Quick Quip...

Fish in Space: Did you know that two carp were passengers on the space shuttle "Endeavor" in 1994? The cosmic carp had electrodes attached to their brains as part of an experiment to try to shed some light on the possible causes of space adaptation syndrome. SAS is a condition in astronauts that affects their balance and coordination during space travel. I'm not sure if the experiment turned up any new data, but I do know that there's no truth to the rumour that the astronauts were seen feasting on sushi during the final two days of their trip.

What's New...

Max Huber, after a year and a half of yeoman's service as our volunteer Forums Administrator stepped down this month to pursue other interests. I know that everyone wishes Max the very best and we all sincerely thank him for all the great work he did in helping the Forums become the best on the net. The mantle has been passed to Luc Levesque ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it ), who has accepted the daunting task of keeping all of us in check and making sure that the TFN Custom Forums continue to grow in stature. Good Luck, Luc!

This Issue...

I apologize again for the lateness of this issue. Some changes in the ownership of one of the major Internet Service Providers here in Canada forced us to scramble in re-locating the TFN Forums. And, after the new Provider was unable to maintain them in working order, we decided to bring them in house, which required a good deal of re-configuration and a bunch of other associated computer problems that took much of my time that is normally set aside for publishing. Our new server is on the way, and once in place will increase the speed of the entire TFN Website. Thanks for your patience! Volume 3, Number 9, offers a bit of a mish-mash of information. Last issue's article on the Lost Art of Lure Making by Allan Bedford spawned a great deal of response and interest, and so we're continuing to provide information on this topic. In addition, there are the usual contributions from the regulars as we start to look ahead to the upcoming spring.

Comment...

This has been the strangest winter weather I can remember experiencing. In fact, I haven't gone ice-fishing once this year due to the travel required to get anywhere from Toronto where there is good ice and decent fishing.

In addition, Environment Canada (Canada's weather service - we just have to have a typically Canadian name for it) predicted last week that spring will be here four to five weeks early this year due to - you guessed it - El Niño.

So I though to myself, "Hmmmmmm, Self; rather than rant and rave about the lack of consistent and safe ice conditions, why not put a positive spin on this problem?". So here are some points to consider when you're complaining about the bad fishing this winter:

• Bad ice means no fishing. No fishing results in no fishing pressure. No fishing pressure results in fish being less exposed to anglers. Less exposure to anglers means the fish are going to be more likely to take your bait the next time you're on the water.
• Due to the cold, late springs over the past few years, many fish have not spawned at all. Nature has a way of compensating for this type of problem, so look for this year's hatch to be much larger than normal, resulting in a higher fish population down the road.
• An earlier spring will result in an earlier spawn, which will in turn result in the propagators being completely finished before the seasons begin. The affect of this situation will be that fewer fish will be legally taken from their nests, and more fry will likely survive.
• An earlier spring means that we'll all be on the water that much sooner! (Enough said!)
• A lack of ice means that we all have more time to play Trophy Bass 2 and to re-read all the past issues of the TFN Web-zine to pick up those points we missed the first few times through!

Until next issue...
(tight lines, get it wet, good fishin', see you on the water, etc., etc.).

Scott M. Binnie, Managing Editor

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