Fishing Fury » Halifax

Nova Scotia International Tuna Tournament 2010

Clive Mathias — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 23:57:04 +0000

The Nova Scotia International Tuna Tournament, Canada’s biggest tuna fishing tournament, has come to an end. I wasn’t able to make it to the weigh-in again this year as I had planned, but a friend of a friend was able to snap a photo of one of the big tuna as it was being hoisted up to the dock near downtown Halifax. No word yet if this was the winner or not, but it looks as though its well over 400 pounds, which would would have put it in the top three caught during last years tournament. Last years winner was a massive 531 pounds, but there are occasionally tuna caught over 1000 pounds in these waters. Nova Scotia is said to contain the largest concentration of giant bluefin in the world, including the world record bluefin that weighed almost 1500 pounds!

Photo by Brandon Joy

I’ll post the details about the winning fish as soon as I get them!

The Calm Before The Storm

Clive Mathias — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 00:37:49 +0000

I live in Nova Scotia, Canada – in a tidy little city called Halifax. Its pretty far north. Usually we are well out of range of hurricanes, but every now and then one decides to pay us a visit. In September 2003, well before I moved here, hurricane Juan made landfall on an rather unsuspecting Halifax with winds reaching 105 mph (165 km/h). It was the biggest storm Atlantic Canada had seen in over 100 years, causing several fatalities and millions in damage. The effects can still be seen in many provincial parks in the form of once proud fallen trees by the thousands.

Typically the waters off of Nova Scotia are very cold. So cold in fact, that its rare to see more then a handful of swimmers in the water at the beach on any given day. This week has been abnormally warm and I’ve witnessed more swimmers in the water here then ever before. While thats sounds finer and dandy, its also a recipe for disaster as far as hurricanes are concerned.

Its pretty calm and cool outside right now, but in about five hours we expect the hurricane to hit the southern coast of Nova Scotia. Most predictions anticipate that the storm will be downgraded from a hurricane by the time it reaches us, but only time will tell for sure.

Happy Belated Canada Day!

Clive Mathias — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 01:09:06 +0000

Canada turned 143 years old yesterday! To celebrate, I did what every good Canadian does, I drank beer, ate BBQ and watched fireworks!

Fireworks in Halifax, Nova Scotia

What did you do for Canada Day?

via DrgnMaster on Flickr

Triumph Boats – The Toughest Boats In The World

Clive Mathias — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 23:49:52 +0000

I was able to get out to the Halifax International Boat Show this weekend and really had a good time. I would have liked to see a fishing and boat show combination like most other cities have, but I guess the demand isn’t here yet. There were way more boats then I expected and my two year old son Ash absolutely loved every minute. He immediately hopped in the captains seat on every boat and started pressing buttons. I was surprised to see that most of the boats still had power (at all of the car shows I’ve been to, the batteries are disconnected) and Ash scarred more then a few people when he managed to find the horn of a big Striper 3301.

Overall there were only a handful of boats that really stood out to me, but my favorite boat was from the Triumph lineup (specifically the 1700 SKiff). Not only did their boats catch my attention, but they were moderately priced, tough as hell and my son loved them too! He laughed hysterically while watching their promo videos…

Check out more of their crazy tough test videos at ToughBoats.com

37% of Sewers Drain Into Lakes and Rivers Untreated

Clive Mathias — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:53:39 +0000

I live on the east coast of Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia, located right on the Atlantic ocean. It’s not a big city, but as recently as this summer it was dumping raw sewage into the harbor. Granted, there was a problem at the sewage plant, but the plant was only opened fairly recently. It’s alarming that in this day and age waste is being dumped into oceans, rives and lakes untreated. While the harbor here looks clean, I for one wouldnt want to swim in it, and I’m sure they fish that do aren’t terrible healthy.

As cities have grown rapidly across the nation, many have neglected infrastructure projects and paved over green spaces that once absorbed rainwater. That has contributed to sewage backups into more than 400,000 basements and spills into thousands of streets, according to data collected by state and federal officials.

On the bright side, at least I’m not this guy…

more via treehugger

Beware Of Bill

Clive Mathias — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 23:24:01 +0000

So the locals here in Halifax are in a bit of a frenzy about hurricane Bill. The current path of the storm has it landing directly on Nova Scotia sometime on Sunday with winds up to 120km. Nova Scotia was last hit by Juan in 2004 and there was massive damage. Being born, and having spent significant time in the Caribbean, I’m no stranger to hurricanes, but it never hurts to be prepared, so stock up on water at the very least. Chances are the hurricane will have lost a a lot of its power by the time it reaches me, but Bermuda is feeling the effects as we speak. Hopefully everyone down there is prepared.

via NOAA

Only In Canada

Clive Mathias — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 23:08:12 +0000

Every now and then I read a headline that could have only come from Canada. Two such headlines popped up within the last week.

Halifax bus driver suspended after beating toy seal with stick
This one doesn’t surprise me. I’ve lived in Halifax for almost two years now and the behavior of the local bus drivers is just unreal. They’ve been all over the news for causing accidents and all sorts of other shenanigans, but this one is by far the funniest. This particular driver drove past an anti-seal hunt protest, he stopped the bus, got out, and proceeded to beat a toy seal that was being used as a prop.

“He exited the bus and went over to the area where the protesters were, and began beating on the stuffed animal seal that was on the ground there,” said Staff Sgt. Don Fox of the Halifax Regional Police.

The driver used a stick to beat the stuffed toy.

Fox said police officers removed the driver from the protest area and contacted his supervisors. The driver then got back on his bus and continued with his workday, according to police.

Only in Canada could a man charge a group of people wielding a stick, beat on their toys, and then be allowed by police to go back to his job as if nothing had ever happened.

Man who survived Niagara Falls jump in suicide bid is recovering
Only a Canadian could survive such a fall. Just three people have ever survived a trip over the 180 foot high falls without some sort of protective gear such as a barrel. As if the fall wasn’t bad enough, the temperatures are frigid, and the current below the falls is intense. The jumper was found swimming below the falls without an clothes, apparently they were torn off by the force of the water. And after more then 40 minute in the water, trying to avoid rescue, the man was pulled from the ice water and rushed to hospital. I wish this was somehow fishing related, but sadly it’s not.

Witnesses said he climbed a fence, jumped into the icy Niagara River and was washed over Horseshoe Falls. Stunned tourists said the man went in with his clothes on but popped up naked – apparently the force of the water ripped off his clothes.

Winter Driving

Clive Mathias — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:26:39 +0000

I’ve lived in a lot of different places, but Halifax Nova Scotia has the worst drivers by far. I think it can be blamed on the fact that most of the people in the city grew up out in the country and simply don’t know how to drive in a city with more then 13 cars. In the winter things are particularly bad. Not only are there bad drivers, but the snow removal is pitiful. Of course, the only thing worse then the snow removal is the giant pot-holes all over every major road.

I could go on about the driving here, but instead I think these photos I took Friday morning sum things up pretty well.

How does that even happen?