After years of being duped by the wary and popularly undesirable carp that are thriving in the Toronto harbor, the Kokemachine finally finds a method that works. Join the him and his giant Estonian associate as they figure out how to catch the dark brown monsters of the Toronto water ways. One question remains is it “Hard Carpin’ or “Carpin’ Hard”? Release date: Unknown.
TAGGED: Toronto
Awesome Pike Chest Tattoo
This fresh piece was done by the always beautiful Lizzie Renaud of Speakeasy Tattoo. I think its safe to say this guy loves pike as much as we do, maybe more!
By Lizzie @ Speakeasy Tattoo, Toronto, Ontario – 647-378-2481
Check out more of her great work on Instagram!
Toronto City Council Gone Fishin’!
Toronto City Council finally sets the hook on Paula Fletcher’s “Gone Fishin’” motion which called on city staff to stop the crackdown on shoreline fishing along Toronto’s waterfront, including the permanent removal of the no fishing signs that sprang up. Paula also brought up the subject of a fishing pier accessible by public transit on the central waterfront and the pier request was tacked on to the motion and passed in a vote 35 to 1!
Many people have commented about the cost of such a pier, and in a city where many already feel the burden of taxes I’m not all that surprised. However instead of attacking Councillor Fletcher about this, we should be questioning to the people who spent our tax dollars putting up the no fishing signs, and then spent our tax dollars again days later removing them, rather than the people who are actively pushing for progress on the issue.
David Clark, the same man who was illegally detained and sparked this entire story has decided to fight back in his own way. He’s founded the Toronto Urban Fishing Ambassadors an organization that is dedicated to educating people of all ages about the fantastic fishing opportunities in Toronto and work to protect urban anglers continued access to Toronto’s parks, shorelines, waterways and wetlands. Check out their website and mission statement.
Fishing is Back on the Harbourfront
I know this is a few weeks old now, but it’s still very important to follow-up on this issue and so I’m compelled to post. I also feel bad for not making time to complete this while I was on vacation. If you’ve read about the recent ban on fishing along the Harbourfront here in Toronto then you’ll be happy to know that the city folded and the signs have been removed! Some friends and active members of our forums all met up near to Toronto Island ferry docks to fish and celebrate the lifting of the ban. The Toronto Sun was even on hand when Luka Opacic landed this nice 17 pound carp!
We had really hoped to make this a multi-species event, but the pike never showed and though we did see some other species, none hooked up. Even with only one fish landed the trip was a true success and celebration of the wonderful fishing opportunities to be had in our great city. Lots of people stopped to ask us what we were fishing for, what kind of bait we were using, and of course if we were planning on eating our catch. The fish along the Harbourfront are safe to eat according to the Ministry of Natural Resources, but we’re all avid catch-and-release fishermen.
The TRCA event at the Gladstone Hotel held the night before was fantastic. The crowd was pumped because of the recent ban and you could tell many anglers were very upset, but I didn’t see any torches or pitchforks. Instead the conversation was focused and intelligent. Councillor Paula Fletcher was on hand and promised (to the best of her abilities) that she would get the signs removed- and later that night she did!
Some of the statistics thrown around at the event were absolutely mind-boggling when you begin to understand just how enormous the recreational fishing industry is. For example, more people in Canada fish than play golf and hockey combined! Or that anglers spend as much as the national beer sales! The biggest surprise for me was when professional angler David Chong mentioned Fishing Fury and our coverage of the event, and more specifically the outraged thread that was created on our forums that even caught the eyes of City Hall, the MNR, the TPA, and HarbourFront Centre.
I would like to thank Councillor Paula Fletcher, Councillor Adam Vaughan, the TRCA, David Chong, Wil Wegman, Chris Robinson, Satyendra Bhavsar, the Gladstone Hotel, the Toronto Sun, David Clark, David Kearney, and all the members of our forums that helped by writing and calling.
I’d say that we can all raise a pint to a mission accomplished, but I wouldn’t call this over just yet.
Re: World Record Pike