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Coolio. Thanks for all the info. Wasn't planning on doing a lot of bushwhacking so will give them a try...Wanted a pair to use when helping out the local conservation authority with fish identification/sampling projects and of course the occasional time out in the spring for trout.... Had an old pair that I havent touched for years but it has leaks...Now that I'm trying to be more active in the community i figured i'd treat myself to a new one that might actually serve its purpose.. Thanks again for the advice. Cheers! Nigel

Howdy folks, Just saw that CT has Xplore neoprene chest waders on sale (Regular: $129.99; Sale: $89.99). Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on them. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! Nigel

Very cool..really good program..i started in Mechanical but switched to Environmental... Yikes...smacking and divorce...maybe i should think twice about asking my gf to marry me.... hide the i pad...when your wife starts reading the convocation booklet to entertain her self..pull out the i-pad and give it to her...she'll be so thrilled you thought of entertainment she might let you come fish with me for 15 minutes after the convocation...

Congrats to you too WWizard. Which stream of engineering? The ceremony is looooong and kinda boring for most parts so just a heads up, bring a book, tablet or smart phone.

Dan, congrats on your daughter's graduation! I'm assuming she's an Ottawa U Grad? I will be heading to Carleton U on Thursday for my graduation as well.. Exciting times. Awesome offer! Wish I could do the same but i don't know how i am getting there just yet. Don't forget to take a fishing rod and a couple of teeny jigs with you Dan. The walleye and crappie bite on Dows lake/Rideau canal are pretty dang hot this time of the year. Yeah i said Dows lake . Unbelievable and completely overlooked fishery right in the heart of the city. I know things will be busy with the graduation and all but if you get a chance you shouldnt overlook it. IF you do get a chance, focus on fast flowing water during the day (downstream of the locks at Carleton University or of the locks at the bottom of Parliament hill) and under any of the well lit bridges at night. With my severe condition of fishingitis i will actually have my rod with me at my convocation ceremony. Fishing was my alcohol substitute during my undergrad years and so when I received my first degree i thought it would be fun to put in 15 minutes on the water fishing for musky in my graduation robe (avatar picture). Musky season had just opened and so I hit the Rideau River after the ceremony and prayed for a chase to make the day extra special. Din't get any follows but I did get tonnes of awkward stares. This time around, I'm not going to try for musky. Instead I am going to target some 20+ inch walters at a honey hole that got me through my masters. Hopefully, I'll have a decent pic for you guys in the near future. Have a safe trip and great convocation. Cheers! Nigel

Don't know much about the primus home phone system but I have been using the VOIP service by primus for the past 7 years and have been a satisfied customer. I had been moving between ottawa and toronto a fair bit so it was the best option for a 'home' phone service (especially for a student that has been cell phone free since 2003). With the VOIP service I was also able to use the service at any cottage or hotel in North America that provided free internet ....Just a note in case you are considering the VOIP service, the modem they provide is a little bulky but still mobile if you choose to carry it along when ever you travel. Thats my 2 cents... Oh! customer service has been pretty decent. Have not had to yell at anyone the way my folks and siblings do with Rogers and Bell on a regular basis. Cheers!

Deepest sympathies to Simon and his family.

Really sorry to hear the sad news Simon. Was just talking with my girlfriend about how our cats, dogs, birds aren't pets, they are family. Cherish the good times and try to find relief in knowing that your pal lived a good full life with you and your family and is at peace right now.

Thanks for all the replies/info. Sadly I do not have much to report on. Din't get to do too much fishing thanksgiving weekend. Forgot the leaf - sens game was on Saturday night when i was making plans to fish. The Battle of Ontario might not be as spicy as it used to be but i sure did enjoy the sens give the leafs a nice little scare in the 3rd. Sunday was the traditional family turkey dinner so fishing during the day was out of the qvestion. However after committing gluttony on some mighty delicious turkey, I did go out for an hour in the moonlight. Figured i needed some sort of exercise after my meal. Headed out with one of my old fishing buddies. Haven't fished with him in two years so it was nice getting out even if it was for an hour. My folks live right by the Port Union Boardwalk so there wasn't much of a commute. After we got to the spot we wanted to try out, we realised fishing from shore at the boardwalk might not be the smartest of ideas especially for night fishing. The rocks arent really angler appropriate. Since we were already there with all our gear we searched for a nice safe spot to fish from as well as land a big fish if were lucky to hook into one. It could not have been a nicer night to be out on the water. We din't hook into anything but that dint matter. It was nice catching up on fishing stories of the past two years while washing lures. For next time we know to try out the area during the day and will definitely downsize my gear for easier fishing along that coastline. The area looks like it would be perfect for some nice pike. It is definitely on my adventure list for next year when I move back to Scarberia. Thanks again for all the tips! Hopefully my next report on the area will have some fish in them. Tight lines everyone!

Good to know! Thanks ccmt! I guess 10 inch sticks would be too big for pike eh... Need to read up on fall pike fishing since i have never targeted pike before. Hope it is somewhat similar to fall musky fishing.. Thanks again! Cheers, Nigel

Face/Off!! I think it is a largie trying to pass off as a smallie..

Howdy Fisherfolk! Heading to Scarborough for Thanksgiving and was hoping to wet a line whilst i am there... Has anyone tried fishing from shore along the new boardwalk in Scarborough? I noticed the small bays they've created along the shore line and they look like they might be good holding spots for some nice predators...Not looking for exact spots or secret lures, just want to know if i should take my muskie gear with me. Any info on here or via PMs would be greatly appreciated. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend everyone! Cheers! Nigel

While we are on the topic of eating bass...for all you bass eaters..do you'll have a personal size limit for largies and smallies beyond which you wouldnt eat em.. I dont usually eat largies since i am not a fan of the taste of the fish but dont mind filleting a smallie every now and then...Usually keep fish in the 15 -17 inch slot....but the more I think about it..fish that big here in Canada are pretty old...thoughts?

Thanks Johnyb. I've kept the one combo out and might get to use it this weekend if I can get everything of my to do list scratched off..well at leat 90% scatched off...

Dint even think about the turbidity in the thermocline...All makes sense now..Thanks for the info Roy..

Very interesting...that was what i was thinking after Roys post.....Didn't realize the sonar would pick up density changes.... Is it possible to see all three layers (Epilimnion, Thermocline and Hypolimnion) on the screen?

Hmm..interesting...How does one determine the depth of the thermocline? I guess in this case the fish being at one level would have been an indication. But say in the deeper water where there were not any markings how would you locate the different layers throughout the depth especially since the temperature readings on the finder are usually of the surface. Do you carry and extra thermometer that you drop down every now and then to check temperature fluctuations with depth. I only ask cause I figure knowing the location of such the transition could be crucial especially during the fall, post turnover. Thanks for the info. Cheers, N

Some beauts you got there dude.. That brown in the third pic is just ... just.....don't have words for it ...Hopefully one day I'll have the good fortune of holding up such a majestic creature... Tightlines! N

And one more of the evening sky...

Man, do I need to go out on the boat more often! The weather was perfect, the company was awesome, fishing wasn't great but it wasn't bad either. I just loved being out on the water rather than on the side of water. Can't wait for the day I can afford my own boat. Just thought I'd report on the trip since it doesn't look like any one has really been out on Lake Dalhousie. Or, maybe people din't want to share any secrets. So i will try to not go into any major details to preserve the sanctity of the lake. I do have a good number of questions for all you boaters though which I will ask as I type along. So, my buddy Jas picked me up early Saturday morning and we headed to Lake Dalhousie. The water was like a sheet of glass. Not a single boat out on the water, just perfect! We saw a couple of small large mouth while we launched the boat as my brain went nuts on what lure I was going to try on first. We slowly trolled along the shallow east end of the lake casting to what we thought were bass holding spots with no luck. Saw a couple of swirls here and there but did not sight any fish at this point. the water was fairly cold in the shallows so we decided to move to deeper waters towards the west end of the lake...The lake isn't particularly large so we figured we'd just troll all the way to the other end and see what we came across. Being a shore fisherman I rarely get to use a fish/depth-finder but this piece of equipment fascinates me. So here is my first question. Are fish finders reliable? i.e. when in search of fish in deeper waters do you regular boaters trust markings on the finder or do you just use the instrument for depth/structure perception. Now I know there are fancy finders out in the market that show you images of the bottom and all that jazz, but I am talking about an everyday finder that usually comes along with a boat as part of the package. We got into around 11 feet of water and marked a couple of blimps at the bottom and decided to troll bottom bouncers for walters since we have been told that there are some mighty fine walleye in the lake. Out went the bottom bouncers/worm harnesses and my eyes were fixed on the fish finder! Every time a blimp showed up on the screen I imagined we'd hook into a nice fish. After we passed 15 feet of water there was absolutely no activity on the screen. By this point all we had was a couple of tiny perch hit the harnesses. The non activity continued till 30 feet of water. From 30 to 35 feet of water, the finder showed a continuous stream of markings at a depth of 15 feet. The sizes of the blimps changed every now and then but they were all level. This continued for a good 20 minutes of trolling and stopped past the 35 foot depth mark after which there was no activity on the screen. When in the 30-35 foot region I switched to cranks hoping to be just above the fish as shown on the finder. Here comes my next question. I am not familiar with fishing such deep waters, but is it odd that all the markings were at the same level? The water was pretty clear with a visibility of around 5 to 10 feet. So I do not think turnover was a factor this early in the fall resulting in the fish being marked at one depth. How would you have read such markings on the finder? We continued our slow troll till we reached 50 feet of water without any luck. I know our method of scouting the lake wasn't ideal but we just wanted to see what the lake was like since it was out first time on it. The next time we try it out we'll be concentrating on specific depths instead of scoping the entire length of the lake. Was still fun being out on the water. After a couple of hours of lots of fish talk but no fish we decided to try out a short stretch of the Mississippi river by the lake for a bit. Once again, waters neither of us had ever fished on. We hooked into a couple of nice bass and the smallest pike i have ever seen (6 inches). I lost a huge smallmouth here. The dang fish had shoulders and I lost it on the jump. Why do the big ones always get away?! Sigh! Just another fish to add to my season of big lost fish. Maybe I should switch back to mono...hmm. Anyways, after two hours of decent bassing, we hit Mississippi Lake for the evening bite. Once again not many fish but still a good time on the water. There had been a small bass tourny on the lake in the morning so the lake was pretty beat up. However Jas did catch a nice 18 inch largie on the troll. I lost a small pike boat side but got to see the strike which was awesome. Trolled for walleyes for a bit at dusk but din't have any luck. I was hoping we would have hit into a bunch of nice fish in the deep but it was not meant to be...very possibly due to inexperience. Sadly this was my last big outing of the season.. I have now put way most of my gear. It is now crunch time and I have to finish up my degree. Hope I did not bore you. The musky gear is still reachable so maybe I will have another report for you'll before the temperatures drop. For all of you that are going to get to fish till your finger tips fall off due to the cold, Tight Lines!! For the rest of you that have had to put your gear away for the season. I feel your pain. But there is some good news.. Hockey is back! Cheers everyone! Nigel A couple of pics from the outing. http://i1135.photobucket.com/albums/m631/nigelD19/HPIM2736.jpg[/img]"]

Howdy Fisherfolk! Its getting cool out there fast eh! Thought we were supposed to have a warmer than usual fall...ah well... I'm getting a rare opportunity to try out a lake I've never fished before, that to on a boat!! Being a shoreline angler i cherish any such opportunities and so want to make the best of it. A new fishing buddy and myself are planning on hitting Dalhousie lake tomorrow morning. He has never fished it before but has heard that the fishing is decent and thought we'd give it a shot. From the little info that i could find, supposedly there are bass, walleye, pike, whitefish and brooktrout in the lake...To me that is a species heaven! Has anyone fished the lake and had luck with the white fish and brookies? I have never fished whitefish before and so am excited about the possibility of hooking into one. Any tips on what would be the best species to target in the lake at this time of the year would be much appreciated. Also, any info on the sizes of fish caught in the lake would definitely add to the excitement. I know the lake runs deep, should i take along my heavier rods with dipsy's and planars? Thanks a million for any info provided! Cheers and tight lines! Nigel

My brother fishes on Scugog alot since his Fiance's parents have a cottage on the lake...Last year he caught a fair amount of ski's while fishing for walters using perch patterns...rapala jointed minnows and original floaters in 1-3 feet of water whilst trolling... Also, thanks for the advice on storing the brookies.. Cheers!

No worries Scott! Thanks for inquiring. I think I got all the info I need. Cheers, Nigel

A fish biologist on campus just confirmed that it is a golden shiner. She sent me this link http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/golden_shiner.htm. Don't know how I missed this site when I was searching for pics of golden shiners. Apparently american shads don't usually have the colored fins and have a line of spots along the body of the fish. Anywho, thanks for the help. Cheers, Nigel

Freakin Brilliant! A Million Thanks, Cheers, Nigel