The TSS is introducing a “5 after 5” promotion where attendees pay only $5 for show entry after 5 p.m. For our frequent Red Rocket travelers, TTC Metropass holders will receive $5 off family admission to the show any time of day. Driving instead? Free shuttle service is being offered from Harbourfront parking areas.

March 17 to 21, 2010

“Since 1948 more than 5 million people have visited the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show and we look forward to hosting millions more at our new home at the MTCC,” said Show Manager Heather MacRae. “This year is poised to be the biggest and best on record.”

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show continues to be a rite of passage into the spring season for anyone interested in the great outdoors. More than 400 exhibitors are slotted for the 2010 show offering an exciting lineup of the latest gear for camping, fishing, hiking, hunting, canoeing, travel and boating.

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show runs from March 17 – 21, 2010 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. For complete show information visit: http://www.torontosportshow.ca
What: The 2010 Toronto Sportsmen’s Show

When: Wednesday, March 17, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 18, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Friday, March 19, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 20, 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 21, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Where: Metro Toronto Convention Centre
255 Front Street West, Toronto

Details: Adults: $17
Juniors: $11
Seniors: $11
Children: Free when accompanied by an adult (under six years)
Family Pass: $40 (two adults & two juniors)

For more information:
Heather MacRae, Show Manager
Tel: 905.361.5242
E-mail: macrae@sportshows.ca

For media registration and to receive show updates please contact:
Olga Petrycki
PUNCH Canada Inc.
T: 416.360.6522 x.226
E: olga@punchcanada.com

About CNSS
As a non-profit corporation, Canadian National Sportsmen’s Shows is committed to conserving Canada’s outdoors and instilling Canadian youth with an appreciation for nature and outdoor activity. CNSS uses the proceeds from these shows to support and promote outdoor campaigns and programs in Canada. Since the first show in 1948, more than $31 million has been donated.

Frequently, on Twitter, I come across tweets of jaw-dropping wildlife photos that are posted by followers on my @muskokaoutdoors Twitter account. I tweeted a general inquiry out on my account for wildlife photographers to provide me with some links to their photos that I could promote on my blog. My request did not go unnoticed as four talented individuals took me up on my offer.

Steve Creek (@screek) allowed me access to his photo site Steve Creek Outdoors to pick out these photos to share with you.

The next set of photos comes from a fellow Canadian (@Wyld_Art_Photos) promoting a huge set of photos on their website called, Wyld Art Photography.

Tony Bibbs is a great blogger and photographer. Not only is he a great twitter follow (@tonybibbs) but he has some great photos on his flickr stream and some fantastic blogs posts on his blog.

This final set of photos comes from Stacey Huston (@shustonphotos). She has recently updated her website, A Focus In The Wild.

The ‘Art of the Silent Shot’ may not be as difficult as it may seem. At least, that’s what Stacey Huston tells me. Here are some of her tips for improving your odds for that perfect shot.

Shooting wildlife with my camera gives me a way to practice my stalking abilities all year, I love seeing how close I can get while taking photos, without invading that magic space known as the animals comfort zone. I love watching and learning animal behavior, and being out in the field studying the animals that I photograph. Photography is very rewarding. I have learned how to pattern animals using the weather and the phases of the moon, By using the same techniques that I would use to hunt an animal with a long bow. I have been able to capture some great photos.

• Photography Tip 1 – Just like hunting, you have to “get out there”. Every once in a while, someone will get lucky and “shoot” that record animal right next to the road. Most of the time, you have to put your time in, whether you are hunting or photographing wildlife. That is the great thing about wild animals. Just when you think you have it all figured out – they will surprise and humble you.
• Photography Tip 2 – Just like hunting, early morning and late evening are your best chances of viewing game. They are also the best ‘golden” light for taking good photos.
• Photography Tip 3 – enjoy what you are doing. I love hunting. I love the outdoors. I love wildlife photography, and I just love nature and all she has to offer. When I set out to take photos, I may have a general idea where I am headed and what animals reside in what area, but I never know what I am going to encounter along the way. I always try to be grateful for, and take the time to notice those little moments that nature decides to share with me. Whether out taking photos or hunting… always remember to enjoy the “journey”. The harvest at the end of a hunt, or that great photo you can’t wait to share, are just that… a small part of the whole experience.

I would like to thank all the photographers who took the time to respond to my tweet and for sharing with us “The Art of the Silent Shots. Please take a moment and visit their websites and photo-blogs. You won’t regret it.

*All photos were used with the photographer’s permission.

Download the 2009 Fish Stocking List by clicking here. (PDF format – 2.5 mb)

Areas Included In This Fish Stocking List

What is encouraging to me is that many of the fishing haunts I have visited have been stocked within the the last 2 years. For example,

• Vernon lake was stocked with 5400 lake trout in 2008.
• Mary lake had 2200 lake trout added in 2009
• Elusive brown trout were added to the North Muskoka River (2000) and Beaver Creek (1500)  – both near Bracebridge

The MNR has asked that if you catch a “clipped” trout (lake trout and brook trout are tracked this way) that you record where you caught the marked fish and report which fin was clipped. This information can be shared with the biologists at the Bracebridge office:

Stephen Scholten
Fisheries Biologist
Bracebridge
(705) 646-5523
steve.scholten@ontario.ca

We call the spot our own and like sly foxes our eyes make a quick sweep of the area to ensure the secrecy of our newly added GPS

The view below at one of my secret spots

way-point. If your are like me, this hunting or fishing ’sweet spot’ becomes one of our most closely guarded secrets. It remains unknown to all but a few close friends.

Herein, lies the potential problem with good fishing and the dilemma that it causes in my mind.

It is so easy to get wrapped up in keeping our secrets with ‘the few’ – that we forget the benefit of sharing the experience with ‘the many’.

I am guilty of this. Big Time!

An angler approached me, before a local fishing  tournament, and asked me to mark some great fishing spots on Vernon Lake. At first, I marked all my favorite spots except for one. I struggled for several seconds before I could get my hand to mark the last and most secret of my spots.

Why?

I think it was because it is nice to have that spot on a lake where you can go and expect to catch some fish – without having to worry about another angler being there before you were. With my new found love of fly fishing, I can really appreciate the importance of solitude in your favorite fishing spot. After all – it is part of the experience of fishing.

I guess what I am wrestling with is how can we as ‘anglers and/or hunters’ expect to propagate the excitement we enjoy (and cherish) in our conservation activities if we become tight-lipped about where all the ‘good’ spots are?

Am I alone? Possibly. Ask yourself this: Could you easily hand over a GPS coordinate list of your top 5 fishing spots on your favorite lake? If your answer is yes – stop reading.

Imagine if the NHL, NBA, or NFL expected to share the excitement of their sports by keeping the venues for these high impact sports for just a select few of the population who happen to know where the next event was taking place? Does it seem realistic to expect future anglers to get ‘cranked’ about fishing when their first experiences are spent ‘fish-less’ in the great wide open of a new body of water?

Some of you are now saying, “What about the enjoyment of the experience of, the newcomer, learning to find their own fishing spots and techniques?”.  I can’t disagree with you. I am just wondering if that is making fishing one dimensional? Could we also add to the teaching process of the outdoors a clause that encourages us to share that extremely productive bend in the river with someone else – without the need to be tight lipped? This would, in turn, encourage a more complete 2-dimensional fishing  experience because it has been shared and enjoyed by others who caught just as many fish as you did.

This is not sour grapes. As the keeper of my own secret spots and a fantastic technique for catching lake trout in Algonquin Park, I am still thinking this through. I’d appreciate your thoughts.

Is it time to end the secrecy and let others enjoy the fishing in your spot?

12lb walleye from Bay of Quinte - Caught by Kyle Billingsley

My cousin Kyle has been hard water angling this winter.  I recently became aware that he hooked into a huge of Bay of Quinte pickerel. I don’t have many details yet, but his wife tells me he was jigging for the behemoth that weighed in at 12 lbs! Great job Kyle! Thanks for the photo Di.

Muskoka Outdoors visitors – I would love to post pictures of the fish you have been catching through the ice this year. Email them to me using the Contact  link below.