Jonny

I actually still have my university copy (ca. 1969) with exactly that cover. Good book.

A 64 lb vacuum cleaner. It was bound to suck up something lethal sooner or later. If they were smart at this pond, they've got some up-and-coming replacements. My choice for insensitive headline: BENSON SUCKS UP NUTS AND DIES

I ordered two buzzbaits and a Bandit 200. Reasonable prices and shipping. I'm sure the transaction will be fine. Thanks for the link, Cudz!

Wow, talk about over the top. I was expecting some tongue-in-cheek somewhere, but a scanning of the article produced none. Amazing that a "farmed fish" could produce such hyperbole.

While all that is true enough, JF, it's part of what makes us so "governable". Personally I can find many points of political agreement with friends, maybe not always on the party but on things like not leaving one party in power for too long. And many a political discussion over a hunting or fishing campfire has been enlightening and... I daresay... fun, as long as we know when to call it quits, which we seem to be good at. Once in a while you run across somebody with too little sense. I recall a pheasant hunt where we had a new member to the group who wanted to talk politics - his politics - ad nauseam. He was basically ignored by the rest of us and was not invited back to the group the following year.

That's what I would do. The weather won't hurt a tinny, except for fading the paint on the sides (if any) over the years.

As I understand it the HST is a policy that the federal Liberals brought into being. The Conservatives at least cut the GST by 2% from 7% to 5%, even though they're pushing harmonization. What has McGuinty done for us? An expensive-as-hell health tax and now the HST. Too long in power --- time to kick him and the provincial Liberals out next chance we get. But those who say we are replacing one bunch of crooks with another bunch of crooks have a point. The only thing we seem to have the power to do is make sure that one bunch of crooks don't get too comfortable.

Back to the matter at hand... that being... we Ontarians should be well aware of the proposals that are going to be put in place re: this HST (tax). It wouldn't hurt to make some noise about it while it still has not come into effect, and if it STILL does, remember who gave it to us!

No complaints in this thread... http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=34713 Why the double standard?

12 footers vary in weight depending how they're built, but figure on about 100 to 125 lbs --- negligible with a V-6 SUV and a trailer. A 9.9 motor and full gas tank (probably fit in the bed of the trailer) would add about another 120 lbs. Maybe your uncle would let you try out the 12 and 9.9 for a test run even if he doesn't want to part with it? A couple of those foam swimming "noodles" might be good for a cushion between boat and trailer if you split them lengthways and fit them over the gunwales of the boat?

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA - The new series - four seasons of it --- I thought it was awesome. It all has to be watched in sequence, staring from the pilot, to make sense. ROME - Season 1 and 2 (Ancient Rome) --- again, awesome. LONESOME DOVE (Western) - 4 parts, six hours --- a great duster, stellar performances by Robert Duvall and Tommy-Lee Jones.

Beauty! You can see that girl ain't scared of no fish! Are those lamprey spots on the side?

Definitely a 12'aluminum rather than a zodiac or a canoe if you want to keep it light and still have room for a little comfort. Put a 6 to 8 HP on that and you've got yourself an nice, easy-to-handle outfit that will fit on your trailer.

Sounds like a great adventure. While I was preparing for university and then pursuing my studies (4 years full time), I had to work during "holidays" to make enough money to keep going. I also got married during that time. Then I got a full time teaching job (which I held, with variations, for 32 years) and family came along. There was never enough time to do something like this. Not that I'm complaining, far from it, but this sounds like something I would have loved to do - open road, going wherever it leads, stopping whenever you feel like it. I've had tastes of that, of course (in one- to three-week stretches), but never a protracted "time out" exploration trip all over the country, so I find this fascinating. There is SO much to see and do. I wish you good times and no adversities that you can't overcome (those can be part of the fun, in retrospect).

We have rain suits but most times we prefer the $1 ponchos you can get (i.e. @ $ama). Compact and disposable.

Yecch! No other comment.

As I understand it, the total tax rate we pay will remain the same, but we will be paying tax on a wider range of items, some of them quite costly. Currently we pay 8% PST plus 5% GST (At least the Feds have reduced the GST by 2% over the last several years). Under the HST we will pay a "blended" PST+GST of 13% --- the same total tax rate, but the blended tax will apply to things that were never taxed with the PST before... that's where the extra cost to us consumers will come in. The Feds and the Province will be raking in more tax dollars with the blended HST than they did with the separate PST and GST. It's the typical shell game that gov'ts play with us to take more money out of our pockets without us screaming too much. The best evidence that it's going to cost us considerably more is the bribe being offered by McGuinty, to the tune, if I understand it correctly, of a one-time $1000 "rebate" per taxpayer family (hush money) that we're supposed to be paid at about the time the tax comes into effect. Like we don't pay enough tax already! This article details some of it... http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_33227.aspx

Thanks!!! I'll keep that in mind, especially if I run across something where the shipping charge is high to Canada or they won't ship to Canada.

From the WFN Site: With that big an "adjustment" having been made, maybe Frank might disappear from the contest altogether!

It's 100% unless McGuinty thinks it could lose him an election. The agreement has already been made with the Feds. Now there's an offer it could be hard to refuse, for guys on this board who live close to the border too!

More things will come to mind as I think about it, but a couple off the bat... Don't forget about the top of the van. Try to make sure you get a roof rack for extra gear. A waterproof canvas duffel and shock cords (at a minimum) and you're good to go for some extra storage capacity. Figure out a way that you can bug screen at least your roll-down windows for sleeping. No fun in a tin box on a hot night with no ventilation. Bring a 6 x 8 tarp and a couple of old tent poles so you can run a rain/sun cover off the roof rack. A couple of folding camp chairs (with arms) are a must. Bring a cooler that you can also use as a table in a pinch. Use a large cooler rather than several small ones, but also bring one small one that can hold just ice - just big enough for a block or a bag of cubes. A block of ice in your big cooler should last 2 to 3 days in hot weather. And here's the STATE SECRET for outdoors/travelling food - soft tortillas, the large size. They keep really well, they don't get squashed, and you can roll up just about anything in them in a no muss/no fuss jiffy - ham and cheese for a sandwich, eggs for breakfast, toasted sandwich on a stick for a campfire, hot dogs, you name it! In Ontario you'll find lots of places to shore fish right next to the highway. On the prairies and in the mountains, forget it, unless you're going to make detours. Learn how to take boneless fillets off pike (if you don't know already). They'll be a staple of what you catch in many places, and even the smaller ones (2 lb.) can be great eating once you've spent the time filleting them. Lots of paper towels for clean-up, washing, wiping out fry pan, etc. Sounds like a great trip! The planning should be half the fun. Would be neat if you had a laptop along and could send us reports from wi-fi hotspots!

It was already announced in the provincial budget in April. Here's an older news clip... http://www.njnnetwork.com/njn/?p=6933 Note that it says that hopefully some business cost savings will be passed on to consumers.... wish us luck! And McGuinty is adding a bribe to Ontario residents to smooth the acceptance --- so you know it's going to cost us plenty in the long run and he's trying to buy us off for the next election. You'll hear only what they have to tell you from the Ontario gov't. The quieter they can keep things, the more they'll like it.

I wonder what happened??? Voter fraud!? Couldn't happen to a nicer guy! --- OK, I just registered another 5 votes your way.

Fishing related? You bet! The Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) that the Ontario goverment is commiting to means that many things that are currently exempt from Provincial Sales Tax (PST) will become taxable under the federal/provincial HST. Among many other ramifications, it mean that any fishing gear we buy out-of-province or from the USA will become taxable at a higher rate. Currently we pay no PST on out-of-province purchases, only the federal 5% GST (Goods and Services Tax). Under the HST scheme we will pay 13% ! Don't forget about this at election time.

Hey you're in third place! Last time I checked, I thought "I Love Me" Frank had 11,000+ votes. Now he's down to 6000-some. I must have read it wrong?