Northhunter

Everyone keeps mentioning reports/studies or lack thereof. I was working for a short while in an MNR fish lab about the time the MNR's first report came out (about 2006?). It was at the end of a 5-year study and their conclusion was basically what everyone already knew - that the exploding populations are detrimental to fish stocks. The senior fish tech I was working under basically said something to the effect of "Now watch and see what kind of crap hits the fan". They had the study and all kinds of data to back up bringing in place some sort of population control, but there was too much politics involved with all the special interest groups and tree huggers, etc. (not unlike the bear hunt). So the MNR copped out and went ahead with another 5-year study. At the time I believe they said it was to then monitor whether or not the populations would come down on their own. I'm not sure what became of it.. dust in the wind? Yes, they will eat smelts, alewife, etc. They are also a major problem on inland lakes where those species don't exist. Then they hit the yellow perch. Yellow perch are not really a prized sportfish, but they are what prized sportfish eat (walleye especially). You do the math. And, yes. They are native. But in about 100 years of species monitoring in Algonquin they were never present until this recent explosion (something to consider). There are now islands on lakes in the park that have met the same demise as people here are describing now. Dr. Salvelinus - wikipedia, Really?

Will be a while yet. Anything with current opened up quick. Everything else is gonna be a couple weeks. I took a drive north on the weekend looking for ice-out brookie/splake prospects and they are still ICE FISHING!!! This is only an hour north of Suds.

If the registry actually lead to preventing a crime I'm sure we'd hear all about it... seems the ones for it will say whatever they can to try and justify the $2,000,000,000 dollar price tag. It's common to hear that enforcement accesses the database X number of times a day/year - what they don't tell you is the number is generated by routine traffic stops as the database gets a hit everytime. I like the old "If it saves just one life it will all be worth it" bullcrap. It's yet to do that, but the money spent effectively elsewhere could save many, many, many lives in a year.

A 3 1/2" load is a 3 1/2" load. The recoil is dependant on shot charge and velocity. It doesn't matter what it's loaded with. If #4 buck is hitting your shoulder harder than the same load of #5 bird shot at the same velocity than it's all in your head. You can have excellent form and still take some punishment. The heavy 3 1/2" candlesticks will produce 60-70lbs of free recoil. I'm 205lbs and anything over 40 starts to punch pretty good. Why do you think there is so much emphasis on recoil dampers on newer guns? Butt pads, special gas operated dampers, overbored barrels, "kickoff" systems, etc., etc. The big bore rifles are not meant for high volume shooting. Most use open sights. They are designed to make the 1st shot count. The .577 "T-rex" isn't even a hunting rifle. It's a personal defence round designed by safari hunters for when the hunting rifle doesn't do the job on dangerous game. It's a big mother-f#$*!n' backup gun for when the crap hits the fan and you need to knock an elephant on it's ass Bruised shoulder or not, you don't fire that thing 'til you have to.

There are only 4 points separating 4th and 8th. Despite the rollercoaster year, they did what they had to and are there. That's better than the 14 teams that have no chance at all

What? I thought the Canadiens were all heartless cowards who want to go home and would bow down to teams like the big bad bruins. Certainly didn't look like it last night.

Nobody was making fun the the Sens missing the playoffs - but we all know how the thread was started. Habs are not banking on other teams losing. They need a point to clinch. Nobody else earned them their 41 wins. As for the 19-10-3 record, I think it's a bit of both. This Sens squad has been up and down the last couple seasons. They play extremely well and then tank it for a bit with no apparent reason. Last season was the same, they were talking of dismantling the team and starting over for cryin' out loud, but they picked it up late in the year and made the playoffs.

Just awesome! Report of the year, I haven't even read the whole thing yet.

Florida lost last night, so Montreal needs a point. Does nobody remember the last time Boston was the 1st seed? They were big then too, and tried to run Montreal through the boards and out of the building... and lost. Habs are a team built around puck posession and speed. Markov and Schneider were two of the best. When Price is on his game and playing the puck like he does, he's like a 3rd D. They are not big bruising stay at home d-men (that's what O'byrne; 6'5" 237lbs, and Komisarek; 6'4" - 242lbs, are supposed to be) but it's a different game today - they will burn you if you try and push them around and end up shorthanded. Schneider was a godly at keeping the puck in the offensive zone, which is huge when you have 2 mins to make something happen and was the reason the powerplay blossomed when he came over. His shot from the point was nice, too. Now they are both gone and Price has been off. But it's a cardinal rule of NHL hockey - anything can happen in the playoffs. All they need is a win over the Bruins or Pens and they likely draw 7th and the Caps. Imagine if they made it far enough that they got all three of Markov, Schneider, and Lang back... it might be a pipe dream, but that's why they play the games.

Trying to. I don't get RDS and the stream I'm on keeps copping out. Not pretty hockey - Price just ain't there. D'Agostini just ripped one off the crossbar with 8mins to go, but looks like a loss. On the upside Philly's winning 2-1 late in the 3rd.

Wow. A bunch of Sens and Leafs fans talking about how someone else might miss the playoffs Sens had 23 shots on net to Montreal's 22. Habs were without their top two D-men and were winning until Heatley's 2 goals in under a minute in the 3rd. Yup. They sure "smoked" them! If Florida loses any one of these final 3 games, Montreal needs 1 point and they are in.

Wow. I was on the west arm 2-3 weeks ago. Wasn't much snow in the bush (enough, but not a lot), and the water appeared extremely low. The furthest cribs for our docks (where the water sits at about 4' in the spring) weren't even seeing ice.

Good post. Our troops are making a difference in Afghanistan. Getting rid of the "boogyman" is one of the many things that are taking place over there. Too many people don't see the big picture.

Saks with the game winner tonight He is definitely a leader. Just doesn't always show on the boxscore. Some people get the impression he is inconsistent... but 13 years in the league take their toll when you're playing as the top line centre at 5' 10". He's had surgery on both knees. If he played all out 82 games he'd be damaged goods by the time it meant anything. In '06-'07 the team was on the bubble, missed the playoffs with a loss against Toronto in the last game of the year. He put up the best point totals of his career, despite playing a defensive style with a blind spot caused by a stick to the eye against the Canes in the previous playoffs (the team folded like a cheap tent once he got taken out). Maybe we'll have to agree to disagree on the leadership, but if you took Sundin's size/build and Koivu's competitiveness you'd have one hell of a player.

We'll see him down the stretch and in the playoffs. 3 pts in his last 2 and 9pts in 7 playoff games last year. Too bad Price kinda fell apart then too.

People who say things like this about Koivu clearly just don't know... The guy came over as a 5' 10" kid from Finland. He had played no "North American Style" hockey at that point. His first training camp they had to tell him to stop hitting his teammates so hard. He skipped playing in the AHL and made the big club. By his 3rd (?) season he was wearing the C. The year he missed the season because of cancer he came back to help them clinch a playoff spot. They came from behind (3-1) to beat a powerhouse Boston squad in 7 (the Bruins had Guerin and Thornton that year, and were favourites to possibly win the cup). Anyone who says Koivu lacks leadership or can't "rally the troops" needs to find a copy of this series and watch it. Seriously.

I caught the last bit of the news thingy... they had someone talking about how it was degrading enough to have to go to a shelter, but to then have to eat "dirty" birds... My god, I'm glad I don't live in TO. Goose is excellent table fare. Much better for you than the crap they sell in the supermarket these days.

Forgot to add - thanks for the vid!!! I liked how the one guy compared fish mounts to a rock 'n' roll song.

Don't harp on it because it's different or you've never done it. Wait a few weeks and all the smelt threads will start. Up here we net suckers in the spring. When I was a kid we used to go by boat up to the "sucker chute" - there were always people there. Now there's a house beside it - right in the middle of nowhere They net whitefish the same way up north in the fall. The first trip to the camp every spring my grandfather used to spear pickeral (not walleye ). He grew up in Sturgeon. They would go out to an island in the middle of the channel and take a couple every year. If they had to, they'd use a strip of birch bark to draw them in near the rocks by shore. He mentioned they used to take a female, tie it to a line and bring it in towards shore. The smaller males or "bucks" would group up and follow her in and those were the ones they would spear. When they did it at the camp it was 2 or 3 fish a year (if they made it out), for lunch the next day. It wasn't poaching - it was just something they did that was accepted at the time. When I was young he told my dad he should take me out - my dad basically told him "It's different now. You can't do that anymore". There's still a couple spearheads in the shed. During the summer it was common practice to take the canoe and the .22 out to the weedbeds for frog legs. If we did that now... It's easy to knock on something that you've never experienced.

Halak getting the start against the Leafs tonight

It's Price. The guy got hurt back around christmas, came back and tweaked something in practice - didn't tell the trainers and played that nights game anyway and played amazing. Then he went back on IR and hasn't been the same since. They are playing him too much because of the pressure in Montreal - all the hype about him and the centennial year, etc, etc. To go into the playoffs with him not up to snuff could seriously hurt the kids career. They are trying to get him back into form by playing him through it but it's costing games. Back-to-back games and he'll lose the first one, and play the 2nd as well. That's not how you get out of a slump. Halak has played amazing when he gets a game, they usually come out with a win... but he rarely gets the start. The same thing happened a couple years ago when they missed the playoffs. Halak was the rookie backup, Huet was the starter but got hurt. Halak's play down the stretch saved the season until the last game of the year. Huet came back cold and got the start for that one game because of who he was, not how he played... and lost. A win would have given them the 8th seed. Gainey is an awesome GM. He basically made the Dallas Stars what they are today... got them the cup in '99 and lost in the finals in 2000. But firing Carbo was a not-so-good move.

I tie them all with a treble behind - I troll these slow with large common shiners. Some days they hit the hardware up front and the main hook gets'em. When they don't, the trailer does most of the damage. If I'm using minnows too small to be hooked with the treble, I just clip them off as I go. Only trouble I have is after extended use the metal blades will start to wear through the leader, but the rig generally sees enough fish to swap it out for a new one by then.

I tie my own - unless you want specific blades, you can get pretty well everything at Ramakko's. I use 35lb Seaguar leader material instead of mono. I tried wire and it just kinks up too bad after a fish or two. The flouro keeps the snot rockets from trashing the rig. I also use the spinner blades that thread right onto the line (no clevis). I find they turn much better at slower speeds and don't collect the weeds/algae as bad. I crimp the front end with a steel sleeve and a swivel. You can bend the tag-end of the flouro downwards from the crimp and attach a splitshot to it. I rig it this way when fishing them with minnows - it keeps them running "true" instead of rotating/spinning through the water.

I have issues with the stocking. It doesn't address the problem. It's done with the best of intentions, but doing it on top of a healthy, naturally reproducing population is a big no-no. They've been dumping fry and fingerlings into Nip for a very long time (it clicked into high gear a few years ago) and still nobody knows what it's doing.

It's a slow year. This happened a couple years ago with Scugog, except there's no native netting taking place there.. so everyone was up in arms over the crappie population ruining everything Sandybay says the water temps are basically shutting things down. I don't know where that info's coming from, but word is that the 'eyes are holding deep, which would make sense if that was the case. Spawning assessment this spring will tell if the sky is really falling.