Spiel

OINK, OINK !

Sounds like a "done deal" to me.

....Yes please keep us posted Art. I'm guessing it won't affect his typing abilities.

....Every month you say Glen, wonder who thunk that up? I'm sure I could swing it with work no matter the weekend and either way it'd be my B'day present to me. Crikey I may do August as well, nice to have senior picks for holidays!

....Out with the old and in with the new, Upper Canada Marine and Rick have been super to you.

....Happy Canada Day all. Now I have to get busy and head up to Gerritts to drink all his holiday cheer. Couple nice shiny new bikes heading Liams way Bud.

I can say with all honesty that he's been this way as long as I've known him. And this award winning picture, well I'd say you both oughta keep a close eye on her before some modeling agency runs off with her. Good of you to brag for him Monique cause lord knows he wouldn't.

....Now that's a full plate family weekend! And that pike, whoa.....what a hog, nicely done Monique, nicely done!

....Sorry, no website.

....WRONG, wrong all wrong! Take it off and do it again.

....I guess you don't ever let that lucky horse shoe of yours tarnish.

....Fabulous pictures Miss Joey. Looks like you guys had some good fishing after we all left yous. As for are "almost pickerel" fishing well it turns out you didn't even catch a little one! Look at this post to see what I'm talk'n bout. http://www.ofncommunity.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21063

....You can try here Bing, you must register first though.

....That's near exactly how mines installed Cliff and I don't have a bow light up front to deal with. Just position it as close as you can to the light (center line) as Roy suggested in the stowed position so that the motor is running over the port (or starboard) gunnel. This will ensure it's not obstructing the floor space at the bow.

....Just buy a new boat.

...If your bored and wish'n you was fish'n you can read some fish'n news. Some recent updates this morning.

....That's some good bass'n for sure. The "long skinny" ones are likely spawned out females or perhaps hungry males who are still sitting on the nests.

....I've met Garry and I know he's a top shelf kinda guy. While I've never experienced sharing a boat with him nor the hospitality of his home I know some who have and they always refer to it as a fantastic time with a wonderful host. I'm glad to read that you also have had a chance to share in his generousity John

Native fish market up and running - VIDEO (add your thoughts) June 27, 2008 Dave Dale / nugget.ca Business was brisk at the Old Chief Fish Market Friday afternoon as hungry customers bought fresh Lake Nipissing walleye harvested by Nipissing First Nation members in the morning. "This is excellent," said Diana Perry as she picked up $26 worth of walleye for supper, with a few fillets wrapped for the freezer. This is the first time the native community has sold fish through a cooperative business model regulated by its own laws and conservation plan. In years past, individual fishers and families operated commercial entities without provincial health inspections of their facilities that allow restaurant resale. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said it supports the retail fish market approach, with the understanding that all of the fish are from registered commercial fishermen. -------------------------------------------------- Walleye quota explained by biologist June 27, 2008 Dave Dale / nugget.ca The Nipissing First Nation operates it commercial fishing activities with a quota system based on a sustainable Lake Nipissing walleye fishery. Richard Rowe, Nipissing's fisheries department biologist, said the native commercial and substistence harvest and non-native angling estimate will not exceed two thirds of the lake's sustainable level. VIEW VIDEO (add your thoughts)

Costly error for fisherman June 25, 2008 / MNR News Release A Combermere man who failed to remove his ice fishing hut by the deadline is facing the costly consequence. Lyle Zilney, 34, of Combermere, left his ice fishing hut on Kamaniskeg Lake after March 31 in Fisheries Management Zone 15 and was fined $1,000 by the Ministry of Natural Resources. On April 17, the Ontario Court of Justice, Bancroft, heard conservation officers from Bancroft District followed up on a complaint report to TIPS-MNR concerning an unlawful ice hut on Kamaniskeg Lake. Given the ice had recently broken up during a spring thaw, the officers were faced with recovering a floating ice hut. It posed a threat to the lake environment and was a safety hazard to boaters.Although the hut was successfully removed from the lake, the operation monopolized valuable staff time and equipment resources. Justice of the Peace B. Moran heard the case in Ontario Court of Justice, Bancroft, on June 3. Zilney was subsequently fined.

Lake worth $1 billion Report places value on Simcoe's ecosystem June 28, 2008 NATHAN TAYLOR, thebarrieexaminer.com According to a recent report, the ecological benefits of the Lake Simcoe ecosystem are worth nearly $1 billion. The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA), the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation and the David Suzuki Foundation partnered to create the report --Lake Simcoe Basin's Natural Capital: The Value of the Watershed's Ecosystem Services-- released Thursday. Using data collected by the LSRCA over the past three years, the study examined the lake's numerous goods and services, including carbon storage, flood control, waste treatment, clean air and water quality, supply and filtration. "Because it's based on science, it's going to allow us to make informed land-use decisions," said Mike Walters, the LSRCA's director of watershed management. "It is based on our factual understanding of the ecosystem." The report states services provided by the watershed's forests and wetlands are worth $319 million and $435 million, respectively, making them "the most highly valued assets." Putting a dollar value on the lake is "crucial to securing a safe water source and a safe local food source," said Danielle Pignataro, communications director with the Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. "It begins to level the playing field between the environment and the economy," she said, adding it's the first watershed valuation of its kind in southern Ontario. With a total area of more than 815,000 acres, the Lake Simcoe watershed is a substantial resource that cannot afford to be compromised in any way, she said. "Like the ecosystems within and around its boundaries, if one area of the greenbelt is compromised, it can affect its interconnected parts," Pignataro said, using the Holland Marsh as an example. Area environmentalist Jim Woodford questioned the benefit of -- and logic behind -- tagging Simcoe as a billion- dollar lake. "The state the lake is in, it's probably worth 10 bucks," Woodford said. "I don't think (valuation) is the way to approach this. They've got to, first of all, find out what's wrong with the lake and fix it." High phosphorus levels and the invasive spiny water flea are among the most urgent issues of the lake, he said. "To get a true figure for the value of Lake Simcoe, you would have to subtract all the liabilities, such as the $200 million to reduce phosphorus, stream rehabilitation, spawning habitat renewal, etc.," Woodford said. "The final figure might be minus several hundred million." Full Report Here

Bass put the fight put back into fishing It's often been said that smallmouth bass have more fight in them than any other fish June 28, 2008 DOUG EDGAR / owensoundsuntimes.com I knew it was time to return to civilization when a smallmouth bass swam under the boat and I started to salivate. It was years ago, when my father and I spent weeks in the summer cruising around the islands and harbours of the North Channel, north of Manitoulin. Part of the unspoken deal was that if I caught fish for dinner, the start of the inevitable trip home might be put off for another day. We were living pretty close to nature, but the Pavlovian response to a fish swimming by gave me pause. It's one thing to have your stomach rumble a bit when a butter-drenched breaded fillet is in the pan, but such a reaction is something else when lunch is looking back at you. My appreciation of bass has changed a bit since those days. I'm not one to turn up my nose at a plate of fresh fish, but now it's pretty well all about the catching -- which just so happens to start today in Grey-Bruce. It's often been said that smallmouth bass have more fight in them, pound for pound, than any other fish. They can go from deep, strong runs to multiple headshaking jumps in a split second. As a rule, once I hook a trout or a salmon there's a pretty good chance it's going to end up in hand, but quite a few bass have spat lures, jigs and even bait back at me before going on their merry way. When they're ready to bite, bass can do a lot for an angler's self-esteem, striking at plugs, spinners, spoons, flies and live bait with a vengeance. If you can watch a bass smash a topwater lure on a glassy bay in the evening and not get a bit of a rush, you might be a corpse. But they're not the perennial pushovers some people would have you believe. Smallmouth especially can get pretty moody and be quite selective, especially when the weather turns. They can check out a bait for quite a while before deciding whether to move on to a taste test. I also think they are somewhat curious. More than once I've gone snorkeling and turned around to see bass following along as though they are trying to figure out what I am. I think that curiosity plays a role in why they strike so many bizarre looking lures. On the subject of lures, it seems there's hundreds of new ones touted as the only thing the fashionable bass will have hanging from its lip this season. After all, bass fishing is big business. I'm not immune to the siren call of the tackle aisle, either. There's lots of new soft-bodied baits out now and I've built up enough to fill a couple of boxes to try this summer. Smallmouth and largemouth bass share the instinct to protect their nests and young. The male bass stands guard over the nest, a cleared-out depression in a gravelly area for smallmouth, gravel or sand for largemouth. They can live to be 15 years old. This area has bass in many of its inland lakes and rivers. In fact, one of the biggest smallmouth I ever caught came out of the Saugeen near Paisley. My wife pleaded the fish's case and I let it go. Over the years, as she's seen pictures of big bass in magazines and on fishing shows, I think she's come to realize the depth of my sacrifice for conservation and marital harmony that day. There are smallmouth along the shore in Owen Sound and in the lower stretches of the Sydenham River, although not many people seem to fish for them. I've also seen them upstream of the mill dam, but I've never seen them further up than Harrison Park. Generally speaking, smallmouth like deeper and colder water -- in the 15 to 20 C range 60 to 70 F range-- than largemouth and can often be found around structures such as logs and rocks as well as weedbeds. They'll go pretty deep to find the right temperature during the day when things heat up. Some seem to hang out in roving schools, while others will find a favourite spot and stay there. I think such behaviour has a lot to do with what they are eating -- sometimes they will key in on minnows, other times they seem to be after crayfish and leeches and such things. They will often come into shallower water in the evening to feed. One of my favourite ways to fish for smallmouth in our smaller lakes is to drift and cast a twisty-tail type jig from a kayak. Bait is a proven bass-catcher, with worms, minnows and crayfish good producers. Watch out with crayfish to make sure you don't spread the invasive rusty crayfish around. Don't move crayfish, or other self-caught bait for that matter, between waterbodies. Also, the new fishing regs prohibit dumping bait buckets in the water -- even if the bait was caught in the same waterbody. The standard-licence limit is still six and the rivers in the twin counties still close early, but since the MNR rewrote the fishing rule book it probably makes sense to double check for any changes.

Beware of flares / Flares contain chemical that can burn skin June 28, 2008 Scott Dunn / owensoundsuntimes.com Grey County OPP warn anyone who finds a marine flare washed ashore to call police rather than pick it up. Every year, 424 Squadron search and rescue personnel, based in Trenton, Ont., practise dropping marine flares in a target area marked by yellow buoys offshore from Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford. Prevailing winds and water currents push these devices east, so if they wash ashore, they’re likely to do so from Meaford eastward, said Const. Drew Wilder Friday. He produced some flares which had washed up on shore and are now stored at the Meaford military centre. Wilder is not aware of reports of injury by these flares. But occasionally people find one, pick it up, and in one instance, brought it into an OPP detachment in Midland when they shouldn’t have. Anyone who finds a marine flare should call the OPP, Wilder said. These devices present a danger to anyone who handles them because there could be unburned phosphorus in them, he said. This chemical can still burn skin without igniting. But Wilder said the big concern is the devices could re-ignite if touched or shaken. They’re designed to ignite in salt water. But for freshwater uses, salt is added to the canister to assist a battery to ignite the flare. That process could still be activated through handling, Wilder said, and the devices could explode. If these flares wash ashore, it’s probably because they haven’t burned properly, an official with 424 Squadron in Trenton confirmed by phone Friday. These flares float while sending up smoke to help mark the target and indicate wind direction. A yellow flame is also visible at night. They’re about 45 centimetres long and have the diameter of a baseball. They’re supposed to burn for 10 to 12 minutes before sinking. They’re smaller and look similar to the magnesium flares attached to parachutes, which are dropped from search and rescue aircraft at night. These burn brightly to help rescuers see. These devices should not be handled either.

Selling an old concept to a new Muskoka crowd Jun 25, 2008 Amberly McAteer / muskokan.com Photo by Amberly McAteer / CLASSICS FOR RENT. Stan Hunter has been restoring classic wooden boats for decades, but has only recently offered a livery, whereby visitors can rent the symbols of Muskoka. Hunter is precise about every little detail, including the classic keys and shiny silver touches. The wooden boat is an icon of Muskoka, yet few visitors ever experience driving one. Renowned boat builder Stan Hunter had an idea: why not bring back the wooden boat livery, once the mainstay of wooden boat companies in Muskoka. My first thought… “How easy is it to operate one of these things? I mean, can anyone do it?” I ask Stan Hunter, distinguished Port Carling boat builder. We’re standing in his boathouse, overlooking a handful of classic wooden vessels gently bobbing in the water. Before I know it, I’m cruising Lake Muskoka, behind the wheel of a shiny 1948 Duke Playmate, restored to its original beauty, with Hunter riding comfortably in the passenger seat. The motor is surprisingly quiet; it reminds me of my mom’s old sewing machine. The waves are high and the sky is bright, and here I am driving Hunter’s boat. This isn’t the story I’d come for, nor the spontaneity I expected from Hunter. I’ve come to speak with him about his livery, his newest venture of renting his refurbished classic wooden boats to the fractional ownership crowd. For $1,200 a week, visitors can rent one of his treasures, have it delivered wherever they’d like — their home, cottage or hotel — complete with a full tank of gas. When they’re done, they just leave it at the dock. No mess, no maintenance, no storage. From the driver’s seat, I slow down and soak in the awesome scenery. I’m certain that Hunter has proved his point: anyone with a pleasure craft operator card can do this, and anyone would cherish it. The livery is simply “history repeating itself,” he tells me. Boat builders Duke, Clive Brown and John Dunn were renting out their boats in the very beginning of Muskoka tourism, he explains. The Ditchburn Company grew in size because of the need for rentals, when people were flocking to Muskoka and yearning to be on the water. Now, half a century later, Hunter says the same need has arisen: people want to experience owning a classic boat, waving to dockside sunbathers on a breezy July afternoon. “It’s the newest trend, but the oldest concept,” he says. “It’s a new idea, but at the same time it’s not new at all. It’s owning a piece of Muskoka temporarily, have it be yours. And when you’re done, forget about the upkeep.” Hunter says the idea to have a livery has always been in the back of his mind. “Wooden boats are all over the promotional stuff but nobody’s figured out how to get them into the customer’s hands,” he adds. Hunter’s shop is packed with shiny, wooden boats of different sizes, years and models. Some he and his crew are restoring for customers, and some are Hunter’s personal boats. On the water, we slow right down and bob carefree in the lake. “How did you pick which models to put in the livery?” I ask. “Well, what a good question,” he answers. He’s silent. Smiling, he looks intently across the water. For a moment, I think he’s forgotten about me. Hunter is a lot like the boats themselves. He’s slow moving, leisurely. Classic. Spending an afternoon with him, I feel like I’ve gone back in time, to an era without all the rush. I’ve been transported to an age where I could spend all day, all week, on this water with Hunter and his boat. “It’s safe, it’s slow,” he says of the Duke playmate, a vessel with only 25 horsepower. “It would be difficult to do any real damage to it. It’s easy to operate, but also I’m appealing to the sort of person who cherishes the classics. They’ll want a Duke. There is magic here.” I learn that “easy to operate” is an understatement. A silver switch in the centre of the steering wheel determines the speed. “Docking the boat is the trickiest part,” says Hunter. He will personally guide the boat’s temporary owner in a short lesson on how to dock, but it’s not complicated and will only take a matter of minutes, he says. I speed up — a simple push of the switch — and look back to see the boathouse disappearing. “We’re all responsible for our own wake,” says Hunter quietly. “My dad taught me that.” Classic wooden boats have a modern appeal, he says, as they are quiet and as eco-friendly as boats can get. “And I admit I have this romantic ideology about them. Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone floated around out here, instead of speeding by on wakeboards and fibreglass?”