troutologist

If it works the same as some other jurisditions, call the Conservation Authority that governs the watershed area. Then call the local Ministry of the Environment Office. You can call the SAC number (above) but call and talk to the environmental officer that deals with that area personally. I would be shocked if this undertaking had a permit, if it did they didn't follow it at all. Permitting of this nature is usually done by the CA with input from the province and feds, fisheries act violation for sure.

Pretty much any tributary running into Lake Ontario can house a steelhead run, just be very dilligent in reading the regs, right now much of the rivers are off limits. Can't help a pile with S, Ont tribs. Get out and scout around though, to me nothing is as rewarding as travelling to new water and knowing that I muddled together a location and pattern that made the trip successful. Im making the 14hr drive for steelhead fishing on easter, just have to detour to Hall Beach, self proclaimed Bikini Capital of Canada, (I saw it on an ashtray there).

Its amazing that things like this are not par for the course, especially in a market like fishing reels, many brands offering very similar products, its how they stand behind them when something goes wrong. Glad it work out for you Terry. My experiences with Shimano have been the same.

I had heard that Global Star had taken care of the problem, not 100% on this though. Another option albeit more costly is a PLB device. Activate in time of need, its registered with NOAA and various emergency contacts. This is what we carry during field work up north. SPOT coverage is too sketchy up there.

Coverage is great in N America. They have the new SPOT 2 coming out soon, supposed to be better yet. It works pretty good, though one thing I worry about is setting a precedent for communication. You describe a situation where something like this is warranted, yet what if he forgets, batts run out or any number of things. I would rather a device that will call in the cavalry when needed, not necessarily have you in daily communications. But I digress, they function as advertised.

Very cool, I like the effect with being able to see rocks in the stream bed.

Wow, arguing that it takes alot to make a meal, then saying 500 bluegill fillets weighs 30lbs? Start doing some quick math if there is a family all taking limits.... Lets briefly consider the average portion of fish in a restaurant at 8-12oz....thats only 40-60 servings (for 30lbs of fillets). Is this enough? Though if it is within the limits, harvest is at the perogative of the angler. I guess this amount of fish just never hit home with me.

Yes good comparison. I might try a little buffing on the cts, make mine Vokey sweet. Nice work Dave.

I would argue that the sonar on the Lowrance is sharper. I've had both units in my boat last year. That said I'm leaning back to the HB because of customer service and having everthing in in one, no add ons required. For the money the 898si seems like a very good unit. The split screen on the HDS 5 is small and makes it tough to read.

Right on Mike. Good to see the steelhead pics again. I've got to fish for them soon or I'm gonig to go crazy.

Has anyone seen this? Faculty of Fishing Lots interesting info by the looks of things.

Amazing trip and write up there. An awesome part of the world, no better way to take it in than at the pace of the river. Thanks for putting that together

I understood that the leader material was run within more stringent quality standards. ie. there was less of a variance in the diameter. Also it is stiffer and has less memory than the mainlines.

Pretty cool lake, went winter camping in on one of the smaller portage lakes once, nice weather and poor fishing. Checked it out in the spring at ice out too, caught a nice laker and a couple of OOS bass on Sherborne...seems like a busy spot on the weekends. When I went about 5 years ago everyone told me the road was horrible, but it was smooth sailing in a 2WD??

It was my way of thinking that browns were a true trout despite the being in the genus Salmo. The way fish are arranged into the genera Salmo and Oncorhynchus are based on evolutionary similarity to common ancestors.

Ahh frozen fish, nothing like the freezer burn of keeping an unnecessary amount of your catch in the icebox too long. Ron and Michael, please pass on the happenings from the upcoming meeting. Keep up the good work. To the folks from the Rice Lake Tourist Consortium (and those with no or moderate amounts of stake in this), perhaps look past alot of the bickering and use this as an opportunity to rethink promotion and advertising, most likely these limits are here to stay and your bottom line would be better served working with them than fighting them.

True I do live in Winnipeg, however have lived in S Ontario for a number of years, but to understand the issue I need know nothing of Rice Lake. This same scene is mimiced across the country when armchair scientists decide they know how to better manage things than Big Brother. Now you introduce the topic of traditional ecological knowlegdge or local ecological knowledge, yes this does hold alot of weight in how governemnt scientists approach an issue. But TEK/LEK should be treated similar to peer review in science documents, where is the info coming from? Can it be corraborated? Granted this information is extremely valuable and useful, still management decisions cannot be placed soley on this. I understand this issue very well as I work with it daily. I take it you have a vested interest in this issue? If Big Brother is all about money, why would they add another limit to enforce, why add more season to enfore? Why use this limit to reduce tourism and miss out on all the license fees etc?

The hammered Kroc, in brass with an orange stripe seems to mimic a red sided dace quite well. Lakers in certain Algoma district lakes suggest they like this resemblance.

Just a quick point on the relative size of deer. As mammals live towards the northern part of their range their average size is larger and the population density is usually smaller. This is a rough interpertation of Bergam Rule. Also on the relative size of predators, it stands to reason that wolves that prey mainly on moose need to be larger than those whose diet is comprised largely of deer. A mirror of this is observed in Tsavo, Africa where lions are much larger than those on the Savannah. Tsavo lions prey almost exclusivly on cape buffalo, and have evolved a larger size. I've seen a few wolves that were the size of deer. 2 in particular last spring made me reassess my thoughts on the species. They were massive over 3' at the shoulder. We tried to guess their weight and a conservative estimate was 125-150lbs....if Dr Salvelinus is reading this, how big do you think??

I'm looking into getting a dog and am kicking around the idea of a GSP. I'm would hope to train it and use it as a upland gundog but would would not hunt more than a dozen times a year. Heres a few questions, as I've never owned a hunting dog before. Do these dogs need to be hunted more than that? I understand they are active and I am too, getting enough exercise will not be a huge issue. My only concern is how they will deal with cold weather, does anyone have experience with this? Can they be reasonably trained to stay in a boat or canoe? Any other experience/advice would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help.

I would tend to agree with Spiel. That worn look on trout tails often comes from keeping them in captivity.

Here is my rant on the issue. The RLCA group are a very short sighted, misinformed (unintentionally or by choice) group. To try to lobby for something like this is laughable. For lack of a better term, the fish are "property" of the crown, hence are to be enjoyed (legally and responsibly) by all licensed residents, non residents etc. Fisheries should not be managed for the benefit of one vocal group. What if another party opened a diving business on the lake who's attraction was underwater sunfish viewing. Could they not then lobby for limits to be reduced to 200 or dare I suggest 50?? I sincerely hope MNR and concerned individuals do not give in to this. A lobby group that gets vocal for NIMBY reasons with nothing but personal interest should not drive this issue. Cheers to you folks that are attending and giving your time and resources to stand up to this group.

I'm uncertain of its effect on coyotes but there is a caribou herd co managed by Alaska and Canada, which they are trying to reduce predation by sterilizing male wolves. Act of mating occurs but fertilization/implantation doesn't. I'm sure someone has thought of this previously with coyotes though??

You raise a very interesting point Rick. In my understanding you're correct, attempts to control coyotes have been an immense challenge and money sink with little in the way of success. I was speaking with some wildlife disease folks this week and they were mentioning in areas of the US where this is the case, they are seeing very rapid mutation of new rabies varients. These new varients are actually getting quite specific in target species. Hunting/trapping is not the only answer to the predator problem, especially in an urban/suburban setting. I appreciate the challenges of the resource managers when a number of groups are pressuring with their own interests and the manager needs to meet on middle ground while still trying to maintain a healthy ecosystem. Is the Govt or muncipality still actively attempting control measures in your area?