WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 1988, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN GONE FISHIN' Let me à pologize at the beginning to all those who were born to, fish - I'm afraid I'm not one of them. Not that I wasn't properly indoctrinated as a child - I was out in the rowboat with my dad and brothers with rod, hooks and a can of slimy wriggly worms before the age of five. To my dad fishing was one of several survival skills that every child should'learn. The trouble* was that no one could have survived on what we caught. There were supposed to be good fish in Wood Lake but somehôw they never seemed to take the bait. Perch and sunfish were the only fish caught with any regularity and for lack of anything better we had to clean and eat them (just in case we were ever caught in a fish or perish situation) If you've ever picked through the bones of a sunfish you know what survival rations are like. The lake had a few smallmouth bass (small size too!) and it was these that kept the dedicated fisherman at it month after month, year after year. Oh, there were lots of stories (fish stories I believe they're called)abouL the wily giants that lurked in the depths. There was talk of hemurkyi shadows seen unider the boat and the ones that got away and every few years someone would actually catch -something of decent (edible) proportions. These small successes were all that was needed to rekindle the passions and.fan the hopes for something bigger tomorrow. Avid fishermen, I have found, no matter where they are, have an unswerving faith in the fact that there really are fish down there and just as many theoies as to why they don't catch them. Every fisherman has his favourite spots, his favourite time of day (usually dawn or earlier), his favorite type of day, his favorite technique (trolling, bait casting, flies etc.) and of course, his favorite arsenal - with suggestive names like predator, eagle claw, culprit or eliminator. An entire industry is ready, willing and able to supply baubles in every size, shape, and color, all guaranteed to catch fish. By now, you have sensed my cynicism about fishing. Survival training just never quite imparted the sense of excitement that fishing is supposed to have. Lest you conclude that Im some kind of lily-white academic nerd who shuns the outdoors, I should point out that I have travelled extensively into the wilds of Canada - Ive spent months hiking its high country and its woodland valleys; I've climbed its mountains and canoed its virgin lakes; I have photographed grizzlies, elk, deer, moose and a host of smaller game and birds from the mountains of Alaska to the outports of Newfoundland. In all these travels, I've usually carried some fishing gear and from time to time have tried my luck in so-callsd "fishing country" where the fish are "so plentiful they jump right into your boat." Well, they don't - unless you know where they-are. And that's a well-kept secret by the local guides who, for a fee, will show you. Sport fishing in the north has .always been big business but in suthern Ontario it was virtually dead up until about ten years ago. For years, fishing of any kind in the Great Lakes and surrounding rivers had been destroyed by the sea lamprey, but now, through the .unwavering determination of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the lamprey is no longer a significant threat. Resistant strains of salmon and trout have been introduced into Lake Ontario and have prospered and multiplied. Gone are the days when you had to travel 500 miles to catch a ten pound fish. My introduction to lake fishing came a week and a half ago at the Port Whitby shoot-out salmon derby sponsored in part by this newspaper, Gagnon Sports in Oshawa and CHOO radio. The sight of fifty boats heading off in pea-soup fog and intermittent rain and drizzle at 7 am on a Sunday morning was ample evidence of the dedication of these fisherman. Of course a $5,000 prize might 'have had something to do with it. What.lake fishing offers today is the chance to catch with relative ease the fish that a decade ago were beyond the wildest dreams of most sport fishermen. In about four hours on the water we caught three rainbow trout all in the 8 - 12 lbs. range and a chinook salmon in the 25 - 30 lbs. range. This was not the survival ritual I was used to. Fishing has changeL Lake Ontario is a big place but modern electronic wizardry takes you where the fish are. Boats are equipped with the ultimate in sophisticated instrumentation - naviga- tional equipment to find the very spot where you caught last week's whopper and computerized sonar to actually find the fish. Not just find them but tell you how big they are and how deep they are too. Downriggers let you te troll yourlinés at that precise depth. The poor fish don't bave a chance. Its like dangling a lollipop in front of a baby or painting a bullseye on the moose before you shoot it . it's too easy. Sport bas been replaced by technology. Or bas it simply taken the work out of it so that fishermen can get on with wbat they really want te do - lie back in the sun in the peace of tbe open water and forget the bustle and cares of the weekday, 9 to 5 world? Relax and Enjoy! -ALi. WHITBY BOWLING AND TENNIS CLUB, AUGUST 1932. The lawn bowling and tennis club was established on Brock Street opposite Centennial Park in 1927 and the first tournament was held in 1928. The club house in this picture was built in 1931, and demolished in 1973. Mrs. George Fothergill is standing by the net. Whitby Archives photo 10 YEARS AGO from the Wednesday, July 26, 1978 edition of the WHITBY FREE PRESS • The 1978 County Town Carnival salutes the 50th anniversary of the Whitby Chamber of Commerce. • Kathy McGreevy, 16, is County Town Carnival Queen; Princesses are Diana Johansen and Lisa Niles. • Town council has declared Brooklin growth premature until all financial matters are settled. • Jim Crouch, 16, son of Whitby's fire chief, and Lori Logan of Pickering placed first in a roller skating dance competition in Oshawa. 25 YEARS AGO. from the Thursday, July 25, 1963 edition of the WHITBY WEEKLY NEWS • Hardy Boys author Leslie McFarlane has been appointed to the Public School Board of the Town of Whitby. • A coroner's jury. hqs ruled suicide as the cause of death of a 28-year-old inmate of the County Jail on July 11., * Tenders are being issued for construction of a new county administration building on Rossland Road. • The first official annexation meeting between Whitby Town and Township was held on July 23. 100 YEARS AGO from the Friday July 27, 1888 edition of the WHITÈY CHRONICLE • The sheds at the fair grounds in the Town park are being removed to the new fair site on Garden Street. • The Board of Education intends to purchase land for a gymnasium at the Collegiate Institute. • The Women's Foreign Missionary Society of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church is planning a lawn party at the Ontario Ladies' College. • The Brooklin Baptist Church has been painted and varnished and the stove pipes were removed. FW-W pffl