craigdritchie

I think mine is looking good too (posted same date). Then again, I didn't think they would implode till January. Playoffs? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What would happen is the judge would say, sorry friend, but the onus is on you to produce it when asked. You can pay your $300 fine at the clerk's desk on the way out.

Uh huh. The onus is on the boat operator to produce the card when asked to do so. End of story.

Smoker Craft, Starcraft and Sylvan are made by the same company, in the same plant in rural Indiana (see www.thebestboatbrands.com). The company also builds some additional boat brands that are not presently sold in Canada. Smoker Craft, Sylvan and Starcraft are very nice aluminum boats - well designed, well made, and excellent value.

Nope, not a Loaf fan and honestly couldn't care less about them. But I live in the GTA, and it's all people around me talk about - even on internet fishing boards. That's one reason I can't help snickering when I hear Loaf fans get all excited when they win a game or two. Loafs started the season by apparently winning three games in a row. People all over the GTA were talking about playoff match-ups. I mean, it's only three games into the season. But they weren't joking - they were perfectly serious. Talk about desperate. Loaf fans make me laugh. What more can I say?

Allow me to correct myself. Now that the Loafs have dropped EIGHT straight, and lost - ahem - 11 of their last 12 games ........ In the words of Tom Petty: Freeee fallin'

Here's a factual number for you - 10 losses in 11 games .... and counting!

Chance: Ah my friend, if only it were all so simple! The one and only goal for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is to earn the maximum profit for their shareholders while minimizing capital risk. That the team would earn more money by playing post-season games is obvious. But what you don’t grasp is that the investment required to attain that represents a level of risk those investors are not prepared to take. Why accept an elevated level of risk when you’re already making record profits right now? You’re right - the NHL is a business, and the goal of any business plan is to earn maximum profit at minimal risk. Spending money to build a team on the hope that they might win and bring you a big payback is not a valid business plan – it’s a gamble, and no different than sending your shareholders off to Casino Rama for the night. Blaque: We have the same scenario here with the Blue Jays. No wins = no fan support. But Loaf fans are different, somehow. They fanatically and blindly support even the worst teams. It’s like they’re possessed by Satan or something. Can’t explain it. They totally defy logic and common sense. Mike Pike: I’m not talking about salaries for current roster players, but investing throughout the organization to develop talent at all levels. With the salary cap, the farm system has become more important than ever, and its one place the Loafs have neglected for decades. Blarg: Thanks for the support! Bottom line: as long as Loaf fans keep giving these bozos all their money, the ownership won't change a thing. Why should they?

You Loaf fans really do make me laugh. You blame various players. You blame Wilson. You blame Burke. You blame Peddie. You blame anyone and everyone, except the true source of the problem --> LOAF FANS. Yes, Loaf fans are the problem. They fanatically support the team regardless of how badly is does. They buy Loaf hats, and they buy Loaf jerseys, and they buy Loaf license plate holders, and they drive all over town with those idiotic Loaf flags clamped in their car windows. This year's Sears holiday catalogue has pages of Loaf stuff in it, and as always, they will sell it all. The Loafs make record profits every year because Loaf fans continue to support the team, sell out the ACC every night, and buy tons of its crappy merchandise REGARDLESS OF HOW BADLY THEY SUCK. So what is the incentive for the Loaf owners (i.e. Teacher's Pension Fund, etc) to change anything and invest in building a better team? That would risk profits, and as long as they're making maximum profits with a crap team, they won't change a thing. You want a better team? Stop giving them your money. Send them a message that it's time to deliver. But Loaf fans will never do that. They love their little car flags. And so the Loafs will remain in the basement forever. End of story.

Not even close to being the first - Red Fisher was doing his thing on TV in the late 1960s, when Bob would have been about 12 years old. In the US, Gaddabout Gaddis was on air even earlier than that.

Thing is, I know someone who moved there partly because of the trout fishing. I hope he doesn't wind up with cancer because of this.

Reading this just makes me want to go barbecue a steelhead. Toronto Star story on Port Hope

So now that the Loafs have dropped six straight (and counting), what happened to all the giddy chatter about possible playoff match-ups, how many rounds they will go, and how THIS COULD BE THE YEAR??? Two months ago, that's all anyone would talk about - to the point it got to be nauseating. And now ...... hmmm. Is that the sound of people diving off the bandwagon that I hear? Again? Good God, they even lost to the Senators. How pathetic is that? I said it back in September when so many of you guys were busy planning the parade route - Leafs still suck, and once again, will go absolutely nowhere. Just accept it and move on :-)

Well the girls are out to bingo and the boys are gettin stinko We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night The glasses they will tinkle while our eyes begin to twinkle And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night With Irish Jim O'Connell there & Scotty Jock McDonald There's hunky Frederic Herzal gettin tight but 'dats alright There's happy German Fritzie there with Frenchie gettin tipsy- And even Joe the gypsy knows its Saturday tonite Ya well Marianne and Mabel come to join us at the table, And tell us how the bingo went, tonite we'll lookout right That if they won the money we'll be laughin up the honey boys Cause everthing is funny for its Saturday tonite.. Well the girls are out to bingo and the boys are gettin stinko We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night The glasses they will tinkle while our eyes begin to twinkle And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night We'll drink the loot we borrowed and recuperate tomorrow Cause everything is wonderful tonite we had a good fight We ate the deli pickle and we forgot about the nickel And everybody's tickled for its Saturday tonite... The songs that we'll be singin They might be wrong but they'll be ringin' And now the lights of town are shinin bright and we're all tight We'll get to work on Monday but tomorrow's only Sunday And we're out to have a fun day for its Saturday tonite Well the girls are out to bingo aAnd the boys are gettin stinko We think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night The glasses they will tinkle while our eyes begin to twinkle And we think no more of Inco on a Sudbury Saturday Night

C'mon Leaf fans ... just get used to it.

AverageJoe, I think you're missing the point. Does anyone want to leave a hook in a fish? No, of course not. But there are times when - depending exactly where the fish is hooked - you can do more damage trying to move the hook than you will by leaving it in place. Like it or not, that's reality. And for what it's worth, there are human beings walking around on this earth with bullets in them for the same reason - it's safer to leave it where it is than try to remove it. One of those people, a former US Army Ranger, happens to be a very good friend of mine. When you land a badly-hooked fish, you make a judgement call. At the end of the day, the primary goal is to keep the fish alive so that it will spawn again, and perhaps give someone else a thrill. The fact you caught two fish with hooks in them yourself confirms this line of thinking works. Had someone else taken your approach and killed those fish, you wouldn't have caught them, would you? Your fishing show host might have done a better job of explaining why they chose to leave a hook in a fish, but that's about it. Good for them for at least trying to make the point that badly hooked fish don't need to die. Most TV hosts would just cut after boating the fish, and not even air the unhooking part.

I wouldn't sink a lot of money into a 10 year old truck - period. As others have said, do what's absolutely necessary to keep it running, and put that extra cash away for the inevitable surprise repairs and/or newer vehicle down the road. Cheap, soft tonneau cover would be a worthwhile investment, just to keep your stuff dry. Otherwise, save your cash. Money spent on vehicles is basically money flushed down the toilet.

OFAH does (or did) keep records for Ontario, and Canadian Sportfishing used to keep a national record list back in the early 90s. I don't believe anyone compiles Canadian fishing records on a national basis right now, however. Could be a good project for someone.

Not in the GTA, but Georgian College (Barrie) has an excellent program. My link

There's a reason I never post fishing reports. Ever.

The Leafs have won three games, and people are getting excited about possible playoff match-ups. Three games. Get a grip already!

Uh huh. Best way to catch steelhead some days, especially when there's no water in the ditches and all the one-method Steelhead Masters are whining about a lack of rain. Also works well in bigger rivers. Every day people catch rainbows in the lower Niagara by bottom bouncing with floating bags. Those fish aren't flossed either.

News release from Yamaha today ... they're looking for Yamaha owners to appear in their new ads. Copied and pasted below FYI. You could be in a Yamaha ad! Yamaha launches new advertising campaign to include real world Yamaha owners Toronto, ON – For years Yamaha Motor Canada has been asking “What kind of Yamaha are you?” and more and more Canadians are answering back. So much so, that for 2011, Yamaha plans to include pictures of real world Yamaha owners in their promotional materials. “We agreed it was the next logical step to our advertising strategy,” says Yamaha’s National Manager, Marketing, Tim Kennedy. “In our first run of ‘What kind of Yamaha are you?’ we used generic images; last year we featured Yamaha celebrity figures like motocross champion Colton Facciotti and Facts of Fishing’s Dave Mercer. Now we want to showcase those who have walked into a dealer and purchased a Yamaha. It’s a great way to bring a ‘real world’ perspective to our products.” Yamaha is currently creating advertisements for every product group (motorcycle, ATV, side by side, snowmobile, marine, and power product) and searching for just the right “This is my Yamaha” candidates. Do you want to show the pride of ownership of your Yamaha with the rest of Canada? If so, please submit your favourite photos to their Facebook Fan page, facebook.com/YamahaMotorCanada.

See my response to Tybo. Engines, at the present time, do not have North American warranties. If the manufacturer eats the repair cost on a US engine, then be happy because someone just did you a major favour. They are not required to do so, and with the tighter economy these days, they are all watching the pennies more closely than ever.

Dealers aren't obligated to do anything of the sort. Warranties are a matter of good faith and good business practice. But there is no law anywhere requiring any company to perform warranty work on a product they did not sell. That goes for both the dealer and the manufacturer's distributor. A Canadian boat&motor dealer does not submit warranty claims to the US office. They can only submit warranty claims to the Canadian company (Yamaha, Merc, Honda or whoever) because that, legally, is who they have the dealership contract with. It is up to the Canadian manufacturer to then decide if they want to eat the cost of the repair or not. If you have had a Canadian dealer repair a US engine under warranty, then you were lucky enough that someone (i.e. the Canadian office of Merc, Yamaha or whoever) decided to do it as a matter of good faith. This does happen, as every company wants you to buy their products for life. But none of them are under any sort of obligation to do this whatsoever. I should point out it is a different story with boats - most (but not all) do have a North American warranty.