Jonny

Good link, Wolfville. Here's some info to be found there about preparing carp for eating... http://www.carpanglersgroup.com/forum/inde...?showtopic=3563

I don't think it was an 'embarrassing' question, and obviously it gave some people a highly desirable opportunity to weigh in with their opinions. I think it gave wormdangler a chance to ask an important question to some people whose opinions he obviously respects. I also think it was a sort of "thinking out loud" thing - trying to sort through some issues. There's no stigma to accepting EI if you really need it. What we all abhor is people who play the system. There's not so much resistance to having the program im the first place for people who are forced to use it, despite their work ethic. We wouldn't have the program if there were a hue and cry from the general voting public about it being available . I paid into EI all my working career with no chance of ever collecting, but I know some friends and relatives who have done so, and I don't begrudge that --- except for a few who I know leaned on it more than they should have.

I shudder to think what some people consider delicacies. Things that of course won't kill you if you eat them --- although a few, improperly prepared, have been known to do that too! Not to say that carp is in that class, but I wonder if carp, to Canadian tastes, is a good eating fish. It would be interesting if someone here who has eaten carp would chime in.

Hmmm... casting a rubber plug into a hula hoop lying on the grass might be good.

Right on. Equipment doesn't count for nearly as much as technique. For instance I have seen guys with something like a sporterized 1917-vintage .303 consistently outshoot other guys with the fanciest hunting rifles you can imagine, on a moving moose target at 100 yards. I've seen the same in trap shooting and pheasant hunting --- i.e. the guy with the Remington Wingmaster pump outshooting the guy with the Browning Citori over-and-under. The fancy gun and premium ammo don't mean nuthin' if you can't hit what you're shooting at. Similarly, an old-timer fishing in the back of the boat with basic gear he's had for many years can outfish a guy at the front with all the latest bells and whistles. The fish haven't gotten any smarter over the years, but the tackle companies have. We all (most all) fall for the goodies that we think will give us the edge.

True enough. I wonder whether anyone here has tried carp. After having eaten freshwater drum that put the lie to everything I'd heard about them (i.e. you can't eat them cause they don't taste any good), I'm just curious. Even if you can't eat them, they'd still be a blast to catch, especially the size you got. I assume that if you can't eat them they went back into the water after the photo ops?

Can you eat these carp?

MARIKO IZUMI YOUR SO HOT 5/24/09 Take her fishing and the best catch would already be in your boat! Very pretty girl. Tell me she's not related to Bob Izumi.

If the skeg is only damaged by knocking a chunk out of the front of it: Small chunk - just use "JB Weld" (Canadian Tire stocks it). Larger chunk (broken out from hitting a rock) - here's what I did... for a crescent-shaped piece missing, about the size of my palm 1) Epoxy a "fillet" of soft aluminum to the skeg ( fillet made from roof flashing folded and cut to shape to fit the "hole") . Enough to hold the JB Weld when it's applied. 5 minute epoxy will do, and you'll have to hold it in place til it sets. 2) Wait a few hours for the epoxy to cure, then build up JB Weld until you get approximately the original contours of the skeg. Better a little too much than too little. 3) Next day, file the JB Weld down to get the original contours and to smooth out irregularities.* 4) Spray paint with the original colour. I was skeptical it would hold but it held just fine for about 5 years (and probably would have held longer). Then I hit another rock. --- * You might have to apply more than one layer of JB Weld if you're building up a thicker patch.

If nothing else was around, and no other promising leads (i.e. somebody thinks they can offer you a good job in a couple of weeks), I'd take the job. With the rep the guy has, he'll know you won't be around long if he's a miserable jerk, so the job might be good in the short-term, especially if he sees you're a good worker. Give it a chance, I'd say.

NFL football, baby!!! Hockey's good, NHL is good. Speed, variety, finesse. A good game to watch with a few friends and a few beers. I tend to watch international hockey when I can - junior championships, world cup. Leafs in the playoffs? Not much going on there lately. I'd like to see NHL teams reduced to a more solid core, and I've never really warmed up to the idea of European players. I guess to me hockey is more of a cultural thing. Of course I grew up with hockey when it was the only thing we got on a Saturday night --- we only got one black-and-white channel in Sudbury back then, and there were only six teams. Soccer - a game with too little scoring, and kind of bland. Baseball - fun to watch the Jays at times, but generally a slow game. Basketball - too much scoring. Any sport can be more interesting if you get into the strategy I guess. And being there in the stadium is always different from watching on TV. All round, for me, NFL football is the best package. Added to that is the fact that I'm in a Fantasy Football league with my son and a group of friends. That makes for extra excitement. Of course NFL is all American, but Americans are almost like honorary Canadians, right? (I can see guys jumping all over this!)

A stinger on a jig when fishing with worms is almost a must. It seems to me that I catch as many fish on just the stinger as on the main hook.

Why not a canoe instead of two kayaks? A little more versatile for fishing and you can put her at the back to do all the work while you whip the water.

Hockey would be so much better if Trawna could put a competitive team on the ice.

Mmmmm... breaded pike! And the fight from that big one will probably be remembered for many years! There's nothing like the suspense of having a big one on the line and wondering if you'll see it and if the line will hold.

Kudos to you for doing this! I guess it depends on how old the kids are and whether they know anything at all about fishing. How about stressing safety first of all? i.e. Wearing a life jacket even when fishing from shore, safe casting (hooks kept away from head and face, and other people), hat and sunscreen, things like that. Sunglasses for eye protection from hooks. Never handle hooks with the line under tension. How to bait a hook with worms or minnows, attach a sinker, attach a bobber to a line, maybe even a simple fishing knot. How to net a fish - always head first. It might be nice to have a "sample" basic tackle box to show them, including a hook remover or needle-nose pliers.

My neighbour Harv was out yesterday and caught 2 drum. They were both kept for eating. He has an outfitter friend on the South Shore of the lake, and talked to him about having tasted drum and liking it. His friend said, "Yeah, we started keeping them last year". We're thinking the best eating drum are probably under 5 lb.

I'm definitely no expert on otoliths. It just seemed to me that any forces that would destroy the bone around them would have a good chance of destroying the otoliths too. Obviously, if they're being found on beaches, they must be pretty durable.

Now that's really interesting. Are you sure they were otoliths? The reason I'm asking is that the otoliths are inside the very hard bony structure of the skull of the drum and they're very hard to get out of there.

Yeah, I didn't catch the extra pages first time around, but if the stretch of water was important to me I'd still be interested in what the MNR has to say, and maybe find out more about other stretches (if any) that are off-limits.

No idea what your MNR is like down there, but does it sound dumb to contact the MNR first to see what they know about the stretch of water in question? Then, if you don't get a straight answer, look into it further?

I'd say that chances are you won't be disappointed. It's one of those things you have to try for yourself. I'd heard so much negative off-hand comment about drum over the years that I was prepeared for it to be poor eating. I was surprised. I would probably try carp if we had any around and I could catch one, preferably a small one. I don't think they're around here, though. Obviously - going by catfish, ling and drum - bottom-feeders don't have to taste bad. And hey - more meat on the table without impacting game fish stocks!

Nice one! Now that you've mentioned the others, keep your hooks sharp!

Just in case you don't know, this site can help a little: http://www.ontariogasprices.com/index.aspx...mp;tme_limit=24 You can search updated local gas prices at specific stations, or prices elsewhere. In the menu at the top, find "Gas Prices Map". You can get a clickable-draggable map of Canada and zoom in on particular areas. There's also a link above the map of Canada for a map of US prices. If I'm going from North Bay to Sudbury, which is often, I'll check prices and see where a fill-up would be cheaper. A couple of years ago, when I travelled through the States to the west coast, I used the US map to help me decide where I would fill up. Saved me a few bucks.

And if i do it again, I take it that pictures won't be necessary? You're right, ball park is close enough. I don't catch a large drum every day, and I probably would have regretted not checking first-hand into something that I've heard about for so long. Just as I would have regretted not trying the taste of drum (see the other drum thread). I figured if catfish and even ling can taste so good, why not drum?