Northhunter

Looks like a scam. When they call a Sea-Doo such things as "Sky Jet" and "Ski Jet" you have to wonder...

The wolf packs periodically travel outside the park to deer yards in the winter. Hunting was pretty much stopped / banned in areas around the park a few years ago, but I don't remember the specifics. The logging also helped the wolves early on (maybe still does?). Old growth forest is not good moose/deer/beaver habitat (wolf food), but logging opens up areas for "early-successional" stages of forest, where these species thrive. The theory that wolves in the park could be genetically distinct is bogus, IMO. Animals and bloodlines don't recognize man-made borders. I see no problem with the logging. It's been going on for years. If the park is deemed off limits, it could put more pressure on other areas that may be just as spectacular but not as recognized (ie; not deemed as "parks"). Why not keep it where it has attention and is perhaps more easily regulated?

Funny you didn't mention it until after game 1 The better team won, but you can't discount the Sens. They were a good team that deserved to be where they got. Good teams learn to win. Pronger lost in game 7 last year. Giguere and Niedermayer lost in 7 with the same franchise in '03 (Rob to his brother, no less, after losing with the Panthers in the '96 finals). Selanne's waited 15 years and 86 playoff games. It was the first finals for a young Sens team. Anyone who says they choked needs to go fishing.

We get a hatch every year, but nothing like North Bay. They are early this year. They seem to show up on this side earlier than on the big lake, but I think there's 160 different species/subspecies.. so that could maybe have something to do with it

Nice report. I need to get up there

Lots of good reports from Callander / South Bay. Now for something closer to Lakair. Headed down Friday night. With the full moon on and a warm week to get the water temps up I was wondering what the bite would be like. Got across to the camp kinda late, by the time I geared up the boat it would have been near dark so I stuck to casting off the docks (uneventfully) until the mosquitoes chased me in. We were down until Tuesday.. no worries. Determined the shiners headed out for deeper water during the week - they're usually around a bit later than this. When I went back out about an hour later these little guys were all over the door and the side of the camp. Early for them, too. With the shiner bite likely over and the mayfly hatch on, the full moon phase was a little less promising. Some personalized spinner rigs waiting for action. These blades will turn at any speed. The lead and trailer hooks are tied to the same length of 35lb. Seaguar - if any harness is a perfect mix of finesse and indestructibility, this is it I'm an insomniac, so this is what the moon looked like at 3am: Outside was nuts. Up the lake there is a weedy bay that leads into a beaver pond. You could hear the bullfrogs from about a mile away (early for them too). Spring peepers, tree frogs, loons were all making noise as were 2-3 owls on the shoreline opposite the camp hooting/barking back and forth. Fish could be heard sucking mayflies off the surface all over as well. I went back in to finish watching a movie and tie some leaders (the camp TV gets 2 channels - when a decent movie comes on, you seize the opportunity and watch it lol). I grabbed a rod and fished off the dock for a while around 4, but it was a different world. The breeze was gone, the moon was on its way down and everything had seemed to go to bed for the night. Geared up the boat and hit the lake for a troll Saturday night. I'm not a fan of the midday heat and we had a late supper, so I wasn't on the water until about 8. First 30 seconds and I had this little guy on: A short while later this jumbo hit. 3rd fish: What everyone is after: This guy hit harder than the snot rocket and put up a good fight. My hand dwarfs it, but it was a decent slot fish. Took him off the edge of small silty bay where I saw a couple mayflies come up out of the water. I trolled about another 100yds and picked up another jumbo and an OOS smallie. I was back in the cabin for the 2nd period of game 3. Not bad for 50 minutes of fun Sunday night wasn't too eventful. A couple boats were working spots along my usual run so I was neglected to working this channel. Woe is me It was overcast but nothing was happening walleye wise. Landed about a 3lb northern, a couple OOS smallies and a few perch. Heard someone in one of the other boats say they had an 'eye follow their bait in, but if anyone was landing anything they were keeping quiet. Headed in for the night and these guys filled the sky back at the camp. There was hundreds upon hundreds of them moving up and down en masse with the breeze. The flash from the camera would light up an entire swarm, which was something to see in itself but it was hard to get very many in the shot. By Monday I killed the one good battery I had brought, and thinking the other was good to go left the charger at home. So that's it for pics. It was quite a bit cooler and rained most of the day monday, but I got out for another evening fish. Had the lake pretty much all to myself but didn't bring anything in trolling raps. Lots of dinky perch pecking at the shad rap but that was it for the first 90 minutes or so. I went to a spinner rig and started picking up small 'eyes along the same run. I had one on the stringer and game 4 was under way - I was facing a major dilemma; head in and catch the game or stay out while the bite's on... then I remembered the am/fm pocket radio I had stashed away in the Plano and in no time I was catching 'eyes and listening to the Sens school the Ducks in the 1st I boated 3, lost one or two. The bite was soft to begin with, but then the wind switched as a front moved in and the fish reacted. I had to work another 30 mins or so to boat another - even with the light action St. Croix and 10lb. PowerPro it was getting harder to detect a fish. I set the hook a couple times on what felt like bottom/weeds only to have the drag slip and lose the minnow. The last fish was a 3-4lb northern that mouthed the bait and fought nothing like a pike. Tuesday I never even tried. At 3pm there was still fog/mist coming off the water. A few hopefuls were out giving it their best but I figured a 20 degree+ drop in temperature from Sunday afternoon to early Tuesday morning would have killed the bite for sure. From heat so intense it gets the shadflies and bullfrogs horny way ahead of schedule and chases minnows out of their early season haunts, to a day so cold it feels like duck season in June. What a year it's been.

Awesome report! Nice shots. Good to see you did well.

Never heard of mallards doing that before, photoz. Wood ducks, hooded mergs, whistlers, bufflehead are all cavity nesters and take the fall when they leave the nest. I don't see why a mallard duckling would be any any different. Their bones aren't developed yet and have some give to them.

Funny. I thought you were a Leafs fan. When did you jump on that bandwagon? Sens are in the finals playing a powerhouse of a team after a 9-10 day lay-off. A team they haven't been exposed to in 2 years and also happens to be way over in California. The furthest west Ottawa traveled all season was St. Louis. The first 2 games are on Anaheim's home ice (games the Ducks would be expected to win) and they lose each by 1 goal. Yeah. They suck. They were outplayed last night but it was still anyone's game until that late goal. Emery kept them in it, sure, but Giguere was no slouch either. He did the same for Anaheim, on the 5 on 3 and later in the game he made a glove save on a Spezza shot that was labeled. The top line is yet to get a goal, but they are not pointless. In the first game they had no legs and in the 2nd were getting chances despite Anaheim getting the matchups they wanted (Ducks 3rd line is killer) and they don't have that advantage for the next 2 games. How happy/relieved did the Ducks look when the game ended? Going to Ottawa 1-1 would have been a huge blow.

I tie my own with flourocarbon leader material. Wire works good until it kinks on the 1st or second fish and then the rig is mangled or the baldes won't turn. I don't know what the proper term for the blade is - I use the ones that don't use a clevis. They'll turn at any speed and don't get fouled up as bad in algae or weeds. I use a single hook and a size 12-14 treble as a trailer/stinger with minnows until late June/July - they stay on the rig better and for the most part the dinky little panfish stay away. With an 1/8oz slip sinker or just a small split shot or two I can slow troll from 5-20 feet with little adjustment. I kick up the trolling motor a notch or reel in a little line if I'm bumping bottom too much. In 7-8 feet I usually let out 30-50 feet of line. I'm usually going too slow to let out much more than that.

Thanks for the belated report. I'll take a camping / fishing trip up north in the winter over the summer every time, but I'm weird like that. Some of our best "adventures" were poor fishing - we had one guy get skunked over an entire March break once! 9-10 days in camp, went fishing every day except the 2 or 3 we were snowed in.. closest he came to a fish was a brookie he lost at the hole. The atmosphere made the trip.

I figured as much, Fishnfiend. But a lot of people don't know this stuff and are misinformed when it comes to black bears. From what I've read it doesn't appear this stuff is too effective. Troy Hurtubise (the bear suit guy) said he learned the hard way no bear spray will stop a bear if it's only 1%. Take it for what it's worth I guess. It could stop an attack (even if just temporarily), but I don't carry the stuff. I prefer to have something I can deliver blows with (a paddle would probably break bone), but I'm quite a bit younger than your dad.

Most encounters don't result in anything, but it seems there's a couple every year that turn into hell for those involved. It's almost always a boar in a remote area. Predatory bears. The sow defending cubs is more of a grizzly thing. I personally don't know about the spray, but don't play dead with a black bear. A higher percentage of black bear maulings result in death than grizzly encounters. If a black comes after you, fight to the death. Go for the nose/eyes. 90% of them high-tail it in the opposite direction once they figure out what you are. The ones that don't that aren't habituated to humans probably want to eat you, but they're more likely to back off if they think they'll get hurt in the process. Don't play dead!

Me either. I'm intrigued - did a google and didn't find anything

Spent the opener on Nipissing. Left the damn camera at home - sorry, no pics. The bite was a little off but they're feeding. Fished from 7-11 Sat. Made two passes along my best trolling run from last year and nothing. Bite was off. One pike and one OOS smallie in 3 1/2 hours. Finally landed an 'eye (about 4lbs) before calling it a morning. Went back out that evening. Didn't leave the dock 'till after 7. Fished one spot in the rain - landed 10. Two over the slot (one 7lbs), one under and the rest about 2lbs a piece. A front came through and by dusk the wind picked up out of the east and we were freezing. Guess that's what turned 'em on. Fished the same spot Sunday night in the cold - nothing. Picked up 3 right at dusk in a different spot. They were hitting very light. Wouldn't take jigs. Went out solo from about 4-8:30 tonight. Made the same trolling run from Sat. One pike - that shoreline might pick up when more weeds start. Picked up a bunch of snot rockets and a couple more OOS smallies in different areas. Finally picked up an 'eye around 8 at the same spot we boated 10. Made a couple more passes - nothing. Had to head in just as witching hour came around. It was warmer today, but the damn conditions... calm and sunny, then a slight chop and overcast, then calm again. When the wind blew it would come out of the east and then the west, then the east again.. did that all day. Probably threw the fish off at least a bit. Water's up a fair bit from a couple weeks ago. Is also very dark on the 'arm - darkest I think I've ever seen it. Shiners are inshore, on cue. Should be there at least another week. Maybe two? Everything we landed came from 4-8 feet. No little guys - all the 'eyes were healthy post-spawn fish. Good sizes, but mostly slot.

I like the timing. I thought I was going to have to choose between it or the opening day evening bite! Now I can sit back, watch the game.. then hit the water when the little fishes are looking for dinner

FishHeadRic's right - the 30lb won't hold up too well with the toothy critters. I tried 35lb Seaguar last year to try and save a few jigs from the snot rockets, and had several bite-offs. Cut clean. I picked up a spool of 55lb to try - we'll see how she goes.

I was getting them shallow well into June last year. They should be after the shiners & perch. I was down a couple weeks ago and they weren't in yet. The walleye spawn varies from year to year, but the shiners are always inshore for May long.

I think a lot of the people who get hurt/killed on them are inexperienced. The jet/impellor has a lot to do with it - if you get in a jam and take your hand off the throttle as a nervous reaction, you just lost your steering. Someone who's a little more confident on one can turn on a dime and get out of a hairy situation. The momentum isn't too bad if you're doing donuts or 180's and that type of thing, provided your in the drivers seat. If you're a passenger and further from the machines center of gravity, HOLD ON!

I voted no. Won't go into a rant over it but vance and bassman's posts are the only ones I've read that have similar thoughts. I've been here a long time. The post count elitest thing (not sure what else to call it) is something I despise everywhere I see it. This is a fishing board. They are pictures.

It happens a lot more often than we think or would like. They nabbed two guys up here spearing spawning walleye last week.

I was on another connection (high speed) until about a week ago and never had any problems, even when the posts about the speed started. I've since moved back home (cable) and it usually lags quite a bit before a page will load. Have not had any problems with the other sites I frequent.

Hookset - I read all the posts. I quoted yours to address the safety comment. The "holier than thou" thing was in response to the "There are no accidents. Just stupidity" ... "If you took the course it wouldn't happen..." type of relies when all that was released was more or less that someone got shot in the face. For all we knew the gun malfunctioned. Or his buddy with the crossbow was the idiot. Any number of things could have taken place. I have yet to turkey hunt but have grown up with guns and hunting as did my dad, grandfathers, uncles on both sides of the family and numerous friends. No one's had an accident. Sitting through a seminar does not make you a safe hunter but suddenly some of those who have taken it and not shot someone are experts. Experience, knowledge and common sense makes a safe hunter/gun handler. Not some test after listening to an instructor for a weekend. End rant

Try ping pong. I'm serious. I dunno about photography, but it's definitely safer than soccer and fishing. Accidents can happen with anything. To think a hunter must screw up to get hurt is pretty ignorant. There was a guy in southern Ontario several years ago who got hit with a single buckshot pellet while deer hunting. It went in through his ribs and caused internal bleeding - he never heard the shot. Never knew what happened. It was a stray pellet that travelled over the hills and through the woods (literally) and found its mark. The guy was an abmulance driver or something of that nature and he was able to recognize that he had internal bleeding - it saved his life. The lady who was killed last year was out of the line of sight as well. The man who shot her was cleared of wrong doing. He also hit the deer he shot at. Accidents happen. The holier than thou thing needs to be dropped by a few posters.

I saw my first one about 15 years ago on Nipissing. They've since become common but haven't yet established any colonies on our end of the lake and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I googled "Comorant Defenders International" when the thread was started. They are an animal rights movement and appear to be operating the way the rest of them do. I looked over their site, even read one of their "reports" and it appears they are against the birds being killed for any reason. A quote from their site "But cormorants have little, if any, effect on sport fish populations and the death of a percentage of trees in their nesting colonies is part of a natural process of succession." I fail to see how a 100% decrease in living trees on island communites where the birds were never present, even during the late 1800's/early 1900's can be called "natural succession". "Scientific research has repeatedly proven that cormorants have no substantial negative ecological impact on fish populations." They say this, but I've looked over the entire site and have yet to read such a report, or even see a link to one. They published a "critique" against was being done on Presquile and it appeared to be nothing more than their own thoughts and beliefs put on paper as fact. There were no references, nothing scientific. "In fact, the majority of their diet is alewife and round goby, both introduced species that have disrupted Great Lake's ecosystems." That's only on the great lakes. On inland lakes they really hammer the perch. That in turn, really impacts walleye stocks. Smallmouths don't go unaffected either. Hammer one species and you change how the rest of them interact. They are having a symposium May 5th. Anyone wanna go?