bigugli

Looks like a very successful outing.

Skidoos at speed can fly across thin ice and open water. The ice still won't bear the weight of a person when thin or really soft.

We couldn't see a thing for the first few hours, so we were guessing on location. We were on the outside fringe beyond the pack though.

May 2011 bring good news and better days to our many friends who have had to struggle through so much this year.

This is 60's mellow.

Tomorrow's brekkie. Too tired to cook tonight. Thank God for leftover turkey!

YA just can't beat the smiles on them faces.

We opted, today, to avoid the more crowded areas around Cook's bay. We ran for the upper reaches on Couch instead. That fog was wicked this morning on the drive up. Fish started hitting a minute or 2 after punching holes, and we had 4 hours of furious action. Admittedly the were mostly dinks, but there were enough quality perch showing up. Around 11:30-12 someone flipped the switch, and the bite turned off. For the next three hours we kept moving and working new holes to coax a couple of bites here and there. By the end of the day some spots were definitely getting soft and sloppy. Next couple of days will make things dicey.

Too bad CTD did not get the recognition they deserved. I too am a huge fan of Tom & Jerry's rich harmonies.

It certainly was a furious dink bite today, and bite sensors tips were the thing for seeing a soft bite. Had a non stop bite for 4 hours.

The magic of genetic engineering I like posting the after pics far more than the kitchen sink.

Too Kool

What can I say? The words competence and government are mutually exclusive in this day and age.

I've seen a couple of tagged fish that have had sores develop around the pin site. I was told it can depend as much on the time of year the fish is tagged. Especially warm water with higher bacteria/algae counts. Glad to hear you had a very productive day on the ice.

There's not a lot of fishable ice south of Toronto, but there are a few nice impoundments, ponds and lakes with 5-6" of ice. Suitable for taking a stroll and having a wee look see. Bite has been soft and real slow. Not aggressive at all. Even so still managed to catch myself a breakfast for me and the pooches. I think the weekend weather might put a stop to things for a few days.

Nothing new about the product. From the 50's to the present they were called electric heated hunt socks. They do not compensate for poor quality boots and are only as useful as the battery pack. The older models ran on 9V

I still don't fish with a finder. Admittedly I'm fishing familiar waters, but one learns by trial and error. You can have all the gadgets in the world and still have a white stripe. Simply see Irish's Monday lure washing thread.

We braved the elements today. Had to baptize my new fish hut with some slime. Nice to be out of the wind in roomy comfort.

One more to the good.

Joulupukki brought me the necessities of winter living. Warm socks longjohns warm clothes a toque and gloves ice fishing jigs More importantly, a family together under one roof, and day 2 of the feast.

Our Christmas was a season, not just one or 2 days. it started with the Santa Claus parade. Cutting a fresh tree. Going to see the windows at Simpsons and Eatons in downtown Toronto, and seeing Santa there for the annual picture. There was carol singing and Christmas concerts at school where we sang real carols. At the Ex, in the Automotive building, they used to have a Winter Wonderland. The entrance was done up like a castle, but one year it was done up as Captain Crunch's ship the year they first brought out the cereal with crunchberries. You also got to see Uncle Bobby, Blinky, and ride a train through Santa's candy mines. Our Christmases were a story book. Christmas eve was a Finnish affair. Gram would have spent weeks shopping and preparing for that feast. From about 7 in the evening, til 3 in the morning, there was a parade of family and friends through our door. Me, being the oldest, did coat duty for the guests when I was older. The drinks flowed freely. You drank beer in quarts at Christmas, not some wee stubby pop. Us kids even got to have a bit of the Heering or aqvavit for toasts when the stepdad ( stiff anglo type) wasn't looking. There were 2 massive tables of food. On the first table would be ham and corned brisket or flank steak, and meatballs. There would be a mountain of coldcuts and cheeses, devilled eggs, veggies and dips, crackers, sil, etc, etc,..... On the second table were the goodies. Right smack in the middle was this huge bowl of trifle. It would take us 2-3 day to finish it off. There was pulla, coffee cakes, cookies, squares, Christmas cake, tarts, etc.... As in the old country, we opened a couple of presents that evening. One of which was a new pair of home made PJ's or a housecoat. I used to have this brown inflatable hassock, that was my seat, for these occasions Christmas was typically North American, and morn came real early. Stocking hung on the door or bed post to keep us occupied for a while. We were not allowed out of our rooms til Mom or Gord knocked on the door. We did not get a mountain of gifts, some presents were the usual socks, shirts, sweaters,but there was some good stuff that we cherished. A few of our Christmases were lean. On those years, the firefighters, gave us Christmases to remember. The one year, we were to go to the station where they were hosting a party for the kids. My little brothers went, but I was stuck at home with the mumps . They came home with the biggest parcels I had ever seen. I got this set of army men that was out of this world back then. I still remember every piece. It came with 2 tanks, a halftrack, 2 jeeps, a truck, a spring loaded field piece, and 200 men. I played with those until I learnt how to blow up the tanks . Afternoon came with the usual turkey dinner. There were many times where I was so stuffed with the Christmas eve leftovers, that I had no room left for the next dinner. On the record player we listened to "sing along with Mitch", "The Robert Shaw choir", Bing, and "Favourite Christmas melodies by the Grenadier Guards", for days on end. On TV there was always some special on during prime time. Bob Hope, Andy Williams, Red Skelton, Peanuts, etc... Christmas day had only Christmas programming. IT was a special and cherished time. Something we cannot repeat in our politically correct and modern society.

My fave happened at the Seaway mall.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, me bye.

The beer went into the fish batter last night.

It has been a busy week in this household. So much that has to be done in advance of the feasting. Off to a specialty shop to get gravidlax, 3 types of sil, hard rye, and cheeses. Now in Finnish and Scandinavian households, All the best goodies are saved for this holiday. So we had to make cookies. bread A wee break for some early ice fishing more bread, Pulla And a mountain of more cookies. Along with that there was peanut brittle, turnip casserole, creamed onions, etc...... to be readied today. Takes a lot to be ready for 3 straight days of feasting and an open door to all who venture forth. I have my puolukka and elderberry brandy in good supply so I may raise a glass or more to you all and wish good health and a Merry Christmas to one and all. Hyyvaa Joulua