Photoz

When conjuring up 'FACTS' you could at least get your information correct . . . . get someone to read this too ya! Yeah . . . . I'd say I got you pretty well pegged! HISTORY OF CARP IN THE UNITED STATES Prior to 1900, most native fish were viewed as vital food resources. Fish designated as sport fish today were harvested commercially and shipped by rail to the cities. The results were gravely declining stocks of river and lake fish at a time the U.S. population was greatly expanding. In 1871, Ulysses S. Grant and Congress ordered the formation of the U.S. Fish Commission to oversee the nation's fisheries interests. By 1877 the studies of European fish farming techniques indicated the carp would contribute to the strength of the nation. By 1874, the commission after long study issued a report entitled, "Fishes Especially worthy of Cultivation." It went on to say that no other species except the carp promises so great a return in limited waters. Cited were advantages over such fish as black bass, trout, grayling and others "because it is a vegetable feeder, and although not disdaining animal matters can live on vegetation alone and can attain large weight kept in small ponds and tanks." In 1876, the commission enumerated other good qualities such as high fecundity (a count of ripe eggs in the female fish), adaptability to artificial propagation, hardiness of growth, adaptability to environmental conditions unfavorable to equally palatable species, rapid growth, harmlessness in relation to fish of other species, ability to populate waters to it's greatest extent and fine table qualities. By 1877, citing the above reasons and adding, 'there is no reason why time should be lost with less proved fishes," the commission, convinced of the value of carp, imported 345 fishes of scaled, mirror and leather carp from German aqua culturists. On May 26th, they were placed in the Druid Hill Park ponds in Baltimore, Maryland. The ponds proved inadequate and some were transferred to the Babcock lakes on the monument lot in Washington, D.C. the following year. So did they somehow escape from these confines to populate nearly everywhere? No. Now state governments get involved. Records indicate about 6,203 fingerlings were produced in the Babcock lakes in 1879. These were shipped to 273 applicants in 24 states. About 6,000 fingerlings were produced in the Druid Hill ponds that year and were stocked primarily in Maryland. One year later, 31,332 carp were shipped to 1,374 applicants. In 1882, carp production increased to 143,696 fish and distributed in small lots to 7,000 applicants. In 1883, about 260,000 carp were sent to 9,872 applicants in 298 of 301 congressional districts and to 1,478 counties. During the years 1879 to 1896, the U.S. Fish Commission distributed 2.4 million carp, some of which were sent to Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Mexico. By 1897, the Commission discontinued the stocking because carp had been distributed nearly everywhere and many states assumed the task of propagation and stocking of carp.

. . . . . . . and when ya go for a l'il c h i t-chat, have a small voice activated tape recorder in a pocket. Test it BEFORE you use it, be certain it clearly picks up voices. I have an excellent l'il Sony . . 'bout $55.00. (It IS legal to record YOUR voice, unfortunate for them if their voice gets on the tape too!) Then, based on what you have on tape, put it all in writing, as taped . . . and DO NOT disclose you have them on tape, until it becomes necessary . . . like catching them in an outright contradiction! Just remember . . . a conversation is not worth the breath it takes to discuss the matter . . . the second you're out the door, there is no proof ('he said . . . she said') of anything. All oral discussions should be taped, all communications . . . LEAVE A PAPER TRAIL!! Good luck!

If perhaps you opened your eyes a bit, and listened a bit, you'd likely hear about THOUSANDS of Europeans, ESPECIALLY Brits, who pay thousands of dollars to come here and enjoy some of the best carp fishing in the world!! And if you're trying to book a carp fishing vacation from over there, you MIGHT be lucky enough if you act fast, to get a spot in 2008! There are with certainty, far greater numbers of carp anglers than trout, musky, salmon, pike or pickerel ALL put together that come to the Kawarthas and the St. Lawrence from overseas . . . . if the carp were all killed off in this province, ESPECIALLY the Kawarthas and points east & south, it would cause an economic disaster for the tourist industry. Hell, I'd bet there are likely more people that target carp, using this board, than target muskies? But I'm sure an expert like yourself targets 'em all, that is, the ones the carp haven't scared away. If you can read, get yourself a few Brit magazines, check the carp fishing ads . . . you know, the ones that DON'T bring anglers to Ontario . . . . then grab a few LOCAL fishing mags . . . . see what they have for ads, I think you might find carp fishing holidays outnumber ALL others by at least 5 to 1!! Then MAYBE you'll cut down your aimless, meaningless babbling when you see how stupid you've made yourself look!

I'd say he makes as much sense as most of the numerous politically motivated rants (ESPECIALLY AL GORE'S) I've heard & read? But after hearing his 'SEVEN WORDS' rant back in the '70's it's kinda hard to take him REAL seriously! I haven't seen or heard anything of him in years . . . wonder what he's up to these days?

A tad more firepower than the ol' single-shot .22 Cooey I used to have . . . . . ?? I'm rather surprised that the .50 calibre cannon was allowed to be brought in, even for a competition. I saw a segment of '60 Minutes' a while back, on these guns . . . . not exactly an ideal hunting rifle . . . . unless you're after elephants or rhinos!! (Or PEOPLE?) I don't think I'd like to be trying an off-hand shot with it . . . . . I suspect I'd be sitting on my butt, about 6' from where I started. Just for curiousity . . . . what would the muzzle velocity of a huge bullet (about 500 grain??) like that be?

Don't worry . . . he found ME Saturday . . . . I'm wonderin' who I can pawn him off on? MikeH? Naw w w w w . . . . . . he has his own private one!

Yesterday was bad enough . . . +8 & a 30 klick north wind . . . although the hits were pretty scarce, I got 7 . . . ALL in the 12 - 15 pound range. Had the whole river to myself . . . just me & the ducks! This brood can't be more than a few days old . . . and are under the watchful eye of Momma Duck EVERY second. It must be her second brood . . . many of the first batches of ducklings are completely feathered out & flying now . . . . Even at this tender age, they still come running when I set my groundbait bucket down!! Here's 7 l'il stuffed ducks, taking a nap (just polished off about a pound of groundbait) with guard! I'm thinking I might take my ice auger up this morning . . . . T W N says only +5 presently . . . . but, it might be a while before I get another shot at 'em, so I'd better make the best of it!

I'd have to say that I've seen the biggest carp (in my estimation) over at the carp barrier at the entrance to Cootes . . . . there is little doubt in my mind I've seen 50+ pounders being dumped back in the lake side. As for length . . . . now that I've started taking notice of lengths . . . a 36" carp could weigh anywhere from 30+ pounds to as much as well over 40+ pounds . . . once they reach a certain length, they start to put it on in the middle . . . . much like many of the guys who fish 'em! I recall seeing a photo of a 55 pounder, about 20 years ago, caught by a 15 year-old on Toronto Island . . . . . my bet was that fish wasn't much over 40" . . . but likely almost the same girth as length! Now . . . . I'm off to continue my search for the mighty 40+ pounder . . . . yaw w w w n . . . .

Actually I WAS trying for #20 . . . . in the last half hour I had #19 on, the hook pulled out . . . . again had #19 on . . . leader broke . . . . again had #19 almost to shore, knot came loose . . . . I gave it up, and settled for 18! Some things just aren't meant to be!

How does that ol' saying go . . . . 'The family that fishes together, stays together . . . . . ??' Hm m m m . . . somethin' like that anyway . . . wotin'ell is that with the whole mouth fulla teeth pointing at the camera? As ALWAYS, a well put together report . . . I like the 'family' stuff . . . . beats fishin' with a bunch of ol' geezers . . . . . wait a minute . . . . I think I qualify for the 'geezer' list now?

A bunch of well-intentioned troops are NOT going to change the way another culture has lived for centuries, in months, or a few years, get 'em th' 'ell out while they're still alive! They are doing us proud, but they are literally being used for target practice, they have to follow civilized rules to respond . . . . the terrorists have NO rules!

The alarm went at 02:30 . . . I got up, checked the Weather Network . . . . cold front passed through . . . temp dropped at least 10 degrees . . . wind outta the north . . . usually gives most fish, ESPECIALLY carp, lockjaw! Shut off alarm, go back to bed . . . wake up about 03:30 thinking . . "Hm m m m . . . . maybe the carp don't check the Weather Network . . . " and up I get! Arrived at the Otonabee about 05:30 . . . br r r r r r . . . feels like it's gonna snow! First, serve (carp) breakfast . . . . I spend 20 minutes shooting 4 liters of corn along a 75' stretch of river . . . . THIS should get their attention! Then I set up my pod, bait up and . . . toss the bait in, and go about getting the rest of my junk unloaded. I take about 6 steps toward the van . . . BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!! I make a race for the rod, fish gone? Snug up line . . another hit . . missed 'im again? I now hover over my rod . . . another hit . . . I hit back, hard enough to rip his lips off!! I got my first fish landed at 06:00, and by 3:30 p. m., I had #18 landed, I also pulled the hook outta about 6, broke 3 leaders. The smallest was around 10 pounds . . . best (in photo) was just over 24. This one had an interesting story . . . . . yesterday I fought one for about 10 minutes or more, he finally took me over some rocks, 15 pound mono won't take that, he was gone!! I had 'im figured for at least 30+ . . . . even the heavy gear I was using didn't do much in controlling it! But . . . . when I was taking the hook outta my biggest one today, I spotted some more line . . . going into his mouth. Upon closer inspection . . . another hook! And when I removed it, it was a #8 Gamagatsu, with a home-made stopper still on the hair rig . . . . I'm the only one using a stopper of this kind (piece of wire garbage bag tie) guaranteed! First time I've ever got the same fish that broke me off a day earlier! Here is my prize carp of the day . . . . . . . PLEASE disregard the VERY white feet . . . they are a bit reddish now . . . OUCH! And a nice 18 pounder . . . . . I'm attempting to find something that you can relate to that will show size by comparison . . . that's a 16" wheel . . . And can ya stand one more? this guy is also just under 18 pounds . . . . . kinda fills a big salmon net? That beats my best from last year, 17 in one day!! I'd never been one to ever measure a fish lengthwise, but now that I've started measuring carp, I been finding out just how heavy they are in relation to length! Most of my fish today averaged about 16 - 17 pounds . . . most of these were 25" to 28", with the 24 pounder only 31!! If I get the 38 incher I'm looking for, he'll be well over 40! Believe it or not . . . my arms & shoulders ache just like I'd worked all day!!

Over the past month I've caught a lot of carp, ALL good scrappers, but ALL in the 15 - 20 pound range, and almost all UNDER 30 inches! Today I hit the Otonabee, VERY quiet at 06:00 . . . never had a line bump till after 08:30. A Brit just upriver from me was haulin' 'em in . . . I landed my first after 11:00. THEN they started, I had a break-off, a knot come untied & 3 hooks pull out, but did land 6 in total . . . the last being the best! I KNEW this was a good fish, length-wise, but not much girth. It ended up being 35", so . . . . if the 34 incher was still tops for Team #5, I guess I've now managed a contribution! I sure wish I could handle a camera & fight fish like some of our members . . . . geeze, it took a good 5 minutes to FINALLY get this one to hold still for a shot!! I'm just wonderin' when mallards are in season . . . take your eye off your corn, or groundbait bucket and they're helpin' themselves! One duckling last year used to climb right in the corn bucket . . . it was so fat at the end of summer it had trouble flying . . . . m m m m m m m . . . . corn fed mallard around Thanksgivin'!!

ALL the corn goes on the loop, the nearest kernel to the hook should be 1/4 to 1/2" BELOW the hook, . . . . that's what the loop is for . . . . .

Great to hear you're into 'em! I did okay over at the Ganny today . . . 9 for 12, biggest . . . . just over 22 pounds! They laid off the maize, so I tossed a pineapple boilie out . . . . . less than 3 minutes . . . . WHAM!! FISH ON! I'm almost outta boilies, stopped at Gagnons, Tightlines & Angling Specialties on my way home . . . managed a bag of peach boilies at A. S. I'm just waiting on a spot to open up for my hyperbaric treatment, I'm next on the priority list . . . gonna pretty well screw my summer! I doubt I'll make it up to your wee spot this year . . . . maybe next? Good luck lads! P. S. I'll bet at this stage of the diet, even those carp are looking delicious to C P H!!

The place is LOADED with carp, but . . . . CPH & I both tried several times (sneaked through the back door of Darlington) and had ONE carp to show for about 25 to 35 pounds of chummed corn over several weeks!! Lotsa them jumping & rolling, but couldn't get 'em to eat . . . lotsa l'il panfish along the shore line . . . . looks like prime territory for pike too.

Those look a lot like Timbits?? Did YOU try a 'taste-test?'

May to August . . . CARP . . . August to October . . . salmon . . . October to December rainbows . . perch . . . January to March . . . . perch, crappie, whities & lakers, March . . rainbows & perch till the carp wake up again . . . but . . . . . this is REALLY surprising . . . . with ALL the carp threads, NOBODY targets carp??

Yeah h h h . . . . the Island carp weren't the only ones bein' unreasonable yesterday! Port Hope (NOT a 'secret' carp spot) had lotsa carp in the shallows, just sunning themselves! I didn't get there till nearly 09:00, set up just south of the footbridge, and had one in about 10 minutes . . . average Ganny size . . . . 16 . . . maybe 17 pounds, and a second one about 10 minutes later managed to throw my barbless hook with a serious barrage of head shakes!! THEN things got interesting . . . light taps . . . BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP . . . 2' of line screams out . . . NOODNIK!! Went to a second rod . . . P-line . . . no feeder . . . same thing. Went to a THIRD rod, barb, #4 hook . . . held rod . . . tap . . . tap . . . tap? Set rod in pod, opened drag (Stradic 6000, not Bait-Runner) threw pineapple boilie on hair rig . . . several 'hit & runs,' couldn't get a decent hook-set on 'em. Water started to clear, and I now could see little pods of these monsters just slowly cruise past! I walked up past the footbridge . . . the shallows were right full of these guys, just enjoyin' the sunshine . . . I lost count at 40!! I sneaked over behind some willows, cast a boilie with a small sinker in among 'em . . . . they scattered, then regrouped, leaving a perimeter of about 15' to 20' around my boilie & line. I tried several casts among 'em . . . each time with the same result! Goin' back today, gonna try the early morning thing here today. But . . . when these guys ain't feeding . . . the touch noodnik! Gonna try a float on 'em this time!!

Colonel Sanders has some good recipes for those, eh? I still got everybody beat in the feathered division with my Port Credit swan though! It'll take an ostrich to beat THAT one!

Ah h h h h . . . but delivering mail is an HONEST living, eh?

As usual, top notch reporting, but . . . . putting up with MILLIONS of 'skeeters? OUCH! I like fishin,' but not enough to put up with those l'il lawyers . . . . . . e r r r r r . . . . I mean bloodsuckers! I'm just on my way to get a nasty wee kidney stone reamed out, hope to be fishin' Friday. Ever tried the boat launch over off Liberty Street at night, they're in the creek thick as thieves by now! Good access, more room for 'em to run. But . . . . it's an extra 15 minutes to drive . . . it's no secret, but rarely do people bother to fish here! Just in case you need a fresh back-up spot . . . . . for those rare occasions your #1 & #2 spots dry up.

I worked for a small logging company in the early '70's, along the Park perimiters (Kearney / Sand Lake) taking mostly maple & birch, every winter, by spring our yard at the sawmill was piled high everywhere with HUGE logs, some of those maples were still 2' in diameter 16' up!! There were countless trees being cut by numerous logging companies . . . . I used to wonder just how long this could continue . . . . but they ARE running out of old growth trees now, and are, in a lot of places taking second growth timber . . . . . the small stuff we left 30 to 40 years ago. For anybody going up #11 past Huntsville, there's a big lumber yard on your left at the north end .. . thousands of logs waiting to be processed . . . . my bet is there are very few that are over 18" thick at the butt end! I used to ask the boss what we were gonna do when the timber was all gone . . . he'd just laugh and say there was several lifetimes worth out there and more growing! Well, in another 30 years the old growth will be all gone, second growth also gone, what will be left will barely make a few 2 X 4's!! But . . . . wood is almost as important as fresh water these days . . . . which will we run out of first? P. S. They have been logging the park for years, every so often a group of 'tree huggers' start making noises, but get ignored. I think it's time we started paying more attention to them, at least on this subject, if it's not too late already!

HOWCUM . . . . my collision & comprehansive insurance went up marginally when I bought a new van 3 years ago, because its 'replacement value' was significantly higher than the 3 year old one I was replacing . . . . $30,000.00 V S $15,000.00, which does make SOME sense? But, now THIS van is 3 years old, and its replacement value is about $15,000.00 . . . . no DECREASE in insurance, so I'm still paying to insure a $30,000.00 vehicle? But . . . . . you can bet that if I get a new one now, I'll get the ol' song & dance about newer vehicle . . higher value, more likely to be stolen blah . . . blah . . . . blah, etc! Luckily my theft insurance is low . . . . who th' 'ell in their right mind would steal a Dodge Caravan? But for the record, I pay $1550.00 a year with Economical, $2 million P L & P D, $500.00 deductible collision, $300.00 deductible comprehensive, allowed up to 30,000 klicks a year, and 20% business use to drive to & from my postal walk. I have checked around, my last claim was in 1990, last HTA infraction 1978, (I just don't get caught!) and my postal code takes in a VERY high claim ratio . . #401 / #404 right smack in the middle . . . . NO O O O BODY else can come close! P. S. How many of you knew you can pay higher rates just because of the area you live? They use the postal code in your area to determine the risk factor . . . if there are a lot of collision, theft or vandalism claims in the area which you live . . . . YOU PAY MORE!! I saw a segment on CTV's 'CONSUMER ALERT' where a family's insurance jumped by almost 40% just because they moved to an area of the city with a high claim ratio, compared to where they'd lived before! For 3 vehicles . . . over $1500.00 per year extra!

WOTINELL DIDJA'S DO TO MY B I I I G BUDDY, C P H?? Are ya's starvin' him to death? Is he on a carp diet?? He looks like HALF the man I used to fish with!!