Rattletrap2

Guys, I don't want or expect an apology from any of you, but thanks for the gesture! That is what friends tend to do! Blaque, It is only a tongue in cheek statement. It would take more than this to really knock the shine off of your Country in my eyes! LOL I really have no issues with them taking precautions. Like a lot of you, I am thankful that they are doing their jobs.The Canadian Guards are very polite to me and maybe, just maybe, they should be checking things out in a little more detail? The part that gets me is that they now have loads of info on me. I have complied with all their requests. They have had their fun. It is now time to move on to bigger fish! They have looked at my wallet, passport, letters from the school, letters from my employer, been given reference numbers to contact, checked out my record if they desire, and found i am squeaky clean. I am born and raised in Canada, like my parents and grandparents before me. I do not have any flags (or should not have any!). I too am doing my job. i would think that a few questions would suffice at this point to confirm I am the same individual. The Nexus option is a good one, but unfortunately won't help me with this situation. My beard has been the source of jokes for years. If I was to shave it off now, it would look like I am trying to hide! LOL I have had it for over 20 years! Wayne, I know what you are saying all too well. All it takes is one wrong comment or remark and I am done! That would be a real tragedy! I just had to vent last night and see if anyone had any inside info or similar experiences. In regards to my frequent trips back and forth. This is why I was upfront and honest with them at the very first crossing. The letters explain in detail when and why I am going back and forth. Not trying to hide anything.

Okay, Just got in from another ordeal at the longest undefended border! First let me state, that ever since I was a kid, I have been in awe of the US of A and fascinated by this country! Over my career, I have absolutely seen more of the United States than I have of Canada. That's just the way it is. My occupation required me to partake in technical training that was almost always somewhere in the US. I was fortunate enough to come here a lot. Back at the end of March, I was given 2 days notice that I would be spending 10 weeks in Cleveland, Ohio. Now this ain't Palm Beach or anything, just another industrial city where a major manufacturer is located and has their training school. I love my job and am thankful to have the opportunity to be here and learn something new that will make me more valuable at home. The part I wasn't thrilled about, was that I didn't have time to get my home in order for me to be away this long. I already feel like a dolt for not being home when there is so much work to be done around the house this time of year. Fortunately, I have a very supportive and understanding Wife that has always supported me when I had to travel over the last 31 years. She never complains, but I sure don't like leaving her with all the work. The fun started on March 27th. Everyone says "just tell em' you are visiting friends". I say, no way! I am going there for legitimate reasons, I have nothing to hide, and I don't have so much as an outstanding parking ticket against me! Everything went relatively smoothly the first Sunday I crossed. I have a Passport like they want, and I had a letter to the company that I was going to. They let me through with only a few stupid questions! Don't get me wrong here, I am polite as can be and answer everything they ask. They didn't ask for any documentation or anything. I decided that I would make the 6 hour trip home every second week-end and even told the guard this. A few weeks later, I am heading back on a Sunday evening and the Guard says" No! I don't think you have any right to be coming down here for training. Why don't you get this at home? I explain that although the company has offices in Canada, that the training is only offered here. Well he does not like this and says I need a Visa to come down here. I said that i understood that I could not work in the US and that I was being paid by my employer at home. He tells me to hand him my keys and goes off to talk with someone else at another booth. He comes back and says again that I have no right to be doing what I'm doing and that I need to pull into the compound and go inside to speak with Immigration officers. They herd me like cattle into the building and interrogated me for 45 minutes to 1 hour! I again answered the same questions over and over, and listened to what they had to say. In the end, they said I needed to have a letter from my employer and the company that is offering the training. He tells me what the letter has to contain and sends me on my way. I then get yelled at by a female officer for not walking on the correct hatch marks back to my vehicle. No problem, just glad to be on my way! Oh, when they asked for any documentation, I told them I had it the first week, but did not have it with me. He says that every time i come here, I am knocking on the door and asking for permission to enter, and need to have it. I said okay and said I understood and would comply asap. I went home for Mothers Day last week and when i get back to the border Sunday night. I run into one of the guards that i had previously dealt with, but he had eventually let me go. He is all set to start into me about going in to speak with Immigration again, when i said that I was in there already and that a specific Immigration officer (I remembered his name) had told me to get these two letters and that was all I needed. He backs down and says Okay, go on through. Tonight, ( I had to go back home again this week for a graduation function) the guard says he couldn't read my plate and asks me if I know the numbers. No problem Sir, and I tell him. The camera flashed on my front plate like always. There is nothing obstructing either of my plates. He asks me if I come to the States a lot, and of course i explain everything again, and tell him that in 3 weeks iI will be finished and that I will go home once more on Memorial Day week-end.(I get to miss our Victoria Day long week-end!) He again asks me what my citizenship is? I thought perhaps that my Canadian passport and Ontario tags were a dead giveaway, but answer politely. I had already offered him my Passport and the two letters. He says great,, and takes them from me! He then tells me to put the vehicle in park, shut the engine off, step out of the vehicle and hand him the keys. The engine was already off, but I comply. A second guard escorts me inside after telling me to empty my pockets on the front seat. I asked for my wallet and he says you are not going anywhere near the vehicle again and to walk this way. He says the computer randomly selected me for a vehicle search. i am asked to sit in a room out of sight and they drove my car into a garage and searched it for about a 1/2 hour! He comes back inside and says that he saw my new PAL certificate in my wallet and is there any weapons in the car? I don't even own one yet! I politely tell him this and he gives me back my stuff and send me on my way! Sorry for the long winded rant, but I am thoroughly PO'd about this and the lustre is really starting to wear off this fine country that I admired so much!! I guess I was so naive that I thought they would be thankful I was coming down here to spend tens of thousands of dollars! After all this is done, I will have to come back to the US in August for two more weeks. I can hardly wait! I think I will just park my car, bend over and place my elbows on the hood, and let them all have a turn with me! I can't imagine trying to bring a boat load of fishing gear across the border! Do our guards treat all of our Southern friends this way when you come up here in June? Is this normal procedure? It is a sad state of affairs if this is what things are coming to with our closest allies and neighbours. I'm hoping someone on here has some inside knowledge of these matters and can shed some light for me! I'm an honest guy who plays by and follows the rules. What the heck do they do with criminals? Thanks (Maybe when the 3 gallons of coffee I drank to get me here wears off,I can get to sleep!) LOL

I used to fish leeches all the time, but haven't bothered with any live bait for a long time. I guess I'm just to lazy to look after them! LOL I liked a Lindy rig with a 1/4 oz. walking sinker that is free to slide up and down the main line. Then a swivel and leader tied to a "Phelps Floater" jig and leech hooked through the "sucker end". Just stick your hand in the leech bucket and the most aggressive one will find you! This is the one you want! Experiment with different leader lengths, colours of jigs, and even sinker weights. It's nice to have the jig head and leech floating just above the weeds. You can also play around with different set-ups including different floats, coloured beads, and even spinner blades. Leeches are pretty hardy. All you need to do is keep them with fresh water and keep them cold. They are a lot tougher than nightcrawlers if there are lots of panfish around as well. Worms would also be good to try. I always found Minnows so fragile and they died on me more often than not. Let us know how you make out!

That is interesting. Those "good" brands are the only ones I can't stand the taste of! LOL Especially Dasani and Aquafina! Wonder what it is, must be mineral content? I always suspected that the bottled water was not tested or meeting the same standards as tap water is supposed to meet.

Nice photo's and looks like a great trip! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Congrats Don! Dogs are such a treasure to have around. I'm glad the little guy has a new owner who hopefully has the patience and determination to give him what he needs. Good luck with the adjustment period, and keep us posted on the progress he makes in his new home.

Hey Colin! Welcome to OFC and to Canada as well! You are within a very short drive to some great areas for fishing. Lake Simcoe is virtually an inland great lake and has all kinds of opportunities. This amazing body of water is just up the 400 Highway from you. As mentioned already, if it is Carp you are interested in, the experts will be along shortly to give you specific info. There are lots of good rivers and streams as well. Enjoy your time on the board!

Morning radio here in Cleveland (The Maxwell Show) says Obama gave the order....and in so doing, pulled off the ultimate "drive by"!! Certainly no love lost for the man, but after all, he is just a figure head. His followers still roam the earth.

Very nice Paul! You can't go wrong with a Princecraft either! I really like the idea of the hand controlled (hand steered) bow mount trolling motor too. You should be able to just nudge it with your knee to keep things on course. Enjoy your new baby and have some fun!

How do you prepare the fiddleheads? I don't think I saw any around our place just yet...maybe soon though!

I have no problem with the Banjo Minnow or the Flying Lures (I actually have the Flying Lures) but the one that really gets me is when Ol' Roland Martin sold off every last bit of pride and self respect to flog the "Helicopter Lures"!! I mean, can it get much lower? I mean even Bill Dances "Dances Eel" or Doug Hannon's "Snake" leave some pride intact! What was the name of the guy that did the PBS show "Streamside"? He promoted the Flying Lures quite a bit back in the late 70's and early 80's. I liked his show when he fished small streams and rivers in Upstate New York from his canoe. Oh, I remember now...Don Meissner!! "Rod and Real" with Bill Saiff was another classic on PBS around the same time!

I'm with Wayne and HH on this one too! I have never heard a single case where this didn't backfire. My previous employer would tolerate a lot of crap from the employees, but ultimatums were not well received!

WOW! I am totally shocked and stunned to read this! I had no idea that John was even ill, never mind this. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family. John was one of those posters that you read regardless of the topic and I was always in awe of his knowledge and diplomacy in the way he handled things. A very giving man, and he will be sadly missed around here. I always had hoped to fish with John one day, and regret that will not happen. RIP John. We have lost another good one.

$27.95 seems like a good deal to me. I mean the thing is a "one of a kind" item that is specific to that make and model. Supply and demand dictates that this would be a more expensive. JMHO

I was in Isle of Roatan a month or so ago. Amazing place, but didn't do any fishing. Saw tons of them including a Permit while snorkelling the reefs there. It is definitely a place I would like to go back to.

DANG! It don't get any sweeter than that! No one wishes anyone undue harm, but when scumbags like this get whats coming to them.....it restores my faith in humanity!

I had a 1986 20 HP Merc. My guess is that the plugs are permanently gapped (forget what they call these). There is just a centre pin and the threaded part of the plug surrounds it and is separated by an insulator. I would think you are referring to the kill switch that is on the motor. It must be pointed up to run. The tether is most likely missing, but if it was attached, it would knock the switch into the "down" position if it was yanked off the switch.

Very sorry to read this Dan. My condolences to you and your family. It is certainly a sad situation to have these two events coincide on the same day, but we have no say in these things. The picture out in the boat speaks volumes of the man!

Awesome!

Bob, if we don't hear from ya immediately after Mothers Day, we will certainly know why. I bought my wife one of those handy multi bit screwdrivers for Mothers Day many years ago. I am lucky to be here today! It is in the kitchen drawer and I use it all the time, but it was a tense few years back then!!!

I'm pretty sure there was nothing on my BoaterExam test that would prepare me for something of this nature! Anyways, its all fun and games until someone loses an eye!

Leave some money there for me Billy Bob! I'll be there in August.

The sheepskin seat cover adds a homey touch!

Great timing with this thread! Our best friends are taking the motorhome trip down there this June for 3 weeks. I'll keep a look-out here and get them on to check it out! Thanks

Talk about great memories! Way to go! "somebody help me please!"...that's the way I feel most days too! LOL Nice looking ponds. I bet the ice is only off for a day or so too?