Dave Bailey

I'll speak up for those who wish the dang thing would go to the bottom and stay there. But then I rarely take mine out in the canoe.

Did a wee bit of fishing back on the Easter weekend and after seeing another post where an OOS bass pic was posted I have decided to post this one. The general consensus in the other thread was that a quick pic of a PB isn't something we should get too upset about, so I've dragged this one out of the files. Herewith I present a catch that weighs about twice my daughter's weight, and of a common and often caught species. Ladies and gentlemen, here is her 170lb Loudmouth bass: A hearty thanks to the good folks at Orillia Soldier's Memorial Hospital for removing the hook. And fie on those who said I should have left it in and gone punk. Meagan now knows to look behind her before casting, and I know to stand out of the way at the same time.

Actually, that sucks. If there's money to be made then we'll never get rid of them and there will be lobby groups opposing any attempts to eradicate them.

I'm thinking that the best use for asian carp is fertilizer.

Nature is magnificent!

Yeah, not much north of Florida Bay. My wife and I canoed almost right up to a couple of them, got some nice slides. There is also an intermediate form with a normal body colour and a white head, called Wurdemann's heron. Saw a couple of them but couldn't get close.

Ah, the old 'Dupont spinner'!

How would you go for this beast?! Looks like a tarpon on steroids with attitude.

Balsam Lake Provincial Park advertises that boat rentals are available - Park web site

Received this in my e-mail last night, a posting from the Ontario Field Ornithologists list: ============================== This morning, 30 minutes before the published sunrise time (0611 hrs), Dave Andrews and I went to the egret roost area at Muddy Creek, south of Wheatley, Ontario, and found it occupied by 30 Great Egrets. Most egrets departed from the roost between 0608 and 0621 flying to the west, towards Hillman Marsh, under cloudy skies. We did not see any banded or tagged birds. Egrets had started congregating at the roost as early as 720 PM the previous evening. Linda McClaren reports 31 egrets leaving the roost at the Monticello area of Luther Marsh this past Sunday (18 July)...between 0530 and 0600 hrs. The egrets have been coming to the roost, usually between 815 - 845 PM, regularly since late June. Ontbirders are encouraged to watch for other egret roosts developing now during the post-breeding season. Roost are suspected of existing in the Guelph, Waterloo and Chatham areas but their locations have not been pinpointed. Egrets have been marked with numbered red leg-bands or orange wing-tags (not both) during the last month. Please report any such markings. Great egret watching ! :-) Chip Weseloh ============================== It appears that the population is healthy!

They have been recorded from most of southern Ontario, but the only place I've ever seen one was in Wheatley harbour a couple of years ago. There are breeding colonies here but I don't know the locations, the Ontario Field Ornithologists would probably have that info.

Man, your post takes me back. We used to go up Fenelon Falls during the 50s and 60s, back when Jim Curtis had the cabins on the river across from town. Dad used to take us across to one of the big cement blocks between the canal and the river, give the three of us kids a pot of worms, and we would sit there hauling in all sorts of panfish. At night we would take the boat just into the middle of the river and anchor it, and that was where he taught me how to use a jitterbug, still one of my favourite lures. We occasionally went through the locks to Balsam and Sturgeon, but Cameron can provide your kids with all the panfish action they want. There is more to that lake than a lot of people give it credit for, and if you don't want to go through locks there is the Burnt River at the north end that you can try out. Near where it joins Cameron there is a very weedy area, like a bay, I believe it's called Goose Lake, which someone once told us was an old sanctuary. Haven't been able to get much out of it in the past, but my skills have (hopefully) improved since I last fished it about 17 years ago. Cameron has walleye and musky as well, but like you said don't expect trophy size. Sorry I can't be more specific, but if you choose Cameron I'm really looking forward to your trip report!

The great egret, Ardea alba, has been here for years, but you're correct, it is gradually expanding its range. The smaller cattle egret, Bubulcus ibis, is also getting more numerous, and there are several breeding records for Ontario. There is a white phase of the great blue heron, but they only occur in Florida Bay.

They're pretty good in my experience. Let's look at the job - you are granted a lot of power over other people, you are given a firearm, a club, handcuffs, and a high-powered vehicle with all sorts of bells and whistles. Face it, that job is tailor made to attract every whack-job jack-booted fascist with an overbearing ego. I think the various police forces around are doing a fairly good job of weeding those types out during the application and selection process, the training process, and then the first few weeks on the street. A few will slip through, but most are good people.

First of all, my apologies to all who participated if I seemed a little rushed and ‘off my game’ today. We had received word on Friday night that my mother was not well, and the next morning we learned that she had been rushed to hospital with a serious heart problem. Fortunately she is doing well now, but it was in the forefront of my mind all day. Now, on to the results! Despite some very high winds and various mutterings about the early summer possibly changing fishing patterns, this was the first year in quite a while in which not one entrant was skunked. So much for the mutterings. 5th place went to Jenn and Barry McCrackin with a total weight of 10.45lbs, nipped closely by Linda and Steve Hatton with 10.50. 3rd was taken by Judy and Terry Ruttle with 10.65, not their highest but they usually wind up on our imaginary podium. 2nd place, with a total of 10.70 was taken in an interesting way by Jackie and John Sedgwick, more about that later. 1st place overall went to Giselle Hatton (mother Linda has obviously taught her well) and partner Scott Stickle with a runaway weight of 16.85lbs, more than 50% greater than 2nd place! Congratulations to both of you, now dad Steve is probably wondering whether to beam with pride or keep her away next time, gotta control the competition somehow! Back to the Sedgwicks. They were able to reach 2nd place thanks to one fish, a 5.30lb line stretcher that comprised almost half their total weigh-in, and was by far the biggest fish of the day and took cash for that category. There were some disturbing developments. Jackie Sedgwick admitted that John caught the big fish, another entrant admitted to bringing back an expired one and took the .25lb penalty, and yet another said he had an expired one in the basket, which surprisingly breathed and jumped when I looked in. Really people, with this overbearing display of honesty you’re bringing down the reputation of fisherpersons as inveterate but lovable fibbers. Can you look yourselves in the mirror tomorrow? We also had a rather vicious attack on one participant when Mike Small was hooked in the left hand by a feisty smallmouth, the attacker was last seen swimming off in the direction of Lake Kashagawigamog. Call Crimestoppers if you have any information. Mike was treated and released at the local infirmary, but please don't give him a Boy Scout handshake for a while. I will attempt to write up the complete results ASAP, but for now I am going to bed and having a thought or two for my mum. Goodnight.

Unfortunately they're wrong. All they've done is found a key component in egg formation in chickens, and other species use other chemicals. In evolutionary terms the egg always comes first. The random mutation that causes a new trait to develop in offspring (and then be naturally selected, or not, for survival) occurs in the DNA of the parent animal, but that animal itself does not change. The effects of the mutation show up once the egg begins to develop, and a new species is born. Evolutionary biologists are currently tearing their hair out over yet another journalistic mangling of basic science.

It's very difficult to do these days, but I try my best to not buy anything made in China. Their human rights record is frightening, and they are well known for dumping poisons by just mixing them in with food or consumer goods. We still have a number of tackle manufacturers in Canada, buy from them first.

Good sighting! The five-lined skink is the only lizard found in Ontario, and it's range is limited. They occur in the extreme southwest, I've seen them regularly at Point Pelee, and in central Ontario, where I've seen them at Petroglyphs PP. But there doesn't seem to be a connecting population from one area to the other.

Humans are the only species that has the luxury of being stupid, in any other species it's a pretty quick death sentence. And it has nothing to do with intelligence. Most people are just as intelligent as anyone else in terms of raw brain power, but due to factors such as ignorance (willful or otherwise) they do stupid things. It's also a part of our evolutionary heritage that we are cursed with thinking primarily about the 'here and now', with the immediate future second, and the distant future as something we aren't hard-wired to concern ourselves with. So we naturally carry on abusing the environment because it makes us rich today, or provides us with more food than we can use, and makes us immediately happy. It's only recently in our species' existence that we have been able to amass the collective knowledge to warn us about the consequences. It remains to be seen if we gain the collective wisdom to recognize problems and deal with them. EDIT: Forgot to add, I haven't seen the documentary.

Just stole this from an English Facebook buddy: Just heard a guy in Utah got to choose his own firing squad and he choose Heskey, Gerrard, Rooney and Lampard.

Our canoe is one of the more popular ones in Canada, the 16' Scott Tripper in fibreglass, made by Mid-Canada Fibreglass in New Liskeard. She isn't the lightest, or the prettiest, or the toughest, but we've had some good times. She's been floating with alligators, crocodiles, and manatees in Florida, through some salt marshes in Cape Cod, a lot of places in Ontario, and our kids have grown up learning to paddle it. I would love to own a hand-crafted cedar strip, or a lightweight Kevlar, but until more money comes along she'll continue to be our water transport. Surprised I didn't see MCF and their popular Scott canoes listed in that article.

It's a wonder that anything is made in Canada any more, I hope they can keep going.

Yeah, just found their web site this morning. Looks like about six of one, half dozen of the other. No need to rush our decision, we've got a while yet.