And yes, our planet is sleepwalking its way to disaster with little or no apparent political will to tackle it in a big way, given the complex nature of global politics.
Now worse news according to this BBC report: “Fish species are expected to shrink in size by up to 24% because of global warming, say scientists.”
Although this data projects relatively small changes in temperatures at the bottom of the oceans, the resulting impacts on fish body size are “unexpectedly large” according to the paper.
As ocean temperatures increase, so do the body temperatures of fish. But, according to lead author, Dr William Cheung, from the University of British Columbia, the level of oxygen in the water is key.
“Rising temperatures directly increase the metabolic rate of the fish’s body function,” he told BBC News.
“This leads to an increase in oxygen demand for normal body activities. So the fish will run out of oxygen for growth at a smaller body size.
Just got back yesterday from a day of dry fly fishing near Collingwood, ON.
Today I stumbled across this photo album of of Ulf Hagström, a Swedish blogger which is aptly titled The Dry Fly Project 2011 . Here is one photo from his album:
My other local paper had a piece about an announcement by the federal government about a joint U.S.-Canada study to thwart the arrival of the Asian Carp in the Great Lakes.
Scientists to figure out how to thwart Asian carp from invading Great Lakes
Ciara Byrne
Toronto— The Canadian Press
Published Tuesday, Oct. 05, 2010 4:47PM EDT
Last updated Tuesday, Oct. 05, 2010 7:46PM EDT
26 comments
A dreaded aquatic bully has Canadian and U.S. scientists banding together in an attempt to thwart what’s been called the greatest threat to the Great Lakes – the Asian carp.
An 18-month, binational program will assess the risks the carp poses and look at vulnerable pathways that the fish – currently being held at bay near Chicago – could use to enter the Great Lakes, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said Tuesday.
“The results will provide essential information for decision makers regarding monitoring, rapid response and management,” said Ms. Shea.
Fisheries and Oceans is dedicating $415,000 to the project, which will build on U.S. efforts already underway.
Officials on both sides of the border have been sounding the alarm for several years about the voracious Asian carp.
It threatens to destroy a fishing industry worth nearly $7-billion a year.
Below is the blurb from http://www.chrs.ca/Rivers/French/French_e.htm
“The names of these rivers conjure up images of the Voyageurs – toiling over the portages, hauling their birchbark “canots de maitre” past the rapids and waterfalls, singing as they paddle past glacier-polished rock. These rivers formed a vital link in the fur trade route from Lachine (Montreal) to Lake Superior and the Northwest. Today, recreational paddlers follow portages unchanged for over 300 years. In 1999, the La Vase Portage, an eleven-kilometre route across beaver ponds and bush, connecting the Mattawa Canadian Heritage River to Lake Nipissing, was nominated to the Heritage River System. Listen closely… Do you hear the songs of the Voyageurs?”
Alexandra Cousteau says people “should be able to have water resources in our community that are fishable, swimmable, drinkable and enjoyable and a lot of the people we talked to don’t have that relationship to Lake Ontario.” IAN KELLETT/BLUE LEGACY
Cousteau’s granddaughter wants to talk to you about water
Published On Wed Oct 06 2010
Alexandra Cousteau says people “should be able to have water resources in our community that are fishable, swimmable, drinkable and enjoyable and a lot of the people we talked to don’t have that relationship to Lake Ontario.”
By Marianne Takacs Staff Reporter
Alexandra Cousteau wants to hear Toronto’s story.
The 34-year-old granddaughter of renowned marine ecologist and environmental activist Jacques Cousteau is in the city on the Canadian leg of a 23,000 km journey examining water issues across North America.
Expedition Blue Planet has already explored the watersheds around the Colorado River, Gulf of Mexico and Tennessee Valley, and is investigating urban water issues in Toronto before heading out along Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
“There’s this extraordinary watershed and beautiful city on the banks of a beautiful lake and yet a lot of the people we talked to, they’re afraid to go swimming in it,” said Cousteau in an interview Tuesday. “That’s a shame. We should be able to have water resources in our community that are fishable, swimmable, drinkable and enjoyable and a lot of the people we talked to don’t have that relationship to Lake Ontario.”
Cousteau and her team will spend just over three weeks in Canada filming “water stories” about what they discover, meeting with local watershed preservation organizations and hosting public events. Their journey is being chronicled in blogs, videos and photos on the Expedition Blue Planet website. The goal, she explained, is not just to raise awareness of the threats facing our freshwater ecosystem but also to get people talking and doing something about them.
Lake Ontario Waterkeeper tell us by way of twitter that @acousteau Alexandra Cousteau, the granddaughter of Jacques-Yves Cousteau is busy scouting storm drains in Toronto flowing to Lake Ontario.
According to http://www.alexandracousteau.org/ Costeau is on part of 138-day interactive exploration of critical water issues across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Called “Expedition Blue Planet 2010.”
The blurb states “the expedition will tour more than 14,500 miles in a biodiesel tour bus converted to serve as a “rolling Calypso” for daily production and web broadcasting of films, photos, and findings. In addition to filming a range of critical water issues on the Colorado River, the Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley, Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay, expedition leader Alexandra Cousteau and her team will stop in 20 communities along the route to host watershed action days.” http://www.alexandracousteau.org/field/expedition-photos/exploring-lake-ontario-watershed?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Fishing for lake trout in Algonquin Park and Georgian Bay requires big spoons, sometimes 6 inches long.
I snapped this photo of one such spoon used in the “old” days at a fishing exhibit inside the Killbear Provincial Park Visitor Centre. It was about 8 inches long.
It takes someone from the U.K. to document what Canadians consider their heritage.
The preview contains beautiful footage and interviews with both Yanks and Cannucks.
I’m ordering my copy!
Caught in Toronto Harbour: Yes, that really is a local walleye, though a persistent myth has it that big fish simply don't exist around here. Photo by Phinjo Gombu
Phinjo Gombu Urban Affairs Reporter
For Rick Portiss and his young crew, catching big fish in the Toronto Harbour and around the Toronto Islands is a breeze.
What’s more difficult is convincing skeptical Torontonians they don’t need to head north to Georgian Bay or east to the Bay of Quinte to catch big fish, such as the much sought-after walleye.
Yes, you can catch big “tasty” walleye right here in the harbour — a species that hadn’t been seen around here for years but has made a comeback recently.
Explored the new water I mentioned last week and found some lovely small stream brookies.
They were mostly in the 8 to 10 inch range, a few even smaller.
Adams and Wulffs worked as usual and one generally had about three casts before things quietened down quickly.
More on my trip later but here are some pictures and the type of water I fished. It was close quarters fishing, with not much room to cast and a lot of bushwhacking.
The Franklin Club is an exclusive fly fishing club north of Toronto that was started about 100 years ago by some stressed out doctors who worked at St. Michael’s Hospital.
I am told by informed sources the two ponds are full of stocked brookies and bows.
The application form does not indicate what the membership dues are. You have to call and ask.
As Rick points it’s also a place where people have gone to escape the crushing realities of the Great Depression, two world wars and Stephen Harper’s economic action plan
Some may disparage them as mere stockies but, without a question, some of the brown trout in the Grand River can get get quite large.
This one, which I caught in the upper stretches of the river, appears to have an over sized head.
A Grand River stockie
It is a beautiful river.
Grand River scene
Grand River scene
Every time I return to the Grand River, I am reminded of how much effort is put in by the volunteers who make up the Friends of the Grand River and the local conservation authority.
Even the occasional tuber can complement the scene.
A fully loaded float fisherman waits for the Steelhead to bite on the Notty over Thanksgiving weekend a few days ago. He was one of the nicer ones who smiled and even gave me a little wave.
I was looking for an old photograph on my hard drive, when I stumbled across this. I have no recollection of where I found it, so I can’t link to source.
It’s a very detailed and cleverly put together. Quite helpful to newbie anglers.
So whether it’s rainbow trout, brookies, salmon or brown trout you are looking for, whip out your thermometer, and go fishing.
Every time I walk along the river, in the heart of sprawling suburbia, I am always amazed at what it has to offer to hikers, kayakers, canoeists, birdwatchers and anglers.
I live in downtown Toronto. But whenever I happen to be in the vicinity of the river on business, I make it a point to go under the bridge.
Down in the ravine, I forget that I am just 20 to 30 minutes away from downtown Toronto.
The float fishermen, a fixture on southern Ontario rivers, were out today looking for the chinooks and steelhead.
It can be a gruesome experience.
There is often little finesse involved and a lot tramping through the river.
Today, however, it made a nice scene.
Jeffrey has produced a wonderful map of Algonquin Park, which over the past couple of years, has evolved into a waterproof book.
For the map obsessed, this is yet another map worth having. It provides details the Friends of Algonquin Map does not have, the most helpful feature being, which lake has what fish.
If you don’t want to download it – for free – you can move around it and explore it, right on the home page.
The post by mister anchovy that his hurtin knee had prevented him from going out much on the river this year makes me think of a friend who is going through a bad patch.
He is an avid angler who has spent a life time exploring the rivers of southern Ontario with passion and skill.
More recently, he found out that old injuries had come back to haunt him, and he is pretty much out of commission.
He is older than I am, but that didn’t stop me from feeling the hurt as the realization sets in that he may never fish like he used to.
He is heartbroken.
When I posted a youtube video of Obama and the mariachi band a few weeks ago, I knew that it would be related to fly fishing in some way. I just didn’t know how?
Here is the connection:
Local fishing guide Dan Vermillion reacts as President Barack Obama hooks a trout on the East Gallatin River near Belgrade, Mont., August 14, 2009. The President hooked about 6 fish, but did not land any during his first fly fishing outing. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)
We took a delightful bicycle ride along the Humber River yesterday, the same day hordes of equally delightfully dressed men and women walked to raise money for find a cure to end breast cancer.
I remarked to myself on how lucky we were that we could take the subway to the river, and how much potential the river had. There are parts the river that can be naturalized more , out of date weirs that can be removed, and much more love afforded a river that was the source of so much history when it came to the founding of Toronto and the lives of its original native inhabitants.
The Old Mill stone bridge, built in 1916, a popular spot for lazy salmon fisherman looked absolutely lovely from a distance.
A little girl sits on a log and observes a poacher, across the river, visible in white, fishing the no-fishing zone near the first weir. Some people will never learn.
Someone left an intriguing urn by the river. My first thought was that it contained human ashes.
On closer look, it was sealed. I left it alone. Hopefully the person who left it there comes back for it.
I love Canadian Tire even if my Mountain Equipment Coop going friends derisively refers to the store as Crappy Tire. As far as camping goes, it’s good for certain things, while the coop is good for other stuff.
I’ll buy cheap white rope to hang a tarp from Crappy Tire but get a nice, ultralight cooking set from the coop.
White gas from Crappy Tire and an expensive water filtration system from the coop.
I’ll get a Colemans cooking stove from Crappy Tire but expensive rain gear from the coop.
I’ll get the bike for my kids at Crappy Tire but the flat tire repair kit from the coop.
And so it goes for things big and small.
That’s why I smiled when I stumbled across this photo on the Crappy Tire website.
We just got back from a few days of some back country, interior canoe camping in beautiful Massassauga Provincial Park southwest of Parry Sound. The area where we were is similar in topography to Algonquin and not quite the classic windswept Georgian Bay landscape so well known to many. Although, every now and then you get a taste of it as the photo below shows.
The weather held out and not a drop of rain fell.
The bugs were long gone.
Bass were caught.
Good food was eaten.
There was much swimming and canoeing.
Life couldn’t get better.
The portage point provided quite a contrast to how people travel into the back country.
Here is how one group travelled:
And here is how another group we met travelled!
To each his or her own, eh!
As we left, the weekenders arrived and there was quite the usual jam at the portage point. But everybody knew that the campsites were well spaced out and that within minutes, solitude would be their main companion, except for those whose campsites were on the narrow channels.
Posted for no particular reason, but partly prompted by the difficulties el presidente Obama is having getting health care reform through congress.
There is a hopeful innocence to this song that stands in contrast to the nitty gritty of actually governing.
The mariachi sing with optimism of what Obama will do but not how he actually will do it.
We were up on Georgian Bay this past weekend for a family celebration when I came across this young couple walking along the beach, rods in hand.
Put simply, there there was something quite evocative about the sight of the two of them as they quietly walked towards a point to cast their lures.
The appeared comfortable together, at ease in each others presence.
I enjoyed watching them.
I particularly like the image of the girl fishing from the rock.
It’s good to be back in Canada.
The jet lag has finally begun to lift.
Our journey to the other side of the world was long and fruitful.
We have much to be grateful about here.
I thought I would share this great image from the website of Ian Colin James http://www3.sympatico.ca/ianjames.
I was told he suffered a second heart attack while I was away, but it appears he is as cheerful as ever, at least in public.
I hope he gets well soon. He is a national treasurer and a real professional.
I hate to say farewell, temporarily, to my hundreds of millions of faithful readers who turn to my blog ten times a day.
Please do not despair!
I will be back in a month.
Until then, tight lines.
The Muskoka Paddleshack http://www.paddleshack.ca/muskoka/ is a must stop on the way north to cottage country or Algonquin for canoeists and kayakers. It is located off Highway 169 in Gravenhurst, just north of the big roadside dinosaur.
They’ve moved to a bigger shop this year. Lots to look at. Great service. Very knowledgeable.
It is a fascinating project by two photographers (fly fishers I believe) for the Kitchener Waterloo Record http://news.therecord.com/News/article/564376 who appear to have a profound love for the well-known stocked brown trout tailwater fishery between the Shand Dam and Inverhaugh. That is the stretch that fly fishers frequent. Canoeists are more likely to canoe between Cambridge and Brantford, home of Alexander Graham Bell and Wayne Gretzky.
The lower Grand River has smallmouth, walleye and steelhead.
Here are a couple more fly fishing and canoeing images from their blog. Many of the pictures are close up photos of wildlife both big and small that frequent this river. Once badly damaged, it is slowly recovering. I encourage people to visit this blog.
Bass opener on Saturday was spent on the lower Grand River with my spin fishing buddy L.
Smallmouth fishing is always a blast. Several big leaping smallies fought hard.
The surface flies didn’t work today but the olive cone head streamer was deadly as usual.
We both remarked on the clarity of the water that was crystal clear, the clearest it’s been for years.
It meant that we spent some fun times sight fishing, stalking the smallies in the shallow water trout style. The satisfaction of visually executing the hook set on the “soft take” is a thrill.
Sight fishing truly drives home the point how about how many fish we miss.
The clear water also allowed us to read the river bed for future trips we know will be dark and murky!
Fishing in Nova Scotia is often as simple as pulling off to the side of the road and putting your canoe into a smallish pond that has lots of brook trout. I was taken to this pond by the brother of a friend of mine who fly fishes. There is something very old fashioned and lovely about the way people fly fish in Nova Scotia. Very practical, no nonsense, low key style is involved.
Driving up Bathurst St. in Toronto, I stopped south of the Dundas St. W. traffic light, daydreaming.
It took me a few moments to focus in on this sign outside the Scadding Court Community Centre, just west of Chintatown.
INDOOR FISH POND — the sign read.
The swimming pool had been converted to a fishing pond for five days in June.
Look closely at the picture which shows a boy sitting on a diving board, his rod pointed into a fish-filled pool.
No naturalization of the pool here. I hope they emptied the chlorinated pool before putting the fish in it. I’d also say this was a pretty creative way of keeping pools open, especially in light of recent news articles about the fight to keep swimming pools open in the city.
An article in insidetoronto.ca article states this is the fifth year of a program that helps put a rod in the hands of people who have never fished. They also hope to spread the program to to help inner city kids connect to the sport of angling.
Hopefully some of them will go on to fish in the great outdoors!
BTW – the swimming pool was loaded with 1,000 rainbow trout. People got to keep a fish and take it home.
gto 
