Sunday 15 May 2011

Sunday May 15, 2011 May Long Fishing

The May long weekend, better known as “May Long”, is coming fast and marks the beginning of walleye season. I’ve been excited for spring all winter. Here are some items that I’ve found at the Thunder Bay Public Library that will undoubtedly awaken my inner outdoorsman.

The first is by Dan Burgoyne, a small but strong book titled Walleye and Northern Pike. Burgoyne provides an overview of differences in lure types to use whether in clear or in stained water and contrasts the use of flashiness versus vibrational qualities within such conditions. He even shows how to make and improvise your own spinners. The book also includes helpful pictures and diagrams.

Two more books to help you prepare for May Long and the rest of summer, especially if you like to fish for walleye, are Walleye Patterns and Presentations, and Catch More Walleyes. Patterns and Presentations has excellent diagrams regarding depth to fish at, how to work a reef by drifting, and how to select good walleye waters using analysis of the structure of the underwater landscape.

Catch More Walleyes has information on boat control and maintenance. The first chapter says that walleyes are predators, which means they’re always on the move. The chapter on weather, too, is interesting. Romanack gives a lot of ideas for fishing under different winds and temperatures.

Soon to be available here on DVD is season one of River Monsters hosted by Jeremy Wade, biologist and extreme angler. He travels the world looking for enormous, and possibly man-killing, fresh water fish. The fish he’s looking for can sometimes weigh well over 100 lbs. Place a hold now to be the first to get it and see what this guy actually does for a living! Remember you’ll need your library card barcode number and PIN.

For all the little ones who enjoy fishing too, the Library has fully-rigged fishing rods and reels along with basic tackle that can be borrowed from the library for up to three weeks.

As you venture out into the wild on your fishing excursion, it is important to be safe. You might need to hone your survival skills with John Wiseman’s the SAS Survival Handbook. Wiseman served in the British Special Air Service for 26 years, part of which he spent as a survival instructor. Here, he distills that knowledge in an illustrated guide for the general reader. He offers chapters discussing survival strategies in automobile and air accidents, coping with different climates and terrain, hunting and collecting food, camp craft, direction finding and weather signs, traveling on land and water, health and first aid, survival at sea, seeking rescue, and natural and terrorist disasters.

Don’t forget to check out books on water and boat safety too. You can find an up-to-date copy of the Safe Boating Guide published by the Government of Canada at one of your library branches. This guide covers everything you need to know about properly operating watercraft.

So depending on how rugged you want to get with your fishing, the library can customize your interests from local to international, mainstream to extreme. All summer long.

Chris Waite, Public Services Assistant

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