Father's Day Fishing Weekend

This Fathers' Day weekend we were favoured by a visit to the condo by Erin and Jake. Friday night they arrived and Wendy and I hadn't eaten, so they suggested we go over to Stokes Bay. I coincidently had a coupon for half price chicken wings - so you know what I had. Saturday around noon, Andrew and his friend Brian arrived. Erin had fishing in mind for this weekend so we took the Phoenix out on Saturday afternoon to check things out.

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Andrew snickers at Erin's catch of the day. She says she caught this one four times.

Unfortunately there was a strong breeze which made anchoring or trolling uncomfortable so all we got was a jammed, stuck anchor (which we finally released with some damage to the anchor) and a couple of rock bass (released) to show for our efforts.At least we didn't have to cut the anchor loose.

 The crew are on the bow of the Phoenix having a meeting about how to free the snagged anchor. Jake left, Andrew, Erin and Brian right.

 Wendy to the rescue! Wendy instructs the crew on anchor retrieval techniques.

 Damaged anchor will need to be welded. It took a lot of force to rip the steel plate, but at least we still have the anchor.

Sunday the weather was calm, so Erin headed out at 5:30 AM to fish by herself under the Bluewater Bridge, a traditional favorite spot for shore fishing. I caught up to her around 6:30 and cast unsuccessfully a few times before we decided to try another known spot. Guthrie Park is downriver and features the 'outflow' of cooling water from a refinery. The water is bathtub warm, attracting several species. On our second or third cast, using a small, ordinary red and white 'daredevil', we landed a nice 1+ lb. largemouth bass. Alas, the bass season doesn't start 'til next Saturday so we had to release him.

I'm sure this guy would have made a nice breakfast. Amazingly when we held him he was hot to the touch. I guess they adapt to the warm water. Two young boys were fishing here too and they told us that their bait minnows only last for three casts because they perish in the heat.

Later, after breakfast, we took the Phoenix out for a short tour of Sarnia bay and tied up to a public dock back close to the condo. This is the place we usually tie up to watch fireworks on the bay. Our position afforded a panoramic view of Sarnia Bay. While Andrew had a swim in the 60° F water, Erin and I explored around the spit and the river bank in the dinghy. This federally owned dock is called 'Winter Harbour' because it is where the freighters tie up when they can no longer traverse the St Lawrence system in January and February.

Later, while Erin was bottom fishing with dew worms in the shadow of our boat, I decided to try a few casts with a 4" spoon. Maybe there is a trout or a walleye lurking around. Anyway, Erin's line was just getting nibbled by rock bass that were eating all the worms. The other crew members were snoozing after a fine lunch of sandwiches that Wendy made earlier. It was a fine, sunny day and definitely the wrong time for fishing according to the experts.

I was casting with a very large ocean spinning reel and quite a heavy rod (that I use with the downriggers for salmon and trout) I was just about ready to call it quits myself when I got a strike. No way of knowing what it was but it was heavy and ran with my line. The landing took at least ten minutes as the fish pulled and lurched continuously. By now all hands were watching as I wrestled with the fish. As the fish finally tired, we agreed it was a Muskie.
 

I caught him on this lure with NO LEADER!

Apparently they are fairly rare for this area. Even in their known habitats, they are refered to as 'the fish of 1000 casts' because they are hard to catch. Although small for this species this specimen was still over three feet long and weighed 14 pounds. Fun to catch indeed. Everyone seemed to enjoy the weekend and fishing with my daughter made it a perfect Fathers' Day for me!
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Pressured Into Washing My House

 Dirt on the eave troughs (gutters in USA) after cleaning out the winter 's accumulation of leaves, silt, and pine needles.

Today I rented a pressure washer to clean the siding on our house. I have tried before with my little electric toy with no encouraging results. The electric models may work to wash your car or lawn mower because they boast up to 2000 psi but where they fall short is flow. The volume of water, usually expressed in gpm (gallons per minute) needs to be high to do an effective job of removing dirt and chalk from aluminum siding. The rental unit boasted 1800 psi with nearly 3 gpm which makes a huge difference compared to my 1100 psi 1 gpm toy washer.

See the area where I have not sprayed?

Above, I left a spot to show the difference. You can see the area of chalky oxidation. With no soap, just water under pressure and lots of it.

My son Tim can reach higher than me without a ladder. Click a picture to enlarge.

Since we haven't seriously cleaned the siding in over twenty years, it was showing signs of deterioration but the rented pressure washer blasted through the layers and now the house looks great. We had gotten a quote of $2000 to wash and paint the house but now it's apparent that it doesn't need painting so we saved a lot of cash. The rental was well worth the $70 cost. These heavy duty models can cost up to around $700 or more so renting is the way to go for most home owners who want to get the job done right.
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Do You Want Chips With That?

Again, in the name of security, my  life is affected as even my credit card company is forcing me to re-arrange my  comfortable little world. It seems almost everywhere on the globe except the good old USA, (where most of this security crap started) credit cards are now being issued with so called 'smart chips'.  (I think it's ironical that the country (USA) where security and terrorism are so high in the minds of the populace to the point of being paranoid, they opted out of the smart card in that country)

As far as I'm concerned, there was no real need to press security to this higher level but I'm sure that my reasons for not caring for this expensive and excessive security measure are far different from the powers that be in the USA . I have read that the crooks are already able to duplicate the ultra secure drivers' licenses and passport chips so I don't think they'll have any problem with these chips. Anyway, I don't really have all that much to lose on my Mastercard. If someone steals it I'm libel for only a maximum of $50. And then only if I don't notify them soon enough of a problem.

The irksome part of this new card is that one must memorize yet another PIN number. If that's not enough, you have to type in the PIN number on a little hand held keypad at the merchant's cash register. The first time I had trouble was at the Bulk Barn where I go to get my favorite dried mangoes. I forgot my pin number and had to use a different card to escape. The next time I was more severely inconvenienced was at the fuel pumps in our marina. I had to climb up the seawall, out of my little rubber dinghy, in order to go into the marina office to play with the little key pad. Normally the attendant would just hand me a clipboard for my signature and I could remain in the boat.

The more we  come to depend on all this technology, the more we will be inconvenienced when it either malfunctions or an unforeseen situation arises. Give me back 'the good old days' when chips came with salt and vinegar.
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Just Call Me Chicken

Our favorite waiter Colin over at Kelsey's told us that this might be the last week for the Half Price Wing Deal. With that in mind I ordered 16 Medium Hot for myself and then another 8 just to be sure I was full. Gosh, they are something to cluck about!

Planning a Patio Door

Now that the deck is extended past our bedroom window, we decided to get a quotation on having a door placed where the window was. The picture above is a Photoshop visualization of what it might look like when it's finished.

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The Rain Stayed Away Today - Hurray!

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 This year I attended the show as a spectator with my good friend Mike. We arrived bright and early at 8:30 am on Saturday morning. I had been worried that the weather would not cooperate but my fears were dispelled as the sun tried to burn away the morning mist. The slight overcast was great for picture taking as it avoided harsh shadows.

Partly because of my involvement in 'The Great Deck Project' and partly because I have no room in my garage, my '48 Oldsmobile was still at the condo and wasn't ready in time to de-winterize it and take it to the Fleetwood show. Last year Wendy and I took the Alaska cruise in the same time period so that makes two years that I have not been able to display the old Olds. Anyway, that freed me up for a better opportunity to explore some of the 3000 or so cars. If you click on any of the pictures they will go extra large for this series.

This 1942 Cadillac was in General Ike Eisenhower's personal car pool during the war.

 Meticulous engine compartments are themselves like artwork.

When I was 15 this was the most expensive car imaginable. Built for royalty. (That's Mike on the right)

I love the old Morgans.

My first car was a '59 Morris Minor 1000 although mine was dark green and it was not a convertible like this beauty. I paid $4 for it from an English fellow named Arthur Britain. He only wanted to recover the price of the recently installed block heater. In 1965 newly introduced retail sales tax was 3%, I had to pay 12¢ at the license bureau. That's how the government slipped it in: "Oh well it's only 3%. How could that matter?"

Brian Salt (above) runs Salthaven.

I got to meet Brian Salt who had a display at the show. I knew all about his work because our daughter Erin loves to do volunteer work at this worthy charity. They rehabilitate all kinds of wildlife that people bring into the shelter. Click to read more about Salthaven.

Since the theme this year was 'American Graffiti',  there was a Mel's Diner set up where the actors and personalities could sign autographs and pose for pictures. There was even a drive-in movie showing the famous movie on Friday night. Unfortunately the rainy weather caused some cars to become stuck and many had to be towed out. Mike was at the dance last night and he said they had to stop the band from playing because rain was leaking into the huge tent, dousing the entertainers.

Steve Plunkett's new salon was the a highlight of the show and it housed some of his most prized collector cars.

I love the old Studebakers...

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                                 Photos from the internet.

 ...even as a kid they reminded me of the 'Rocket Ride' at the market.

We ran into our 'Circle of Friends' friend Barry and here is his '37 Chev looking great as usual. Mike is looking in.

 The pond was filled to overflowing from the rain. The banks were too soggy for the boats and Amphicars to get in and out so the displays were land-bound this year.

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Canada's Largest Outdoor Car Show Coming This Weekend

Click Here To Go To The Show

1/2 Price Chicken Wings All Weekend at Kelsey's!

Click Here to check out their specials.
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