turtle

Nice video. Perch fishing is fun when they're biting like that. Crazy to think, for southern Ontario anyway, we've already had a 2 month ice fishing season.

Politcians start to make big promises they won't or can't keep: 1 million new jobs in Ontario Legalization of marijuana No more drinking -guaranteed GST will be replaced (an old one but a good one)

Tim Hales on the east side north of Beaverton. Huts and equipment are always in good shape. Parking is on his own property. Office has interesting mounts and spears/decoys from the old days. Fishing is usally good for perch.

I still say it's a left wing conspiracy. Whats so wrong with being so drunk you can't recall smoking crack. I'd wager however after a few hits on the crack pipe you wouldn't be so drunk anymore.

Good luck to all the hunters. Stay safe and shoot straight. Tomorrow morning I hope to hear the crunching of frozen leaves as a buck walks my way or the tonguing of hounds on the trail of one.

Wick-away first layer, next fleece and/or wool insulation layer(s), last waterproof and windproof layer. You lose heat from your head and neck so the neck gaiter -balaclava is good. Small of the back is important. High bib pants that cover lower back are good. I prefer mitts to gloves unless dexterity is needed -like right hand for hunting. Feet are also importatnt. Good quality rubber boots with felt or similar lining with thick insulated soles, even extra insoles. I pack a down vest for extra back-up.

Rob Ford is a victim of conspiracy by the left wing elite and media. He hasn't been charged with any crime. LOL

I don't regularly drive it but seen 404 bunched up south of Stouffville side road around 7am. Earlier less so. There are other N-S options like Woodbine, Warden, hwy 48 etc. Better living up here than in the city. I've done both.

Thanks. Anyone stay at the Peninsula Resort in Pefferlaw?

The debate is law vs. ethics and ethics is personal. If the white moose is legal, its a question of ethics killing a more rare variant. In Ontario you can shoot a turkey on the roost as long as it's legal light. I won't, mainly because I don't want to hit the turkey's rear end and don't want to miss the best part of the hunt bringing the turkey in. If I have a doe tag I'll shoot a 100lb button buck but not a 65lb skinny fawn. I mostly fish for species that I'll eat and keep what I need, stop fishing and eat what I keep, not catch and release. The law says I can catch as many as I want as long as I don't exceed my catch limit.

I'm looking to put together a weekend perch trip this winter and to rent accomodations, preferably a stand alone cottage not a motel, for approx 6 Area would be Pefferlaw to Beaverton, or a bit north. I usually rent from Tim Hales if I use a hut operator but his cottage rental units are booked the weekend I am looking for. Any recommendations? Thank-you.

In certain WMU's in Ontario hunting white/albino moose is prohibited.

Loons are territorial and can be agressive. Last year a male chased behind my boat pulling away from the dock when it thought I was a threat to the female and baby 50 m out in the lake. Also had a seagull dive agressively at me when I got too close to its little island. Actually was swinging a paddle at it.

Picked my first fiddleheads this season yesterday. What was up was mostly small and some havent started. A few more days of sunshine they should be good.

The wild leeks (ramps) are up, I've been picking them for a week. The first photo looks like them but where I find them they are in clumps not usually singles. The smell is distinct-like an earthy garlic. Lots of info on the net how to identify and prepare for eating. I mainly fry them up bulb & greens or pickle the bulbs.

Checked my fiddlehead spots today after turkey hunting (not killing). I heard 2 turkeys and saw 1 but unfortunately it was airborne after I managed to spook a deer and a turkey at the same time. My first double species spook. Not up yet but the odd odd one is starting to show. Maybe up in another 2-3 days depending on the weather, I usually steam the fiddleheads for 10 minutes if fresh and 8 minutes if previously frozen..I don't boil them. To freeze them I clean the brown husk and dirt off, blanche in boiling water for 1-2 minutes, chill off for 1-2 minutes in an ICE bath, dry off in a salad spinner, then freeze in zip loc bags after sucking the air out.

You want to pick the curled ends of ostrich ferns before they un-curl. They are large ferns when up and the green curled ends start coming out of a blackish clump that they grow out of. I don't know the proper terms. The stem of the ostrich fern has a groove in it. i find them in the drier part of swampy areas and along river banks. There is lots of info on the net to identify them and how to prepare them to eat. Don't eat raw fiddleheads. Last Thursday I checked my spots but they hadnt started yet but will be soon. Sunday I found the wild leeks were up and just big enough to pick.

Thanks for the update. I found out today I'll be walking and doing some climbing up and down a 30 foot long washout to get into the cottage this weekend. I don't mind the exercise but the potential dollar signs are disburbing.

I use the leadcore almost exclusively for lake trout trolling. Its not the lightest gear, takes a long time to reel in 9 colours (dependent on the reel, my cheap Penns are slow) and unless you get a 4+pound trout its reeling in not fighting a fish. Having said that I have good sucess with it. I use a 10 lb fluorocarbon leader, around 30 yards at least. There is a youtube video of tying the leader to the leadcore directly without a snap/swivel and the advantage is you have a long leader and can reel the connection onto the reel. The other advantage of the longer leader is when you hang up it's the leader not the leadcore. I've not found the suffix very good and prefer the courland kerplunk. I troll slowly with lots of stops and turns using spoons and minnow baits.

Thanks for the update. I'll be prepared to walk into my cottage next weekend.

Nice fish and photos. I'm not brave enough to get into a canoe in those conditions unless I have to. The "Haliburton Gold" strain is native to a few lakes in the Haliburton Forest. I also recall the local fish hatchery raising and stocking some, don't recall where. They are supposedly smaller, more prolific and "gold". Never caught one. The lake trout where I fish look like two distinct strains but I don't know for sure. Either light gray and relatively longer or a darker almost black and shorter and squat.

Drives my wife crazy when the perch start moving when I run water on them in the sink before cleaning. I've always found it strange that a fish out of the water for sometimes 8 hours and almost frozen can do this.

The doe is OK with the cat but as soon as she sees the dog she freaks out. I've seen this video before and not suprised by the doe's reaction to a dog when she is with a fawn. The dog also seems pretty docile, good for being a pet but bad for life & death confrontations.

Fished out of one of Tim Hales perch huts with 3 friends yesterday. We got to his office at 7:15 am and caught our first perch at 7:45 am. Service was good as ususal. Pretty much non-stop action all day but we only kept 5 fish out of 100 ++ caught. 2 were 11-12 inches. 2 herring caught. Marked fish all day on the flasher. There was 20 + inches of ice where I cut holes outside. This was my 4th trip this winter in the Beaveron-Pefferlaw area from early January to yesterday -3 with operators and 1 walking out. Result was the same each trip, lot's of small perch and very few keepers. I prefer this area because traditionally less numbers but bigger fish compared to Cooks Bay. I know there is a seasonal movement of perch moving to spawning grounds nearer spring and that perch group up in the same year class and size. Any one else seeing a drop in the perch size in this area- on average over a few trips?