basketclam

Thanks for the tip. What would you folks say is an "average" turkey in Ontario, in terms of size. Haven't seen a lot shot, so I'd like to get an idea of a base line for me to compare to. It'll help me decide how brag worthy my bird is! Aside from the fact that the first one is always brag worthy, of course.

It's been five years in the making, but I finally got my first bird this morning. Had a wonderful hunt over the past three days with one of my best buddies, and it was great to share the moment with him. Had just enough time to snap a few photos before the skies opened up and absolutely drenched us. Will try to add a photo, but not too savvy inserting photos into posts, so you'll have to bear (bare?) with me. Files too big and I can't figure out Photobucket seems to be freezing up, so you'll just have to believe me. 19.5 lbs, beard just over 7 inches. Pretty pleased with myself. http://s1015.photobucket.com/albums/af274/basketclam/?action=view&current=IMG_0190.jpg Picture added, if I figured it out?

Thanks for starting this thread, by the way. I see a lot of talk about Moosehead here. In my opinion, a good beer. But hardly a microbrewery, no?

Neustadt is available from the brewery (located in Neustadt which is about 10 minutes south of Hanover), and I can also get it in the LCBO stores that are local to the brewery (e.g. Hanover). If you visit the brewery, call ahead. I've found that they sometimes keep strange hours and are closed when you'd least expect it. If visiting the area isn't an option, contact the LCBO and they might be able to tell you the nearest store that carries it (or maybe have some ordered to the store for you to pick up?)

Church Key makes great bear (Campbellford - or Campbellville. I forget which - the one that's east of Peterborough) Creemore makes great beer, though I think that they're now a Molson brewery so don't qualify as micro any more. And the other one I'd definitely recommend is Neustadt brewery. They make a good lager, an ale, and a great dark beer called 10W 30. I tried Cameron's once, but 1/2 the case didn't seal right and were rotten. Not skunky - rotten.

Hilarious.

Sounds like this stuff is a big pain for boaters. Anybody know of information available on how this stuff enhances/detracts from the quality of fish habitat (especially as a brood location, a hangout for forage fish or as shelter for young)?

Condolences indeed. It's nice to see the OFC community come to a consensus on at least one policing post. It's a shame it has to be such a bad news story.

Cheers man. Great day!

Haven't been on Puslinch itself, but over the Christmas break there was a good 8 inches of ice on a couple of ponds very nearby. Made for a couple of good games of shinny with the in-laws. This was before the couple of days of rain, but we've had cold weather since then so I'd be surprised if the ice wasn't in good shape.

Dan, Looks like you're raising a couple of young, enthusiastic anglers. That's great to see!

No doubt. There are lots of bad officers out there. But that doesn't change the fact that the huge majority of law enforcement professionals are honest people and go to work intending to contribute to society in a positive way. I've met some real ignorant hotel staff over the years, but I don't expect all hotel staff to be ignorant. I won't approach the next concierege that I meet with a negative assumption, because the odds are that they're proud of their job and will treat me accordingly. As a matter of fact, the more respect that I treat them with, the more respect I am likely to receive in return.

Mike, I must admit that I'm guilty of replying more often to the non-fishing posts, while just trolling through people's lengthy reviews of fishing trips past. I'll see what I can do to make amends. Thanks for the reminder.

The title of the post - and we should respect them... it might be more apropriately stated as "and we should respect HIM". Can't paint all law enforcement with the same brush. Remember that in the media you only ever hear about the bad ones.

I'm not going to get too far into the debate of good cops versus bad cops. But I will say this - the "cop's" tactics don't seem to fit the standard at all, and I tend to side with the OFC'rs who have replied thinking that this may not even have been a law enforcement officer. My advice to the chap who started this thread is to report it to the police and make sure that they know you're expecting some follow up. If it was part of a legitimate operation, they should be able to tell you that much. If it was not part of a legitimate operation, they should also be able to tell you that (and would probably be very appreciative of any information you can give them).

Sweet pics. Looks like it's shaping up to be a good season for you. I see in your post that you said you're using some sort of scent. You may want to read this: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/FW/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_168766.html The MNR updated rules regarding the use of scent, in an effort to control CWD. You may be affected by these rule changes, and you wouldn't want to get tagged.

That's a real beauty of a pup. Tell us about him (her). How old? Did you do the training yourself? Were you pleased with the breeder you bought the dog from? Why'd you choose a GSP?

Yamaha Big Bear seems to be the best all around bike, in my opinion. Read some reviews and do your research.

5 Lined Skinks are a species at risk in Ontario. The local MNR biologist will be interested in hearing a report of the sighting (date, time, location, etc) http://nhic.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/nhic/species/species_report.cfm

Are you sure it's not some sort of wild mushroom? A really, really solid wild mushroom.

I seem to remember a news clip from a few years back about a kid that was bit by a muskie somewhere in the Kawarthas. Can't remember any details of the story for certain, but I think it was one quick bite and the fish was gone. The kid had a mark, but no serious damage.

You may find that you're a bit late for the really shallow pike. They spawn pretty early in the year, typically JUST after ice out. With the warm spring, they may have started to move a bit deeper by now? As for walleye in the Hamilton area, I couldn't even begin to provide any advice.

I see some negative comments about MSR products up there. I'll be the voice of dissent. I've had one for 4 or 5 years (MSR MiniWorks, I think it's called) and it's worked really well. It plugs pretty quickly in murky water, but if you're fishing relatively clear lakes, it should work well for you. I can pump enough water for a day for two thirsty guys in just a few minutes. A few more minutes to clean the filter and it's good to go for the next morning. I haven't tried any of the other filters, nor the tablets. If you're hiking in, the tablets are definitely the lightest way to go. MSR makes a newer filter than the model that I have, which is significantly smaller. There. 2 cents.

Lew, I can almost see my cottage in that first picture there. Just a little farther around the point. As with you, I didn't see many fish this weekend, aside from the panfish.

The way I understand it is that if he owned the bed of the lake there for whatever reason (for example, the shoreline had been dredged in the past to make the "marina" at the trailer park), then he has the right to keep people out of the water above what would be his land. It's the same way with man-made lakes - you can't float on the water above the land that is owned by someone else, otherwise you're trespassing. (e.g. old quarries that have been allowed to fill with water). I know of a small lake close to me that's been artificially flooded so is deeper than it once was. This ended up creating a back bay that is privately owned because the lot lines didn't move when the lake was flooded. It's a moot point, though, because the guy is clearly a jerk. Anyone with a decent head on their shoulders wouldn't have wasted the energy to walk down to the dock to talk to you guys.