Jonny

You're lucky, like I was, and your heart's in the right place! Although you probably used it just as a figure of speech, I would just say that you don't have to repay your dad in any monetary way. Just make sure that when you're on your own, and your dad is older, that you take him fishing. You're not likely to be thinking about this now, but tuck it in the back of your mind - when you have kids, and take your dad fishing with his grandkids, that will be heaven for him. That will be the best "payment" of all.

Big thing to get a new boat. Congrats! Call her "Lollipop" (The Good Ship).

Make some noise, I guess. Be aware and make some noise. And watch for any expansion of the program and complain like hell to the right people if you see anything similar being proposed. But don't count on getting anywhere. This tends to be a Northern Ontario issue because it's used to protect "remote" lakes for toursit outfitters. But it can impact Southern Ontario fishermen who travel to the north as well. Lakes and entire areas that are "off limits" tend to concentrate more pressure on lakes not included in the zones. There are also roads in non-posted areas where culverts are dug up or bridges demolished so that outdoorsmen can't access the opportunities. Lovely for the MNR though... it prevents fishermen from spreading out and being even less regulated than they already are by the ridiculously low number of C.O.'s that are fielded. It ALSO impacts hunters, moose hunters in particular. The MNR plays nice little games when they make a proposal and ask for input. If I wrote a protest letter on behalf of the 80,000 member OFAH to Chapleau MNR (which I did), it counted as one response. If Joe Blow tourism guy wrote a private letter in favour of the closure, it counted as one response. Put "for" and "against" on a pie chart (which the MNR did) and hey, guess what? It seems there are as many people in favour as opposed. Don't kid yourself, the MNR will not move on issues where they don't want to move. Do I sound cynical? After years of experience... you bet! They don't embarrass easily, they will listen patiently and make sympathetic noises, and then they will do what they originally set out to do.

I've avoided electrics because I thought they were just a new gimmick to part me and my money. I'll have to take a second look! I'm pretty sure an electric would not work for taking boneless fillets off a pike. It takes a little more finesse than usual. And has anyone tried a regular electric knife? One for carving roasts and stuff? I often fillet fish by taking the entire fillet slab off each side, then taking out the rib-cage bones. It seems to me that a regular electric might work for taking off the slabs too? (Then finish with a regular knife.)

What's the correct spelling for the town - with or without the apostrope?

After I recently had a letter to the editor published by the North Bay Nugget re: cormorants, I was contacted by one of the directors of an organization which I had not been aware of... the Ontario Outdoors Recreational Alliance. He sent me some materials about a number of issues a few days ago, including some about public access, an issue that was near and dear to my heart when I was the president of a Timmins conservation club and a director of the OFAH, and an issue on which the MNR would not budge. It's an issue that just won't go away, and in some areas it's actually worse than stated in the OntORA access pamphlet. In the Chapleau area, the MNR a number of years ago set up "Remote Tourism Areas" that actually ban ALL public fishing in waters within the zones, whether you can walk to them or not. If you park your vehicle at one of the closure signs and walk in to a trout stream within a zone, even though you may be miles from a fly-in lodge you cannot fish it legally.

That's great. I see from the Capt's post count that he doesn't post much, so I'm pleased my question elicited a response. I have some idea of what a busy job it is to maintain and run a lodge, having helped out at the Tatachikapika Lodge (Gogama area) years ago. Ain't much time left over for computers (or anything else for that matter)!

Cool. Another reason to re-visit the area some time.

Your hometown has the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame? http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/article/654010

No need to "bear with you", Cap'n. Family history is always interesting, especially when it involves "pioneering" an area. I thoroughly enjoyed your write-up. So many of these stories are eventually lost, sad to say. I was through your area on Hwy 64 a couple of years ago. Very nice country. I think I might even remember your entrance off the highway. Is the spot I marked the right place? .................

If we could just reach a point closer to equilibrium rather than expansion things might be better. When I was a kid, the world population was 3 billion. Now I think it's over 6 billion. We in Canada are growing slowly but other areas of the world are not. We are attuned to management and conservation. Other areas of the world are not. The problems of the wider world will encroach more and more upon us, and there's little we can do about it. I am satisfied that we are pretty good as far as the enviroment is concerned and we are very fortunate to live where we do.

Not a bad idea. But I wonder... if the numbers of pike are already at a level where they are being caught regularly, and enough possibly for a successful tournament, maybe fishing for them to control them is like the proverbial boy with his finger stuck in the hole in the dam. I'm also thinking that fishermen's reports to the MNR about how many pike are being caught, and where, might help make a nice study about the spread and increase in the pike population, but it probably won't do much to halt the process. You'd have to catch a LOT of pike to make a dent, and if you catch lots, then there are lots more out there. It sounds like it could be a losing battle if the pike have found a niche and are determined to occupy it.

Although pike is one of my favourite sport fish, it was not my intention to downplay the concern about pike being invasive in the Kawarthas. The question of how they got there, and why it took so long, is a good one, although it doesn't alter the fact. Isn't the Trent-Severn Waterway well over 100 years old? Something must have changed, or it might even be that someone intentionally introduced them? What's the best guess?

OK, Joe. The keyboard thing? I assumed it was tongue-in-cheek. Do you travel all the way from Virginia to attend the Lakair get-together? It must be a great time.

Aw, don't make it sound so serious, Roy. Sounds like a reg'lar bunch of guys, Daplumma. I do love my keyboard but it's not an exclusive thing.

Good point about the spread. That kinda puzzled me too. And pike isn't a "garbage" fish. Very few fish are. Good agressiveness, good fight, good eating, what's not to like?

I can think of several answers off the top of my head... 1) Getting to know this crew at a distance is good enough for now! 2) Living on the lake, it's hard to move my butt to another part of the lake. 3) I might embarrass myself in front of a whole gaggle of experts. Maybe next year. Does sound like you guys (and gals) do have a whole lot of fun though. I hope you have a great time and create a whole new batch of fish stories.

"I lak de air, me." French-Canadian --- I hadn't thought of that!

You can even see ice on the map!!!

Lodges are usually decipherable as place names or "romantic" ideas. I wonder what the origin of this one is?

I'm ahead of you on that thought! Did some work down on the shoreline, repairing stuff that a winter pressure crack and a big storm in May "rearranged", now sitting with my third beer and checking messages. It's still strange, when you take time to think about it, that we have this medium to communicate. It's already hard to remember when it wasn't around!

Well in the case of the muskie fishery, we've already messed with the natural progression, as I understand it, by creating a fish-navigable waterway where before there was none (not to mention the changes to the system caused by human habitation and effluent, and artificial water levels, and human harvest of fish). After a certain point, things aren't particularly "natural" any more --- not in the sense of what would have been there if the area had been left untouched. So it becomes a "managed" area.

Well, it sounds like the guy DID learn... the hard way! "Man on the street" opinions can be amusing, but there are sometimes things to take from them anyway. I like the fact that some guys are just as dumb as I am when trying something new!

Like most things there's a balance to be struck. We humans have our needs and preferences too. We shouldn't feel guilty about that. The whole issue is a little more visible with animals than with fish, in particular because issues don't impact only those who are after the animals, but the public at large. For example, black bears and people don't mix. When bears exist in areas that people expand into, or if they get into areas where people live, they can cause all sorts of problems, some of them dangerous. We're not going to move over, so the bears have to. Similarly, large populations of deer can impact the general human population because of the increased risk of collisions. Now you can say we created or established the conditions for conflict in the first place, but that's just the way it is. Where populations of animals are endangered we rightly have to protect or otherwise manage them with care. We might even have to subordinate our needs and wishes to the existence of the species. Where populations are healthy and sustainable, and provide an enhancement, we should use them wisely. Where animals are numerous and come into conflict with our needs, we have to control them. Whether it's pike killing off a highly desirable muskie fishery, or cormorants degrading the environment, or bears causing problems for people, we should not feel guilty, or be made to feel guilty, for acting in our own interests, whether for safety or simply for our own preferences .

I have never used Fireline, but the comment I see frequently is that the light tests will "tuck under" on your spool if you're fighting a large fish. So if you use a light test, do you always find that you have to back off on the drag to avoid that? In other words, try to avoid "horsing" a fish?