John Bacon

I am not aware of any websites for that specific area. However, I would expect that you would primarily be catching pike and bass. That should provide a clue as to what type of tackle to bring.

Thanks for the help. I will give those places a call.

In terms of bang for buck, I have been quite happy with the Hancooks on my Aerostar; and I didn't have to break the bank to buy them. I am happier with them then I have been with the Goodyears and Bridgestone Duellers that I have purchased in the past.

Does anyone know where I can buy marine grade plywood in the eastern greater Toronto area? I did see some CSP plywood at Home Depot. Would that be marine grade plywood?

What about BottomLine? They make a good product as well. The one that I purchased used in 1994 still works. I have had to replace the power cord, but they shipped me a new one for free ... can't complain about that kind of service.

Just to be clear, the season for rainbow hasn't opened there yet. There should still be some there when it does. Toogood and the Milne pond have large mouth, carp, and pan fish. The Rouge gets runs of Rainbows and Browns along with Chinook.

Did it still work?

Did you charge the battery periodically throughout the winter? It's not good to leave the battery all winter without charging it once in a while. You also mention storing it off the concrete floor in a heated garage. It is only a myth that storing the battery on concrete will harm them. Also, ther e is not need to store them in a heated garage. In fact, they will last longer when stored in a cold location.

According to studies that I have read; fish do not have the part of the brain that is used to sense pain. According to those studies, fish do not feel pain. Having said that, fish brains are different than human brains; it is possible that they use a different part there brains than humans use to sense pain. I believe that the fight that they put up when hooked proves that if they do feel pain at all; it is not nearly to the same degree as humans. How much of a fight would you put up if someine was trying to pull you in by a hook in your mouth. As for the P3TA study with fish rubbing their lips against the side of the aquarium after being injected with bee venom, that only proves that they are aware that there is soming in their lips. It doesn't prove that it causes pain.

Even the UN scientists are not as certain as you about the cause of global warming. I beleive the term they was was "Basically Certain", which translates to 90% certainty. Thus even the scientists who support the human cause of global warming have allowed for a 10% chance that they are wrong, or 10% of doubt that humans are the cause of global warming. So, no, it has not been proven beyond a doubt. Debate is good, opposing view points should not be silenced. A majority opinion is not proof. It is important that all view points, not just the popular ones, are heard.

I saw this posted on the rogers site today. It contains some interesting opinions on the global warming debate. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070407/ap_on_...MNejDlV5pNxieAA Just in case the link doesn't work... By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer Sat Apr 7, 2:55 AM ET NEW ORLEANS - A top hurricane forecaster called Al Gore "a gross alarmist" Friday for making an Oscar-winning documentary about global warming. ADVERTISEMENT "He's one of these guys that preaches the end of the world type of things. I think he's doing a great disservice and he doesn't know what he's talking about," Dr. William Gray said in an interview with The Associated Press at the National Hurricane Conference in New Orleans, where he delivered the closing speech. A spokeswoman said Gore was on a flight from Washington, D.C., to Nashville Friday; he did not immediately respond to Gray's comments. Gray, an emeritus professor at the atmospheric science department at Colorado State University, has long railed against the theory that heat-trapping gases generated by human activity are causing the world to warm. Over the past 24 years, Gray, 77, has become known as America's most reliable hurricane forecaster; recently, his mentee, Philip Klotzbach, has begun doing the bulk of the forecasting work. Gray's statements came the same day the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change approved a report that concludes the world will face dire consequences to food and water supplies, along with increased flooding and other dramatic weather events, unless nations adapt to climate change. Rather than global warming, Gray believes a recent uptick in strong hurricanes is part of a multi-decade trend of alternating busy and slow periods related to ocean circulation patterns. Contrary to mainstream thinking, Gray believes ocean temperatures are going to drop in the next five to 10 years. Gore's documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," has helped fuel media attention on global warming. Kerry Emanuel, an MIT professor who had feuded with Gray over global warming, said Gray has wrongly "dug (his) heels in" even though there is ample evidence that the world is getting hotter.

You can't put all of the blame on at the Federal level. The liberals knew, or ought of have known that they would need federal approval and should have taken this into consideration when setting up a time frame for the implentation.

The upside is that with few hirings in recent years the MNR will be staffed with an aging workforce with generous pension benefits who are all going to retire at the same time. When this happens, there will be a suplus of jobs available. I am not sure that it will be soon enough for the current crop of students though.

I read an article on the internet about this recently. The CFL do contain small amounts of mercury. But coal contains mercury which is released into the atmosphere when it is burned. According to the article, the CFL's actually reduce the amount of mercury introduced into the environment by reducing the amount of coal required to generate electricity.

I am in the same boat. Why spend all that time tracking wind, pressure, solunar tables, etc. only to find out that the best time to go fishing is right in the middle of the meeting with our biggest client Maybe when I am retired ...

My understanding is that pressure treated wood is corrosive to Aluminum. Even with carpet that there is a chance that as corner of the bunk could come in contact with the boat; especially as the carpet wears. Some thing to consider when replading the bunks.

One of the problems with the Global Warming scare is that it has focussed all of the attention about polution on carbon output. There are many other emissions that contribute to smog and other forms of polution but may not contribute significantly to global warming. If we focus all of our attention on carbon emissions we may end up with more smog and acid rain, etc. simply because these are not the flavour of the day. Some efforts to reduce global warming may have undisired effects on the environment: desiel fuel causes fewer greenhouse gasses than gasoline, but more smog creating emissions; scrubbers that prevent acid rain increase CO2 output; batteries that are necessary for low emission vehicles and for solar and wind generaters are themselves hazzardess waste; solar generators use heavy metals which may contimate the environment. I single minded focus on reducing carbon output may lead to an increase in other types of polution. The carbon may be causing global warming; there is no question that smog is a problem.

I run two sonars each with their own transducer. I run a Lowrance on the bow mount and a BottomLine off the stern. Using two different brands solves the interference problem because different manufacturers use different frequencies. This setup may cause interference if you are running the same brand of sonar at both ends of the boat. I think some models are available with dual frequency; that can also solve the interference. Another solution is to simply turn one unit off; you don't usually need the console unit on when you are fishing from the bow and vice versa.

Jinxed them!!!

Actually, Tracker and Lund are both owned by Brunswick, which owns Mercury Marine. It doesn't make much sense for them to compete.

For inland lakes, the fish finder is more usefull as a bottom or structure finder than for marking fish. A high pixel count is not critical for this. The 240 will be more than enough. It wasn't that long ago that 240 was better than anything on the market.

I don't have any experience with them my self; however, I don't think that they are the best choice for southern Ontario. I understand that they are useless in mud, which is common in Ontario rivers. They do provide good traction on smooth rocks. You may want to consider stocking foot waders; you then you could have have both rubber and felt soled boots and use which ever is most appropriate for the water you are fishing.

I would suggest parking your boat in the driveway and see if he complains. If he doesn't complain, then you don't have a problem. In mean time check the bylaws to see if you can park it on your lawn, or anywhere else on your property. I would also suggest that the you check the by laws to see if he is breaking any. If he is breaking any by laws then you may be able to work out a deal where you won't report him if he doesn't report you. Some suggesting to check into are: -Street parking - most places do not allow you to park on the street for more than 3 hours at any time of the day. -Parking cars one behind another in the driveway. Many people who don't have a side walk do this, but you are usually not allowed to park within 33' of the centre of the road. Most people who park a car behind one another will be within 33' of the centre of the road. -Parking in front of the house. This is common when people have a single car garage and want to park two cars side my side in their driveway. Generally the car cannot be parked in front of the house, it must be in front of the garage or to the side of the house. -Plant by laws: evergreens on the boulevard are usually not allowed. Planting a tree on the boulevard is generally not allowed, it must be planted by the city. There are also height restrictions for shrubs close to the road. -Clothes lines may not be allowed. -Basement apartment - these are usually, but not aways illegal. -There are also fence by laws. You my find that he is breaking a by laws himself; if so, you may be able to convince him that it is not a good idea to start a "by law war". As mentioned previously, most by-laws or only enforced on a complaint basis. There are enough by-laws out there that there is a good chance that most people are breaking a few.

I would suggest the you hook your charger up to a timer so that is only comes on for a short duration; that should allow you to forget about your batteries over the winter. I hope your current battery is still okay.

I saw this on the What's Bitin' site; I got a good laugh out of it. 'Saw this on another forum and thought Ild share it here. Its a good read.... I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it. The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that since they congregated at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet away) that it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home. I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope. The cattle, who had seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it. After about 20 minutes my deer showed up - 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me. I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation. I took a step towards it...it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and received an education. The first thing that I learned is that while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope. That deer EXPLODED. The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope with some dignity. A deer, no chance. That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I originally imagined. The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many animals. A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head. At that point I had lost my taste for corn fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope. I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die, slow and painfully somewhere. At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual. Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have it suffer a slow death so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand. Kind of like a squeeze chute. I got it to back in there and started moving up so I could get my rope back. Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist. Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head - almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts. The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective. It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds. I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it. While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose. That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day. Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp. I learned a long time ago that when an animal like a horse strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape. This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond I devised a different strategy. I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run. The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head. Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and three times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down. Now when a deer paws at you and knocks you down it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head. I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away. Now for the local legend. I was pretty beat up. My scalp was split open, I had several large goose eggs, my wrist was bleeding pretty good and felt broken (it turned out to be just badly bruised) and my back was bleeding in a few places, though my insulated canvas jacket had protected me from most of the worst of it. I drove to the nearest place, which was the co-op. I got out of the truck, covered in blood and dust and looking like ####. The guy who ran the place saw me through the window and came running out yelling "what happened" I have never seen any law in the state of Maryland that would prohibit an individual from roping a deer. I suspect that this is an area that they have overlooked entirely. Knowing, as I do, the lengths to which law enforcement personnel will go to exercise their power, I was concerned that they may find a way to twist the existing laws to paint my actions as criminal. I swear..not wanting to admit that I had done something monumentally stupid played no part in my response. I told him "I was attacked by a deer". I did not mention that at the time I had a rope on it. The evidence was all over my body. Deer prints on the back of my jacket where it had stomped all over me and a large deer print on my face where it had struck me there. I asked him to call somebody to come get me. I didn't think I could make it home on my own. He did. Later that afternoon, a game warden showed up at my house and wanted to know about the deer attack. Surprisingly, deer attacks are a rare thing and wildlife and parks was interested in the event. I tried to describe the attack as completely and accurately as I could. I was filling the grain hopper and this deer came out of nowhere and just started kicking the #### out of me and BIT me. It was obviously rabid or insane or something. EVERYBODY for miles around knows about the deer attack (the guy at the co-op has a big mouth). For several weeks people dragged their kids in the house when they saw deer around and the local ranchers carried rifles when they filled their feeders. I have told several people the story, but NEVER anybody around here. I have to see these people every day and as an outsider - a "city folk". I have enough trouble fitting in without them snickering behind my back and whispering "there is the dumb guy that tried to rope the deer." '