fishinggeek

ch312, I'm with you on this. Breaking the reg's is always bad. Some people want their own fishing to be more restrictive, which is great, but they shouldn't project their views and opinions on other law-abiding fishermen. As individuals, we have individual beliefs on what is right and wrong. We can't let some of the most "conservative" (for lack of a better word) individuals dictate morality. Post a muskie recipe and you'll get guaranteed objections. Post a pic of a stringer of northern madtoms and you'll likely get far less reaction, despite the latter being endangered. What they should do if they want universal change is lobby for regulation changes.

And don't forget about Le Baron's, who have their prices posted publicly on their online catalogue. I never forget to check there before making a purchase, because usually they are the cheapest supplier I find.

Great info everyone! Keep it coming. Do they have bones? Is there special ways of cleaning them? I have googled some answers, all of which sound weird: nail them to a tree and use pliers, clean them like any other fish, rip the head and entrails off, etc. Thought I'd ask someone from our great OFC community...

I love catfish in the restaurant, blackened or fried. I catch the odd bullhead. Edible or not? I hear yes, but I have also heard very muddy (compared to the farm-raised variety) and full of worms. I'd appreciate any info from this great board!

If they're nice enough to mail me, the least I can do is reciprocate! Being a Canadian resident, I figure the best thing to do is to increase Canada Post's revenues (a government corporation) at the expense of the OFAH (a group I'm not in support of). So transferring a very, very small amount of welfare away from OFAH towards public goods may benefit me in a very, very small way, which makes me feel ever so slightly better. P.S. Thanks for the informative read DanC. I don't doubt it at all.

But if the castle wasn't built with membership dues, couldn't the money (regardless of its source) be put to better use perhaps? Maybe I will call about the the annoying telemarketing and junk mail. But then again, why do I have to do put effort into having them not contact me (uninvited I might add). I usually just keep the telemarketers on the line as long as I can if I'm bored. And I ALWAYS mail back the junk mail envelops (the ones that require no stamps). I believe everytime it scans through Canada Post, the OFAH's postage account (or whoever else sends me junk mail) gets charged per piece. My beef with these and other lobby groups is that they hide behind science. They say science and practically all current forms of fishing and hunting go hand-in-hand. Other lobby groups say the opposite, that practically all fishing and hunting is contrary to what is best on an ecological/environmental/biological basis. But I think science should be approached with an open mind, without having any pre-disposition to the solution. By having OFAH staff biologists guiding their policy recommendations, I am sure many are sub-optimal in order to trade off in favour of hunters and fishermen.

No way will I be a member. Why spend my hard-earned money on an organization that, by and large, does not represent my own personal interests? I'd rather donate my money to a charity instead.

Thanks everyone for the info! This board is fantastic for everhything, fishing and otherwise. Looks like Minden will be it. The gemboree looks amazing. I never knew these things existed. I should really be taking advantage of this more. If the spring rock hounding is a success, we might look into the gemboree. And geocaching sounds interesting. That might be a good birthday game idea if I can get another GPS unit.

Yes I always find Bancroft, Thunder Bay, etc. But that's much too far for the kids.

Thanks CCMT. Interesting info there for sure. I wouldn't want my little nieces having to explain to my sister why they got a ticket for rock houding without a license.

Is it really illegal? I wouldn't have guessed that because they have some rock hounding tours I googled. Is it easy to get these licenses? I was going to look for a handful of rocks with my kid nieces.

Never done it before, unless you count on the beach as a child. Anyone have any suggestions within a 2 hour drive of Toronto?

Rick, I'll PM you the original PM's in question. Do as you see fit.

What about when we discuss something related to fishing, and someone sends an unsolicited PM selling their product or service? That has happened to me twice, where I ask how the fishing is somewhere and a guide sent an unsolicited PM. I just ignored it, but is this appropriate? Just curious.

Thanks for all the info everyone! I never knew these things about the Grand, and I have fished it on occasion. I've never eaten anything out of it, but now I never will. I'm actually thinking of putting on 2 pairs of waders next time I dare try to wade its waters. Either that or find a new, cleaner trib to explore.

Yes I'm going to give it a shot too. I passed on the spring fishing show (or whatever it's called now) because it sounded like much smaller than this one. Thanks for the detailed info Michael. I'm going to really compare prices of the few things I want there, and buy from the retailer who'll drop prices the most. And I wouldn't mind looking at the other things, like boats.

At least they have a dedicated audience relations email address. I'm going to write them and suggest they put only the best fishing shows on 24 hours a day so I can stop paying extra for WFN!

Good to hear, and way to go Mike for pitching in, despite being not at fault! Too bad I'm not a registered charity.

G, many companies realize far fewer people complain than those that are dissatisfied. In industries like hospitality, people are more likely to voice their opinion than remain silent. But in TV, I think it's the reverse, so one opinion is representative of far more than one person. I have worked for a large, publicly-trade company that was like this. Even though we had millions of customers, senior executives routinely read through customer complaints that were escalated beyond the point of contact. They knew one voice means dozens others unhappy, and a few hundred might be a big problem. I'm not expecting anything, just exercising my right to free speech. It is no different than if I told you the gas station west of you is 10 cents cheaper than the one to the east of you. I would probably be doing you a favour. But if the gas station owner to the east came on OFC and told me to just keep quiet (ie. change the channel) and just buy from the west gas station in silence, would you not object to this suggestion of suppression? Personally, shows I don't like really don't bother me that much. Like I said before, I use this time to do other things like errands, check my email, etc. I can count on one hand how many companies I have formally complained to in my entire life, both fishing-related and otherwise, and still have a few fingers left over. And this will be the first time complaining about anything fishing-related or on the TV. I hope it'll be an interesting experience! Maybe I'll even get a reply.

This thread has certainly brought out our local fishing celebrities! Welcome to the board Mike and Karl. Karl, you seem to speak out against negative comments of your show but in favour of free speech. Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but this sent mixed messages to me. In any event, should we not simply speak our minds openly and honestly? If I have a bad experience with a poorly manufactured reel, rude resort owner, or don't like the colour schemes of a lure company, wouldn't it be nice to let others know my opinion, such as fellow OFC'ers, sponsors, and networks? I see no difference in these examples as in being honestly critical (without being defamatory) in a fishing show. Like a few others, I do not care for Extreme Angler or Fishing Canada for various reasons. Many OFC'ers, however, are big fans of the show. I respect your fans and expect the same in return.

There's been a lot of buzz lately about good and bad fishing shows. Why not let the networks know for yourself? I suspect that WFN will 1) love to hear your feedback (either positive or negative) and 2) might even change their programming to better suit our preferences. I know I will be writing them this weekend with an "ear full". Here is the contact info for those interested that I got from their website: Insight Sports Ltd. 184 Pearl Street, Suite 302 Toronto, Ontario M5H 1L5 Canada Phone: 416-593-0915 Email: online form at http://www.wfn.tv/about/?a=2 Heck, I might even write, call, AND email!

Pro's: informative, local, proper handling, genuine Con's: product-pushing, staging (for lack of a better word - acting such as doing takes of landing fish, pretending to be edgy), doing only fly-in, improper fish handling Good shows I watch are the musky hunter, simply fishing, and the fishing edge. For those that like fly fishing, the new fly fisher is really well done. Remember the old "fish on" shows on TV Ontario? They were really old, with John Kerr (and others) but I thought the format was great. Talk about fishing techniques and tackle for 20 minutes, then 5 minutes of fish catching action.

Agreed, Al Lindner's new show is great, plus the multi-species aspect is a good bonus. The religious bit at the end is weird though. My girlfriend walked in on me watching it at the end and thought I was watching some televangelist.

Lew, I knew I read that somewhere! Sorry if it looked like I was stealing your thunder. I heard it has won a pile of fishing show awards. I hope they start a new trend in fishing shows.

BillM, I believe that's true. The authorizing system has no idea what's on the back of the card. The only thing enforcing the issuing companies' "must sign" rule is that cashiers are not supposed to charge a card without a proper signature. But cashiers either don't look/care, or have a stake in the business and don't want to bother the customer. It makes for a really flawed system, which at least partially explains why interest rates and annual fees are so high on many credit cards.