Photoz

Geeze, when I saw your title "Back from BPS...., Man I hate that store" I was just gonna recommend 'Fishing World.

I find the freebees in the 'RRRRRRROLL UP THE RRRRRRRIM' contest to be equivalent to about the same amount of prizes as my PETROPOINTS card has gotten me . . . . in over 20 years I've got 1000 lousy Petro points ONCE . . . . . a carwash costs about 7000!!

I buy a couple 40 kilo bags up in Queensville for $8.00 a bag. I use the equivalent of about 15 cans just to chum with each trip!

When ya have up to 2000 or more, pieces of mail to sort, into 400+ slots, and maybe 10 different streets, several with identical numbers, and about 2 hours to do it, you can often get the occasional piece mis-sorted . . . . but, you SHOULD be checkin' them as you deliver them to each house. I'd LOVE to see these 'perfect' people who NEVER make even the simplist mistakes, sort 10,000+ pieces of mail perfectly, week after week? Even after 10 years on the same walk, maybe once or twice a week one will sneak past me. Most employers are quite happy if an employee scores a 99% accuracy rate . . . . if I've got 2000 pieces of mail to deliver that would mean it would be acceptible that I mis-deliver 20 pieces . . . . . . if I was THAT sloppy, I'd find some other line of work . . . . . . I figure MY accuracy rate is about 99.99% . . . . or better! I'm happy with my job, I deliver in a great neighbourhood, and outta about 400 residences I deliver to, there's only about 2 or 3 that give me headaches! I consider myself pretty lucky!

The 'LATE' deliveries are generally (not always) due to either high mail volume, bad walking conditions or a new carrier on the walk. Since I hurt my back 3 weeks ago, I KNOW there are days people aren't getting their mail till late afternoon . . . new carrier to the route, high mail volume and REALLY bad walkin' conditions! But . . . . if you know for a fact a carrier HASN't delivered on any given day . . . there's an '800' number in the book . . . . call it & make lotsa noise . . . . there is SUPPOSED to be mail delivery 5 days a week . . . NO EXCEPTIONS! I know when I used to be able to do overtime, when I finished MY walk, then drove to the section where my overtime was, it would often be after dark when I finished!

Every once in a while, a bad apple is rooted outta the barrel where I'm employed . . . . whether it's a letter carrier hiding 'junk mail,' or stealing l'il ol' ladies pension cheques, it makes many of the general public distrustful of ALL of us. Although I rarely even have anyone hint that a piece of mail they're expecting might have been 'misplaced' (lost) by me, there HAVE been times where tapes, CD's, DVD's, books & magazines have been VERY late (usually due to unreadable or wrong addresses) that I KNOW people wondered . . . but were too polite to accuse. THEN a story like this comes along . . . . I'd sure like to see a good, long, jail term for abusing people's trust like this. How about some (good AND bad) stories from members concerning YOUR experiences with Canada Post? (I love being pounded upon . . . I'm used to it . . . . I admit to fishing carp, eh?)

http://www.torontosun.com/News/Canada/2008...879233-sun.html

. . . . . . . SHEESH . . . . . . and I thought I was a bit over-zealous . . . . . . ??

Geeze . . . . . WHERE didja find an open spot? The spot I hit (just east of you) was froze all the way from the tracks to the mouth!! Shoulda had my ice fishin' gear with me!! DAMN!! Those look tasty!!

Better'n watchin' TV, first time I watched something like that . . . . who says fish are stupid . . . . . they certainly were VERY cautious around the bait with the hooks? I've watched them on the Vex as l'il 'blips,' sometimes they'd rise 3' or more with the jig, before dropping back . . . . musta watched 50 of 'em, over a whole morning one day, doing that . . . . but nary a nudge? Wonder why?

LOBSTER . . . . . . the cockroach of the ocean . . . . and are considered by many as the top of the delicasy ladder? Cooked properly, ling have a similar taste!

I've just turned 60, and have just over 20 years in at the Post Office. The pension plan looks pretty good, but, because of a dumb financial mistake on my behalf a few years ago, I couldn't retire at 65 unless I cut out a few luxuries . . . like . . . a roof over my head . . . . eating and clothing. My health hasn't been any picnic for a few years . . . and if I didn't have my drug plan, I'd likely be dead by now. My future doesn't look as rosy at it used to, but I'm a 'elluva lot better off than many . . . . . I just take a day at a time, I don't dwell on the past, or lose much sleep concerning the future. What's done is done, can't go back and do it over. I've even cut down on my fishing . . . . at $1.10 a litre, I do a lotta coasting . . . . and shortened my fishing domain considerably. One bright spot . . . I've been declared a winner (again) in my second fight with cancer as of a few weeks ago. The BEST advice I can offer you . . . . at the age you are now, MAKE VERY SURE YOU ARRANGE FOR REGULAR COLONOSCOPIES & P. S. A., tests . . . don't wait for symptoms, by then it's usually too late!

I've fished the carp barrier . . . . never saw a pike taken out of the cages, (pike can survive in fairly tepid water too) lotsa bass . . . . but I've seen some MASSIVE carp go back down the 'shute,' some I'd bet would have EASILY hit 50 pounds. Plus the occasional sheepshead too, but the carp come in there during the spawn . . . . never caught one there, even with the water being loaded with 'em. Although I'd eat Kawartha & Lake Simcoe carp, I kinda draw the line at Hamilton Harbour carp . . . . never thought of glow-in-the-dark fish as being very palatable. But . . . . speaking of eating bottom-feeding fish, I'll take a ling any day of the week over any other fish in Ontario!

Perhaps under certain conditions the C & R survival rate may be VERY high, but I still have a problem with people bringing a trout or whitefish up outta 60' to 100'+ of water, and releasing it! I have only caught a few dozen of them, combined, in the deep water, most had a blown air bladder. IF & WHEN I get my 2 whitefish or trout, I usually leave, or move to perch grounds. Couple years ago I drove and walked 3 hours to a spot on Lake Jo, 20 minutes later, I had TWO 2 pound lakers . . . . with blown bladders . . . . although the idea of pushin' 'em back down the hole with my spud certainly occurred to me, I packed it up and came back to Simcoe and nailed a few perch! WATTA PAIN!

Actually, they ARE tasty (similar to bass) and MANY people DO eat them. Hit some of the big fish markets downtown, and see what a live carp will set ya back. Although I'm not sure, I believe these are commercially caught?

Carp also take flies & other insects from the surface, and pick off snails & other molusks from the weed beds, well above bottom. Also they eat zebra mussels. Yes . . . . they DO root around in the mud, but usually the reason when the carp move into an area, it gets so you see less & less of other fish, is because the water quality has gotten so bad, other fish just can't survice. A few example of carp co-existing with other fish . . . . Bowmanville Creek . . . . pike still come into the adjacent marshland, along with bass . . . rainbows and browns abound in the spring & fall . . . and once the salmon start comin' into Oshawa Creek, Bowmanville Creek & the Ganaraska . . . . (in late summer) the CARP disappear! It will be interesting just how OTHER fish species repopulate Cootes with the carp gone? The water quality is so bad, it just might be that carp, catfish and other 'garbage fish' are the only ones that can survive cesspools like that. I fished carp in a marshy area just east of Liverpool Road in Pickering where the water was the colour of old antifreeze, and the entire area had an oil-like slick on the surpace, these fish were just as fiesty as the ones in Lake Simcoe & the Kawartha Lakes, and looked just as healthy. I highly doubt ANY other fish could survive in there! True . . . . there MAY be SOME area where carp do dig the plants out, and do damage . . . but, considering the THOUSANDS of square miles of waterways in this province where they attract torrists in droves, with their money, and do no harm, I'd say the areas where they might be detrimental, is miniscule, by comparison. Then . . . . . who's to say if the water quality in many of these areas would support ANY other species except carp, if the carp were gone? I too used to detest carp and stuck my nose in the air when the subject of carp fishing arose . . . "KILL 'EM ALL, POISON 'EM, SHOOT 'EM, DYNAMITE 'EM, STOMP 'EM, AND LEAVE 'EM TO ROT, were some of the ideas I had . . . . then I opened my mind . . . . .

There's STILL a lot of 'ol' wive's tales' that abound out there concerning carp . . . . as for putting ANY fish in your garden / flower bed . . . . once it started to ripen, you'd have every stray cat, skunk, raccoon and in some areas, bear, for miles, diggin' up the garden for these tasty morsels. There are likely more people who prize carp for the table, than most other species combined. In the Kawarthas there are more carp-fishing enthusiasts who come here from the British Isles & all over Europe with a pocket fulla money to spend than all the bass, muskie & pickerel anglers combined! Next time you go to a store with a well stocked magazine rack, look for British carp-fishin' mags . . . . check out the ads for Canadian carp fishin' excursions . . . . and what they cost. Then compare to the ads for other species over here . . . almost non-existant by comparison! Put a medium-sized carp beside a whitefish the same size . . . same larger-type scales, same pattern, sucker mouth under the head, even the same basic shape (football?) nearly identical? As for those who kill them because they're ugly . . . . when was the last time you looked in the mirror? A few years ago I took a couple mediun-sized carp to an Eastern European gentleman on my mail route, he was kind enough to save a filet of barbecued carp for me . . . . although I'll admit to being a bit squeamish . . . . I tried it . . . .. meat was firm, good texture . . . . . tasted much like bass! But . . . . if you choose to kill carp, just because you believe them to be 'evil,' don't fish in carp spots, with bait carp are known to go for? As for them being 'invasive,' they've been in North America just as long as a lot of other prized 'game-fish that are also non-native?' Carp were brought here to be 'farmed' in the mid-1800's, and were highly prized! And for those of us who do not have the luxury of a boat, or cannot travel long distances, these guys are EVERYWHERE, you can get to a lot of spots on public transit . . . . . given the choice, wouldja rather have a half-pound perch or a 30+ pound carp on your line? By comparison, deer are highly prized too . . . . until their population gets outta hand . . . . then they too become pests, and cause a lotta damage to the ecosystem when the population gets too high?

This is SO O O O O simple, I'm astounded no one else has mentioned it . . . . if you're going shopping for a book, calendar fishing line or something else that has one price for American $ and another for Canadian $, what would be wrong with stopping at the bank and picking up $50.00 U. S. When you take your item ($10.00 U. S., or $16.00 Cdn.) to the cash register, GIVE 'EM their $10.00 U. S., in U. S. dollars . . . . . why wouldn't this work?

Hm m m m m m?? I WONDER what significance opening a can of wor . . . . . . . ah h h h h . . . . . I THINK I got it?

Just after Christmas when I pulled into a mall out in Scarberia in the early morning, with a 24 hour Dominion, I noticed a guy approaching cars . . . . so I was pretty sure what was up. He walked over to me, explaining he'd just got a new job, was almost late, and didn't have any bus fare . . . . could I help him out? So o o o . . . . I asked him the name & address of the company he was starting with . . . . . he wasn't sure, but thought it was at Morningside & Sheppard . . . . it was a temp agency that sent him out. Couldn't remember the company name either, but would recognize it when he saw it? At this point I suggested he get a better story . . . . perhaps invest the first $10.00 he scores on a 5 litre gas can, and ask for 'gas money' . . . . . he could claim he ran outta gas & his wife & kids were waiting in the cold car . . . . . I was just being sarcastic. But . . . . . this morning, just after 06:30 I pulled into the Tim Hortons in the same mall . . . . a guy approaches me . . . . HE'S CARRYING A 5 LITRE GAS CAN . . . . "Sir . . . . can you help me out with some spare change . . . . I ran outta gas just down the street . . . . my wife and kids are in the freezing cold car . . . . . ??" I couldn't help but laugh . . . . I then suggested he should SPLIT his earnings with me . . . . . as I gave him this particular idea! (There's a regular at Victoria Park & Finch with this story already!) He just laughed, said: "What can I say," and headed for the next car! THAT'S WHY I NEVER GIVE TO PANHANDLERS, NO MATTER HOW SAD THE STORY! The clown wasn't even embarrassed he'd got caught!

It's no picnic facing death from cancer . . . . about a month ago my third bout with it was declared a success . . . . I hope he doesn't give up till his last breath has been drawn . . . . there are THOUSANDS of us out here who have been in a very bad way too . . . . and beat it . . . . although his cancer (pancreatic & liver) ALMOST a sure death sentence . . . . miracles DO happen . . . . that man certainly deserves one!

I always kinda liked . . . "IF AT FIRST YA DON'T SUCCEED . . . FIND SOMETHING EASIER TO DO!"

Not many waterfowl will swallow a 2 or 3 ounce lead sinker, or would even find it slightly paletable? Still plenty of bell & egg lead sinkers in the tackle shops? I KNOW ya can't hunt with lead pellets, and there was a real push to ban it in sinkers a few years back . . . . but that seemed to die . . . anybody know for sure what happened the lead sinker controversy?

Although most people kinda know what to expect around areas where a lot of anglers congregate in the wee hours, like an hour BEFORE daylight . . boat ramps, access points to the ice etc., and if they're offended, they can just avoid it! BUT, there are certain groups who CANNOT avoid it . . . . . that DO have some clout if the foul language (and OTHER boorish behavior) prevails every Saturday & Sunday morning at the end of their driveways . . . . . they're called RESIDENTS . . . . . when this finally gets to a point where a whole neighbourhood is woken up to this, every weekend, they band together & have bylaws passed . . . 'NO PARKING,' 'NO STOPPING,' 'NO FISHING,' etc., that generally takes care of the problem. I know it's not ONLY the loud & obnoxious language (guys just wanna have fun, eh?) it also the litter & yellow snowbanks at the end of their driveways too . . . . Lake Simcoe, Cook Bay & Couchiching are areas where less & less parking or access is being allowed every year . . ... people being loud, rude & vulgar, and upsetting those who live there have a lot of bearing on this. If I pinch MY cold fingers or poke myself with a hook, when trying to get things organized in the dark, I've been known to express myself quite loudly, (and not too politely) so I'm not claiming to be any saint either!