Spiel

Mapquest Dumfries Rd. Queenston. The ramp is straight on through at the end of the road.

You know I'm one of these union gents with a mere 2 years of high school and I would just love to tell you just how many ways your post is wrong. Very wrong!

Your Birthday, wow this thread could go on forever. HAPPY BIRTHDAY !

Well I just gots to ask GCD, when is the smilin man from Baton Rouge going to make his first post?

Oh your lifes gonna change now Simon. All for the good mind ya,. Congrats to all three of you.

International coastal cleanup nets three million kilograms of trash Most common item found? Cigarette butts March 11, 2009 Brian Skoloff / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The Associated Press/Ariana Cubillos WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - About three million kilograms of debris was collected from waterways and shorelines around the world during a single day last year, illustrating that careless people are discarding trash just about everywhere, with much of it eventually finding an aquatic home, according to a report released Tuesday. Nearly 400,000 volunteers scoured about 27,000 kilometres of coastline, river bottoms and ocean floors during the Ocean Conservancy's 23rd International Coastal Cleanup in September. The group's report said more than 3.2 million cigarette butts were picked up during last year's efforts, making the items the most common found. That's followed by about 1.4 million plastic bags, 942,000 food wrappers and containers, and 937,000 caps and lids. Volunteers also collected 26,585 tires, enough for 6,646 cars - and a spare. Of the 104 participating countries, the U.S. supplied about half the volunteers. Volunteers collected about 11.4 million items overall, which weighed a total of about three million kilograms. They snagged more than 1.3 million cigarette butts in the U.S. alone, about 19,500 fishing nets in the United Kingdom and more than 11,000 diapers in the Philippines. "Our ocean is sick, and our actions have made it so," said Vikki Spruill, the Ocean Conservancy's president and CEO. "The evidence turns up every day in dead and injured marine life, littered beaches that discourage tourists, and choked ocean ecosystems." The group said thousands of marine mammals, sea turtles and birds are injured or killed by ocean trash every year. During the event, participants found 268 marine animals that survived being entangled in debris. But 175 weren't so lucky and died - a seal wrapped in fishing line near Santa Cruz, Calif.; a juvenile hammerhead shark entangled in fishing line near St. Augustine, Fla.; a sea turtle tangled in rope in the west African nation of Ghana; and a penguin entangled in wire in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The majority of trash, the report said, comes from land-based activities, such as discarding of fast food wrappers during beach picnics. "Your trash may make it to the beach before you do this year," the report said, adding that a wrapper or cigarette butt discarded on an inland city street can quickly wash down storm drains into rivers and eventually flow out to the ocean. The next cleanup is set for Sept. 19. Read more at www.oceanconservancy.org

Lake Scugog levels dropping ahead of spring melt March 11, 2009 Chris Hall / newsdurhamregion.com SCUGOG -- Beneath the frozen surface that covers Lake Scugog, water levels are slowly receding in preparation for the upcoming spring melt. While the winter of 2008-2009 will go down as average in the books of the Kawartha Conservation Authority (KCA) when it comes to the amount of precipitation fallen, the months of December, January and February cannot be described as normal in the eyes of those charged with keeping track of local lakes and rivers. "It's been very busy, we've been through event and event and event," said Iryna Shulyarenko, a hydrologist with KCA. What's made this winter so interesting, she explained, has been the unpredictable pattern of snow-thaw-rain, which from time to time has left area rivers and creeks filled to the brim. The combination of melting snow and torrential rainfall in late December and again in mid- and late-February have meant Blackstock Creek, East Cross Creek and the Nonquon River have been hovering at their highest levels ever on record, said Ms. Shulyarenko. "The water levels at this moment are already elevated," she said, noting public advisories have been sent out to warn residents of the dangers of high waters. And, added the hydrologist, more rain forecast for earlier this week was "something we don't need, absolutely. "The snow hasn't stayed on the ground, it's come and melt, come and melt and then with the rain in December and February that has made these events very significant, very intensive," said Ms. Shulyarenko. However, the overall level of precipitation over the past three months -- from December to the end of February -- has been "quite average," she added. According to statistics provided by an Environment Canada climate station based in the Blackstock area, over that three-month period 198 cm of snow fell, combined with 102 mm of rain. One centimetre of snow is about equal to one millimetre of water, advises the hydrologist. That's comparable to the stretch of time between December 2007 and Feb. 29, 2008 when 280 mm of precipitation was recorded. "It was almost the same," said Ms. Shulyarenko. However, "what made last winter special was the month of March, when we got much more precipitation than normal," she said. During that single month, 103 mm of precipitation was noted, with 61 cm of that recorded as snow. On average, about 54 mm of precipitation is recorded in March. That late snowfall, in turn, rapidly melted as the temperatures rose, resulting in a bloated Lake Scugog last spring. And, while it's still too early to guess what type of water levels Lake Scugog will post this summer, Ms. Shulyarenko noted the dam at Lindsay has been open all winter long in an effort to keep the water levels below the shoreline banks. She explained Lake Scugog's water levels have been somewhat like yo-yo throughout this winter season. In January, the levels fell, only to rise again in mid-February and then quickly lower again. By the end of February the levels were once again up, but have since fallen. "The general trend for now is that (lake levels are) coming down to accommodate the water from the spring melt," said Ms. Shulyarenko, stressing that at this time the lake is within its "normal levels." As for the next six weeks or so, the hydrologist shrugs her shoulders when asked what to expect in terms of precipitation and its effect on the lake. But she does offer that Environment Canada is predicting normal temperatures and amounts of precipitation for south and central Ontario.

Spotlight to shine again on Lake Scugog Give The Lake A Break open house set for March 27, 28 Mar 03, 2009 / newsdurhamregion.com PORT PERRY -- The spotlight will fall on Lake Scugog later this month when a two-day education session, with the aim of increasing public awareness around the local lake, is held. Dubbed Give The Lake A Break, the open house is a partnership between Scugog and the Kawartha Conservation Authority. It will be held at the Scugog Community Centre on March 27 and 28. The first day of the event will focus on youth education, with hopes that schools will take in the open house. There will also be a marketplace held throughout the day. On the evening of March 27, there will be a 7 p.m. presentation by the Muskoka Wildlife Centre, which will feature a variety of live animals for youth to check out. "It's a great way to teach kids... about all the wildlife that exists in our community," said Scugog Mayor Marilyn Pearce. It's expected that animals such as skunks and porcupines will be on hand. The second day of the open house will see a marketplace set up once again, along with a variety of presentations related to Lake Scugog and its health. Gene Chartier, Scugog's commissioner of planning and public works, is slated to speak on March 28 around noon where he will give an update on the Township's plans to rejuvenate Port Perry's waterfront. The open house follows the Lake Scugog Summit hosted last spring by the Township, but is less formal and with fewer speakers, said the mayor. "It's a great chance to hear some good speakers and visit the marketplace," she said. The Scugog Community Centre is located at 1655 Reach St.

Scarborough man pleads guilty to fishing infraction in Georgina March 11, 2009 / yorkregion.com A Scarborough man has been fined $1,000 for an illegal catch of perch in Lake Simcoe and had his fishing licence suspended for one year. Wai-Chee Lam, 50, pleaded guilty to catching and keeping more than the legal quota of fish. During a routine check of anglers on Lake Simcoe shores in Georgina Jan. 9, an Aurora district conservation officer found Mr. Lam with 17 yellow perch over the daily limit. Justice of the Peace Rhonda Shousterman heard the case in the Ontario Court of Justice, Newmarket, Feb. 20. To report a natural resources violation, call 1-877-TIPS-MNR (847-7667) toll-free any time or contact your local ministry office during regular business hours. You can also call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).

Lake Manitou appears exempt from new lake trout restrictions March 11, 2009 Jim Moodie / manitoulin.ca NORTHEAST ONTARIO-Regulatory changes are in the offing to reduce pressures on lake trout in the sprawling fishery zone that includes Manitoulin, but Lake Manitou anglers appear to be off the hook. "I've made the case that Lake Manitou deserves special consideration," said Wayne Selinger, biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) in Espanola. "I've done an evaluation of Manitou and it's presently in fairly good shape for lake trout." The same can't be said for other parts of Zone 10, the vast fisheries management area that extends from the French River in the southeast to as far north and west as Elk Lake and Wawa. Manitoulin was lumped into this zone last year and represents its southernmost precinct. Between 2000 and 2005, the MNR conducted an assessment of lake trout across Northeastern Ontario, choosing 130 randomly selected lakes in the region that host the cold-water species, the bulk of which fell within Zone 10. And the results weren't promising. "The bottom line is that only 32 percent of the trout lakes assessed were found to have a high abundance of the fish, and of these, nearly half were fished beyond an acceptable level," noted Mr. Selinger. "The report card for Zone 10 doesn't look encouraging, and something needs to be done to address that." Lake Manitou, the Island's only lake to accommodate the species, makes for a dramatic exception to this general trend, however. "It's 10,000 hectares and far more productive," said Mr. Selinger. "It's kind of like a lake trout factory, would be one way to put it." The big spring-fed lake benefits from warmer temperatures than the rest of the region, which translate into "higher growing degree days" for trout, said the biologist, as well as boasts a limestone base that "builds that further and drives lake trout growth and maturity." All of the other lakes in the zone that support a lake trout fishery are in Canadian Shield country, and their concentrations of this popular sport fish aren't doing nearly so well. Sudbury lakes, in particular, are taking a big hit. "The Sudbury area has the lowest quality lake trout lakes in Fisheries Management Zone 10," reads a fact sheet produced last month by the MNR. "Only 20 percent have good or healthy lake trout abundance and 53 percent are classified as degraded." There are several reasons for this decline. "Acid damage is one factor, although many of these lakes are recovering," noted Mr. Selinger. "Obviously fishing pressure and harvest are part of it, as well as the spread of species like bass and rock bass that aren't typically a component of a lake-trout lake." The introduction of bass generally occurs through "careless use of bait and unauthorized stocking," said Mr. Selinger. And about a quarter of the trout lakes in Zone 10 have now become colonized by bass species, according to the five-year study. While some trout lakes can withstand the presence of such finny kin, others suffer from the competition, as bass gobble up a lot of the prey fish along the shore. "You can point to some lakes and say it hasn't made much difference, but it's kind of like Russian Roulette," said Mr. Selinger. Other forces influencing the health of lake trout in the zone are water quality and climate change, noted the MNR biologist. "Lake trout like cold water, so if warming occurs they are going to get squeezed," he pointed out. "That's part of the need to act now, because these other things on the horizon will put even more pressure on the situation, so we have to cut back on angler take." In looking at the information gathered by the MNR, members of the Zone 10 advisory council, which includes an Island representative, have recently agreed upon a series of management strategies to curb angler impact and preserve populations of this freshwater char, which is judged to be the second most popular sport fish in the zone. Mr. Selinger wasn't in a position to discuss the specific recommendations, as their unveiling awaits an Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR) posting for public comment, although he allowed that strategies to deal with overharvest almost necessarily involve an adjustment to one (or all) of the following: limits, size restrictions and season dates. The Expositor has independently obtained a draft of the changes that are apt to be put on the table, the most striking of which is a proposal to reduce the winter fishing period by over a month, with the opening date for trout fishing delayed until February 15. That would affect every lake in the zone save Lake Manitou, which has been recognized for its higher rate of productivity and would preserve its January 1-September 30 season. The one change that could impact Island anglers is the daily limit, which could be reduced from three fish per day to two. Another strategy being proposed is to maintain similar seasons for put-and-take fisheries to deflect fishing impact from lakes where naturally reproducing trout are more vulnerable. Lake Manitou has a combination of planted and naturally occurring lake trout. "It's not a put-and-take lake," stressed Mr. Selinger. "It's both stocked and has strong natural recruitment, so we're just supplementing what's there." The stocking of lake trout in Manitou is currently following a "two years on, two years off" cycle, said the biologist, "so that we can see what the natural year classes will be." In general, though, Manitoulin's largest and deepest lake has proven itself to be a virtual hot house for the species. "They grow faster and mature younger there," said Mr. Selinger. "Across the zone, they will reach 40 centimetres at age seven. In Manitou, they're only two or three years old when they reach 40 centimetres, and are mature at age four." He attributes this speedy growth largely to the limestone environment, which has "innate productivity." To make the argument for Manitou's exemption from the proposed changes to lake trout regulations, the biologist compared dissolved solids in this lake (a key measure of productivity) to those of other lakes. "Manitou has over double the amount of the next best lake in the zone," he said. In a paper he prepared on the status of Lake Manitou, Mr. Selinger writes, "Based on the analysis of some key parameters known to drive lake trout productivity and population dynamics, Lake Manitou very clearly resides outside the bounds of the (Zone 10) data set." While the recommendations concerning the trout fishery-including Manitou's exemption from significant changes-await public review and ministerial sanction, Mr. Selinger is confident that the unique nature of this inland lake will be reflected in any future decision. Manitoulin as a whole has already, along with the French River, earned a distinction within the broader zone as "specially designated waters," meaning there is an existing recognition that exceptions should be made for this area when it comes to management strategies. If there is a risk to Manitoulin's unusually bounteous resource, it would likely be an increase in visits from off-Island anglers who find the opportunities for lake trout fishing scaled back in other areas of the zone.

Get those ice huts off the lake 2009-03-09 Local anglers are being reminded that they only have a few more days to get their ice huts off Lake Simcoe. The Ministry of Natural Resources issued a press release last week outlining the rules and regulations governing ice huts, most notably the fact that they must be removed by March 15. Anglers are also being asked to ensure that their hut is registered with the Province by calling (905) 713-7400. Once registered, a hut can be used anywhere in Ontario.

These 90-100k wind gusts may be removing huts as I type. I'm with you on the thaw, lets get 'er done.

I spent a few days fishing with one of these stcroixrods.com Seemed like a decent rod for a $100.00. Perhaps some of the avid musky guys would know more.

Great to have both of you on board. Wish I could get my son a little more interested in fishing. Even the promise of missing school doesn't motivate him.

I agree with Sinker, a 40 would likely overwhelm the boat and be potentially dangerous. As for modifying it to a side console, no.

Only thing I remember bout waxing is....wax on......wax off.

Actually ohhenrygsr there's too much going on in your signature line, something has got to go.....?

OFC Store

I'm saddened to learn of this Bernie, a tremendous loss for the entire family.

Yep, pike and perch as well as largemouth and crappie. Personally I've only fished it through the ice.

Absolutely keep 'em coming Bernie. Love 'em.

Good stuff guys. I'm hoping to soon be hauling whities over the boat gunnel. Come on global warming.

Sure I remember being young and fearless. Truth is a lot of what I did was very stupid, some of so that even at the time I recognised it as stupid. Quite honestly I still thank my lucky stars that I made through those years, some have been quite recently as a matter of fact.

Is this the Little Lake on the north east side of Puslinch Lake?

Yup, me too.