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VOLUME 26 NO. 6 June 2007
THE NEXT GENERAL MEETING, Thursday, (first Thurs. of month), June 7, 7:30 PM, PROGRAMS: Future Meeting Events: We will be licensed to provide refreshments along with the FREE hot dogs. We will have beer, wine and pop at a nominal charge. This is the night we do the WORLD FAMOUS LIVE AUCTION SALE. I still need donations from members for really good stuff to auction. WE like baked goods!! Cheese bread is very popular! Members are reminded.. of our annual BEEF BBQ at the clubhouse on SUNDAY JUNE 3rd. We will serve from 5 to 7 pm. Cost is just $12 for adults and $5 for children , 12 and under. The social committee does these events to help raise money to pay our CLUB operating expenses. WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!!! This is a super event! You don’t have to do anything but show up, have a great meal and meet other club members. We will supply name tags! This is a chance for new members to introduce themselves and share interests. New Members: SSA welcomes new members: Dale Funston - Adult, Mike Merritt - Adult, From The President: Our next meeting on June 7th, 2007 will be the last until September as we will be taking our usual break over the summer months. This June’s meeting promises to be one of the best attended since it’s our annual “Beer and Hot Dog Night”, a favourite for everyone. Jack Doherty has also promised to do his (soon to become famous) auction that night as well, so bring your appetite and your wallet to take advantage some of these fantastic items in the auction sale. The Club is also holding it’s Beef Barbeque on the Sunday June 3rd, starting at 5 pm and we look forward to seeing you there. Wishing you all a safe and happy summer. Bill Douglas, President ------ Donations Appreciated SSA members may have noted the blue tarp on the Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular parked at the SSA Clubhouse property recently. Due to old age assisted to some extent by snow load this past winter the roof of the trailer caved in requiring the replacement of the trailer. We were very fortunate that the contents of the trailer were not damaged. A newer highway trailer has been located and purchase deals are presently being finalized from a local supplier but we will have the cost of the trailer, moving the electrical panel and moving all the stored contents to deal with in the near future. Please contact one of the Owen Sound Salmon Spectacular Co-chairs {Fred Geberdt (519) 376-2369; Rob Wilson (519) 272-0732 or Geoff Ford (519) 372-9772} to add your name to the volunteer list to assist with moving the contents from the old trailer to the new trailer at a future date. Financial contributions to assist with the cost of the trailer and outfitting it with a revamped electrical panel may be made by mailing them to: Thank you, from the SSA Board of Directors 2007 Imagewear by Mark's Work Wearhouse discount card The SSA is pleased to have Mark's Work Wearhouse as a corporate sponsor again for 2007. Enclosed with your June newsletter is a discount card valid at any Mark's Work Wearhouse. For those SSA members who receive their club newsletter by email you may pick up your discount card from John Ford, Membership Chair at the next club meeting on June 7th. Submitted by Murray Smart Beautiful Historic Owen Sound Harbour The Owen Sound Harbour offers more than scenic views; it is also full of history and rich in historic buildings. The Owen Sound harbour contributed to the growth of our community by providing a means of travel and transport to early settlers and industries. Prior to the railroad’s arrival in Owen Sound in 1873, the water was the most convenient and often the quickest way for people or products to be conveyed in or out of our city. However, Owen Sound’s Harbour was not always so accessible. Today there are still many historic structures along the shores of the harbour to view. The former Canadian National Railroad station, which was built in 1931, is visible on the harbour’s west side. Although no longer in use as a train station, the structure houses the Owen Sound Marine & Rail Museum which is home to a sizeable collection of interesting exhibits pertaining to the city’s rail, marine, and industrial history. The city’s Visitor Information Centre is also housed in this building. By Museum Staff and Mindy Gill-Sitoski, Curator of Collections, ------ Archery Committee We ran our first tournament of the year “The S.S.A. Annual 3-D Competition” on Sunday April 29th/07. The turnout and weather were good and it appeared that everyone had a great time. The results of this tournament are as follows: Category and Winner Men’s Bowhunter Unlimited First = Mike Prevost Second = Scott Grant Congratulations to the winners, and I would like to thank all the participants for coming out and making it a great tournament. The weather co-operated ensuring it was a fun day. By now everyone is well aware of the details surrounding the fishway closure, at the Owen Sound Mill Dam, at the end of March. The day the closure was put into play was the very day we were requesting the issuance of an egg collection permit that would allow us to begin collecting rainbow trout eggs for the hatchery. The closure was lifted a week later, and we got our permit without any further delay. After two weeks of collecting, and in spite of some rather difficult weather conditions, we managed to get the full allotment of rainbow eggs. This is very good news; especially when you consider that in 2006 we were unable to get any rainbow trout eggs for the hatchery operation. To the volunteers that came out to help in the collection of these eggs, many thanks. At the beginning of April, the salmon and brown trout were transferred into tanks and troughs that gave them more space. With additional room being made available to them, they were under less stress, and as a result the mortality rate has been dropping, and there has been a significant increase in their rate of growth. At the present time, we are looking after about 82,000 salmon, 102,000 brown trout, and of course, the 125,000 rainbow trout eggs. Everything is going well in the hatchery, and with all the fish and eggs that are in the facility at this time, there certainly is no shortage of things to do. If anyone is interested in being a part of this very important SSA activity, don’t hesitate to make your wishes known. I know that we can find something that needs to be done. Dennis Wiseman, Fish Advisory Committee Chairman ----- Fact Sheet, Ontario, February 16, 2007 Ministry of Natural Resources Help Prevent the Spread of Fish Disease, Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia What is VHS? The Great Lakes strain of the virus is new and appears to be affecting multiple species of fish, including: Can VHS infect people? What does a fish with VHS - A fish can look healthy, showing no signs at all. - Corkscrew swimming behaviour Where has VHS been found? How Does VHS Spread? VHS may be spread from one water body to the next via any method that involves the movement of fish, water, vessels or equipment that has had contact with the virus. How Can I Help Prevent VHS? Use baitfish that has been harvested locally. Remove all mud, aquatic plants and animals from all gear, boat motors and trailers before leaving a body of water. Equipment and clothing used during angling activities should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Drying or exposure to sunlight are acceptable methods of disinfection capable of killing the virus After angling at a water body known to contain VHS, clean and disinfect live wells with a 10% household bleach/water solution. (100 ml of household bleach to I liter of water). Rinse well to remove residual chlorine and discard away from fish bearing waters. Chlorine is toxic to fish. Empty bait fish containers, live wells and bilges away from water, in an area where the water will be absorbed into the ground. Do not discard baitfish in a lake or river. Place them in the garbage. These actions will help stop the spread VHS and other fish diseases Contact Information: The Forests, Wetlands & Wildlife Advisory Committee is more than happy with the club volunteers who so willingly helped out with several projects this spring. Doug Murdoch would like to thank the great group that did a humungous fencing job on the Sydenham Conservation property, located on the 12th concession of Derby. The fence helps to ensure the long—term protection from livestock of all the trees and shrubs that Doug has been planting and tending for all these years. Gary Willis, Tim Lahey, John Ford and Jack Doherty planted several large specimens of basswood, birth, oak and cherry trees in the demonstration wildlife management area These trees had large, well—developed root systems and these fellows certainly gave the trees the care and attention that was required Their efforts will certainly enhance the wildlife diversity of the demonstration area. There are several beech trees still to be planted, and the Smith boys, Jim, Tom, Pat, Eric and James will attend to this on the 24th of May weekend John McNamara and the juniors did some very important work on the Foundation’s Reid tract on the 2nd concession of Derby They planted a considerable quantity of tamarack and white spruce along the south side of a small, semi—permanent watercourse that feeds a cold water tributary of the Sydenham River The purpose of the planting was twofold In the first instance, these trees will help to shade and cool the stream, to sloe down snow melt and allow melt water to percolate into the ground and hopefully, with more time and more planting, it will help to bring back permanent, cooler stream flow As such, it will enhance the fishery This type of improvement has restored permanent flow and enhanced fisheries in other areas. Last, but not least, we saw the latest bird feeder that the SSA’s wood. Our hope is that it will work here as well The other thing it will do is create a wildlife corridor through an old farm field This corridor, besides creating wildlife habitat, will certainly enhance hunting opportunities by encouraging and permitting wildlife movement in and along the travel corridors Keep up the good work, juniors extend and widen the corridor and, in a few years when the trees have grown arid the stream is flowing year—round and wildlife is using the corridor, come back to this area and say “we did this and it is good” Club member Bill Colborne gave us a picture of a 12—inch sucker Seems he was snorkeling in the Sydenham River when he startled a cormorant, which floundered in the water and couldn’t take off Bill chased it and eventually it disgorged the sucker, and was then able to become airborne. Bill says he has a bit of trouble catching fish, but he was so impressed by the bird’s effort that he thinks he might try catching a cormorant so he can tie a line to its leg, to see if he can finally get enough fish for a meal. So, Dave and Dave, the wildlife committee thanks you for the splendid efforts you have put forth. Blake Smith, Co-chair, Forests, Wetlands, and Wildlife Advisory Committee. ----- YOUTH ACTIVITIES PROGRAM Thanks to Brian Clements for organizing the river clean up for the SSA , we had a small but enthusiastic group clean up the Mill Dam parking lot and the riverbank from the milldam to the 8th Street bridge. The following day Kyle Phillips, Hanna Kaupp, Clare McNamara and Marlee McNamara helped to plant Tamarack and White Spruce trees along the course of a spring flowing to a tributary of the Sydenham River. Many years from now you will be able to look at the area and see an emerging forest and a year round flowing stream thanks to the hard work of these youths. On June 3rd we will be meeting for an archery shoot at the club archery range at 11 am. There are bows available or you can bring your own. We are canoeing the Saugeen River on the Fathers Day weekend in June . The cost is minimal as we stay at Saugeen Bluffs Conservation Area Campground as a group. We are planning to set up camp on the Friday night and then transport the canoes to our launch site. From there we will follow the Saugeen back to our campground and camp the Saturday night. We will have the campsite packed up and ready for departure by 11 am Sunday .We look forward to a fun weekend with good weather, this is a great way to start the summer!! Over the summer we will be trying to organize more events . Some of the upcoming dates we have been asked to consider are July 7-8 the Ont. Family Fishing Weekend, possibly to organize a public fishing outing or something to introduce families to fishing, July 28th at the OS Biggest Yard Sale event, Aug 4th to put a float in the OS Home Coming parade , and the SSA Salmon Spectacular (especially the Kid's Day events) on Aug .26th. Please keeps these days in mind and let me know ASAP if you are available to participate and if you have any suggestions for other summer outings for the juniors. Anyone needing information regarding these events or wanting to get youths involved in the SSA Get Outdoors Club can contact me at jkmcnamara@persona.ca or call 519-369-3269. John McNamara, Youth Activities Chair ----- Lake Trout Stocking Stocking of Other Salmonids Brown trout stocking in Lake Erie totaled 67,185 yearlings in 2006, an 8% decrease from 2005 and a 15% decrease from the long-term average. Slightly more than half (55%) of the brown trout stocked in Lake Erie were in NY waters for the purposes of providing an improved trophy brown trout fishery for offshore boat anglers and seasonal tributary anglers. The NYSDEC began re-emphasizing brown trout stocking in place of domestic rainbow trout in 2002 for the purposes of diversifying their tributary trout/salmon fishery and for maintaining migratory behavior of their Salmon River steelhead strain. Pennsylvania stocked almost 30,000 brown trout in the Lake Erie basin. The majority of these fish (75%) were stocked for the opening day of trout season, and are managed according to standard put-and-take trout management strategies (9" minimum size limit). Similar to NYSDEC brown trout stocking objectives, about 7,300 brown trout were stocked by PFBC NGOs directly into Lake Erie to provide offshore boat anglers and seasonal tributary anglers an opportunity to catch trophy lake run brown trout. Also in 2006, an Ontario NGO group stocked 175 brown trout into Young’s Creek. Rainbow Trout Nearly all (95%) of the reported harvest was concentrated in Central Basin waters of Ohio (69%) and PA (26%). The remainder of open lake harvest (6 %) occurred in the eastern basin waters of NY. Michigan reported no summer steelhead harvest in 2006. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources was unable to provide sport harvest estimates for rainbow trout in 2006. The Lake Erie tributaries provide the core of the steelhead fishery. Recent trends in the Lake Erie tributary fishery show increased effort in the last decade, with anglers demonstrating a high catch-and release ethic. Recent creel surveys on Lake Erie streams estimated release rates of 93% on NY tributaries, and 78% on PA tributaries. The steelhead fishery remains an exceptional fishery with high catch rates and increasing popularity. Salmon Stocking Summary Steelhead remain the most numerous salmonid species stocked with 270,000 yearlings stocked in 9 tributaries plus Dunkirk Harbor and Buffalo River. All of the Lake Erie tributaries received their stocking goal or more. Surplus steelhead were stocked in Cattaraugus Creek (33,000 surplus yearlings), 18 Mile Creek (2,000), and Buffalo Creek (5,000). Surplus Skamania strain (15,000), were again available and stocked for the second consecutive year in Cattaraugus Creek. A small number of domestic rainbows (5,000) were stocked in 18 Mile Creek for the second straight year to supplement the steelhead runs in this popular tributary. Lastly, a total of 37,540 yearling brown trout were split between Barcelona Harbor, Dunkirk Harbor, Cattaraugus Creek, and Point Breeze Marina. Stocking numbers were still 7,460 fish shy of the stocking goal (45,000 yearlings) due to shortages within the New York hatchery system. Overall 2006 open water sport fishing effort in New York waters of Lake Erie was estimated as 277,779 angler-hours. Peak fishing activity occurred during June and the most frequently used site was the Cattaraugus Creek Harbor. The 2006 fishing effort estimate was the lowest annual total of the 19-year time series (Fig 2). During the 2006 fishing season, walleye angling was the largest component of the boat fishery with 49 % of the overall angling effort (Fig 2). Smallmouth bass angling ranked second in boat fishing effort with 26% of the total. Among the remaining effort, anglers fishing for yellow perch ranked 3rd with 17 % of the overall effort, and anglers fishing for “anything” accounted for 6 %. ----- Member’s Statement It’s not often I go to rallies with OPSEU members, but I joined them this weekend in Owen Sound because it was for a very good cause. It was a fundraiser for Conservation Officers’ gas money. As you know, Mr. Speaker, our COs, whose role is to protect our resources, have no money to put gas in their trucks, ATVs and boats, because this government prefers them working behind a desk.
Instead of patrolling our land, water and wildlife, the COs are being forced to shuffle paper.
There are only 110 MNR trucks in service today. There used to be 257 (in 1992).
Law and regulation enforcement targets have been cut by 40 per cent.
For fifteen years, governments of all stripes have been trimming the MNR. Comparing to last year, in 2006 alone: We know that the cuts in staffing and operating budgets have resulted in MNR’s declining enforcement statistics. NOTICE OF TEMPORARY RANGE CLOSURES Members of the Sydenham Sportsmen’s Association are advised that the following ranges will be closed for club member use on the below noted dates from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm only. The ranges have been booked by outside organizations for their exclusive use on these dates only. HANDGUN (20 yard) RANGE closed 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Thursday June 7, 2007 HIGH POWER (100 yard) RANGE closed 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Wednesday May 30, 2007, Wednesday June 6, 2007 Thank you for your cooperation, SSA Board of Directors Activities and Tours: (“Build a Bird House”, Tours of Caverns, Aboretum.) Time: 11:00 am, Rain or Shine. Fish Fry Dinner: June 9th, 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. $12.50 Adults and $8:00 children under 12. ------ Disclaimer: Thanks to those submitting material for this newsletter. Note: This is the last Newsletter until the September issue! |
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© 2001, Sydenham Sportsmen's Association |