Spiel

....Just a heads up for those who may be looking for a floater coat. Nautilus Floater Coat

....Always nice to have a fellow Hamiltonian on board, welcome.

Public consultation begins on proposed Presqui'le projects JOYCE CASSIN / northumberlandtoday.com Restoring vegetation at Presqu'ile Provincial Park is the plan behind the recent announcement by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). There are two proposed projects at Presqu'ile Provincial Park that include deer and cormorant management plus vegetation restoration on the islands of the park. Aimed at protecting woodland habitat, Ontario Parks managed double-crested cormorants on High Bluff and Gull Islands at Presqu'ile Provincial Park from 2003 to 2007, with results showing cormorant management was effective in decreasing the damage to woodland habitat and allowing the trees and shrubs to begin to recover. In 2008 no management occurred and cormorant numbers increased. According to the MNR, this habitat is important for several rare species of birds, including black-crowned night heron and great egret, as well as monarch butterflies. Habitat for these species is under threat throughout the Great Lakes, according to a statement from the MNR. A letter to citizens states Ontario Parks has scientifically assessed the results of the previous cormorant management and based on these findings, Ontario Parks has determined that rmorant management is needed on these islands to maintain the woodland habitat. Ontario Parks is looking at an ecosystem-based implementation plan for the Presqu'ile Islands because the "ecological integrity of the woodlands has been affected by both deer and cormorants," the letter states. Active restoration will enhance the recovery of ecological integrity to these areas, it states in the letter. Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment under the Class Environmental Assessment for Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves (Class EA). The cormorant management activities of the proposal will be evaluated as a Category C project under the Class EA, which requires the preparation of an Environmental Study Report (ESR), while the deer management and vegetation restoration aspects of the proposal will be evaluated as Category B projects. The public will be invited to comment on the draft implementation plan and the proposed management activities when the plan is released, after which Ontario Parks will address comments and release the final plan for inspection. A separate implementation plan for wildlife and vegetation management on the mainland at Presqu'ile will also be prepared. There will also be an opportunity to review and comment on the mainland plan and its proposed activities. Initial comments regarding this project for the Presqu'ile islands must be received in writing within the 30-day comment period, which expires on Dec. 29. Comments may be sent to Corina Brdar, Zone Ecologist, Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Parks, Southeast Zone, 51 Heakes Lane, Kingston, ON., K7M 9B1 or by fax: 613-536-7228 / Email: [email protected]. The scientific review of cormorant management can be obtained from the Ontario Parks website via www.ontarioparks.com. Documents supporting this project will also be available on the Ontario Parks website. An information notice on this project was posted on the Environmental Registry at the following Web address: www.ene.gov.on.ca. For more information or to request further notice please contact Ms. Brdar at 613-545- 4034.

Pressure rises to turn on Great Lakes carp barrier Dec. 11, 2008 Dan Egan / Journal Sentinel The heat is cranking up on the Army Corps of Engineers to turn on its new electrical fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal - the best hope the region has to keep the Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes. A group of 29 U.S. senators and representatives wrote to the corps and the U.S. Coast Guard this week, demanding answers as to why the $9 million device, completed in spring 2006, has yet to be turned on. "We understand the need to thoroughly test the safety of the barrier and to establish safety guidelines to protect users of the canal, but these tests have lasted for many months," wrote members of the congressional coalition called the Great Lakes Task Force to the bosses of the Coast Guard and the Army Corps. "Meanwhile, Asian carp continue to head closer to the barrier." Asian carp were imported to Arkansas over three decades ago and soon thereafter escaped their containment ponds. They have been migrating north since and have already overwhelmed stretches of the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. The fish, which are now within 45 miles of Lake Michigan, can grow to 100 pounds. They pose a severe hazard to recreational boaters because of their penchant for leaping out of the water when agitated by the whir of a boat motor. The filter feeders also feast at the bottom of the food chain - food upon which every other fish in invaded waters directly or indirectly depends. "The $7 billion Great Lakes fishery is too important to jeopardize with lengthy delays on a permanent barrier," states the Dec. 9 letter, which was signed by U.S. Sens. Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl of Wisconsin. "We therefore ask you to provide us with a detailed work plan and timeline to complete barrier construction and testing, and then to begin operation at full capacity." A smaller, less powerful electric "experimental" barrier is the only thing standing between the fish and the Great Lakes, the world's largest freshwater system. The Journal Sentinel reported earlier this fall that nearly $1 million of the $9 million spent so far on the new barrier has gone into testing and projects to make the device safer for barge operators and recreational boaters on the artificial link between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River. Yet despite nearly 2 1/2 years of tests, neither the corps nor the Coast Guard could say when they would know enough to permanently turn on the barrier. After the story was published, the eight Great Lakes governors wrote the secretaries of the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security asking for action. On Thursday, Coast Guard Commander Tim Cummins said the Coast Guard had sent a response to the governors' letter up the chain of command in Homeland Security, but he was not sure what had become of it. Gov. Jim Doyle's office said Thursday it had yet to receive a reply. But the Army Corps, which owns the barrier, is evidently convinced the safety concerns have been addressed. It wrote in a Dec. 1 letter to the Coast Guard that it believes the new barrier "presents minimal risk to canal users" and recommended turning it on, though not at full capacity. Cummins said the Coast Guard, which has final say over barrier safety matters, will make a decision by Dec. 15. If the barrier is activated in the coming weeks, it won't be allowed to operate at full strength. All the safety tests have been with the new barrier operating at the same level as the weaker experimental barrier, or one volt per inch. The new barrier is designed to operate at a maximum of four volts per inch. One volt per inch is enough to repel adult carp, but higher voltage is needed to repel juvenile fish, because smaller fish need more of a jolt to be turned away. The barge industry has agreed to allow the new barrier to be turned on in an emergency if the temporary barrier fails, but only at one volt per inch. The fear is that higher voltage could cause sparking between barges carrying flammable cargoes or could kill a person who falls overboard. The corps' barrier project manager, Chuck Shea, said the plan now is to conduct safety tests at the higher voltage early next year, and predicted those tests could be completed by summer. "I'd think we could do the testing within a few months," he said. Until those tests are completed, and until the barrier is operating at full strength, biologists say the door to the Great Lakes will remain cracked open. "As I understand it, they're saying: Let's wait until small fish are present to boost this beyond one volt per inch," said University of Wisconsin Sea Grant's Phil Moy, who is co-chairman of an advisory panel helping the corps get the barrier built. Moy says that panel is scheduled to meet with the corps on Jan. 8. "One of the topics we want to bring up at the panel meeting is: How are we going to determine when small fish are present?" That won't be easy, he said.

Overwhelming Parliament majority adopts European cormorant management plan December 15, 2008 / great-lakes.org One of the most important decisions in European angling history took place on December 4th, 2008 as the European Parliament decided to support a pan-European Cormorant Management Plan. As many as 558 MEPs voted in favor of the report and its resolutions. Only seven MEPs voted against it! The European Fishing Tackle Trade Association informed the GLSFC that EFTTA and the European Anglers Alliance (EAA) are extremely happy with the positive outcome of the plenary voting on MEP Dr. Heinz Kindermann's report "on the adoption of a European Cormorant Management Plan to minimize the increasing impact of cormorants on fish stocks, fishing and aquaculture." This exceptionally strong backing from the European Parliament puts heavy pressure on the European Commission and the Council of Ministers to put forward the request for a pan-European management plan and all the basic elements needed for the smooth and effective implementation of such a plan. These elements include more and better data, improved co-ordination between Member States, greater involvement of stakeholders and clarification of some of the legal terms and the terminology in use. With cormorants causing widespread devastation to European fish stocks - and thereby affecting the quality of recreational angling available to anglers in Europe - The 'Kindermann Report' has been supported at every stage by EFTTA. EFTTA Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Claude Bel, said: "After the Committee on Fisheries gave such an overwhelming vote in favor of the Kindermann Report, we are delighted that the European Parliament understood just how important it is to have a workable management plan for these birds." Jan Kappel added: "A tremendous amount of work was put into the report which was accepted by the Committee on Fisheries, by all parties. “We have had to present a very reasoned argument against some strong opposition from the bird lobby - particularly when they have used emotive headlines from European angling magazines as an argument against a European Cormorant Action Plan. "But we remained confident that there was overwhelming evidence that something needed to be done to find a solution that helped to conserve fish stocks whilst at the same time providing the appropriate levels of protection for cormorants -and we were right as the outcome shows." The 'Kindermann Report'....PDF

Lower Niagara/Lake Ontario December 18, 2008 Will Elliott / buffalonews.com Coho is the way to go all along the Lake Ontario shoreline. After two record-sized coho “crossbreeds” (both well over 30 pounds) were weighed in earlier this fall, boaters during the fall and now feeder-stream waders have been hitting into these silvery salmon everywhere from the Niagara Bar to well east of Point Breeze. Western New York streams see the normal influx of steelies and browns before the official arrival on winter Saturday, but late-season runs of lingering king salmon and unusual numbers and sizes of coho salmon have been moving up stream in areas not even close to stocking sites. Johnsons Creek, west of Oak Orchard River, accounted for one wall-worthy coho, according to Sharon Narburgh at Narby’s Superette and Tackle Shop in Kent. Narburgh also notes casters have hooked into these silver streakers below the Waterport Dam on Oak Orchard and below Burt Dam on Eighteen Mile Creek. Larger coho often have some king salmon swimming in their gene pool, and all put on a vicious fight in whichever pool they are hooked. As waters clear in streams from Four Mile Creek to Point Breeze, casters have to drop to smaller bugs, flies, spinners, spoons and egg offerings, as well as switch to lighter, less-visible line. Perch have also put in a solid showing in bays and along stream edges close to their mouths. Oak Orchard still produces better for boaters than shore casters, but numbers remain solid there. Irondequoit Bay ice melted off last week and shore prospects still look poor for the coming week. When firm ice finally forms, areas as shallow as 3 feet could be productive. Check before heading to ice hot spots at Irondequoit or around Braddock Bay. Coho and perch have been lean, but steelies are mean along lower Niagara River drifts. Waters cleared from tan to green Wednesday morning, and steelies hold from Devil’s Hole down current to the U. S. Coast Guard Station. The New York Power Authority casting pier at Devil’s Hole is closed for the season and will reopen in the spring when weather permits. Shore casters have a parking area above the hole and another at Whirlpool Park. Lake Erie Cattaraugus Creek ran muddy most of this past week, but smaller feeders have settled to fishable levels. Silver Creek looked good — and produced nice trout — early Wednesday morning. Both Canadaway and Chautauqua creeks hold good numbers of steelies.

....I'm good with most fish I bring home but the kids love whitefish and GB steelies! The one thing I never do is freeze 'em, always serve 'em fresh.

....I too am sorry to hear this Brian. My sincerest condolences.

...Uh oh, somebody messed up!

....Good on you Brian.

....Congrats Team Extreme. Kudos to all the teams and their efforts, some pretty impressive stats on that board. My apologies to the reel screamers for failing to get a musky on board. Back in September I purchased a musky rod and some tackle and made a valiant effort to get us one. I even procured the guiding services of Muskiestudd to take me round his favourite haunts on the West Arm but to no avail. I did however manage to get the pike on board while searching for my first ever musky....LOL

And what would the other be Glen, soft wood?

....A friend here on the board e-mailed me this some time ago and I thought I'd share it. All I can say wow, this guys invention is definitely got what it takes to be mandatory equipment on table saws! SawStop

....Yep, small town papers are great, everything is an event in small towns. My sweety (on the right fools) made the front page of one last week while we were attending her grandmother's 100th birthday. www.tavistock.on.ca

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa....

....All I can tell you is with 33 years of custom rod building experience you will not see this load of bunk on any of my rods.....ever! Looks damn ridiculous.

....The only direction this one is heading is south, but fast. So it ends here!

....I think this has come about as far as it can. Now if you'll excuse me I have some rods to build and that is indeed fishing related.

.....HaHaHaHaHa, speaking of the dead where you been hiding you old fossil? No problem, I never did get over to PA to check them out.....DUH.

.....Fantastic! Kudos to all who ventured out whilst I stayed cozy and warm.

....Wow, some absolutely amazing shots there. I highly recommend everyone take a minute to view them!

.....Soweeeeet, those are some dandy "eyes".

....I too have the same slowness issues (insert joke here) as the rest of you. I believe the reason is likely due to server maintainace and upgrades. Perhaps Rick can tell us for sure?

....In many ways we truly have something unique here Marc. And if my memory serves me right you've always been there to offer up your services as well, for that I thank you personally. You and all the good folks here at OFC have shown time and time again what it means to be selfless. My hats off to all who have given of themselves to help others.

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