Spiel

Something new for me the last couple of years that I can not go fishing without is a pair of 2.50 magnifying glasses, without 'em I aint tying my line to nada!

Mercury found in local fish May 29th, 2009 Dan McCaffery / The Sarnia Observer Study found pike, suckers at ‘high risk’ Toxic chemicals are putting some species of fish at risk in the St. Clair River, a wildlife ecologist says. Kim Wells of Environ International Corp. delivered that message Wednesday to the annual general meeting of the SarniaLambton Environmental Association. Wells was involved in a recent study designed to determine the impact mercury and octachlorostyrene are having on fish, mammals and birds along an 8.3-kilometre stretch of the Canadian side of the international waterway. The study took in an area that began at the north end of Stag Island and proceeded northward to a point not far from Lake Huron. Wells, who is stationed out of Environ’s Ann Arbor, Mich., office, said the probe involved mercury and octachlorostyrene. “They are very persistent, they do not break down rapidly, they build up throughout the food chain and they can be toxic,” she said. The study showed mercury was a problem in some areas. Octachlorostyrene, on the other hand, does not appear to be a concern. Researchers determined neither contaminant was having a negative impact on birds or mammals, but they found worrisome levels of mercury in some fish. In fact, northern pike and redhorse suckers were found to be contaminated at what she described as “high risk” levels. Fish said to be at medium risk included yellow perch, carp, freshwater drum and white sucker. Rock bass were found to be at low risk. The study did not deal with the effects the contaminants may be having on the health of humans who eat fish from the St. Clair. There are fish consumption advisories put out by the provincial government that provide information on that subject, she said. “None of the fish were abnormally fat or skinny,” Wells said. But smallmouth bass and . . . perch had a higher than expected ratio of females. “The overall message is there is risk to some fish species but not all,” she said. The other conclusion, she added, is that, “Wildlife is not likely to be harmed” by the chemicals in question.

Our harbour’s looking better May 30th, 2009 Eric McGuinness / The Hamilton Spectator Water’s cleaner, but more must be done Hamilton should be proud of its harbour cleanup progress, even though problems persist. So says an area water watcher, Gail Krantzberg, director of McMaster’s Centre for Engineering and Public Policy and member of the International Association for Great Lakes Research. “We should look at all of the gains made in habitat protection, of sewage plant upgrading, combined sewer overflow capture, in fish population recovery and control of destructive carp in Cootes Paradise.” Krantzberg said the June 13 centennial of the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between Canada and the United States is a good time to take stock of progress in restoring Hamilton Harbour. The remedial action plan target is to get the harbour off the list of Great Lakes pollution hot spots by 2015, but Krantzberg said we should acknowledge what has been accomplished. “Once Randle Reef is cleaned up, whether or not you delist the harbour right away, that’s a tremendous celebration. A huge chunk of toxic sediment being removed from recycling into the ecosystem. That is worth a celebration.” Krantzberg wrote a paper in the late 1990s in which she said the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement could be judged a failure if measured only by how many of the original 43 areas of concern had been removed from the list. (Three to date.) “But if we measure habitat restoration that’s happened around the lakes, how much pollution has been stopped from going into the lakes, then we have had tremendous success. “To celebrate that also requires people to document that and publicize it. I don’t think people are doing that well enough. I think Hamilton has a song to sing, and they’re not singing it loudly enough.” The original 43 areas of concern included 12 in Canada, 26 in the U.S. and five shared. Three have been delisted — Collingwood Harbour and Severn Sound on Georgian Bay and the Oswego River in New York State. Spanish Harbour on Lake Huron and Presque Isle Bay in Erie, Pa., are areas of concern in recovery. Progress on others is mixed, with the IJC complaining that some, particularly in the United States, haven’t even been precisely mapped. The aim is to delist many in this country in the next 10 years, according to Environment Canada. Is that good enough? Sam Speck, an American member of the International Joint Commission, earlier this year said: “Progress on cleaning up AOCs has been slow by any reasonable measure.” Each area has developed a remedial action plan (RAP) and Hamilton has gained a reputation for its work in this area. “When I go around talking about RAPs, and when many other people write about them, often Hamilton is up at the forefront. This is the only way to do it right, folks, and you know people should be proud of that,” said Krantzberg. She points specifically to how the Hamilton Harbour RAP identifies stakeholders responsible for meeting targets, so they can be held accountable. John Hall, who co-ordinates implementation of the Hamilton RAP, talks of the huge improvements in reducing levels of phosphorus, a plant nutrient that feeds algae growth. “They’ve been cut in half. They were so high it precluded light penetrating deep into the harbour, so we didn’t have plants growing in the nearshore area. The drop results from sewage plant improvements and industrial abatement, but we’re stuck now and have been at 34 micrograms per litre, still twice what it should be.” He hopes the next big improvement to Hamilton’s huge Woodward Avenue plant will help, but going beyond that will depend on events upstream in the harbour watershed, doing things like reducing silt runoff from construction sites and better controlling storm water. “It’s important for people to understand when we point a finger at the problem, increasingly the finger is pointed back at ourselves… “If people ask me what is the one thing I can do to help, I tell them to use fertilizer … with a zero middle number for phosphorus. That’s one way people can reduce the nutrient load into the harbour … you really don’t need the phosphorus number to be pumped up to keep your grass green.” Krantzberg has a similar take. She stresses that industry and governments have done a lot; the work ahead requires individuals to do such things as save water, stop using toxic products that end up in sewage plants and stop using lawn fertilizers that spur algae growth in the harbour.

A river … runs through it June 1st, 2009 Bryn Weese / Toronto Sun Neglected for nearly a century, the Lower Don Lands is set for a major — and green — restoration From an industrial wasteland to a well-planned environmentally friendly masterpiece — in 25 years. That’s what Waterfront Toronto is planning for the long-neglected 121 hectares known as the Lower Don Lands, largely a square slab of concrete jutting out into Lake Ontario, between the Keating Channel and the Shipping Channel. It has mangled the Don River’s flow for nearly 100 years into Lake Ontario and was once the Great Lakes’ largest wetland. Waterfront Toronto’s radical redesign of the planning disaster, completed in 1914 when the Don River’s mouth was plugged up and routed through the Keating Channel, calls for major changes to both the natural and man-made landscape. The focal point of the Lower Don Lands development will be a once-again rerouted Don River meandering through a rebuilt wetland surrounded by parks, woodlands and boardwalks. The new river is to cut through the now concrete slab in the lake, and the Keating Channel — which will be kept — will be lined with promenades, waterfront cafes and restaurants, transforming it from an eyesore to a destination and home to 25,000 people. ‘CLIMATE POSITIVE’ The entire project, which could start as early as 2011 with the re-naturalization of the mouth of the Don River and the construction of Keating Channel neighbourhood, could be completed in roughly 25 years. The Keating Channel neighbourhood — scheduled to be done in about a decade — will include 4,000 mixed income housing units, as well as commercial and retail space in a 25-block span. But what is exciting people about the Lower Don Lands more than the aesthetics, amenities or the prospect of turning the Don River into a river again is that the whole development will be environmentally sustainable. This past month, the Lower Don Lands — the area bounded by the Parliament St. slip, the Don Roadway, a rail corridor just above the shoreline in the north and the Shipping Channel — was given the nod from former U.S. president Bill Clinton as one of 16 “climate positive” developments around the globe. “Here’s the first community that we’re building from the ground up with sustainability in mind,” said John Campbell, CEO of Waterfront Toronto, which is overseeing efforts to revitalize the waterfront. “We should be striving to build a community that actually doesn’t have a footprint, it really has a positive contribution towards the planet.” So far, Waterfront Toronto expects the Lower Don Lands to produce more green energy than it uses, feeding excess power into the energy grid. Plans call for environmentally friendly measures to manage storm and waste water, including storing it to replenish the yet-to-be-built wetlands during dryer months. With the environmental assessment for the project already underway, the re-naturalization of the Don River’s mouth could begin as early as 2011. One caveat: Funding for the project, slated to cost $400 million, has not been secured, according to Campbell. But it’s not just a “nice thing to do,” he said. Instead, its main function is to protect all of the Portlands and the adjacent communities, such as Leslieville, from flooding in the event of severe 100-year storms. If Hurricane Hazel hit today, the water would pile up on Bay St. More than that, Campbell doesn’t see why the new river can’t also be a “beautiful gem.” “Where the river comes into the harbour should be the jewel of the harbour, and it’s anything but that today. It’s where the flotsam and jetsam that float down the river — the old chesterfields and freezers, and dead animals — collect,” he said. “It’s a toilet. It’s terrible.” Ken Greenberg, the project team’s lead designer, said the river will act as a catalyst for the rest of the development. “Once you get the river in, and the parks associated with it, it’s going to be a tremendous magnet to draw the rest of the activity,” he said. Project boosters say it will incorporate the best ideas about how to build sustainable communities. ‘EXTREMELY WALKABLE’ “Every single individual thing that will be in this plan, you could probably find somewhere,” said Greenberg. “What you won’t find is all these things put together in one place. That is what makes it radical.” As far as what green technologies will be used, Campbell confirmed no decisions have been made beyond a determination to incorporate as many of the newest and best initiatives over the life of the project. The Lower Don Lands is being designed as an “extremely walkable” and bike-friendly community full of amenities where no one is ever more than five minutes away from public transit, according to Greenberg, who added that such planning will greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the community. The buildings will be designed to maximize the amount of interior illumination by sunlight, reducing the demand for artificial lighting. “We’re carrying sustainability to a whole new level,” Greenberg said. “It’s not just about doing individual green buildings, but whole communities. “It’s not one single thing that gets you to a net plus in terms of energy, but the combination can get you there,” he added. Plans for the Lower Don Lands are still just that — plans — and some are skeptical the project will ever be completed. Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong insists the Lower Don Lands project is just another example of Waterfront Toronto’s ability to spend great swaths of money on big-sky planning, but little on actual bricks and mortar. “There’s no money for it. The three levels of government have given Waterfront Toronto $1.5 billion, and they spend all their money on consultants and studies, and the Lower Don Lands is an example of that,” he said. “They don’t get anything done.” Minnan-Wong admitted Waterfront Toronto has installed some “wave decks” along Queens Quay, but that’s a far cry from what $1.5 billion in public funds should buy, he said. “The Lower Don Lands is a great project if you’re a consultant looking for work,” he added. “But Waterfront Toronto should focus on deliverables, rather than commissioning studies and paying millions and millions to consultants and planners.” And the councillor is not alone in his skepticism of Toronto’s waterfront revitalization, according to George Baird, dean of U of T’s John H. Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Design. “We all know that Torontonians are skeptical about the waterfront because there have been so many false starts that people are in a kind of ’show-me’ frame of mind,” said Baird, who advises Waterfront Toronto through its design review panel. “In recent years, Toronto has kind of lagged behind other places in terms of ambition … but Waterfront Toronto is definitely changing all of that,” he insisted. “I do actually think that people are going to be surprised and pleased once these projects start materializing in front of their eyes.” TORONTO ONE OF 16 ON CLINTON’S CLIMATE LIST Toronto’s futuristic Lower Don Lands development is one of 16 projects around the world to win the approval of former U.S. president Bill Clinton’s climate change group. When all 16 large scale mixed-use developments are built, nearly 1 million people in 10 countries on six continents will live or work in the “climate positive” projects. According to the Clinton Climate Initiative, which will provide planning and technological support to the projects, the 16 projects will demonstrate how to build climate positive developments economically, and set new CO2 global emissions standards for the large scale construction of neighbourhoods. The other 15 “climate positive” developments include: - Destiny, Fla.: Dubbed “America’s first eco-sustainable city,” it’s a 4,000 hectare project one hour south of Orlando that will produce on-site clean energy, and have its own eco-friendly sewage and water treatment plants. - Dockside Green, Victoria, B.C.: A 121,000 sq. metre mixed-use development on a former industrial site, it will have a biomass gastrification plant that converts energy from waste wood into hot water and heat. - Elephant and Castle in London, England: A $3-billion project to be completed by 2014, plans call for the creation of 5,300 homes as well as commercial and retail space in about one sq. km. It is one of two projects in London, - Panama Pacifico, Panama: The project calls for construction of 20,000 new homes and commercial space on a 1,408- hectare site on a former U.S. Air Force base at the mouth of the Panama Canal and Pacific Ocean. - Victoria Harbour, Melbourne, Australia: A $2.5-billion project to be completed in 2020, it is one of two climate-positive developments in the city. It is to have 2,000 new apartments and 250,000 sq. metres of commercial space on a 30-hectare site. - Treasure Island, San Francisco: Initially created in 1936 and 1937 for the Golden Gate Expo, plans call for a largely car-free city with 5,500 housing units and retail space. Powered by a wind farm, with an on-site organic garden and new ferry port. - Stockholm Royal Seaport, Sweden: A 267-hectare development to be completed by 2025, it incorporates 10,000 apartments and 30,000 offices that will be serviced by public transit. Other “climate positive” developments are being built in Seoul, South Korea; Palhoca, Brazil; Johannesburg and Pretoria, South Africa; and Jaupur and Godrej, India.

European Rudd Found in Ohio Waters of Lake Erie June 1, 2009 / www.great-lakes.org COLUMBUS, OH - The first record of European rudd in Ohio waters was recorded this week. It was caught by licensed Ohio commercial fisherman Jim Swartz, who netted the fish near the Lakeside Pier in Marblehead and brought it to state fisheries biologists in Sandusky for identification, according to the Ohio DNR. European rudd, Scardinius erythrophthalmus, is a medium-sized fish native to Europe and Western Asia, where it is a popular food and game species. It was introduced to the United States in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century and may be found in as many as 20 other states. Rudd were first recorded in the Great Lakes drainage in 1950, found in Canadian waters of Lake Erie in 1997, and more recently in Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie in 2004. Rudd are benthic cyprinid fish (minnow family) with omnivorous feeding habits and a lifespan of up to 15 years. Adult size is about 18-20 inches. The fish is very similar to the golden shiner in appearance. They are abundant in the upper Niagara River and in Buffalo Harbor, New York. Rudd may compete for invertebrate food sources with native fishes. Because rudd are fairly hardy, they are likely to fare better than many native fishes in waters that are low in oxygen or polluted. Bait bucket release seems to be the primary mechanism by which rudd have spread. Lake Erie anglers are encouraged to drain all live wells and use only Ohio approved bait fish. Ohio law prohibits the introduction of any fish species into public waters without written permission from the ODNR Division of Wildlife.

The weather this spring just sucks! Wind, cold, rain and to much east wind! Now that I've got that off my chest, nice walleye, nice boat and your blue Loomis is a GL2.

Ditto! We should go fishing, together.

And Mike nails the size.

When you get three in a month Justin I'll drive out there and buy you a beer (or two). *Two covers, I should be so lucky*

Eh Clive, you nailed my fave right there.

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.