Photoz

Jen . . . . . you're in the wrong business . . . . your calling is WRITING!! Not only can you hunt & fish with the best of them, (not to mention, OUTFISH & OUTHUNT 'EM TOO) but you can put those adventures into words, and TOTALLY captivate your audience, sitting on the edge of their chairs, but in their minds & imaginations, they're right there with you. Although I gave up hunting years ago because I don't have the heart to shoot a cute l'il duckie, or a deer any more . . . . but I sure am gonna be right at the front of the line at the table, dinner plate in hand, when that cute l'il duckie or deer is being served up! I've actually given some thought to getting a crossbow, but, I'm just not a hunter any more . . . . I'd be wasting my money! When you publish your first book, I'll be right there at the front of the line at Chapters to get a copy . . . just let me know when it hits the stores!

Using a float & a small roe bag about a foot off bottom is your best bet over by the launch ramps. I'd also suggest picking up a few 'Woolie Buggers,' the various combinations of black / green & gold seem to look like SOMETHING the browns recognize as a tasty morsel. Just make sure your rod is well anchored and don't take your eyes off it for long . . . . I've seen some VERY big browns come outta there!! Plus, there's the occasional errant salmon still comes in there around this time!

After going 0 fer 15 (trips) I was thinking of either retiring my rods, or taking a trip up to Costco's fish counter! At about $20.00 for 3 - 2 pound rainbows, a lot cheaper than $200.00 in gas today's trout cost me!! I hit a quiet spot on Lake O., out east, as I wanted to see how good my new 4 pound P-Line would hold up . . . . IF the fish Gods saw fit to lift the curse which I think P E T A musta laid on me!! I was just about to change my roe bag when I thought I saw my rod tip quiver slightly . . . as I walked up to my rod holder, I saw . . . tap . . . tap . . . tap, AHA, somebody is knocking . . . likely a gobie, which I was almost ready to accept. I carefully lifted the rod outta the holder . . . . WHAM!! WOW, almost took the rod right outta by hand, and at the same time a 'silver bullet' EXPLODED out of the water about 200' out, a back flip, and another, then a DOUBLE flip for an encore, got his bearings . . . . and headed for the American side!! I sure was happy to have 300 yards to play with, as he took about 100 before I got 'im stopped! Then, inches at a time I carefully started him in . . . I'd lever him in 10', he'd go back 5', over 20 minutes later I FINALLY had him up on the shore, luckily back a bit from the water, as he dragged my leader over some rocks, and was ALMOST free! I had to sit and rest (and wait to stop shakin') for about 15 minutes . . . that was hard work! I'm setting my sights on some Simcoe perch tomorrow! Is our 'Bragging Rights' tournie still on? Or has everybody lost interest? Does Team 5 have any BIG perch yet?

If these dogs were so precious to these people, WHY WEREN'T THEY ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR THEM? They very well may be loving family pets, and they may have not been going to harm any livestock . . . . but if they did chase down a sheep, or calf, who's to say what they might do when instinct takes over? These animals are very valuable . . . . if 2 big dogs went wild in a flock of sheep, it could nearly bankrupt a guy trying to make a living off his land! Too bad we couldn't hear THE REST OF THE STORY . . .. the farmer's side, there are few farmers that would just use a couple of loveable family pets for target practice, if they were doing nothing!! I love dogs myself, but if those pets had got away on me, I'd have called everybody there was to call, and drove the area till I found them! CTV will have more about this on the 6:00 news tonight, they said last night they'd be investigating this incident, and report further today. I'm surprised the Toronto Sun hasn't blown this all outta proportion yet?

FURTHER TO:

The shooting of these 2 dogs has been reported to police, who will be checking it out, they're more interested in the firearms angle. Stay tuned . . . . . .

G'marnin' all . . . . holidays this week, looks like a perfect day to chase some pike downtown!

. . . . or, the simplest way, buy your line in bulk, Fishing Depot, Fishing World, Tightlines & Gagnons are a few who have a good array of bulk line, choose what you want, and they put the RIGHT amount on your reel, the RIGHT way! If it's not too busy, you buy a normal spool of line, Gagnon's & Fishing World will put it on your reel for you. It might cost a few pennies more, but takes care of the aggravation you're getting!

What time does Lou open shop during the week now? Weekends? Has he got emerald shiners yet?

After I read your post I decided to go for a drive and try out my new(est) camera at the Old Mill dam. There was about a half dozen fishing the sanctuary, casting right to the base of the dam, but after spending an hour or more from a good vantage point, I never saw ONE fish caught, or even missed. Nice to have a 36mm - 432mm lense . . . . ya can count nose hairs from a good safe distance! Although I got good clear looks through my lens at about 5 of 'em (all young & W.A.S.P.y looking), I didn't get any opportunity for a good action shot. Woulda been REAL nice to get more of what you witnessed, some clown actually spearing the fish . . . . date & time stamped on the shots to boot!! The bonus here . . . . IF a charge is laid (the Crown has last say on whether to proceed) all I need is a subpoena in hand, I get full pay, for however long the case might take. This is the way to go though if you're serious . . . a good long lens, very recognizable photo of the offense taking place & your camera card . . . . so there can be no claim of 'Photoshopping' the pic. Good hunting bro . . . keep us informed on what happens!

Although I applaud your effort, what you have is photos of a garbage bag & an impliment a thoughtful citizen could be using to pick up garbage along the park trails. A Ministry rep wouldn't even present this as evidence to the Crown to lay a charge, as you could never get a conviction on what you have. If by some miracle, a C. O. was interested, as was a Crown Attorney, NOW it would be your word against the 2 culprits who's only interest was to clean garbage from the park. (Have you any proof there was illegally caught fish in those bags?) Recognizable shots of the guy actually USING the fork to spear the fish, and taking the impaled fish off it would have had a slight chance, but law enforcement people are very leary of doing all this paperwork, only to find their witness is not prepared to donate a few day's work to sitting in a courtroom And last, but not least, can you AFFORD a day or more off work, to attend court as a witness? You get about $10.00 witness fees, outta that comes your parking, gas & lunch? Been there . . . . done that! Like I say, you are applauded for dutifully being a good citizen, taking the time to do something, too bad it's been wasted!

Hm m m m m ?? Shrimp?? I'd heard of them bein' used for lakers & whities before, but from shore . . . . I'm assuming they were perchin'? (Whities & trout are closed there, aren't they?) If these are the same shrimp we buy to eat . . . . wouldn't they be a bit expensive? One perch per shrimp . . . . as opposed to unlimited perch on a Finese shiner?

Just curious . . . . . . after ripping it's gills with that typa hold . . . . . was the fish released?

Pretty fresh down here too . . . . gonna have to drag my fur lined jock from storage for deliverin' the mail today!

I wonder what will replace the DVD player? It will likely be around just long enough for everybody to have invested in a good collection of DVD movies before they discontinue it! I finally decided to go cheap . . . . since the DVD player can be hooked up WITH my VCR still intact (I didn't know this) all I gotta do now is get an el cheapo DVD player, and I'm away!! Thanks to this board and those who took time to share information, I saved a quite a few bucks!!

Does ANYBODY on this board actually own a DVD recorder / player? If so, how long? Any problems? Although I'm not ruling it (or anything else) out yet, I know they only hit our shores about 2+ years ago. But I found a lotta good suggestions . . . .. gonna start checkin' this week . . . . . might even be worth goin' to Barfalo? Then I'll likely have to borrow my neighbour's 6 year old kid to set it up for me?

You know, I wondered about the el cheapos . . . . I'm not looking for anything that'll pop my eyes with it's quality . . . . just something I can watch the occasional rented movie on, and catch my T V programs on. This is why I waded right in, loaded for bear, so to speak, thinkin' 'MORE MONEY IS BETTER QUALITY', now, I'm thinkin' more the way you do. I wonder if a DVD PLAYER could be hooked into my TV, along with the ol' VCR? After all, the DVD PLAYER (if I got it) would be used about 10% movie viewing / 90% TV viewing?

FAN N N N N T A S T I C!! I don't know how THAT thread slipped past me! T'anks again!

Okay . . . . I was just embarrassed almost outta my local Rogers Store last week . . . . I haven't had enough time in a few years to rent a movie, or keep up much as technology was rushing past, so I walked through the store lookin' for a movie to check out. Hm m m m m. . . . . where in 'ell do they keep the VCR movies? Finally I asked the kid at the counter, whom I think may have been about to ask me if I was just on my way home from dinosaur hunting . . . . but he kinda grinned and asked just how long since I'd rented a movie? I kinda got the message . . . . it's now DVD, OR NUTHIN'! I guess I'll just have to put my VCR in the closet, right beside my 8 - track . . . ya never know . . . . they MIGHT make a come-back?

So o o o guys & gals . . . . I've been asking around, and checkin' the 'net, but have very little clue what I'm lookin' for. I'm not too worried about price (to a point) and I like quality equipment. What I need is someting that will play DVD's, and record from my TV, any other features are a bonus. I have a 36" Sony XBR, (2001 vintage) HD ready (box came with it) that SHOULD be compatible with most DVD players / recorders out there. I actually have heard quite a bit about the 'Blue Ray' by Sony mentioned lately . . .. and SUPPOSEDLY these machines are far superior to most other stuff out there? Do they play & record ALL DVD's or are they strictly built for Sony stuff? Or do ALL DVD's play in ALL DVD players? I was quoted $599.00, with whatever wires and stuff it takes to hook it up . . . . I suggested $599.99 including tax MIGHT get me interested . . . and didn't get turned down flat.

But . . . . there's gotta be a few people on this board who are savvy to these things? Can anybody give me a few tips, and suggestions on one of them thar new-fangled gizmos? And after about 10 years, I've finally figured how to use most of the features on my VCR . . . . is learning to use a DVD any worse? DAMN . . . . . I HATE PROGRESS!! Thanks for you time.

That new gear sure has been seein' some action! I've only been out a few hours at a time over the majority of the summer . . . . most of the time I felt like road kill . . . . if I put in a full day fishin' & drivin' to & from, it took several days to recover. But . . . . there's a light at the end of the ol' tunnel . . . . seems I may have 'ducked the bullet' again! I just re-charged my Vexilar, last charge was in late March . .. only a third down. Ya think we'll have ice at 'Jacks' place by January for crappies?

STB?? How are you guys finding your fave perchin' spot? Badly weeded up? I took a run up to Barrie last week . . . . the whole Tiffen boat launch area is blocked off . . . . . constructing SOMETHING? Up toward the fountain, and up just north of the marina it's so badly weeded up, you'd need about 5 ounces of lead to get your bait down through 'em! Didn't even try. I still have very little night vision . . . . that 3 months of treatments really screwed my vision, but, it's STARTIN' to come back. Hopefully I'll be in decent shape for when the trout show up. I'll be watchin' for your results posted later today . . . . I guess that ditch you use for a boat launch will be dried right up by now?

Looks a lot like that everywhere . . . an eastern trib I fish is almost identical, you can walk right across it now with hip waders . . . . used to need chest waders! That, plus the water clarity . . . . the salmon only venture up it at night, you can see bottom everywhere where I USED TO fish!

Well, I sure wouldn't be sitting my pod, buzzers & rod along a riverbank where everybody's runnin' around . . . . good way to get it stomped! Fishin' with a bunch of seasoned carpers who know enough to watch where they're walking is fine, but the salmon guys don't expect a set up like this to detour around! But . . . . I'm presently using a 12' / 3 pound T/C Technium with a 6000 Stradic & 50 pound Power Pro, with an 18 pound Seaguar leader. I do this because I can wrassle a big salmon in in about 5 minutes, doesn't tie up the whole shoreline for a half hour, and the fish is in better shape to be released. I've NEVER had one break off this set-up, but I do straighten the occasional hook! However, if I'm fishing and have the area pretty much to myself, I go to a 10.5' St' Croix. 8 - 14 pound, 4000 Sustain & 8 pound line & leader, more fun, but a lot more work!! The Baitrunner set-up doesn't give you a hard enough hookset most of the time, to solidly embed the hook in a salmon's hard bony mouth, the first jump or 2 will dislodge the hook and it's gone! Plus, the salmon is about 3X faster than a carp, could almost have you spooled by the time you get your rod off the pod, and kick the spool into gear!

I just picked up this Sony DSCH2 at Staples with a 2 gig memory stick for just over $400.00, taxes in. Here's a good link to check it out, http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Sony/sony_dsch2.asp or ANY other cameras you might be curious about. This was recommended to me by the God of Picture Taking . . . . DanC. It has a fairly acceptable wide angle to EXCELLENT zoom . . . 36mm - 432mm, you can count nose hairs at 300'! Here's an example I got Sunday . . . I estimate this bird was about 200' away, up high.

Just curious . . . . I first started shore fishing salmon & paying attention to derby results about 7 years ago. I KNOW the runs were much heavier then, in ALL the Lake O. tribs, and your fish had to be high 30's to even get a weekly prize. If I remember correctly, last year a 37+ pounder took all the cookies, this year a 33?? Next year an under 30? Also, the 3 main tribs I fish are almost devoid of fish, only one easten trib producing anything at all? I've heard along the shore that several of these tribs were barely stocked at all in 03, 04, & 05, so if there were no fish stocked and the barely reproduce naturally, this would likely be why there are barely any returning? As for the smaller sizes in the lake . .. . shortage of forage? Cormorants getting a lot of the baitfish the salmon eat? Anybody got any answers or opinions? I'm sure a large percentage of the members of this board know a lot more about salmon's comings & goings than I do?