l'm told that your thoughts on anything are usually influenced by your vantage point or the direction trom which you sec the situation. While driving tlirough Whitby you tend to be concerned with only local streets and build- ings but while flying over Whitby you get a view of the whole town, and you begin to get a clearer picture of tle road system and the planning, whether good or bad. In this respect I tend to view fishing from the fish's point of view because as a scuba diver i spend a lot of time sharing the sanie environment as does the fish. Ofcourse as a youngster I could sec only the surface side of fishing and I listened with great interest to the stories by well known local fishermen giving their secret. tips on how to catch a certain species. Some of the more outspoken fishermen even ventured as far as to start generalizing about ali fish and their eating likes and dislikes. They would mention some sort of grub worm or other and guarantee that all kinds of fish would literally leap out of the water to catch it. To me that's like saying that not only do Tibetians love fried Yak meat but all other races on earth would savour it as well. So it was with great interest -in my vounger days and HAIAIAS ' Gp *r The word "freelance" (a person who's self-cmployed and is free to offer his services to anybody) is often a very peculiar word in today's newspaper business. If you hap- pen to be a freelance, photographer in this country, then sone people will th ink that there's someth ing wrong with you. Either you are a lazy bum , a loafer with nothing to do. an amateur, a born-loser or. simnply , an idiot. In anv case, you're persona fnon grata, unless a newspaper has missed out on something big-story or picture wise. But, in many instances, notably in the United States and Europe, a freelancer might have a considerably brigh ter image. For, be t'nigh t be a man who dirives a sh iny Cadillac takes pictures and writes stories whenever he feels like it and sells his finished product to ANY newspaper or maga- zine in the world. Basically. he's a mai of respect and aIl- ways encouraged by his iimediate superiors, editors and publishers. And, most likely le is a mari of great experience in his chosen field. Above all. he's a FREF marin to pick and choose his own markets. For instance, the New York Times Sunday Magazine is a prime example in today's journalistic rat-race of how important a freelancer can be il he does his job well. Not so in Canada, particularly in Torontb. To freelance in T.O., one must have long list of "do's" and "don'ts" Generally speaking, a freelance should not be an eager- beaver; he should not ask for a lot of money, if possible, and, more important, he should keep his mouth shut. However, many a time, ail your high-wire diplomacy will get you nowhere. What do you do then? Well, first and foremost, be yourself. Ignore your closest competitors and don't listen too much to what your colleagues might have to say. Remember, there's such a thing called professional jealousy. Also, the so-called friends of yours might have some vested interests in the freelance work. If you happen to be a photographer - young and some- what idealistic and - with little experience in photo journalism, I suggest you learn a few things in general about newspaper operations. Submit your roll of film or ready- made photos, but rarely on spec(newspaper jargon for speculation) which means a newspaper 4s not obliged to pay you for your work, if your pictures for some reason "bounce out", as the saying goes. If your work is good and you command a sound judgement of the news, ask a rea- sonable price for your photos. Daily newspapers are not known to be exactly poor thcse days. However, th ceditors are always on the lookout for bargains. To start off, select a potential market (newspaper) known for its editorial preferences. Let's say the Star might fancy children, cats and dogs while the competition might be looking for more sensational stuff - shootouts, fires, accidents, etc. Never, never give any of your picture ideas away for nothing. Sometimes a brilliant idea is far more worth while than a thousand pictures put together. The finders-keepers game in the newspaper business is something else. There are no finders - just keepers. Finally, it helps one to be familiar with newspaper staff photographers. If the staffer is covering the same event your chances of making a sale to that newspaper have already diminished. But, above all - don't get discouraged. The newspaper business is an exciting business o be iin. It is also a rotten business at times but worth persuing. At '.cast. I have no regrets so far. even so today that i listen to fishermen's tales around the docks and jettys of how you can catch certain species with certain lures and so forth. Of course having been under- wator nany times and seeing things fron the fish's point of view my attitudes towards fishing lures and methods has drastically changed. Now I'm the first to admit that certain of species cat certain foods and cone to recognize them, consequently the shape and size of the lures is important but I have to downgrade the importance of those factors when I observe a large-mouth bass making a strike at a piece of wood floating half waterlogged in the water. Once I picked up a small stone off the bottom and, although somewhat diffi- cult to do underwater, I threw it a short distance and before it had a chance to hit the bottom it was swallowed by a reasonably large bass. Seconds later the bass spit the stone out again but had it been a hook lie would have beei caugh It. Not only are fish, according to the fishermen, supposed to be attracted by certain lures that spin and weave and shine in ithe water but the time of the day is important as well. Okay, I'll admit that in the morning with the first sun a fish might be hungry and thus easiér to lure but a fisli can't feel the pain of an empty stomach. le eats out of force of habit. If you dropped five lines with five different lures into the water how would your fish know which lure was meant for hini? Of course fish in a group are referred to as a 'school' of fish but I never thought of fish as educated or even very smart, especially if they get caught. Of course that coùlld apply to bridegrooms as well but that's another story! I can't figure out how a fish is smart enough to swim through the lines and hooks of 50 fishermen sitting patiently on a pier, pick out one and say "Oh, there's a mugwump lure number 8 - that's the one I'm supposed to bite!" Of course the fishermen on the other end of the lure and line expects a certain species of fish to bite on a certain type of WHITBY FREE PRESS'WEDNESDAY, MAY 21,1975, PAGE 5 lure. I remember as a kid fishing with my uncle and when I caught a fish and we hauled it out it was some dumb fish that had bitten the wrong lure. We weren't after that parti- cular species of fish that day so my uncle made me take it off the hook and throw it back. Boy did that fish ever give his species a bad name - or perhaps 1 should say a reputa- tion for stupidity. Fish bite when it's raining right? That's another story l've heard. I get the mental picture of a big old muskie resting on the bottom and an excited young perch tugging on his dorsal fin and exclaiming, "Hurry George, it's raining we have to head for the surface and bite at anything that falls into the water!" Far fetched? What the heck,is it any more far fetched than Charlie the Tuna? Nope, I firrnly believe that you have to be very much like a fish (not to be confused with the pool hall type) to be able to think like a fish. Of course to do that you have to don scuba gear and stay in the water until your skin turns like a prune. Having done many hours of just that I would be willing with a little inducement to impart a few secrets of which fish ,bite at what. You may just be sur- prised...... "A NEW DAY HAS DAWNED" FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The BAHAI'S of WHITBY 668-6015 or Box 221, Whitby Parks and Campsites are among our greatest naturai attractions. iTis is what Ontario Us doing to expand and protect them. The Ontario Government has a firm policy of establishing and maintaining provincial parks and campsites. This year, for example, four new provin- cial parks and over 600 new campsites are being developed for the enjoyment and recreation of Ontario residents - bringing the total number of operating parks to 120 and campsites to 21,000. The new parks are: Silent Lake Provincial Park, 1860 acres sit- uated 13 miles north of Apsley on High- way 28. 85 campsites are available, but no motor boats will be allowed. Regular fees apply. Ferris Provincial Park, situated one mile south of Campbellford on County Road 31, has been expanded by adding 87 camp- sites, comfort stations, and boat launch ramp for access to the Trent River System. Regular fees apply. Bronte Creek Provincial Park, at the Queen Elizabeth Way and Highway 25, midway be- tween Toronto and Hamilton, will be open without charge this year for day-use and picnicking. Among its special features are a children's farm and nature hikes. Ouimet Canyon Provincial Park, near Dorion on Highway 27 about 35 miles east of Thunder Bay, provides walking trails along the canyon's edge to give visitors a spectacular view of the "Grand Canyon of Ontario." No admission charge. Additional campsites are under construc- tion at several existing provincial parks- Algonquin, Bon Echo, Killbear, Fairbank, Remi Lake and Ivanhoe. If you would like more information about Ontario provincial parks or campsites, or a map showing their locations, write to: Ontario Parks Division, Ministry of Natural Resources Whitney Block 99 Wellesley Street West Toronto, Ontario. M7A 1W3 Ministry of Natural Resources Leo Bernier, Minister I M Government of Ontario William Davis, Premier m 1