theoutdoorsguy

June 14, 2010

Second wayward moose killed by Police in as many weeks

Ok, this is getting crazy!

On Saturday morning, Ottawa Police responded to a call about another disoriented moose in town – this time on St. Laurent Blvd., near the Queensway.

After managing to corral the wayward bullwinkle on Triole Street, police were forced to shoot the animal as relocation was apparently not an option.

The second incident of its kind in the less than two weeks, the need for an urban wildlife management plan is becoming clearer. The City of Ottawa’s contract with the NCC to deal with wildlife issues and enforcement expired back in 2008.

The city has been left without a contingency plan to deal with wildlife ever since, but according to Mayor O’Brien a solution is promised by week’s end.

The Mayor said Chef Vern White is working with Provincial officials to come up with plan on handling urban wildlife issues like this.

To add even more wildlife fuel to the urban fire, a black bear was ‘treed’ in Carleton Place off Frank Street on Friday afternoon. Police had all adjacent roads closed-off and were reportedly out with the long guns.

Word was they were waiting for the MNR to show-up to tranquillize the bear, however, if it came down the tree before the Ministry arrived, they would be forced to shoot it.

No word yet on the outcome of that incident.

June 9, 2010

Smiths Falls Shooting Match to benefit Military Families

Do yourself a favour this weekend and head down to Smiths Falls!

This Saturday, the Smiths Falls Fish and Game Club (SSFGC) is hosting its third annual Community Challenge Match for the benefit of the Chief of Defence Staff Military Families Fund (MFF).

The Community Challenge Match is the club’s premiere event of the year, and to raise money for the Military Families Fund. So far, the Club has fifteen teams confirmed for Saturday including two Navy Combat Shooting Teams, four teams from the Ottawa Police Service and two from the Smiths Falls Police Services.

It sounds like a real ‘blast’ and some great competition too! (My money is on the Navy Combat Team, but you never know)

These teams will compete in five different stages – each a different shooting discipline – and there will be trophies awarded for “Best Overall Score” as well as “Most Donations”.

Members of the public are invited to attend. There will be no charge but it’s a great opportunity to make a donation to the MFF.

The Smiths Falls Fish and Game Club is located at 354 Highway 15, south of Smiths Falls. Look for the fish over the mailbox, 900m south of Poonamalie Road, on the west side of the highway.

Kudos to the SSFGC who has donated nearly $3,000.00 over the past two years and hopes to significantly improve on that total this year!

So come out a join the fun, the entertainment won’t get any better and it’s a super great cause!

The event gets under way at 10:00 am and for more information please contact Dugald Souter: (613) 258-0132, (613) 889-4204, or by email: [email protected].

For more information on the Smiths Falls Fish and Game Club (SSFGC) check them out online: http://www.sffgc.ca/index.htm

June 9, 2010

PETA's Amityville Slaughterhouse of Shame

Although it irks me to provide even the slightest amount of exposure to PETA – one of the biggest pain in the arse and ridiculous organizations I know – I just had to talk about their latest publicity stunt.

Just like an old eccentric millionaire with far more money and spare time than brains, PETA’s latest endeavour was to contact the owners of Long Island’s famous Amityville Horror house with their latest idea.

Oh no they have a brainwave, you better stand back!

No, PETA doesn’t plan on shooting a horror film in the house or lighting themselves on fire (though it wouldn’t be a bad idea) their plan is to set-up a haunted house-style exhibit while the famous movie house is up for sale.

“PETA’s Amityville Slaughterhouse of Horrors” would, according to the organization, graphically depict the horrors that animals who are raised and killed for meat, milk, and eggs must endure on factory farms and in slaughterhouses.

What…come again?

PETA says the exhibit would include animatronic hens locked inside cages and lifelike fish gasping for air as they slowly suffocate on the deck of a fishing boat.

And if that isn’t ridiculous enough, visitors can ask to be locked inside a metal and concrete pig gestation crate, just to see what it feels like. Children would also receive a free crazed, knife-wielding Ronald McDonald doll. (Note to self: gotta get my kids one of those)

Although they haven’t indicated, I can only assume that each visitor to this fine exhibit would also receive a free tofu pie. Mmm, I just love those.

Shame on you PETA, slap yourself in the face and get back to reality, why dont you!

You speak of commercial farming and sportfishing as cruel and barbaric, then you look to using a famous house as a backdrop for your own filthy exhibit to glorify these activities?

Currently on the market for 1.5 Million, there’s no word yet whether the organization plans to actually purchase the famous Long Island home or simply hopes to borrow it for their sick exhibit.

I’ve come to learn that nothing is too lowbrow for these people..although I have to say I do like the Ronald McDonald doll idea…

Outdoorsguy

June 1, 2010

And I sent my kids to school without a saddle

Little did I know when I woke up this morning that two moose would be on the loose a stone’s throw from my daughter’s school in Orleans.

The two young moose (yearling bulls I believe) were discovered roaming around L’Ecole des Pionniers this am, and officials have been trying ever since to tranquilize the uneasy ungulates.

Disoriented moose are nothing new to the Ottawa-area, often getting pushed out of the forest by black flies or mosquitoes this time of year, and occasionally becoming sick from brain worm, they tend to loose their fear of humans.

It is unknown whether these particular bullwinkles are sick or simply disoriented. The public is being urged to steer clear of the Merkley Drive /Charlemagne area of Orleans.

Outdoorsguy

May 31, 2010

Weird Facts about Fishing finally here

My first book entitled Weird Facts about Fishing is now finally available at the local bookstores!

Try your local Chapters-Indigo, Coles and all Canadian tire stores for your copy of this soon-to-be best seller.

As my Dad would say, the book is great; good for coughs, colds and sore holes!

Outdoorsguy

May 31, 2010

Quebec Forest Fires out of control

By the latest count, there are over 50 forest fires burning in the province of Quebec, many of them out of control.

It is such a shame to watch the forest fire footage on TV, and realize what devastation it is causing. Sure, some tree species like the jack pine actually need heat and fire on order to propagate, but this fire is crazy!So far the blazes have not threatened human life of livelihood, but what about the all wildlife?

I can recall a huge forest fire 20-some years ago in the town of Parent in North Central Quebec. Part of the town burnt and reports at the time indicated that over 200 moose carcasses were recovered following the blaze.

These are the unknown causalities of such an out of control fire. Great stands of timber will be lost to be sure, but the number of wildlife displaced or killed from these raging infernos may never be known.

Some reports have fires burning as close as Buckingham/Masson, but according to the information on the SOPFEU Website, these is not that large:

http://www.sopfeu.qc.ca/en/etat_de_la_situation/carte_des_incendies.php

Residents in eastern ON and western QC were reminded of the severity of these fires this am, when they awoke to lingering smoke and black clouds moving in from the north.

Weather forecasts seem to indicate rain this week for many parts of Quebec, let’s cross our fingers!

Outdoorsguy

May 28, 2010

DFO planning massive grey seal cull

According to the Fur Institute of Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Ocean’s planned cull of up to 220,000 grey seals off Nova Scotia’s sable island, is a prime example of an ecological “mess” created by the animal-rights movement against the sustainable-use of seal products.

The plan – which could cost Canadian taxpayers up to $35 million -involves either a large-scale kill and disposal of grey seals, or a targeted contraception program aimed at Canada’s grey seal population, which has grown to 300,000 strong and is now considered a danger to the recovery of threatened groundfish stocks.

According to the Fur Institute, all industry efforts to utilize the animals in accordance with government-set quotas have failed in recent years, due in large part to the strong animal-rights lobby against the use of the animals.

“We have said for years that there are only two options for managing abundant populations, as a sustainable resource, or as a pest,” said Rob Cahill, the Fur Institute’s Executive director.

Members of the Fur Institute involved in the seal processing sector have indicated that it has not been possible to develop a viable plan for the commercial use of grey seals in recent years, due to anti-sealing pressures.

“We hope that this announced cull will be a wake-up call for Canadians who have questions about the commercial use of harps seals, the population of which dwarfs the current grey seal numbers by 23 to 1,” says Cahill.

Quick Facts on Sealing in Canada

– An April 2010 poll conducted by TNS Canadian Facts indicated that 2 out of 3 Canadians accept seal hunting where populations are not endangered and animal welfare is respected.

– The same poll indicated that fully 85% of Canadians appreciate the need to manage seal populations in relation to the abundance of important fish stocks.

– Canada’s harp seal population consumes approximately 8 million metric tonnes of fish annually. By contrast, Canada’s entire fishery yields less than 1 million metric tonnes annually.

The Seals and Sealing Network Study was conducted using TNS Canadian Facts’ national bi-weekly telephone omnibus service. A total of 1,017 nationally representative Canadian adults were interviewed between April 12 and 18, 2010. For a survey sample this size, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

May 28, 2010

Death of Colonel Geoff Parker hits close to home

This morning, in my home town of Arundel, Quebec, a full Military burial ceremony is being held for Canada’s highest ranking soldier to fall in Afghanistan. I’m proud to say my parents and other relatives will all be there.

The man is question is Colonel Geoff Parker and he was my cousin Mary Jane (MJ) Baugh’s husband. Although I believe I only met Parker (that’s what MJ called him) once, it is clear he was a very fine man – salt of the earth.

Colonel Parker left behind a great wife too. I have such fond memories of MJ visiting her family’s home on nearby Caribou Lake. She was and still is such a beautiful vibrant girl and I cannot even imagine the pain she and her two children are going through right now. Her son Charlie (named after his grandfather) is 11, and her daughter Alexandria is only 9. They are basically the same age as my kids for goodness sake, what a terrible, terrible loss for them.

Although MJ was a ‘city girl’ as we would tease her..she always had a close connection to the country and her Caribou lake ‘home-away-from-home’ where she spent time hanging out with other cousins, and with my friends and I in Arundel on occasion.

I see it as only fitting now that her husband Geoff – a proud soldier who fought and died for what he believed in – be put to rest in one of the most scenic areas of Canada – a region MJ loved so dearly.

And to think now that such a fine man as Colonel Parker will be resting a stone’s throw from all four of my grand-parents and a countless number of other relatives, it is comforting in a way.

One day, my own family and I will be put to rest in the same Arundel cemetery, and knowing Geoff is nearby to watch over us will serve as added comfort to the whole community….yes, a bit of comfort indeed and a whole lot of pride.

My condolences to the Baugh’s, Ronnie, MJ, Charlie, Alexandria and all of Geoff’s family at the very difficult time.

Kindest regards,

Jeff Morrison

May 27, 2010

Ottawa Police chase black bear through Nepean

On his way home from work yesterday evening around 4 PM, Ian McDonald passed the Fallowfield train station in Nepean, when he observed 4 to 5 Ottawa Police Officers walking down the tracks with hands on their guns.

McDonald noticed that the police where spread out in a line at about 10 feet apart. He kept his eye on the area to see what was transpiring, just as a bus went down Fallow field Road.

When McDonald was approximately half way to Greenbank, he discovered what the officers where searching for – when he spotted a black bear tearing across the open field just north of the train station.

There is still no word on what occurred or if the bear has been captured.

It must be a bad week for misguided bears as yesterday we heard from Tom in Kemptville, about a black bear reported wandering around his children’s school property.

Thanks to Ian McDonald for this on-the-spot report…if you witness anything out of the ordinary with local fish or wildlife, please drop me a line!

(Note: the photograph is unrelated to this story)

Outdoorsguy

May 26, 2010

Outdoorsguy spring trout trip

My annual trout fishing trip to Temiscaming is a time I look forward to all year long..regardless weather we catch a lot fish or not.

The date is May 14th and since we were arriving smack dab in middle of a New Moon and beginning of a cold front, I know we’d at least be in for a couple of days of good fishing.

Which is exactly what happened…2.5 days of great action and then the sun and warm weather arrived and the fish went into hiding. At which point, the black flies came out in droves (Iggy was right)..but hey, I’m not complaining.

As we hit the first lake on opening day and I set up my Humminbird sonar..I was pleasantly tickled to see surface water temp was a scant 52 degrees F – quite surprising given the early spring we had. Chances were the lakes had not ‘turned-over’ completely and 52 degrees was the water temp from top to bottom!

Things did heat up a tad while we were there, but water temp stayed just below 60!

Here’s a pic of my father and Bruce on opening day, showing evidence of how cold it really was them..daytime high barely went 5 degrees C. (This meant toques were required at night for sleeping!

After boating 14 nice trout in the 13-17″ range from our first lake, we get our canoe in position for fishing ‘Lac Perdue’ on the second day..the smaller than average size turned out to be the norm for the week.

The place we’ve been camping for the past 10 years has become like a familiar friend, on the shores of a scenic but non-trout lake. The resident loons were nice to see though.

Here is my brother-in-law Steve cleaning fish by the lake shore with his special bug suit on. Everybody had one of these things but me..mine was still at home in the garage…dooh!

This photo was taken from my Bushnell Trophy Cam I had set-up over-looking our camp area. It was to monitor all unwanted visitors, but managed mostly to capture images of guys going for a late night pee.

Here is a decent-sized brookie I caught slow-trolling a Williams W55 Lite…

This dark trout was taken by Steve on our secret lake with the mysterious brook trout/QC Red trout..either way, they’re not your average strain of trout…they are very dark and many of the fish from this lake don’t even have spots. At the office, they mistook these trout for lakers.

I’ll leave you with this shot of my father in front of our tent setup, a place I consider as home away from home. In the end we had a great fish meal, lots of laughs, a few games of horse-shoes and a handfull of fish shy of our limit…no 5 pounders this year, but all in all, a pretty damn good trip!

I forgot to mention that on this trip I also presented my father with the first copy of my new book ‘Weird Facts about Fishing’ – the book was dedicated to him afterall…