solopaddler

Looks like a pretty darn good trip to me. It's likely only going to bet better too.

Nice job Tyler. Gonna have to fish the rapids sometime this fall, great stuff.

The USGS has a similar site that shows the water flow of their rivers in real time. Most steelheaders have been using these websites for years. It's without a doubt the singlehanded most valuable resource that's available to a steelheadeder. Of course you need some kind of yardstick to measure what you're seeing on the graph against. Once you've got that you're golden. The "yardstick" comes with trips to a particular river and note taking (what the rivers height is, flow in CFS, and clarity was that day)

Was a fun game to watch, 4-0 is pretty sweet. Avery doesn't belong in the league. Don't know how he continually gets away with this crap.

Yeah well you'd have to tip everyone in then 'cause pretty much everyone blatantly snags there LOL! I'm going to tell you guys a story about the NY DEC. I was there last year and witnessed this first hand. First off as mentioned snaggers are EVERYWHERE. Someone I know caught 2 female salmon completely legit, stripped them and released them unharmed. Someone in the gauntlet of rubes called the DEC and they came specifically to intercept this person. He was apprehended in the parking lot and asked to produce a license which he did. The officers chided him for not keeping and killing the 2 hen salmon. Apparantly unlike in ON stripping fish is illegal. (In ON the eggs from said fish go towards your daily limit). The guy goes on to say he understands no one really wants to eat them (they're black and rotting). Said next time kill the fish and leave the eggs in it. When you get to your vehicle remove the eggs THEN IF YOU DON'T WANT THE FISH THROW IT IN ONE OF THE TRASH CANS. He got a ticket for illegal disposal of game fish. What he suggested is the LITERAL definition of illegal disposal of game fish where I'm from LOL! If the fish are stripped and released they at least have a CHANCE at survival. A heck of a lot better chance than dead in the garbage LOL! This person asks the DEC officer what about all the people blatantly snagging? Why pick on him? No real answer to that unfortunately. It's just a HORRIBLE place to fish especially when the DEC literally condones what's happening. (BTW this person isn't me, but it is a board member who shall remain anonymous. )

You definitely won't be missed.

Nope I posted a couple of family trip reports as usual. Check your emails bud.

No wonder everyone takes shots at Leafs fans.

Because they're all dead, every single one. Looks like a fun trip.

I only have one comment to make to Sens fans. Unless you're a teenager who did you cheer for prior to '92? Montreal? Perhaps many of you cheered for (gasp) the Leafs? LOL! Whoever, it doesn't really matter. How does someone grow up watching and cheering for a particular team suddenly switch allegiance? I live in Hamilton and if they ever did get that franchise I'd still cheer for the Leafs. It always seems to be Sen's fans who chirp the most when it comes to the Leafs. Although I do understand why...you're never going to get over those playoff beatings LOL! As a Leaf fan it's gratifying to finally see an actual plan in place that seems to be working. (so far )

Thankfully he takes after his mother.

I remember the blizzard of '77 vividly. But this is a no brainer for me. A few years back I was paddling solo down the Misehkow river, a large tributary of the Albany. One night a vicious thunderstorm hit. You know the heavy downpours that usually accompany such storms? Violent but usually short. The heavy monsoon-like rain lasted for several hours. Heavy winds dropped tree branches all around me as I lay unnerved in my tiny tent. The lightning and thunder were intense as well. At one point I timed the flashes with my watch. 10 full seconds of complete brilliance, it was like mid-day.. In the early morning it finally cleared and I pushed off downstream. The river was a raging sea of brown mud and had risen I'm guessing at least 15'. It was waaaay over it's banks running 50-80' into the spruce trees on each side of the river. On several occasions I actually paddled through the forest LOL! This crazy high water almost killed me though as my boat ended up being pinned on a sweeper about 10' from the brink of a boiling cauldron of white water LOL! (but that's another story )

A bit early yet for the big eyes, nonetheless looks like a fantastic time!

You finally gonna make it up next year? (I have a gazebo to build y'know )

Okay you're scaring me now Wayne. I'm hoping to get the kid started cutting the lawn next summer.

This past week I took the opportunity to spend some time with my newly minted 4 year old at the camp in QC. It was primarily a work weekend, but my boy is old enough now that he'd have pitched a fit if I left without him. On tap were new shingles, drip edge and fascia, and lattice around the front deck. A lot of work for really only 2 days LOL! Fortunately my dad arrived earlier in the week and managed to prep everything by stripping off the old shingles. I arrived Thursday morning with my lad and immediately went to work. Brendans biggest joy up there is helping to drive the boat. What is it with lttle boys and things that go fast? LOL! I was hesitant to bring him with all the work but he turned out to be great. Not a single complaint and perfectly happy to help his dad and opa. It was a marathon but we did it. Normally I'm a picture taking fiend but not this time, with only a handful of pic's. You can kind of see the new green shingles in these long range shots. The new lattice which obviously had to be framed in is a bit more noticeable. With the bulk of the work done we finally had time to fish. As per usual on my lake in Oct the walleye are deep. I found them anywhere from 40-50'. Normally I fish a large clay flat in the top end of my lake but it was too windy to fish comfortably. In my bay there's a shoreline that breaks swiftly into 50 plus feet of water, almost like a wall. I marked clouds of shiners followed by the larger telltale hooks beneath. I believe the walleye were herding these baitfish against the steep wall and picking them off. Tried trolling in a variety of different ways including tiny stickbaits behind 3oz bottom bouncers but it didn't work. Ultimately a 1oz ig head, stinger hook and 4" gulp minnow put oodles of eater sized walleye in the boat. Brendan even caught 3 completely 100% on his own with no help from dad. Even better it was his first time using a spinning reel and he handled it like a pro. Of course it helped he didn't have to cast...just open the bail and close it when it touched bottom. But still, I was a pretty proud poppa. Most all of the fish dredged from these depths are goners with either bulging eyes or air bladders. It's a pattern I only use when I'm keeping fish. Caught a pile of small hammerhandles as well. Only reason I'm showing these pic's is my boy snapped the shots. Not perfect, but not too bad either. Solo junior in training. Sunday afternoon we disonnected the water pipes, winterized them, took out the dock and closed 'er up for another year. Goodbye cottage and lake see you in the spring. Now it's time to devote myself fully to steelhead. It's actually already been a fantastic September, in fact maybe the best one in years. October can only be better, starting tomorrow for me. Truck's packed and I'm leaving straight from work. Life is great.

Was that really your response? You're my new hero if it was LOL!

Anytime buddy. I'll most likely be fishing Michigan again in November...

It can be welded that's all I can tell you LOL! Maybe a welder could chime in with the science behind the craft.

I'll bet you could do this yourself with heat shrink tubing and crazy glue.

If it was me I'd fix it. Not exactly in your area but City Wide Welding in Mississauga are the absolute best at this. I'm guessing it would cost about $250 to have your motor like brand new again. They'll finish it as well with colour matched paint.

Even better a Zamfir/Kenny G combo. But that would be Gay road gay. Hope you're feeling better, call me when you get a chance.

How did a question about still fishing for steelhead degenerate into a debate about snagging salmon? Oh yeah I forgot....Bill! You're a bad seed buddy.

What a great summer Wayne, definitely better than last year. Glad to see/hear your brother recovered. Awesome laker fishing on that back lake. I know a lake exactly like that one in your region (slightly N/W). Could be the same lake. Tiny planktivorous red fleshed lakers by the bushel load... "Boy soup" That brought a chuckle. My neighbor has a hot tub and a 7 year old son who I'm fairly certain is the antichrist. I had a similar thought last week LOL!

He's not spamming anybody. "People like him"? LOL! I've spent a lot of time on the water with Bill he's a good man. In over 30 years of hardcore steelheading I've never seen anyone catch on as quickly as him. He just needs to get out beach bonging a couple times is all.