Upcoming and Recent Events

  • Fish-killing virus (VHS) has invaded Lake Superior. Viral Haemorrhagic Septicemia has been found in fish from Duluth harbour. For the full story click here
  • Japan appears to be on the right track when it comes to protecting watersheds. Click here to read an interesting article which appeared in the Wild Salmon Centre Newsletter.
  • Is this not an ugly fish!! Apparently several of these "Fantail Rainbow Trout" are being caught in Lake Ontario. It is thought they are coming from the Oswego River in New York State.
  • The Thunder Bay District Stewardship Council has issued it's first newsletter. Click here to view the contents. Mr. George Clark sits on this committee and will represent the views of the angling public.
  • Ontario now has a new Minister of Natural Resources. Donna Cansfield has been replaced by Brampton's Linda Jeffrey.

           

  • Have you heard about the "flying" carp threat to the Great Lakes? Click here to learn more about the issue.
  • The Species at Risk Public Registry is seeking your consultation on Amending the List of Species under the Species at Risk Act: Terrestrial Species, December 2009. As part of its strategy for protecting wildlife species at risk, the Government of Canada proclaimed the Species at Risk Act (SARA) on June 5, 2003.
  • The Northwest Science and Information branch of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources will be running the Squeers Lake Winter Fishery again this year. The dates will be Sat. March 20 to Sun. March 28, 2010.  The Rules and regulations will be the same as 2009…..five names per applications, substitutions will be allowed as long as one of the original applicants arrives and the lake trout limit will be five per angler.Applications forms can be downloaded by clicking here or will be available at all the usual outlets (Click here for locations) from Fri. Jan 8, to Fri. Feb 19, 2010 Questions call Jon George (MNR) @ 939-3113 or jon.george@ontario.ca
  • The NSSA is on facebook. If you are a user of Facebook you can find us by doing a search for North Shore Steelhead. Terry Kosolowski is the administrator of the site
  • The LRCA is in the planning process to stabilize the bank of the McIntyre River just below Central Avenue. If funding is found this work will likely be done in the summer of 2010. The work will involve the placement of amour rock to the hilside similar to what has been done in other sections of the river. The NSSA has recently proposed a more "green" approach to this project and has suggested the incorporation of techniques applied in other stream stablization projects in southern Ontario wherein tree stumps and willow stakes are used to provide improved fish habitat.                                                                                                      

 

 

  • Fisheries Management Zone 9

    (Lake Superior) continues to deal with the questions surrounding the proposal to remove the dam on the Black Sturgeon river. For more information please open the following pdf file "Black Sturgeon River FMZ 9 Role & Expectations" by Steve Bobrowicz

  • The NSSA is represented on the Public Advisory Committee for the Thunder Bay Remedial Action Plan. Stay in touch with by visiting the RAP website
  • City council has agreed to provide asphalt for the Current River park project. Many thanks to councillor Andrew Foulds for his assistance and to Mayor Lynn Peterson for her support. Additional thanks to Mr. Paul Fayrick the manager of Parks and Recreation for his ongoing efforts.
  • New scientific papers                                                  1st "Carry-over effect of captive breeding reduces reproductive fitness of wild-born descendants in the wild". Click here to read the paper                    2nd "Management Perspectives on Coaster Brook Trout Rehabilitation in the Lake Superior Basin" by
    DONALD R. SCHREINER. Click here to read this paper 3rd "Thermal diversity of fish in southern Ontario watersheds & climate change" by Nicholas Jones This paper pertains to the Lake Superior watershed as well as S. Ontario. Click here to access.

  • The Lake Superior Binational Program initiated a basin-wide awards program to honor the outstanding achievements of individuals and groups that are protecting or restoring the natural environment of the Lake Superior basin. The award pays tribute to these individuals and organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship through leadership in five categories. By sponsoring the awards, the Lake Superior Binational Program hopes to encourage residents in the basin to implement similar successful actions to improve water quality and natural environments.                     The NSSA received the award in the category of  Community Group recognizing the NSSA's many years of commitment to conservation efforts, community involvement, and our ongoing Current River Park project.

  • For those members or visitors who want to learn more about the Little Jackfish River Hydroelectric Project, please click here to read the Ontario Power Generation Newsletter. The first open house sessions regarding this project have been scheduled. Click here for more information.
  • Update. The Current River Park Project..The work on the Current River Park project has been completed for this year. Menei Brothers contracting spent 6 days in November laying down gravel, compacting, and grading the trail in preparation for paving this coming spring. The area was seeded by George Clark and Barry Tabor with a mix of grass and clover seed. Wildflower seed will be planted in the spring For the complete story, and pictures see Current River Park Project under Projects on the main menu. Many thanks to the members and community volunteers who donated their time.
  • Good News.   Steve Bobrowicz from the Upper Great Lakes Management Unit (MNR) has reported that the crews from the MNR were able to do YOY studies on the McIntyre, plus one or two each on the Current and Ferguson Cr. Results should be available in the next month or two.
  • Scott Vaillant, the OFAH Invasive Species Community Outreach Liaison Student offers this warning.   Attention Anglers! This small creature has been attacking many lakes all across Ontario. The spiny water flea are being transferred by humans through bilge water, bait buckets, livewells and coat fishing lines when boating or fishing in infested waters. It is important to clean equipment before travelling to new water bodies! Visit this website to learn more about other invasives.  www.invadingspecies.com
  • The NSSA has made a financial donation in support of this event              
    Ten Soldiers - Five US and Five Canadian arrive at  Miminiska Lodge on the Albany River on Saturday, July 11th .

    The event is called "Healing On The Albany" and opens the door to the boreal forest of Northwestern Ontario to these  soldiers recovering from battlefield injuries.

     The Canadians, are coming from British Columbia, Manitoba,and Saskatchewan.

    For more information, and to hear first hand stories from the veterans, please click here            

  • The Angler and Young Angler Tournament was held on Saturday July 4, 2009 in Thunder Bay.                                                                                        For more information on the winning teams click here                 

  • The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters has agreed to partner with the NSSA to support the Current River park project. OFAH will contribute $2000.00 each year for the next 3 years. Special thanks to Glenn and Debbie Rivard.  
  • Reports of Rainbow Trout being caught in the upper Current River near Centennial Park have been confirmed. Two members of the NSSA were fortunate enough to tangle with two fish while out Brook Trout fishing.
  • moved or changed your email address? Click here  to ensure that you continue to receive your notices.
  • Photo Gallery Needs updating!                            Got a great picture that that you would like to share? Email us your photo (.jpg file preferred) and it will be added to the Gallery. Click here.

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Message Board:

The NSSA would like to invite you to visit our "members only" forum hosted by www.thunderbayfishing.com. Current NSSA members can contact the forum administrator for the password by clicking here.

 

 

Next Meeting Date:

The next Meeting of the NSSA will be held on

February 18th., 2010 at the Port Arthur Ukrainian Prosvita hall starting at 7 p.m.

For a list of all the scheduled meeting dates please click on "Member Updates"

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2010 Dinner and Auction Fundraiser

The Dinner and Auction will be held on Friday March 26th, 2010 at the DaVinci Hall. Tickets will be available at the next General Meeting. Contact the webmaster to make a donation or to book a table of eight.  

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Ontario's Family Fishing Weekend is February 13-15, 2010

Your next chance to "CATCH THE FUN" is in February. Click on the banner above for more information.

Canadian residents will again be able to sample Ontario's fishing opportunities, licence-free, during February 13-15, 2010 and July 3-11, 2010.

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Recognize this?

This photo is of the Thunder Bay Silver Mining Company's stamp mill at the mouth of the Current River. Work continued from 1866-68 and also for a short time in 1874.

If anyone else has a photo that they think may be of interest to the readers please do not hesitate to forward them to the webmaster

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 37 years!   Did you know that this year marks the 37th year that the NSSA has been serving our community and district! See "About Us" for more information.

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Heading out to the Jackpine or Cypress or Nipigon???

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Caught a tagged fish? 

Report a Tag

   

Please report it to the MNR click here.

 

Include the following information in your email;

Location caught. 

Was it kept or released

Date the fish was caught

Tag number and color.

Condition of the fish

Size of the fish (Length and girth)

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Dinner and Auction information:

The Dinner and Auction was held on Friday March 27th 2009 at the DaVinci Hall. 

For a list of the winners of the Lottery Licenced items visit Fundraising on the Main Menu.

Thank you to both the Canadian Tire Corporation and Wilderness North for their donations to this year's Dinner and Auction.

Many thanks to Alan Cheeseman and Wilderness North, Northwestern Ontario's largest fly-in operator, for their donation of a

fly-in trip

... more details

Special thanks to Bruce Stone, Arthur St. location and Bob Neering,Thunder Bay Centre location, owners of the local Canadian Tire stores and Canadian Tire Corporation who together have donated a full size camouflaged 4 x 4 ATV to the NSSA in support of our fundraising efforts.

.....more details

 

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Scientific Information:  

Jon George has submitted the updated Steelhead Year Class Strength chart (based on the Portage Creek study). See how the runs are stacking up

Interesting read "Effects of Commercially Available Egg Cures on the Survival of Juvenile Salominds" by Shaun Clements, Rob Chitwood, and Carl B Scherck.

                                                                                                            

Is there a resident Rainbow Trout population in the Current River above the Boulevard Lake dam? This recently released scientific paper describes how that could occur. Click here for more information.

Check out the concerns being  expressed  by the Wild Steehead Coalition  regarding the state of the Rainbow Trout fishery on  the west coast !

Benthic Report on North Shore Streams

The study which includes samples from North Shore streams and two local streams is being done through the Study Our Streams program. Click here to view the 2008 report

 

Co-operative Anglers Program

2008 results are now available. See the Co-operative Angler Project page.

Trout Lake Learning Centre

2008 McIntyre River / Rainbow Trout Study

by Blair Wasylenko funded by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund

Portage Creek Project update for 2008 by Jon George

Genetic characteristics of Rainbow Trout

Genetic Analysis of North Shore Steelhead by Peter Addison. Available in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat Reader required.

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Politically speaking:

Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario is the province’s independent environmental watchdog. Read his comments regarding the sad state of the Environmental Assessment (EA) process. Environmental Assessment: A Vision Lost,

and Getting to NO: Why is it important?

Healthy Great Lakes, Strong Ontario. a new EBR has been posted on the Environmental Registry (EBR Number 010-6105). Public comment is invited through the Registry until May 16, 2009

The proposed Green Energy Act is of concern to the NSSA in that there exits the likelyhood that energy developments will supercede sound environmental concerns. The Ministry is seeking public input. Please submit your comments to the EBR within 30 days.       Click here now!    Refer to the wording used on page 2, especially item #10, of the Executive summary document for the reason for our concern!! 

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Helpful Sites:

      

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Ontario Fishing Regulations

 

 

 

2009-2010 Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish now available