craigdritchie

I have to agree with this. If history has shown us anything, it is that by the time MNR gets to the public meeting stage, it's to explain what they have already begun to do. The point of the meeting is not to solicit public opinion. They're there to tell you what is going to happen, and they couldn't care less how you feel about it. It's too late. Atlantics in the Ganny is a done deal. And while MNR will swear up and down that they have no plans to block other species at the ladder, don't be surprised if that changes over time. Things changed drastically on the Credit, didn't they? MNR will say they "have no plans to ..." and that's the cop-out. No one at the presentation will categorically state "Rainbows, browns, chinooks and coho will be 100% guaranteed passage through the dam, unimpeded and forever, regardless of what happens with the Atlantics." Go ahead and ask for that assurance. They won't give it. Voted in? By whom? That's complete nonsense. MNR's decision to focus on rehabilitating native species was a policy directive made by Queen's Park. No one voted on it. It was MNR's decision, and theirs alone.

I honestly don't know, Chessy. Try to get a written guarantee from MNR/OFAH that steelhead, browns, and Pacific salmon will continue to enjoy full access past the dam, but I suspect that still wouldn't be worth the paper it is written on. The Ontario government breaks promises every single day without a second thought. The only long-term solution is for all anglers to engage another political party that supports proper resource management in Ontario and axing the Atlantic program altogether, then get them elected.

Not true. Those first fish will have come out of a hatchery truck. They didn't compete with anything. If the powers that be decide that Atlantics should be given every chance to succeed through natural reproduction, then the dam will be closed to everything but Atlantics. You can take this to the bank.

The problem is that after 30 years of effort, millions in expense and hundreds of thousands of man-hours of labour, results have been an undisputed zero. So can we finally drop this ridiculous charade and get back to restoring the lake to the great fishery it once had and is capable of having again? I doubt it. I'm not convinced the benefit to other species exists. With due respect to CRAA, they can do all the habitat work they want (and kudos to them for taking that initiative) but none of it matters if MNR/OFAH won't let fish up past the dams. Louis, as usual, sees through the crap and hits it straight on the head. IF MNR stocks numbers of larger Atlantics in the Ganny - fish that are large enough to survive - and IF these plants result in decent returns to the Corbett Dam fish ladder, it is a virtual certainty that ONLY Atlantics will be transferred above that dam, and that ALL steelhead, brown trout and Pacific salmon will be stopped there so that they don't compete with Atlantic salmon moving forward. This is 100% guaranteed. Bet your house on it. It WILL happen.

Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed it. :-) Dave's right - totally cheap insurance. But every now and then you see people use the bargain bin crap ... it never ceases to amaze me.

And if those Atlantics do show signs of reproducing, don't be surprised to see passage of any other species through the ladder banned in order to protect them.

Actual sales will wind up being somewhat higher than that. Many people come to the show to comparison shop, and don't actually pull the trigger till a couple of weeks after, when they've make their final decision and sorted out the financing. I've had a couple of dealers tell me that the number of boat sales that materialize in the weeks following a show are at least equal to what they do during the show itself, possibly even more. On a big ticket purchase like that, I think a lot of people like to sleep on it for a few nights and be absolutely sure. I hear a lot of people complain about the prices of boats, but the reality is, they're selling pretty well. On Tuesday, the National Marine Manufacturers Association of Canada released its 2015 statistics. Not only is boating participation higher than it was in 2014, but in 2015 boat sales across Canada collectively topped $3 billion. That is a whole lot of money by any measure. Let's not forget, interest rates are still at an all-time low. The vast majority of the boats sold are financed, and if you break it into monthly installments, it's basically a car payment. I think most of us would be able to justify that in our minds, especially if fishing really is as important as we say it is.

I've done it both ways and it's an awesome road trip in either case. The US interstates are unbeatable for burning miles, but you won't see very much if you just stick to them.

Arresting these people is a good start. But it is McGuilty who belongs in jail.

OP has it right - if the Ontario Liberals are involved, it will be a colossal failure. LCBO will be the only dope dealer in the world to not make a profit.

Forget the name on the headstock and buy what feels good in your hands. I once splurged on a Martin D-35 ... it sounded amazing, but I hardly ever picked it up because it just wasn't comfortable to play. I replaced it with a Ovation that cost half as much, which I still own and play all the time. I also have an old Washburn dreadnaught that sounds great and just melts into my hands. One thing I learned a long time ago is you can change the sound of any guitar to some degree by experimenting with different string brands, or going to lighter or heavier gauge strings. But if it isn't comfortable, you won't play it - regardless of how it sounds, what it cost, or what it says on the headstock. Maybe that explains the $300 Yamaha sitting next to the $2,500 Fender in my basement. Love them both.

I guess you haven't seen this video then? https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153817078765921

Call Tom Goodfellow ( Goodfellow Handyman Services, 905-802-0598, http://tomgoodfellow.typepad.com/blog). Tom's in Burlington but he travels throughout the west GTA. He charges something like $350 a day - not exactly cheap - and he might be booked up for a couple of weeks when you call. BUT ... there is a reason he is often booked up. Tom does first-class work, he's honest, he will treat your home with respect and not leave a mess after he's done, and he really does work his butt off - he doesn't slack off or decide he needs to go to Home Depot to get a part and bugger off for three hours. I've had Tom do electrical and plumbing work, and I cannot recommend the man highly enough. Cheers Craig

The government can't do anything about it, since virtually all of these calls come from people in India, Indonesia, Pakistan and other countries that don't aggressively enforce laws concerning fraud. Get a phone with call display if you don't already have it. If you don't recognize the number, don't even answer it. If it's a real call, they will leave a message and you can phone them back.

That call was not from CTC, Cliff. You were talking to a thief, calling you from somewhere on the other side of the globe. They might also tell you that you've won a prize of some sort, and they just need your credit card info to confirm your ID. Don't ever give them any information. Nothing. Just hang up. It's not even worth telling them off.

Nice boats, but we'll have to see what the future holds. Last week PolarKraft was sold to Bennington Marine, along with six other boat brands that used to make up Nautic Global Group (the other makes are Rinker, Hurricane, SanPan, Sweetwater, Godfrey and Aqua Patio). Since Bennington Marine only makes pontoons, it's not clear if they will keep them all, or just keep the pontoon brands and re-sell PolarKraft and Rinker to someone else. Guess we'll find out soon enough.

That - right there - is the entire problem with the Atlantic salmon program. It no longer has anything to do with fish. It is 100% about keeping the money rolling in.

Blah blah blah. None of this answers the fundamental question. We stock about a half-million chinook into Lake Ontario each year. The lake is full of them. Going out and catching a dozen chinook a day is not unusual at all. We also stock about a half-million Atlantics into Lake Ontario each year. Yet to this day, most anglers have still never even seen one. If the Atlantic salmon program is such a rip roaring success, where are all these fish?

Time for my annual prediction, and if you read my annual predictions over the past several years you will realize this is in no way influenced by the simple fact the Loafs got their backsides handed to them by the Habs last night. I predict: Loafs will be totally on fire in November and early December, when it doesn't really matter. In January they will start to slide, by February the excuses will be flying and fingers will be pointing, and by the end of March they will be booking tee times. But as always, they will be absolutely unbeatable for the last two weeks, climbing in the standings just enough to ensure they don't even get a good draft pick, and encouraging Loaf fans to all say wow, did you see them when they started to click? Next year, baby, next year! Plan the parade route! And that's all I have to say for this thread, See you all in April.

No idea Mike, since most other programs have worked out just fine as you note. Does anyone here remember the kokanee program of the late 1960s and very early 1970s? MNR stocked kokanee (small landlocked sockeye salmon) into Georgian Bay streams. The fish survived, and for a few years GB rivers like the Beaver were full of little, bright red,12-inch sockeyes. That was around the same time they began experiementing with pink salmon in Hudson Bay tributaries ( !! ) ... which led to them accidentally getting into Lake Superior. They failed in Husdon's Bay, but as we all know, pink salmon have established a large, wild population in Superior that exists to this day. JohnBacon is right in his comment that stocking the LeHav strain of Atlantic salmon is a complete waste of time. But that being the case, why has OMNR stuck with them for 30 years?? Heads should roll for that. MNR knows full well that Atlantic salmon are no longer suited to survive in Lake Ontario tributaries. In the 1990s, MNR performed several years worth of detailed experiments aimed to determine survival rates for Atlantic salmon fry that were stocked in various eastern Lake Ontario tributary streams. The studies found three things. 1. Atlantic survival was basically zero in streams with lots of silt, and with wood as their primary form of cover (i.e. more than 90% of available habitat in Lake Ontario tributaries). 2. Atlantic salmon survival was basically zero in any habitats where rainbow trout were also present. 3. Even in ideal, rock and gravel habitats with no rainbow trout present, survival rates were still minimal due to severe predation. The biologists determined that unlike rainbows, brook trout, brown trout and Pacific salmon, juvenile Atlantic salmon did not hide on the bottom of deep pools or under in-stream logs and undercut banks. Instead, they tended to sit right out in the open in shallow riffles, where they were subsequently eaten by virtually everything that lives in and along a creek - birds, other fish, water snakes, raccoons, you name it. Even in what the biologists considered to be ideal habitats, and where they did not face competition from rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon still amounted to little more than very expensive bird food. This was all well documented by the late 1990s. So why is MNR still beating a dead horse? If it's a matter of stocking the wrong strain of fish, why would they not have made a change over 20 years ago when it was clear this one isn't working out? Something smells. Happy to talk with you any time, Mike. Give me a call on my cell at your convenience.

Then why not just spend the money directly ON habitat rehabilitation, and stop wasting it on raising and stocking fish that only seem to exist on paper? There's no benefit to creating false expectations. There will be even less money for any kind of fisheries management efforts when this one doesn't produce the results that have been promised. Corporate donors (like that Australian winery) won't appreciate being told they're "bringing back the salmon" when, in fact, there is virtually no chance of that ever really happening. No offense, but I have been hearing that load of crap since they started stocking Atlantics in 1985. No, success doesn't happen overnight. But it shouldn't take 30 years either. OMNR began stocking coho salmon into the Credit River (>100,000 fish) in spring 1968. By fall 1969, they had large runs (3,000+) in the Credit and Humber Rivers. That didn't take 30 years to see any results. It took 18 months. OMNR started stocking rainbows into the Ganaraska in large numbers (100,000 fish/yr) in the early 1970s. By the late 1970s, they had 10,000+ fish going over Corbett Dam each spring. By the early '80s, they were over 15,000 fish. That didn't take 30 years to see any results. It took less than six years. OMNR stocked their first chinook salmon into Bronte Creek in 1974 (100,000 fish). By 1978, Bronte Creek was choked with adult chinooks every fall. That didn't take 30 years to see any results. It took three years to see large returns of jacks, and only another 12 months to see big returns of adults. Consider it this way ... If we began stocking 500,000 chinook/yr into the Credit River, within three to four years you will see enormous runs of adult chinook. No one doubts this for a second. If we began stocking 500,000 rainbows/yr into any river, within 18 months you will see catchable fish and within three years you will have massive runs of fish. No one doubts this either. If we stocked 500,000 browns (I wish!!) into the Credit or Humber, you would be walking on the things within two years. Yet for years we have been stocking 500,000 Atlantics into the Credit every spring, and we have maybe 30 fish per year (and this year, apparently just two grilse) to show for it? Look man, I am patient. But even I have my limits.

I think the all-time record might be something like 51 fish going through the ladder, from stocking something like a half-million per year. Then it dropped to about 30-ish. And so far, you say only two this year? Sounds about right. Since they began stocking Atlantics into Lake Ontario in the mid-1980s, I can count the number I've caught on one hand. Just a fantastic return on investment. LOL ... given the survival rate, it seems like a lot of other things like eating them too. Atlantic salmon = very expensive fish food.

Atlantic salmon ... yeah, there's a laugh. Stock a half-million each year so that 30 show up at the ladder. Great program, let's go with it.

ALL newspapers, virtually all radio stations and television stations, and a huge proportion of news websites are partisan to one degree or another. They all exist to present the news in a way that flatters the party they are aligned with, and make the other parties look horrible. If you read coverage of the same event in the Star, Sun and National Post, you would think you were reading about three different things. For example, consider the headlines on each of these papers if they had to report on the Titanic sinking: Toronto Star - Conservative Budget Cuts Leave Hundreds Dead Off Newfoundland National Post - Cancellation of Coast Guard Ships By Liberals Leaves Hundreds Dead Off Newfoundland Toronto Sun - Giant Wet T-Shirt Contest !!!

I'm of two minds where carpet goes. On one hand I agree with Steve, I like the extra traction, especially once you get some slime on the deck. But it holds water like a sponge, and it never really comes clean. I like the durability of vinyl, but it can get pretty slippery after you've put a couple of fish on it, especially if you're fishing for lakers or pike. Has anyone tried using snap-in carpet on their fishing boat? I know it's very popular on runabouts and bowriders ... the carpet attaches to the floor on a series on metal snaps, so you can haul it out in a few seconds to dry the boat out after a rain, or to give it a thorough cleaning at the end of the year. And once it gets really badly chewed up, it's a lot less fuss to replace than a traditional glued-in carpet floor. It seems like a good alternative for a fishing boat. Anyone have any practical experience with it on a fishing rig?