Belated New Year's Wishes and Future Plans

So a man comes in the door, returning from his Cardio Rehab class. His wife smiles and says,"The kids are both out Honey. Let's run upstairs and make love."
The man just shrugs his shoulders and says,"It's got to be one or the other...take your pick."

Ha, that joke was a big hit at Cardio Rehab last year. It doesn't seem so funny now that I'm feeling better. People are amazingly resilient.
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Last year this time I was just emerging from heart surgery and was so feeble and weak that I couldn't really do anything. A five minute walk was a work-out! Now I do a 5 km walk most days. By this time next year, if all continues to go well, it should be as though this heart business had never happened.

I'm trying to think of a trip or project that I can embark upon to celebrate. In effect to re-stake my claim on life if that's not too dramatic.

Off and on I've thought about how close I can get to the Hudson Bay by car. I'm thinking about a drive and camp expedition up through Nova Scotia into New Brunswick and Quebec. I figure I can get at least to James Bay, the little dangley bit on the map just below Hudson Bay.

Using the Quebec route I would pass through some of the most spectacular wilderness and pristine fishing this country still has to offer. There is a river in Northern Quebec that claims so many world records for Speckled Trout that it is a legend in itself. That is just one of the literally hundreds of brooks and rivers I would pass along the way, each with its own story, each with its own legend.

The main equipment would be a tent, fly rod, gold pan and camera. The rest is just details. The plan is to drive until I see a spot I'd like to fish or explore, heading roughly North, leap-frogging from spot to undiscovered spot. The destination is not the point, it is about the journey.

The "to do" list would read something like: get some money together, find someone who would like to go with me, get the RAV4 tuned up and ready, start collecting maps and information.

I'm not sure that this trip is do'able this year. My fall back is either Cape Breton or the Gaspe in Quebec. The logistics are not very complex but finances are always a concern. Time is really the most limited resource when dreaming of an expedition.

Anyway, I'll mull it all over and come up with something to satisfy this urge to celebrate my second chance. Maybe I'll surprise myself.

Belated wishes for a great New Year to one and all.

Not really a Fishing Joke

Here is joke I got from a fellow at work. It is not really a fishing joke but kinda' funny:

Curtis & Leroy saw an ad in the Kentville Advertiser Newspaper in Kentville, N.S. and bought a mule for $100.

The farmer agreed to deliver the mule the next day.

The next morning the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, fellers, I have some bad news,
the mule died last night."

Curtis &Leroy replied, "Well, then just give us our money back."

The farmer said, "Can't do that. I went and spent it already."

They said, "OK then, just bring us the dead mule."

The farmer asked, "What in the world ya'll gonna do with a dead mule?"

Curtis said, "We gonna raffle him off."

The farmer said, "You can't raffle off a dead mule!"

Leroy said, "We shore can! Heck, we don't hafta tell nobody he's dead!"

A couple of weeks later, the farmer ran into Curtis & Leroy at the Co-Op grocery store and asked:

"What'd you fellers ever do with that dead mule?"

They said,"We raffled him off like we said we wuz gonna do."

Leroy said,"Shucks, we sold 500 tickets fer two dollars apiece and made a
profit of $898."

The farmer said,"My Lord, didn't anyone complain?"

Curtis said, "Well, the feller who won got upset; So we gave him his two dollars back.

Hats off to Brad McCaughan

Congratulations to my buddy Brad on the publication of his first (of many) book. Brad did the photography for Sydney Crosby's "My Day With the Cup". Sydney is the youngest captain in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup.

Brad is a great photographer who has recorded Sydney's career from his minor hockey days in Cole Harbour to his triumphant return with the cup. Great work Brad.

Sackville Rivers Association, Fisheries and Aquaculture Staff Stock 2,000 Speckled Trout

"Members of the Sackville Rivers Association helped Fisheries and Aquaculture staff stock 2,000 speckled trout in five locations of the Sackville River watershed on Thursday, Dec. 10.
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Volunteer Shaunna MacKinnon, right, and assistant co-ordinator Colin O'Neil, both of the Sackville Rivers Association, release speckled trout in the Sackville River.

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http://gov.ns.ca/news/Photos/2009/Dec/pc102136.jpg

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A close-up shot of volunteer Shaunna MacKinnon and assistant co-ordinator Colin O'Neil,of the Sackville Rivers Association, releasing speckled trout in the Sackville River."

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http://gov.ns.ca/news/Photos/2009/Dec/pc102124.jpg
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Trout Stocking Effort in Response to Little Sackville River Oil Spill

"- December 10 th 2009 - Trout Stocking Effort in Response to Little Sackville River Oil Spill

On December 10 th the Sackville Rivers Association will be assisting the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture McGowan Lake Fish Hatchery workers with a trout stocking effort, in response to the November 7th oil spill on the Little Sackville River.

On November 7th an estimated 200 - 300 litres of furnace oil leaked into the Little Sackville River as a result of a severed oil tank line at a nearby business. The oil has impacted fish habitat within the Little Sackville River.

Roughly 2000 Speckled trout fall parr will be released at four sites within the Little Sackville River and Main Sackville River, to compensate for damage to fish habitat within the watercourse.

The Sackville Rivers Association would like to thank MLAs Dave Wilson (Sackville-Cobequid) and Mat Whynott (Upper Sackville-Hammonds Plains) for initiating this stocking effort.

Anyone interested in attending this stocking event are asked to meet at the Sackville Heights Community Centre, 45 Connolly Road on Thursday December 10 th at 1 pm.

For further information regarding these stocking efforts please contact:

Stephen Caines

Coordinator

Sackville Rivers Association

office: 865-9238

cell: 476-1001

email: sackvillerivers@ns.sympatico.ca

Walter N. Regan

cell: 476-6276"