Feeding the 'play-doh' fish...

I took Ella down to the local hatchery today. She gets a kick out of feeding the pellet heads in the pond.

The pellet machines are a great source of income for the local club. All the quarters generate thousands of dollars if you can believe it.


The guys that run the club are very good people...and whether or not their efforts are misguided or not everybody likes fish in the water.



If nothing else it gives me something fun I can do with my kids on a crumby afternoon.....and there are some lunkers in there swimmin'.
Back to work tomorrow.
yuk

Blowing the dust off....

It has been while since I have visited this little corner. I have been very busy this summer with all kinds of crap. Everything from home repairs to bebop. Typically fishing slows down for me in the summer months but I can't recall ever going through a fishless break this long. Scary thing is I didn't seem to miss it. My interests have become streamlined and it seems that I have only one speed. The family just got back from an annual trip to Collingwood. This trip is a great way to cap off the summer and I always look forward to it. My father in law and I usually hit the rivers up that way and I try like hell to get him into some Salmon but this year it wasn't meant to be. The rivers were shit and I ended up forgeting half my gear at home. I guess my heart wasn't really in it. I have heard certain people gripe about what a horror show Collingwood has become and I am the first person to bristle when the Disneyland disease takes hold of something good but I wouldn't be honest if I said that I didn't like it up there. Even the Blue Mountain Village is charming. Maybe if I had been there from the beginning I would be disgusted ....but I wasn't ..and this trip really brings my family together. My kids were outstanding with thier behaviour. I am so lucky to have children that are healthy and well adjusted.

I don't think that I would have the energy to deal with it otherwise. I discovered a new Beer on this trip. Certainly one of the best I have tasted....and I have tasted many!! ;o) This summer I spent most of my time playing guitar. I don't seem to be getting any better but I have never enjoyed it as much. I will try to keep it up over the winter months but I fully expect the Steelhead sickness to take over. ....In fact I am looking forward to it. Everything goes on the backburner and it is Daddy time.....BRING IT.<><
I see that some of my BLOG freak friends have been out already and it warms my river starved heart just to read about it.
Safety First Gents
Morin has informed me that he has been dieting and trying to lose weight over the summer. I have this strange image of salads covered with Ketchup and Salt in my head..... Freak.

Family Time....

It is never quite like the ‘Norman Rockwell-esque’ images we were promised socially but sometimes even in it’s unique kind of weirdness it can be so perfect in its own way that it summons up emotions that are almost too painful to endure.


My kids have turned into little people ...overnight it seems?
Very good little people and I am proud of them.



Where the hell does the time go?

Lately I have been spending quite a bit of time with the kids….and I love them.



I feel so fortunate that we can give them the kind of life that is enjoyable and free.

Play days at the beach …and bike rides to Mike Weir park…

Simple things that we take for granted.



Some times work can really suck…..and sometimes in life I am forced to do things that are way outside my character in order to keep all this afloat…..but lately I have been realizing that it is not only worth it….but its worth is much farther beyond that.

Last night was fun…for everyone.




Happy Canada Day.

I Am Become Death....

In the interest of keeping this BLOG active , of 'Quid pro Quo', and more importantly so, of keeping myself honest, I have decided to update this joint with my lastest piscatorial pursuits.

The 'Pickeral' have suffered tremendous losses.....and I am going to fishy hell.



Today Gerry and I hit the water again to pursue a fish with which I have a love hate relationship. Fishing for Pickeral makes me insane. I love having them and I refuse to buy them for supper when catching them is so incredibly easy that it makes me feel uncomfortable to do so. I could handicap myself and fish artificial but that would just prolong my outing on the water.....and all it would take is one experience of the "Pickeral Drift" here in Sarnia to make you understand why that is the last thing any sane fisherman would want to do.



Each morning we keep heading out earlier and earlier in the hopes of beating the hillbillies ...but this has proven to be impossible. It is hard to miss the 'Armada' of drifting boats....all inches from one another....plumbing the depths with their 800 lb test tackle and 2 lb lead sinkers. Oh my god people make me tired.



I am 'White Trash'.

I am out morning after morning ...with the throng...waiting to feel the inevitable Walleye 'tug-tug-tug'.... the only conciliation of my descent into 'fishing shame' being the knowledge that fresh Walleye coated in Rocky Madsens Cajun fish-crisp chased with a ice cold Grolsch is one of the greatest things that the summer has to offer.




Oh well...so be it....

I will continue to gear up with my pencil lead and worm harness....the fishing tackle equivalent of the 'Velvet Elvis'....and take it strong at the percinids.

The current humidity has me cowering in my basement like an animal....

What the hell else is there to do?

P.S
Did I just catch myself complaining about going fishing?
Someone kick me in the ass immediately.
Bottom line is fishing with my father in law is one of the greatest things in my life .....and if nothing else, the boat ride is always fun.


Back in to work tomorrow.....

The Pickeral can rest easy til after the Holiday.


GOD I MISS THE FALL!

Computer bites the dust....

It could be that the hamster that ran my precambrian computer finally bit the dust…who knows?..but one day I came downstairs and the poor old girl would’nt even fire up.
Mixed feelings….
I had been through a lot with that computer….mostly porn……but even though dough is a little tight right now I secretly welcomed the thought of a new computer!
:o)
The bullet has been bit and I am currently sitting in front of my new 20” flat screen monitor typing away at the latest installment of Blog-nerdom.
I will finally be able to read JFL’s posts without the use of a microscope.
;o)
I missed the e-world…..but I am back.

If any of you knuckleheads that read this tripe can spare a moment maybe you could send me an email as all of my addresses are history.

Fishing?

I have been out….quite a bit in fact….but it has all been shameless butchery that I am far too up-ity to admit to here.
The poor “Pickerel” never even saw it coming.
I can’t get over the amount of these hideous fish in this area……the river must just be carpeted with them.
I can’t say that I enjoy fishing for them. I would rather spray lemon juice in my eye then spend a morning fishing for them but my family and most of my friends beg me for them this time of year.
"When is the next fish fry?" is a common question.

Popular opinion is that I am one helluva guy…..unless you are a pickerel.

Good to be back….What did I miss?

P.S...I have finally fallen and become a "Facebooking victim".
Shoot me now.

"Washing Lures..."

The radio chatter that has to be endured when downriggin' makes me wish that I was dead.
I can't really say that the local fishing personages are 'bad' people... but man they wear me out at times.
If it were my boat I would just shut the radio off.
"Got you ears on?...Just Boxed an 8lber on "monkey puke"..down 25 ...back 60 ..in 43 ft of water ...heading into the sun..."
OMG....
Here is a report.There are salmon in the river and they are getting them on lures....good luck and for gods sake SHUT UP!!!!!!
Gerry and I managed to get out for a few hours yesterday morning with my nephew Eric.
Eric is 12(?) .. :O) and he is just nicely getting to the age where he can fight a fish from the moment the rod pops until it gets to the net. Pretty cool.
The only thing that I have to do is take the rod out of the rod holder for him and be ready with my 'cat like' reflex's and make sure that tired young hands don't allow any of my expensive custom made rods to go swimming.
He is a nice young kid with a good heart. He is always very nice to my son and it was good fun to see him get into some fish.

We picked up 4 fish in total and blew another one. Two of them were grease and the other two were Kings ( unless you've taken too many sharp blows to the head...in which case they were 1 Atlantic Salmon and a "1 Rainbow Trout"....long story)
Not bad.
Cruising around the river early in the morning was very pleasant. There was a slight chill in the air but I was dressed for it.
A lot of people living here actively hate Sarnia and that is a shame.
It is a very unique place to live in that it is contrasted strongly between some very truly beautiful things and some really heinous filth (both topographic and cultural)...This aspect can really make me tired but also appeals to my sense of the absurd.
I really like it here.
At one point while trolling we could look out over the lake and watch a beautiful sunrise and then turn over our shoulders and watch the factories "belch filth into the sky" by way of the Petro-Chemical environmental terrorists.

Sweet.
I am making lemonade to the best of my ability...and fishing is a big part of that.

My Son turns 6 this week and it was a mad house here yesterday. Nobody was killed and the house is still standing so I suppose it was a success!!


Man I love that kid.
In for Midnights tonight.

Grease!

Salvelinus namaycush...
Poor bastards.
Around here most people don't even consider them fish.
It is not uncommon when discussing creels for fisherman to say something like.."oh things were pretty slow today,...we got 2 fish and 4 greasers(lake trout)".
lol
We miss the Salmon at this end of the lake. We get a very brief opportunity to fish fish for them with any real hope early in the season and then it becomes time to either rig up the Walleye harnesses or trailer the boat to some real water.
Gerry and I finally got out today.
He is feeling better....at least well enought to fish so, we thought we'd give it a go today.
It was a fun day. Very good to be fishing together again.
The weather was a bit scuzzy but we toughed it out in the hopes for some King action but we didn't get any fish.

We did however go 5 for 7 with the grease.
We tried to avoid them but the stupid fish were even hitting the dipseys.
Oh well it is fun catching fish and even though most the local trollers would rather snag a sheephead than catch lakers all day I didn't mind them at all.
On most bodies of water guys would be happy to go out fishing with the expectation of catching their limit of Mak's.
Like anything...people can get spoiled and if nothing else the 'greasers' provide a reason for two friends to go fishing.

Back to work tomorrow.......ugh.
I keep checking my lottery tickets.
(I hope the fact that I am a shameless killer of grease doesn't offend anybody):o)

Bill Evans..(post silly it seems..)

What can I say?... I am on vacation...

Bill Evans.

I just finished a little solo performance over a coffee of one of my favourite tunes.
The title of the song is 'My Foolish Heart'.
I love this song....the melody haunts me.
I have no idea of the origin of this little piece of music and I don't care to.
I am not even 100% sure of the lyrics.
Anyway...I came downstairs and logged into YOUTUBE and did a search for the title and the first thing that came up was an early Bill Evans version.
This song was a favourite of his as well and this is a relatively subdued interpretation but it really tugs at my heartstrings.

I don't expect most of the people that visit this BLOG to even like this performance or this musician but Bill Evans was a Genius in the true sense of the word....and this word has been misused to the point where it has become meaningless.
All you really need to know about Bill Evans is that he was a shining light...as close to god as anyone has come.
A gift to anyone who can appreciate freedom and strength.
People like this are special and so is the music that they play. To me it represents the pinnacle of humanity and the fact that it still exists at a time when the world has become so lost in the dogged pursuit of everything meretricious brings with it even more value.One of the few diamonds that emerged during these cultural dark ages.
Bill Evans is one of the very few people that have existed that make me proud to be human.
Even if you don't dig Bill Evans....I know this music isn't for everybody....please take a moment and consider that you might be missing something....and then if you still think you need to criticize then by all means quickly find a woodchipper and jump into it.
....and take Randy,Paula and Simon with you.
I love that you can find these cool little performances on YOUTUBE.
...thats why I have it in my favourites,...right next to the porn.

That'll be it for me too...

I made another quick trip to the river today. My hopes weren't very high considering the fact that we have received very little rain. Certainly not enough to have any effect on the Steelhead fishing. I suspect most of the fish have dropped back to the lake anyway...and good for them.
The Bass have come up in droves....and so have the flies.
Bugs make me insane!

That will just about do it for me.
For the record I was o for 1 today but still managed to enjoy myself.
I noticed that I am starting to slow down a bit when it comes to fishing.... I just kind of relax and take what the day gives me anymore.
Today it was solitude ,fresh air and a pleasant little stop on the way home.....and that is not bad at all.

That river owes me nothing.
....and I will see her in the fall.
The Derby was over before it began this year as the Captain of our vessel is a little under the weather. This suits me fine. The chance to fish with my father in law is the only reason that I participate in this little piscine event anyway...so be it. Get well and we'll hit it next year big guy....no worries.
Besides ...all that radio chatter gives me a migraine.
I have added UFO JOE at the bottom of the page.
Owen and I love this game!

Opening day

I just got back from 24 hrs of some of the most fun I have ever had.
At a river not too far from here I have managed to procure a standing invitation to join a group of characters bi-annually in participation of a ritual known as "Fishermans Weekend"......the amount of fishing that usually gets done is debatable.
The "Fishing" aspect of the weekend is highly suspect as it usually has more to do with card playing, drinking, male bonding(ie: burping, farting), drinking , good food , jokes(usually dirty) , drinking , firewood, hockey and snoring then anything else.

YUM!

YUM!

YUM!
Quite often there will be drinking.
In the midst of all this good fun someone will usually manage to slip down to the river and wet a line ..and that someone is usually me.
I love the river that this festival of debauchery takes place on and it was through these fine gentleman that I first made her acquaintance.
I am forever in their debt for this.
Without putting to fine a point on it this river may have saved my life.
She was a tough old bird to fish this year....but I will take what she gives me.
The water was as low and clear as I have ever seen it for opening day and due to the nature of this water quite a bit of it was unfishable because the water was so low. I believe this may have worked in my favour as this year the fishing pressure was very light.It is usually a freak show.
I had to work for my fish ...but here he is.

Beautiful fella!
I only fished for a short period of time and it was all I really needed.
I got my walk through the woods and had a chance to savour the woods in the spring.

It was a great day weatherwise. Overcast and misty...cool ...no bugs (yet) and just a slight breeze.
The Trlliums were just nicely starting to bloom. In a couple of weeks the forest floor with be littered with them.
I had to hike in a ways to find fishy water that I wouldn't have to share but the only company I encountered were these inhospitable nasty old honkers.

I have had the Canada Geese actually chase me in the spring some years but this year I just got some dirty looks.
....being a Border Officer I am so used to this that it doesn't phase me. :0)
Euchre, Meat ,Fishin and Beer!!!
I am not above fishing opening day....and I hope I never will be.

I almost didn't make it this year due to leave issues at work and to be honest a lack of desire to fish for droppies....but I have decided to carry on this tradition of opening day if for no other reason than to share it with the cool people that gather up there.
My stomach is actually sore from all the laughter that went on.
Thx guys I needed it.
See you in the fall.
Now on to the DERBY!!!!

Dig this..

Here is yet another music post for the Philistines to shyte upon!
In the eighties I wanted to be Mike Stern.
Get funky.
Mike Stern and the late Michael Brecker.


I spent a fishless morning under the Bluewater Bridge today.
Beautiful day to fish however....and it was just what I needed.
Salmon Derby looming on the horizon.....hopefully we'll win it again and I'll be able to put a new roof on my house.
I spent yesterday fishing with my favourite fishing partner who was kind enough to remind me that worms are kind of neat.
Thanks buddy.

Spent most of the day at the Pinery today with Kimi and the kids.
I proposed to my wife on this beach. ;o) ....man she is a lucky girl!
It is a beautiful spot and the weather was great. It baffles me why we don't take advantage of the this area more. Just being there makes everybody happy.
I still love my job...but right now I am lovin' the time off even more.

The Big Smoke

I don't dig flying.
I swore that I would never fly but when I received an offer from work to make a two day trip to Ottawa involving meetings discussing something that I was passionately interested in I jumped at the chance.
The plane out of Sarnia is so small you can stand in the aisle and touch both walls on either side of the aircraft.Packed in like a can of sardines I waved good bye to my kids from the wing seat convinced I would never see them again. The Sarnia Airport is designed so that when the plane takes off it heads out over Lake Huron. The rickety old bucket then makes a hard right and points its nose towards T.O for a harrowing 45min hell ride.

If you need anything all you have to do is tap the pilot on the shoulder.
NICE. :o/
Obviously I lived.
The trip itself was good. I had a chance to connect with some colleagues from all across Canada who were ,for the most part, of the same mindset regarding the conditions of our employment. Judging by some of the stories I heard Sarnia doesn't really have it so bad...but don't worry....I still bitched the loudest! :o)
I had some good company from Sarnia and he did his job representing our needs as well and I was proud to be there with him.....even if he is a geocacheing nerd.
Our meetings were hosted by three very nice enthusiastic people.
I think we overwhelmed them on the first day.

The little event didn't get started off too well for me.
We walk into the meeting room which is walled with touchy feely hallmark slogans and every person is issued a toy in order to "help get them to a place where they can share ideas with child-like openess and enthusiasm"....huh?
Oh oh.
I don't dig the new age huggy-love shit...especially when you are talking about the security of a nation. No toys for Gene.
I don't have any trouble opening up thx...BUT you'd better listen up!
There was some great discussion and everyone really felt good afterwards. If nothing else the hosts really made you feel like 'they' were concerned and listening to what you had to say.
We'll see.
After work Rod and I visited parliament and typically Rod found money just flying around on the ground.

The weather in Ottawa was kind of crappy but I took Coondogs advice and had me-self a steak and a pint(or two) on the taxpayer. Thanks BTW.
Back to work tonight for midnights then it is going to get fish silly.
Trotsky needs a break.
Depending on the co-operation of the Lake Huron Kings there could be another fish fry on the horizon.
'?'

Empire State...

Brian and I made a mad dash stateside yesterday.

I was pretty tired after working three 12's and almost pulled the plug at the last minute but the fishing freak talked me out of it....and I am glad he did.
The river we fished is a cool bottom draw flow that you can usually safely bet on when the other rivers have gone for a turd. I have grown fond of this river.
It has delt us up some good to ridiculously great days even though it can be very tricky to floatfish.

The fish like a well presented offering and even when the conditions are less than favourable, like they were yesterday, you can always expect to hook-up.
Landing the fish is the problem. Even when the water is low and clear like it was yesterday the water is still really moving and if a Steelie is 'hot'it'll turn and really go on ya.
The spots where we have had our greatest success are lined right to the rivers edge with big trees and 'beaching' a fish alone can be a real challenge.
Most of the locals carry these giant nets with them....which under the cicumstances are quite practical.
The last thing I need is something else to carry.
I don't mind following a fish when it runs. Horsing it back up river and ripping off its maxillary is just too creepy for me.
Chasing the big ones is a big part of the fun!
The busy rivers can prevent you from doing this and we have seen this particular system get really crowded but for whatever reason it was bereft of pressure on this trip so I had a rare opportunity to fight fish the way I wanted.
We had a modest day...maybe a dozen between us (heavily slanted in Morins favour)but the weather was great and the fishing had a wonderful pace that made me relax and enjoy the day as opposed to sliding into combat fishing commando mode.
Always a chance for a big fish here and Brian landed a big old girl that had finished her spring business and will be in the lake shortly..provided she makes it past some of the local finesse tactics.

My Boss just granted me some leave that I knew was going to be touch and go.
Looks like I will be fishing a ton this spring after all.
Ottawa bound on Sunday....I hope my plane doesn't crash.
If I do die, will someone teach my son(and /or daughter) how to 'pin'?

For the Music nerds.

Bumming around U-Tube this morning whilst mustering up the gumption for another day at 440 and found this little Gem!
Birelli...WOW.
This guy plays guitar the way life should be lived.
Passion ,persistance, discipline,courage, and above all a sense of humour.
Glad to see he is still doin' it.
I hope this inspires me enough to get through the last of these god awful shifts.


BTW- good luck SUPT "Big Nose"...it was a good run. :0/

GEESH!!
After the all the snooty comments about my musical offering I thought that I would put something up that might be a little more suitable for some of my blognerd buddies.
:o)

Nittany Steelhead...

Brian and I hit the road fishing for the first time this year.
Hard to believe that it had been 3 months since our last fishy outing....we were both long overdue.
This trip, which had developed very quickly, had us visting a new river in a new State south of the border. Great....another NR license! Ugh. $$
Ah well.....as Wallacio put it,...it is comparable to a round of golf ...and we sure got our moneys worth on this trip.
Although I would take a 2 or 3 fish day on my favourite trib any day over the disneyland fishery we experienced this week , I have to admit that this trip was loads of fun and will probably go down as one of the best fishing trips in my memory.It should be a goal of ours to at least make this an annual thing.

Too many hours at work lately had me craving some R & R. OT calls, training, and the desire to shake off the image of "raising the boys" will have a simple fishing adventure take on the vibe of fleeing the scene at times...but whatever,...with every passing kilometre Thursday morning I could feel my blood pressure dropping.
Picked up our licenses and within a half hour of doing so we were into our first fish....not bad considering the conditions.

Beautiful spot really and the people were off the chart friendly!
I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that most people were genuinely glad to meet you. I am not sure what I had expected.
Lingering horror stories of tires being slashed by angry locals played through my head as we rolled into town but by the end of the second day we were sharing a beer and some smoked salmon with the natives in the parking lot as we geared down.....passing on a few secrets and answering questions about our "funny looking flyrods with monofilament". :o)
One guy yelled across the river "way to go guys...you sure had a good day!" as we were leaving.....took me a few seconds before I realized he was being genuine.
Nice people.
It could have something to do with the fact that the community depends so heavily on the tourism created by the local fishery. Either way ,...it was very enjoyable.
We met up with a couple of other fishing freaks that were kind enough to let us in on a cabin dealio right on the river.Thx again fellas.

Four seasoned Steelheaders...beer and bad food. Great way to spend an evening.....too bad Morin sounds like Darth Vader when he's sleeping....I'll have to remember the ear plugs next time....or drink a little more.
Besides the inevitable flatulence that can only be expected from the bizarre mixture of too many Rolling Rocks, meatball pizza, Appleton rum, Hot buffalo wings and sheer exhaustion the accomidations were pretty cosy.
Next morning was a frosty one and, hangovers be damned,we were on the river early to meet another push of bullets.

Morin of course got one on the first drift.

Prick.
Most of the fish we caught were small compared to the fish we get around here but they fought like stink! Most were out of the water 5 or 6 times...fresh nickels...like October fish.
I usually associate spring fishing with stale dropbacks and this fishery was something new to me. All these tight fish pushing up the river in pods at first light and again in the evening......you'd be hard pressed to get one over 5 lbs but there were tons of them and if matched properly with the right tackle they were great sport for a bunch of knuckleheads from Ontario.
At one point on the morning of the second day Brian and I had connected on three double headers in a row!
We just stared at each other and laughed.
That kinda fishing can ruin a fella if he is not careful but it could easily become a great spring ritual to shake off the shack nasties of a long fishless winter.
Fresh air..train whistles...and woodpeckers.
Neat.
Hmmmm.....what next?