Golfisher

Good stuff!

Intersting read; thanks for posting. Some real gems there: "In March 2003, the department used underwater detonation cord to try to blow up the pike. A grand total of four pike were killed." "Signs on the lake recommend cutting the head off any pike caught and tossing the fish back in the water, apparently to show the other pike that human beings mean business." LOL

They're out of stock though; not sure when the next shipment will arrive.

Hey Oncogene, Sorry to hear about your trouble. Since you are in Kingston, I assume that you are at Queen's? That's where I did my graduate studies as well; just finished my PhD last year, in Poli Sci, and so I fully understand what you are going through. It took me six years to finally complete the damn thing, and as I'm sure you know, guaranteed funding lasts for only four years. For the remaining two years, I had to take on a part-time job, which slowed down my progress even more as it was tough to find the time to sit down and write the thesis. It was a nightmare, but it all ended on a good note. I think the question that you should be asking yourself is how badly you want the degree. Doing my PhD was the loneliest thing that I ever did, the worst S.O.B that I've ever come across, but in retrospect, all that gnashing of teeth was worth it. So if I were you, I would try to stick to the program and get something out of all these years spent in the library (in your case, in the lab), even if I had to take on a part-time job and/or go into debt. Average completion time for PhDs in Canada is nearly seven years in social sciences, and slightly shorter in science and engineering, and so I don't think you are that behind the schedule. It's a very personal choice though, a decision that only you can make, but for what it's worth, I think it's worth the pain--you've spent all these years anyways. Having said that, you need to approach your advisor again and try to get a sense of what his assessment of your project is and its feasibility. Your supervisor is the MOST IMPORTANT person in your life right now, and without his support, things are only going to get worse. He should be the first person to seek counsel regarding your situation, and if the guy is a decent prof, he should be sympathetic to your plight and give you some honest advice. Since money is a big problem, approach the Chair also and ask him if there is any extra money to help you--TAship, RAship, teaching fellowship, etc--departments usually have some slugh money lying around, thought not always. If there is no money to be found, the only option is getting a part-time job or taking out a loan. Get OSAP first, and if that's not enough, take a student loan from a bank. It shouldn't be too difficult to get the loan so long as you have an okay credit history; alternatively, you could ask you parents to co-sign for the loan. If you decide to quit, don't feel too bad about it. Attrition rates in PhD programs are quite high nowadays, at around 50 percent in some programs. I know many, many friends who quit in the middle of the whole thing, and they are all doing just fine. Either way you decide, you have nothing but best wishes. I really hope it works out for you.

Yeah, show us more!

Happy B-Day, Cliff! I'm sure that the fish are mourning this day, but we are all happy for you! LOL

When I first got into fishing, I also got confused by different rod classications, mostly because I couldn't distinguish between power and action ratings. Power (light, medium, heavy, etc) is basically an indicator of line and lure weight. In general, the larger the species you are targetting, the heavier the rod should be. Action (slow, medium, fast) refers to the flexibility of the rod. A slow action rod bends nearly the whole length of the rod, a fast action bends at the tip, and medium is the compromise in the middle. For the type of fishing you plan to do, I think a rod with medium to medium-heavy power and fast action would be a good start. If you plan to buy more than one rod, it would obviously make sense to get differently rated rods for multiple applications, but unless you target panfish or small brookies, I don't think a light and slow rod would be that useful. In terms of actual rods in the market, choices can be overwhelming. One thing to keep in mind is that high-end rods tend to be one piece; anything in the range of Shimano Crucial and above (around $180 and up) is usually one piece, which makes carrying the rod a bit of a hassle. I opted for Shimano Compre and St. Croix Premier because of this (they offer two-piece rods, though Compre has only one type for baitcasting), and I've been very happy with all four of them. At around 100 bucks and a few changes, I think they are in a reasonable price range.

Nice smallies!

I doubt there are enough people in Ontario who would base their vote solely on the pledge that any party makes regarding MNR funding to make any difference in terms of the actual election outcome. There are a lot more and bigger fish to fry; compared to education, health, or fiscal policy, MNR funding is a none-issue for most voters. I guarantee you that the majority of Ontarians don't even know what MNR stands for!

I knew this was coming! LOL

Some nice bass there!

Things are really heating up! WTG!

I have a feeling that Cliff's mugshot with salmon is going to be a daily feature for some time to come. LOL. WTG, Cliff!

Congrats! That's a keeper for sure!

That's exactly what I had to do last week with my first salmon! LOL Congrats on your catch; I'm sure this is just the beginning of a long series of successful outings.

Good stuff!

That's a long time to be with anyone! LOL. Congrats!

That's helluva first fish!

Awesome fish! Congrats on your PB!

Used to live in Ottawa and Kingston, both of which are a lot greener and cleaner than TO. But it could be worse; I could be living in LA! LOL

Popped the cherry this past weekend. My first salmon, and what a feeling! Threw glow-in-the-dark cleos for nearly four hours, and all that work finally produced. I noticed pier fishing is somewhat akin to carping--both require a lot of patience and both species put up a great fight--but also very different--one involves sitting around chatting with friends until the alarm goes off, the other, well, you have to chuck that spoon time after time until the arm is about to fall off. The pier was quite crowded; pretty much anywhere castable had a guy throwing spoons, but it got thinned out around 2 and that's when the fish began to bite. I hate living in TO, but fish like this makes it a bit more tolerable.

For good or just for this year?

Now that's a fun day!

That is one scary story. Something to mule over for sure.

Might want to give Belwood Lake a try. Closer than Island Lake.