I just bought a wall tent off Facebook Marketplace and the seller threw in two wood frame folding camp cots.
They are the same design as what you’d get from Cabelas, only made of wood. If you find yourself camping in a wall tent in the winter these are exactly the kind of cots you need.
They are completely functional. Call/text me at 604-230-4225 or email rob@robchipman.net
During our club spring bear hunt the kids found this skull:
So, what is it? Given that it was a spring *bear* hunt the obvious guess was bear, except it’s kind of small.
Here are some pics of a bear skull from a mid-sized sow I got a few years ago:
There are a lot of obvious similarities. The sow was probably about a 5 1/2 bear.
Our speculation? The skull the kids found was that of a black bear cub. Cause of death? Who knows?
What do you think?
The plight of steelhead in BC is not well known to the general public. Some Fraser River system steelhead are in particularly bad straits.
What are termed “Fraser River late-run summer steelhead” is actually 10 different spawning stocks that utilize the Fraser watershed upstream of Hell’s Gate. A sub-group referred to as “Thompson and Chilcotin Steelhead” comprises 6 out of these 10 stocks. Although the label “Thompson and Chilcotin steelhead” has been hitting the news fairly regularly for the past few years, the problem is still not well enough understood.
If you do a quick Google search of the term and click on the “News” option you will see headlines like:
The bad news goes back years and years.
This year we got some good news. On October 19 Robert Bison, Fisheries Stock Assessment Biologist, Fish and Wildlife, BC Ministry of Forests, released some numbers:
Here’s the problem: steelhead have been down so long that *everything* looks like up. That “great news” that I’m referencing? As Rob Bison points out, those numbers qualify as “Extreme Conservation Concern”. The spawner abundance for the Thompson ranks 40th out of a 44 year monitoring timeframe. The Chilcotin is just as bad – it ranks 44th out of a 52 year monitoring time frame.
For those who like graphics to demonstrate what’s up, here are two:
You can find Rob Bison’s release here. If I understand his release properly these numbers are spawners that return in late 2022, but will spawn in 2023.
What does this mean? Simple. It means we have to pull all the levers to save these fish, that we have to pull them hard and we have to pull them now. Habitat destruction, pinniped predation and unsustainable bycatch needs to stop. BCWF has been championing this issue and you can get some good background from the BCWF website. (North Shore Fish and Game is a BCWF member club and proud of it). You can find lots more info about the plight of steelhead on the web as well – for example at Steelhead Voices.
What should you do? The simplest thing is to contact your MLA and let them know that you care about steelhead. It’s really simple. Click the appropriate link below and send an email. You can use my text or put in your own.
“Dear [insert your MLA’s name]
I live in your constituency and you are my MLA.
Interior Fraser steelhead are on the brink of extirpation. Something must be done. We need an immediate COSEWIC listing for IFS as well as a SARA listing (something the BC Ministry of the Environment has pressed the Feds for in the past). I am very concerned about this issue and want you to take some kind of action. Please let me know that you support saving these fish by return email.
Thanks and regards”
If you’re on the North Shore here are quick links:
If you’re not on the North Shore you can find your MLA here.
Sending these emails isn’t hard but it is very helpful. Take a minute and give it a try It’s a great habit to develop.
Ed has created a Facebook community chat group called “NSFGC community chat“, which you can reach by clicking on the link. It’s a place to connect get advice and share information about fishing ,hunting and Conservation for the members and friends of the North Shore Fish and Game Club.
The idea is to create a group chat to improve communication between members and potential new members of the North Shore Fish And Game Club. In the past we’ve used our monthly bulletin as well as WhatsApp chat groups to share information about club hunts, derbies and other events, but this community page should be a great improvement.
You can join by clicking the link, going to the community page and asking to join. Ed will get a message and add you. It’s that simple!
We have a club hunt planned for November 5-12 on Texada.
We plan to camp at Shelter Point on Texada and hunt from there.
For those who don’t know, Texada is an island just off Powell River. There are multiple ferry rides involved but the trip is short overall.
The bag limit on Texada is 3 deer
The provincial bag limit for deer is also 3, so if you are successful with three deer on this trip please remember that you can’t go get more deer in November in the Interior. Exceptions to this rule apply for those who hunt on Haida Gwai.
For more review click here and look at the 2022-2024 Hunting Synopsis.
Some members will stay the whole time while others will leave earlier (some, no doubt, to hit Region 3 or 8 for a big muley!) Carpooling can be arranged. There is a WhatsApp chat about the hunt that will keep you up to date. Contact Ed Powell at (604)-358-5417 to get included in that chat or contact me directly at 604-230-4225 for more info.
