Dave Bailey

If they're dark I would suspect mink. Are you near water?

A mother protecting her young, nothing disturbing about that. At least that cat had the sense to high-tail it out of the area.

Heading up to Killarney PP in August, was thinking of renting a boat for a day from Channel Marina. Anyone have experience with them?

Ah yes, the famous 'Dupont spinner'!

Hear hear! And a big hand for all those in the military, here and abroad, standing on guard for thee!

A time-worn axiom of aviation is "there are old pilots and bold pilots, but there are few old bold pilots."

Jitterbug is good, fell in love with them when I was a kid back in the 60s. My new favourite is the Chug Bug, what a bass grabber that is!

Can't honestly say, I'm not a member, but there must be a few on this board.

Perhaps the OFAH would be willing to help us take a stand?

Howzabout this - Asian carp = free organic fertilizer. Chop 'em up and plow 'em under.

The cormorants are native actually, they have simply undergone a population explosion lately. But they have always been around.

Well, actually catching something would be a start for me.

For those who say they can't be eradicated I have two words - passenger pigeon.

Bad news. We need to do whatever is necessary to wipe them out. To those who say it can't be done I have two words - passenger pigeon.

Do you have a map that shows it? I would be interested to see the exact area. You could substitute 'liability insurance' for $, more likely in my opinion.

Chug Bug for me. It's reliable and I LOVE topwater strikes!

Beautiful words and pictures Cliff, time with your children should always be special and it sounds as if you live by that philosophy too. Has she ever tried fishing for frogs? When we were kids we would find a little feather or something similar and just fix it to the end of the line or a snap swivel, no hook. Then we would dangle it in front of a frog and wiggle it a bit, and it's moderately successful. This way she gets to see them fire their tongue out to get it. They often grip it securely enough that you can lift them up and extract the 'lure' from their mouth. If you use a peanut instead you can do the same with chipmunks, just don't try pulling them off the nut!

I've just been poking around the GRCA web site and I can't find any evidence that they have any property bordering the lake.

Keep in mind that if you run a tournament you will need a place for a weigh-in station and associated activities. That means that you'll need either permission from the GRCA to run it on their property, or you will need it from a private individual, and it certainly seems that they might not want it. If you get permission from the GRCA then there is a major question - access. If there isn't any way to get into their area other than by boat that makes things difficult. The scales I have are expensive and heavy, and I would hate for something to happen to them while transporting the unit in a canoe. Given the way the other 'boaters' treat canoes the possibility of getting swamped is increased, especially if they know that we want to run a tournament. But if you can easily access the site then I might seriously consider offering my services, I run the Gals 'n' Pals tournaments so I know what's involved.

Closest I can find is Hamer Bay Marine on Lake Joseph. I'm pretty sure it connects to Rosseau but it might take a tank of gas to motor around to it.

Thanks guys, good points all around. I should say that if I can pass the test, anyone should be able to, it's multiple choice common sense stuff. I made it on my first try with only two wrong, and one of those was poorly worded. The way I see it, it should increase boater safety in two ways: 1) People will study as much as they can and learn as much as they can, because they will expect it to be tough. It isn't, but at least they will have a head full of good information. 2) Many will be too scared of the test or won't be bothered, so they won't go out. Fewer boaters = fewer dingbats.

Ah yes, eastern kingbird. Their scientific name, Tyrannus tyrannus, is very apt. Feisty little chaps.

Okay, wasn't aware of that. Some marinas I've investigated say on their web site that you must have the card to rent from them, so I'm glad I got it anyway.