THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING, REMEMBER THE DATE: THURSDAY DECEMBER 2ND, 7:30 PM, AT THE CLUB HOUSE, LINCOLN PARK ROAD, IN DERBY TOWNSHIP.

The December General Meeting will be our annual "Nibble Nite". Prepare your favorite "Exotic" dish and let your fellow members sample your culinary skills. Even if you are not able to bring something, come out and sample the variety of dishes. If work commitments allow, John Lambie, Enforcement Supervisor for the MNR, will give a short presentation on issues affecting us as anglers and hunters. Plan to attend!!
 

NEW MEMBERS

SSA welcomes the following new members:

Gary Willis Adult

Jason Holyome Adult

Gary Lewis Adult
 

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOHN FORD ON HIS REELECTION AS OFAH ZONE H CHAIRPERSON!!
 

NOMINATIONS

The floor will be open for nominations for the 2000 Board of Directors. Nominations will also be open for our Annual Awards. The following categories require nominations: Senior Sportsman of the Year, Hard Luck Award, Junior Sportsman of the Year (13-17), Youth Conservationist of the Year (12 and under), Junior Sportsman of the Year (12 and under). Get your nominations to John Ford a.s.a.p. at 372 0410. For information regarding the Big Buck and Big Fish awards, see Fred Hunt's report elsewhere in the newsletter.

TAKE NOTE!!

Co-operation Requested

The users of the club's garbage bin are requested to adhere to the City of Owen Sound's Landfill requirements that no cardboard be placed in the bin. Please arrange to recycle the cardboard or store the cardboard until sufficient quantities are available to be burned in the fire pit on the club property. If a load of garbage is rejected at the Landfill site because it contains cardboard and the origin of the cardboard can be traced to us, the whole rejected load can be charged to the club. This can result in considerable expense to your organization. Please DO NOT PLACE CARDBOARD IN THE GARBAGE BIN. Thank you for your co-operation. 

SSA Executive
 

1999 OFAH Zone H Annual Conservation Draws

Held Saturday, November 20, 1999

The winners were:

M. Smart, London ON Black Labrador Retriever casting by Peaktime

P Myatt, Owen Sound ON Decorative Ammunition Box 

J. Ford, Owen Sound ON Copperhead Rod & Reel by Mitchell

Gregory Trowbridge, Meaford ON His/Hers Fleece Coats with new OFAH 2000 Logo Hats

Lara Ferris, Port Elgin ON Hunting & Fishing Sign by Big Sky Carvers

Lanny Baker, Chatsworth ON Limited Edition Print "Where Maples Fall" by Jake Vandenbrink, OFAH Artist of the Year
 

THANK YOU to all who supported this fund-raising effort!

Net Proceeds Towards Conservation Projects of Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, Zone H

Licence No. M07973
 

Rambling & Raving

Remember Bill C/68

"The difference between a slave and a free man is a free man can own a firearm." Thomas Jefferson
 

The Liberals agenda to disarm the general public is all starting to fall in to place. There are lengthy waits to register firearms and to get an FAC. It is difficult to buy ammunition and reloading supplies are all but

impossible to get. The cost is prohibited, steel shot at 30 bucks a box when lead cost less than 8. It's all part of the plan.

"One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up by being governed by inferiors." Plato

Junior Shooting

Jr. shooting is over for another year. I had 10 juniors sign up and 8 showed up the first week and 4 completed all four weeks. This year instead of all the shooting being done from the bench, they shot prone, sitting and off hand. Congratulations to Sarah Stephenson, Ryan Cameron, Andrew Algera and P. K. McCallum for attending every session. By the end of each session some very good scores were being turned in by all of them. My thanks to Pete McCallum, John Ford and Richard Manley for there assistance with the program. It was greatly appreciated.

Wild Turkeys

The turkey population in Grey Bruce has exploded with the dry Springs and mild Winters we have had the last three years. I get calls weekly from people saying they seen any where from 12 to the highest one of 38 in a flock. We are expecting all of Grey Bruce to have an open season on turkeys in the spring of 2000. (If Y2K doesn't get us) So if you haven't taken the turkey course you had better sign up for the next one.

Awards Banquet

Get those entry forms in for the big fish contest and the big buck contest to me. Entry forms must be submitted before January 2nd 2000 The contest is open to all members of the SSA at the time the fish was caught or the buck was shot. There are lots of trophies up for grabs and I only have one entry form so far.

MF (Fred) Hunt RR#1 Chatsworth, ON N0H-1G0 794-0533

SSA FISH ADVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT

During October of this year, CFIP clubs from Sarnia, Port Elgin, Thunder Bay and our Club, the SSA, collected salmon eggs for their hatcheries from the Sydenham River, as we have done for a number of years now.

Each year a small number of these salmon eggs will end up unfertilized and turn a white opaque colour indicating that they are dead. As well, certain bacterial and viral diseases can be transmitted on the surface of these eggs, which all of the CFIP Clubs know about and treat their eggs with a disinfectant such a wescodine.

Later on, in their hatcheries, fungus infections can become a problem, as dead eggs provide a nutrient base for fungus and other biological growths, which in serious cases can smother adjacent fertile eggs. But here also, all of the Clubs know about this ongoing problem and will treat their salmon eggs with a dilute bath of formaldehyde.

This year however, and regardless of the usual amount of precautions taken, each of these CFIP Clubs have experienced an extremely high mortality rate with their chinook eggs. Early numbers suggest that anywhere from 40% up to 80% of this years chinook eggs are dead in the hatcheries. At present the SSA have found that 40% of our chinook eggs are dead.

Faced with this unexplained and tragic loss of chinook eggs, many of the Clubs first started to think it was something they had done wrong with their egg handling techniques, Then they started to contact each other and discovered the same thing was happening in their sister Club's hatcheries. Following this, the MNR was brought into the picture, and after some serious investigations, Dave Reid, Biologist for the MNR's Lake Huron / Lake Superior Management Unit, informed us that a thiamine deficiency in this years chinook eggs was the likely cause of the problem.

On checking into some of my old zoology books, I found that thiamine (which is vitamin B1) is an essential enzyme for metabolism. It is synthesized by plants, and is found in beans, grain, yeast, and roots. It is also present in eggs and lean meat. A deficiency causes beriberi, nervous system degeneration, and cessation of growth.

Biologist, Dave Reid also informed us that the State of Michigan has identified this problem in their chinook eggs for several years now, and that there is a treatment product available which produces a dilute bath for the chinook eggs, and is successful at eliminating the thiamine deficiency. This latest finding of thiamine deficiency in the Sydenham River chinook eggs would indicate that the only remaining source of chinook eggs without this problem is now found at Gore Bay on 

Manitoulin Island. Sure is to bad we didn't know about this problem with chinook eggs sooner !

Thank goodness we got our new automatic egg picker for the SSA hatchery. After being fine tuned by SSA member Dave Arnold, our new egg picker was able to remove all of our dead chinook eggs in a matter of just 3 hours. With this amount of dead eggs, this task would have taken a team of 20 to 30 volunteers a full week to complete. It was a beautiful thing to watch ! but rather upsetting to see forty percent of our chinook eggs dead.

Fred Geberdt, Chairperson Fish Advisory Committee
 

WILDLIFE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

We are saddened by the death of SSA member Ted Lucking. Ted has been a major force with the SSA Firearms/Hunter Education programs. He was a friend to many and a credit to the club. He will be missed.

It appears that the recently reported waterfowl mortality in Lakes Erie and Huron is being caused by botulism. This is a different type of botulism than that usually associated with shallow water puddle ducks. As far as I can find out, this one is spread to diving birds eating contaminated marine organisms. Loons, Mergansers and Grebes appear to be the main species affected. Note- cooking will destroy the toxin.

I was quite surprised at the small turnout of SSA and other local club members at our recent hosting of the Zone H , OFAH meeting. The subject matter covered was of direct concern to anglers and hunters, all of it was very interesting, some of it quite controversial, some outright contentious and some that concerns our very existence. These meetings are about as democratic as it gets in our present society, everyone gets a chance to speak. It is a chance to be proactive on vital issues, a chance to direct a course of events towards a better outcome. Not attending, not participating and then bitching when things go wrong is being reactive in the worst way. We had better make this an item for future discussions so we can have more sportsman participation down the line. There is a tremendous amount of talent, expertise and wisdom to be found among our local outdoorsmen. Lets figure out a way to put it to use. Anyone with any suggestions, please give this writer a call.
 

INDIANS

Most of our members will be aware that the MNR Conservation Officers have served notices to all fish buyers, that they are to cease and desist from buying fish taken from Lake Huron from approximately Point Clark, up and around the Peninsula to approximately Thornbury. This is because that all quotas, except chub, have been exceeded. The effect will be to virtually shut down the Indian fishery immediately, except for chub. This is a significant step towards the Province regaining control of the fishery.

The Marshal decision in Nova Scotia indicates that Government does indeed have the right to regulate a fishery. Also, it indicates that society as a whole, not just Indians, must be considered when resolving fisheries disputes.

Sections 35 and 52 of the Constitution still leave our hunting and fishing disputes with the Indians in a dreadful mess. However, the recent initiatives by our Conservation Officers, indicates that efforts are being made by the Province to once more regulate our natural resources for all the people of Ontario, regardless of race, colour or creed.

Blake Smith, Chairperson

Wildlife Advisory Committee

SHOTGUN SPORTS

First- Thank You to all the shooters who were part of making 1999 our best year ever. Everything improved, profits ,shooters, rounds, trapshooting/interclubshoots. We even had the top shooter at the Georgian Bay Trap Shoot final, congratulations John Lloyd.

The Turkey Shoot was bigger and better and Fred Hunt did his usual bang up job of producing good burgers. If you were one of the members who missed it, your loss!

Next year we will be paying "Trap Boys/Girls" to run the Sporting Clay machines. This will be an opportunity for young shooters or interested people to learn about Sporting Clays, make a few dollars and gain a bit of shooting experience. Anyone interested, please contact Bill Beamish at 794 3317. We hope to be up and running by March.

Shooters, please check page 3 of the OFAH supplement in the November issue of the Ontario Out of Doors, you receive as a member of OFAH. there are 3 of our members who are hoping to be elected/reelected as Provincial Directors at Large. Lets do our part to assist, by mailing out the clip out ballot today for Blake, Fred and Bob. Do it now!

Remember, when you get your gun off, always follow through.

Bill Beamish, Chairperson

Shot Gun Sport
 

Membership Report

Our membership numbers for 1999 were approximately the same as last year. The totals were Adults- 271, Spouses- 102, Senior Citizens- 71, Juniors- 88, Students- 68 for a total of 600.

As you will recall, our early bird renewal draw prize is a Fiesta B B Q for the year 2000. Many of you have already renewed your membership. But for those who haven't, you can still receive 2 free chances on the B B Q if you pay your dues in December. Those who renew by the meeting in January get 1 chance to win.

The issue of gate keys has raised its head again. It appears that a number of former members still have gate keys and are using the property ranges illegally. You should be reminded that your windshield sticker should be on your vehicle and you should carry your up to date membership card when using the property. The gate locks and keys have not been changed for about 6 years and a number of members feel that this mammoth task should occur for the spring of 2000. A decision has not been made on this issue but I am seeking input from you, the members at the December meeting. If the locks and keys are to be changed, we need to start as soon as possible. Several ideas would be that members paid up for 2000 would be eligible to turn their key back into the club and receive a new key at no charge. Over time, the club could recycle the locks and keys to economize on the cost. Secondly, no keys would be mailed out as the cost would be prohibitive but would be available at all meetings. Additionally they could be picked up at my home in the same way as we have done in the past. Paid up members who could not turn in their old key would have to pay $2.00 for a new key. Please let me know how you feel about these ideas!

REMEMBER IF YOU PAY YOUR 2000 MEMBERSHIP BY THE DECEMBER MEETING YOU STILL GET 2 CHANCES AT THE EARLY BIRD PRIZE, A GAS BAR-B-QUE.

PLEASE INCLUDE AN UPDATED MEMBERS PROFILE FROM A PREVIOUS NEWSLETTER WITH YOUR CHEQUE.

John Ford, Chairperson

Membership