bigugli

I'm noticing that some replies get dropped right tp the very bottom of the page leaving a huge blank space tween the last post and latest reply. My reply to last walleye trip. Dr S's reply to perchin.

Nice collection there. Good to see you got to enjoy some late ice.

The lake run fish came in last year in very large schools. Huge schools of shiners ( food for the bigger fish ), yellow and white perch, sheephead, carp, channel cats, even some bows. Water looks fairly dark with mud most times, but so does the Grand, and it's teeming with life.

Shutting the site down gave me lots of good fishing time today. Met up with my buddy, the Smerch, and we had a blast. Took a little while to figger out what the little buggers wanted, but once we did. WooHoo! We kept 2 dozen as dinner guests out of the hundred odd caught. I played camera man today. Didn't want to bust the lens on my mug Going to go to sleep soon. No OFC for 2 nights had me bouncing off the walls.

The area was verdant and lush. Just teeming with life. the beaver den

Wow!! Looks pretty sharp. Being as I am not so computer literate, this might take a little while to figure out. Where is the machine that goes "Ping"?

But I ain't done poop disturbing

i can hardly wait to hit the Grand. Well done.

Let's give the authorities some time to work. This was only reported to them this morning. Call the press in and the property owner will be hiding behind a wall of lawyers slowing everything down.

Despite all the poop I've been disturbing, the pooch and I got out for a couple of hours to chase some cats. Nothing large, but they seemed to like my left over salties. Darned fish thieving dog kept jumping in the water trying to grab the fish as I was reeling in. What a hoot

You know I'd love to Cliff, but it just isn't in the cards right now.

Ringwood hatchery

There are ways and means by which a land owner can make waterfront improvents that are beneficial for all concerned. That is not the case here. Along that bank was a thick shoreline growth of dogwoods, scrub willow, wild rose. Beneath was an under layer of marginal water grasses, weeds and a couple of pockets of water lily. Along that bank was the den of a river beaver. During the warm months, kingfishers, orioles, blackbirds, cardinal, etc... would nest there. Herons and bitterns would perch on some of the standing dead wood looking for their next meals. There were painted turtles in among the shoreline wood. Loss of the spawning bed will gradually mean the loss of those schools of lake run fish that spawn there. I have worked on a few waterfront projects and I still can't believe the shortsightedness of this landowner. No responsible landscaper should ever be so careless. I've seen it happen a few time up in the Muskokas and Haliburtons, and the consequences were huge. On one lake the cost to restore the habitat drove the offender into bankruptcy. He had dumped some 30 truck loads of sand into a grass marsh to build the perfect beach. The MNR has begun investigating.

Left messages with NPCA. DFO is steaming. I'm chasing MNR red tape. Think a call to the media may be next on the agenda.

Many of you will remember my slew of springtime posts from a Niagara honey hole. It held an abundance of transient spawning fish, and varied wildlife. Well it seem the one landowner decided to destroy the shoreline habitat for his viewing pleasure. All the shoreline structure, plant life and habitat has been bulldozed and destroyed as well as part of the spawning bed. THis area was teeming with life last spring. Nothing will be living here for years to come. I accept the landowners right to alter/improve his property. I have a problem when such action causes serious damage to our public waterways and resources. There are no silt and erosion barriers in place so the topsoil just silts up the spawning areas of the shallow bay. Every tree, limb or snag in the water has been removed. Put simply he altered the bed where schools of lake run perch, drum, cats, shiners, etc... come in to spawn. They may be rich but they is stoopid!

My condolences to you. You were a lucky man to have such a father and I am certain his passing hurts deep. Pass on what he passed on to you and a part of him lives on forever.

Had the coonskin cap. Loved watching Fess. Have the video set of the shows. He was one of those reluctant hero rolemodels that were such a big part of the frontier legend. As kids we loved going out to shoot coons and, with the adults, hunt "barr". Dougt I could grin a "barr' to death like Davey

If you don't mind the coin, Zeiss lenses are the best in the industry. It all boils dwn to your specific needs as to what size and magnification range you require.

It will eventualy escape from a fish farm and then contaminate the natural gene pool.

I'm waiting for our local show in Niagara. www.niagaraoutdoorshow.com

I'd have to agree with CPH. The show is a shadow of it's former self, but that slide began long before the dominance of the internet. What was purely an outdoors show for sportsmen has become more of a recreational show catering to all the new fads and trendy things that people spend wads of money on. Last time I was there ( 4 years back) I counted 6 sock dealers, 4 bikini booths, lost count of the t-shirt dealers, wake boards, waterskis, jetskis, also manner of extreme adventure tours, packages and gimmicks. Half of the show is power toys. Fishing and hunting might take up a sixth of the show. What does a cheerleader squad have to do with fishing (beyond getting Ron and Leo excited?) Our modern urban society does not value the outdoors in the way we did, and still do. They don't fish and hunt, a lot don't even have a clue where their food comes from. Nature is something they fear and revere, but like to view with a foolish childlike curiosity. The outdoors is just another place for showing off expensive toys and tearing up the ground ( to the detriment of the outdoors itself).

Everything but the biological clock (and OFC), sprang forward

Great to see all those smiling young faces.

I gladly recycle lead into new jigs and weights.

Gotta love beans.. I prefer my maple syrup beans any day, cold, right out of the can. Like douG, I really like a solid bean casserole, Hawaiian style with a few types of beans, onion, garlic, bacon or ham, pineapple, diced peppers. WARNING!! No more than 4 partakers of said repast shpuld be allowed to occupy the same building, let alone a tent or ice hut