Jon

Great video! Underwater shots always give us surface dwellers a completely different perspective of what is really happening under the surface. What gear did you use to get the underwater video?

First non-salmonid (2:15 mark) is a White Sucker. Second (2:47) I'm not sure about.

Jon

I've yurted in Algonquin, MacGregor Point, Pinery and Silent Lake but this set up looks to be the best I've seen. Depending on the park, they offer either electric or wood heat but none have the fancy drop-down bed. Which park were you at?

Jon

I use the Ibycus maps on my Garmin unit and really like them. You can't route on them but for a free map, they likely have most everything you need. Pretty acurate (all things considered) but they don't contain the extra information that the Backroads Mapbooks does. Give the Ibycus maps a try - you have nothing to lose.

Jon

Looks like it will be open as of Saturday, January 7.

ILCA Opening

Great colour in the photos! I wish mine would turn out so well.

I would agree with the cranefly larvae as well.

Jon

I was hoping to spend some time writing a response to two of Craig's comments in particular, but that likely wouldn't be for a few days and I would like to respond while the topic is popular so here goes. I am hoping that these numbers provide a bit more context on the discussion. And before I begin, I do know Craig, and although we haven't spoken in a while, I appreciate his background and concern.

First of all, the three adults fish were captured, not observed. Put into perspective, that was from only sampling about 700 metres of stream on two days in August. Based on the numbers of fish reported by MNR staff, anglers, CRAA members and others, I am pretty confident in saying we caught only a small number of the adult fish returning to the Credit this year. And by a similar argument, since we didn't catch a single Chinook Salmon at any sites where Chinooks should be found in the Credit in 2011 and only three juveniles in 2010, the Chinook program must not be working either.

Secondly, stocking numbers for Chinooks are also available from the same database that Craig mentioned. I would like to break down the numbers in more detail (i.e. American vs. Canadian stocking numbers and stocking numbers by year) but haven't had the time. Very simply then, according to the GLFC database, since 1969 and excluding the years for which there is no data, for whatever reason, there have been just under 76 million Chinooks stocked in Lake Ontario. Yes, 76 million!!! And that doesn't include the number reproducing on their own. Compare that to the over 5 million Atlantics stocked in the lake since 1986 (for some reason the database doesn't include the recent ramped-up stocking numbers in Ontario that equates to over 2 million additional fish), and I am not surprised we see Chinooks returning in large numbers while the Atlantic returns are low so far.

I do have additional comments on the benefits of the restoration associated with the Atlantic Salmon program, the economics of raising 76 million fish and a bunch of the other points but they will have to wait for another day - I have to get back to work.

Jon

Not that I'm gloating, but the Assistant Curator of Fishes at the Royal Ontario Museum agreed that is a Fallfish.

Keep the uncommon photos coming! It is a nice break from photo after photo of Rainbow Trout, Muskie or Smallies. I really liked the Longnose Sucker in full spawning colour. I've only seen a couple over the years and they both were a drab brown.

Jon

Fallfish also get bumps on their heads, known as nuptial tubercles. And although I use colour a lot in my id's, it is not a good id characteristic. Given the location, I'm pretty confident in the Fallfish id. I will send this link to some experts and see what they say.

Jon

The first fish looks like a Fallfish to me. The Ontario record Hornyhead Chub is apparently 6.3 inches and that fish is considerably bigger.

Here are a pile of photos from the Credit River.

Fish of the Credit Photo Gallery

While many were not caught angling, they are a pretty good snapshot of many species that anglers don't see regularly, as well as few that most people will recognize.

Jon

And an update from the Ontario side:

September OFAH Press Release

Jon

There are actually a number of lakes and rivers with boating restrictions (e.g. no boats, speed and horsepower limits, no electric or power propulsion).

The list can be found at: Canada Shipping Act/

I couldn't find Dalyrmple in there but maybe your lake is already listed.

Jon

Google "boric acid for ants" and try one of the recipes. I believe you can buy boric acid at Shopper Drug Mart.

Worked better than the store-bought ant traps and sprays for me this year.

Good luck

Jon

Caledon Lake is a private lake and you will be kicked out if the residents see an unfamiliar boat.

Jon

Not local and I can't claim credit for the video but check out this link for muskies jumping in Wisconsin:

Google "Musky, Lake Wingra Dam, Wisconsin" for photos

Jon

Was this in Lake Ontario?

Jon

Here is an existing database that you may or may not have seen before. Not the best bowfin picture but lots of info.

Ontario Freshwater Fishes Databases

Jon

I have the Canadian Lakes version for my Ipod Touch. In terms of Ontario lakes, it has Simcoe, the bigger Kawartha Lakes, Rideau Canal, numerous Haliburton area lakes, limited Great Lakes data (eg. Eastern Lake Ontario and Parry Sound) and then a smattering of others. Can't go wrong for $10, even though the GPS function doesn't work. Still nice for planning trips and it does get you in the ballpark. I figure they can only add more data in the future and if I ever buy an Iphone, I'm set.

Jon

Another good way of telling them apart is that walleye have a white tip on the lower part of their tail (caudal) fin while sauger don't. You can kind of see this in first photo and then notice that the sauger in the other two doesn't have this marking.

Jon

It is late notice but I thought I would post regardless. On Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, November 7, Credit Valley Conservation is co-ordinating trout spawning surveys in the Forks of Credit and Orangeville areas, respectively. For more information and to sign up, please follow these links:

October survey

http://www.creditvalleyca.ca/bulletin/eventCal.php?curDay=30&curMonth=9&curYear=2010

November survey

http://www.creditvalleyca.ca/bulletin/eventCal.php?curMonth=10&curYear=2010&curEvt=0

Thanks

Jon

100% sure it is a gizzard shad. I've seen lots sampling fish in Lake Ontario around Toronto.

Jon

Try contacting the Ganaraska River Conservation Authority at (905) 885-8173. They may be looking for an Earth Day event and this would fit right in.

Jon

A couple hundred metres. Check out the Ontario Parks website and do a dummy reservation to see the campground maps.

Friends and I stayed there last year and have booked again for February. Yurts are great for those, who like me, aren't interested in doing real winter camping. The yurts have electric heaters, but only space for 6. With that many people, you may have problems booking enough yurts on a weekend. There are no bbqs so we cook using Coleman stoves. One other nice thing about Mew Lake is the heated bathrooms and showers. Also keep in mind no fishing in Algonquin through the winter.

The services at each park with yurts changes depending on the park. MacGregor Point has bbq, electric heat and heated bathrooms, while Silent Lake has wood stoves in the yurt and there are no heated bathrooms. A little more rustic but pretty cold in the middle of the night in February!

Hope the photos from Mew Lake help.

Jon

Sorry to hear about your bad luck with the long drive and service issues at BPS. My experience with a pricing issue on an ice hut at Bass Pro a couple of years ago was positive. The price in the flyer was $100 cheaper than it should have been and BPS honoured the price. I can't say my recent experiences with Best Buy and Amazon honouring misprinted prices turned out so well. At least Best Buy gave me a $10 coupon for the error - nothing from Amazon.

I was informed the other day that the limit for rainbow trout in Zone 16 was 2 with a Sportfishing licence and 1 with a Conservation licence. I must have missed the media release on this one because I couldn't recall when it changed from 5 to 2. I checked both versions of the 2008-2009 regulations (the original one and the one that was revised in March 2009) and they both have it so I assume I missed the change when the 2008-2009 regulations came out. Since I do fish rainbows a bit, I should have checked the regs when they first came out but since I don't recall a big fanfare, either good or bad, over this one, I probably assumed there was no change.

Am I the only one that missed the boat on this one? Does anyone who recalls the change remember when the change was made?

Thanks!!

Jon