12 Volt Man

yeah, I saw a beautiful great white heron while on vacation in the Keys several years ago. beautiful bird.

from what I understand, southern Florida has a white colour morph of the Great Blue Heron that has yellow legs, but it is only found in florida. normal blue herons have grey legs. egrets have black legs, as your photo shows.

I am quite pleased with how my career has turned out (I am a wastewater treatment plant operator). but it took a lot of education and time to land the position. Demand in the field is high and the jobs are competitive. it took me a full year of applying to get in even after I had my education done and was licensed by the Ministry of the Environment. the reality is, good jobs will take time to land, thats usually the way it works. so don't panic. it takes time. in the mean time, try to get something just to keep cashflow coming in. it prevents resume gaps and shows future employers you were making good use of your time off in between 'real jobs'. one thing that you might consider is once you are working again is doing night school at a local college or university. I did this for two years and earned a business certificate from the University of Toronto while working days at the wastewater plant. you can do a few courses per year, basically you have class one night per week for 3 hours. it is a good way to upgrade skills, get a diploma on the wall and pad that resume for future employers. You can also do online courses too. here is the link for U of T's continuing education school. no prerequisites are required so anyone can apply: http://learn.utoronto.ca/site3.aspx have a look around. as far as the education thing goes, it can be tough out there if you don't have the degree or diploma. thats the reality of the job market these days. I did a university degree and a year of college and it was still tough. the Bill Gates's of the world are the exception, not the rule. thats where something like nightschool can really help. a family memember of mine recently got laid off from a management position after 12 years. He is running into issues because he didn't finish university way back when so he doesn't meet the educational requirements for anything remotely close to what he was doing. it sucks. it sucks because you can be an expert in your feild, have great experience and some yahoo in the HR department puts your resume in the 'do not call' pile just because you don't have a degree or diploma. its crap if you ask me. but unfortunately, it happens all the time. best of luck and keep your head up. you will find something and look into upgrading your education with nightschool. it can only help. -12 Volt

I agree, the public can be tough sometimes. I worked retail for many years too. however, there is no excuse for the attitude that at least some of their staff have displayed in the past. they would have been fired had they worked where I used to work had they acted so rude, thats for sure. in my experience at the le baron mississauga location, there is one staff member in particular that I know had a very bad attitude. this person is probably still there. some of the other staff have been much more helpful and courtious. but its that one person that leaves the bad taste. I agree though, there pricing can be good, and its nice sometimes to go there and not be swamped with people because most of the time Basspro is a zoo.

I could have sworn there used to be a long triangular gate there years ago. however, i was looking at current pics of the entrance of the park and there is no more gate there. LOL. never mind then I will post a report tomorrow!

was looking to hit Bayfront park in Hamilton early tomorrow for bass/panfish, but have never been in the am before. there is that big gate at the entrance to the park. do they close/open it? is it open all the time? was looking to go fairly early but I don't want to get there too early and not be able to park inside yet. does anyone know? thanks.

me too. but if you want to buy some rapalas you need them to unlock the glass cabinate. thats like pulling teeth sometimes LOL.

actually, I have to agree that some of the staff there can be a bit rough with customers. sorry, but its true. often, they act like you are bothering them when you simply ask to get some rapalas out of the glass case they have them in. its like they hate working there or something. since bass pro came around, I make the trip out there instead. they are much more helpful and generally seem happy to be there.

they have had them in their online catalouge this year, as a few months ago I was looking at them. they were in the front section. now, they are gone from the catalouge. just a screw up. they certainly will still sell Shimano stuff as it is the leader in sales for reels in North America.

I just had an orgasm. whew. LOL. those were AMAZING pics! what a great trip you had! monster pike, and that first smallie is MASSIVE!

I think a good quality two peice rod would be better than a telescopic rod. most telescopic rods out there just aren't that great IMO. if you really want to go with a really travel friendly rod that can literally be packed into a bag, a few years ago at Bass Pro I bought a St. Croix Premier 7 foot Medium power 3 peice spinning rod, that came with a really nice codura covered rod tube for I think around $200. I am sure they still make this three peice model. I pack it in my suitcase when I go on airplanes for vacations. its a great rod and very travel friendly, especially for air travel and it obviously can be packed in any trunk of a car. just something to consider.

I used to put my 6'6 one peice Loomis in my little old Volkswagen Golf, no problem. just put it up in the front seat and lean it back through the console. so you don't need a big car to have a 1 peice rod, just don't get a 7 footer I agree - if you can go 1 peice, go 1 peice. more sensitive, lighter and that weak spot of the ferrule is not there. I know modern rods are better than the two piece rods of old, but still if you can swing 1 peice its good. I do find that they cast much smoother than two peice rods.

for a spinning rod, sort of an all purpose stick, I would suggest the G. Loomis GL3 SJR783-2 spinning rod, which is med. heavy power, fast action, two piece. for up to 5/8 oz baits and up to 15 pound line I think..although 10 or 12 would be probably max. with a spinning reel to avoid excessive line memory etc. I have the SJR782 in GL3, 1 piece (medium power) and it is amazing, but its only rated for up to 3/8th oz. baits. I tend to fish on the lighter side, I use mine with 8 pound test mono. It cast a 1/4 oz. crankbait across the lake! I like using the Loomis spinning rods in the GL3 flavour, as I much prefer the handle style to that of the IMX/GLX rods. the IMX spinning rods have a lock nut that screws down onto your spinning reel and you are holding it when you are fishing. I don't really like that. the GL3's have a reel seat where the lock nut screw up from the bottom so you not holding it while fishing. minor I know, but if you are going to spend $200+ on a great rod, comfort should be a consideration. I also have a St. Croix Avid 6'6 spinning rod that is great too, I think some of them are available in a two peice configuration as well. best thing to do is go to the tackle store and check em out!

very nice!

because it happens occasionally. I have been fishing at Bronte with a friend of mine who caught and landed a big carp that ate his rattlin rapala like popcorn. right in the side of the mouth. I have caught and landed them on a normal jig with a mr. twister tail on the back, same thing. sometimes, they do chase down and eat lures and jigs. just not very often.

I too am addicted to high end tackle. I have a Shimano Sustain on a G. Loomis GL3 rod. thats almost $600 for the combo... is it a status symbol? I don't think so. other than a few hardcore tackle folks like us most people have no idea what stuff costs or its reputation for quality. but it is totally awesome to fish with!

exactly. to me, it looks 25 pounds at best. big fish, but not 51 pounds. I have caught legit 30 pounders (out of Lake Ontario) and they loo notably bigger than the fish in the pic..

I really don't understand how people will line up forever to save a few dollars filling up, when the HST, starting tonight at midnight, is here for good. or, at least for a few years. I'd rather spend that time fishing it sucks, and we are all stuck with it

small world. I am a wastewater treatment plant operator

not to worry. they stock tilapia in parts of florida to help control hydrilla weed and in the lake near my families ex holiday home near tampa, they had hundreds of fish die from the cold winter they had two years ago. if a cold mid latitude florida winter canl kill them, they don't stand a chance in ours

^ absolutely. its possible that the fish was ordered in by an aquarium hobbyist, but much more likely he came from a supermarket where someone tried to 'rescue' the poor fish..some people are like that. they go into the supermarket and 'feel bad' for the trout and tilapia in the live tanks and think they have to save them..and the fish ends up in a river or lake somewhere. doomed to die in our cold canadian waters.

I have caught them in Florida too. that fish was probably from a supermarket. they are available live all the time. I am an avid aquarium enthusiast, and I have never seen that species of tilapia for sale at any of the shops in the GTA ever. other species of tilapia yes, but not that one. they aren't really popular in the hobby because other species of tilapia are much more colourful.

very nice. next time release those guys right next to bronte pier when I am fishing there..LOL

yup. thats me

see, age can be part of the picture as lakes will naturally progress through the stages (called succession) without any human influence. a new lake starts out deep and cold over thousands of years, sediment from rivers and streams fills it up makes it shallower, which allows for plants to grow on the bottom and still get sunlight over time, plants increase oxygen levels, plankton begin to flourish, fish feed on plankton etc. the lake becomes very productive in terms of plants and animals even though it started off with nothing. however, given that this is the 2000's, few lakes are free from human impacts. agricultural runoff adds nitrogen and phosphorus into lakes which causes them to become eutrophic very quickly (compared to the amount of time it would take with no human influence). I took a course in freshwater biology at university (a long time ago now though lol) so I remember a lot of this stuff. biologists classify lakes as being eutrophic or not based on their nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. so they really don't care about the age of the lake.