Spiel

Wouldn't take much to fashion your own with a good set of pliers Rob. A length of lanyard and a large float of some sort. Hmmmmm, I think I now have a project for a rainy day.....*looks out window*

Hmmmm, all I saw was wallys and smallies.

Given the amount of snow melt in those tracks I'd be hard pressed to even venture a guess.

Apparently about a 1000. dollaramas in Canada

Great Lakes waterfront report: Progress stymied on fish consumption Mar 10 2010 Danielle Emerson / Great Lakes Echo LANSING, Mich. – Michigan officials report at least fair progress in the state’s water quality with the exception of one measure: ensure fish that are safe to eat. The state’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment recently detailed five measures of success in efforts to improve water quality. The study –which has measured mercury levels of northern pike in inland waters since 1984 – gave progress in lowering the risk of eating fish a “poor” rating, stating, “There has been essentially no change over time.” But the question remains as to why, in more than 25 years, the ability to ensure safe fish hasn’t improved. Joe Bohr, of the state’s fish contaminant monitoring program, explained, “There hasn’t really been an overall reduction in the atmospheric deposition of mercury.” Maggie Fields, head of the mercury division of its Office of Pollution Prevention and Compliance, said coal-fired power plants are the biggest contributors of mercury in the air. The most direct source of mercury deposits in water, however, is dental amalgam, which dentists use for teeth restorations and dyes. Bohr said fish with the most contaminants are in the western end of the Upper Peninsula, and that although the levels are not as high in the Lower Peninsula, they remain high enough to be a health concern for consumption. Christine Aiello, the DNRE official overseeing the Great Lakes areas of concern for the Clinton, Detroit and St. Clair rivers in southeastern Michigan, said mercury isn’t the biggest problem facing the Clinton River, which discharges into Lake St. Clair. Specifically, the Clinton and St. Clair rivers have PCB contaminants, which contribute to wildlife and fish degradation, or worse, their loss, according to Aiello. “We have as much of a handle on the waste from industrial sources as we can,” said Aiello. Industries seeking to dispose of their waste in a river need state-approved permits detailing which contaminants will be disposed of and how much. Aiello said the department is more concerned with ways to contain contaminants from sources like stormwater runoff and sewage overflows. The fight for Michigan’s water quality is not over, according to Fields. She said the department has seen a reduction of mercury emissions, but not enough. For instance, a 2008 law will require dentists to discharge dental amalgam into a separator that is at least 95 percent efficient when it takes effect full effect in January 2013. Moreover, although mercury in products like thermometers, thermostats and medical instruments is now prohibited, it remains in older equipment. A 2008 law says state agencies should avoid purchasing products containing mercury or mercury compounds, but only if an alternative exists or isn’t too costly. Aiello said the Clinton River Watershed Council submitted four funding proposals to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, a project overseen by the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration. “The projects are mostly for habitat restoration and stormwater education about the best management and practices,” said Michele Arquette-Palermo, watershed and stewardship director of the council. Arquette-Palermo also said the council would use the money to implement a remedial action to remove contaminants from the Clinton River. “A dam removal project is planned for the North Branch of the Clinton River to restore 93 miles of fish passage by reconnecting the main stream of the river to the headwaters,” said Aiello. She added that streambank restoration and soil control measures have been implemented in the watershed to help restore fish and wildlife habitat. DNRE’s Bohr said much is left to do in the regulation and containment of mercury emissions before water quality can get any better. “Even if local sources are reduced, we still have mercury falling out from other sources,” Bohr said. For example, even though fly ash from coal plants is being contained, if it gets reused in cement it will re-emit mercury into the atmosphere. And Fields said, “There’s a lot of interconnection with mercury. For example, if dental amalgam isn’t separated from water, it may settle into a sludge on land, which will continue to emit into the atmosphere and so on.” Legislation to regulate, reduce or eliminate the use of mercury-containing products passed the House, but is stalled in the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee.

Mature females key to beluga sturgeon survival Hatchery fish unlikely to restore caviar-producing fish populations Rachel Ehrenberg / www.sciencenews.org Pre-caviar Management of the Caspian Sea’s beluga sturgeon population relies heavily on hatchery-bred fish, such as this youngster from a facility in Kazakhstan. The dwindling population would be better boosted by protecting older females, a new analysis finds. The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science Saving grown females first — not fry — is crucial to preventing extinction of the beluga sturgeon, suggests a new conservation assessment of the fish that’s been pushed to the brink by demand for its roe, known as black caviar. Current harvest rates are four to five times higher than the population can handle and management practices must change if the species is to survive, scientists report in an upcoming Conservation Biology. “In this case, it’s a no-brainer,” says fisheries biologist Dylan Fraser of Concordia University in Montreal, who was not involved with the study. “The data are saying if you want to save the species, stop fishing — or drastically reduce it. The evidence is overwhelming.” The new study concludes that current conservation efforts, which rely mostly on introducing young fish bred in hatcheries into the wild, are unlikely to succeed. Instead, it finds the survival of the species depends on protecting the mature females that are most prized for their copious roe. Beluga sturgeon, Huso huso, used to swim the Adriatic, Azov, Black and Caspian seas. But dams, pollution and demand for eggs that sold for $8,000 per kilogram in 2009 have pummeled populations. The fish is gone entirely from parts of its range and is critically endangered in others, but commercial fishing is still allowed in the Caspian Sea. Using life history traits such as age of maturity and population data on the sturgeon that return to the Ural River to spawn, the researchers examined the implications of keeping different age classes of fish in the population. For fishing to have minimal effects, they concluded, sturgeon shouldn’t be harvested until they are at least 31 years old in order to assure the females have had a sufficient chance to produce eggs. Saving mature and nearly adult females was 10 times more effective for maintaining a healthy population than supplementing the population with hatchery fish, says Phaedra Doukakis of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University in New York, who led the study. In fact, Fraser says, introducing hatchery-raised fry may harm the fragile population further, because hatchery stocks derive from only a handful of fish; their genetic blandness could swamp out whatever diversity remains in the existing population. “There’s always the argument that if we are fishing more, we’ll just stock more,” Fraser says, but the new analysis demonstrates that hatchery supplementation “can’t be viewed as a cure-all.” The Caspian Sea sturgeon fishery “has been a bit of a black box,” says Doukakis, who hopes the new analysis will help guide management strategies. Efforts are complicated by the fact that five countries border the Caspian Sea and must work together to manage the fishery. Beluga sturgeons are protected under Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which allows regulated trade. But they are a good candidate for Appendix 1, Doukakis says, which bans all commercial trade of the creature in question. The species’ status is not on the docket for this year’s CITES meeting, which begins March 13 in Doha, Qatar. The animal committee will review the fish’s standing early next year, says David Morgan, chief of the CITES scientific support unit in Geneva.

I did a quick Google search (septic systems and paint) on it Lew and found there are many opposing opinions on this. This question and answer came from allexperts.com Plumbing in the Home - latex paint in septic system Question: what will cleaning latex paint from brushes do to a septic system? Answer: Well Greg, Considering no chemicals should go into a septic system, Any thing beside human waste causes the bacterial growth to die off, and then there is nothing left to get rid of the waste. I do not think a one time brush cleaning is going to ruin your septic system, but I would not make a habit out of it!! Hope this helps!

I think we discussed that handle, yes?

Snowmobiler hailed as hero March 11, 2010 DAVE JOHNSON / www.wellandtribune.ca A 19-year-old Ridgeway man is being called a hero by fellow anglers after he rescued a number of them from the ice of Lake Erie. Barrett Johnson was fishing off of Pleasant Beach Rd., between three and four kilometres from the shoreline, when he noticed water coming up through fishing holes cut into the ice. "Right away I noticed the water ... and my dad taught me that when you see that, you get off the ice," said Johnson. He quickly packed up his gear and headed for shore on his sled snowmobile with a friend on the back. Heading toward the shore, he saw a large crack had developed. Johnson drove his sled across 30 metres of open water to get to shore. "The ice was exploding behind me," he said. Once on land, Johnson headed back out and grabbed three more anglers, bringing them to shore. There were about 20 anglers out on the ice at the time, most between three and four kilometres from shore. "I asked everyone if I should call the fire department and they said yes." Port Colborne Fire and Emergency Services and Niagara Regional Police responded to Pleasant Beach Rd. and Sherkston Shores and Johnson waited for them to arrive. Once on scene, fire Chief Tom Cartwright and a police sergeant discussed their options and decided to call the Erie County Sheriff's Office for assistance. "We alerted Trenton, but the (Canadian Coast Guard) chopper there was (several) hours away, too far to assist us," said Cartwright. The sheriff department's helicopter quickly arrived on scene as anglers on all-terrain vehciles were making their way back to shore. Cartwright said the helicopter rescued one man from the ice who was out there walking his dog. The man had become trapped behind the crack and couldn't make his way in safely. "We're very appreciative of the help Erie County Sheriff provided us," said Cartwright, adding the fire department has never received a bill from the county for use of its helicopter. Standing on shore watching the helicopter make passes in the area, to check for any stragglers, angler Dan Gilmore spoke about Johnson's efforts. "He's the hero here," Gilmore said. When told about the hero comment, Johnson said he didn't really feel like one. "I just did what any Good Samaritan would have done." As he thought about the situation though, Johnson said the heroic part may have been when he got the other anglers across "I've crossed open water before up north, by choice, but never because I've had to," he said. Gilmore had to jump his quad across a crack in the ice. Angler Leo Larabie also drove his quad across a crack in the ice after finding a safe path to the shore. A number of anglers followed Larabie's path, said Gilmore. The two men said a number of anglers huddled together on the ice and when Larabie found a safe path, everyone followed him in. "We just made it," said Larabie. All three men said the situation developed very quickly. "When we went out there, the conditions were perfect," said Gilmore. The crack developed, the men said, at about 3:30 p.m. and took 10 to 15 minutes to break away from the shore. "We were on a huge ice floe," said Gilmore. "The ice is done, no one should be out there now," he added. Car twright agreed with Gilmore's assessment. "The ice has been deteriorating very quickly because of warm weather and with several days of rain expected, it will only get worse," he said. Larabie won't be going back out on the ice at all this year. "I learned my lesson. This is my fifth year of ice fishing out here and this is the first time I've ever been caught like this." Cartwright said if anglers are going to be out on the ice, they should have cellphones or a way to contact someone for help and should have some sort of flotation device. "They shouldn't be out there when it's deteriorating like this, though." The chief, who is an ice fisherman himself, said he wouldn't go ice fishing on Lake Erie any time of the year. "I personally don't believe this is a safe lake to ice fish on. There's a lot of wave action and all it takes is a little bit of open water and wind to make the ice crack," he said.

Very nice work Dave. I've been at this so long I still can't believe I don't own a lathe of some sort for turning caps, reel seats and checks but it is on my need to get list. So what new rod are you putting these on Mike?

Very nice! Shouldn't be long now before the Brown action is heating up on the west end of the lake. Perhaps it's already started, gonna have to make time and get out and see.....soon!

Yep, just unburnt 2 stroke oil. My old 76 Johnson was just like that. I switched to a quality (supposedly) smokeless oil, I believe it was Johnson brand and ran it a little leaner than 50-1. Wasn't perfect but it was a lot better.

Wow, now I know why you wanted that neon chartreuse thread with white trim on your new rod, it matches your fly perfectly.

That's some good advice Mike and can be done while on the water if needed. I have the same issue with my Stanton which I solved by just rubbing down the threads with some sticky bees wax. Tighten down the retaining nut then back off a 1/4 turn or so.

What Roy said. I look forward to seeing you then.

I have the 200, amazing reel even at double the price I paid.

Well your weekend boss is also a great guy, I'm sure he'll give you time off when you need it.

Yep good things happen to good people. Congrats Cliff, though I expect that between the new job and the small engine repair your still going to find it tough to find "me time".

Indeed a very trying day Randy but you can be proud that you faced it with both compassion and courage! My condolences on the loss of your friend.

Did anyone say "stellar" Never having caught a grayling (yet) I think you'd have had a hard time tearing me and my 4 weight flyrod away from them. I will ask you Rob, did you catch fish in that muddy water stretches?

Yep, that's the knot to use.

Sex hormones tried in fight against lamprey 2nd year of research offers hope against parasite March 2, 2010 TINA LAM / www.freep.com The next phase of the decades-long fight against destructive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes was expected to begin Monday when researchers were to pump a man-made love potion into more streams after experiments from last spring showed it helped lure the lamprey into traps. The potent lamprey aroma -- a scent males emit from their gills -- worked so well, it drew both males and females into traps, a surprise. Now the unromantic-sounding 3-kPZS is being tested to see if lamprey can be drawn out of Lake Superior into two targeted streams, where it will be easier to kill them. But the battle scientists have waged against the sea lamprey since the 1950s is a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks Asian carp easily could be controlled if they colonized the Great Lakes. This newest weapon against lamprey has taken three decades to develop. Sexual scents, or pheromones, have been used to control insects, but not for fish or other animals until now, said Michigan researcher Nick Johnson. Scientists need three years of testing before determining how successful the potion will be at controlling the lamprey. Lamprey are vampire-like parasites that suck the life out of fish. One lamprey can kill 50 pounds of fish in less than two years. Lamprey love potion has taken decades In a heavy snowstorm last week in the Upper Peninsula, Johnson was out in the field at two aptly named streams: the Misery and Rock rivers. Johnson, a research ecologist with the Hammond Bay Biological Station in Michigan, was setting up equipment for a new chapter in the 50-year-old battle between humans and sea lamprey, an invasive species that reached the Great Lakes in the 1920s. A new experiment that was to start Monday will show whether scientists can use a man-made copy of a lamprey love potion to lure the creatures out of Lake Superior and into the rivers. If so, it could be a big leap forward in controlling lamprey behavior. The lamprey, which attack fish such as lake trout and whitefish and feed on their blood and guts, decimated native fish populations in the 1950s. A poison, TFM, was developed in 1958 to kill the eel-like creatures while they are still babies in streams. But it's expensive and doesn't work on adults. At last, the right bait Scientists have spent decades working to identify, copy and patent a lamprey love potion, called 3-kPZS, so they could lure adult lampreys into traps. They made it work in lab experiments; now they're making sure it works in nature. So far, it does. The seductive scent, or pheromone, produced by male lampreys draws lusty females from miles away toward the males' nests in streams. In their first field experiment last year, scientists were able to capture 30% more lampreys in traps baited with 3-kPZS than in traps without it. The pheromones were used last year in 10 Michigan streams and this year, the love potion will be pumped into the same state streams plus 10 in Canada during mating season to test it. But last year's results brought a surprise -- the scent drew male lamprey, too. It's possible that 3-kPZS is a pheromone that makes lampreys come together rather than a mating scent, Johnson said. That's even better news. "It means we can target both sexes" with the pheromone, he said. Now that scientists know 3-kPZS works like a charm within a stream to draw lampreys to a trap, they're trying it to see if they can lure the lampreys from Lake Superior into a targeted stream with the love potion. Starting this week and for the next three months, crews will dose the Misery and Rock rivers with the pheromone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If it works, lamprey will be drawn into the rivers and then stopped by existing barriers and traps, so they can't mate. Sea lamprey are born and spend their youth in streams, then move into the Great Lakes as adults to feed. They attach to native fish's soft flesh and suck out their innards, killing them. One sea lamprey can kill 50 pounds of fish in less than two years. They return to tributaries of the Great Lakes to spawn. "We have to use every weapon we can against the lamprey," Johnson said. "There is no silver bullet." The St. Marys River in the Upper Peninsula is too big to use poison in, so it's been especially difficult to control lamprey there and in neighboring Lake Huron, he said. Researchers need three years of data to make sure the pheromone works and isn't harmful to the environment. This is the second year. After that, the scientists can apply to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to register 3-kPZS, making it the first pheromone certified beyond the insect world. Carp project just starting Researchers elsewhere hope these results signal hope for controlling other invasive species. Experts have mentioned pheromones as a possible Asian carp control. The enormous fish probably have invaded Lake Michigan and could out-compete the Great Lakes' native species and endanger boaters and anglers because of their habit of leaping out of the water. But identifying, copying and testing pheromones for a species is a long process, if it can even be done. Johnson said scientists started working on the lamprey pheromone around 1980. Work on Asian carp pheromones is still in the early stages, he said. Mike Siefkes, sea lamprey program specialist with the Great Lakes Fishery Commission, helped identify 3-kPZS as a graduate student at Michigan State University. "It was tedious," he said. Scientists also tried bubbles, lights and weird noises to keep sea lamprey out of streams -- methods also mentioned to control Asian carp -- but those didn't work, he said. After more than 50 years trying to control them, sea lamprey still wound too many fish in all the Great Lakes except Ontario and are not under control in Lake Huron. About 100 employees in the U.S. and Canada work on lamprey control, at a cost of millions of dollars each year, Siefkes said. But pheromones provide new hope. Scientists are working to find more lamprey pheromones. Adding those to 3-kPZS could make it an even more potent cocktail. "If these could work in a river like the St. Marys, it would be huge," Siefkes said. "We're encouraged."

Angler with Captain Peacock Bests World Record March 8, 2010 / www.great-lakes.org MANAUS, Brazil – The strike barely dimpled the water, but it sent waves hurtling throughout the freshwater fishing world by shattering a coveted world record that stood for 16 years. On Feb. 9, 2010, the sixth day of his first Amazon adventure, Bill Gassmann of Des Moines, Iowa, fished a clown-colored Luhr Jensen Big Game Woodchopper Slim topwater bait in a tributary of the Rio Negro in northern Brazil. The yellow, red and black spotted lure landed atop a monster speckled peacock bass, which sucked it under with hardly a ripple. “We were fishing in a wooded area of a little backwater off a main tributary,” said the 44-year-old chief executive officer of BGS Enterprises. “When the lure hit the water, it just disappeared. The fish went straight to the bottom and started spooling my line. Immediately, the guide with more than 12 years experience began jumping up and down and started yelling ‘Grande! Grande!’ I had no idea how big it was or that it might be a record. Then, the fish stuck its head out of the water and I realized how big it was.” Gassmann fought the river monster for approximately 12 minutes with his three-piece 6.9-foot G Loomis Escape model ETR81-3HC20 heavy rod attached to a Shimano Curado 300E reel. Finally bringing the beast to the boat, the Iowa bass angler grabbed its gill plates and snapped a Boga Grip on it. On the IGFA-certified Boga Grip, the fresh speckled or three-bar peacock (Cichla temensis) weighed more than 28 pounds, but Gassmann still did not realize the significance of his fish. As Gassmann handed the fish to Aldeni “Elvis” Fonseca, his guide, to release it, Elvis stopped him. Communicating in English, Elvis urged “We go boat now; we go boat now.” Prepared to fish an entire day, Gassmann didn’t want to head back to the Captain Peacock, a 95-foot luxury mothership yacht that accommodates anglers for such adventures. However, Elvis insisted adamantly. When Elvis and Gassmann finally reached the yacht, Leonardo Leão, co-owner and operator of the Captain Peacock who stays aboard for every operation, dropped the massive fish into the bait well to keep it alive until they could weigh it officially. The colorful hump-headed fish measured 37 inches long with a girth of 25 inches, more than enough to beat the existing 27-pound International Game Fish Association all-tackle world record caught by Gerald “Doc” Lawson on Dec. 4, 1994. Since Gassmann caught the lunker on 80-pound PowerPro braid, Leo also submitted the fish for a possible line class record and kept the fish on board the Captain Peacock to have it mounted as a reminder to future anglers that dreams can come true. “We are very happy with the opportunity to show the fishing world our exclusive concept combining mobility, safety and first-class service in order to create unique moments like that for every angler from the first-time peacock bass fisherman up to the most knowledgeable ones,” said Leonardo Leão and his partner Nasser Fraxe. “This is exciting news,” exclaimed Billy Chapman, Jr., owner and founder of Anglers Inn International and a 2009 inductee into the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame for pioneering peacock bass fishing in the 1980s. “I was in Brazil in 1994 when Doc Lawson caught the 27-pound peacock. If anyone wants to fish these record-breaking waters, we can make that happen together with the Captain Peacock.” Besides catching the possible all-tackle world record speckled peacock bass and his personal best fish of any species, Gassmann caught several bass over 10 pounds plus two 18-pounders, a 19-pounder and other fish on his seven-day adventure. In all, the anglers aboard the Captain Peacock caught more than 450 fish that week with many in double digits and three in the 20- to 23.5-pound range, Leão said. The Gassmanns will return to the Amazon soon. For catching the pending all-tackle world record aboard the Captain Peacock, Leão and Fraxe granted Gassmann lifetime fishing privileges on the 95-foot luxury yacht. “At Anglers Inn International, we care about our clients,” Chapman said. “Our clients are like family to us. I always want our guests to enjoy the best possible experience. With the yacht serving with such a unique concept, we can keep up with the best fishing on the river. Our partners on the Captain Peacock are the most professional and serious in the Amazon with a sterling reputation for catching trophy peacock bass -- as this fish indicates.” Leonardo and Nasser as well as their entire crew are waiting for another opportunity to provide you with a trip of a lifetime. To book a trip to the Amazon or any other Anglers Inn International destination, call 1-800-GOTA-FISH or e-mail to [email protected]. On line, see www.anglersinn.com.

Fishing Industry Snapshot March 8, 2010 / www.great-lakes.org Southwick Associates has announced the brands and products anglers preferred most in 2009. This list has been compiled from the 34,185 internet-based surveys completed by anglers. In 2009 the top fishing Industry brands included: • Top rod brand: Shakespeare Ugly Stik (16.4% of all purchases) • Top reel brand: Shimano (23.0% of all purchases) • Top rod and reel combo brand: Shakespeare (25.7% of all purchases) • Top fishing line producer: Pure Fishing's Berkley line (Trilene, Fireline, Big Game, Vanish) (42.6% of all purchases) • Top hard bait brand: Rapala (30.6% of all purchases) • Top soft bait brand: Zoom (16.8% of all purchases) • Top spinner bait brand: Strike King (16.6% of all purchases) • Top hook brand: Eagle Claw (34.5% of all purchases) • Top sinker brand: Bullet Weight (19.0% of all purchases) • Top fly rod brand: Sage (16.7% of all purchases) • Top fly reels brand: Orvis (11.1% of all purchases) • Top fly combo brand: St. Croix (18.0% of all purchases) • Top fly line brand: Scientific Angler (28.8% of all purchases) • Top fly brand: Orvis and Cabelas tied (11.0% of all purchases, each) • Top fly leader brand: Rio (28.4% of all purchases) • Top fly tying material brand: White River (60.5% of all purchases) • Top fish finder or sonar brand: Humminbird (42.9% of all purchases) • Top tackle box brand: Plano (55.8% of all purchases) • Top landing net brand: Frabill (20.2% of all purchases) • Top fishing knife brand: Rapala (22.6% of all purchases) * 48% of all fishing tackle purchases involve terminal tackle (hooks, sinkers, swivels, etc.) * Largemouth bass remain the number one targeted species of freshwater fish, with nearly 60% of fishing activity targeting largemouth bass. * Saltwater anglers were more varied, with 25% of trips targeting any fish that bites, followed by striped bass (23%), flounder (21%), red drum (20%) and sea trout (20%). Please note these refer to species targeted on trips and not the number of fish actually caught.