Photoz

I wuzz wunderin' the same t'ing, t'uther day so I put $25.00 gas in the van and took a cruise down & checked!

As I sat, getting awfully bored waiting for a big ol' chinnie to swim past and take a shot at my roe bag, I spotted this bird circling the m a r s h across from me. All of a sudden he drops and parks himself in a dead tree about 150' away. I silently cursed that I left the camera in the van, parked nearby . . . . but, the worst that could happen was he'd fly off if I got up. I nonchallantly got up, walked back to my van, got the camera and zoomed in the full 440mm, WOW! I got several shots, but he sat there a good 10 minutes, before flying off. He was circling the field, along the creek for a while before disappearing . . . . not many fish out there . . . . do ospreys go for mice & smaller birds too? Can anybody positively identify this fella?

P. S.

If I remember correctly, it was 2003 that the Ministry cut way y y y y back on their chinook restocking, might this be the reason for the scarcity of the salmon this year, or are they running outta food out in Lake O? Something's wrong when a 33 pound salmon takes the derby? Getting smaller winners every year?

They'll likely release him on his own recognisance, he'll appear in court several times, then the Crown will allow him to plead guilty to simple (non-violent) theft, and get an extra 90 days probation tacked on. Meanwhile, he's likely cost the taxpayers (you & me) several thousand in legal aid fees, tied up one or 2 cops for several days, tied up the courts, and for what? Reminds me of last spring at Bowmanville . . . . a guy down from me (it's still quite dark) got a nice trout on . . . . . 2 guys came outta nowhere with a net, and landed it for him . . . .. THEN SNIPPED HIS LINE & TOOK OFF WITH HIS FISH!! I often fish Port Hope in the wee hours, and you see guys 'cruisin' the riverbank, havin' a good look for unguarded equipment . . . . . likely just exactly what this jackass was doin,' luckily there was somebody to point him out to the cops, or he'd have likely brazened it out and fished with the stuff for the rest of the day. Just when you think you've seen ot all . . . . . . . ? (And you DARE give him some frontier justice . . . . . you are gonna be in more trouble than him, unless of course, you were making a legitimate 'citizen's arrest' and the sucker resisted, THEN you could use the amount of force you deemed necessary to subdue the suspect?)

Is there actually any water out there now, or is it all mud flats? With the low water everyplace else, I suspect it would be similar there?

Just for the record, if you read my post CAREFULLY, I called those who would take a loaf of bread out of their vehicle, and walk up to feed it to a WILD bear, along a highway, sometimes with kids in tow, FOOLS, which they are!! But, no matter how much you study bears, there are likely a few that do not stay within your study guidelines . . . if one of 'em suddenly sees you as food, as you likely already know, the distance between you and your 300mm lens can be covered before you can get your camera down. I've seen bears run . . . they can cover a short distance amazingly quickly, as you likely know! When the bear charged that guy in Algonquin, as I watched, I was sure he was dead meat . . . . . . why that bear stopped 4' - 5' in front of him, I'll never know! (Possibly what the guy did as the bear came at him smelled pretty bad!) I was on my way out of my 4X4 to get the axe outta the back, which thankfully wasn't needed. I'll do MY bear-watching at the zoo, thank you!

That's likely what the bears are thinkin' as they give these humans the once over!

GREAT pics . . . . . but I hope you realize these are HUNGRY, WILD animals, who could quite easily picture you as 100+ pounds of easy food? I used to marvel at the fools who'd stop their cars out on Hwy. #60, jump out, and attempt to hand feed a wild 200+ pound bear along the road (SOME WITH THEIR KIDS!) . . . . . although I never saw an actual attack, I DID see a guy get charged . . . the snarling bear stopped about 3' short of him, and took a slap at him, and BARELY missed. The guy was wise enough not to turn his back on the bear, and slowly backed off, and got back in his car (presumably to unload his shorts) and peeled out of there! This is quite different than having a heavy wire fence, or bars seperating you from them in a zoo . . . I'm just amazed there have been no bear attacks reported this year! You're photos are very good, nice to look at, and I'm VERY happy that it's you, the bear & the camera, not ME!!

Surely there was SOMEBODY around that would have been happy to take it off your hands? Better to see it on somebody's table than stinking up the shoreline?

Congrats man!! Uh h h h . . . . have ya picked out any fishin' gear to git 'im started? If ya decide to start 'im out on biggies . . . . I'd volunteer to help ya pick out some nice carp gear?

As usual, GRRRRRRREAT shots . . . . the ol' 'Heinz 57' that I grew up with was 14 years old before he learned NOT to bite porcupines, and to stay outta range of their tail!! I swear the quills we pulled outta him woulda filled a bushel basket! That's gotta be one of the best 'hummer' shots I've seen . . . very pretty l'il bird. I'm slowly figuring out how to set my new H2 . . . I find the book VERY poorly written & illustrated . . . still haven't figured out how to change the ISO, or most of the other stuff. But, it's a much better (sharper, cleaner & quicker) focus than the Monolta A2. Thanks again for the warning about the H9 . . . I'm very happy with what I got. I think Staples are down to their last few H2's at $330.00 + memory stick & taxes . . . helluva buy!

You live less than a half hour away from the best panfish spot in Central Ontario . . . Island Lake up at #9 & #10. There's enough small panfish, pike AND respectable bass in there to keep you busy. You'll likely have to rent a small paddle-boat . . . but this adds to the fun. Here's the link . . . . http://www.creditvalleycons.com/recandleisure/islandlake.htm I've sent quite a few families with small kids up there . . . never heard a complaint yet!

VER R R R Y nice . . . . if it snows enough to get THAT one stuck, NOBODY'S going anywhere!! Nice new fresh-smellin' car . . . . bet it's off-limits to cigarettes, eh? If it wasn't for my 10, 12 & 13' fishin' rods, I'd sure be looking one like that over! My bet with the 5 gear it's also decent on fuel . . . . enjoy!

HEY Y Y Y !!! 'THE SKY IS FALLING . . . . THE SKY IS FALLING' . . . . That's MY Line, eh? We ALREADY had this guy's fish story posted a while back . . . . 20+ years in the commercial fishing business . . . got a grass carp . . . . didn't know what it was?? SLOW news day?

WOW!! THAT is the best carping report I've seen yet . . . . ALMOST as good as actually being there. I was wondering where Dennis was fishing . . . . with Lakeview gone, and most other spots in the GTA & area hit & miss, I KNEW he'd have to get his 'fix' somewhere! I haven't been able to get out as much this year, other than a few REALLY good days up on the Otonabee & in Port Hope (18 & 10 fish respectively) I've had one here, a couple there, and a QUITE a few skunks! Some day I'd like to try the St. Lawrence . . . . . maybe NEXT YEAR? Amazing that the zebra mussels will cut THAT kinda line . . . . wouldn't be a good idea to wade in, barefoot to land a fish!!

. . . . . . and IF you don't find what you're looking for there, Lebarons has a well stocked store up on Woodbine Avenue, just south of #7 Highway. If you're coming in from the west, Fishing World in Hamilton has a HUGE selection of everything, they're at Barton & Centenial, or, last but not least, Gagnon's on Park Street in Oshawa. Although I buy most of my stuff at Lebarons, I generally take a run to Hamilton a couple times a year to 'browse, and since I'm driving right past Gagnons as I fish out east a lot, I get a lotta odds & ends there. All 3 are large, well stocked stores. Fishing Depot up on Ronson Drive (Martin grove & #401 by the airport) also likely has the best array of musky gear I've ever seen . . . good service too. So . . . . if Al can't quite 'fix you up,' SOME of these guys can! BUT . . . . Al's store is the ONLY one close to downtown, Lebarons & Fishing Depot are within 20 minutes of downtown, the other 2 . . a half hour east & an hour west!

Not wanting to ask exactly where you caught these fish, but . . Lake Ontario? A trib of Lake Ontario? I've caught a few common carp that were bass-like in shape (fat like a football) but NEVER to THAT extent? It WOULD be quite interesting to see what the Ministry identifies it as? I don't think you got 'em in Hamilton Harbour . . . . you wouldn't need a flash on your camera, eh?

I just LOVE a story with a happy ending!!

I generally see up to a half dozen rods & reels sacrificed to the carp or salmon Gods every year, mostly by people who just do not have any clue how powerful a big carp or salmon is. I've even told people that lay a rod at their feet, and step away from it to beware . . . . ("YA A A A . . . I CAN MOVE PRETTY FAST IF I GET A HIT . . . . ,") take their eyes off it, hear a SPLASH . . . bye bye rod!! I have a pod for my carp rods, and a 'baitrunner' style reel that you can set to 'free-spool,' plus an alarm . . . . but on rare occasions, forgot to set the bait-runner on 'free-spool,' and had to run like hell to catch it before it hit the water!! Usually after one 'donation,' the person smartens up!

Business Depot / Staples still have a few still-in-the-sealed-box Sony DSC H2 digital cameras laying around . . . asking price $329.00 & they will match Henry's price, less 10% on the 2 gig memory stick . . . $49.50. I know a few of you guys jumped all over these cameras when Future Shop had 'em for about $50.00 more last year. Great zoom ratio . . 12X = 35mm equivalent of a 36 to 432mm . . . . or just consider you can count nose hairs at about 100'! I just picked up one today . .. just a few pennies shy of $400.00, with taxes. Should have a few examples by next week to post.

Here's the camera info & review . . . . http://www.dpreview.com/news/0602/06022509sonydsch5.asp

You HAD to wait till I left . . . . I didn't even get to see your big moment! Even though I got kinda tired kinda quick, it STILL was a great day. I arrived just after 06:00, just in time to see Brit Steve fling his baitball halfway across the lake. Before I even got set up, his alarm started to scream . . . .

This one certainly had eaten his wheaties, as he peeled another 100' of line out in a hurry!! But, slow but sure, in he came!

Unhook him . . . . barbless comes out easy . . . .

Of course ya gotta show 'im off, eh?

And good-bye Mr. Carp, it's been nice meetin' ya . . . . .

Rodpoddy arrived just as Brit Steve was landing #3, and Beansie shortly after. I was just whacking some weeds to make room for another body when I heard an alarm screamin,' . . . oooooops . . . it was mine! Not used to this. I landed one, 13 - 14 pounds, then Rodpody got several, and the Brit was steadily haulin' 'em in. We finally told Beansie that he couldn't leave until that new riggin' was 'christened . . . . it STILL wasn't when I left shortly after noon . . . . I guess the carp musta just waited until I left? T'was a SUPER day . . . . good friends, fish stories . . . and the fish pretty well left Beansie & I alone so we could yak!! Hope to do it again next weekend!!

Pretty neat rod pod / alarm (??) ya got!! B. P. S. or Home Depot? But . . . . . . it obviously works very well. One of the few areas around I don't recognize . . . . . it just doesn't look like a good carp spot. Likely why there's still fish there . . . . nobody around to educate 'em on takin' free food and the penalty!

So o o o o . . . . . 'ow in 'ell do I get back in familiar surroundings?