bigugli

Socks are a big part of the footwear equation. So much so that the military developed a "combat sock system". All jokes aside, when you have manpower living in their boots 24/7, it was necessary to come up with footcare practices to prevent blisters, skin ulcers, athletes foot, trenchfoot, etc.... They have a three layer sock issue. Works pretty good for most. I could not wear the inner liners as they would disintegrate in one day. Worst socks to ever wear are cotton gym socks.

Spend the money on good boots ""and"" socks. Don't cheap out.

I know a couple of guys who run to the west end of Erie for whities every spring.

Nice fish Matt. I wont ever say anything about hockey...i dont understand it....lol.

yeah, yeah, but just mention footie,.....

Solitude is , more than anything else, a state of mind. Some of us need to cut ourselves off entirely from the civil world to achieve that state of peace. It can be exhilarating, I must admit. Like going out for that dawn paddle/row knowing you only share the lake with the loon. Not disturbing the serenity with the sputter and whine of an outboard motor.

I may not always be able to find places in Niagara without that background noise of civilization, but I do find isolated niches where I am the only soul around. Free to focus my thoughts or empty my mind and drink in my surroundings.

As long as you got out and had a good time, nothing else matters.

To some of you, this may sound strange. have you ever been hiking in a pair of combat boots. My CF boots were excellent hiking boots back in the 70's and 80's and lasted through 10 years of abuse.

Awesome Bruce

I envy all you guys who live close enough to each other,to make fishing plans.

Glad ya had fun.

I just might have to come up and visit you and some of the other Quebec exiles some day. Love a new adventure, and travels to strange and foreign lands .

Got another opp to meet with good fishin buddy, crappiperchhunter, for a leisurely stroll out on the lake. Was a beautiful day out, and not too crowded (somethin about football and beer). Now for those who don't know me, I don't move too quickly, so for a good portion of the day, this was my view.

Steve and my son, Rob, off way ahead. As I said, a beautiful day. Pity the fish weren't more co-operative. The perch were picky, and the jumbos went into hiding. We only had a handful of quality fish.

We did run into a school of herring that were quickly released.

ROb likes his sink pictures gory

Would have been nice if the fish had co-operated, but the quality of the companionship more than makes up for it.

Even stopped at BPS enroute home, so Rob could finally spend a year old gift card. They had a deal on some nice ice reels, $12.95

Now to hit the legs with a good rubdown of liniment. Got to try and get some of the feeling back. Thats a drawback of a good outing. Start losing sensation in the legs.

Nice fish

Well done. place looks vaguely familiar

The side hooks on the Williams I bought are absolute garbage. Fresh out of the pack, the one side hook snaps apart as I swing it out.

 

P.S. Of course, again, you forgot to add the piece of resistance I want to see that thing in a plate

Thanks for sharing

Jacques

I'm saving that as a special dinner with my mother ( Mrs don't like fish). The plan will be to do a baked whitefish with crabmeat and shrimp stuffing, served with a Skane mustard sauce or a Finnish dill sauce

I'd relocate back north in a heartbeat. Sadly, the Mrs wants no part of that, so I'm content where I'm at.

Even small town Ontario has been struck with urban disease. Any calm or warm weekend night and the streets are filled with drunk, stoned and passed out kids at 4 in the morning. Or they are down one of the rural roads setting off 20' bonfires that have cops and firefighters scrambling.

Nice, just like riding a bike eh? The rope can be used whilst going down as well as up. Glad you're ok.

There were 2 ropes. The long rope in the pic had a lineup of 20 sleds waiting to be guided down. The other rope only went 2/3 the way down, then I was on my own. In the 5 minutes we were at the hill, 2 others had gone for a tumble and one hut was smashed onto the rocks

Nice Bruce.....how deep were you fishing?

We were at 103'

I have caught many whitefish over the years, but sadly, the last time was some 28 years ago. I have also never fished for them through the ice. We used to catch loads of them along the wall above the dam, in the Soo. Long story made short, I was made an offfer I could not pass up until I got to the "hill". A slope of hard glazed ice that cleats would not dig into. I did a big backflip on the way to the ice. Took a couple of minutes to regain my bearings

The pic was taken after the ice had "softened". At least I wasn't the only acrobat

Bite was soft and slow, missed a couple, but was rewarded with one nice specimen to make my day.

After that the well ran dry for me. Most folk, today, left the bay empty handed.

A lot of quiet little gems I knew when growing up, now have signs, wires, fences. I can say that I still manage to find a few gems in Southern Ontario where I am the only soul around.

I have the time, only thing is I'm not the sharpest crayon when it comes to puter skills.

When I went to school computer science was a nerd class, where you messed around with 10000 punch cards to produce a 2 minute program.

Seeing as we are into February, the question needs be asked.

Will we have another year long OFC team tournament? Last we heard, Slowpoke had already announced he could no longer co-ordinate the game. Will someone step up to the plate?

Is there enough interest amongst the members?

New Zealands are too small for meat produstion, even though they are classed as a meat rabbit. I have seen grand champion grade Giants weighing in at 30lbs at various shows.

Have you tried roast rabbit? Young rabbit, slow roasted, is almost like chicken.

Nice looking Rex's. Have you ever tried raising the larger breeds of meat rabbit? Flemish and Checkered giants are huge animals by comparison. Even a French lop averages twice the size of a standard Rex or California.

I got my kids interested in raising show rabbits for a few years, but they could not see them as livestock. I ran the fur and feather show at the county fair for a few years. There was a big demand for meat rabbits back then.

1 woodchuck ( should be aged a few days first in the cooler)

2 onions, sliced

1/2 cup celery, sliced

Flour

Vinegar and water

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp worcestershire

1 clove garlic

Clean woodchuck; remove glands; cut into serving pieces. Soak overnight in a solution of equal parts of water and vinegar with addition of one sliced onion and a little salt. Drain, wash, and wipe. Parboil 20 minutes, drain, and cover with fresh boiling water. Add one sliced onion, celery, a few cloves, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until tender; thicken gravy with flour.

You get a tasty solution to the Groundhog day fuss.

Was a pleasure to be able to share.

There was a Gander Mountain in the big mall, 3 years back.

There used to be a number of great Mom & Pop places along the old 69, but are all gone. Still French River Trading Post is decent. The Haven in Pointe Au Baril used to be good.

Webers is just a tourist trap serving undersized burgers at an inflated price. They were good once, but that was decades back.

Almost forgot, big brekkies at the Husky just off the 400, and the restaurant at Tudhope Pk not to bad for brekkie either.

You got stiffed, now you get some payback.

There is always a risk that when you do a good turn, someone will take advantage of your good intentions. I'm certain it has happened to many here