Zubris21

Great report! thanks for sharing! It's nice to see a couple species we don't see all the time! keep it up!

Just did a glance over at the photos, I will devote a few minutes to do all the reading at least once. You my friend have a dream job!!!

Love the idea, but I live in northern BC, so don't think it'd work out.

That seems more barbaric than the "F word" post from the other day.

I'm glad I don't enjoy that fancy coffee too much. Nothing beats a black coffee in the morning if you ask me!

Looks very good! I remember following along on that thread a couple months ago and crossing my fingers for you!

welcome aboard! I was fishing rainbow through the ice last weekend and had a blast, so I can understand how much fun it must have been! keep the reports coming and thanks for sharing!

great colours on those fellas! thanks for sharing, now care to share some of the results from the pan??

Ben I think this is a very interesting commentary and I don't think anyone is taking any offense to it. Personally I practice catch and release on most of the fish I catch, but still bring something home about 75% of the time, it all depends on what I'm fishing for. The fish I bring home are not the largest, nor the smallest caught on any particular day, and typically I don't bring home my limit because I'd rather just bring home what I will consume in that meal. The fish we have here typically come from strong healthy populations, and the number harvested by sport fisherman does little to no damage. I think all of the recent threads with people bringing home fish is directly linked to the season for a couple reasons. 1. The lakes are more accessible to more people (don't need boats). 2. The fish will usually bite if you can find them, at least for a little while. 3. maybe the most important, the fish taste better coming out of the clean cold water as opposed to the warmer muddier waters in spring and summer. In the end it is a personal choice, if you enjoy fish and fishing by all means keep your limit if you so choose. If you don't want to keep any fish I don't think anyone would ever put you down for that either!

I have never fished in the TO area, but from what I hear there are plenty of opportunities. I can however help you out with some techniques for bass (which I don't think you've caught). They are probably the easiest fish to catch in these parts. Almost any tackle will work, but your best off retrieving a spinner bait along weedlines, pulling a top water across some lilly pads, or throwing a soft plastic into some slop. you will surely hit some largemouth, and the odd smallmouth this way. If targeting smallies specifically throwing tubes around rock piles would probably be your best bet. Since you mentioned fishing Toronto Island I'm going to ask someone else (more familiar) to clarify something. I believe you may need a special permit in addition to your license to fish this area? I think I remember someone saying that, but it may have only been for boat fishing (harbour license).

Temperatures have been pretty mild up here lately and we were lucky enough to have clear skies and temperatures ranging from about -7 degrees C to +2 for the weekend. Saturday, Matt and I decided to head out for a ski. The goal was to reach the summit of Tanzilla Butte, a small mountain not to far out of town. The day was great and the skinning in was nice and relaxing. Unfortunately my legs were dead from a week full of hockey and skating so I only made it up about 300m vertical. Right to the base of the steep stuff. Matt kept going and made it to tree line but the snow was terrible so he also turned back. No picture from the ski, but it was still a great day to be out, and I even found a new lake that I want to try my luck at. Sunday was another gorgeous day. Kalvin and I had been planning on getting out ice fishing again for a couple weeks but things kept messing up our plans. Today was different, we were in no real hurry and I picked him up around 11am. Made a quick stop to pick up his rod and the auger and off we went. We decided to head South to Lower Gnat Lake and try our hand at some Rainbows. Got to the lake around noon and had a tough hike down to the ice through waist deep snow (I need snowshoes). We found about 18 inches of ice, which was great because last weekend there was some open water at some of the creek mouths. I made the mistake of not wearing my insulated rubber boots as there was a good 12 inches of slush to wade through. Some of the scenery Looking North Looking East Since we had never fished here we decided to begin at a couple different depths. Kalvin in about 7 fow and me in 15. Within 5 minutes Kalvin had his first, and the biggest of the day. Minutes later I landed a little dink, which went back into the depths without a picture, moments later I landed this guy . My first ever Rainbow Trout! and not long after that... The bite started off great. We landed 3 fish in the first 15 minutes of being there, and 6 fish in the first hour. Most of the fish were decent sized We ended up keeping 5 out of 9 fish and will definitely return to this lake again. -Andre

wow, that perch almost looks wider than it is long! great report Ramble On!

When I was looking for my car last summer, I did a lot of reading in Consumer report. They suggested agreeing on a final sale price on the purchase vehicle before even mentioning the trade-in. Now they may ask if you have something to trade during negotiations in which case I suppose you kinda need to tell them, but I recommend getting a ballpark figure before you bring it up. If you proactively tell them they will be less inclined to negotiate. Don't forget a lot of car salesmen are hurting for sales right now, especially in the truck/suv lines (even though it is a smaller truck) play hardball with them, in these times you have the advantage! By the way congrats on the new truck! its always exciting!

Stay with rentals unless you really get into it. The lines may be long to pick them up but the prices are typically reasonable and the equipment decent. Make sure you take a lesson at least the first time you go. It will take some getting used to of course. Don't get frustrated trying to make you way around on the flats at the bottom of the hill. It can be pretty tiring if your not use to it. Once your at the top its easy, just point your skis downhill and let gravity do the rest! Seriously, wide sweeping turns with a bit of a snowplow should manage your pace well enough. One word of caution, Do not stop halfway down the run just over a lip. I've nearly ran into many inexperienced skiers taking a break in a blind spot. Feel free to stop, just use common sense in choosing your location. Same goes if (when) you fall! grab your gear and get it on quick or head to the side of the run.

Graduated last year and was lucky enough to land a position as a Special Ed. Resource Teacher in a small community in Northern B.C.

congratulations on getting accepted. It's a great feeling! Don't know anything about fishing in the area, but I'll check in with my buddy who graduated from that same program a couple years ago. I'm sure you will meet a few like minded (fish-minded) folks through your program to go out adventuring with!

Can't say I've done any towing with it yet, but I'm really happy with my 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5i. It gets great fuel mileage and specs. say it can tow up to 2700lbs, Which will be enough for when I get my first boat, and not too bad for a little 4-cyl. I'm loving the handling it has due to the low center of gravity on the boxer engine. Haven't been stuck with it yet, and I've driven it on some pretty hairy roads. Since you mentioned some other smaller SUV's I will suggest you look into the new (think it started in '08) model Subaru Forresters. They did away with the old boxy look and made them much more SUV like. I was really tempted to buy one of these last summer but opted to go the used route instead. Great looking vehicles, gas mileage was good from what I remember, and lots of space. When I compared pricing of them compared to Honda CRV, Toyata, RAV 4, Ford Escape, Chevy Equinox and Hyundai Santa-FE, the forrest came back with the lowest price. The standard all-time all wheel drive is pretty nice too.

If you are a bass fisherman you will catch a pike sooner or later! Pike generally like the same habitat, shallow weedy flats near a drop off. Find a weed patch and retrieve a spinner along the outside edge. Pike will often be waiting in ambush. Another good spot for pike is where the water body "bottle necks" they will wait on the lee side waiting for passing fish then come out and nail them. I've found the best place for this in harbours where the break walls open into open water. Difficulty is you need a boat or a deep pocket to take care of the tresspassing sign if you plan on going from shore. Seeing as you are from TO there will be many early season pike reports from the area in the spring. Use the search function and try to find some of them from last year. I think I remember quite a few people going out to the island, but exactly where I'm not sure.

I think this may be a product of their parents laying down too quickly after a couple drinks.

Edamame is excellent. You can buy a box full of portioned sized packages at costco. Just throw them in the microwave for 3 mins and all salt. Not as good as in sushi bars but still pretty darn good for something thats frozen!

I second whoever suggested switching to Mozilla Firefox! I was hesitant at first but since I did I haven't regretted it at all! Neither will you!

As some have said Pearl Jam puts out some great DVD's live at the Gardens was awsome how they shook that stage, and I think they played their entire repertory in their 3 day stint there. Personally though I think I like the Live on tour dvd from 2000 I think. Other ones that you must see are... The Last Waltz by The Band - Some guest performances from Muddy Waters, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and more. Festival Express - Musical Documentary of the "Festival Express" music festivals that rocked through Toronto, WInnipeg and Calgary in 1970 - Acts include the Greatful Dead, The Band again and Janis Joplin just months before she lost her life.

thats a wild picture. I would be really surprised to find that in a pike belly.

great fish Aaron! Thanks for sharing those pics. The first laker is a beauty!

that's awesome! great stuff!