Spiel

Walleye season opens Saturday; Are you ready? May 07, 2008 Wil Wegman / yorkregion.com The second Saturday in May is always a big day for Lake Simcoe anglers. Not only does walleye season start, but so too does the even more plentiful northern pike, whitefish and lake trout seasons. Furthermore, it is quite likely more anglers will actually fish for any of those latter three species than the former despite the notion walleye are the most popular fish in the province. If you feel like being a bit of a rebel this weekend on Lake Simcoe by being one of the few anglers out there targeting walleye instead of those other three, then continue reading. The reason for the lack of effort that Simcoe walleye receive is definitely not related to a lack in size of the walleye. In fact, Simcoe walleye have a reputation for being some of the biggest found anywhere in Ontario. For those who have been fortunate enough to catch a few precious Simcoe eyes, they will know 10-pounders are fairly common and trophy sized specimens in the 15-pound class are not rare. The challenge, however, is in finding those darned big walleye in the first place because, for the most part, Simcoe just doesn’t have a huge population. More are caught by accident when anglers are fishing for something else. For those who are up to the challenge of trying to locate a walleye or two in Lake Simcoe on opening weekend you should be prepared for a couple of things: • Your quest could be like looking for a needle in a haystack and; • There are new limits and size restrictions in place for 2008. Let's deal with the easier second point first. Walleye limit with a sport licence is now four instead of six. No big deal because it’s unlikely you, me or the mighty Al Lindner himself could count on catching the old six-fish limit. The size restriction is something to pay careful attention to, however, as now you can only keep up to one walleye (within your four fish limit) more than 18.1 inches. In most places, this isn’t an issue because most places don’t have an extraordinarily high percentage of their walleye population exceeding 18 inches. Then again, Simcoe isn’t most lakes. It might make you feel better, however, when you’re releasing those precious walleye bigger than 18.1 inches, that quite often those bigger fish are the females which are valuable to the future of the fishery. Besides, the smaller walleye will just taste better anyway. Now, point one. That needle may be hard to find in a big haystack, but if you know it will be tough work yet you equip yourself with a powerful magnet – you’ll at least have a better chance of finding that little needle in the first place. In other words, go out on Simcoe fully aware it’s going to be very difficult to find Mr. Marble Eyes in that big old lake. But because you have your homework and are prepared with the right tools and the right attitude for the task at hand – well you might just locate that elusive Lake Simcoe walleye. Basic help with your homework: Location, location, location. Anglers don’t need a real estate agent to tell them how important it is to be fishing in the right spots if they want to get bites. With a relatively small population of walleye in the 745-square-mile Lake Simcoe, though, this might be easier said than done – especially when existing walleye catches often appear to be coming from so many different areas of the lake. For what it’s worth, I’ll pass on three of those very general areas that you can try opening weekend. • Mouth of the Talbot River: Recognized as the lakes’ primary walleye spawning river, walleye typically retreat back to the lake once this annual ritual in the river is complete. With a late ice out and cool water temps, it could be that several are still holding near the mouth; • Cooks Bay: Although the Holland River, which empties into the very south end of this southernmost bay of the lake, once had a decent walleye run in the spring, it has reportedly been several decades since that has occurred. Curiously enough, for some reason, there still appears to be several nice walleye caught not just at its mouth but throughout the bay, each spring and; • Mouth of the Pefferlaw River: Some Focus on Fishing readers may have noticed that in the new 2008/09 Recreational Fishing Regulations Summary, the longstanding fish sanctuary in the Pefferlaw that lasted until the opening of bass season (fourth Saturday in June) has now be changed and shortened to coincide with the walleye opener instead. With this in mind the mouth of the Pefferlaw might very well be worth a look opening weekend. If you do head out to one of these areas you might up your odds even further if you long-line troll with a slow working crankbait like a perch colored Shad Rap in water ranging from 10 to 18 feet. The long line is required because you don’t want to spook the weary walleye in Simcoe’s gin-clear water, the slow retrieve because the water is still cold and the fish aren’t that active, the perch colored crank because perch are a primary forage for Simcoe’s walleyes and that water depth because it’s unlikely they’ll be much deeper so early in the season. However, if you’re like me and can’t stand to spend too much of your time trolling, you could do worse than throwing a one-quarter ounce ball head jig hooked with either a live shiner or one of the Berkley Gulp! Alive! biodegradable minnow baits. So there you have it, a quick run-down on the Lake Simcoe walleye opener. Tight lines everyone.

Sheesh, you best drop by Lakair, I always have a spot for you in my boat. That aside, I hope you both have a great summer. Praps I'll get a chance to drop in on my return from Nipigon.

....Nice to meet you Pete.

Waterway opening in doubt; High water level could make boating unsafe May 7, 2008 Colin McKim / orilliapacket.com High water and dangerous currents may delay the opening of the Trent-Severn Waterway between Lake Couchiching and Port Severn. The system, which experienced severe flooding during the spring runoff, is scheduled to open to boaters May 16. But the water level on Lake Simcoe is still 15 centimetres above where it should be this time of year, said Mike Jamieson, assistant director of canal operations. The excess water pouring over dams and surging through valves in the locks is causing hazardous currents and submerging docking platforms below some locks, said Jamieson. If water levels don't drop enough to slow currents, the system will have to be closed to boaters until navigation is safe, said Jamieson. "On Monday, we'll take a long, hard look at the system." System operators have been trying to reduce levels in Lake Simcoe since January, when record-high temperatures and the resulting thaw resulted in elevated water levels. Normally, Lake Simcoe is drawn down in the fall to accommodate the spring runoff, but all that capacity was lost this year and there was major flooding, particularly when the Black River crested. With rivers and lakes still high, further flooding remains a possibility, said Jamieson, adding a key factor is the amount of rainfall in the next few weeks. Things looked good until this past weekend, when some parts of the watershed received 35 millimetres of rain, said Jamieson. When currents are excessive, boats, especially in the hands of inexperienced operators, can be hard to control, said Jamieson. There is the risk of damage from collisions with other boats or docking facilities, he said.

Elliot Lake has great fly-fishing opportunities SHANNON QUESNEL / elliotlakestandard.ca There are some misconceptions about fly-fishing, says Ron Alexander. The president of the All-Anglers Fishing Club says some believe fly-fishing is too difficult and some longtime Elliot Lake residents believe this sport is pointless in this part of Northern Ontario. Alexander and the 14 other club members want people to know that is not true. Fly-fishing is fun, for everyone and can be done almost anywhere, be it in a stream or a lake. There are many benefits to fly-fishing, says Alexander. In fact, the sports’ pros are being recognized around the world. It is being welcomed with open arms in many European nations. Issuing licences for fly-fishing is making more financial sense in countries such as the United Kingdom and Ireland says Alexander. Instead of making money issuing licences to commercial fishing crews, these nations are seeing more financial benefits from tourists coming to spend money in their country while they fly-fish. Another thing that makes the sport so appealing, especially to the government, are many fly-fishers are conservationists. Instead of filling up the freezer with fish the reward is in the challenge. Like chess, the sport is easy to learn, but can take a lifetime to master. Fly-fishing has many elements from line casting to learning what artificial fly to use. Advertisement Sport needs to grow The local club might have more humble aspirations than the British government, but it is serious about increasing the sport’s profile. From casting lessons to showing how flies are made, the club is happy to explain the sport to anyone. “What I always tell people is come try it one time and you will be hooked,” says Alexander. Since many people in Northern Ontario have gone fishing at least once, fly-fishing will not seem that different. A person flicks the rod to cast the line forward and uses bait to catch the fish. The differences begin with the gear. Fly-fishing rods tend to be much longer and the reels simpler. Instead of boats, these anglers walk out into streams and rivers or into shallow water wearing hip waders and boots. Some even use special single-seat pontoon crafts. Other gear, such as nets, tends to be worn or clipped onto the fly angler. Casting is also different. Fly-fishing lines are much heavier and brighter in colour than the pale blue or green lines used by other anglers. The biggest difference is the bait. The artificial lures used by most spin-casters tend to be rigid and/or segmented pieces with little flexibility. Often, they resemble small fish, such as minnows and almost always are bought, not made by the fishers themselves. Flies weigh much less than spin-casting lures and can be as tiny as mosquitoes. In the Elliot Lake area anglers use different techniques and equipment when fishing in either still water or streams. Still water is in lakes and ponds with little current. Of the two, stream fly-fishing is the hardest as the wild and rough Elliot Lake landscape makes it tough just to get to the water. Alexander says he was spoiled in southern Ontario. Down there a fly-fisher can park his car so close to a river he could fish out the window. “I am embarrassed to admit to that. Up here, you are going to have to work for it, but when you do the rewards are wonderful.” Alexander and past-president Erik Russel are working to bring fly-fishing and its rewards to as many people as possible. To this end, the group is doing its best to promote this area of Algoma as a fishing destination. Fish story The club is fighting two misconceptions, however. One is fly-fishing is only for catching brown trout. This is not true, as fly fishers go after all sorts of fish, from trout to bass to salmon. In fact, every year a fly fisher is setting a new world record in largest fish caught with a fly rod. The other misconception is that Elliot Lake is no good for fly-fishing. “We have heard of at least two or three instances of people not moving here because they were told there was no decent fishing,” says Alexander. That has not been the case for him and others. They know timing can play a big part in a successful fishing trip. Some local rivers will be teeming with fish but only for a certain part of the year, sometimes for two weeks or a month. This knowledge is something the club wants everyone to know. Instead of hoarding the secrets of great fishing spots, the club wants to share information. Alexander and his friends have spent hours in trucks and on ATVs travelling down roads and trails to find good fishing spots. “If we find a good place we tell the world, we publish it. “One of the planks of our constitution is to promote Elliot Lake. We want city hall and the powers that be to view us as an asset. “I don’t want anyone else leaving town because they thought the fishing was no good.” Cheaper than you think Sometimes all a person needs to start a hobby is knowing where to buy gear. Unfortunately, there are few places selling fly-fishing equipment in this area. That is why Alexander has been filling item orders for those interested in the sport. “It can be an expensive sport. One of those magazines will show you a fly-rod in the $800 range.” However, a beginner’s set can cost much less than that. Newcomers will need a rod, reel, fly-line, leaders, tippets and, of course, flies. Fly-line is more expensive than spin-casting line, but will last much longer, claims Alexander. And as club members do not want new or potential members discouraged from the high costs members have been donating new and old equipment, such as indoor practice rods. These popular devices are used to train people to cast. “These are custom-made and they are in such hot demand I am in back orders for them.” This all comes at a cost for the veteran members, but Alexander says someone had to step up. “You have to do that to get it going. Somebody has to be a hero. It’s just (to show) how much we care about it.” Alexander loves the sport. He and Russel have worked hard to recruit new members. After forming the club Alexander was surprised the problem with getting new people was not the cost of gear. The issue holding some people back is the difficulty or the unfamiliarity of fly-fishing. “When you are spin-casting you've got a weight on a thin-line. You can feel it. But with a fly line you are making this line go through the air. It is much more technical.” Fly-fishers do not have to cast the way it is seen on television or in the movies, such as in A River Runs Through It starring Brad Pitt. “If you see a demonstration the guy is showing off and he is doing 70 feet (of cast).” He says that is unnecessary. The average trout is caught at a distance under 15 feet. “I can teach you to do that in 10 minutes…, none of this fancy waving in the air.” For those interested in becoming a club member, the cost is $30 a year. Meetings are every Monday at St. Peter the Apostle Church on the corner of Hillside Drive and Roman Avenue. For more information, call Alexander at 461-8939. Check a future edition of The Standard for more on the fly tying aspect of fly-fishing.

Annual derby has lowest yield ever May 02, 2008 Craig Campbell / dundasstarnews.com The organizer of Dundas' annual Sucker Sunday fishing derby wonders what happened to cause the less than impressive results at this year's event. While 49 kids and 34 adults had a great time at the 32nd running of the derby on Spencer Creek last Sunday, Marty Zuliniak found the fish counts a little concerning. A record low of only three Suckers were caught during the nine hour derby. And for the first time in the event's three-decades, a Carp was caught - in fact, a total of 6 were brought in, to actually outnumber the Suckers. "That goes to show you that the Carp are still in Cootes," Mr. Zuliniak said. He noted this Carp majority, including one weighing 17 lbs., was found despite ongoing efforts by the Royal Botanical Gardens to keep that fish out of the Cootes Paradise watershed. In total, 38 fish were caught in Spencer Creek last week, compared to the 79 fish caught last year. Royal Botanical Gardens aquatic ecologist Tys Theysmeyer suggested, in response to Mr. Zuliniak's information, the Carp may have been drawn into Spencer Creek because of weather, while Suckers may have already been on their return trip to the lake. But Mr. Zuliniak, who believes this year's record low totals came on a better day for fishing than last year's event, figures the Suckers must feel something is wrong in their Spencer Creek spawning grounds leading them to shy away from bait there. He suggested "industrial disease" is responsible for the lower fish catch this year. Still, the 83 anglers - more than half of which were kids, didn't let that ruin their fun. The overall derby winner was Tom Charman for biggest fish caught, followed by Buck Callandar for the most caught, and Liam Walsh who picked up the Rick Carson Memorial with the longest fish caught.. Mr. Zuliniak thanked volunteer Marty Gilmour for handing out door prizes to the kids, all the Dundas merchants who donated prizes, and the staff at Winchester Arms for the use of their facility.

Lake Wolsey perch live a relative cormorant-free life May 7, 2008 Expositor Staff / manitoulin.ca SKY PATROL: A pair of Gore Bay and District Fish and Game Club volunteers take legal aim at cormorants threatening the rainbow trout at Meeker's Aquaculture operations on Lake Wolsey. Local perch reap collateral benefits. / photo by Tom Sasvari LAKE WOLSEY-People in the know from all over Manitoulin - and beyond - go to Lake Wolsey, 15 miles west of Gore Bay, to fish perch. That's summer and winter, and that's because, if one is in a mood for a feed of perch, Lake Wolsey is the only place where there is a fair certainty that a fisherman will be successful. That's not to say there aren't perch in other Island lakes and in the North Channel. There are. But these tend to be caught by talented anglers who know exactly where and when to fish. Lake Wolsey is much more forgiving to ordinary anglers and regularly gives up the limit of this tasty species to patient people who are prepared to move around the lake and bait their hooks with standard perch fare. Like the perch who school there, Mike Meeker, proprietor of Meeker's Aquaculture, is a denizen of Lake Wolsey where he moved 25 years ago to establish Manitoulin's first aquaculture operation. Mr. Meeker says that because of this willingness and encouragement to have Meeker Aquaculture included in a variety of scientific studies, "Lake Wolsey is one of the most studied lakes in Northern Ontario." He knows his lake is a productive habitat for perch, and for other species too. And he knows why: it's a symbiotic relationship between his fish cages (where he rears rainbow trout for the commercial market) and the wild fish species, like the yellow perch native to virtually all of the lakes on Manitoulin but now found in abundance only in Lake Wolsey. This information about Meeker Aquaculture's relationship with a particular wild species of fish is imparted to the newspaper last Sunday afternoon at the fish farm. The hour-long conversation is punctuated with the regular sound of shotgun blasts coming from near Meeker Aquaculture's cages on the lake below Mr. Meeker's storage buildings and home. Mr. Meeker, a man of calm demeanor who has about him the same air of any farmer who knows his territory and livestock intimately, says with authority that: "Lake Wolsey has the only sustainable levels of yellow perch on Manitoulin in all year classes." "And that," he continues, "is because our cages are there (the perch have lately come to take refuge from the predator cormorants in the 50-60 foot depths of water beneath the Meeker Aquaculture fish cages) and because those guys (he gestures in the direction where the shotgun blasts are coming from) are here protecting them." The perch population is viable in Lake Wolsey, Mr. Meeker knows, simply because as a licensed aquaculture operator, Meeker Aquaculture has been issued a permit that allows him (or his designates) to shoot the nuisance cormorants that would otherwise attack the rainbow trout being reared in the large net cages that comprise Mr. Meeker's "farm" in Lake Wolsey. This shooting of nuisance cormorants became a necessity for Meeker Aquaculture about five years ago when the fish farm suffered a significant financial loss of about 6,000 rainbow trout... to cormorants. "What they (cormorants) do - and I've watched them doing it when I've been on an underwater dive, the cormorants strike through the cages' webbing, striking the fish inside the cages just behind their gills (at their heart and liver, where the fish is most vulnerable) and then slash the fish downwards to finish the kill. Then they try to pull the fish through the netting to eat it." Shooting the birds isn't usually an issue until after ice break-up, when the open tops of the giant cages give easy access to cormorant predation. "But this year, when our cages were still submerged (during ice movement) I had double top nets on the cages. And we had to repair a lot of large holes in these top nets that definitely weren't there when the nets went on." And, because the fish cages and Mr. Meeker's crop of rainbow trout are being protected by the shotgun blasts that keep the birds away from the area (and kill some of them as well) that provides a place of refuge for the perch, under the cages. "The huge number of perch around our cages are there because of our protection of the cages," Mr. Meeker stated with authority, "but also because there's food at the cages: bugs and algae the perch pick off the side of the rainbow trout cages...and there's not much food left (for the perch to feed on) elsewhere in Lake Wolsey. It's a kind of 'artificial reef' situation that's been created here that the perch are taking advantage of." Mr. Meeker has lived and worked on Lake Wolsey for a quarter century and, like any farmer, he's watchful of the natural elements like weather and pests that may come to plague his crop. And for half of the that time that he's had an aquaculture business on the lake, he's observed that the cormorants have become a risk to the fish he harvests and, by extension, to virtually all other species in Lake Wolsey. By necessity of protecting his own fish farm, Mr. Meeker believes he's inadvertently given refuge (and food) to enough perch to maintain a stable population of that once-popular game species, across all year classes, in Lake Wolsey. But in the course of seeking shelter in the deep water beneath the Meeker Aquaculture cages, Lake Wolsey's yellow perch population is also radically altering hard-wired patterns in an effort to survive the onslaught of the cormorants, Mr. Meeker has observed. Perch habitually spawn in shallow, near-shore environments, Mr. Meeker says. The spawn clings to shallow water plants. That's what has worked for the species for, probably, thousands of years. But not now. The fish are spawning in 50 or 60 foot depths of water (beneath the fish cages which are legally protected from cormorants by those shotgun blasts), "and the ministry (MNR) people agree that the perch are drastically changing their spawning behaviour throughout the Great Lakes in recent years in response to cormorant pressure," Mr. Meeker says. But in spite of all the efforts by Meeker Aquaculture to protect their crop of rainbow trout (and coincidentally keeping the perch population at sustainable numbers) the cormorants keep coming. "The numbers of cormorants I've seen this year are the most I've seen in four years," the veteran fish farmer says. "The cormorants are back... in big numbers." This observation appears to be supported by a recent devastating onslaught of cormorants directed precisely at the perch population swimming and getting ready to spawn beneath the Meeker Aquaculture fish cages. That was early last week. Monday, April 28 to be precise. Cormorant communities organize to find food and that afternoon, Stuart Burns of Gordon, a volunteer helper at Meeker Aquaculture, said a flight of birds he estimates numbered 2,000, "came on to the cage area in a big V formation," striking at the perch beneath the rainbow trout cages. "The ones in the front ate first, then moved to the back and the others moved up." Mr. Meeker says the cormorants formed what he terms a "skirmish line," spreading out and driving the perch out from beneath the cages by frightening them into moving out to where other members of the flock are waiting to eat them. Cormorants are versatile divers and swimmers in their hunting mode. "I've watched these birds, in their skirmish line formation, lunge at our cages from one side and the fish move to the other side of the enclosure. Then other birds do the same thing from the other side and the fish quickly move back across the cage." "That's the same process these birds use with fish like the perch, that are unprotected by cages. They simply push them towards the shore," Mr. Meeker says. Last week's attack by the birds on the perch stock ended with many dead fish floating on the surface of Lake Wolsey. "When the fish go deeper to spawn and they're herded by the cormorants (who are deep divers by nature) the water literally looks like it's boiling as the fish swim upwards to try to escape the birds. The smaller ones (usually smaller males) get caught up and are pushed quickly to the surface so fast that their swim bladders don't have time to adjust to the changing pressure and they burst, killing the fish and providing an impromptu meal for the seagull population," Mr. Meeker observes. Mr. Meeker feels that the yellow perch population in Lake Wolsey, that has only hung on there in spite of the best efforts of the cormorants to devastate it (as he, Mr. Burns and others observed last week) and only because he feeds and protects his own farmed fish from the birds and so has created this serendipitous perch sanctuary, that the perch population in this lake can be the basis for rehabilitating the perch fishery in the North Channel and other Manitoulin lakes. But he also feels strongly that all of this will only be possible if the cormorant population is brought under control by political will and with the force and support of the government of Ontario. And this is where Mr. Meeker, a law abiding pioneer in the Manitoulin aquaculture industry and the charter president of the Northern Ontario Aquaculture Association, becomes critical of what he feels are ineffective and inefficient government policies on the cormorant issue. He is also critical of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) for ignoring its own mandate. "They're supposed to protect species for future generations," he says flatly. "The cormorants are an issue that should be taken care of now because the species they're decimating (like the yellow perch) just won't be there for future generations." His real criticism is with the political nature of the MNR. "They have good people in the districts and regions, like this one, who know what the problem is and what should be done about it. The problem is that the bureaucrats in Toronto and Peterborough (where the MNR's ministry office is located) don't listen to them." "If the ministry listened to their own local people, the (cormorant) problem would be solved quickly," he continues. "I'm afraid it's mismanagement of talent," he says flatly. "The district biologist in a given area should be able to act according to the needs in their own zones." He referred to his own case where Meeker Acquaculture, working with the MNR, has been able to be legally empowered to shoot cormorants to protect the fish farm's rainbow trout, and the wild perch thrive as a consquence. "The MNR always says it wants community input. What generally happens is that you go to a meeting and the outcomes are often preset so you leave the meeting with a strong feeling that what you've suggested won't be acted on," Mr. Meeker says. "But this is a perfect example of what is needed all over the province where local expertise and willingness to do what is required to help solve a problem is available and just needs to be tapped into. That's the model we're using at our farm successfully and the MNR is an important partner in that, and so are the volunteers from the Gore Bay and District Fish and Game Club, and other people too, who come to our cages and shoot the cormorants. These guys have the expertise and incentive and realize the scope of the problem. If these people were legally allowed to expand their efforts beyond our cage area, they'd get on with it and the problem would be quickly solved," Mr. Meeker stresses. "I think the model would be several small projects, like this one, that would be easily managed in their own areas and designed to meet a stated objective in a stated time frame," he adds. "If you have a successful little project like the one here, it should be easier to do the next one and the next one and the one after that too, in terms of funding and volunteers" Mr. Meeker says. "I think a few successful micro projects, again like this one, would make it easier for a district manager or a district biologist to stickhandle through the internal bureaucracy they have to manage," he adds. "Success will breed success and the mistrust and cynicism that many people have right now for the MNR in terms of responding to local needs will begin to change. And I believe that it will change quite quickly." Meanwhile, the shotguns protecting both Mr. Meeker's livelihood and the residual yellow perch population in lake Wolsey continue to legally blast away. Over 70 of the birds were shot Sunday morning, their carcasses plucked out of the water by Mr. Meeker in accordance with one of the conditions that allows him to protect his investment.

....Okay so I'm planning on heading to Lake Erie for some perch in the morning. My problem is two fold. One, how do I get to the boat launch in Crystal Beach? Two, is it possible to get minnows in that area or along the way in the wee hours (7'ish) of the morning?

'Shocking' bird cull underway Thursday, May 01, 2008 Sharon Hill / Windsor Star The shooting of double-crested cormorants on Middle Island began Wednesday afternoon. The cull began one day after a federal court decision denied an injunction requested by two animal protection groups. The cull is expected to last until early next week. "They're shooting right now," Julie Woodyer of Zoocheck Canada Inc. and Cormorant Defenders International said via cellphone Wednesday as she watched the cull from a boat. The level of disturbance is absolutely shocking." Woodyer said she could see thousands of egrets, great blue herons and cormorants flying above the island. She was concerned the startled birds could lose their nests and eggs to other birds. Woodyer said the shooting started at about 2 p.m. and she was still hearing shots by 4 p.m. She said she couldn't see the birds being shot or dead cormorants from her location. She described the scene of startled birds as "mass chaos" and she sounded upset each time she saw the birds, including those not being culled, take off from the trees. "It's disturbing." Point Pelee National Park superintendent Marian Stranak said the park has five to seven days to hold the cull. Trained park staff will be aiming at adult breeding cormorants that don't have chicks or eggs that are more than two weeks old. NO TARGET NUMBER Trees have been marked so shooters can avoid cormorants resting on well-developed eggs. Stranak said there is no target number of cormorants for this year's cull. Each day's activity depends on the weather, the nesting season and the availability of the OPP officers, who are needed to alert boaters to stay out of a 1.6-kilometre perimeter around the island. Stranak said the cull may continue today, since Wednesday was not a full cull day. After that, the plan is to conduct the cull every other day. This is the first year of a multi-year program to reduce the population by thousands of breeding cormorants. Parks Canada wants to reduce the colony from 4,026 nests to between 438 and 876 nests in five years. Stranak said the cormorants killed Wednesday will be collected and sent to the Canadian Wildlife Service for toxicology research. Other cormorants will be left where they fall because picking up all the dead birds, weighing five to seven pounds each, would damage the vegetation the cull is trying to protect, she said. Boaters were warned by the radio marine channel to stay away from the island that is south of Pelee Island in Lake Erie. The OPP has a boat in the area and could lay charges of trespassing in the zone, obstructing police or mischief if someone tries to interfere with the cull, said OPP spokeswoman Const. Janet Hayes. The media is not be allowed to observe the shooting. Parks Canada said it needed to cull some of the cormorants because their guano is killing vegetation and hurting the Carolinian ecosystem. BOYCOTT URGED A grassroots organization is asking visitors to stop going to Point Pelee National Park in an attempt to get Parks Canada to reconsider shooting cormorants next year. The Peaceful Parks Coalition based in Toronto will be outside the park gates May 10 and May 18 telling people about the cull on Middle Island and asking people to boycott the park. The park manages the Lake Erie island. May is the park's peak spring birdwatching season and coalition campaigner AnnaMaria Valastro said she's hoping hitting the park's finances will get Parks Canada to reconsider future culls. Valastro said during the peaceful protests, the group will suggest birdwatchers visit other sites in Essex County or wear black arm bands if they go in the park. "We don't think they deserve public support."

Commercial fishermen fight for new quota system QUOTA: U.S. reps biased towards sport fishery, association contends Friday May 02, 2008 Jeff Helsdon / Tillsonburg News Ontario commercial fishermen have turned to the courts in a bid to move to a new system for setting their quota. "The current system is inappropriate and it’s up to the federal and provincial government to come up with a new system," said Peter Meisenheimer, executive director of the Ontario Commercial Fisheries’ Association. A three-judge panel heard arguments from the association legal team over three days last week. At the heart of the case is the belief that it is inappropriate and an erosion of Canadian sovereignty to have an international body set Canadian quota. Quota is set by the Lake Erie Committee, which is comprised of one representative each from Ontario and each of the four states abutting the lake. Among the arguments presented was the contention that the American representatives were biased towards the sports fishery. Since the states receive federal fisheries funding based on how much revenue is generated from sport fishing licenses, the association argued there is a vested interest to advocate on behalf of the sports fishery exclusively. Meisenheimer said the states of Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York view the Ontario commercial fishery as direct competition for the resource. "They’ve shut their commercial fishery down and are trying to do the same to Ontario industry through the back door," he said. "All four of those jurisdictions are hostile to the commercial fishery, which is the primary use of the resource in Ontario waters." Last year, for example, he explained the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources told the association no major cuts in walleye or perch quota were expected. Association members then arranged their financing with their banks with that expectation. Then, after negotiations with the Lake Erie Committee, the quotas were cut. "It was devastating to people," Meisenheimer said. "We had guys were called in by their bankers. You can’t run a business that way." The principal demand of the suit is for an open, transparent and accountable management system that conforms to Canadian law. Meisenheimer said the legal proceedings aren’t just a bid for more quota. As an example, he said walleye and perch quota was artificially held low between 2001 and 2004. Walleye quota then saw a large increase in 2005, which commercial fishermen found hard to market. Then quota was cut again in 2006. "We were perfectly prepared to take less fish in exchange for some stability," Meisenheimer said. "They weren’t even prepared to give us that." He cited the 2005 perch quota in Kent County as another example of a flawed system. After commercial fishermen in that area noticed their quota seemed low, the association started an investigation and found quota was underallocated by 69 per cent. Meisenheimer said something must be wrong with the system if nobody notices that large a mistake.

What if you call 911 and no one ever answers? May 5, 2008 / great-lakes.org Starting February 1, 2009 that is exactly what will happen for boaters who have the older model EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) that transmit a distress alert on 121.5 MHz or 243 MHz. The activation of an EPIRB is like making a 911 call to search and rescue authorities. After February 1, 2009 the older model EPIRBs will no longer be monitored by satellite, and are likely to go completely undetected in an emergency. Only distress alerts from 406 MHz beacons will continue to be detected and processed by search and rescue satellites worldwide. Although February 1, 2009 is still a long time from now, the traditional start of the 2008 boating season is just a couple of weeks away and while preparing for the season the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary recommends that the new EPIRBs be part of the season start-up shopping list. Although recreational boaters are not required to carry an EPIRB, they are strongly recommended for ALL boaters, including kayaks and other paddle craft, along with a VHF-FM marine band radio. The 406 MHz signal sent by the newer EPIRBs when a mariner encounters distress are picked up by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite constellation, which determines the EPIRBs position through triangulation. EPIRBs with embedded GPS are even more helpful in quickly finding a distressed boater. With GPS coordinates, the position of distress is pinpointed almost immediately. Without GPS, it may take two or three satellite passes to come up with a good, triangulated position. According to Captain Chip Strangfeld, Commander of Coast Guard Sector San Diego, “the time saved by EPIRBs could mean the difference between life and death.” As long as the new 406 MHz beacon has been registered (which is required by law), search and rescue authorities can quickly confirm that the distress is real, who they are looking for, and a description of the vessel or aircraft. This means an effective search can be initiated even before a final distress location has been determined for non-GPS EPIRBs. It also means that a false activation may be resolved with a phone call to the beacon owner, saving resources for actual distresses. Registration is free and can be done on the internet at: www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov or it can be mailed/faxed to NOAA by calling 1-888-212-SAVE. Beacon registrations must be updated at least every two years or when information such as emergency contact phone numbers and other vital information changes. This registration information is only available to authorized search and rescue personnel. It saves lives.

....Thought this warranted a little more attention than it might receive in the "news" section. 'Take a Kid Fishing Day' on May 10 at Belwood Lake

Warning markers to be placed at eight GRCA dams May 05, 2008 / GRCA The Grand River Conservation Authority is installing warning markers upstream of eight of its dams on the Grand, Nith and Speed rivers to provide additional notice to canoeists and kayakers to stay away from the dams. The eight GRCA dams are all “run of the river” or “low head” dams. The water upstream of the dams can be still and placid, but the area downstream can be dangerous. Strong currents at the base of the dam can capsize a canoe or kayak and trap the occupant underwater. Installation is planned for these dates, although the scheduled is subject to change due to weather conditions: Thursday, May 8 – Wellington Street Dam, Guelph – two buoys Monday, May 12 – Dunnville Dam, including Weirs 1, 2 and 3 – four buoys Tuesday, May 13 – Caledonia Dam – four buoys Tuesday, May 13 – Wilkes Dam, Brantford – three buoys Wednesday, May 14 – Parkhill Dam, Cambridge – four buoys Wednesday, May 14 – New Hamburg Dam – three buoys Thursday, May 15 – Bissell Dam, Elora – one buoy Thursday, May 15 – Drimmie Dam, Elora – boom The buoys are marked with a bright red diamond, which is an international warning symbol for boaters. They are in addition to existing warning and portage signs. The number of buoys at each dam depends on the width of the river. The boom at Drimmie Dam spans the river and consists of floats linked together with a chain. In addition, the County of Brant has already installed buoys at the Penman’s Dam in Paris. The dam is owned by the county. For more information on river flows, see the River Data of the GRCA web site.

Finding perch requires persistence Updated: 05/04/08 6:46 AM Will Elliott / buffalonews.com A couple dozen plump perch make a Lake Erie outing most rewarding. Lake Erie remains a fish factory for gigantic jumbo perch, but finding and catching these remarkable ringbacks is no longer your father’s, or grandpa’s, ringback roundup. Through the 1950s and well into the ’60s finding schools of yellow perch was a snap, especially at this time of year. In April and early May, perch would move into the shallows all along Erie’s New York State shoreline. Anglers need not travel far for both bait and for brimming bucket catches of theses tasty fish. Most outings took more time for scaling and filleting fish than finding, catching and bringing them home. As a kid I spent much of my youth chasing these perch schools after school many an afternoon and evening. We could seine net a bucket of bait from the shallows protected by Point Breeze and be on the water and over fish less than an hour after classes at Lake Shore Central. Getting to these fish was simple. On calm days, boaters could row out to depths of five to 10 feet, anchor and expect to hit into pre-spawning perch as they cruised into shoreline shallows. Perch, basically daylight feeders, would turn off their feed sometime just before sunset. One reliable indicator of the shutdown most evenings was the start of the bullhead and small catfish bite. Into summer and even after school started in September, boaters would chase those schools of post-spawn perch to depths anywhere from 25 feet out to the “shipping lanes” along the International Line. They would head out of popular access sites at Hamburg, Sturgeon Point, Point Breeze, Cattaraugus Creek and Dunkirk Harbor. Boaters usually fished in 12-to 16- foot hulls with outboard motors rarely driven by 25 horses. Without sonar — the Lowrance “green boxes” began showing everywhere in the late ’60s — the use of underwater contour maps and GPS, anglers would simply look for a flotilla of fishermen, anchor just out of casting range, drop a line to the bottom and start reeling in the ringbacks. Today, all those launch sites can be hot perch spots and perch schools are still in session at sites from Buffalo to Barcelona, but so much has changed in modern, perch-fishing times. Filtration from exotic mussels that began in the ’90s resulted in greater water clarity, which puts schools of perch on spawning beds in deeper waters well off shore. Fishing pressures — and a host of other factors — have reduced overall numbers of fish, but, when they can be found, perch provide a respectable fight on lighter tackle. And, of course, they render what most fishers would consider the finest of panfish fillets that can be caught. That’s what longtime fishing partner Ken “Mach” Maciejewski and I attempted to do on April 25. While calling to find where the fish are biting for the Fishing Line update on Wednesday, I was told by Ricky Miller at Miller’s Bait & Tackle in Irving: “The perch are hitting off Evangola in about 51 feet.” We decided to give it a try on Friday afternoon. After a morning of house chores, during which the wind started kicking up, I met Mach and we headed for the Catt. Ricky supplied us with a bucket of live fatheads and a bag of salted emerald shiners, saying, “The guys tell me that [perch] sometimes hit better on emeralds.” He was right. But it took some reconnaissance running and repeated depth and structure checking for more than two hours before we felt the first perch bite. As we headed out of the creek mouth, expecting to buck waves and drop heavy anchors, we were met with an unusual event for afternoon fishing on Lake Erie. The winds died and the lake was almost pond calm with just slight swells from those morning gusts. A couple of bass boaters worked Eagle Bay rock piles at 25-foot depths west of the creek. A couple more boats appeared over deeper waters and barely visible eastward toward Evangola State Park and Point Breeze. None of the reliable humps and drop-offs on either side of Foxes Point had an anchored boater on site. A check with sonar and four or five nearly stationary drifts resulted in neither fish on the screen nor biting on our baits. Finally, one boater just east of Evangola remained in place over a nice school of perch. We anchored near him and the hits started immediately. In minutes, boats appeared from the east and west and six boats had anchors set within 100 yards of each other. How these boaters arrived, how perch began hitting and how they ended up as filleting fare will be the subject of next Sunday’s column.

Kayak fishing catching on in Great Lakes 05/04/08 Eric Sharp - DETROIT FREE PRESS DETROIT — Four years ago I bought my first fishing kayak, a sit-inside model. I start kayak fishing early in spring and keep it up until late October, so I figured a sit-inside would be drier and warmer than a sit-on-top. However, the closed boat proved difficult to get in and out of for wading when the water was more than a couple of feet deep. If you dump one it requires a major effort to empty it and climb back inside. So last fall I bought a Hurricane Phoenix 16 sit-on-top, and fishing from it in Michigan and Florida has been a big improvement. It was a close choice between the Phoenix and the Wilderness Systems Tarpon 16 because both have good hull shapes and paddle as well as some touring kayaks. I picked the Phoenix because it seemed a little faster and, at 52 pounds, was a dozen pounds lighter than the Tarpon, making it easier to load onto the top of a full-sized pickup. The Phoenix and Tarpon are a little tippier than most SOTs, but a half-hour’s practice should make anyone comfortable with the boats, and to me the superior speed was well worth trading a little stability. I went with a 16-footer because I often paddle offshore in big lakes or salt water, and a big boat handles big waves better. Most Michigan anglers would be fine with a 14-footer or even a 12 if they fish smaller lakes and smooth rivers. An essential purchase for an SOT is a seat, because unlike sit-insides, many SOTs don’t come with one. The first one I bought was a low-back recreational model because $80 seemed better than $120 for a high-backed seat designed for anglers. It proved penny wise and pound foolish, and after a few days of backaches I returned to the kayak shop and bought a high-backed seat. I’d also recommend that anglers who fish from an SOT in spring and fall buy a wet suit. I usually wear a Farmer John style, which has separate bibs and jacket. I wear the full suit when the water is under 60 degrees, but most of the time it’s just the bibs. The SOT is a great fishing platform. In deeper water I can sit with my legs dangling over the sides, and getting in and out in shallow water to wade for bass, carp or redfish is simple. Most SOTs have a well behind the paddler that will hold a milk crate of gear or a scuba tank and a smaller well at the bow. I usually bungee a tackle bag onto the front deck with the gear needed for the day. My next step is to figure out the type of rod holders I want to mount on the Phoenix and design a small platform for a GPS, radio and electronic fishfinder. (I have better electronic navigation and communications on my kayaks today than they had on aircraft carriers 20 years ago.) I suspect that in a few years the popularity of kayak fishing in the Great Lakes will rival southern and West Coast states. If you’d like to learn more about it, do a computer search for “kayak fishing,” and you’ll get advice on everything from rigging a kayak to fighting a 300-pound marlin from one.

Profiling a lake's 'nasty' invaders Algae, phosphorus, mercury, zebra mussels are among the threats to Lake Erie Tuesday, April 29, 2008 Sonja Puzic / Windsor Star PUT-IN-BAY, OHIO - The Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory on the tiny historic Gibraltar Island in western Lake Erie has hosted generations of students, young biologists and leading researchers for more than 100 years. Nestled among a cluster of other smaller islands near Put-in-Bay, the lab is the United States' oldest freshwater biological field station and the island campus of the Ohio State University. It is also the site of important research that collects sobering evidence of the changes in Lake Erie's ecosystem which could have dramatic effects on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border if governments and environmental agencies do not commit to more long-term restoration and water management initiatives in the Great Lakes. When Stone lab researchers and staff are not showing school-aged children on field trips how to collect plankton samples from Lake Erie, they are carefully studying the lake's temperature patterns, water levels, sources of pollution and its effects on the numerous species that inhabit the shallowest and warmest of the five Great Lakes. When a Stone lab vessel trawled for fish on a sample collection expedition Monday morning, the net also collected handfuls of zebra mussels or round gobies, just two of the invasive species that have entered the Great Lakes through ballast water from international ships. According to biologists, there are more than 180 invasive species in the Great Lakes. Holding up one of the tiny round gobies, John Hageman, co-manager of the Stone lab, said the fish species have been observed across Lake Erie by the billions. And that's just one of the problems creating "huge changes" in Lake Erie over the last several years, Stone lab director Jeff Reutter told a group of journalists this week as part of a Montana-based Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources program aimed at educating media about environmental issues. Pollutants that cling to lake sediment, the flow of contaminants such as phosphorus and the persistence of aquatic invasive species have wreaked havoc on some parts of Lake Erie, said Reutter, who often works and consults with University of Windsor's Great Lakes Institute. There are also plumes of harmful algal blooms spreading across the southern shore of Lake Erie in Ohio during the warm summer months -- caused by phosphorus dumped into the lake by industries, municipalities, tributaries and agricultural runoff. Although that plume, coming from the largest source of polluted run-off flowing into Lake Erie -- the Maumee River -- tends to concentrate in northwest Ohio, it does not stay there. In fact, recent satellite images show the algae mass moving slowly toward Pelee Island. Ultimately, it could end up in Lake Erie's central basin, sinking to the bottom as the algae die off, Reutter said. The Maumee River is not the only culprit, however. "A lot of nasty things are coming (into the lake) from the Detroit River," Reutter said, pointing to the lake's elevated mercury levels. Reutter said scientists are also still struggling to figure out how to control Lake Erie's dead zone, an oxygen-deprived area devoid of life in the deepest parts of the lake's central basin, created when the oxygen supply is cut off by warmer layers of water near the surface. While some scientists have theorized that the dead zone is a naturally occurring phenomenon, others say that climate change and phosphorus are to blame. As the water level in Lake Erie decreases, the lake becomes warmer, causing concerns about the dead zone's expansion. Although Lake Erie's water levels are not of primary concern right now, Reutter said, that could change as water levels in the upper Great Lakes continue to decrease. Concerns that a hole in the St. Clair River bed and erosion, caused by dredging, is lowering Lake Superior's water levels has prompted a study by the International Joint Commission, part of a larger study on the upper Great Lakes. Preliminary results are expected in July 2009. LAKE ERIE FORUM The fifth biennial Lake Erie Millennium Network Conference at the University of Windsor begins today and runs through Thursday. Numerous scientists, researchers and students will discuss the latest status reports on Lake Erie, including climate change, the lake's dead zone, its fish communities and the increases in phosphorous loading in the lake. The conference is open to the public, but you must register by contacting Natalie Carreau at 519-253-3000, ext. 4758. Visit www.LEMN.org for more information.

New reefs will help an ancient fish thrive again in river April 28, 2008 BARBARA ARRIGO / Detroit Free press The guest of honor was 5-foot-6, weighed 72 pounds and was at least 35 years old. Gender could not be determined. The sturgeon arrived late but absolutely stole the show at an April 19 fete for a new chapter of the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge. For the first time, money has come together from both sides of the river -- loonies and bucks in the same pot! -- for a project, a sturgeon spawning reef to be laid in the river this fall. The reception, speeches and champagne toast took place on Fighting Island, on the Canadian side of the river and owned by BASF Corp. U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, and his Canadian counterpart, Jeff Watson, a member of Parliament for much of Essex County, had the spotlight as the political parents of the wildlife refuge. So much for the formalities. Politicians and press, funders and biologists all rushed out of the BASF lodge to see the sturgeon, brought dockside by two biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. You don't get to see sturgeon very often. They lie deep in the water and, given their size, aren't easy to haul up. But they are increasingly active beneath the surface of a river many of us see every day. As a sign that the Detroit River has beaten back its worst pollution, their viability amounts to a big fish story in more ways than one. Sturgeon hark back to the time of the dinosaurs. Their recorded history suggests the Lake Huron-to-Lake Erie channel hosted the biggest numbers in the Great Lakes, and maybe in all of North America. They especially liked to loll in the Detroit River, which had nine known spawning sites. Then our early Detroit predecessors nearly wiped them out, especially after discovering how well the oily fish burned in ship boilers. But sturgeon can live a century or more, and at least a few of them never gave up completely on the Detroit River. Biologists started spotting them just off Zug Island during spawning season, and in 2001 finally collected eggs that proved sturgeon were once again reproducing. Sturgeon romance has precise equivalents to wine and candles. The ambience has to start with clean flowing water, which Detroit River restoration work has delivered. Next: not a moon in the sky above but chunks of rock in the riverbed below. Bottom material must have deep enough crevices to keep sturgeon eggs safe from predators and to protect hatchlings until they float downstream to wetlands and other shoreline hiding places. Excitement about the Fighting Island spawning reef has spread like a contagion among the fishery crowd. Bruce Manny, a fishery biologist and sturgeon expert for the U.S. Geological Survey, brimmed with enthusiasm about what the next few years will reveal about sturgeon and the river. The Fighting Island channel reef has special potential, he said, because it lies upstream from some of the river's last open spots of shoreline on the Canadian side -- perfect nurseries for baby sturgeon. Jim McFee, one of the biologists who brought the sturgeon in for inspection, is working the river intensively these days for the baseline study before the reef goes in. He caught and tagged an even bigger sturgeon April 22. Length: about 7 feet; weight: beyond his scale's 132-pound capacity. Anticipation of sturgeon lovefests is spreading well beyond the biologists, too. The $178,000 in reef funding comes from foundations as well as government sources, with additional in-kind donations by BASF and DTE. The teamwork, essential to the refuge, shows how many borders can be crossed when people find a common motive. And few motives may be as satisfying as boosting new generations of sturgeon, a fish that endured whatever wiped out the dinosaurs only to barely survive its encounter with people plopping industrial operations up and down the river's banks. John Dingell, in particular, was beaming as he watched another piece fall into place for his beloved refuge. "This is the most selfish damn thing I do," he said. "It is one of my great pleasures."

Lamprey numbers increasing LAMPREY: Local creeks part of program Monday April 28, 2008 Jeff Helsdon / Tillsonburg News The Ministry of Natural Resources is ramping up its fight against the sea lamprey in Lake Erie. Population estimates for the invasive species in Lake Erie now sit at 16,000. Lampreys attach themselves to fish and feed on the host’s bodily fluids, often resulting in wounding or death. It’s believed lamprey made their way into Lake Erie in 1921 when the Welland Canal was deepened. Chemical controls, called lampreyicides, have kept numbers in check, but treatment to Lake Erie streams is done on a three to four-year cycle. In addition, other measures are in place such as an inflatable lamprey barrier on Big Creek. Researchers aren’t sure why lamprey numbers in Lake Erie are so high. The target is to keep the breeding population to between 2,000 and 6,000. Lampreys are present in the other Great Lakes, but similar spikes in the population didn’t occur elsewhere. Fraser Neave, a larval assessment biologist with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, said researchers aren’t sure why the numbers are up. "If we focus our efforts over the next couple of years we should get the numbers under control," he said. Plans to ramp up lamprey treatment include treating all lamprey-producing streams on both sides of Lake Erie in both 2008 and 2009. Locally, Big Creek and the Big Otter Creek are part of the list. In addition, trapping will take place on Big Creek to evaluate lamprey spawning success. Lamprey abundance is a roadblock to the present lake trout recovery efforts. Although Lake Erie has a decent population of rainbow trout and other salmonoids, lake trout are the preferred host for lamprey. Lake trout are favoured hosts for two reasons - because the fish reach the large size lamprey like and because of their behaviour. "Where they are in the water column (depth they live at) makes them particularly vulnerable to lamprey," Neave said. Erie’s lake trout populations have been based on fish stocked on the U.S. side. Ontario’s goal in its lake trout stocking efforts is to put 50,000 fish per year in the lake for three years to establish a genetically diverse self-sustaining population. "We’re facing a situation where we don’t have any native lake trout in Lake Erie," said John Copper, Ministry of Natural Resources information officer with the Lake Erie unit. "We’re trying different varieties (of lake trout) to see which is best." Previous Ontario lake trout stocking efforts were unsuccessful, but it was felt the fish were released too close to shore. The plan this time is emulate the American practice of releasing the fish over deep-water shoals. Preliminary work assessing the shoals on the Canadian side of Lake Erie will take place later this year prior to the stocking. Some of the shoals being considered include the Nanticoke Shoal, Tecumseh Reef at the mouth of the Grand River and a shoal off Peacock Point. MNR researchers are also evaluating various lake trout species. One of the characteristics being sought is to find a variety that will spawn once before the fish reach the size targeted by lamprey.

It's time for bass catch, release April 27, 2008 ERIC SHARP / Detroit Free press This is what bass anglers in other parts of the country dream about: a 21-inch smallmouth that weights five to six pounds and is just one of dozens that Detroit area anglers routinely catch on a good afternoon during the catch-and-release bass season. "They (smallmouths) are just crushing Rat-L-Traps and crank baits," said fishing guide Gerry Gostenik, who fished for bass where the Detroit River dumps into Lake Erie. "You can catch them all day long." This is the second season for the experimental catch-and-release season, which is designed to measure over a decade if and how such fishing affects populations and sizes. In Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair and Detroit rivers, the catch-and-release season runs through June 20. In all other Lower Peninsula waters, including the Great Lakes, it runs through May 23. In the Upper Peninsula, the catch-and-release season runs May 15-23, including the Great Lakes waters of the UP. "The South used to be where people went to catch bass, but the truth is that in the Great Lakes, and especially the Detroit area, we average a lot more fish a day now, and they're bigger on average, too," Gostenik said. The Lake St. Clair waterway and western Lake Erie traditionally had good numbers of smallmouth bass and some largemouths. But the arrival of zebra mussels 25 years ago has made a startling difference in water clarity, and sight feeders such as muskellunge and smallmouth bass have been able to make vast increases in their numbers and sizes. Tim Lehman of Dayton is a bass fanatic who said he has been coming to Michigan to fish for bass during the walleye season for six, seven years. "Everybody was doing catch-and-release, because even though the season wasn't open, it was almost impossible for a conservation officer to prove you weren't trying to catch walleyes," he said. "And all during that time, the bass fishing just kept getting better and better. It was overdue when the Department of Natural Resources finally recognized that we (bass anglers) weren't hurting the resource, and all their closed season did was hurt your tourism business."

LSRCA issues watershed report card April 25, 2008 - The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority (LSRCA) has just completed a report card on the health of Lake Simcoe and its watershed. It describes the findings that have resulted from ongoing scientific monitoring and will be distributed to 170,000 homes throughout the watershed over the next two weeks. Scientists at the conservation authority, in cooperation with the provincial environment and natural resources ministries, monitor a variety of watershed features, some with particular attention. These special features are known as ‘indicators’ because they are like an early warning, signaling changes in the ecosystem. They help scientists understand how the health of the environment is changing and point to possible causes such as human activity, weather and pollution. The report grades the watershed on the basis of these indicators. “Each indicator provides meaningful information about one aspect of the health of the watershed, but results for one indicator alone can’t always be explained by the reasons we first suspect,” said LSRCA board chair and East Gwillimbury councillor Virginia Hackson. “It’s the combination of indicators that helps us understand the total picture of how our environment is changing.” Six indicators were used for the lake, and eight for each tributary (or subwatershed). Lake indicators include phosphorus and oxygen concentrations, water clarity, and various forms of aquatic wildlife. Tributary indicators include phosphorus, stormwater runoff, and vegetation. The report was completed by the LSRCA in accordance with standards endorsed by Environment Canada, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and Conservation Ontario. “This report card presents a great deal of information, and it’s written in common language that everyone can understand,” Hackson said. “We think it’s important that all residents share these results so we can all work together to achieve the balance that is needed in the watershed.” View Report Card (PDF) All media inquiries, contact: D. Gayle Wood Chief Administrative Officer, LSRCA 905.895.1281 Ken Neale Manager, Corporate Communications 905.895.1281

For many anglers the season begins May 1, 2008 Fishing Line by Will Elliott / buffalonews.com For many anglers the season begins with the statewide opening of walleye, northern pike and tiger musky seasons and the start of a Lake Erie trophy bass season Saturday. If this is an initial outing this weekend, be sure to renew that New York State fishing license before heading out. Ontario Province and Seneca Nation of Indians angling licenses are issued annually starting Jan. 1; New York State licenses are valid yearly starting Oct. 1. Lake Erie Lake Erie anglers have been tagging perch and an unusually large number of smallmouth bass in deeper waters off Sturgeon Point and Cattaraugus Creek. Boaters have to get over 50-foot depths or greater and often have to move around to find feeding fish. The bite is tight to the bottom and salted emerald shiners often work as well as live fatheads and other certified minnows. A Lake Erie perch fishing report will appear on Sunday’s Outdoors Page. The special Lake Erie bass season will begin Saturday. Catch-and-release casters have been working the Dunkirk to Sturgeon Point shoreline at depths of 25 feet, but a good stain and continued warming waters could move the smallies into shallower rocky structures for the opener. One note: when bass fishing on Lake Erie before the Saturday opener and on inland waters before the June opener, catch-and-release anglers can only use artificial lures; live bait can be used only during open bass seasons. Walleye activity moved up the calendar with the recent summer-like spell of high temperatures. Don Einhouse, DEC Unit Leader at the Lake Erie Unit in Dunkirk, noted spawning walleye began moving into Van Buren Point shallows about two weeks ahead of time. With waters much warmer than usual — open-water surface temperatures were at 51-52 degrees some afternoons — the normally sluggish start to night trolling for walleye out of Buffalo Harbor may be more bonanza-like at the statewide start at midnight Friday. Despite the recent heat and an abundance of suckers and bass, feeder streams still hold a few decent rainbow steelies. Cattaraugus and Clear creeks have gotten much mention recently. Niagara River Smelt schools move close to shore just after dark at Lewiston Landing and the Artpark access. Both sites should be busy Friday and Saturday evening during the Annual Smelt Dip and Fry. Drifters still hit into steelies in Devil’s Hole and sites down current. Lake Ontario Lake trout hit minnows on drifting rigs bumped along the Niagara Bar. Open-water trollers out of Oak Orchard, Olcott and Wilson have seen more brown trout than Chinook (king) salmon. Biggest numbers and sizes for kings still come from west of the Niagara River mouth. Wilson Harbor has seen a good run on perch.

FEDERAL COURT BACKS CORMORANT CULL O.F.A.H. Applauds dismissal of injunction application to prevent Middle Island cull For Immediate Release OFAH FILE: 842 /April 30, 2008 A federal court decision denying a request for an injunction to halt the proposed cull of cormorants on Middle Island in Lake Erie south of Pelee Island will allow Parks Canada to proceed with controls to reduce the negative impact of cormorants on the local ecosystem. The cull, which had been challenged by some animal rights activists, is part of a carefully developed and scientifically sound management plan by Parks Canada to address the overpopulation of cormorants on Middle Island. "The ecosystems of the Great Lakes and inland lakes cannot continue to sustain the damage that has been created by a decade of cormorant population growth that has been allowed to go unchecked," said Dr. Terry Quinney, O.F.A.H. Provincial Manager of Fish & Wildlife. "Parks Canada, both through evidence presented in court and through an environmental assessment, has clearly demonstrated that unless there is both a short and longer term decrease in the cormorant population on Middle Island, the ecological integrity of the Carolinian ecosystem is threatened and may be lost completely over the next decade." Cormorant populations have exploded in many areas of Ontario, including the Great Lakes, and inland lakes like Simcoe, Couchiching, Rice and Opeongo Lake in Algonquin Park. Concerns around the cormorant overpopulation are based on both their habits and consumption of fish species. Cormorants consume vast quantities of smaller bait fish and immature fish species and their guano (droppings) are highly toxic, resulting in the destruction of nearby vegetation and nesting areas for other birds. "Despite what some animal rights organizations suggest, this has nothing to do with the eradication of a species, and everything to do with the careful and scientific control of one species whose population is out of sync with the surrounding area and negatively impacting upon other species. There is compelling science to support the use of a managed cull as part of a management strategy," said Dr. Quinney. In ruling against the application for an injunction, the court found that Parks Canada had presented strong evidence to suggest that real harm to ecosystem of Middle Island would occur if the cull did not proceed by the end of April. Parks Canada argued that if immediate action is not taken to reduce the number of cormorants, the island's unique ecosystem could be damaged beyond the point of recovery. Parks officials also noted that if they allowed this to happen, the service would be guilty of not living up to its mandate to maintain ecological integrity under the Canada National Parks Act. While the move to control the cormorant population on Middle Island is seen as a positive step, the O.F.A.H. is concerned over the lack of action in other areas of the province under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources (M.N.R.). The province's decision to halt the cull of cormorants at Presqu'ile Provincial Park because of pressure from animal rights groups, and the lack of a coherent cormorant management strategy flies in the face of the M.N.R.'s responsibility and stated commitment to the conservation of biodiversity. The province has also recently come under fire from bordering U.S. states who have introduced cormorant controls that are threatened by Ontario's inaction. With over 83,000 members and 655 member clubs, the O.F.A.H. is the largest non-profit conservation organization in Ontario and the voice of anglers and hunters. For further information, visit www.ofah.org. Contact Greg Farrant Manager of Government Relations & Communications (705) 748-6324 ext. 236 (705) 875-0274 (cell) Dr. Terry Quinney Provincial Manager, Fish & Wildlife (705) 748-6324 ext. 242 Lezlie Goodwin Communications Coordinator 705 748-6324 ext 270

....Well I do have plans for Owen Sound in a few weeks. Then Lakair GTG in June. Probably get to Dalrymple a few times then off to Nipigon in August.

....Yep, Parkdale and Main. Used to get there occasionally as a youngster, loved that store. Oddly enough I now live within walking distance of where it used to be.

Trout season opener means spring to anglers Doug Edgar / owensoundsuntimes.com Forget robins and the equinox. We all know spring really starts when the trout season opens, which just happens to be today. While the significance of the opener isn’t what it once was due to year-round and late-fall fishing opportunities at many river mouths and extended closed seasons in many tributaries to protect spawning rainbows, it is still something I look forward to, even though seasonal duties usually keep me off the river for the first few days. For flyrodders, this could end up being a good start to the season, with recent warm temperatures likely giving stream life a bit of a boost and encouraging the early season mayflies — mostly Hendricksons (Ephemerella subvaria and others, for those of you who seek fish that speak Latin) and early small olive (Baetis) mayflies — to make a break for the surface. But still, the key to early season fly fishing success is being prepared for change. As I write this, the sun is shining — as it has pretty well non-stop for almost two weeks — but there’s always a chance for cooler temperatures and rain, which can make a big difference fast. So while it appears to me this should be a good year for local early season fly fishing, it’s important to remember the cards are stacked against it and everything can change due to as little as a cold, overcast day. So what should work? If you’re a dry-fly purist, Hendrickson imitations on #14 hooks are likely a good bet for the next few weeks. The classic light and dark Hendrickson dries, tied with dark grey or tan bodies, grey hackle and barred duck flank feather wings, do a good job, but I generally prefer comparadun flies, which have a fan of deer hair on the top half of the hook that acts as both wing and hackle. If tied properly they do a pretty good job of staying afloat on boisterous spring rivers. I like little deer hair caddis dry flies tied dark early in the year too. Again, they are good floaters that you can see on the water. I think they work because they remind the trout of the little dark stoneflies that have been hatching for months now — they’re the little, black, winged cockroachy things you can often see clambering around on the snow near rivers in March. The early blue-winged olive, on #16 or #18 hooks, is another dry-fly possibility, but they can be a challenge to fish if there’s much water in the river. I also believe you’ve pretty well got to repeatedly bonk a trout on the head with such a small fly this time of year to get a reaction. These are best saved for calmer stretches and pools. In any case, most early season hatches seem to happen later in the day, perhaps early afternoon, after the sun has had a chance to warm things up. Again, that’s if they happen at all. Most of the action is likely going to be below the surface for the next while and that means nymphs — the young aquatic stage of many river and lake insects — and streamer flies, which mostly resemble small fish. As far as mayfly nymphs go, a gold-ribbed hare’s ear (#12 to #18) is a good choice for a lighter-coloured selection, while a pheasant tail nymph in the same size range is a good all-around dark pick. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of nymph patterns and fishing them is a science unto itself — far too much so to do justice here. A few large stonefly nymphs have to be in the early season arsenal. Golden and dark stonefly nymphs from last year will be getting big (#8 hooks and larger) and make a good meal for trout. Fish them deep in pools and deeper rocky areas. Don’t be afraid to use weights. Muddler minnows, say on #10 down to #16 hooks, seem to catch trout pretty well all the time and are probably my favourite all-around flies. Zonker strip streamers, tied with a strip of rabbit fur along the back, are also popular. I like woolly buggers in black, brown and olive as well, and usually have a few bucktail streamers such as the black nose dace and Mickey Finn along too. Try retrieving streamers through pools at different speeds, occasionally letting them stop or even drift back, and keep an eye out for the flash of a trout taking a run at them without striking. Then there are the glo-bug eggs and such, which can often salvage an otherwise fishless spring day. There’s still a lot of water in the rivers and trout could be spread out to places they won’t be later in the year when they start seeking protection from the heat. In fact, you can sometimes see them lounging in the sun to warm up this time of year. Don’t forget many local streams are still closed because of rainbow spawning runs. While I don’t think there are changes on that front locally, it would be wise to check the new fishing regs to make sure your intended stream is in fact open and there are no new limits. Also, it seems there are more “no trespassing” signs around every year. While some people just don’t want anyone on their land, it’s been my experience many landowners will give you permission to fish, signs or not, if you are courteous and respect their wishes. Trout derby underway By now the Georgian Triangle Anglers Association’s 28th annual Spring Trout Derby should be well underway. The derby, which started Friday and is to run until May 4, is a big fundraiser for the Collingwood-area-based GTAA’s fish enhancement programs, said derby chairman Gary Lawrence. Money raised helps pay for the club’s stocking and stream rehabilitation efforts. The club stocks about 250,000 small rainbow in the Georgian Triangle area, about 100,000 brown trout in the lake and about 100,000 speckled trout in streams, Lawrence said. The club sold about 400 tickets for last year’s derby, with has weigh stations stretching from Wasaga Beach to Wiarton. Tickets, which are $20 are available at the weigh stations — Something Fishy in Owen Sound, Outback Tackle in Wiarton, Garnet’s Esso in Meaford, Gyles Sails and Service in Thornbury, the Sobey’s store in Collingwood and Wasaga Marine in Wasaga Beach — among other places. There’s a list of ticket sellers at www.meaford.com/fishbyte/gtaa.htm The top rainbow fetches $1,000, second is $500 and third is $250. The top brown trout and salmon prizes are $100. Hunting regs out The 2008-2009 hunting regulations have been released. If you can’t find a printed copy, information is available on the MNR website at www.mnr.gov. on.ca/en and follow the links. The summary provides information on upcoming changes, including a new non-resident outdoors card to be introduced in 2009, and information on the review of Ontario’s moose program, as well as information about a pending fall turkey hunt. There are also changes in the works about returning some hunter questionnaires and antlerless deer tag deadlines. I hope to to review changes in an upcoming column. Gleason brook work postponed The Bruce Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association got all the necessary humans on side to add gravel to improve spawning areas in Gleason Brook, but the trout jumped the gun. Club member Al Hunter said he received landowner permission for the project, but when he and another club member went to inspect the stream one last time before ordering in the equipment to spread the gravel, they were more than a little surprised to see a fair number of rainbow trout already well up the stream. “The run is obviously early this year and we could not add the river stone without the possibility of harming the trout and eggs already in the creek. We will have to defer the project until late in the summer when we can hand-bomb the stone back with the assistance of the Stewardship Rangers (MNR) or try for the slinger again next spring,” he wrote in an e-mail. Club members have also been speaking with rainbow anglers at Colpoy’s Creek and Gleason Brook about respecting the sanctuary areas. They have also been asking anglers to release spawning females caught outside the sanctuary ensure a sustainable rainbow fishery. Additional sanctuary signs and club posters requesting fishermen live release spawning female have been posted at both areas. Response from the fishermen has been positive, he said. The improvements the club made to stream habitat last summer and fall are providing better spawning and holding areas for the trout, he added. The BPSA has also put out a call for prizes to support its 2008 conservation and outdoors recreational projects. The club is looking for prizes such as gift certificates or anything related to outdoors recreation that it can use to support its projects, including fishing derbies, fish stocking, stream rehabilitation and deer feeding during extreme winter conditions. Contact Ted Wilford 519-534-5168, 519-534-2803, or at [email protected], or Stu Paterson, 519-534-5194 or at [email protected] May cleanup The annual community cleanup in Owen Sound will be held May 3, starting with a gathering at the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum on the west side of the harbour at 9 a.m., the Sydenham Sportsmen’s Association heard at its April meeting. The club helps out with the annual roundup of trash, tires and runaway shopping carts primarily along the harbour and riverbanks, but volunteers spread out around the city for the annual spring cleaning bee.