craigdritchie

It happens more often than you might think. That's the main reason you don't fool around when releasing a marlin (which this fish is, by the way). Same with tarpon - big hammerheads absolutely love them.

It really is true. I think many people living in the GTA would be astounded by the kind of cash being spent in Alberta and Saskatchewan these days. Walking through the Calgary or Edmonton Sortsmen's Shows is an incredible experience. I saw one boat dealer at the Calgary show this year with 32 ski boats in their booth, and more than half of them were priced north of $100,000. They told me sales were "great" - to the point their biggest problem was just getting enough inventory. The walleye boats are also on a whole other level. We're talking all top-line Rangers, Tritons, Lunds and Starcrafts ... probably the majority selling in the $50,000 range, some over $70,000. Some guy gets into fishing, goes out to buy his first boat, and takes home a $60,000 Stratos with a 225 on the back. I won't even go into the crazy amount of money being spent on electronics and tackle. It's just mind-blowing. So yeah, I can see Cabela's focusing on that part of the country for now. The GTA has a huge population, but the money is being spent in western Canada - not here.

This is a copied and pasted press release from the New York Sea Grant, which has just published a helpful ID guide to Great Lakes trout and salmon. There's a link at the end where you can download a PDF copy. New York Sea Grant’s new first-ever full-color visual identification guide for the salmon and trout species found in Lake Ontario is now available. “Salmon and Trout of Lake Ontario: A Visual Identification Guide” illustrates the differences among the species, improving correct identification by anglers. New York Sea Grant Coastal Community Development Specialist Mary E. Penney says, “This project was designed to improve the correct identification of Lake Ontario’s trout and salmon, and encourage ecologically-responsible angling and fish conservation.” The guide’s 23 illustrations by artist Peter Thompson are anatomically accurate for fish that are often commonly misidentified species. For example, says New York Sea Grant Fisheries Specialist David B. MacNeill, “There are fine physical differences between species such as Atlantic salmon and brown trout and steelhead and the female Coho salmon. This new guide allows viewers to more carefully distinguish between these species and follow the various angling regulations prescribed for them.” The guide clearly identifies distinct fin, tail and mouth features for Atlantic, Chinook, Coho and the rarely seen pink salmon; and brown, brook, lake and steelhead/rainbow trout. The different life stages of the fish are also illustrated. The guide is printed on waterproof, tear-resistant paper and folds to store easily in a typical tackle box. New York Sea Grant collaborated with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to produce the guide with funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program. The authors include Sea Grant’s MacNeill and Penney with NYSDEC Region 7 National Resources Supervisor Dan Bishop, NYSDEC Salmon River Coordinator Fran Verdoliva, and USGS Ecologist and Eastern Basin Ecosystems Branch Chief Jim Johnson. Great Lakes Fishery Commission Lake Ontario Sport Fishery Advisor Charles D. Blaas, retired Morrisville State College Provost, provided technical review. “Lake Ontario experts partnered to produce this new fisheries resource for New York’s resident and visiting anglers. Use of the guide will promote wiser use of Lake Ontario fisheries and empower the public to play a more active role in maintaining sustainable salmonine recreational fisheries,” says Dr. Katherine Bunting-Howarth, Assistant Director for Cornell Cooperative Extension Coastal Programs, Ithaca, NY. The guide will be available at New York Sea Grant Aquatic Invasive Species and Watercraft Inspection Educators programs and other educational events along the Lake Ontario shoreline. The guide is also online at www.seagrant.sunysb.edu/glsportfish/pdfs/SalmonTrout-LakeOntario2012.pdf.

Catch and release is the responsible thing to do. But sometimes it doesn't work out as planned ........ Oh dear .....

To debunk a couple of myths ..... 1. Plasma looks great in a dark room, but does not absolutely require it. Panasonic had a bunch of plasma displays in various airports over the past winter, where they were often fully exposed to bright sun (sometimes glaring off snow), and yet they all looked terrific. You do not need to confine a plasma screen to a cave to have it look good. 2. None of the manufacturers make all of the inside components themselves. Virtually every TV out there contains a number of major parts and components made by other (competing) brands. It is simply more cost-efficient for LG to buy tuners or circuit boards from Sony than to make their own - just as it is cheaper for Sony to buy LCD panels from Sharp than start their own manufacturing line. It has been this way for at least 10 - 15 years (just like computers), yet many people still believe all the parts in their TV were made by the same company. The end result is, there isn't as much difference between brands as some manufacturers (or salespeople) would have you believe. 3. Understand that each store will fiddle with the set-up on the display models so that the brands they make the highest profits on will always look best. They all do this - particularly the big box chains. 4. TVs have become disposable. None of them are made to last, so don't get sucked in to paying a ton of money for something that you will likely have to replace within 10 - 12 years. 5. Count me X3 on the sound system. Makes all the difference in the world! Consumer Reports does a lot of TV comparisons each year. If in doubt, subscribe and get their reports. That's the best, and only truly unbiased, information out there. Enjoy your new TV.

The website is being completely revamped right now, and with 130 new boats I expect that is a major amount of work. Just getting the pictures done is one thing, but updating all the specs and videos too .... wow. I know they've been working on it for a couple of weeks now, so I would think the new site with 2013 models should be up soon. Keep checking, I guess. Agreed - I've always loved the Islanders too. But I guess the larger open boats like the STX 2050 outsell them. One of the boats they had on display was a pimped-up Viper 206, which is a fibreglass walleye boat with a full windshield. It's the same one they had on display at the ICAST show a few weeks ago. Verrrrrry nice :-)

It's official - with the 2013 model year Sylvan will be building pontoon boats exclusively. Their aluminum fishing models will now be rolled into the Starcraft line. Sylvan has enjoyed insane success with their performance pontoons using their RPT tube design (tubes aren't round, each one has a V bottom) - to the point they can't build them fast enough and have boat dealers in Canada and the US crying for boats. They're really awesome pontoons, and are often sold with big V6 outboards on the back. Ever driven a pontoon with a 250 on the back of it? It's quite the experience, believe me. Since Starcraft, Sylvan and Smokercraft are all basically the same company, the Sylvan fishing boats used a lot of Starcraft design elements to begin with. Rolling those models into the Starcraft brand just makes sense. But if you really have your heart set on owning a fishing boat with the word "Sylvan" on the side of it, you better move fast. Once the 2012s are gone, you won't be able to buy one. For what it's worth, I just got back from seeing all the new Sylvan, Smokercraft and Starcraft models. They have 130 new boats for model-year 2013. That's not a typo - 130 new boats. New seats, new deck layouts, new features galore. The only models that carry over from last year are the 12-foot and 14-foot tinnies. Everything else is brand new from the keel up.

A lot of the fish you find in stocked ponds are fairly small, so keep lures small as well. I've always done well with a number one Mepps. Small Panther Martins work well. So do small crappie jigs. Anything large enough to interest bass or salmon will often scare the crap out of pond trout. Use a live worm, either on bottom or under a float. It catches everything.

From the CBC ...... very alarming and nasty stuff ...... Woman's Head recovered From Credit River

No sign does NOT mean it's fair game. Put it this way. Your front lawn is located only a few feet from a road. There's probably room to pull over and park. There's no sign on the lawn saying no trespassing. So does that mean I can pitch a tent, make a bonfire and camp there over the weekend? Probably not. If in doubt, go to the closest house some sunny afternoon and politely ask. You have nothing to lose. If they say no, then no biggie - they would have kicked you out anyway, or possibly called a cop to charge you with trespass. If they say yes, and if you behave like a star and treat the property and property owners with respect, you'll have a great spot to fish till the end of time - and you'll likely have it all to yourself.

The more people I meet ...... the more I like my cat.

First two weeks of November are usually the best time for just about everything.

I'll be interested to see what he has to offer, But given that the majority of TV fishing shows majorly suck, I'm not getting my hopes up.

The ancestry of the people involved is irrelevant. You have some idiot intentionally and repeatedly ramming his truck into another person's car. His actions left someone with permanent brain damage. The idiot belongs in jail, plain and simple.

Definitely NOT a lamprey mark. Damage is almost certainly from a heron. A great blue heron will eat 16 - 17 inch rainbows like you or I go through a bag of popcorn.

Dang Bill .... I'm not squeamish but that one under the fingernail just makes my hair stand on end. That's majorly nasty. Muskie fishing tomorrow .... sure hope I can avoid renewing my membership in this club. I have enough scars on my fingers as it is.

I think Ang, Pete and Reno have done a pretty good job over the years. Not every venture will be a home run, but at least they try different things. The fact the show is still around after all this time says a lot. It isn't easy to make a full-time living that way.

I think it's a great move, and I do hope a handful of them will survive to start eating the gobies that have pretty much taken over. Unfortunately, deep down I think they're just expensive bird food. The cormorants in that area truly are out of control.

Good quality inflatables are tougher than you think. They're used by navies all over the world, with guys jumping in and out all day long with machine guns, knives, and all kinds of other expensive, pointy stuff. They have no problem. I agree some boats have thin skin, but not all. A Zodiac is just about indestructible.

My old Zodiac was a 10 foot Cadet model that I bought used from some guy who had it advertised in the paper. They're expensive boats to buy new. The one I had was a bit older, but still worked perfectly fine. It had a multi-piece wooden floor, so it was a bit heavy. The newer ones have a fibreglass floor, I believe, so they should be a lot lighter weight. Not sure who your closest dealer is, but you could probably Google their website and do a dealer search. Or keep an eye on Kijiji or eBay and see if you can pick up a used one. If you're not in a hurry, that's the best way to save a few bucks. Can't say enough good things about them, they really are great boats. But you definitely want an electric or a small gas motor. They're no fun to row. My good friend Mark Krupa has one too. You would not believe the fish that he's hauled into that little boat of his. His fishing photo album would make a lot of guys cry.

I use mainly 2000 or 2500 series reels (along with Daiwa 1300s) for most freshwater fishing. It's the right size and weight. That said, I do use a 4000 series reel for chucking spoons off the pier. The bigger spool gives a bit more line capacity, and is a bit wider in diameter so I get a few extra yards of casting distance. I seldom pier fish for more than three or four hours at a time, so the extra weight is not an issue - not as it would be if you were holding it all day. The only other time I ever use a 4000 reel is for special circumstances where I need extra casting range with lightweight lures. I have one spot where I can catch really big smallmouth, but it demands casting small, lightweight topwaters (Heddon Tiny Torpedos) a very long distance. Water is super shallow and super clear in this spot, so I'm only using 6 pound line. It flies off the big spool, and gives me probably an extra 30 - 40 feet, which can make a big difference some days.

Dang .... 8:20 in the morning as I read this, and now I'm hungry. Nice fish! I love specks, they should be great eating.

A good quality inflatable won't puncture from a tree branch. In fact, you would have a hard time pushing a hook through the better-made ones. I had a Zodiac years ago, back when I lived in an apartment. Folded up to fit in a bag that I kept in a hall closet. It was an awesome fishing boat. With a battery and a small electric, you could go almost anywhere, and it all fit in a small car no problem.

Bob, I didn't say all fishermen. But I did say a huge number of fishermen, and I absolutely stand by that. Go visit any popular fishing spot and what do you see on the ground? Old styrofoam worm containers, discarded paper coffee cups, coils of old, dead fishing line, lure packaging. We've all seen scenes like this countless times. And, there are places like that all over the country. It's not just an isolated thing confined to a handful of ignorant people. It's a bigger problem that exists on a broad scale. Sorry to say it folks, but it is the truth. If we want to continue to have access to water in the future, this kind of behaviour - the littering and leaving dead fish all over - needs to stop. This isn't about divide and conquer. It's about admitting we collectively have a problem in our group. Isn't the first step in solving a problem to admit it even exists? Sweeping it under a rug won't help.

Prescription for me. With strong metal frames and large, safety lenses. As Bill said, you only have one set of eyes, so I want something better than cheap frames and flimsy lenses protecting mine.