bigugli

Good you got out. No white stripe either.

ME, I had chores to do so i can get out Sunday.

Ain' it a beauty. Finally over the worst of the flu and the sun comes out. Got 1/2 a cord cut, split and stacked ( I was down to my last few sticks) All dry even.

Almost lopped off my toe but I still gotta heat the house

I think I'll stay inside, by the fire, tying harnesses and bucktails.

I would say BALA. I always have a blast when I go there. A portion of the weekend is always a haze due to generous portions of alcohol. Seems like a good idea at the time but always regret it the next day.... headache.

I guess Bala is a good town. Don't seem to remember too much from my visits there

Meanwhile, back at Nortel. The monetary waste and stupidity of this corporation is nothing new. It is a 10 year old running story of mistakes, excesses and losses. Every time the 'splat' hit the fan, senior and corp management closed ranks, padded their wallets and petted themselves on the back.

A large number of the management had received stocks as bonuses and when Nortel's stocks first hit the wall many of these people had already unloaded them days before Nortel had posted it's losses. My one cousin was given 3 days lead time to unload his stocks in the firm because of a head's up from his boss. He has been kicking himself in the ever since because he hedged his bets and only sold off half.

Ice rubs, stretch exercises, and when really inflamed, a few visits to a good chiro for massage and 'Tens' therapy.

Back on Mar 1st invited Icefisherman and Crappieperchhunter down to hit on some smelts. I figured it would be no problem, I hadn't heard of a tough day's bite this year.

They were waiting for me. That cold cell shut things down harder than I expected. Tried a few different tactics and moved but the smelts were hugging bottom and few were rising to the bait.

It wasn't til the last 1/2 hour out that we found the right presentation and started to get hits. Only a few handfuls were going to have a date with the skillet.

It was great to meet some OFNer's to fish together. Sorry I couldn't put the pattern together.

Now Emil brought his young son with him and, let me tell you, He is an absolute charmer. He was in his own world having a gay old time and keeping us cheerily amused. That boy is a gem, Emil. You are a lucky father.

Sorry for the late report. The "Crash of OFC" and the onset of the flu shortly after left me a bit preoccupied

On many forums, hits on the ads or sponsor links result in a payback to the board.

Thank you. Don't know if the shakes and sweats were from the DT's or the flu. Just glad you are up and running again.

Nothing juvenile about it at all. A good part of my growing up was the Muskokas. I still love the small towns, although most are slowly dying. Coldwater, Mactier, Waubushene and Honey Harbour were bustling towns in their day. I miss the pier at Jackson's Point. I have had great times in Haliburton and Minden. Have a soft spot for the Soo. It's all about the fun and the memories we attach to these places. I still haven't seen 10% of this province or fished 1% of it's lakes, but I'm working on it.

Why should we have all the fun? Better go our and git yerself a snowshovel, parka an mukluks

Great pics and report Bruce

 

It was a great time had by all. Thanks again for bringing the extra rods, they're already talking about getting out again

Just let me know so I bring more gear

On #2. I'm also a realist. The Leafs are hopeless, and NHL hockey isn't much better. Watch the juniors instead.

#3 I love winters cold and snowy. Far better than the mushy an dull grey winters we have seen much of the past few years. There is something very wrong in being able to work my garden the first week of March

WTG on a successful outing. Some nice looking fish.

Spent my day at the Bradley Perzul Memorial Derby in Port Dalhousie. Bradley was a very avid young angler who succumbed to heart disease a few years back.

Sadly I was not one of the winners. My spot was where all the dink perch were feeding.

Regardless, it was a great day. I got a great kick watching 3 young boys in our group, 2 who have never been ice fishing. Those young lads had a blast on the ice. I was glad to help them out and bring a couple of rods for them to use.

This young lad had his very first ice caught fish. One of a few today.

This teen got this one as it was dragging the rod down the hole. I was too busy yacking

These will be guests for breakfast being gut hooked or damaged

 

Now that was an earlier skirmish, but this is a story about Canadian Pirates! Who knew?

 

We have some history, plenty really, but if that's not enough, we have TONS of geography.

Nova Scotia's South shore has a rich history of privateering from the 1790's to the War of 1812. It's a part of the 'blue water heritage'.

You don't have to worry about all of that if you ship them off to a Nunnery Bernie.

That won't work. The girls find all sorts of ways of smuggling the boys past the good sisters at night. Loretto girls school wasn't called "The Loretto Bordello" for nothing

Bernie, you forgot to print the applicant's instructions that go with it. They are better than the app itself.

A steel, or carbides, are great tools for keeping your edges trued and sharp. Over time a blade does flatten out and lose the bevel. At that point you need to resort to a stone to bring back the bevel and a good edge. Not too difficult on a Rapala blade. A bit more work on blades with a higher RC count like a Mora filet knife or a cutter's sloyd knife.

Neat video. Nice ice cats.

Take him to a lodge or fly-in for some together time.

Didn't "The White House" get burned to the ground in the war of 1812?

That was in retaliation for burning down York (Toronto)

As for who won? It was a draw.

The United States failed in its objective of invading and conquering Canada.

The British failed in its efforts to impose its mastery of the seas, and its rules, on American seafaring and commerce.

The Battle of New Orleans was an accident that occurred after the war was over.

Congratulations YOU have entered into a whole new world. Strap on that seat belt cause you're in for one wild and wonderful ride for the next 20 years. Enjoy every minute of it.

That'll cost ya a beer.

Good thing I keep the roll of paper towels right beside the puter

There is always some form of environmental consequence from industry. Us older types should remember when everything in Sudbury was a shade of grey or when everything in the soo had a thick layer of dust on it every day. Solution was the super stack which in turn caused acid rain problems. Numerous lakes were wiped out because of a radical shift in ph levels. Contaminated waste, slag tailings, etc... will eventually leech into soil and the water table.

Malvern subdivision had a radioactive waste problem. Luminous paint (radioactive) was used in the manufacture of aircraft instrumentation, gunsights, etc.. that were made there back in WWII. The waste was just dumped in the field and accidentally discoverd after the subdivision had been built some 30 years later. Surprise!! There are hundreds of nasty forgotten places like that across Canada.

You can't make the stuff disappear any more than you can roll back time. All we, as a society, can do is try and manage the problems. Just be thankful you don't live or work near a chemical weapons dumping ground.

Photoz, the water was almost gin clear to bottom. Smelts were stacked top to bottom at different times. When deeper it didn't take much to coax them up.

The key is to hit them as they swallow the bait. They have teeth, so they often get dragged up without being hooked. Bigger smelts attack like a miniature pike. If your're not quick, they shake off back down the hole.

If you are sitting out in the open you will not see the bite. If you don't have a hut, throw a blanket or tarp over you and the hole. It will allow you to see the smelts biting.