Big Cliff

Me too, I really appreciate it!

We are having a bit of a party tonight and the theam is Mexican, I would like to down load some Mexican music. I looked at Lime Wire but they want you to pay for a membership, heck, I only want a few songs. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

I didn't say that none of the other companies aren't hurting but I don't see billions of tax dollars being handed to them to keep them afloat. As for not buying a foreign vehicle, well lets see, last report I read stated that 5 out of every 8 "foriegn" cars sold in Canada were manufactured right here in North America. I wonder how many jobs would be lost if the Hondas, Mazdas, and Toyotas were to pull out of Canada?

Excellent report Joey and really glad to hear that Paul is feeling better. Those sure are some nice fish! Please be careful out there, conditions are changing really fast, this morning there was a pressure ridge out in front of our place, in the last two hours it has disapeared and there is now a 100' wide stretch of open water North and South as far as I can see. With the cold temps they are calling for tonight this will likely skim over and anyone trying to go across there will be in serious trouble.

My wife's Mazda 626 is 10 years old, total repair costs to date $815.00 and that includes replacing the belts an O2 sensor (they were 10 years old and the belts had started to dry out, I had them replaced as a precaution), and an intake manifold gasket, a couple of hanger brackets on the exhaust system. Apart from that, just the usual lube, oil, filter stuff. Oh, and when it is running and you are standing right beside it, you can't hear it, the windows don't rattle when you close the doors, and everything still works on it. Try that with anything the big three put out! I have been driving a Nissan X-Trail for three years now and love it, the lease is up on it in Oct. and I am so pleased with the quality and the service from the local dealership that I think I am just going to buy it at the end of the lease. The last Ford I had was in such bad shape after three years that I almost had to give it away, it was going to need almost $3000.00 in repairs and I take very good care of my stuff mechanically. I was just reading an article on GM written in 2008 and it stated that with paid time off, benifits, wages, and pensions the average cost of labour is $74.00/hr and good old Buzz was stating that there was now way they were going to make any consessions to GM. Funny, now he wants to be part of the solution! Go figure. Buzz, I think you've killed the golden goose! Does anyone wonder why Honda, Nissan, Toyota, aren't standing in line looking for a few billion to bail them out?

Well, I don't know about your dad but the very best gift my kids can ever give me is spending time with them, it is the one thing I can never have too much of and I cherish every minute. I think most fathers would feel the same! How about bringing him up to Lakair for the G2G this summer? Now that would be something special that he would never forget!

Isn't that the most wonderful feeling in the world! Congratulations to all three of you!

Well, there is Lakair in the summer usually about the 3 rd week in June I believe, that is quite a get together. Then in the winter there is the Fishing for Tyler event and there is usually 100+ people get together for that; usually about mid Feb.. There is usually a bunch that get together in the fall and hit the BOQ. Apart from that. We do have an ongoing annual tournament with teams all set up and lastly many of us get together and fish at different times throughout the year. Stick around for a while, you'll be amazed at how much does go on around here.

There are so many things to consider and a lot of really good points have been put forth already but my first questions would be about you. What is your background? How old are you? Do you have a family to support? There are many more but lets start with those. If I was going to start a business right now, it would be in the service industry and in particular in small engine sales and service for a number of reasons. First, I know the industry and I have all the tools. Second, when money gets tight people fix things rather than replace them, believe me, I have so much work that I have had to hire a helper and I still can't keep up and I don't advertise.

Spiel, my friend, as I headed back home I was thinking about stoping off for a quick coffee but I knew that if I got caught up in traffic it could add hours to the trip and it was adding up to a long day already. We'll hook up sometime in the near future. Cooking them: I just mixed some flour, salt pepper, onion powder and parsley flakes in a bag, tossed the smelts in and shook them up to coat them then deep fryed them until golden. Sorry I don't have any pictures to post, my camera is acting up.

Ok, so I've been trying to get out smelt fishing for a couple of weeks now and today was the day! Last night I got all my gear ready, Sue made me a beautiful lunch, I checked and double checked everything including directions and by 8:00 pm I was in bed with the alarm set for 3:00. 1:15 am my eyes snap open like someone loaded them with mouse traps, I checked and double checked the clock, no, the alarm hadn't gone off; ok, get up have a quick pee then try to get back to sleep.. No luck, my mind is running through everything; did I allow enough time to get there to meet bigugly? Did I remember to fill up with gas?, did I pack everything I needed? Oh ya, some venison pepperetts, got to remember to take them. At some point I did manage to doze off but I was awake again by 2:45; Ok, might as well get up. Check the weather, check road conditions, take my pills, have a coffee, make my tea, get dressed and load the gear. I was on the road by 3:45. The roads were perfect and I made excellent time, in fact I got to Bruces place by 6:30 and proceeded to wake up the rest of his household. Bruce was up and ready to go so we loaded up his gear and headed out. It couldn't have been a nicer day, the sun was up, the temp was climbing, there was no wind. We got set up and with Burce's help I got my line all rigged up and we started to fish. Well, it wasn't 5 minutes later Bruce landed the first smelt and from that point on, the action was almost non stop. By noon, we both figured we had enough smelts and besides my back was getting sore from being bent over the hole watching all those smelts attack our bait so we decided to pack it in giving me enough time to get across Toronto before the traffic started to get too bad. Anyway, just to sum it up, we ended up with 359 smelts most of which I would clasify as about medium size, they are all cleaned and packed away in the freezer (except the ones we just had for supper) OMG were they ever good! Sue is so pleased that she just told me she was going to go get comfortable and I could do what ever I want; I think she is going to be ticked off with me when I tell her I just want to get some sleep so I can go fishing tomorrow but she'll forgive me LOL. I want to thank Fishmaster and helfish, for their input and especially bigugly for being my guide for the day, I had a wonderful time and hope I can return the favor some day soon. This was a trip I won't soon forget! Thanks Bruce I'd fish with you anytime!

It depends on your insurance company!

Thanks Steve! Has anyone been fishing smelts in the marina in the last few days and if so how have they been doing? Any size to them?

I think the one big advantage we would have now is the technology. Electricity for example; it wouldn't take me very long to build a wind powered generator just from parts I have laying around. Would it be enough to run the whole house? No but it would be enough to run some basic equipment. Food; well there again, the things we have learned about preserving foods would go a long way toward making sure that we would have all the basics available, supplies wouldn't just vanish over night. I probably have enough food in this house to survive for three or more months without adding anything. True, I might run out of a few of the luxery items; Balderson cheese, fresh milk...... I am perhaps one of the lucky ones, I spent a good part of my younger life living up North, fishing, hunting, traping. I know how to make vinegar from birch sap, maple suryp from sugar maples, wine from berries and fruit, and where to look for colt's foot (for salt) and honey. I also have a very transferable trade, there will alwways be someone needing things fixed and I do have a very high mechanical aptitude. There isn't much I can't fix or make if I have to. To think that we would all of a sudden be transported back to the days of the pioneers and forced to survive with our hands, wits, and a couple of basic tools doesn't make much sense but if you enjoy dreaming about what you could/would do then why not.

Thanks for the update Steve, 2-4" is a little too thin for this old man to be comfortable even with a floater suit on. They are calling for more warm weather for Thursday and Friday, at this rate I may not get to see you until April.

If this is your first, you are in for an experience of a lifetime! Keep us posted!

Well Jeff, all you had to do was ask LOL, I would have shared with you! As a mater of fact I am hoping to hit there tomorrow for the afternoon bite if you are interested! You'd be more than welcome!

Not this old man LOL! Only ever did that once when I had "promissed" a special young lady a fish fry for dinner that evening and when I got to my secret trout hole someone had blown the beaver dam and drained the creek.

Glad to see you got out there and got one anyway. That can be a strange lake to fish, lots of suspended fish and if you don't have the equipment to spot them it can be really hit and miss.

OK, now that I have cleaned the drool out of my keyboard..... What are the ice conditions like there?

A couple of free tickets, oh well it's a cheap dream.

OK, well, 12" of ice is good even for a guy my size but are the smelts hitting? It is a 6-7 hour drive for me and I would sure hate to do that and get skunked!

There is a wonderful book out called "Back to Basicsome very good friends gave me a copy many years ago and I in turn gave my son one several years ago. It is filled with information on traditional skills, everything from building a shelter to trapping, fishing, and preserving. Back to basics There is enough information in this book to give you a really good chance of surviving in the bush if you had to.

I am interested in this report too! I want to go somewhere for smelts on Wed..

Well, I am hoping to get out somewhere on Wed.. Not sure yet where it will be yet or if I will be able to go at all. Depends on the weather and work.