Dan Andrews

Been putting a few smallies in the freezer for this winter's apocalypse. Really enjoying this climate change so far. The first week of November had me thinking I was in Florida in Fort Erie. I paddled out to the escarpment between the PA lighthouse and HSBC tower hoping for an eye but all fish actually came in nearshore. Decided to freeze some whole and my wife Nancy suggested the tongs for scaling instead of the deer skinning knife. Worked better than anything I've tried before. Sure is nice catching bass without fighting to keep the sheep off the hook. Got some nice bronze without shaking the 1/4 pounders off too. Now if I could just get some pike before hard water season starts. 

They had little to no action so we switched back to the Kwik fish. Got a couple quick fish and now home for lunch. 

Of course as  usual we had to remind a couple of anglers that they were fishing in a sanctuary. They always play stupid. 

If all else fails, we go to the silver quick fish or Canadian wriggler. 5-15 feet of water is good. Paddle and leave the line 10-20 feet behind the kayak. They come to check out the kayak then see the bait and before you know they're hooked they are airborne! 

Starting tomorrow off with a couple dollar store lures. $3 each and the hooks are sticky sharp. We chose different colors but we're both going to start with the same lure and see who does better with it. 

Hey, don't forget that until July 15th there is a fish sanctuary in Fort Erie and three more of them in Port Colborne. We won't even launch the kayaks off of StoneMill Road anymore because you can't get out to deeper water without spooking the bass off their nests and the gobies take care of the rest. 

Happy bass opener. Looking to forward to seeing some of you out in the water. 

Walleye are stocked at the headwaters. They go much further. Any walleye below the aquaduct are likely resident or swim ups.

16 mile Creek (Pelham/St Catharines border) is nice too. Just don't go in a North wind because paddling back to the lake is terrible. There's a small Island along the way to enjoy a picnic or pee in the bushes

Black Creek from the QEW to the Niagara River is a nice paddle. I usually paddle up to that inlet of Beaver Creek that you can see from the highway. Carp get trapped in there and make quite a spectacle when you paddle around.

The Welland River. Put in at Port Robinson at the old bridge and paddle through the huge culvert. Lots of carp on the other side and a chance at walleye once in the river.

Martindale Pond. I love to put in at the green ribbon trail and paddle upstream as far as I can. Then turn back and paddle to Tim Hortan's in Port D. A quick ice cap and back to the green ribbon trail. Lot's of bird life on this route as well as plenty of carp to see and a chance at pike.

Lions Creek. Put in around Stanley Ave and see how far past the QEW you can get. You can choose Tea Creek when you get to the fork but you'll have to duck when you go through the golf course.

For a shorter trip but scenic none the less try Frenchman's Creek or 6 Mile Creek in Fort Erie. Lot's of interesting wild and plantlife to see.

Also try point Abino. Not backwaters but very shallow and you can see the fish.

Well I don't have experience with very many types of kayaks but I can tell you what I do know. You'll get what you pay for but for the novice or newbie who doesn't know where to start, here's a few pointers.

I prefer the sit in as opposed the the sit on because I fish and paddle cold water too. My family bought mine on sale for $400 reg $500 for Fathers Day. It came with a rod holder and small anchor. Equally important is the paddle which most kayaks don't come with. I don't like many of the collapsible ones but a two piece is better than a four piece and i like a long paddle. Many cheap paddles are shorter. I don't like the cupped paddles either. It's better if there is no wrong way to hold it.

Fishing kayaks have a flatter bottom for stability and white water kayaks are more rounded for speed and handling. I have no use for the splash skirt as it impedes my access to fishing equipment. If you are sitting in a kayak you should be able to easily access your tackle and a small container of bait.

I have a 9 foot kayak and it weighs 40 pounds. I have seen much longer that handle well and move with little effort but they'll never get back in the creeks where I do. I find myself doing the limbo under fallen trees and paddling over half sunken brush so compact is better for me. If I spent more time in the Great Lakes I would prefer the bigger model. Compact also transports on a car top easier. I have a short box pick up and can load all four of our kayaks in the back.

014 by wildniagara, on Flickr

You can buy kayaks with a rudder which makes fishing and trolling much easier but if your going to be in shallow water you'll want a retractable rudder $$$. Some come with a small compartment to mount the fish finder and if you want to pay up you can purchase a complete package. My sons yak had a built in rod holder which consisted of a molded plastic hole that holds the rod straight up. This proved far inferior to an adjustable Scotty flush mount rod holder. Some have molded rod holders behind the seat but I've never tried these but they seem inconvenient because you have to reach behind yourself.

The handles shouldn't drag in the water like mine. My Old Town kayak has a constant trickling of water as my handles troll behind me everywhere I go. My Field and Stream however has the handles on top while paddling and this also prevents my hooks from getting tangled in them when fighting a fish. The F&S does not track straight though and sucks to fish in because as soon as you stop paddling you start to turn.

For me I prefer flat with a large open hole to sit in but with fairly shallow sides so my arms don't rub while paddling. 40 pounds is a nice loading weight and 9 feet is ideal. I only weigh 155 pounds so my yak may not be good for heavier anglers. It's plastic and getting thinner ever time I beach it. I've already got 4 years and my monies worth for sure. I miss my tinner and Evenrude but I wouldn't trade my kayak for anything.

048 by wildniagara, on Flickr

In FE the raspberries/blackberries are about half done but the large ones "Purple flowering raspberries" haven't fruited yet.

If you would like to add a wild food that can be collected now, start a new thread with the food as the title ans preferably add the season it's eaten in the sub title for later reference.

Hello and welcome to the "What's for dinner" forum.

One of the things that I want to do is teach all of you how to survive if you get lost in Niagara. What kind of foods can you find that are in season right now. Problem is I don't think I know enough to survive without a few bucks and a grocer nearby so I'm asking for your help. We have some seasoned (a kind word for old ) outdoorsmen here who have learned through their years about some of the things we can eat and more importantly what not to eat . It's not that we want everyone to rush outside and fight for what's left but it would be nice to share as much information about this as we can before the knowledge is lost.

One of the things that inspired me to seek a local natural diet was a story I heard explaining why so many North American aboriginals are diabetic. When North America was invaded by the East the Indians were forced to conform to the settlers ways. Many Indian kids were jailed in orphanages and fed an Eastern diet. For thousands of years these people ate the world that surrounded them and the sudden change in diet was a shock to their system. Now diabetes is a genetic problem that plagues the aboriginal community.

I've always thought part of the reason there are so many people in Niagara that have problems with allergies was their disconnect with the outdoors. Now I believe that having a farmed or imported only diet is also a big factor in health problems. If you spend your life outdoors in the pollen your more likely to build an immunity to it and that goes for things like poison ivy too. One can only imagine that ingesting that same pollen would have even more benefits. However this may also work against us because the more we pollute our environment the more pollution we take into our bodies as we ingest the foods that grow around us. This is a very good reason for the hunters & gatherers around us to care about the environment and what we do about it.

Here is an example of what I am talking about. What's in season right now (July)? Well as far as animals are concerned there's not much to eat. Insects maybe if your into that but you can go out right now and collect all kinds of plants. The Field guide to edible plants I received for Father's Day has me busy checking out plants that grow around Niagara. I recently picked a bag of Yarrow leaves and dried them in the food dehydrator. These make excellent tea but I found if I drink it in the evening it keeps me tossing in my sleep. Try drying the Leaves of the yarrow plant but brew the dried leaves with a little fresh spearmint and lemon balm.

I tried wild carrot which can be collected right now (ensure it is not hemlock!) but I didn't find it palatable at all. Also you can gather the red clusters of smooth or staghorn sumac right now, bruise lightly then soak in cold water for 15 minutes, strain, sweeten and chill for a lemonade type summer refreshment. Last night I collected about 5 larger clusters of wild garlic bulbs. I fried them in hot olive oil with about 5 sweet basil leaves. This flavoured the oil so I could fry my venison hamburger for a pot of chili. Had I taken the time to find some fresh puffballs they would have gone in too.

So what can you find to eat. I'm betting the list is at it's largest right now and will slowly decline to nothing by March which is why we need to know how to gather/store also.

So what's for dinner folks?

I am still perplexed by this question.... My friend says anything under 10hp does not need a OC that is why they make 9.9hp but I would like to know for sure so I am not worried about that on the water and instead worried about who will catch more fish!!!!!

Good advice Ollie

If you are worried about the consequences do not ask for legal advice on a fishing forum. There were links provided and you can call your local Government office and get it right from the horses ...........

Are electrics allowed in the Welland Rec?

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/sc/boats/index.shtml#a3

What types of boats do I need to license?

A licence or registration is mandatory for all pleasure craft equipped with motors of 10 horsepower (7.5 kilowatts) or more, including personal watercraft.

Don't get caught with red side dice as they are either threatened or endangered (not sure their category but it's not good). Also the obvious goby, rough, rudd and stuff like that. If your scooping at the duct or Niagara River into a school they're most likely the common emerald shiners that don't look anything like illegal baitfish. Traps in the creeks are a little harder to sort. Bass look like bass, pike like pike an baitfish like baitfish. I've got the odd carp or sunfish in there too. Your likely not going to catch emerald shiners in a trap.

Tips for using a trap:

Make sure no ones sees you set it or it might disappear.

Make sure you put your name and number on or in the trap for compliance reasons

Write yourself a note so you don't forget to get it within 24 hours

Use hard crusty bread. Half a stale crusty role is more than plenty

Be vigilant when sorting the bait to avoid putting invasives i your bucket

Return unused bait back to where you caught it or dump it on land away from water.

My best advice would be to use a dip net in the water that you plan to fish

Don't forget the leeks.

Too bad this isn't a magic mushroom eh?

Yes!

Actually this is one of my biggest ambitions in life right now. Sustainability. I would like to get some kids involved in learning how to naturally survive in the wild on things like mushroom and edible plants and berries. Give me a call Gil

PM coming

Dan