maybe

Jeff and I are on the hunt for a 2000-2003 Yukon/Suburban type critter. It'll be a 3rd vehicle, so no sense in getting too fancy...gently pre-loved is just ducky. We checked out the North Toronto Vehicle Auction this morning. Wow. Neat place, shame the rig we were looking at had too many problems. Tomorrow we'll be headed back toward Toronto to see a few trucks from wheelsonline.ca. We've never shopped for a vehicle down there before, so we're kinda clueless about where the really nifty offline sources are. If anyone's got some local knowledge they'd like to pass on, we'd love to hear it!

I managed to get through the report without laughing, but that line really cracked me up. Johnny falling in beside a muskie would've been something to see. Sean, I know it was a crappy week, and falling in sure isn't fun....but as falling in goes, you really pulled it off well! The camera stayed dry, your pics stayed safe, you still had car keys etc when you got back out, and there were dry clothes waiting for you. Bravo! I've gotten into the habit of zipping keys/wallet/cell/etc into my boat bag before I take it out of the car. Jeff lost his cell in the weeds under the dock last year, and I don't want to give him the chance to laugh at me for doing the same thing. There's always a pair of track pants and at least one shirt in my bag, but I'd only been thinking about staying warm after sundown. Thanks for making me take falling overboard into consideration!

Wow...that's some impressive musky herding. Way to go!!

So sorry for your loss, Paul. Condolences for the family from Jeff & I. I'm really glad that Lakair pike happened for your uncle. We should all go out with something so fun that fresh in our memories.

Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood (Whose Line Is It Anyway) take improv to the very painful next level at the 2005 Just For Laughs. 500 set traps + 2 blindfolds + 4 bare feet = 1 extremely funny video Their "Shakespeare scene" is also quite good. Best pun on 'voulez-vous coucher avec moi' I've ever heard.

Great pics, Bill! Can't wait for the next set. That tourist crossing sign just kills me. ROFL!!

Thanks for the shot in the arm. Much appreciated, especially after the wet blanket. Haven't made it back to the lake since this fish. Itchy. REALLY itchy!!!

Just FYI - the funeral home's online tribute page for Gary has gone live. Click on his name, it'll launch a window with candles on it. The "service details / tribute" button is at the bottom of this candle page. http://www.dodgefuneralhome.com/runtime.ph...vigatorId=29209

What terrible news. Jeff's & my condolences to Gary's loved ones. He was just here last night. Not that that makes a difference when it's your time, but it feels significant somehow.

Congrats on the new trailer & welcome to the lake!

Glad to see Sheba's settled in. She and your daughter make a really cute pair. Amazed you got a hook into that miniature bass. Great pic!

The replacement GW3 model comes in your size, Nancy. If they perform anything like the previous version, you'll be thrilled. My street has a really nasty hill at the end. It's a block and a half of 45 degree incline, and has (here's brilliance!) a 4-way stop right at the base of it. It's long, it's steep, and you get absolutely no run at this thing. To add to the fun, it's a quiet little street - sanders & snowplows don't pay much attention. Running the previous GW2 version, my Saturn's walked up that hill in deep powder, wet packy stuff, and freezing rain. Never a problem, never had to back down and try again. More than I can say for some of my 4x4-driving neighbours. Unless you're going to jack the car up and swap tires yourself, a 2nd set of rims isn't worth it. Tires should be balanced when they're installed, so the car should be heading for a garage anyway. You're already paying the tech to take the wheel off the car, balance the wheel, and put the wheel back on the car - the price for swapping the rubber is a negligible addition when you're mucking around in there anyway. May as well pay the shop a few extra bucks twice a year, rather than $$$ up front and then have to tip your chiropractor.

What on earth does that poor guy with the growths have to do with litterbugs?

@#%$!!!! Danbo, that desert pic flipping near gave me a heart attack. *shudder*

The first whiff of a telemarketer, door-to-door salesman, spammer, scammer, or other Amway-type parasite approaching, and my claws come out. That in mind, I started digging on this class action suit. Here's what I found: The url steelesettlement.com was registered for a 2 year term starting August 1/08. It's owned by Garden City Group 105 Maxess Road Melville, New York 11747 United States (631) 470-6823 Garden City Group is a subsidiary of Crawford & Company, which trades on the NY stock exchange as CRDA and CRDB. Quick googling found GCG supporting autism, winning site awards, and adding executives. If they don't exist, they're darned good at making ghosts. 105 Maxess Road is a corporate center. The phone # is unlisted cable. These guys have a bloody ton of class action suits on the go. Take a look at their "lawsuits beginning with S" page. This PayPal thing is on it...along with cases involving Saab, Sears, Sprint, Panasonic, HP and Staples. Their NY office has had some people complain to the Better Business Bureau, but the OH office has been BBB approved since 2002.

Thanks for the encouragement, gang! Roy - if I actually got in front of the camera, GCD would have nothing to rib me about. Just can't have that, now can we? J R - I expect I will find out before long. Jeff caught his first a week and a half ago, with just his grandmother in the boat. She's not digicam-friendly, so it escaped before he could get a pic of it. I have this feeling he's got something to prove now. The debit card's going to take a beating... Carole - This is where I'm supposed to be a good girl and say that size doesn't matter, right?

I'm using a Shimano Sedona 2500 RB. Good price, light enough to run all day, and rear drag adjust is a thing of beauty. I'd buy another in a heartbeat. As for line, Rapala Titanium 30lb braid. The Power Pro on Jeff's rods is fine, too. Either way, this gal doesn't need to worry about birdsnests from mono's memory, or lost lures when she panics and the wussy line snaps. Leave those "perks" for later when she's an old pro and in the mood for aggravation. I've got a cheap Berkley Enforcer rod I picked up at Crappy for I dunno...$25-ish?...2 years ago. It's a poster child for Viagra, but the handle makes up for it. It's a big foam thing, with no sharp trim pieces, and no huge gap over top of the reel. You wouldn't believe how hard that is to find. I know it looks like heck, but it's supremely comfy, and the foam surface kind of grips you back. Makes keeping control of the rod very low effort, even soaking wet. Jeff's expensive cork handled rods take about 10x the work, even though they're lighter. Just thinking that might be part of your girlfriend's "weight" complaint. Either way, congrats on finding a gal who'll come out with you. Hope she finds a setup that really fits her well!

Supervisor Salmon. How great is that? Agreed...the windshield does look pretty vulnerable. Wonder what the manufacturers will do now.

We hit the lake around 5pm yesterday, and headed for a little cove we don't usually fish. Jeff seemed excited about this "new" spot, but I wasn't feeling too optimistic. A friend of mine passed away earlier this week, and I was having trouble getting excited about fish. At any rate, since I figured nothing was happening anyway, I decided to throw out a bait I'd bought on a whim, but hadn't tried before. Enter a PowerBait Realistix 5" Power Jerkshad in pearl white. They've got a subtle pinkish sheen to them, which caught my eye. Threw one on a weighted 4/0 hook, and over the side it went. Lots of little fish molested it, but nothing big enough to get at the hook. What the heck - if it's a panfish day, it's a panfish day. Grabbed a stinger hook, skinned it through the bait's tail, and threw it out again. This little bugger immediately stepped up to the plate. We couldn't believe it took a swipe at such a big dinner. Umpteen little guys later, a bass showed up to remind us that the big hook actually worked. Eventually, we moved off to drift a more familiar spot. Jeff, as usual, was running up and down the boat to switch lures every 3 minutes. Still in a lousy mood, and not really paying attention to the fishing, I kept absentmindedly throwing the jerkshad. Every few minutes, I'd say hello to a little perch or bluegill. Life as usual, until 7 o'clock rolled around. I figured I'd hooked onto some really strong weeds, and sat still, waiting for them to give way. Ha. Next thing I know, my rod's bent in half, the drag is squawking, and I caught a brief glimpse of something big and greenish hitting the surface. Sitting crosslegged on the motor as usual, I didn't have a great view, and couldn't see what it was. Jeff must've had a better vantage point standing up on the bow seats, because the next thing I know he's yelling "it's a muskie!" Ohmigawd. Nothing like pressure, now is there? Fight lasted maybe 30 seconds, but it sure felt like longer. I was sure I'd do something stupid, and the fish would get off before we could get a good look at it. Sometimes, I really love it when I'm wrong. 30", 5.5lbs...teeny by Lew standards, but huge in my little panfish world. We did our best to keep handling & photo time to an absolute minimum. Once it was safely in the net, Jeff looked after unhooking and handling the fish, while I snapped pics with one hand and laid out tools, ruler, and tourney team sign with the other. Back in the water, the fish didn't hang around for much revival coddling. Now that I've finally seen one of these critters, all I can say is: I want to see more of them.

In order to properly appreciate keram's work, I believe we do need to see that picture. Please?

I'd say go...but think of BPS as a museum. You might pick up a few little things in the gift shop, but it's really just about wandering around enjoying the decor. On your way over, you might want to stop in at Gagnon's. They're ridiculously convenient from the 401, and they've got skids of stuff I've never seen at Bass Pro or LeBaron's. You'll find the price tags can be kind of scary on big items, but may deflate if you ask. Note: the Park Rd exit was recently removed - you'll need to take Stevenson Rd. For your wife, BPS is on the way to the Cookstown Outlet Mall and the 400 Market. Cookstown is stuffed full of designer outlet stores, as opposed to Vaughan Mills being mostly regular retail pricing. The Market is 105,000 square feet - flipping massive. The building's divided into 2 halves, part flea market (decent), and part antique mall (spectacular!). As far as interesting shopping in Vaughan, there are lots of factory outlet stores sprinkled around. Lots of designer stuff cheap, if you know where to look. Have your wife take a spin through Shoestring Shopping for a heads up on what's really interesting in Toronto and the GTA. It's an amazing resource.

Ahhh, so that's what it was. Brilliant workaround!

Congratulations!! Glad the weather cooperated for you. Gorgeous pics, looking forward to seeing the next 3 parts. One question: what's going on in this picture?

Loved the flip & jump pics! Thanks for posting them.

Well, it was the 3rd Wednesday of a week with 2 blue moons, so JeffBornFishin and I snuck off to the lake for the afternoon. Blue skies, light winds, very little boat traffic....perfect. We weren't even out of the marina before I'd made my first cast (well, heave, really), and caught a beautiful 120-incher. After a 30 second fight and graceful boatside release, we were on our way. Many thanks to our marina owner for getting his wooden sailboat stuck in the shallows - it was a new pb for me. No matter what we threw for the rest of the afternoon, only the little dinks were biting. Interesting colours - pumpkinseed really lit up, bluegill abnormally gray, and a few smallies had some really interesting turquoise going on. Can't remember the last time we saw so many WGSF. I'm happy to play with panfish all day, but Jeff....well, let's just say he wasn't doing cartwheels up in the bow: Somewhere around 5pm, we were scooting up the east side of Buckhorn when Jeff pointed to what he thought were crows in the dead tree on Flat Island. They looked a little long in the neck to be crows, so we swung in for a closer look and saw....2 dozen cormorants. Swinging west through the narrow passage at the top of Fox Island, we spotted another big flock of them floating in the water. Didn't stop to take more pics, but I'd guesstimate there were 30-40 of the blasted things. Odd - a couple of them were holding their wings up like an old Firebird emblem. Not flapping them or anything, just sitting still. Back at the marina, I wasted some time watching the baby fish darting around in the weeds between boats. Most of them are still tiny and nondescript, but there were a couple of largies that're starting to look like actual fish. Maybe 1.5cm from back to belly and 4.5cm long. Cute little things. If anyone's got tips for forcing a point & shoot into focusing below the water surface, I'm all ears. The "manual focus preview" sweet spot arrangement Canon threw into my camera just doesn't work in this situation.