Jonny

OK thanks! I was looking over some of the other maps and I remembered that I had seen a white patch at the western end of Manitoulin Island on Google Earth that I wanted to check out. You can see that white patch in the satellite shot below. It's NOT a cloud! I found out it's the largest quarry in Canada (operated by Lafarge, producing dolomite for concrete, roads, and metallurgy).

Can I ask you where photos like the satellite shot you posted are available?

There's always the chance of being charged extra, I guess. I've ordered dozens of things from the States and overseas, mostly through ebay. Some were marked as a gift, most were not, almost all were marked with the full price paid. Still, I have never had to pay extra charges, not even once. This is what this package looked like...

For sure. I wonder if anyone here has ever attended the IPM? Any impressions? My wife and I are thinking of going. We've never been to anything like this unless you count the Calgary Stampede.

Thanks, Lunker. I'm looking forward to taking them for a "spin".

This looks really interesting... and quite the big show... http://www.ipm2009.net/ It's usually held in Southern Ontario but it will be held in Earlton this year, with daily Ontario Northlander excursion trains running from North Bay. Sept. 22 to 26.

Ordered Aug 4, received Aug 12. The silver triangle just above the "hookup" is, I assume, a noisemaker for when the blade spins? I've never fished these before.

No duty charges. The parcel came "no strings attached" same as it would have from a Canadian retailer. The shipping for Canada is the same as for the USA.

Well, so far we've got 1st, 2nd and 3rd place sewn up, TJ! I thought there would be a slew of entries by now, but it's off to a slow start.

Nope. If you're not happy with what they're doing, you might as well say so. Somebody might pick up on it for next year.

Got my order today - well-packed, timely shipping, $13.50 total (no extra charges). Boy, those Boo-yah buzzbaits are a lot bigger than I expected them to be! Should be fun to try.

Maybe he didn't know how to hold the fish but he did let it go, so kudos to him. I would wager that if the fish had gone belly-up he would have retrieved it.

I guess you have your reasons for targeting that area, but having grown up in Sudbury/Sturgeon Falls and having lived in Timmins for 32 years before moving to North Bay, I would suggest that you might also look at the Soo-Sudbury-North Bay corridor. The fishing opportunities are somewhat limited in Timmins/Cochrane compared to further south. Much fishing requires long drives, and because there are many fishermen and relatively few accessible lakes, the fishing pressure is often quite high. Also I think the fishing opportunities are more varied further south. That's my take, anyway. Nothing against the Timmins area, I enjoyed it, but given a choice I would consider the "Near North" as well.

Thanks for a great historical link! Not the same regiment, but I thought you might find this interesting...

Exactly. But the regulation-happy crowd often use that "If it only saves one life" argument. Pretty stupid. If we really wanted to manage all risks, we'd start by reducing the maximum speed on our highways to 60 km/h. That would save more lives than just about anything else, but would we actually like to see it?

Nuttier and less enforcable. Patrolling highways is light-years easier than patrolling lakes.

I shouldn't be surprised that there are experienced fishermen, who also have experience of how government likes to intrude into things that are basically none of their business, who are perfectly fine with the idea of making everyone wear lifejackets all the time. I can think of so many situations where that is NOT common sense. But when all is said and done, we don't have to worry --- this discussion is academic. We'll never see such an unenforcable law. It's about as nutty as it would be to make a law that you have to wear sun block. Outdoors card... check Lifejackets... check Paddles... check Fox 40 whistle... check Flashlight... check Anchor... check 30 ft of rope... check Sunblock... no sunblock? ... $50 fine. You could get skin cancer, you know.

Can you imagine applying this to every little risk you've taken in your life?! Why would I want to do that? I never have... even by accident... and if I was in the water why would I swim for the shore when the boat is right next to me? Why do you feel you have to legislate every risk? But that seems to be the modern mind-set, so maybe you're right in step. Hugs and kisses too.

Oh come on! I've been fishing and boating for better than 50 years now and I NEVER have fallen out of a boat (GOD'S HONEST TRUTH), nor has anyone else with me. What kind of a risk factor are we talking about?! You people that want to legislate until we get into the fine details of risk are NUTS! Sorry, blunt, but this is starting to piss me off. Let's let people manage their own risks.

Here's the perfect PFD for those who feel the need to wear one and yet don't want the discomfort of a vest or the interference it causes when handling a fishing rod. Note that your upper torso has a perfectly free range of movement.

Don't forget --- your boat can't sink. Proper flotation for boats (canoes, kayaks, any water craft) was regulated a long time ago. I'm wondering what kind of catastrope you envision? If you wear your PFD when under power, you're safe (i.e. hitting a deadhead or a shoal). If you wear your PFD in rough water, you're safe. How likely is it you would have to swim to shore from an accident if you are fishing with the motor off or you are trolling? Not that I'm downplaying your anxiety. If you feel uncomfortable, by all means wear the PFD at all times. It's just that I'm aghast at the number of people here who think that it should be mandatory for everyone at all times --- not that you specifically said that, but I gather you would be OK with it.

The chance of being involved in an auto accident is FAR greater than the chance of falling into the water from a boat, and far more life-threatening. It's a matter of managing risks. YOU CAN'T MANAGE THEM ALL. And you can't enforce an ever-growing body of intrusive regulations. Do you really think we need more government employees running around checking up on every little thing? Here's something else to consider... you're out in your boat without your jacket on, and some goody-two-shoes takes a picture of you clearly not wearing a jacket, and your boat registration, and a time-stamp on the photo, and submits it to the OPP. You think that couldn't happen? I've got an 18x telephoto on my camera and I could take your picture without you even being aware of it. There are too many people around who find some pleasure in meddling in other people's business. These part-time vigilantes don't need more grist for their mill.

And let's legislate that all outboard motors have to have a kill switch. At one stroke we could "outlaw" countless thousands of outboards.

While we're at it, why don't we make it mandatory that swimmers (whether on supervised beaches or elsewhere) have to wear lifejackets? I think more people drown while swimming than boating.

Did you mean to say, "They should make it mandatory that people who boat need to know how to swim, or else must wear a lifejacket" ? What about children? Even so, I think you would want to re-think that. How would you ever enforce it? It would be just one more useless, intrusive piece of regulation, IMO. I can just imagine an enforcement officer stopping a boat... "OK, you, you and you with no lifejacket on... jump in and I'll see if you can tread water."