Spiel

Goodenow finds plentiful perch January 18, 2008 Will Elliott / buffalonews.com There is always some new thing under the sun when it comes to learning about what goes on under the ice. A chance meeting with Silver Lake ice-fishing devotee Warren Goodenow last week led to some interesting observations too numerous to shoehorn into the shag end of last week’s ice-fishing summation. A 14-pound walleye and better numbers of keeper-sized perch from Lake Simcoe were both good news. Invariably, reports about each day on the ice unfold differently, and — despite extensive study and decades of field experience — some new things come along well worth learning and doing. When longtime friend and fellow fishing fanatic George Dovolos introduced me to Goodenow, it was obvious that Goodenow was a good guy for ice-angling info. We had an open field out there for ice options that morning, with good bluegill along the shoreline and some nice perch prospects out over depths of 30 feet or more at mid-lake near Mack’s Boat Livery. Dovolos deferred to Goodenow and we headed out to the deeps to pick on the perch. Out there, we met up with Dick Wolfer from Fillmore, another regular with a bountiful bucket of perch paraphernalia — and a few nice perch in the pail to prove it. This threesome hits the ice every hour possible and works shallow and deep to get over sizable schools of sizable fish. On this day, they keyed on perch, and I had the good fortune to fish amid this triangulated trio. While I have the right auger, snow sled, all-weather suit and a bucket full of stubby ice rods with all kinds of lures likely to allure fish at Chautauqua or Simcoe, Goodenow immediately took me under his tutelage and handed me his version of an ice rod. Nearby, Wolfer and Dovolos kept pulling reams of runts and an occasional bucket-worthy perch. Goodenow wanted me to see exactly what was going on down there. I didn’t have to bring out a sonar device. He had me use his newer model of a Vexilar flasher rig. “Underwater cameras are nice for looking at fish, but you can follow their moods,” Goodenow said as he set up the program to show on a circular screen both the overall depth and a zoom-in view of depths just off bottom. Videos and graph-screen models work well for viewing fish movement, but this Vexilar, a unit that’s been on the market for at least a decade, offers the classic flasher-screen program of a Lowrance “Green Box” and the modern technology of sensitivity and target distinction under the water/ ice surface. All this is important because Goodenow plans all his approaches with small and light baits. “I like to use ‘plastics’ [rubber/vinyl jig bodies and tails] on small heads,” he said as he opened one pocket-sized lure holder he estimated to hold $200 in small, specialized ice jigs. The lot probably didn’t have one head weighing more than zounce. Every ice angler knows the difficulty of getting to the bottom and then feeling the lure hit bottom in deeper water. While I was using his sonar unit, Goodenow began fishing a circle of holes he had drilled with a battery-powered DeWalt drill he fitted with an open chuck that could lock onto a 4-inch ice auger. Even cooler was his skill at reaching bottom with his light jigs — he switched us to 1-pound test line when the fish stopped biting –and picking just the right tap or hang on the line to set a hook into the bigger ringbacks out there. “I like to experiment with colors, shapes and sizes,” the 47-year veteran ice angler said as we tried to dodge the runts and set hooks on bigger perch. I sat there looking at a sonar screen that showed me when a fish was swimming by, when it was chasing my lure upward, and the relative size of the prey. But Goodenow got into the bigger perch along with the reams of runts that held on the sonar screen throughout the mid afternoon. “I’m getting the bigger fish when jigging high off the bottom,” he said while lifting overhead to tease another big one. This scene gets repeated on every good perch lake and bay every ice season. Goodenow’s array of light-tackle gear — rods, reels, lines and mini baits — would be good on lakes such as Chautauqua, Simcoe, Honeoye, Erie or in bays such as Braddock, Sodus or Irondequoit. Goodenow willingly shares his success “secrets” that have placed him high in regional and national ice-fishing tourneys. This year, as a member of Avon Anglers, he helps in coordinating five ice contests on area lakes. For details, visit avonanglers. com.

Genz on the move to promote ice fishing January 18, 2009 Dennis Anderson / MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE MINNEAPOLIS — The other evening, Dave Genz put a lot of miles between him and his home in St. Cloud, Minn., driving eastbound on Interstate Hwy. 94 through central Wisconsin, with a thousand miles or more of blacktop lying ahead. Genz — ice fishing’s pied piper — was loaded down with a van full of winter-fishing gear. He was driving to Vermont, with a trailer and snowmobile following behind. Until March, Genz will meet in back rooms of VFW halls, Holiday Inns and at sporting goods stores throughout New England, and also in Michigan and Indiana — just about anywhere he can gather a crowd of people wanting to learn more about how to fish through the ice. “In winter,” Genz said, “I go looking for people to talk to.” Advancing his arrival will be posters and announcements in retailers’ windows, on lampposts and on the Internet. “I don’t charge admission,” he said. At 61, Genz still sits atop the ice fishing world, a perch he has occupied for more than a decade. Most noted for propelling the portable fishing house to the forefront of the winter angling scene, he also makes his living developing winter fishing lures and, especially, promoting ice fishing on behalf of a bevy of specialty manufacturers. “I’ll also fish while I’m in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine,” Genz said. “I can give a much better seminar when I’m familiar with the local fishing.” Genz considers the East Coast a virgin market for winter fishing. Anglers there haven’t taken as quickly to the many equipment-and fishing-technique changes that have swept across Wisconsin and, especially, Minnesota the past 15 years. These include portable fishing shelters, depth finders and fish locators, global positioning systems, high-speed augers with laser-sharpened blades, graphite rods and smooth-spooling reels, colored live baits, specialty lures and lines. Each has contributed to a winter fishing revolution in which Genz has played a pivotal role. “Mobility is a big part of it,” he said. “Ice fishermen aren’t content to sit in one spot anymore. You have to be able to move to a new spot to find fish. We call it trolling through the ice. We’re not content to sit in one place anymore and wait for the sun to go down to catch fish.” Though portable ice fishing houses are commonplace back east, many anglers there are more likely to spread out a handful of tip-ups, rather than using a flasher to look for fish through the ice, then move until fish are found. Genz gets paid to preach the gospel about the benefits of using modern ice-fishing electronics, especially flashers. “Lures we design today for ice fishing typically have large surface areas so the signal from flashers bounces off them readily,” he said. “That way it’s easier to see how far down your lure is at any given time, and you’re able to put the lure nearer to the fish.” It’s been about 20 years since Genz quit his job and struck out on his own, intending to make fish and fishing his livelihood. Until then, he had dabbled in the ice-fishing business, selling portable canvas ice fishing houses and imported Eurolarvae out of his garage. He hit pay dirt when he licensed a portable ice fishing house to a company that paid him a royalty for each unit sold. Clam Corp. now owns the rights to that shelter, and Genz is part of Clam’s development team. “One of the big changes in portable houses now is insulation,” he said. “We have one model of Fish Trap houses that is insulated, and it requires significantly less heat to keep it a whole lot warmer. Also, in real cold weather, it doesn’t freeze up inside and create condensation.” Still more innovations are coming to ice fishing, Genz believes. “As new types of batteries develop, new electric- powered products will be brought on the market,” he said. “Already we have LED lights for portable houses. Electric augers will become more popular. Also, heated clothing, including socks and vests. Heated coolers to keep beverages from freezing in winter. And winter fishing rods with heated handles.” Genz says he won’t stop promoting the sport he loves any time soon. “I’m not doing anything I care to retire from,” he said.

Use caution out on ice 3 Indiana fishermen lost their lives last weekend Sunday January 18, 2009 Steve Pollick / toledoblade.com The ice fishing season barely has begun in these latitudes, but the warning flags already are flying over dangerous and deadly moves by fishermen. At midweek local fire and law enforcement authorities, backed up by a coast guard helicopter from Detroit, ordered three fishermen off ice near Catawba State Park on western Lake Erie northeast of Port Clinton because of erratic ice conditions. The men, who were unidentified, returned to shore safely with their gear, but the season had recorded its first ice fishing incident. Last weekend three men died in separate incidents on two northern Indiana lakes. Two died Sunday evening when their snowmobiles broke through ice on Sylvan Lake, and a third man died Saturday when his ice boat overturned, broke through the ice and entered the waters of Lake Maxinkuckee, authorities said. As a result, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has issued is annual warnings about exercising extreme caution when venturing out, the golden rule for which is there is no such thing as safe ice. The department has surveyed various information resources and offers the following ice safety tips, with additional advice available at ohiodnr.com. - Always remember that ice-covered water is never completely safe. - Anyone new to ice fishing, or interested in learning how to safely ice fish, should seek out a licensed ice-fishing guide. A list of certified guides is available at ohiodnr.com or by calling the Ohio Division of Wildlife's Sandusky office at 419-625-8062. In addition, inquire at local bait shops about areas of potentially thin or dangerous ice. - Always fish with friends, and inform others about when you will be on the ice, where and when you will return. - If possible, take with you a cell-phone sealed in a plastic bag. - Wear a coast guard-approved life jacket or float coat. Life vests provide excellent flotation and protection from hypothermia. - Use safe alternatives to local streams or lakes for skating or sledding. For example, Dillon State Park in Muskingum County offers free access to a designated ice-skating area. Check with local, state or metropark about where conditions are suitable for skating. - Know that wind-chill factors are relative thermal guides. Although a thermometer may read 40 degrees, a wind speed of 20 miles per hour can cause a body to lose heat as if the temperature were actually 18 degrees. - Carry two ice picks, screwdrivers or large nails to create leverage for pulling yourself out of the water. Secure them onto the ends of a strong cord and drape the cord around the neck of your outerwear for instant access. They are much more effective than bare hands for self-rescue. Also, carry a whistle or other noisemaker to alert others if you are in distress. - Dress in layers and add extra clothing for the head, neck, sides and groin, which are the primary heat-loss areas. Wool and modern synthetics are good fabric choices for clothing. Cotton is slow to dry. - Keep an extra set of clothes in your car - or along with your gear sled - sealed in a plastic bag, in case you do need dry clothing. - Avoid alcoholic beverages. In addition to reducing reaction times, alcohol lowers your internal temperature and increases the chances of suffering hypothermia. - Never drive a vehicle, snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle onto ice. Leave this to professional guides. Doing so is extremely dangerous, and most insurance policies will not cover the vehicles of ice fishermen that have dropped through the ice.

....Soweeeeeet. Butt please try and limit your hole shots to one.

....Way cool Bernie. I been thinking bout getting a negative scanner (I have quite a number of negatives), did you enhance those pictures or is that exactly how they scanned?

....Thanks for a great field test report Garry, always nice to have input from knowlegable folks like yourself. As for the flipping feature, for me a must have when back trolling bottom bouncers, and vertical jigging lakers through the water column (ice and open water seasons).

Fishing company, captain fined for violations Friday January 16, 2009 Leamington Post A Lake Erie commercial fishing boat captain has been fined $4,500 and a Wheatley commercial fishing company fined $2,000 for commercial fishing violations. Pisces Fishery Incorporated of Wheatley is the owner of a commercial fishing licence. Jose Pacheco, 55, also of Wheatley, is the captain of the commercial fishing vessel ADCO II. In a Windsor court this week Pacheco and the company pleaded guilty to seven counts each of violating the terms and conditions of a commercial fishing licence. The charges stem from three separate incidents. An investigation by Ministry of Natural Resources officers found that between Jan. 6 and Feb. 23, 2007, and March 12 and March 18, 2008, Pacheco falsified his daily catch reports by recording incorrect information about where and for how long he set his gill nets. The conditions of Lake Erie commercial fishing licences require gill net users between January 1 and March 15 to have a working GPS unit on board their vessel. Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement staff are able to access readings from these units. The readings from the GPS unit on the ADCO II proved that the catch reports were false. On April 14 last year, conservation officers conducted an inspection of the ADCO II and discovered that Pacheco had not declared 150 kilograms of yellow perch he had caught

Parking lots for fishermen shouldn't be iced, says mayor Marilyn Pearce urges staff to continue looking at areas for anglers to park on Scugog Island Jan 14, 2009 Chris Hall / newsdurhamregion.com SCUGOG -- The cost of providing parking for ice fishermen may be trumped by the economic value those who enjoy dropping a line into Lake Scugog bring to the community. While certainly pleased on one hand with how strictly the municipality's bylaw department was patrolling roads on Scugog Island when it comes to policing where ice fishermen park their vehicles, Scugog's elected officials also agreed Monday that perhaps it was time to take a closer look at providing a pay-parking area for angling enthusiasts. According to a staff report, the municipality's bylaw department had issued 25 tickets for parking violations on Scugog Island roads since Jan. 1 -- the start of the 2009 ice-fishing season on Lake Scugog. "I'm pleased to see this report, this is ammunition when I get a call from (island residents) who say they never see bylaw around," said Ward 3 Councillor Lynn Philip Hodgson, who represents Scugog Island residents. Such patrols, explained bylaw officer Matt Balser, are carried out at random, at all times of day during the week. He added a batch of new parking restriction signs erected on some Scugog Island roads last year also seem to be working. "Motorists seem to be obeying all the signs," he said. When quizzed by Scugog Mayor Marilyn Pearce, however, it was pointed out by staff that efforts to make arrangements with officials at Goreski's Lakeside Resort to set up a pay-parking area have not panned out to date. Simply, explained Gene Chartier, the Township's commissioner of planning and public works, Goreski's officials did not want to pick up the cost of plowing the lot or installing signs -- an added expense staff did not think the municipality would want to cover either. The mayor, however, pointed out the municipality should be looking at "how we can improve all aspects of tourism and ice fishing is part of tourism." She then requested staff touch base with Goreski's officials to see how many vehicles could be accommodated at the site, what it would cost to park there, how parking fees would be enforced and who would collect such charges. "I don't think we should simply walk away," said Mayor Pearce. "The opportunity for people to park their cars safely and proceed to ice fish is something I don't think we should dismiss." She later added, "Let's take seriously this idea of parking lots for ice fishermen and where they are. Let's look at what those costs actually could be."

TAKING THE NEXT STEP TO PROTECT LAKE SIMCOE McGuinty Government Asks Ontarians To Comment On Protection Plan News Release / January 13, 2009 NEWS The province is asking Ontarians to comment on the draft Lake Simcoe Protection Plan. The draft protection plan represents the next step in protecting Lake Simcoe and follows the passage of the Lake Simcoe Protection Act on December 10, 2008. Building on Ontario’s watershed-protection approach in the Clean Water Act, the new act requires the province to establish a protection plan for the lake and surrounding areas. The draft Lake Simcoe Protection Plan is the most comprehensive watershed-based legislated plan in Canada. The draft plan is based on advice from the Lake Simcoe science and stakeholder advisory committees and from the people who live and work around Lake Simcoe. The draft plan proposes voluntary and mandatory measures to restore and protect the ecological health of Lake Simcoe and its watershed starting with the most critical areas: - Improving water quality by curbing the amount of phosphorus entering the lake and reducing the lake’s current excessive phosphorus levels to 44 tonnes a year - Protecting and rehabilitating fish habitat, wetlands, woodlands and the vegetation that buffer the lake, rivers and streams - Managing the potential impacts of climate change and invasive species. Going forward the plan would not be applied to existing developments or development proposals that have already obtained significant development approvals. The Ontario government has also committed $20 million over four years to help protect Lake Simcoe through research, monitoring and on-farm stewardship activities. QUOTES “The approach we are taking is intended to ensure the long-term health of the lake and its watershed ecosystem,” said Environment Minister John Gerretsen. “We need everyone from around the lake to participate in this process and make this plan work so that future generations can continue to enjoy this wonderful resource,” he added. QUICK FACTS Human activities have been affecting the Lake Simcoe ecosystem for more than 200 years. Lake Simcoe’s watershed crosses 23 municipal boundaries including Barrie, parts of York and Durham regions, Kawartha Lakes and Simcoe County. Thirty-five rivers flow into Lake Simcoe including the Holland River, Black River, Beaver River, Pefferlaw River and Uxbridge Brook. LEARN MORE Learn more about protecting Lake Simcoe. Contacts: John Karapita, Minister’s Office, 416-314-6736 Kate Jordan, Ministry of the Environment, 416-314-6666 Contact information for the general public: 416-325-4000 or 1-800-565-4923/ www.ontario.ca/environment

January 15, 2009 State of Grand River fishery meeting The results of a 10-year plan to improve the Grand River watershed fishery will be discussed at a public meeting on Jan. 21 at the head office of the Grand River Conservation Authority, 400 Clyde Rd., Cambridge. The meeting, which will run from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. will outline the work that has been done to implement the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan and give those attending an opportunity to talk about future directions for the fishery. Over the past 10 years the Grand River system has enjoyed a rebirth as a great place for anglers. Much of the improvement has come about as a result of the implementation of the recommendations of the plan. It was released in 1998 by the GRCA and the Ministry of Natural Resources after extensive consultation with anglers, fishing groups and residents of the Grand River watershed. The meeting will include these presentations: - Overview of the Grand River Fisheries Management Plan - MNR projects in the Central Grand - Volunteer projects in the Central Grand - Water Quality conditions - Management of the GRCA reservoir system In addition to the presentations, there will be a variety of displays on fishery and environmental issues. More information on the plan and the Grand River fishery is available in the Fisheries section of the GRCA website. This meeting is the second in a series of five to take information to the public and gather comments on the 10th anniversary of the fishery plan. A meeting was held in Elora on Jan. 7. Other meetings will be held in Brantford on Feb. 3, Dunnville Feb. 16 and Six Nations on March 18. Further information: Dave Schultz, GRCA Manager of Communications Phone: (519) 621-2763, Ext. 2273 Fax: (519) 621-4844 E-mail: [email protected]

....Sweeeeet, I definitely needs to get back up there!

....Moving on up. Perhaps I could interest you in doing fishing seminars next?

....It'll be winter year round when I perfect my Bose-Einstein condensate.

2008 was the year man-made global warming was disproved

....It would seem that it has come time again to remind some that we have guidelines for images in the signature line. If your signature line excedes the following criteria would you please make the necessary modifications to meet the parameters outlined. From the Rules.... "One image in a signature is allowed. Images in signatures must not be greater than 500 pixels wide and 75 pixels in height. Signature images must not be more than 100K in file size. Signatures must also conform to language and content guidelines. Please keep signature lines brief, a line or two of text is fine. No lists!" Image Size Example While we appreciate the work involved in creating unique signature images and text it is important to not let them become the focus of your posts. Think small. Thank you.

More species invasions feared for Great Lakes January 9th, 2009 John Flesher / Associated Press Dozens of foreign species could spread across the Great Lakes in coming years despite policies designed to keep them out, causing significant environmental and economic damage, a federal report says. The National Center for Environmental Assessment issued the warning in a study released this week. It identified 30 nonnative species that pose a medium or high risk of reaching the lakes and 28 others that already have a foothold and could disperse widely. Among the fish that scientists fear could cause ecological and environmental damage are the monkey goby, the blueback herring and the tench, also known as the “doctor fish.” The report described some of the region’s busiest ports as strong potential targets for invaders, including Toledo, Ohio; Gary, Ind.; Duluth, Minn.; Superior, Wis.; Chicago and Milwaukee. “These findings support the need for detection and monitoring efforts at those ports believed to be at greatest risk,” the report said. Exotic species are one of the biggest ecological threats to the nation’s largest surface freshwater system. At least 185 are known to have a presence in the Great Lakes, although the report says just 13 have done extensive harm to the aquatic environment and the regional economy. Perhaps the most notorious are the fish-killing sea lamprey and the zebra mussel, which has clogged intake pipes of power plants, industrial facilities and public water systems, forcing them to spend hundreds of millions on cleanup and repairs. Roughly two-thirds of the new arrivals since 1960 are believed to have hitched a ride to the lakes inside ballast tanks of cargo ships from overseas ports. For nearly two decades, U.S. and Canadian agencies have required oceangoing freighters to exchange their fresh ballast water with salty ocean water before entering the Great Lakes system. Both nations also recently have ordered them to rinse empty tanks with seawater in hopes of killing organisms lurking in residual pools on the bottom. Despite such measures, “it is likely that nonindigenous species will continue to arrive in the Great Lakes,” said the report by the national center, which is part of the Environmental Protection Agency. Some saltwater-tolerant species may survive ballast water exchange and tank flushing, it said. And aquatic invaders could find other pathways to the lakes — perhaps escaping from fish farms or being released from aquariums. The report does not predict which species might get through. Instead, it urges government resource managers to monitor waters under their jurisdiction in hopes of spotting attacks in time to choke them off. “Early detection is crucial,” said Vic Serveiss, a scientist with the National Center for Environmental Assessment and the report’s primary writer. Hugh MacIsaac, a University of Windsor biologist and director of the Canadian Aquatic Invasive Species Network, said he expected very few invaders to reach the Great Lakes in ballast water now that both nations are requiring tank flushing at sea. Flushing and ballast water exchange should kill 99 percent of organisms, he said. “I would be very surprised if their prediction comes true,” he said, referring to the EPA report’s suggestion that numerous invaders could reach the lakes despite the new ballast rules. The report reinforces the need for further measures to keep foreign species out, including requiring onboard technology to sterilize ballast tanks, said Jennifer Nalbone, invasive species director for the advocacy group Great Lakes United. “We are only beginning to invest the tremendous amount of resources needed,” Nalbone said. “We’re being hammered by invasive species and are still woefully behind.” National Center for Environmental Assessment

Beaver Lake bass spawning habitat January 9th, 2009 Anthony S.C. Hampton / Napanee Guide Beaver Lake bass spawning habitat improvements underway in January A project to improve spawning conditions for bass in Beaver Lake near Erinsville will go ahead this month. According to Lennox & Addington County manager of roads and bridges Steve Roberts, the project is being carried out under the direction of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans as part of the HADD program. “It’s the Harmful Alteration Damage or Destruction to Natural Habitat program. In 2007 we did the Puzzle Lake Bridge road reconstruction on County Rd. 15. This displaced the bass spawning beds there,” said Roberts. After consulting with the DFO and biologists, the site in Beaver Lake was selected to make up for the displaced spawning beds from Puzzle Lake. “They have directed that compensation be located on Beaver Lake, adjacent to highway 41 in Erinsville. “What we’ll be doing is creating five spawning beds. The DFO felt this was a more productive and beneficial location to restore spawning.” In building up the spawning beds, workers will lay wash stone, varying from 1.5 to 3.5 centimetres thick. The stones are selected to create the optimal spawning environment for the bass. “The volume of stone is about 250 tonnes, and that will be placed over the five spawning beds. The gross area is approximately 140 square metres total, which means the five areas are about 28 square metres each.” Although it might seem work like this would be better suited to warmer months, the project is timed so that the stone can be placed on top of the ice. “The wash stone will be placed on the ice, then it will settle into the lake bottom in the spring. Primarily, this is because of current issues. Letting it sink in the spring allows it to naturally settle.”We’ve done this in several other locations over the winter, the material has a more natural ability to settle.” By allowing the stone to sink to the bottom, it will be naturally located where it is least likely to be shifted later by currents. The stones are also protected from quick cover by sedimentation. All of this improves the chances for bass that will use the habitat to lay their eggs and then spawn. “For those reasons, the DFO directed that this be done under winter conditions.” Work on the new bass habitat is being carried out in several phases, with an overall, up-front cost to the county of $15,000. The project has already been approved for shared funding, however, so the federal and provincial governments will be reimbursing the county for $10,000 total. According to Roberts, the work is set to be completed sometime between Jan. 6 and Jan. 16. For more information, contact the County of Lennox & Addington at 613-354-4883 or the project manager, G.D. Jewell Engineering of Belleville, at 613-969-1111.

Veteran captain hooks monster walleye January 11, 2009 Will Elliott / www.buffalonews.com Lake Erie charter captains see many sizeable fish while working eastern-basin areas of this great lower Great Lake for walleyes. Bob Rustowicz cruised that chartering circuit for more than two decades, trolling likely walleye waters from Buffalo to Barcelona and using the VHF handle “Forever Fishin’.” Excitement was always high when he and his clients hooked into limit catches, often with monster ’eyes weighing in well over the 10-pound mark. Despite all this time spent netting nice Erie ’eyes, his excitement level was that of a kid with his first big bass, trout or salmon when he called Wednesday evening after returning from an ice-fishing outing in the Big Bay area of the Bay of Quinte at the northeast corner of Lake Ontario east of Toronto. “Capt. Bob” and partner Tony Zogaria, both of Cheektowaga, hauled in some nice walleyes during their two-day stint on Quinte ice. “We weren’t getting any big fish but a lot of nice ones up to about seven pounds, and I saw a couple others [walleye] that might hit 10 pounds,” Rustowicz said of the fishing and catching going on before he hooked into the biggest walleye of his fishing lifetime. Bay of Quinte walleye schools had been the darling of summer and winter anglers decades ago. The Lindner brothers, Babe Winkelman, and other anglers in the national media focused many a camera lens on bull-sized ’eyes — mainly monster female walleye — caught through Quinte ice in the 1980s and early 1990s. Fishing pressure and changing fishery conditions there saw a decline in both numbers and sizes of ’eyes for more than a decade. But those conditions have improved in recent years. Ask Rustowicz. Included in the two-day limit catch he and Zogaria brought home Wednesday afternoon was a walleye taken on Tuesday. “It went 13.95-pounds on a digital scale late Wednesday, so it’s definitely a 14-pounder,” Rustowicz said of his 32-inch massive mount-worthy monster. “That one will definitely go on the wall,” he said of his personal-best walleye. The Lake Simcoe pack has been plagued with a run of runts in recent years, but the dink-to-keeper ratio has moved in favor of keeper numbers at the start of this ice fishing season. Ask Gene Borowicz of Cambria and John Ashe of Pendleton. Borowicz and Ashe booked a two-day trip with Steve Barber of Steve’s Fish Huts at Pefferlaw last week, and the duo did well on 10-inch-plus perch both days. “The bite was constant all morning till night. We released more than 300 and kept 85 [larger ones],” Borowicz wrote. He noted the perch moved in tighter schools during afternoon hours, but the bite was solid all day. “They’ve been doing best on live minnows, but the jack/J-hooks [small, spoon-blade baits] also work well now,” Barber said of the past week’s perch catching.

....Good stuff guys (and Gal). I had a few friends in Gilford on Friday who said it was crazy with fish. Just lots of small ones to weed through.

....Great, more chinooks.

....I used to fish out of "The Pines" not far up the road from Barrie. Lake trout and whitefish primarily. Run by the Chilmans (?), good folks. Not sure if they're still in buisness but I did find a listing on the net. The Pines 705-487-3305 RR #1, Oro Station, Ontario L0L 2E0

....An introduction, some background information, anything. Clarity is usually a good thing on a Saturday morning.

....Hmmmmm, ???????????

Well good luck with that.

....I suggest you go by the....oh hell I dunno? I think an "'09 OFC Tourney" logo will work for now till teams have been selected.