Spiel

I know plenty of guys who do quite well float fishing for steelies with a spinning reel but you are definitely handicapping yourself with a rod of less than 10'. Another option is a good quality level wind setup on a long rod (I'm loving mine), it would be a better choice than a spinning reel.

Nice craftmanship indeed, good job Bruce. I'm thinking that blue/white jig would come in handy for icing a few lakers.

Wow, now I'm truly impressed. Beautiful work, amazing talent and a great eye for detail.

I am counting the days.....literally.

Stellar outing! I hooked a monster sturgeon on the Niagara a few years back, they are some strong when hooked in the tail....

In case I ever get out fishing Fidel. Oh and there out again tonight if'n you needs to get 'em.

Reminds me of the guy who recently posted a video of himself playing in the water with his "liftime socks". Oh happy days.

If I was able to attend, I'd be there! I expect it'll be a great turnout and great evening for those who can make it.

Thanks again everyone for the well wishes, words of encouragement and the numerous PM's. It's been a week already and each day is a little better than the previous. I'm hoping that I might actually be able to get out and catch the end of the ice fishing season, hopefully.

Thanks Jen, I'm pleased you took the time to share them with us.

The spirit of our community never fails to impress me. Well done everyone.

Those are beautiful Dara, definitely something to be proud of.

I'm doing okay Garry, thanks. Would it be fair to say that given 12 months of summer in the Kawarthas you'd never leave?

Is it just me or does that guy on the left look a lot like TJ.

I suspect that you'll be ponying up Mr. Mercer. Kudos to you and all the wonderful members for stepping up to the plate. Awesome.

There's a few of us in there now.

Nice to see a report from you Cliff and those are some solid fish.

I'm sure Gerritt will chime in. He had or perhaps still has one. Solid boat in my opinion.

Oh I don't know Mike, I think the only thing worse than reading one of your reports for me at this time would be not reading 'em. I'll tell you though, reading 'em is almost as good as actually being there. Thanks.

Well I have been feeling very whimsical lately, perhaps it's the meds....

Trial begins for man accused of targeting Asian anglers November 27, 2009 05:26 PM JOE FANTAUZZI / www.yorkregion.com The trial of a Georgina man, at the centre of a prank played against innocent anglers that escalated into a life and death situation, began in a Newmarket court last week. Trevor Middleton has pleaded not guilty to four counts of aggravated assault and two counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm, stemming from a September 2007 incident in Sutton. As many as 20 young people headed down to the docks at the Mossington Park "blue bridge" with the intention of pushing Asian anglers into Lake Simcoe, Crown prosecutor Amit Ghosh told the court in his opening statement Thursday. Mr. Ghosh also told the eight-woman, four-man jury that it will hear that the term "nip-tipping" is a local racist term for pushing Asian anglers into water. "The issue is bigger than this case," Avvy Go, of the Metro Toronto Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic, said in an interview. "There is something happening in this case that strikes a chord with many in our community. From the community perspective, we also want to make sure that whatever the outcome, that this is going to send a message that attacks of this nature are not acceptable." Following the "tipping", a struggle ensued and Mr. Middleton is accused of chasing a car full of the Asian anglers and repeatedly ramming their car before it careened out of control, crashed and ejected two passengers, leaving them seriously injured, the court heard. At about 2 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2007, Mr. Middleton and a group of friends were travelling around Sutton near Lake Simcoe in three pickup trucks, Mr. Ghosh said. "Many of them had been drinking alcohol, although Mr. Middleton would have consumed little or none himself," Mr. Ghosh told the jury. Mr. Middleton, in a Ford F-150 told the others to follow him and the convoy of pickups stopped at the blue bridge. The group moved to the docks and two anglers, who were part of a group of seven, were pushed into the water, Mr. Ghosh told the jury. Afterward, the entire group, with the exception of one of Mr. Middleton's friends, ran back to the pickups and drove away. His friend was involved in a fight with several of the anglers. Mr. Middleton is not facing charges for any pushing that happened on the docks. Mr. Middleton, who had turned his truck around, found his friend laying injured on the side of the road as some of the fisherman involved in the fight left in a Honda Civic, Mr. Ghosh said. The Ford truck collided with the Honda and the Civic sped away as Mr. Middleton gave chase, jurors heard. The jury will hear how the pickup truck repeatedly rammed the Civic from behind, Mr. Ghosh said. After a few minutes, the chase ended when the Civic slammed into a tree and sustained heavy damage. Two of the rear seat passengers were thrown from the Civic, court heard. Shayne Berwick was ejected from the Civic and collided with a tree, Mr. Ghosh said. Mr. Berwick suffered a fractured skull, leaving him in a coma for three months. "Perhaps more significantly, Mr. Berwick is now permanently brain damaged and can barely communicate verbally," Mr. Ghosh told the jury. "Two years later, he is still confined to a wheelchair." Charles Hogan was also thrown from the Civic and landed in the lake. He suffered head injuries, a gash to his right hand, whiplash from the collision and hypothermia. The trial is expected to last about two weeks.

Northern Aquaculture chairman applauds Ont. review of industry November 25, 2009 Michael Erskine / www.manitoulin.ca MANITOULIN-If you want to get a quick rise out of aquaculture pioneer Mike Meeker, three words will generally do it: Georgian Bay Association. Mr. Meeker refuses to temper his outrage over what he says is blatant misinformation being put forward by the environmental group. "They worship at the skirts of the Great God Suzuki," said Mr. Meeker, who said he has found himself in a position of trying to counter a well-organized, well-financed, media-savvy organization. Surely he does not want to be quoted on that. "Go ahead," he responded. "I am tired of getting beat up by people who claim to be concerned about the scientific evidence and then turn around and ignore it when it doesn't suit them." The Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association (NOAA) rep took aim at the aquaculture industry's gadflies on the subject of public opinion. "They are very clever at implying, like they did in a recent story in the Toronto Star, that they have the support of most of the cottagers on the Great Lakes," he said. "I have had hundreds of people through my operation, and that includes a lot of cottagers, and I have not found that to be the case at all. Once people discover the truth they tend to be very supportive of our efforts." While in the past aquaculture representatives have often railed against government ministries such as the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and Oceans and Fisheries Canada (DFO) for what they characterized as placing obstacles in the way of the industry, there has been a recent sea change in how the industry views at least one ministry these days. "If Donna Cansfield were to run for prime minister I would vote for her," quipped Mr. Meeker, who claims to be apolitical and non-partisan as a personal rule. The Natural Resources minister has obviously made a deep impression on the voluble fish farmer. "I like that she does what she says she will do," he said. "It kinda renews your faith in the system." Mr. Meeker asserts that there has not been a significant change in support from government, but rather that the big difference lies in voiced support being translated into action. "We have had very positive reactions from government officials and ministers," he said. "But the difference is that Minister Cansfield has the administrative moxy to actually get the bureaucracy to moving. She is doing what she is supposed to do." Mr. Meeker noted that although overseeing the aquaculture industry is just a small part of the minister's job, he feels that she has done an outstanding job in finding out what the facts are as well as she could. "The point is there are no major issues here regarding the industry," said Mr. Meeker. "We, as an industry, have been very diligent in ensuring that environmental concerns are addressed. We need clean, healthy water if we are going to produce a quality product." The concerns expressed by environmentalists about water quality are the same concerns as those of the aquaculture industry, noted Mr. Meeker. "Except we are actually doing something constructive to ensure that not only will there be fish to eat that people in Ontario are used to being able to eat, but also that the jobs to be had in raising those fish are right here in this province," he said. Mr. Meeker said that, after a hiatus of several years, he is now once again fielding calls from young people interested in careers in the aquaculture industry. "Listen," he said. "This is a tough business, it involves a lot of hard work, outside, in all kinds of hard weather. You are not going to get rich at it, but if you work hard, have a little bit of luck and stick at it, you can make a decent living." The fish farmer pointed out that while the spectre of shore-to-shore fish cages stretching from Killarney across the North Shore is constantly being placed before the public, the truth of the geography belies that possiblilty. "There is room for growth, lots of growth," said Mr. Meeker. "But there is a definite sustainable limit." The essential criteria for a good fish cage operation, especially near shore, places strict limits on how many can be put in place. "There just are not that many good sites," he said. Mr. Meeker knows a lot about which he speaks when it comes to innovation and research in the aquaculture industry. The province recognized his efforts last year with the regional Premier's Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence for his all-natural local product, Meeker's Magic Mix. "Meeker's Aquaculture, in conjunction with NOAA's research efforts, developed the environmentally friendly compost by utilizing byproducts from Ontario's aquaculture and forestry industries," said Karen Tracey, executive director of the NOAA. The result? "A quality fish compost with high nutrient value for lawns, gardens, flower beds, crops and re-greening projects," said Ms. Tracey. "This product ensures that all waste from aquaculture operations is fully utilized. Ms. Tracey also pointed out that there have been five new jobs created on the West End of Manitoulin directly as a result of this new enterprise. Ms. Tracey noted that "the NOAA is taking a proactive approach regarding the importance of aquaculture for providing a healthy food that takes the pressure of the declining wild stocks," adding: "You can't save wild fish by eating them." The NOAA presented Minister Cansfield with the final report of the Ontario Aquaculture Strategy in Toronto. Following the presentation of the report, the aquaculture team invited Minister Cansfield to a Seafood Road Show extravaganza event that was also in Toronto the same week. "Minister Cansfield not only attended," said Ms. Tracey, "she brought three staff people with her." The food event was organized by the Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (Ms. Tracey also sits on the board of directors of CAIA) to provide a fresh profile for the industry as a whole, but with "a focus on the wide range of high quality, delicious seafood products that are grown with right here in Canada," said Ms. Tracey. "The NOAA and government are researching the establishment of a Cage Aquaculture Innovation Demonstration Farm project to develop and evaluate innovative technologies and practices designed to enhance the social and environmental sustainability of the agri-food sector," said Ms. Tracey. "Over the coming year the NOAA will be the industry lead to develop a comprehensive plan to establish this new farm in northern Lake Huron to validate and demonstrate alternative technologies including: nutrient management strategies, fallowing, feeding strategies, and new cage construction." The NOAA has recently hired two staff to assist the aquaculture industry in the North, said Ms. Tracey. Todd Gordon is the research and development coordinator, and his job will be to report and provide advice to the executive director and the NOAA board of directors on matters of the environment, science and sector R&D. Mr. Gordon has a Masters in science from the University of Guelph. "To meet the needs of our association mandate, the NOAA also hired Manitoulin resident Lori Thompson as our new executive assistant," continued Ms. Tracey. Lori has been a welcome asset to the NOAA, bringing a strong background in office administration, bookkeeping, record management, public liaising, communications and desktop publishing. The recently reconstructed NOAA website at www.ontarioaquaculture.com is a direct result of Lori's efforts." Ms Tracey went on to say that the NOAA is very pleased to welcome both Todd and Lori to their office at 13 Worthington Street in Little Current. "An open invitation is extended to anyone interested in learning more about our growing, essential agri-food industry and would like to meet our staff, to call or stop by our office," added Ms. Tracey.

If it has an adipose fin it got my vote. Truth is though I'm not likely going to be augering any holes this winter.

Mmmmm, in a perfect world (my world) they'd all look like this. Beauty.

Very nice, congratulations. She's a beauty.