Photoz

Well, my eye is on the mend, and I'm back behind the wheel again. My bud from across the pond called and said he was going up to his favorite fishin' hole today, so, even though I won't be doin' any carp fightin', nothing says I can't watch. The Brit landed about 5 & Rodpoly another 3 . . . I got a chance to play a couple of 'em for a few minutes, but didn't push my luck.

The first one was small . . . 10 - 12 pounds, but did splash around the surface, and made good account of itself.

Steve finally got 'im under control, and he was soon in the net . . . . . . .

And soon was on his way, to fight another day.

The day was PERFECT . . . the bite was steady, the fish good & healthy . . . no sign of any more of the 'carp plague,' but over-all, not very big.

Canada Post - 40.5 a klick

I'll be short & sweet on this one . . . . Friday I had cataract surgery . . . . it took about 20 minutes (after endlessly getting drops put in to freeze the eye) to do, I was awake . . . not even ANY discomfort! Before I left the clinic, I was told as the freezing came out, it would seem like I had something stuck in my eye, and I would experience 'SOME' discomfort. I was to wear sunglasses outside, and a plastic shield when sleeping. Well, the freezing came out . .. I felt like I had a handful of ground glass in my eye socket, and I experienced EXCRUCIATING pain for nearly 24 hours . . . and had an almost uncontrolable urge to rip my eyeball right out, to rid myself of the terrible 'scratching' sensation! The pain is now gone, I'm putting 4 types of eye drops (as directed) in the eye, every 6 hours, and must do this for 4 weeks?

Has ANYONE ELSE out there had cataracts done? What was YOUR experience? This doctor is well known, and has an excellent reputation . . . he runs a large clinic, and not only does hundreds of these surgeries, but laser eye surgery too? I've spoken to 2 others who have had this done elsewhere . ... it was simple, almost painless & they could see normally again almost immediately? All I can see is blurred shapes outta the affected eye, nearly 48 hours later.

Any info on YOUR cataract surgery would be appreciated . . . . salmon snaggi . . . er r r r FISHIN' time is fast approachin' in the Lake O. tribs!

That one looks a lot like the one I almost caught?

Due to not feeling up to scratch, I haven't wet a line since I got skunked 3 times in a row early last month. But . . . like clockwork, a wee lad from over 'across the pond,' arrives in the colonies to give the locals some lessons on how to treat Europe & the British Isles favorite sport fish. (This is only us commoners who recognize them for what they are.) We met at Rodpody's fave fishing hole up on the mighty Otonabee where this cunning fish resides not long after sun-up. A super day was had by all, temps in the mid-20's, partly sunny, nice cool breeze, and no stooooooooooopid fish to interupt our relaxin' & catchin' up on ol' times! Anyhoooooooo . . . . here's a few shots of our day . . . many of the regulars on this board will recall 2 years ago when Steve, (The 'Brit') was unloading his gear, did THIS!! It happened about 06:00 . . . rather that go sit in an emergency room all day, he opted to put up with it until 3:00, then drive all the way back to where he was staying in Mississauga, THEN go to the hospital and have it taken out! He also managed, with this hook imbedded in his finger, to land over a half dozen carp in the 20 pound range! This is also known as 'keeping a stiff upper lip!'

Later that summer, after a long tiring battle he managed to land this 72" 'ski . . . . after carefully unhooking it, he released it . . . he couldn't understand why some of the colonists bother to go after 'ski's? Especially the small 50" to 60" ones? He says the carp put up a much better fight? (I told him this was a cross-country 'ski . .. the downhill ones fight MUCH better!)

But . . . first things first today . . . . get the groundbait mixed. (From an OLD recipe handed down by his grrrrrrreat uncle) Gotta feed them thar carp real good eh? These peasant colonists have no clue as to what carp like! (The left-overs can be baked . . . I think they call 'em crumpets?

Then, it'a across the channel to spread this groundbait about . . . like 'setting the table.' He's leaving quite a wake . . . I think he could have got a water skier up!

He's certainly got quite a fan club . . . duck l'orange anybody?

And . . . . TA A A DA A A A A . . . . the new carpmobile . . . . the Dodge was starting to self-destruct. For anybody who can afford the gas . . .. there are some INCREDIBLE deals out there on the Uplanders & Montanas . . . I was almost able to talk the salesguy into paying me . . . to take it with me!!

Oh yeah . . . . did we get any fish . . . ? NOT EVEN A LINE BUMP!! We were just enjoyin' the day too much to bother with the smelly things anyway.BTW . . . . Has anyone fished Long Sault this year for carp? And . . . ??

Hm m m m m . . . . nice to hear some votes of confidence in the Caravan . . . . maybe I should just let G M sit on their dang Montanas & Upyours . . . . . er r r r r . . . . . UpLANDERs!

I'm TRYING to buy a Pontiac Montana (Extended) or a Chevy Uplander (Extended) after running a Grand Caravan 4 (almost) trouble-free years. I just put the usual things that wear out in 100K, last week I just got whacked for $450.00 for a fuse box. BU T T T T . . . G. M. loves their vehicles SO O O O much, they will only sell 'em at full list, (they wanna keep 'em all, still room for 3 more on the lot!) 72 months, 'no interest' and NOT ONE PENNY DISCOUNT FOR CASH!! Chrysler automatically discounts over $7K from their list for cash, plus other incentives, that total almost $9K from a $35K list? I dont really want another Dodge . . FORD doesn't have decent van, the Japanese are just TOO expensive . . . so I guess I get to find out how a Dodge stands up to it's SECOND 100K? As good as this Dodge has been . . . after having had a Montana, I've never really liked or trusted the Dodge. You guys who've had Dodge vans . . . once the odometer got up there, what started getting replaced?

Carp spawn when the water temps reach the high 60's. I've caught 'em, spilling roe all over the boardwalk at the ol' Lakeview plant in early August, about 5 years ago when we had another wet, cool summer! In the shallower lakes & tribs, the water will get up to temp as early as late May, but in Lake Ontario, only the small bays and creek & rivermouths will be much more that the mid-60's even at this late date.

A little better explanation on CTV . . . .

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...me=&no_ads=

The stuff they used at Pefferlaw killed EVERYTHING!!

I've tried to change my avatar . . . it shows the changed avatar, but the old one still comes up?

WOW!! Next they'll come up with a stretched garbage truck!! (For 'sanitary engineers' weddings?)

The reason I thought it began as an Excursion, the driver said "It started out as an Excursion platform?" I didn't THINK the front of that thing looked like an Excursion . . like you said . . . more like "a stretched dump truck!" (Had a set of duals out back the size of a 5 ton?)

It should tow a pretty good boat . . . er r r r yacht!

I just happened to spot this coming down through Willowdale this morning, as it passed me . . . it's gotta be longer than a TTC bus!! And back when I drove limo, I thought it was a real big deal to drive a Town Car 'stretched' by about 8' this sucker HAD to be 35' long! Apparently it started out as a Ford Excursion . . only 4 in Canada.

My first love was a '52 Monarch . . . the ol' reliable 292, and a set of straight pipes on 'er . . . coppers used to sit and wait for me . . . wasn't hard to tell when I was around . . . could hear the beast long before ya saw it. The poor ol' gal tangled with a skunk, late one Saturday night . . . . damn thing got caught in the undercarriage, and banged around for a half mile before coming off!! I drove the car out in a field near the house, left it sit all fall & winter, windows down, doors open . . . in the spring it STILL stunk! Wreckers wouldn't take it off my hands . . . . finally found somebody who needed the rear end & rad to take it off my hands!

Gee . . . . it would be TERRIBLE if some o' them thar invasive carp got in there . . . . would likely run ALL the other fish out, eh?

I had 'TRIGGER THUMB' fixed almost 20 years ago . . . it had become quite bothersome & painful, to the point it was giving me trouble holding & sorting mail. I'd never been in a hospital before, and I considered it MAJOR surgery!! Watta a big chicken-crap I was . . . it took 15 minutes to freeze it, perhaps another 15 to 'fix' it, an hour to sit in the 'recovery room,' and I went home with 2 stitches. It throbbed a bit for about a half day . . . I had a splint on it for a week, took it easy for another week, and that was it. At the time the doctor said it should do me for at least 15 years before I MIGHT get any recurrance . . . it's been 20 & counting.

Yeah h h h . . . . . carp sure can be EVASIVE . . . . they evaded me all day yesterday. (Heh . . . heh!) The main reason that other fish disappear and you eventually see only carp . . . . 99% of the time . . . . WATER QUALITY! Carp could almost live in a cesspool . . . they don't require much oxygen, and as the water quality diminishes, other fish disappear. I fish carp in many places where bass, pike, pickerel, muskie, trout whitefish, panfish of all types flourish . . . but as per usual, there are 'old wives tales' aplenty, and carp are FIRST to get the blame anyplace the other fish start to disappear! (Lots of 'em also leave the area in big 5 gallon pails!) Many cottagers buy maize (cattle corn) and toss it around the access to their docks all summer, it brings the carp in, and keeps the weeds down . . . perhaps Big Cliff can attest to that?

Perhaps I put too much faith in a TV fishing show where the virtues of carp fishing & the number of carp anglers converging on the Kawartha Lakes area were likely aimed at getting even MORE carpers interested. However, there were several interviews by local business people & tourists alike that were pretty solid, factually . . . and I did thumb through up to about 10 Brit carping publications, (at the time I wasn't quite as aware of the carping opportunities in that area as I am now) and there were just an unbelievable number of Canadian carp fishing opportunities listed throughout the area, and most were accepting bookings at the time (2005) for 2007!! The average booking was for 2 weeks, but there were plenty of 21 & 30 day trips to be had too! I'm certainly NOT going to put forth much argument with guys who have continuously fished the area for years, but . . . 99% of us who do choose to chase carp, do it from shore, and would rarely cross paths with boaters, or musky / bass / pickerel guys. There are MANY establishments scattered throughout the area that cater to JUST carpers for the summer, that would be hurting pretty bad if the carp fishing got obliterated. I get the impression that many of the anglers who fish the area for OTHER species, do so on day trips, or weekends . . . I doubt many use the bed & breakfast & other accomodations the foreign visitors do, for several weeks at a stretch. As for being an 'invasive species,' how many other fish, that are NOT native to the waters of our province, have been here, swimmin' around for at least a century? A natural die-off is one thing, and can happen. I have little doubt though in this case that some red-neck air-head, who thinks they are saving the world from these fearsome carp, has used their Grade 8 (if they made it that far) biology lessons to plant this disease out there. I'm really suprised the person(s) responsible haven't bragged about what they're doing on one of the fishing boards. Why else would this disease stop by mid to late August, then start fresh again, further west almost a year later? (Simcoe) Lets just hope it doesn't evolve into a scourge that will start killing bass, pickerel, trout and other species. When people start playing God with Mother Nature, it just may be a lot more difficult to stop than it was to start!