feeding the technology ogres who are viciously striving to bankrupt us all is not my cup of tea. I am scaling back as much as I can towards used, cheaper, proven and easy to use stuff, which, by the way, I enjoy more (also due to nostalgia perhaps). The 3 boats I had I purchased for around 10% of what they cost new, used them 7-8 years every weekend April to November, and resold them for the same price in 24 h with a simple posting on Kijiji, so paying less to play works well for me. Very content with the features they came with, including batteries & electronics, which have always felt like real luxuries compared to how I learned to fish. Of course some had to be replaced eventually because of the deceitful built in obsolescence (and I sometimes wonder whether we should cave in at all to such racketeering). Well, I have been consistently disappointed by the new products, which, in spite of all the new "bells and whistles" they came with, always resulted in a set back in fact.

In my case the problem was happening just as much with a new battery. I tried various set ups before I was able to make it work consistently. It seems that the Helix unit cannot tolerate being plugged in otherwise that directly to the battery. I have another older unit at the front of the boat (Humminbird 595) which does not care how it's connected and always works. I do not have the expertise to explain why.

I had the same problem and as advised by others on this forum, solved it by reconnecting the unit directly to the starter battery with much thicker wires, both + and -. I added the fuse provided with the unit (purchased new) on the wires and of course had to adopt the habit of shutting off the unit directly and not through the boat's main power switch, which is annoying. Poorly designed product. For its price, one would expect more robust performance in my opinion. None of the units I had previously (3 over 20 years) had such problems.

Sorry for the delay in responding, I was away from my computer. Unfortunately I misplaced the item and have been unable to find it so I can't honestly give you a quote. But they seem to be available in stores for around $30. When factoring in shipping cost, I am not sure it makes much sense to buy used ones.

I found it to be similar to mosquito coils or a repellent candle, but I have been disappointed by the very high cost of running the unit so I retired it. I will try to sell it. Hopefully a rich guy with plenty of money to throw away will take it.

Thanks David. Unfortunately I live in the south so the Northwest corner is beyond a reasonable commute for us. The southern Provincial park cost more than a fishing reel per day just to park. I don't feel good being racketed like that, and I don't think it's right to encourage it by giving in.

Sigh, I miss fishing on Lake Simcoe, but I am unable to find an affordable boat launch, all of the ones we were using having been blocked off by hefty fines to use them.

Am I the only one to have noticed that Panfish (Blue Gills, Pumkinseed, Crappies, Perch) seem to have almost vanished within a couple of hours drive east of Toronto? In places like Rice lake, the Kawarthas, Scuggog, Balsam etc they are nowhere to be found, even with live bait. A total crash of these populations. Is it the round gobies that have extirpated them? Or something much worse, like a total collapse of the ecosystems? I have received an message from a reader saying he/she cannot post a response to this posting. I tried myself but could not figure it out. Would someone have some instructions to do this? Someone kindly told me that thus is not the right forum to post this because people cannot respond. I tried to change this but could not find any other forum than fishing news accessible from my computer. The only other choice is the classified, which seems inappropriate for posting this. Is these a User Manual or Instructions for the site that can be accessed or downloaded?

As many of you probably know, Frenchman's bay had a beach on the west side from which people would launch their boats. It was the last affordable access to Lake Ontario in all of the GTA for all of us who did not amass or inherit wealth. It was also a nice, somewhat still looking wild and natural place where I (and many others I would encounter there) would be able to go to and decompress, escape the pervasive urban stress we have to endure. All of this was closed for 2 years. During this time the place was completely devastated, urbanized and made to look like an ordinary downtown place, and all access to the boat launch was closed. I would like to fight this and am asking for help from those of you who care also. Please suggest ideas on what we could do. Your help would be much appreciated.

Are pan fish disappearing? We have been fishing in lakes around Toronto (East) for the last 20 years. (Scugog, Rice, Sturgeon, Balsam, Simcoe, Chemong...etc...) and have noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of fish we catch each time. Many times this year we haven't caught anything at all, not even a bite, which was impossible even 5 years ago. In particular, pan-fish seem to have practically disappeared, particularly Bluegills and Pumkinseeds, somewhat less Perch and Rock Bass. (We used to try to avoid catching them in the past). But also Pike in Lake Simcoe seem to have vanished, and same for Walleye in Balsam. LM Bass in Chemong/Buckhorn are now much smaller, and dramatically fewer. Rice lake seems to have become altogether fishless. Even the rivers flowing into Lake Ontario seem to have sharply reduced fish populations, for example Bullheads and Minnows in the spring, not to mention many other species we sometimes caught that seem to be completely gone (Smelt, Eels, Cohos, Drums... etc.). Are we the only ones witnessing this? (In which case I wonder why, given we have not changed much in the way we fish).