I went fishing on Lake Simcoe today, bagging two big whitefish (I estimate five to six pounds each. I let them go).

The MNR officer told me I probably had the best day of anyone he checked to that point (woo-hoo!).

Alas, I didn't bag a lake trout, which would not have been returned to its watery home. Instead, it would have been moved to its new residence in my freezer.

The one downer about the fish cop's little visit was the 9mm semi-automatic handgun worn openly on his right hip.

Well, there's no reason al Qaeda-linked terrorists or Colombian drug lords couldn't also be out ice-fishing, I suppose.

While there might be times when MNR officers need to be armed (poaching investigations, for example), is checking fishing licences on a Friday afternoon one of them?

PS

I shudder to think what might have happened had I forgotten my fishing licence at home. :)