Spiel

Loved it! Thank you Mike.

I recall once the the late great Jacques Costeau saying something like this, (I wish I could quote it exactly). The act of fishing for pleasure and sport as opposed to providing sustenance is one of mans greatest perversions. Now I don't suscribe entirely to this thought but I certainly don't believe C&R fishing is the answer either. Fortunately most of the fish that make my aquaintance are released due to my distaste for cleaning them. However I would never support an entirely C&R fishery province (country) wide.

*coffee spew* clean up aisle 2........

You just knew that eventually someone would have to say it.

Well I'm thinking Rob that with my custom musky rods you can land them quickly almost ensuring that they'll be healthy enough to release.

Another invasive species enters Great Lakes May 29, 2009 MICHAEL WOODS / www.stcatharinesstandard.ca Lake Ontario has a newly imported invasive species, and it's here to stay. Bloody-red shrimp, first discovered in the Great Lakes in 2006 and multiplying rapidly, could pose ecological and economic risks to Lake Ontario. Like zebra mussels, the notorious molluscs that wreaked havoc on municipal water supplies and hydroelectric companies upon their arrival, the shrimp are native to eastern Europe and were likely brought over in the ballast water tanks of ships. The shrimp are about a centimetre long and only seen easily if they are swarming. New York Sea Grant, a research partnership between the State University of New York and Cornell University, is starting a two-year research project on the shrimp's potential ecological and economic effects. Dave White, New York Sea Grant's coastal recreation and tourism specialist, said his group funds research on every new species that enters Lake Ontario. "It's an ongoing issue of concern anytime we get a new exotic species," he said. "The first thing we have to do is learn how it behaved in its native waters." To do that, White said researchers need to review literature on the species. That's why it's taken until now for a research project to get up and running. "Every new exotic we have to start the process from Day 1," he said. "Many of these have come from overseas, so the first thing is a thorough literature review. Many times it's in a foreign language, so it has to be translated." White said the shrimp, known scientifically as Hemimysis anomala, haven't been here long enough to have obvious effects. He said they could be positive or negative additions to the food chain. "It's coming into our system at the base of the food chain," he said. "It could be like some other exotics where they come into the system and they're at the base of the food chain, but they're more like eating popcorn; they fill you up but you don't get a lot of nutrition out of them. That affects the health of the fishery." The shrimp's ecological impact has been rated severe in some European countries. White said boaters concerned about the shrimp can take measures to slow their potential spread. "When you look at the zebra mussel, one thing you can do make sure you're cleaning your boat. Make sure you're not taking one thing from one body of water to the other. We don't want to be spreading it around," he said. One thing is certain, White said. Bloody-red shrimp aren't going anywhere. "Once the barn door is open, you can't close it. If it's going to have a negative impact then we can look at mitigative measures."

5-foot woman, 6-lb. test line, 50-inch muskie Friday, May 29, 2009 Marjie Ducey / www.nptelegraph.com World-Herald News Service Vicky Penny of Waco caught a 32.5-pound, 50.5-inch muskie at Merritt Reservoir over Memorial Day weekend. What makes it remarkable is that Penny, who is barely 5 feet tall, pulled in the fish with 6-pound test line and no steel leader. The fish is only about nine pounds and a half-inch short of the state record. OMAHA - Vicky Penny wasn't sure at first if it was a snag or a fish. But when her line started moving and going deeper last weekend at Merritt Reservoir, she knew that it was something big. The woman from Waco ended up hauling in a 32.5-pound muskie that was 50.5 inches in length. Although about nine pounds and a half-inch short of the state record, it's the biggest muskie that John Bauer has seen come out of Merritt. He's starting his fifth year as the owner of the Trading Post there. What makes it remarkable is that Penny, who is barely 5 feet tall, pulled in the fish with 6-pound test line and no steel leader. She used a white-jointed Shad Rap lure, just as Jared Haddix of Sidney did when he caught the record 41-pound, 8-ouncer that was 52 inches long at Merritt in 1992. "Most guys would be using 40- to 50-pound test line, with a rod that's got action like a pool cue, and steel leaders," said Daryl Bauer, the fisheries outreach program manager for the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. "That's the beauty of fishing." Penny, a lifelong angler who was fishing with friend Max Peterson and boat owner Rick Schuelke, was on her first expedition of the spring. They were looking for walleye. They had been on the water only about an hour when the fish bit. Penny said it took only five to 10 minutes to land the first muskie she's ever seen. Because she didn't know what to expect, Penny said she didn't overreact. And that enabled her to land her prize. "Just being calm and staying with it and keeping the line tight and keep being persistent with it," she said. "I didn't try to reel him in real fast. I think that made a difference in getting him to the boat." Peterson was able to get the fish's head in their too-small net and lug him aboard. Penny said that's when the fun began. Although she was excited, Peterson and Schuelke were over the moon about her big fish. "It was like the biggest thing that ever happened to them," she said. They had the fish weighed and measured several times at the Trading Post. Word spread quickly, and Penny said she felt like a celebrity the rest of the trip, her first to Merritt. Even the Game and Parks' Bauer said he'd consider giving a finger for a muskie that size. "Any muskie over 50 inches is a darn good muskie," he said. "Fifty inches is kind of the gold standard, by anyone's definition." Penny, a computer analyst, said it didn't sink in until the next day that she'd had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. She's going to take the fish to a taxidermist and mount it above her fireplace. Peterson told Penny that there aren't too many women who would want a big fish on their wall. "I'm not like other women," Penny told him.

Stocking Benefits Anglers and Fish Populations May 28, 2009 Ministry Of Natural Resources Program Supports Year-Round Fishing OpportunitiesFish stocking is underway in waters from the Manitoba border to Manitouwadge, and from Lake Superior to Red Lake. NEWS Fish stocking is underway in waters from the Manitoba border to Manitouwadge, and from Lake Superior to Red Lake. The Ministry of Natural Resources stocks fish each year to protect natural fish populations and support year-round fishing opportunities for residents and visitors. The ministry stocks about 50 lakes within the Thunder Bay District each spring. Fish stocking began May 14 and will be completed by June 1. This year, Thunder Bay District lakes will be stocked with: 135,000 brook trout 20,000 splake (a hybrid between lake and brook trout) 2,000 rainbow trout. The fish being stocked come from the modernized and expanded Dorion Fish Culture Station, which reopened in October. The ministry stocks about seven million fish each year across the province, with about 600,000 of those coming from Dorion. Fish are transported to the lakes by truck or helicopter. The ministry surveys stocked lakes regularly to ensure the fish are growing and providing angling opportunities. QUICK FACTS Stocked lakes help to reduce angling pressure on natural fisheries – lakes that reproduce on their own – so natural fish populations aren’t over-exploited. Stocked fish are either fry (a few months old) or yearling (eighteen months old). This year, fry-stocked lakes receive 2,000 to 10,000 fish per lake while yearling-stocked lakes receive 250 to 5,000 fish. Since 2008, some stocked lakes in Thunder Bay District have been open for fishing all year round. There are no size restrictions on catches, but anglers still need to adhere to the catch limits prescribed in 2008-2009 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary. For More Information Jamie Mucha, Thunder Bay District, 807-475-1167 General EnquiriesNatural Resources Information Centre 1-800-667-1940 TTY 1-866-686-6072 (Hearing Impaired)

FOLLOW THE FISH Spawning sturgeon typifies good karma May 29, 2009 Steve Pollick / toledoblade.com Spawning by lake sturgeon in Canadian waters of the Detroit River has been confirmed for the first time in 30 years, boosting hopes for continued recovery of this rare, ancient species in the river and adjoining waters of western Lake Erie. The spawning is occurring on a reef built last fall at the head of Fighting Island, across from Wyandotte, Mich., under an American-Canadian partnership. Sturgeon, considered an indicator of ecosystem health, are estimated at just one percent of their former numbers in the Detroit River. The species fell victim to pollution, damming of their spawning streams, commercial netting, and such myriad developments as coastal wetlands losses, armoring of shorelines, dredging, and channelization. Lake sturgeon provided a lucrative commercial fishery for caviar and smoked fish in the 1800s, and Lake Erie led the way on the Great Lakes. But, by the early 1900s, it was all but over. Sturgeon trace to the age of the dinosaurs, may grow to more than six feet and weigh more than 200 pounds. They can live more than a century, have bony plates instead of scales, shark-like tails, pointed snouts, and four long barbels to locate prey in front of a downturned, suction-like mouth. The upper body is olive to gray, graduating to yellow or milky white. "This is outstanding news," summed John Hartig, manager of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge on Grosse Ile. Sturgeon are listed as threatened in Michigan and Ontario and endangered in Ohio waters of the Great Lakes. As a bonus, fisheries biologists have found that walleye and lake whitefish also are spawning on the Fighting Island reef. Down on Lake Erie, the Ohio Division of Wildlife continues to monitor sturgeon reports. "We generally get about 15 reports a year, generally coinciding with the peak of yellow perch fishing," said Christopher Vandergoot, an Ohio biologist at the Lake Erie Fisheries Research Station at Sandusky. "Most reports come from the islands area as well around Niagara Reef. We would like folks to give us a specific capture location (latitude and longitude), depth of water, time of day, if they were fishing or if the just spotted one (alive or dead), as well as the date." Call the station at 419-625-8062. Sturgeon must be released immediately - after measuring and a photograph. About a decade ago Michigan began a rehabilitation and monitoring project with an eye to keeping the population stable and to maintain a limited sport fishery on Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River. Walleye fishing has been good in the western basin, the Ohio Division of Wildlife said. The best fishing continues to be around the island complex, including north of North Bass Island, between South Bass Island and Kelleys Island, and north of Kelleys Island Shoal. Farther west the fishing has been good between Green Island and the Camp Perry Firing Range, north of West Sister Island, and around the chart area marked Gravel Pit just east of the Toledo Ship Channel. The key has been finding clear to slightly stained water, given winds earlier in the week that muddied inshore waters. Yellow perch fishing has been best off Cedar Point and around Kelleys Island. The Cabela's Masters Walleye Circuit takes to Lake Erie from Sandusky today and tomorrow, with Sunday set aside as a weather day. Tournament weigh-ins are public and are set for 3:45 to 5 p.m. at the Shelby Street Boat Launch in Sandusky. For details visit masterswalleyecircuit.com, or call 877-893-7947. White bass action continues to be fair to good on the Maumee and Sandusky rivers, though the Sandusky is a mite high and muddy from a downpour at midweek.

Nice trip. Admittedly I too was thinking you're off having a swell time while your daughter was being born....LOL That certainly would have spelled divorce for me.

I'll show some spots after you learn the boat tricks Cliff, baby steps man, baby steps!

Damn damn, double damn! Looks like we're gonna half to get a Septemebr trip in the making, pronto. Perhaps you and the coonasses can work out something for the three of you and the rest of us will adjust our schedules, I know I will.

What a trouper. I agree with the others Ryan, it appears you'll be able to hold a fishing rod and with that your dang near halfway to reeling 'em in. I know you can do it!

Must be someone here with knowledge of the lake and area, anyone.

Good. Please keep us up to speed on any news Stan, thanks.

Indeed it does Rich. My pup will also miss the extra attention.

I believe it was a random draw for all participants.

Binoculars.

That's a sweet looking rig for sure! And to think I knew him when he was just another steelworker.

I always get the last laugh, it's in my contract.

Does this mean you're not going to answer the PM I sent you in regards to the PM you sent me.

Well I certainly hope you can make it Marty, it's expected! Keep me posted.

That's the time of day I have had issues as well.

Well it was okay, now it's pacing along like a dead tortoise.

No you can keep it Joe, I'll delete mine. TJ will also have to delete his Fishergirl account.