Adventures with Fish

Fresh sardines!

2012-01-21T11:14:00.000-08:00

Sardines are one of my favorite fish to eat, and the other day I found myself at Lotus market in the Strip district of Pittsburgh (so-named for it's shape, not activity!) and discovered that this was one of the best Asian markets I've ever seen! There's more story I'll tell in the future, like the fact that I tried my first Durian fruit (yum!), but for now I wanted to show you the long sought after and finally discovered treat I had. These are fresh sardines! I've been wanting to try fresh for years but not made th eserious effort to find them until now. Truly, they were a huge step in taste above the canned version. On the advice of my friend who grew up eating them fresh, I simply gutted them, and pan fried them in a bit of olive oil with a touch of salt, pepper and garlic.

They were great! They're really bony, and that made me a bit paranoid, but the bones proved no problem when chewed enough, and I'm one very prone to choking on fish bones. They were great and I recommend them to anyone who hasn't yet tried them. Next time my plan is to steam them along with some veggies. :)

The Two Bit Hooker and other flies not for kids

2011-10-27T18:00:00.000-07:00

In the last 3 issues of Fly Fisherman magazine, there has been anongoing presentation letters addressing something that would seem simple enoughto decide, but has somehow become a running debate; Todd Harper wrote in to themagazine’s Tight Lines (letters to the editor) section describing howuncomfortable it was for him to deal with the impression his 10 year old daughter got from the name of Charlie Craven's fly the “Two-BitHooker”. You’d think this would be a no-brainer, but the magazine has sinceprinted letters in each successive issue from writers decrying, even ridiculing, the desire ofMr. Harper to dare filter what reaches his child. If only more felt this way!

Can you guess my point of view?

Let me say first that the name of that particular fly seems to have originated from the two beads used in its construction, however the young girl immediately thought prostitute as does almost anyone who hears it. I don't get the impression that Mr. Craven was dancing nasty when he named this one. The general topic however has been treated shabbily. Contrary to every response printed by Fly Fisherman, I am in complete agreement with Todd Harper; there’s a growingfrat-boy humor in the naming of flies that belongs locked in the fraternitywhere the other not-quite-yet men can guffaw over their toilet humor and sexualinnuendo. Truly, while I certainly don’t know anything about the personality orhabits of Mr. Kelley Galloup or claim to, I can’t help but wonder what kind of freaky nightlife he enjoys since he likes to name so many of his flies with sexuallyoriented appellations. Perhaps he's just a guy looking to spark attention, I can't say. He isn’t the only one, but it’s his flies whichprominently grace the pages and covers of Fly Fisherman and other fly fishingmagazines, so by default he becomes the flag bearer of the movement.

How disappointing to see so many letters haranguing ToddHarper for daring care what influences his child! I wonder if there have beenany letters to the magazine in his support. That is, aside from the one I sentwhich didn’t reach the light of day. Fly fishermen have always had the reputationof being the upper crust, the highfalutin’ of society from whom bait and lurefishermen could only humbly recede a number of yards as they cast their linesacross the waters. That reputation is crumbling quickly under the weight of menlooking either for attention to sell their wares, or truly uncaring about thepeople around them. That is the trend of society (“I want what I want; if youdon’t want what I want, too bad, I win”), and I wonder if Fly Fisherman isgoing that way (Galloup is a big name; are they keeping him from dissention?)or if there truly haven’t been any letters to them espousing a view which caresabout the next generation, and themselves don’t wallow in the verbal mire.

I’m a Christian, and there are a number of flies I won’teven name because their names are crude and simply a juvenile cry forattention. I know fishers who aren’t Christians but still find difficulty in namingthese flies much less touting their worth. You cannot find any logical reasonto name a fly “Sex Dungeon” other than to get attention. It is my hope that Mr.Galloup, Fly Fisherman, and others of the same mindset will remember that thereare people who appreciate their work, but won’t play that game.

I stopped getting Fly Rod and Reel because of theiruncensored articles because I don’t want to read all the foul language when Isimply want a story on travel, tying or fishing. I won’t buy or tie flies thathave crude names because I don’t want to turn to someone who asks what fly I’musing and end up in either a Beavis and Buttheadesque conversation, or with theembarrassment of trying to explain the name. Searching the web and looking at fly fishing blogs, it appears that most of those who are writing on the topic just don't care because they reckon their kids are already exposed to this stuff on tv, but that only highlights the fact that if someone had kept the standards high for tv, they wouldn't have seen or heard it there.

At the bottom of the list of possibilities, I can’t imagineexplaining to a group of young people that I’ve taken to the lake how the fly I’musing is called the Sex Dungeon. It’s just not a situation I’m going to create.

Bass Pro Shops sued for discrimination

2011-09-21T13:38:00.001-07:00

The lawsuit alleges that qualified African-Americans andHispanics were routinely denied positions at Bass Pro stores andmanagers of stores in Houston, Louisiana and other locations madederogatory racial comments acknowledging the practice.
The commission also alleges that Bass Pro destroyed documentsrelated to applications and internal discrimination complaints andretaliated against those who spoke up.

Story

Felt waders banned due to algae contamination!

2011-04-04T06:53:00.000-07:00

In order to fight the continued spread of the species of algae named didymo, the state of Maryland has banned the use of felt soled waders for fishing effective this past March 22! Alaska and Vermont have enacted similar regulations and Oregon may be next.

“A felt ban, it’s not a panacea by any means,” McKnight said. “But it removes the most organism-friendly mechanism for transporting this. Felt is almost like a petri dish for this.

‘We didn’t think we could do nothing because the stakes were too high. We’re talking about pristine waters, great fisheries, at risk.”

Pennsylvania has didymo within its boundaries. According to the Fish and Boat Commission, it’s been discovered in the east and west branches of the Delaware River.

The commission has not yet considered a ban on felt-soled waders, though, said spokesman Rick Levis.

“We do not have any action pending right now related to felt soles. Staff is evaluating the issue, but are not prepared at this time to make a specific recommendation to our commissioners,” Levis said.
Practicing good disinfecting of your waders, boat bottom and water holds, and any other possible means of transport that an invader could use should be common practice for every fisherman because we need to consider the impact that we are having.

That said, there's no way I'll risk fishing most waters that we think of as trout waters (moving water, lots of stones and growth on the bottom) without felt waders. I've slipped to many times and for my own safety I just won't do it anymore, which means that when states ban felt, there are a lot of waters in that state which I won't wade anymore.

I've tried the studs, and rubber soles, and neither provided the traction of felt, and the metal studs become painfully uncomfortable after a while. Further, Trout Unlimited is taking this step:

In the meantime, Trout Unlimited has asked wader manufacturers to phase out felt-soled waders by the end of this year. That hasn’t happened completely yet, but manufacturers have been developing alternatives that will still satisfy anglers, said Trout Unlimited spokeswoman Erin Mooney.

Truly, this smells of another huge overreach by the zero-tolerance types. Have a problem? Institute a ban! By the evidence of the report itself it took only one year to go from discovery of the presence of the algae to a complete ban. Considering how long it normally takes to accomplish anything when politicians are involved, how many alternatives could the have investigated?

Whatever the rulings, I just know that without felt or a reasonable alternative (which either isn't on the market because I have tried everything I could think of just out of curiosity, or is too expensive for me), I simply won't wade certain waters. Since wading is my preferred form of fishing, I guess that means I'll just have to go elsewhere.

Amazing footage: Grouper snatches hooked shark

2011-03-01T11:07:00.000-08:00

This is footage any tv crew would drool to have caught!

Fish farming in Singapore

2011-02-23T11:53:00.000-08:00

O man, reading this report at Practical Fishkeeping made me drool over the possibilities. This is a report from Jeremy Gay of his visit to a Singaporean fish farm, and includes lots of pictures!

Huge fish kill in Arkansas

2011-01-03T12:26:00.000-08:00

The 20-mile stretch along the Arkansas River where an estimated 100,000 drum fish were found washed ashore and floating looks much different now.

Keith Stephens with Game and Fish explains, "We got a call last week from a tug boat operator that found the fish out on the river along the bank, in the river channel and we immediately dispatched somebody to the area to take a look."

Investigators from local and state agencies took samples from the affected area. Stephens says fish kills occur every year, but the magnitude of this one is unusual, and disease could be the cause.

A pollutant would have affected cross species. Stephens says, "Ninety-nine percent of them were Drum, which is a bottom feeder. It's not a game fish in Arkansas."

Record price paid for Meltzhoff Bluefin Tuna painting

2010-12-30T21:35:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late on this one but when I found the press release in my email I had to share it with you. This is amazing!

Four paintings of game fish by Stanley Meltzoff set unexpected records for the artist's work at the recent Jackson Hole Art Auction, an annual event that specializes in high-end Western art.

Most noteworthy was "Bluefin at Ballyhoo," an oil-and-acrylic painted by Meltzoff in 1979 that sold for nearly $32,000 -- almost 10 times the pre-sale estimate. Another Meltzoff painting, titled "White Marlin," from 1986, sold for more than $21,000, four times the pre-sale estimate.

The results were especially noteworthy in that the Jackson Hole auction is primarily a vehicle for Western art and rarely deals in other genres.

I'd better keep on working at my fish art! The full report is here.

Octopus attacks and eats shark!

2010-12-14T16:54:00.000-08:00

This video has been around for a while, but it's still an amazing capture. This octopus has been hunting in a public aquarium...hunting sharks!!

Cletus take the Reel!

2010-12-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Admit it: you identify with this song don't you? :)

Hereford Manor lakes fishing restrictions lifted

2010-10-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

I remember the very first time my big brother and I slept under the stars to welcome the opening day of trout season in Pennsylvania. I also remember that the temperature dropped rapidly and we decided it would be best to sleep in his car. Another irreplaceable memory of that next morning was waking to find that our minnow bucket had frozen into the water where it was sitting because the temps had dropped so low the night before!

My brother, one of only two fishing partners I've ever had, died 2 years ago, but I know that if he were still here he would have a strong reaction to the news I got today. That spot at which we shared not only that opening day memory but many other fishing memories, Hereford Manor lakes in Beaver County PA, will soon be completely drained because the dam that creates it (actually 2 lakes) has deteriorated beyond safety.

The fish and game commission will be lifting all regulatory limits on the fish in there in order to make as much use as possible of the bioload, and keep from wasting all that life.

Still, it's a sad notice for me, because my memories of that place are so good. We went there often for the trout season's opening day, and invariably I caught loads of...bass! Yup, opening day of trout season is always my best day of bass fishing, haha!

It was a good spot, and hopefully the money to make repairs and eventually refill the lakes will come through. If not, well...we have our memories.

Murphy's Laws of fishing

2010-10-25T20:57:00.000-07:00

I was able to sneak away for a couple hours of fishing this weekend and was reminded that Murphy's Laws are still in full effect. Which laws did I review you ask?

1) When you find the fly/lure that the fish really want, you'll only have one and will soon lose it.

2) Rediscovered subsection one of that law, its Inverse Proportion: the longer it takes you to find said fly/lure, the SOONER you will lose it.

It took me about 3 hours to find the right fly that gave me consistent catches. When I did, I caught nice 'gills and perch and even a foot long Wiper in 6 consecutive casts. Then I snagged and lost it.

Meh.

Highland Park Lock and Dam 2 closed for 2 weeks

2010-09-13T09:10:00.001-07:00

The discussion about needed repairs reached a boiling point when pieces of a lock wall actually fell off, and now the work begins and Channel 4 news reports that it's expected to stop all traffic through Lock and Dam 2 Highland Park for about 15 days. Boaters beware!

Here's the most updated report.

Check out the "At Sea Diary"

2010-09-07T11:54:00.000-07:00

We've watched them on television, now you can follow a fisherman at sea via his blog!

Be prepared and take a deep breath

2010-07-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

(a partial excerpt from my upcoming book. Try not to laugh too much at the picture. I'm learning what media suits me best)

A friend of mine took me to the Western Pennsylvania town of Latrobe one beautiful morning during the summer of, I believe, 1989. Although better known as the home of golfing legend Arnold Palmer, Latrobe also plays home to a beautiful stream named the “Loyalhanna”. That day I had one of the best and worst fishing moments of my whole life, and received a life lesson which would later be reinforced by Scripture.

It took us just under an hour to get to this stream from Pittsburgh, and as we cruised down the road paralleling the stream my excitement caused me to emphatically push my friend to stop the car at a spot which was far upstream of the section to which he intended to introduce me. This area was just off the two lane road we were riding (another 2 lane borders the stream on the other side) and required a short climb down a hill. We were literally only yards off the road and less than a mile from a crowded business district yet the steep drop to the water and the thick lining of trees guarding this stretch of water made it feel like we were in some mountain miles away from anything.

As we took up our spots I looked across the water and recognized an area that looked quite promising as a spot where the best fish in the immediate run would hold, waiting for food to swim by its lair. My imagination betrayed me as I couldn’t even fix in my mind an image of the type of fish that would be tough enough to claim such an ideal spot in such a marvelous section of stream. I quickly baited my hook (I had to move quickly: this friend was a great fisherman and I could tell he had noted the spot also) and sought secure footing for what would literally be a cast all the way across the stream into a crease in some rocks the size of a pile of basketballs, 3 or four of them. Regarding the size of this stream, it would probably only be considered a stream in Western Pennsylvania and a few other North American areas because we have several large rivers. In many places the Loyalhanna would be considered a river itself especially with its Whitewater sections.

As I got my footing I reared back and with a grunt cast forward and slightly upstream as hard as I could, sending my live leech sailing on 4 pound line high into the air and rocketing right towards the spot! My heart was pounding even before the line settled because of what I expected to happen and the sheer delight of an accurate cast for a change! At this point my guess is that you’re thinking that I cast, nothing happened and I got a life lesson from complete disappointment.

WRONG!!

I noted the perfect holding spot, made a great cast, and when my live leech traveled across the stream despite my awkward stance in the rocks, landing less than 2 feet from the rocks, a huge shadow emerged from the rocks and headed directly toward it! This is the kind of moment fishermen live for and it was happening! To me!! In a moment all my training and practice had come together to initiate what was going to be the most exciting catch of my young life- and in an instant, this was when I blew it all. I was so excited that upon seeing that huge shadow after my bait that instead of waiting to feel the weight of the fish on my hook, I reared back on the rod when it seemed the fish was so close that there was no way it couldn’t have taken the hook. Well there was a way, because it hadn’t.

You don’t get two shots at a fish like that and I never saw it again. This was when I learned that preparation isn’t just leading up to the moment of execution. Preparation carries through the moment of execution and beyond.

Fishing in the rain

2010-07-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

Fishing in the rain simply must be experienced to be appreciated. Standing in the middle of a tree lined valley stream while a light shower falls around you, distorting the surface of the water and hiding predator from prey, prey from predator... combined with the smell of ozone wafting across your olfactory receptors... not being able to feel the difference between having your hand out of the water or under the water because you're so wet...looking up once in a while just long enough to feel the drops of water that have traveled for thousands of feet from the clouds splash against your skin...is a really pleasant load to the senses.

Gulf fishermen reach out to president Obama for help

2010-07-08T12:01:00.001-07:00

(Jun. 04, 2010 - Alexandria, VA)... Today, representatives from every sector of the sportfishing industry sent a letter to President Obama urging the administration to make federal financial assistance immediately available to recreational fishing-dependent businesses impacted by the Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe. The industry also recommended that the administration develop a long-term compensation plan for these businesses to cover losses for the duration of the economic impact resulting from the current crisis.

The Gulf has been hard hit by hurricane Katrina and now the oil spill. It doesn't seem that the president is a fan of fishing, but hopefully this will make him aware of the need of the people.

Giant jellyfish warning

2010-07-08T11:56:00.000-07:00

Several hundred of the huge creatures were spotted by divers searching for basking sharks near Land’s End and are thought to be Lion's mane jellyfish, (Cyanea capillata) which with a bell size of up to 2.3m and tentacles potentially 36m long are the largest species in the world.
They are capable of giving a nasty sting even when dead, so beach users have been advised to stay clear of any found washed ashore.

The story

I wanna fish Thailand!

2010-06-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

Wow, check out this gallery of catches from this guiding Thailand site. I think that in addition to the Amazon River, I need to add Bung Sam Ran lake to my wish list of places to fish!

Pymatuning fishkill resolved

2010-06-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

Harrisburg – The departments of Environmental Protection and Health, and the Fish and Boat Commission have lifted the “Do Not Eat” consumption advisory for all species of fish taken from Pymatuning Reservoir and Tamarack Lake in Crawford County.
Fish tissue samples tested by the Fish and Boat Commission and Cornell University determined the large fish kills in both lakes were the result of a Columnaris outbreak. Columnaris is a naturally occurring bacterium that was triggered by several stressors, including rapidly warming waters during the spawning season.

Source

High water, no problem

2010-06-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

A lot of guys find that high water blows them right out of their game. Some won't even fish in high water. Listen, it's not like the fish can go check into the nearest Howard Johnson's for a vacation. They are there, it's your job to find them.

Check the current seams. You will find slack water and that's where the fish will stack in order to avoid swimming hard against the current all day. I remember fishing Neshannock Creek once years ago when the water was so high the dam in Volant was not noticeable. I'd driven a long way so I had to try something. You know that abutment on the side of the dam that people climb on? the water was that high, so I found a little eddy that had formed in it, tied on a heavy bead-head Pheasant tail nymph, and caught 3 fish in it!

Don't give up, just fish smarter. :)

Guide to Discus by Heiko Bleher

2010-04-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

In reviving this place for the Spring/Summer (dare I dream even more?) I wanna remember that the name is "Adventures with Fish", not just fishing, and with that in mind here's a great start to a new series on Discus keeping by a man who knows them better than most of us ever will.

With Practical Fishkeeping, Heiko Bleher is presenting a series on Discus that judging by part one, will be a superb in-depth look at one of my favorite fish! Here's a sample:

All three species of Discus can easily be distinguished by their own chemical water parameters and that’s why I recommend never keeping them together.
The habitat of Heckel Discus (S. discus) is always water of a dark tea colour, with visibility up to 1m/3.3’ and rarely more; pH never above 5.0 but averaging 4.5; conductivity from 6-12 µS/cm — but the average is always below 10. They live only in extreme acid water and oxygen concentration is often only 2.8 mg/l.
Heckels are active in daytime in groups of 30-200 or even more, standing in deep water, along rivers, or lake edges at a drop-off, normally at a depth of 1.5-4m/5-13’ among mostly acará-açú bushes (Licania spp.), a plant widespread in the Amazon basin and living partly under water.
In between are fallen trees and logs — and there’s always fine white sand present too.

Check it out, it's a great introduction that has me already looking forward to the rest of the series!

First bass of 2010

2010-04-12T12:58:00.001-07:00

Slowly climbing out of the deep freeze...maybe I can revive this blog! :)

Practicing L.N.E. Leave No Evidence

2010-02-18T16:48:00.000-08:00

Spring must be getting a little closer because I'm getting that itch. No, not that itch. I showered this week. I mean that itch to fish!

The first week of March usually is a great time at my favorite hybrid Striped Bass spot too and that's getting near. In addition, I picked up one of these neat Tackle Trolleys and in sorting my gear I remembered just how long it has been since I've been on the water. I also remembered something else. I remembered that my favorite hybrid Striper spot has an ongoing major problem: litter.

You've seen it, experienced the disappointment of heading to the water for that precious time of wrestling with nature and found nature adorned with trinkets nature didn't design. Soda and beer cans, candy bar wrappers, balls of fishing line, empty cigarette packs, bait containers and just about anything else you can imagine.

Here's what I've been practicing and something that I hope you'll adopt as well. I like to call it "Leave No Evidence". The idea is that when we hit a spot to fish or to hunt or whatever reason, we leave it without evidence that we or anyone else has been there. What I mean is that we carry a bag with us for trash and not only use it for our own garbage, but pick up something that someone else left behind. It doesn't even need to be a full sized trash bag that you bring. It can be one of those small grocery bags that you're using to carry your soda and sandwich. What you use is up to you.

Don't throw your trash on the ground or in the water. Put it in the bag and keep it 'til you reach the nearest trash can, or take it home if you don't see one. Don't stop there! Pick up something someone else left behind. Make the place you use better for your having been there. It just takes a little effort and helps everyone, including the animals you are there to find.

A little addressed fishing issue that I include under "L.N.E." is proper treatment of fish. Don't do like some folks do and handle fish abusively. If you aren't going to keep them, throwing them 20 feet so that they make a big splash upon hitting the water is a good way to kill them, and that leaves evidence. Release them gently so they can grow bigger and be caught again someday.

If you're using minnows, remember that it's bad for the body of water you're fishing to release baitfish there which weren't caught there. Those foreign minnows could be carrying diseases or parasites for which the natives have no defense. This is an illegal action in many areas too, and you could end up with serious fines.

So, leave no evidence that you've fished a spot, except, to leave it better than when you arrived! Feel free to leave your ideas in the comment section. :)

in PA news

2010-02-05T16:40:00.000-08:00

Increased poaching penalties...a youth dies while hunting raccoon...a Steelhead seminar tomorrow...and a meeting of Trout Unlimited....check it all out here!

Hunting with Eagles, see eagles catch deer and wolves

2010-02-05T12:26:00.000-08:00

Absolutely amazing. Ok, I know this is off-topic, but it was too stunning not to share and I aian't startin' a hunting blog. ;)

On this guy's Flickr page, a video clip of hunting deer using an eagle!

This Youtube video is of ancient hunting techniques using eagles to hunt wolves. Wow, this so dwarfs my memory of being 9 years old and watching an eagle grab a kitten just about 3o yards from me. Warning: the Youtube video is not for the faint of heart, some scenes will be disturbing for some people!

Online fishing liscenses

2010-01-30T08:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not a big fan of buying things online (internet paranoia y'know?), but for those of you who are careful and are fine with it, Pennsylvania offers you the opportunity to buy your fishing license online. Here's the link. Get it before the fee rises again! ;)

International Angler has moved

2010-01-15T09:57:00.000-08:00

Consolidated really. If you're a fan/customer of theirs (I am!) you need to know that they've closed the Aspinwall store due to an inability to reach an agreement with the lease-holder, and have moved everything to their Robinson township branch. Great news for any of you who've ever tried to find parking at the Aspinwall store on a busy day!

I always thought that store had more variety of tying materials so it's good for me that they're putting it all in one place! :)

World record Largemouth from Japan!

2010-01-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

Technically, Manabu Kurita's Largemouth tied the world record, and it's a monster!

DANIA BEACH, Fla. — The most sought after record in all of fishing has been broken ... almost. Technically, Manabu Kurita's 22-pound, 4.97-ounce largemouth bass from Japan's Lake Biwa is now tied with a bass nearly 1 ounce lighter caught more than 77 years ago in rural Georgia.
The International Game Fish Association has officially certified and approved Kurita's application for record status a little more than six months after the catch. IGFA's regulations require that a record fish weighing less than 25 pounds be surpassed by two ounces or more.
On July 2, 2009, the angling world was stunned to learn of Kurita's catch. Few realized that Japan could produce such large bass, and experts universally considered California to be the most likely location for a new record.

Congratulations Manabu, now make a little room in the boat and meet me at the airport! :)

Hey Mark, where you been?

2010-01-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

Wow, I can't believe I let things lapse this long here, but here's an explanation that I posted at my other site.
---------------------------------------------------
Hey y'all.

Just when I try to do a lighthearted post everything crashes in.

My best friend died Wednesday.

He and I have known each other since we were 13, about 1983, and been fast friends since almost day one. He's a Christian who loves God, and was devoted to God long before I was, although I thought I was back then and told people the same.

We loved the same music and he is an amazing singer and very good guitarist. His family, particularly his mom and dad, were like a second family to me. One of the bonds of friendship we shared was that we knew we could ask each other anything under the sun, and get not the happy answer, but the loving and honest answer, no matter what. He loved to cook as much as I do, but was a better cook than me. We even shared a love of aquariums.

He was a guy who people could be around and just sense something beautiful about him. I know that because they told me so on many occasions. Have you ever met one of those Christians who just exudes that loving spirit? That was him. He was also one of my two fishing partners. A fishing partner isn't easy to come by, because a fisherman only meets a few people he really wants with him when he's trying to catch fish. Maybe somebody who really pushes him, maybe somebody who just appreciates the air...whatever.

Both of my fishing partners, one of my brothers and now my best friend, are gone.

I know I'll see him again though, because he is saved. Would you please pray for the widow he leaves behind, and their 5 year old son who is now without his father?

Thanks.

Cheaper than Peanut Oil, we'll see about the taste

2009-10-18T12:19:00.000-07:00

I've been looking for a cheaper alternative to Peanut Oil for my turkey fryer, and found this at Sam's Club for $17 and change, about half the price for a similar amount of Peanut Oil, my usual frying oil. It's Soy Oil, and claims a burn point of 450 degrees, just like Peanut Oil. I'm switching out oil today and as soon as I get the chance to fry up something I'll let yo know how it works out.

Fantastic Fotography

2009-09-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all,

AquaMojo is prepping a new set of shots for a major fish food company and has shared some of the preliminary work. It's a series of Lake Malawi cichlid photos and as his stuff usually is, they're gorgeous!

Check 'em out!

Dunkard Creek fish kill

2009-09-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

There are reports of a massive killing of aquatic animals in Dunkard Creek, Greene County. Fish, salamanders, mussels...all being found. This is a really bad situation.

From the Pittsburgh Channel
From Hunting PA

update 10.4: Could the problem have been the introduction of a non-native algae?

What ate that Carp?

2009-09-06T10:33:00.000-07:00

Otter? Raccoon? Maniac mutant squirrels? Whatever it was, that was a nice-sized carp. That's my minnow bucket above it for scale. It's intact head is to the left, and to the right you can see it's anal fin and how it's tail curves upward just behind that. The view of the skull is from beneath 'cause it's a little twisted.

little girl catches Carp by hand!

2009-08-31T17:46:00.000-07:00

I did this once at a rock dam on Pine creek. I saw the Carp's tail sticking out of a hole so I grabbed it. 'Course, if that Carp was proportionate in size to me that this one is to the little girl, it would've weighed about 165 pounds!

I caught a Wiper!

2009-08-30T13:03:00.001-07:00

It was a beautiful couple of hours yesterday, the fish were very cooperative and I met a cool fishin' buddy who just moved here from Florida.

PLUS, I fish the Ohio River for Hybrid Striped Bass normally, and get some monsters out of there. I know people have had a love hate relationship with them in Lake Arthur for years. Me, I'd never caught one there for some reason.

Saturday changed all that. Finally, I caught my first, rod-bending, reel-screaming, baitfish bustin' Hybrid Striped Bass in Lake Arthur!!

Awesome eh? :D

The Serious Fisherman

2009-08-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

Ken Abrames has done great things for salt water Striper fishing, things that obviously can be extrapolated to apply in various situations. In fact, one of his flies has become one of my go-to flies when I'm chasing our inland Hybrid Striped Bass.

I just read the current article on his site and here's a portion:

Serious fishermen seldom try to draw attention to themselves, as a rule they are clandestine and avoid large groups of spectators. They often come out only at night and cannot be identified by the bumper stickers on their vehicles or by the display of rods and reels attached to the front or top or back of their off road 4X4 super duper fishing trucks because they don't often own one. They mostly walk by themselves or with one or sometimes two other serious fishermen that they have known for twenty years or more. They are not actually stand-offish but they are truly going fishing when they appear on a beach and so they are not likely to join in a group of spectators who are there primarily for the companionship of staying out all night with brother 4X4 beach riders.

They seldom listen to the radio or watch television when they fish and are more prone to fish than to socialize. They never sit in lawn chairs and their equipment is often old-fashioned which now-a-days means two years old or more. When observing Human Being behavior on a beach it is easy to overlook their movements but for the careful observer the patterns of their behavior and the results they achieve while fishing can identify them as aberrations to the norm. Overlooking the obviousness of their fishing results and speculating about the next blitz will comfort those who prefer the companionship of the herd to the adventure of discovery.

Read the rest here. It's good! In addition to a description of the wily Serious Fisherman, Ken offers some tips to get you one step closer to being that guy.

How to tie a Wooly Bugger

2009-08-20T15:49:00.000-07:00

Oh man, can you tell how long it's been since I had any fish fun? My poor blog has *stomp* spider webs on it! Lemme change that. The Woolly Bugger is one of those universal fly patterns worldwide because the pattern is that good. It just works!

You can buy some if you need to, and by the way you can use them on a spinning rod too, but if you're able to tie your own you'll be a whole lot more confident getting them down into the weeds, rocks and timber where they should be fished in order to coax mr mouth down there into biting!

Chasing one, catching another

2009-07-01T08:54:00.000-07:00

If you want peace in your heart at the end of your fishing day you sometimes have to be willing to compromise. I've learned to be happy as long as something is tugging my line, so when I set out last Saturday to fly fish for Pike, I was prepared for the possibility of few bites by bringing a rod outfitted for panfish so that if need be, I could make the switch.

After 3 hours of not seeing even a glimpse of Pike I considered exchanging my 8wt for my 4 wt, but first I decided to downsize my fly from the 3/0 Rabbit streamer I was throwing to a 1/0 Calcesieu Pig Boat (black and Grizzly) to see if maybe the bass would come to visit. Lo and behold, they did!

I caught about 4 like this, then they seemed to disappear. So THAT was when I switched to my 4wt and caught enough Bluegills to end the day on a very happy note. Hey, 4 bass like this on the fly and a bunch of Bluegills should be good enough for any man. :)

Sometimes you get the fish...

2009-06-01T09:32:00.000-07:00

...sometimes the fish gets you!

Remembering the part called "angling"

2009-05-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this post by FishErie.com member Duncsdad, and he was kind enough to give me permission to share it here. I added the pictures because of my obsessive need for imagery, but all the words are his. Enjoy, and thank you Duncsdad!
**************************************************************************
The root word of the term angling is….

ANGLE.

I am amazed how often this concept is ignored by fishermen (and fisherladies, but the generic term will be used going forward). And I can think of no other fishing situation that requires being at the proper angle than dry fly fishing for very, very selective stream reared trout in clear water.

Yet I witnessed this disregard for technique again on Tuesday evening.

I arrived at the Little J somewhat later than I would have liked and when I got there, there were already fish on the surface. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue, but I wanted to get to an out-of-the-way area to avoid the circus that had ensued and that would take some time.

While there are a few remote spots on the River, most stretches are easily reachable within a reasonable distance from parking areas. I typically don’t like to get too remote because it can be dangerous, especially when fishing by one’s self. The wades can be long and tough and there are enough dangerous snakes about to make a pitch dark trip out not too fun. But some of the out-of-the-way but not exactly remote spots are difficult enough that most won’t venture there and they are within a reasonable (make that 15 – 20 minutes) walk/wade.

Since I was running late, I bypassed some pools in order to hustle to where I wanted to spend the bulk of the hatch. About 200 yards short of where I wanted to be, I just had to stop and throw a few casts at a pod of fish that were just smashing duns with reckless abandon. They were in a tough spot, almost completely across the creek and their lie has a downed tree in the stream guarding any real good approach. After watching them for about 10 minutes – trying to figure the proper angle, I waded in slightly above them, threw a high arcing cast over the water level tree and tossed an in air mend to put the fly line below the tip of the tree branch. By dropping the elbow, this produced enough slack to get about a foot or so of drift. That was plenty. By moving my position up or down stream a few feet, I was able to raise 7 fish and catch 5 of them. I also think that the two that I didn’t hook may have missed the fly completely on very violent rises. From the angle I had to work from (there was a way too fast, way too deep spot that would have given me the right shot), I think they rose aggressively to the fly, then spotted some micro-drag that I couldn’t see or remove from the drift because of the angle, an aborted the feeding attempt.

Deciding that I really needed to get where I was headed, I gave up on the still rising fish and moved to the area I wanted to fish.

And there were two guys already there.

The fisherman in the upstream position was positioned just fine. The gentleman in the downstream position was trying to fish two feeding lanes from the same standing spot. Both guys were good casters and both had on the proper fly. But they weren’t doing very well.

I stood back out of the way to watch – due to what time it now was I was committed to being here for the evening. After about 5 minutes, the upstream fisherman waded over to where I was standing and said “they’re all yours, I can’t catch them.” He said he hadn’t caught a fish all evening and at this point the hatch had probably been rolling for hours.

Why was that?

ANGLE.

He was in the right standing spot. Fish were rising at casting distances of anywhere from 10 to 60 feet away. But his casting angle was all wrong.

He was throwing a straight right-handed over hand cast. With the direction of water flow and the 4 – 6 different current seams he was facing, there was absolutely no way he could get a clean drift of any length – even a foot or so.

In addition, his buddy that was downstream was in such a spot so as to prevent the upstream angler from wading out another 5 feet and down another few to make that type of cast workable without disturbing his fishing.

So I waded in where he left, even though his buddy was still an obstacle to getting into a perfect position. In order to get any type of drift at all, I had to lean at the waist and throw a semi-backhanded cast across my body. This put the fly, and much more importantly, the fly line; in position to get at least some drift.

I raised a fish and missed it. Over the next 45 minutes or so, I probably raised 20 or so and only hooked 3 – one shook off, one that took a massive upstream run actually broke off (the tippet was fairly abraised, I think it rubbed against something rather hard), and I land only one – and it was foul hooked under the chin. I think that I was getting the same micro-drag as the previous spot and the fish were missing the fly on purpose. But this was the only angle I had with the guy downstream.

The downstream gentlemen thought it funny that I was getting frustrated at rising but not catching. During the same time period he raised 3 fish and caught two – one of which was foul hooked under the chin also.

He finally decided to leave and stopped to talk a little while I repaired the leader after breaking the fish off. He had been fishing all day and had caught 5 – the last two of which I witnessed. He said that these trout were so tough.

I gave him a fly and told him of a spot upstream (on his way out) that I knew had a single feeding lane. With his casting skill and only one target area to think about, I knew he would do well.

Upon his departure, I waded into the spot I had been in, took a few steps out and a few down and started to use a completely sidearm backhanded cast – one that I couldn’t use when he was positioned where he was. In short order I caught 4 trout – with zero missed fish, or more correctly zero fish missing the fly.

I then moved to where he was standing and saw that there were two distinct feeding lanes – neither of which could be accessed properly from that exact spot. By moving a few feet up and half a step out, I could get clean drifts into the upper feeding lane. And by continuing to make slight adjustment, I was able to catch 7 trout from that seam. I did miss 3 fish, probably because I got lazy and didn’t make the slight adjustments needed to get a clean drift.

I moved a little below where he had been, like 4 – 6 feet and had a good angle to the lower lies. Eleven trout came from there – including one of about 16”.

Turning around, I saw a pod of fish under a very low hanging limb, gently rising. This indicated that they were on spinners and not slashing at duns or emergers. I changed angles to get a good drift – no easy feat with the limb right over the fish and no downstream approach available. I rose and caught 4 fish from the pod, one again of about 16” and one that stuck out several inches on either side of my landing net opening (which is 17.5”). It had a huge kype and teeth. This fish had been around for a while and it was one of the largest trout that I had caught in the River that was not from the Jurassic Park area.

Of course, I finally put a fly in the tree and broke my lead to heck. It was getting dark rapidly, so I reeled up and quit with trout still rising.

When I was back at the vehicle putting my gear away, the gentleman that I gave the fly to approached with his three fishing comrades. He asked how I did and I told him that I caught a few including one good one. He said that he went where I told him and used the fly until the trout tore it apart. He caught more fish in an hour than he had in the last three days (they were from out of state on an extended fishing trip). He wanted to know where he could get that “magic” fly.

The morale of the story isn’t that there was a magic fly, but rather he was fishing the fly in a spot that forced him to be at the proper angle due to only one feeding lane and he got some clean drifts. In addition, its not that I am a super fly guy or a great caster (those that have fished with me can attest to that), but rather, if one studies the water and gets the proper angle for a clean drift, one can overcome less than great casting, less than a perfect fly, and less than perfect technique.

The root word of the term angling is….

And that was the difference between one of the people I met on the river catching zero fish in a day; the other catching about a dozen (the bulk of which came after he was unknowing forced into fish from the proper angle); and myself landing over 30 despite arriving late and not getting to fish for a decent period of time from the angle I wanted to.

As a post script, during my conversation I found out that these guys fished Erie Tribs for steelhead. When I asked if they were FishErie board regulars, the response was, “No, those guys are just a bunch of a-holes.”

Little did he know that a FishErie a-hole more than doubled his catch for the day.

Perhaps next time I’ll ask the FishErie question before providing flies and spots.

Deadly Waters

2009-05-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote this one a while back but the heart of it is useful to anybody who works or plays outdoors, especially near water.
--------------------------------------------

We’ve had invaders… Asian Carp, the Zebra Mussel, New Zealand Mud Snail and the Round Goby have impacted our fisheries greatly. Fish populations have fluctuated wildly because of changes in water quality, predation upon egg and free swimming fish, being out-competed for food and the Asian Big-Headed Carp has even had a direct, physical impact on boaters due to their propensity for jumping into the air when startled by the sound of a boat motor. Broken noses and black eyes to fishermen have been reported. What else can you expect when a fish weighing up to one hundred pounds jumps into the air in the path of a moving watercraft?

One of our greatest dangers however, is much smaller than that giant, flying minnow. In fact, one of its most dangerous features is that you probably won’t know that it’s there until it strikes, and when this invader strikes on its microscopic level, it kills.

It’s target isn’t Rainbow Trout, or Walleye eggs, or even algae. It’s meal is the very flesh on your bones, and if you don’t act immediately upon discovering it having an effect on you, the odds are great that you will be dead within days. Unfortunately, it’s a very widespread invader, and it must considered a constant companion.

It’s a form of streptococcus bacteria and it IS in the water you fish. It causes a condition known medically as “necrotizing fasciitis”, but you’ll recognize it more quickly by the name bestowed upon it by those who’ve witnessed what it does to its victims. They call it “Flesh Eating Bacteria”… because it will devour you.

The various forms of streptococcus bacteria are part of the natural microbiology of animals and humans. It is a form of streptococcus that gives its name to the condition “Strep Throat”, Scarlet Fever”, and forms of pneumonia. Like so many other substances, strep type bacteria live unnoticed until some barrier is breached in the human body, or the immune system is compromised, and then they do their work. The particular species of bacteria which cause fasciitis is Streptococcus pyogenes.

Acute Streptococcus pyogenes infections may take the form of pharyngitis, scarlet fever (rash), impetigo, cellulitis, or erysipelas. Invasive infections can result in necrotizing fasciitis, myositis and streptococcal toxic shock syndrome. Patients may also develop immune-mediated sequelae such as acute rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis.

Recent examples have made headlines this man fell into a harbor polluted by raw sewage after heavy rains, and apparently cut himself while climbing out:

A 34-year-old mortgage loan officer is near death with a flesh-eating disease after falling into the polluted waters of the Ala Wai Boat Harbor last week, according to his friends.
Friends of Oliver Johnson said his doctors at the Queen's Medical Center diagnosed him with necrotizing fasciitis, a Group A streptococcal infection that "destroys muscles, fat and skin tissue," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The disease forced the amputation of his left leg above the knee Monday, his friends said. His body also went into Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, which causes blood pressure to drop rapidly and all major organs to fail, they said.

This man thought he had merely come down with the flu:

Last Tuesday, Ed Kopfman thought he'd come down with the flu. On Friday, he went to the doctor. By Sunday, the 47-year-old Kirkland father of two was taken to Harborview Medical Center and died that same day.
For those who knew Kopfman, the cause of death was even more shocking: necrotizing fasciitis, a rare condition also known as "flesh-eating bacteria."
"It's so unreal," his wife, Peggy Kopfman, said Wednesday. "We're all still in so much shock."
The bacterial infection took the lives of five King County residents from January to March 15 this year, and eight more in 2005, according to Public Health — Seattle & King County, citing data from the county Medical Examiner's Office.

The fact is, there are a number of bad infections that can come from exposing a cut or abrasion to the waters we love so much. This is just one of the worst. This article isn’t meant to scare you out of the water, but to encourage you to be extra-careful.

Something that each of us should have is a small first aid kit somewhere handy. I keep a decent kit in the glove compartment of my car, and a smaller version in both of my vests. Have the basics like antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, bandages, sterile needles and tweezers for removing splinters, stingers, thorns and other “ouches”, aspirin or other pain-killer, a small bottle of saline solution (for flushing dirty wounds and eyes), and frankly whatever else you can think of. Obviously you can’t carry all that in your vest or chest pack, but having it in the car is a major plus. It should be part of every vehicle emergency kit, and just like your car jack and spare tire, you hope you never need them but are very glad to have them if the need arises.

In my vest I just have the bare necessities like stick on bandages, antiseptic ointment (it’s great that this stuff forms a barrier to further entrance in the wound), headache pills and tweezers.

If you sustain a cut while fishing, clean it immediately. Don’t be a hero. If you sustain a cut that will be under the water, or the cut was sustained underwater, stop fishing and clean it out immediately. If, for example, you are wet wading (wading in a pair of shorts and sneakers instead of waders) and you should suffer a cut on your lower leg, STOP wading for the day! It isn’t worth the risk of infection by bacteria or any of the bugs that are naturally in the water. You don’t need some parasite entering your leg and causing you untold problems for the future.

Now I’m sure that some of you are going to take this as being overly-cautious. I just have to ask you, is really worth the risk? We’ve all done the he-man thing and kept fishing as blood ran down our hand or leg, and eaten our sandwiches with a hand covered in fish slime, but it only takes one infection to make us change our ways, and that only if we are given the chance to make that change.

There are a lot if “Urban Fishermen” these days. these men and women are fishing in the shadows of skyscrapers, and unfortunately that means they’re probably in water that gets regular contamination by sewage runoff. In an area know for sewage outlets, don’t fish during or after a prolonged, heavy rain. You might not smell the sewage, but it’s there. It gets on your waders, your hands, your legs, the fish, your equipment…and there’s no way of knowing how long it’ll live there. Picture your hand all covered front and back by someone’s bathroom leftovers and then you get jabbed with a hook.

My friend, you’ve just become a lab experiment.

Wild waters have their share of bacteria and parasites as well, so don’t assume just because you’re up in the mountains that you won’t get caught unawares. Infection can happen anywhere.

Every major urban fishing center has what we in Pittsburgh have come to call “Allegheny Whitefish”. Nobody wants to talk about that, and it isn’t spread over the entire watershed or even the entire river for that matter, but there are entry points on every major river in every industrialized city in the world where stuff that you don’t want to be standing in gets mixed with the water where our favorite quarry live.

What’s an “Allegheny Whitefish”? It’s a used condom, flushed from someone’s home and a part of the sewage that overflows in so many places.

Possible our biggest weapon against high bacterial levels in our water is to maintain a vigilant stand against illegal sewage overflows and fighting to upgrade legal ones where everybody knows…THAT shouldn’t be legal! Work with your local water departments to find out what it takes to improve the runoff system. Make sure that you aren’t adding to the problem yourself as well. For those pristine mountain streams and lakes, just remember that dirty waders, boots, tubes and boats carry a coating from one place to the next, and birds are yet another source of spreading contaminants.

I thought about going very in-depth on prevention, cure, vaccination and other aids, but I’d rather you get the information straight from the source. Linked below you’ll find all the information you need to be a better protected fisherman, ready to land that next lunker!

Tight lines and safe fishing everybody!

Recent F.E. bacteria cases here and

Streptococcus resource
More resources on Strep

First Aid Kit resources
Sewer runoff info
Naturally occurring bacteria
Water borne parasites

Musky fishing, Musky CATCHING, with the Lindners

2009-05-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

The Lindner family is unquestionably the First Family of fishing, having been the heart behind everything "In-Fisherman" for many years and then leaving to launch Lindner's Angling Edge and other media projects.

They're real innovators in the game and interviewing Al Lindner for my radio show is one of the highlights of my broadcasting career. I had to laugh when another fishing show host shared with me that having Al and his brother Ron as guests on his show was a real learning experience and that they never, ever stand still. He said he'd never been around fishermen with such passion and energy!

So while I was checking out some Pike fishing videos, leading to Musky fishing videos and then finding this one featuring two more members of the Lindner family, I thought I'd share it with you. Watch it when you can't fish, it'll make you crazy!

Lake Arthur fishing report again!

2009-05-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

I got back up to my favorite lake Saturday. It was a pretty nice day, windy but not as windy as the previous Saturday when I had to stop from time to time just to hold my hat on my head. I got a bit of a late start but that's ok when you know where to find the fish. It was warm too for mid-morning. I wondered what would happen to the mayonnaise on my ham and cheese sandwiches while I fished. As it turned out, warm mayo wasn't such a crime. Warm drinking water on the other hand, not so much fun (Note to self: put ice in cooler with food).

I faced a bit of construction traffic on 279N, but I knew they'd be there. Hey, on a Saturday going fishing and having the right music playing, I could've dealt with almost any traffic. :)

I arrived at the lake in good spirits, and set out with the hopes of finding a nice school of Crappie somewhere. Stop 1: Bear Run boat launch area. This area can really deliver at the right time of year. Unfortunately, this wasn't the time.

I always expect something to jump out of this tangle of tree roots and get me!

After 30 minutes I took off for area number 2: Secret Bay. I have a love/hate relationship with the road to Secret Bay. It's really long and dusty, parking is almost non-existent when I get there, but I see lots of different animals, plants and birds when I drive it. Secret Bay paid off but not with keeper sized fish. After an hour of this (and good company in the form of another fisherman wading out with me) I decided to go where I had every confidence that I'd find not only fish, but keepers.

Those of you who know me might be wondering right now why I was so intent on getting fish to keep, knowing that I almost always fish catch and release. To explain...early in the season I like to get a limit or two of panfish so that I can have fish in the freezer through the season whenever I want some, then I can fish the rest of the season mostly catch and release style. I have a freezer devoid of fish right now so I need to get some in there. Anyway, I got to spot number 3: that certain place.

There I had to deal with quite a bit of wind, quite a few people, but was able to finally get into the fish. It wasn't easy and they made me work for every bite, but the Case Worm did it's job and I ended the trip with exactly the same take I had last week. A handful of Bluegills, 2 Yellow Perch and 1 Crappie! Strange that I would get the same combination two trips in a row, but I ain't complainin'.

The oddity of the bunch was this Blonde Bluegill. I'm calling it that because it was a shade of gold when I caught it and I've never seen such a thing before. It even retained that color after death.

See you on the water!

My panfish go-to rig

2009-04-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

When I want to use my spinning rod and artificial lures for panfish, when I really want to get into the panfish, there's one rig I reach for before any other. With this one rig I have all the confidence of using live bait but with the simplicity of plastic.

Charlie Case calls it his Trout Worm, but it has proven absolutely lethal on sunfish, Perch, Crappie, White Bass, Largemout Bass and even Channel Cats! There was a time when I wouldn't even dream of going after panfish and not bringing some live maggots with me. Now I'm at the point where I haven't used live bait for panfish in several years.

My favorite is White, but other colors may work for somebody, somewhere. It works so well for me that I have only sporadically been able to force myself to put other colors on to see how well they perform. So far, White has demonstrated a dramatic dominance in effectiveness (Howzat fer a sentence?).

The thing is, there is a very specific way to rig it that produces the most hits. I've worked this rigging in a variety of ways and there's no doubt that it makes a difference. Before I describe that one little twist to you, I'll offer the obvious: being only an inch and a half long the Case Trout Worm is best set up on light line. In general I tie it onto 4 pound test Trilene XT using a 1/64oz Gold jighead. Couple that with the smallest float possible and you're in good shape. This jig lends itself well to using a small weighted float so that you can cast this featherweight combination a distance. Sometimes if the fish aren't feeling particularly peckish for whatever reason, I'll downsize to 2 pound Trilene XL, a 1/100 oz jighead and a very tiny Thill float.

My biggest Crappie ever came on this rig. I was using 2# line, a 1/100 oz jig, and the tiniest This float I have (it's in the picture). It was sitting still in the water until the float just barely wobbled, then nothing. I set the hook "just in case" and came up with a Crappie that weighed over a pound and a half. Sometimes that sensitive approach is better not just for big fish but for numbers of fish as well.

I have tried using the Worm without the float, casting and retrieving it, but that didn't produce quite as well. The next best approach is in moving water, to bounce it downstream on a gold hook with the least amount of split shot possible about a foot above the hook. This does do a very good job as a plastic lure for trout, unquestionably. In still water though, where most of my panfish hunting takes place, nothing beats putting one of these guys under a float on a gold jighead (why gold with white? I'm not sure, but it beats lead grey, silver, and a plain gold hook) and a small float, slowing only to find the proper depth.

Also, when I'm fishing at distance the weighted float has always been a better choice than a slip float. Adding any split shot to the line has cut the bite ratio every time. If I need distance I go with the weighted float and nothing between the float and the jig. Up close I use the smallest Thill float possible and again, nothing between the float and the jig and using those stick floats is the most sensitive way to monitor those bites. (Though I admit to not working much with those water filled floats; they might be really effective in soft-bite situations).

Now, what about that little twist I mentioned, that little twist that alters this jig from a good lure to a great one? It's all in where the knot sits on the jighead. If you take a moment to make sure your knot is on the backside of the jighead, so that the tail of the Worm sticks upward when you hang it from your hand to check it out, you'll get more bites, period. I can only guess that the tail action is more pronounced in this position.

That's actually what got me to buy these things inthe first place. I was at O'Donnell's in Portersville and the owner had set up a display to show the fluid movement of the worm in water. He set up a tall flexible piece of metal with a long spring coming horizontally out of the top. The end of that spring was over a tall glass vase filled with water. From the end of the spring a short piece of line dangled a Trout Worm in the vase. Being on the spring allowed you to touch it lightly and see how even the most gentle movement sends the tail wiggling.

That was all I needed to embed that image onto the backs of my corneas for the next month. See, I've learned to discipline myself against impulse buying in the bait store...usually. I just couldn't get that display out of my mind though, and soon bought my first pack. I haven't been without them since!

Lake Arthur fishing report

2009-04-20T13:03:00.001-07:00

Oh yeah, it was a good day! I caught three more Largemouth this size and about a dozen that were slightly smaller. No dinks at all! This was really the best day of Largemouth Bass fishing I've ever had.

I was using 4 # line, a light-action rod and big Fathead minnows. The bass were eating aggressively, but weren't chasing aggressively.

I had to put the minnow on the bottom and crawl it slowly toward me, but once I figured that out the fishing was fantastic!

I love it when they're so big they won't fit into camera view! (c;

Pirates also affecting Fishing destinations

2009-04-17T18:14:00.000-07:00

This report came in last weekfrom Tom Stevenson: "It turns out that The boat I was to board in Assumption Island, Seychelles on the 8th (April), was hijacked about 50 km from Assumption Island on Friday last; Taken to Somalia, where the crew (who had not been heard from since setting off from Assumption Island) were released, and called in on Wednesday; All remote islands in Seychelles have been evacuated of all boats, while the Seychelles government 'cleans up' the problem..."

Here's the blog post.

Bass/Pike/Musky flybox

2009-03-31T13:42:00.001-07:00

Musky and Pike and Bass, oh my!

This box came about in response to an experience which almost caused the wetness to be on the wrong side of my chest waders.

It was a Saturday morning around 11 AM, but it was far from a typical Saturday. I was at one of my favorite lakes and had waded maybe 100, 120 yards out into the water. This really wasn't unusual for me despite my love/hate affair with water. You see, I have these moments while I am wading in murky water when near anxiety grips me as I suddenly wonder what's below. I have to actually stop and calm my nerves when this occurs. (Remind me someday to explain how I think this got started originally.) This is a factor which lent itself to making what would be a funny experience for some into a spine-tingling experience for me.

It was a comfortable spring morning with the temperature hovering around 72 degrees F., and the sun was shining brightly. The water was as still as glass because there was virtually no wind at all. Most fishermen I know hate "glass" water, but to me it just means alter my tactics. My opinion on bad conditions is that since the fish can't pack up and leave the lake, they're still there and it becomes my job to make them bite. Period.

As I walked through the lake this day, the only sound was the water I was displacing as even the birds were strangely quiet. There were no people fishing this popular spot on a beautiful Saturday morning and that itself should've put my nerves on edge, but it didn't. There's a highway just over a mile from where I was and even the traffic that morning was surprisingly still. Put all these factors together: It's a sunny Saturday morning at about 11 on a popular fishing spot and no one was there, the birds aren't singing, the wind isn't blowing, the water is absolutely still and the only noise comes from me touching the water. Got it?

I don't know what you do on those days...some pray, some think out problems...others just watch the water. On this day I hadn't realized it but my mind had just emptied. I was lulled not into thoughtful contemplation, but just nothingness with not a thought in my head. I barely noticed as I repeatedly cast my size 10 Zug Bug, hooked and released Bluegills with such repitition that it didn't require me to pay much attention.

BOY what a mistake.

I didn't see a wake, I didn't see a shadow, I saw nothing until a Musky at least 36 inches in length (I've caught several of that size and I'm familiar with the length) and very heavy in the belly leapt into the air, completely clearing the water no more than four feet away from me and just to my right, splashing back into the water with the sound of a thunderous handclap!

I'll describe my reaction as this: delicately freaked out. With my heart pounding and my hands trembling I managed to bite off the Zug Bug and tie on a large popper in hopes of getting the toothy predator to hit, but after managing a few measly casts and a few pops I had to make my way to shore in order to let the nerves in my legs settle a bit.

I got in a bit more fishing that day but my embarassment pushed me to tie flies with which I could hopefully someday gain a measure of revenge. These were those first flies.

Left side left to right:

2 flies I came up with in desiring a large but relatively lightweight fly to throw. They are Body Fur and Big Fly Fiber (with the idea this, like rope in a Gar fly, would help grab the teeth of the fish) with eyes added and Krystal Flash through the body. The brown one patterned to look like a Sucker, the other simply olive over white and they're tied on #2 streamer hooks
2 Bucktail Golden Shiners also on #2 streamer hooks
1 Bucktail and Peacock Shad also on #2 streamer hook
2 Flatwing Alewives, tied on 2/0 saltwater hooks

Right side left to right
Top Row

4 Polar Aire streamers, chartreuse over white with rainbow flash Angel Hair, tied on #2 4xL streamer hooks
5 "Bassworms" made from hackle, rubber legs and rabbit hair, tied on #2 4xL streamer hooks

Bottom Row
A bunch of Polar Hair streamers in Alewife, Shad and Shiner patterns (with one Black Nosed Dace for variety:) ) all tied on a size 4 offset point, curved nymph hook because that's supposed to minimize fouling of the wing around the hook. Maybe it's my casting but they foul more than the streamers tied on the #2 streamer hooks.

Bass/Pike fly box 1

2009-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

Gather 'round kids, 'cause uncle Mark is about to show you how to be ready for when the big one is lurkin' just beyond that patch of grass, that one over there, near the sunken log. He's got a big ol' scar down his side from where sumthin' tried ta eat 'im, but he was just too tough.

Today that big boy is just starin' at you and darin' you to toss anything his way, anything at all. Not only do you have to get through the weeds but you've gotta get 'round the wood, then you've gotta offer him a meal worth comin' outta that nice, shady, comfy ambush spot from where he just opens up and snaps down any creature not big enough to eat him first, which means almost everything in the water around him is fair game.

He's gonna laugh at your little nymphs and dry flies. Your precious 4 weight fly rod will become his toothpick. You need not only to bring a rod with enough backbone to haul a brick up the side of a building, but flies that old boy sees as temptin' as you see that 18 oz sirloin gettin' char marks over maple wood charcoal in your grill right now.

These are those flies, all tied by me except where noted.
Left side, left to right from top to bottom:

2 divers I made using half a foam cutout designed for floating Clousers with white hackle and red Krystal Flash attached to 2/0 bass stinger hooks
10 rabbit hair Pike flies of various color combinations on 2/0 saltwater hooks
4 Morrish Mice made with hackle instead of deer hair because like so many, I can't leave well enough alone, tied on size 6 streamer hooks
2 large leech flies sent to me by my friend Ray (letumgo) from Fly Tying Forum.

Right side, left to right from top to bottom:

2 rows of Calcasieu Pig Boats, in colors for whatever occasion, tied on 1/0 and 2/0 Bass stinger hooks, and yes altered from the original (Mine's pretty much Wooly Buggers with extra long hackle and rubber legs)
2 sliders of this pattern (4th picture down) which I bought at International Angler
4 Burblers that are inserted in the box tail to tail for space and on size 8 bass stinger hooks
2 Hot Clown pattern Dahlberg Divers on size 2 streamer hooks
2 generic mice on 1/0 bass stinger hooks

You don't stuff a box with flies like this and expect it to close easy...even a Bugger Barn. It sits open like this 'til I force it shut, which I don't do less I'm carryin' it in my vest. Don't wanna squash all the goods.
That'd be like smashin' the juice out of a hamburger to make it cook faster. What?

You do what?

*sigh* I have a lot to teach you.

The Beetle Spin

2009-03-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

The Beetle Spin and its many imitations...often overlooked, always effective!

Little more than a pint-sized safety pin spinnerbait, this lure is one that I forget lives in my tackle bag just long enough to forget how well it catches fish. This has a bright side however, because every time I tie one on I get to relive the amazement I feel when I am reacquainted with its fish catching ability.

If you've ever used the full-sized safety pin style spinnerbaits (so named because they resemble an opened safety pin with a hunk of rubber or plastic on one end and a shiny, spinning blade on the other) to catch Largemouth or Smallmouth bass you know why this style of lure is in every serious bass fishermans' armory. The strobing flash and water moving thump-thump-thump of that spinning blade calls fish from a distance with the tease of an easy meal involving an injured minnow. When the fish gets close enough it sees something near the flash that looks like an even bigger meal than the blade promised.

It's an extremely versatile lure. You can burn it in at the waters surface fast enough to create a foam, swim it just beneath the surface to create a bulge, swim it well below the surface either in a steady or variable speed retrieve, and you can let it drop to the bottom and basically drag it back to you over the rocks and through the grass and wood. Each approach has its time and place and some enterprising fishermen have created even more tactical uses for the safety pin spinnerbait.
It's a great choice for introducing a fisherman to using lures because it is so easy to work, combining the features of the best all around lure, the plastic jig, with the second (or to some third) best lure the spinnerbait.

That brings us to one of my favorite lures, the Beetle Spin. That was the name brand which popularized the mini safety pin spinner, but other brand companies make this happy little fish catcher. One of the most popular other brands is named Uncle Buck's Panfish Creatures. You can also make your own (shhhh... don't let the companies know I said that) by buying the blade and arm assembly from any well-stocked bait store, big box retailer or online distributor. It has a clip release similar to the one on most fishing license holders and you can put that through the eye of a jig, then you tie on at the "elbow" of the spinner arm.

This lure in 1/8 and 1/16 ounce sizes catches panfish, bass, walleyes, trout and I'm sure somebody out there has caught fish on it that aren't on that list. The blade at that weight is about the size of a mans' fingernail, and the plastic body that provides the illusion of a meal on the hook is kinda like a swimming octopus that has only two legs. Bulbous on one end tapering to two thin legs on the other. It often has a big dot on the "head" end, suggesting perhaps one big eye. I don't believe the legs offer a great deal of action, but they offer enough to get the interest of even an inactive fish.

A plus to this tiny titan is the ability to remove the provided plastic body and replace it with another of your choice, live bait or even to tie a fly on the jig hook. This lure goes a long way for the adventurous fisherman.

I was recently given a Bass Pro gift certificate by a friend and picked up a bunch of these spinnerbaits to use this season, and this time I intend to put them to work!

Carp

2009-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

Ghost of the Flats and Golden Bone are two of its very appropriate nicknames… Golden Bone being a comparison to the well-known and highly sought after saltwater Bonefish. Some of its proper names include Mirror, Grass and Leather… in Poland it’s Karp dziki a. sazan, in Greece Kyprínos, in India Soneri masha, in Hawaii and Japan, Koi. In America, we usually just call it Carp. It’ll break your heart given half a chance.

They're fished by a variety of methods...doughball, boilies, corn, jugs, flies...but don't think that makes the big ones easy to catch, or even the small ones in clear water.

As a species Carp originated in Asia, where the culturing of Carp dates back to around 7 B.C., but in addition to natural dispersal they were brought to Europe as a food fish hundreds of years ago by the Romans, and in the mid to late 1800’s were introduced to North America where they spread quickly. Carp can now be found on every continent and in around 59 countries. Although primarily a warm water fish, Carp can be found in cool trout streams as well as lakes, ponds and rivers throughout any area in which they occur. They are omnivorous feeders, which explain why they are more often found in areas with weeds, mud or a combination of these than in bare bottomed stretches. However, Carp will school to sift large soft flats for food, alert to the slightest shadow or movement overhead. They are geared for bottom-feeding with an under slung mouth, but can often be seen sipping seeds or bugs from the surface. Their diet includes the proverbial “anything they can fit in their mouths”, so often said of more predacious species, but more accurately applied to the scrounging types. Berries, nymphs, crayfish, vegetation, seeds, worms, minnows, snails and more form their common diet.

Carp spawn when the waters warm in the spring, and some small ponds are kept continuously muddy by the amorous roiling of trios of fish, a female followed by two males through the shallows. The number of eggs laid varies with the size of the female, but a large adult can lay up to 2 million, which hatch in 3 to 6 days depending on the temperature. Small Carp are preyed upon by other fishes, but grow rapidly to a size which keeps them safe from most piscine predators. (Though I’ve heard that at two to three pounds they are excellent bait for Muskellunge and Flathead catfish.)

The group of Carp which most anglers picture when the name “Carp” is mentioned include the Common, Mirror and Leather Carp, all variations of Cyprinus carpio. Even the lovely and often quite expensive (up to hundreds of thousands of dollars for top show specimens and breeders) Koi is just another variation on carpio. Cyprinus carpio can be found at 10 pounds quite commonly, making it an excellent target for the inland fly fisher who wants to tangle with a big fish. In fact, the odds are good that if you can regularly find 10 pounders in your body of water, 20 pounders are in there too. Common carp may live in excess of 47 years and weigh over 75 pounds.

The all-tackle world record was landed in 1987 from Lac de St. Cassien, France, and weighed in at 75 pounds 11 ounces. [url="http://www.carphunters.com/Artikler/thaicarp.htm"]The Cambodian Giant Barb[/url] is considered the world’s largest Carp species, reputed to reach some 300 pounds! There are many other species of Carp, including the Asian Big-Headed and Silver Carps, currently causing serious concern as they head steadily toward the Great Lakes of North America after escaping rearing ponds along the Mississippi River during flooding. As evidenced by their worldwide distribution, Carp are survivors!

These are tremendously wary fish. Have you ever approached a muddy shoreline, only to see huge wakes rocketing away by the time you get to within 15 feet? Most likely they were Carp, alerted by your vibrations. In clear water, their excellent eyesight combined with their sensitivity to movement and vibration means you must practice moving very slowly and softly to get close. Normally, standing quietly on a muddy or sandy bottom between shore and the inside weed line for a few moments will allow the fish to resume normal behavior, rooting their way through looking for a meal. When standing completely still, I’ve had them literally go through my legs! A faster way to begin fishing for them is to find an active group and begin casting very lightly toward the fish that is closest to you. There has been some discussion as to which is quicker to strike, a cruising Carp or a sitting fish. In my experience, fish that are just hanging there are sometimes nearly impossible to get a positive reaction from, while the cruisers are looking for a bite, and more readily respond to your fly.

In general, due to the sensitivity and wariness of the fish, you’ll need to lead a cruiser by several yards to keep from spooking it. If you have picked out your target fish, which you should do for your best chance at hooking one, check out its path and respond accordingly. If it is following the edge of the weeds in 2 feet of water, cast 10 yards ahead to give your fly time to settle. (This is in reference to bottom fishing.) As the fish approaches within about 3 feet or so, give it the slightest of twitches. The Carp will see it, and if it looks good, will take. You’ll get takes in murky water too, so don’t bypass the chance just because of cloudiness. However, sight fishing for them is a real adrenaline rush. That’s hard part number one: getting the take. Hard part number two? Getting a good hookset. Carp have tough, rubbery mouths that require either a very sharp hook, a very solid hookset (maybe two or three) or both.

I have literally lost more Carp than I’ve landed due to a bad hookset or dull hook. It is really frustrating to have 30 yards peeled off only to have the hook come out, and I am far too acquainted with the feeling. Keep your hooks sharp! That should be a given with any fisherman of any type of approach, but few of us take it as seriously as we should, including me. Once you spook that Carp, it will probably spook the whole school in its fright, and even if they don’t all leave, you shouldn’t expect another hit for a while.

Hard part number 3 is just landing the beast! Fighting big Carp on a fly rod especially the first couple of runs, is similar to fighting someone standing there with a hand on the end of your rod trying to jerk it out of your hand. I have seen many bait fishers lose their rod by not paying attention while Carping when the fish hits and yanks the rod into the water! I almost lost one this way myself, but was able to chase the rod and grab it just before it hit the water, at which point the line snapped instantly. I’ve done fine with my 6 weight, but if you are specifically out for Carp I recommend an 8 with a leader based on the water you’re fishing, keeping in mind the suddenness of the first run. On average a 6 pound 4 or 5x tippet should do you fine unless there’s cover for it to use against you.

When a Carp takes your fly, you are already a step ahead because the rod is in your hand already, but don’t take that for granted. I saw one guy get his rod pulled from his hand by a Carp that he didn’t know had taken his nymph. He was able to grab it from the water though. After you set your hook, just let it run if you don’t have snags to worry about. Have your drag set correctly before you catch the first fish and don’t play with it during the fight unless you really need to. Set the hook and hold on. Let it run and when it pauses you can start trying to turn it. With smaller fish you will be able to move it, but once it hits 10 pounds or so, all you’ll accomplish is sending it blistering into a second attempt to reach the next time zone. This may happen several times before you get to see the fish, but after you’ve tired it out, your best bet is to try and beach it. Carp are very slippery, and even if you can hoist it up in your hand, you’ll probably drop it while removing the hook.

You also don’t want to try and lip a Carp because if you go too far into its mouth you’ll reach the crushing plates it uses to smash up clams and crayfish and such. I once did this with a fish of about 4 pounds, and while I didn’t lose a finger or anything, it was startling enough to put me on guard from that day forward. A larger fish could probably have done some real damage. If it’s a small fish you can pick up in one hand, you can probably unhook it without a problem. This is one of the biggest reasons I smash the barbs on my hooks: easy release. I don’t have to remove the fish from the water at all to get the hook out no matter what the size.

When you see Carp slurping at the surface, look closely to see what they are feeding on. You can often get them to take on the surface just by giving them what they are already feeding on. Floating seeds, floating bugs, bread pieces, they are all fair game. Toss an adult dragonfly imitation in the midst (lightly!) of some surface feeders and if you don’t spook them, you’ll find that more than Bass and Bluegills will smash a dragon. When Mulberries are ripe, you will always find a Carp or 2 (or a dozen) parked beneath a Mulberry bush that overhangs the water. They love those staining berries and I don’t blame them! I like to grab a handful for myself while I’m out there! When you find this situation, a fly tied to look like a mulberry is a killer. While this next method does brings some controversy, tossing bits of White bread to Carp in order to get them feeding on it, then casting a Bread fly is another great way to get them at the surface. Carp are an amazing fish, not given their respect widely in America probably due to their abundance.

However, in the UK Carp top the list of game fish, and rightfully so. They are hard to sneak up on, harder not to spook with a cast, fight like a Pit Bull dog, and according to many taste very good when taken from clean water or bought in the market. In addition, they present the best chance for an inland fisher in America to regularly catch fish on the fly rod that weigh 5, 10 even 20 pounds! Test yourself fly fisher… chase the “Golden Bone.”

Good flies include:

Rubber-legged anything

Bread fly (Deer hair packed and trimmed square or piece of yarn)

Mulberry (think waterproofed Sucker Spawn in Grape and/or Red)

Cottonwood Seed fly (A cdc feather or waterproofed marabou with a bit of Black dubbing at the end works!)

You can definitely catch Carp on lures too, particularly plastic jigs. Work a Crappie jig slowly across the bottom near feeding Carp and they will take note.

Carpin'

Check out Carpecarpio and some big fish!

Lotsa species of Carp

On the Fly

Common Carp

Mirror Carp(named for their reflective scales)

Leather Carp (Check out the skin)

Grass Carp

The above pictures courtesy this fine Carp site.

Asian Big Head Carp

Beware the Big Head!

Jumping from the water

They get BIG!

You may think that only a few ethnic groups of the world value Carp as a meal, but try some of these recipes and you may join that group of Carp connoisseurs!

P.S. I thought I'd add my favorite Carp story. It was about 45 degrees out, very windy and raining. I was fishing a small city pond for bass, tossing a 4" Blue and Silver Rapala floater. I was just about to duck out of the cold when something broke water and created a White water wake from about 3 feet away from my lure! It was a wake more violent than any Musky, Pike or bass I've ever seen. It hit the Rapala and when I set the hook buried itself deep in the weeds. It too ka godd 7 or 8 minutes to get it to come out of the weeds, and after two more hard runs, I reeled in...

...a 9 pound Common Carp! Most amazingly of all, it had swallowed the Rapala completely. I picked up the fish, and when viewed from the side, the lure could not be seen, it was that deep in the fish's mouth! It took awhile to get that one loose, but it swam away strongly afterward. Carp rock!

My coffeefolia flowered!

2009-02-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

So there I was happily watching television, enjoying the evening when I glanced over at my aquarium and thought "that Anubias looks very different tonight. I think I'll take a picture." So that's then I took this:

(The fish are Cardinal Tetras with an Albino Bristlenose catfish beneath)

A little less than 30 minutes later I looked again to see this:

I was excited because though this plant flowers often, for some reason the flowers never bloomed and just rotted at the stem after a couple of weeks at full height. This is the first time that a flower has actually opened on this plant in the 4 years I've had it. Much to my surprise it looked like this only an hour later:

I've never seen a flower open so quickly! 'Course, I can't say as I've ever watched from beginning to end so maybe I'm just last to the part here, but I thought it was really cool. Anubias barteri 'coffeefolia' is a great plant, very hardy and does well under minimal light. I have a single full length fluorescent over the tank (leaning toward Red spectrum 'cause it makes the Cardinal Tetras and the albino Bristlenose cats look really cool) and the substrate is flourite.

How much is enough?

2009-02-04T18:45:00.000-08:00

As I go through the winter doldrums,ice keeping me from doing the wading I hold so vital to enjoying my fishing, I pacify myself as you probably do: cleaning, stocking and rearranging my tackle.

I find the usual mess, hastily stowed gear as I switch on the water from one lure to another, plastic worms and grubs melted to the boxes they reside in, carefully sorted hooks all mixed together, rock-hard Powerbait still on the hook, flies in the pockets of my vest instead of in their box, old used band aids and so much more gunk that it makes me swear (like I do every winter) that this year will be the year I put everything back in it's place every single time.

(Ya-hunh. Right.)

I did manage this time to transfer all my bass spinnerbaits from hard boxes to soft packs, same thing with a lot of my plastics. This is to allow me to carry them in my vest which never seems to have enough pockets, yet gives me backache when I carry too much.

I moved my inline spinners (Roostertails mostly) to a new, vest-friendly box, refilled my terminal tackle supply boxes (sinkers, hooks and bobbers), filled a small box with small crankbaits designed to catch panfish, refilled my Case's Jack's Worm box (oh yeah, they get their own box!), relocated a ton of flies to different boxes to fit the vest I bought and to my dismay realized it had smaller pockets than the old vest and won't hold my Bugger box or bass fly box, and basically just had fun playing with everything.

After a few hours I came to that old familiar realization that for some reason has yet to propel me to solve it's presence: I have lures that are still in the box which I bought years ago! I have bird skins that I bought in my first couple of years of fly tying! In a nutshell:

I have way too much stuff that I don't use, seeing this every year has not pushed me to do anything about it, and that's just gotta change.

I know why it happens. That's no mystery. I have a selection of flies and lures that work very well for me and I start to fear branching out because I might not catch fish. That and the fact that I have particular methods I enjoy most. I like throwing particular lures and I like throwing particular flies. Still, a pile of unused stuff like this is just downright sinful and I've gotta do something about it.

Seems like there are two really obvious options: either start using it or get it into the hands of someone who will. I already do this with the flies I tie. I tie far more than I fly fish so pretty much every year I end up giving away a couple hundred flies just so that they don't go to waste. I could sell some of the lures I guess, but I really do like catching fish with different approaches at different times. There's a real thrill to the particular slam that comes only when a fish stops a Roostertail cold in the water. The violence of of a crankbait strike near the surface can take your breath away.

I've got plastics I haven't touched yet they are proven fish getters! I have no problem giving stuff away, especially since I ain't using it anyway. However, I think that with much of it I need to go ahead and put it to use to keep my all-around fishing skills from atrophy.

I'd hate to forget how to put together a decent Carolina Rig! (You remember those doncha?)

Great White Shark necropsy online!

2009-01-06T09:53:00.000-08:00

Since we're talking about Great White Sharks anyway, here's news for you future vets, med students and lovers of all things stinky and gushy...

A penguin, a seal, or even a human hand – what would you expect to find in the stomach of a great white shark?
Scientists in New Zealand are about to discover just that when they perform a necropsy on a 10ft great white shark –believed to be the first of its kind, conducted in front of about 1,000 members of the public and streamed live online.
The shark will be dissected and its organs investigated during the necropsy at Auckland Museum this Thursday where scientists hope the operation will help add to their limited knowledge of one of the ocean’s least known about animals.

Great White Shark circles kayakers off Australia

2008-12-31T13:11:00.001-08:00

Man, this had to be seriously scary! Although I would have caught the shark handily on rod and reel or by hand if necessary, I can still empathize with the fear these guys must've been feeling.

Now that's flycasting!

2008-12-10T18:58:00.000-08:00

One of the toughest challenges in learning to fly fish is getting off a good cast. I'm really grateful to Bob Shuey, owner of Neshannock Creek Fly Shop who reassured me that any cast which gets the fly where it should go and doesn't spook the fish is a good cast. That calmed my nerves enough to continue learning.

A well-done cast goes farther, easier and does more than any bad cast. Keeping that in mind here are a couple of ladies showing you how it's done. First, the amazing Spey casting of Jeong Park:

This one's of the "First Lady of fly fishing" Joan Wulff:

Taking the time to perfect your casting is a really valuable thing to do, because you'll find an amazing variety of specialty casts that will help you in any situation. Here's more with Joan Wulff demonstrating basic casts.

I've gotta go work on my roll cast! Lemme know how you do. :)

The people you meet

2008-11-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

I got to get up to the lake and do a little Yellow Perch chasing finally. Being a weekday, there weren't many people on this very popular body of water, but before I could get out of my truck one guy managed to get ahead of me and set up near my intended base of operations.

No problem, on this particular spot if you're limited to shore fishing there are two specific posts you want to assume and since the other was open I set up there. Now this was a beautiful fall day. The sun was shining and accompanied by a light wind which thankfully wasn't enough to create a chill in this 50 degree (on the way to 70) morning.

It was about 9 am (I tried to get there earlier I really did, but while I was checking the weather on tv I made the mistake of flipping channels and there was this really good episode of "Third Watch" on and well...) and I had a bucket of minnows I'd been keeping for a week since a horrible skunking elsewhere and wanted to use them up.

Before I could take a single cast the older guy who was there bass fishing with plastic worms (at first) started chatting with me. After saying only a few words he was nice to enough to tell me that he tends to love having someone to talk to while he fishes, and I should let him know if he's talking too much.

I took that as a warning!

So over the next hour and a half we learned about each others families, how we'd both lost our brothers and fathers, how the economy was hurting but how every man is responsible for his own family, dogs and losing dogs, cooking rabbit, fishing for Steelhead, fly fishing and fly tying, home repair and probably several other things.

That was a lot for me, but that's the kind of thing you can sometimes encounter when you fish, and if you let yourself, you can really learn something. If you are really blessed, you can gain a friend. I had a good time meeting Don. The fish weren't coming in very large sizes anyway, so hey I got to meet another very good fisherman, and while I didn't get to talk much about Christ with him, I did give him my card so that he can tune in to the radio station where I work and hopefully hear more about Him there.

We both left that spot since the fish weren't really hitting, and I did fish another spot for about an hour, but on the drive home I realized that the highlight of my day was making a new buddy!

Lions and tigers and...well, just bears, but still.

2008-10-17T13:49:00.000-07:00

We've got lots of bears in Western PA, but most people don't realize it because bears tend to keep away from people. The thing is, when the population increases, the bears start to smell what you've got in your backyard and want to investigate.

A friend of mine lives less than a mile from one of my favorite fishing spots, and she sent me these pictures of a "friendly" that keeps investigating her backyard. Keep in mind, she lives on a major state road that is heavily trafficked!

Black Bears...yow. This friend has drastically reduced the number of spots where she'll hang out with me while I fish now. A firm prerequisite is that there be lots of open space in case she needs to run! :D

What a summer

2008-09-22T17:56:00.001-07:00

Beneath all the slings and arrows of outrageous inactivity, Mark rises! This has been a really unusual summer for me in that I've only fished like three times! I've had lots of summers where I've fished three times a week, so you can guess that this is makin' me nuts.

That's no excuse for languidity here though, and as such, check this out. Catfish are great fish. There are many, many beautiful species which lay their "ugly" reputation quite to rest. Several species attain sizes larger than the people fishing for them! The European Wels is one such catfish.

The bug is bitin'

2008-07-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

Oh man, a month! I can't believe it's been that long since I posted. Thing is, it's been longer than that since I fished because of the gas prices and just business. God's been good to keep the bug from getting to me too much 'cause I really needed to get the stuff done that I've been doing, but I need to hit the water soon!

On the bright side, speaking of Adventures with Fish, I was able to pick up a really neat plecostomus type catfish for my aquarium. Popularly known as a "Peppermint Pleco", the little guy is settling in well. I'll have to get you a picture of it. Hopefully, Lord willing, I'll be putting my fishroom back together in the next few months and that excites me!

Go read about the Peppermint Pleco, and I'll get back soon.

Best Channel Catfish bait ever!

2008-06-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

If you fish for catfish you know there are a million different ways practiced by a million different people to catch them. All know and agree however, that for Channel Catfish, playing their sense of smell/taste is the top way to catch them on rod and reel.

I don't fish for them often, so when I do I want what works. I've caught them on all sorts of live baits, stink baits, flies, crankbaits, jigs...cats will surprise you when you least expect them!

After trying lots of approaches, there is one that has stood the test of time and now stands head and shoulders above every other technique I've used to catch Channel catfish: squid.

This couldn't be simpler.

Buy yourself a few fresh, whole squid. You can get them cleaned or do it yourself.
Cut them into pieces about 2 inches by 2 inches, leaving individual tentacles whole. (They already look like worms, right?)
Place the whole deal into a plastic food storage bag that secures well. Stick this whole thing outside on a hot sunny day in a place where the animals won't get to it.
Leave it there for the day at least. You can go for two days.

That's it! Now you should have a ripe, stinky bag of squid bits. I have never had a day of Channel cat fishing that produced results like the days when I use squid treated this way. The flesh is tough too, so it holds the hook well.

Just uh, watch out for the cats.

A piece or two on your hook and you'll be finding catfish in places you never even saw them before!

The moment of the strike

2008-06-11T11:33:00.001-07:00

Oh wow, I can't believe I've ignored this blog for so long! Sorry about that, I've been mad busy with work and actually haven't had a moment to fish in weeks. I did find something today that I thought you'd enjoy.

I've often said that the one thing fly fishing shows usually omit which is oddly enough, the most exciting moment of fishing for a lot of people: the moment of the strike.

This video is sweet!

The Clean Water Restoration Act H.R. 2421

2008-04-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

From a recent (April 15 2008) press release:

A bill before Congress aims to keep drinking water "good to the last drop", in Ohio and across the nation. Recent Supreme Court rulings have removed Clean Water Act protections from a number of waterways- mostly smaller streams and wetlands- and the proposed law would clearly state that those waterways are protected."

........

"Critics say the proposal would hurt farmers who use the waters in question - Goldman-Carter says it includes exemptions for agricultural use."

So what's the read deal behind this controversial act? Here are some background links for your edification. Look and learn, y'all.

Pennsylvania certified salted minnows

2008-04-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Almost sounds like a new snack food doesn't it? Got another new rule for you Pennsylvania anglers: your salted minnows must now be certified VHS free. There's a good discussion hashing out the finer points of the new regs and giving links to the official statements going on over at Fish Erie. Click here and start learning the rules so you don't get caught red ~~herringed~~ handed.

Salmon fishing to be cancelled in Oregon and California?

2008-04-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

With cancellations possible, this is looking to be a bleak and expensive year ahead regarding salmon.

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- Federal fisheries managers today took the initial step toward imposing what could be the strictest limits ever on West Coast salmon fishing amid a sharp drop in fish returning to California's Sacramento Valley.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council unanimously adopted three options for sport and commercial fishing off the Pacific Coast, including a complete shutdown of fishing off California and Oregon.

The closest the council has come to halting all salmon fishing was in 2006 when a decline in Northern California's Klamath River run forced severe catch limits.

story

2008 Pennsylvania trout stocking schedule

2008-04-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

The 2008 trout stocking scheduls are now available for pickup only at Republican Chairman of the PA House Game and Fisheries Committee, Rep. Sam Rohrer's (R-Berks) district office.

A total of 745 streams and 128 lakes will be stocked as a part of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission's 2008 adult trout stockign program...with a total of nearly 4.5 million trout being stocked this year.

Starting last year the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) began stocking longer, heavier adult trout.

Copies of the trout stocking schedules can be obtained by visiting mr. Rohrer's district office located at 29 Village Center Drive, suite A-7, Reading PA 19607 or by visiting SamRohrer.com.

source: press release

The clean boat act

2008-03-27T19:23:00.000-07:00

I don't have a boat yet, but this is an important issue for ANYONE who even might boat someday. I'm copying this from this post at Fish Erie, all links included. The pasted portion is between the lines.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a New Bill re-worded, AND also to exempt CHARTER BOATS, CAPTAINS GET ON THIS.

What are the differences in the bills?

Both HR 2550 and S. 2067 articulate the definition of a recreational boat and then exempt recreational boats from the permit requirement of the Clean Water Act.

The new bill, S. 2766, includes all that language, with two additions. Charter boats are exempted from the permit and there is a three year, three part framework to determine if any management practices should be required.

March 19, 2008

Dear BoatUS Member,

We need your help now to pass NEW federal legislation in the Senate that would provide a permanent exemption for recreational boats from the upcoming EPA discharge permit requirement. Remember that if we don't get legislation passed, we all need to get EPA permits to operate our boats effective 9/30/08!

We appreciate the time that many of you have already taken to let your Senators or Representatives know your support of S. 2067 or HR 2550 "The Recreational Boating Act of 2007." Now there is a new Senate Bill #2766 "The Clean Boating Act of 2008", which is more politically viable, and our best chance to eliminate the permit requirement before it comes in effect on September 30, 2008.

Please pick up the phone or email today and ask your Senators to sponsor and vote YES for S 2766. Although Congress is on recess this week and next, we need their staff to hear from us so that this bill can move as soon as the Senators are back in Washington.
For more information:
http://www.boatus.com/gov/alert_0308.asp
Background
What's the timing?
Why a new bill?
What are the differences in the bills?
What does S 2766 include?
View a copy of the bill
Speaking points
To contact your Senators electronically

Thanks for your ongoing help with this issue.

Margaret Podlich
Vice President, Government Affairs
BoatUS
GovtAffairs@BoatUS.com
703-461-2878 x8355

What people need to understand is that if the new version of the bill is not passed ALL BOATERS will have to buy an EPA permit that could cost $800.00 or more. The EPA does not have a choice. As the law is written right now they MUST create a permitting system for ALL boats by September of this year. Obviously this will cripple the boating industry as well as recreation. Time is running out!

Watch the video:

http://www.boattest.com/nmma.aspx

Contact your members of congress:

http://www.rallycongress.com/boattest-dotcom/1064

http://www.boatblue.org/takeaction.aspx

It takes probably less than 5 minutes to login and make your voices heard.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read thoroughly, and make an informed decision!

Catching a 200 pound stingray

2008-03-20T17:24:00.000-07:00

My biggest fish so far was a 16 pound Carp. I can't even imagine the fight of a nearly 200 pound stingray, but this guy can:

When remembering today about the amazing tug of war we had with this "barn door size" stingray , I find myself in total admiration about the unbelievable strength it displayed during six hours before giving up. It is absolutely out of this world. We hooked up this 200 pounder at the Bang Pakong River. It then tracted us for miles like you cannot imagine, taking us next to the Nakorn Nayok River, then to the Prachinburi River, then back to the Bang Pakong River again, to be finally landed at the Nakorn Nayok River.

Now this sounds like a whole lotta fun!

Every man has a giant

2008-03-13T17:31:00.000-07:00

My name is Mark, and I have a problem.

Every man has his giant.

Captain Ahab had Moby Dick. Steve Fawcett had his insatiable need for adventure. Rocky Balboa had his relative ignorance, and I have a giant too. Something I face that haunts me at every turn, that greets me not long after I wake, visits me throughout the day, and sometimes visits me in my dreams. It is the thing which I have to conquer.

My giant...is fishing.

To be honest, I have to concentrate on keeping it from becoming an obsession, and it isn't easy. Right now as I sit before my laptop, I know that there are Hybrid Stripers over ten pounds swimming within 2 miles of where I am. I know that I have what it takes to catch them, and I know that there are bigger fish swimming in the same waters. I know what the wind feels like on my face as my eyes begin to water from the breeze, and the anticipation of waiting for that first strike, and the next.

I know that within 45 minutes I could be on some of the best panfish water in the state of Pennsylvania, and most of my favorite spots on that lake are spots that I've never seen anyone else fish right, and I can slip in there and catch fish right under their noses.

I know where the Flatheads swim.

It gets to me. Those days where someone outfishes me and it takes me until just before I have to leave to break the code. Then I go back and the next time that method doesn't work. I must learn to break the code faster.

I get nervous every time I get to waist deep while wading, yet I've watched guys zoom past me until they are nearly up to their armpits in the water, yet continue to cast. Not that I think that's particularly safe (or smart) but when it gets quiet, and I'm in weeds up to my thighs, water up to my pockets, I wish I could be crazy like those guys and stop wondering what's going to pop up next to me (it's happened) or if a Snapping Turtle is going to decide to sample me (it nearly happened: thankfully it was clear water.).

I need to slay that giant.

I can't do a great Roll Cast with my fly rod. I can't use a bait caster reel at all. There are people who are better fishermen than I, who tie better flies than I, tie better knots than I, who get a perfect circle in their cast net nearly every time...

There's something in me that wants to do everything involved in sport fishing and to eventually perfect every aspect of it.

As long as there is even one part of fishing that I haven't conquered, it will be a giant looming over me, casting its shadow across my point of view. Whispering in my ear that I have failed to do something...and it wins again. Every time I try to adjust the lip of a Rapala and it makes no difference, I'll know my giant is there. When I catch only a single White Bass and I'm using minnows, I know it's there.

My giant is fishing itself, but if I am careful and don't let it beat me, don't let it come between me and what's important, instead letting it push me just enough to get better all the time, one day my giant will fall.

On that day I wonder if I'll laugh or cry?

Larry Dahlberg "Panfish and Bass fly fishing basics" DVD review

2008-03-08T08:22:00.000-08:00

Panfish and Bass fly fishing basics

I found out after watching this DVD twice that it was copyrighted back in 2003, but I just saw it for the first time about a month ago at the local Sportsman's Warehouse and decided to pick it up. I've been looking for just the right fly-fishing/fly-tying video, and I thought this one was it. Turns out it isn't what I expected, but everything it proclaims itself to be!

This is an outstanding video for the beginner fly fisher. Released by Scientific Anglers and a scant 58 minutes in length, "Panfish and Bass fly fishing basics" by Larry Dahlberg packs all the punch of his regular tv series "The Hunt for Big Fish". It begins with the "bloop-bloop-bloop" of a large Dahlberg Diver (the diving fly made of deer hair which was popularized by mr. Dahlberg) working the nerves of a soon revealed Peacock bass. We then see several tropical species before settling in on the North American fish we've come to see.

The first segment, "Panfish" begins by demonstrating the natural curiosity of the average panfish, as Larry tosses first a cricket, then the chewing gum he was just chewing, into the water. The fish grab both, showing just what a great starter they are for the beginning fly fisher. He goes on to explain the importance of insects in the diet of these fish and why that makes the fly fishing approach not only appropriate but extremely effective.

He continues on to explain the where, when, why and how of finding the fish on any body of water, including coverage techniques to make the most of your time on the water. Subtle things of which to take note, like the composition of the bottom, are clearly noted. There is video a a great double on a two fly rig, and this segment (as well as the entire DVD) is replete with the classic Dahlberg slo-mo and extreme close up views, making catching a Bluegill seem like the most exciting thing ever!

There is plenty of underwater footage of not only the fish but also the flies in action, and best of all there is no shortage of what other fly fishing shows seem almost to avoid: shots of the actual take! Personally speaking, this is the most exciting moment of the fishing show for me, and while our hardware throwing brethren realized long ago that their viewers love seeing the moment of the strike, somehow fly fishing producers find that to be a definite negotiable and I just don't get it. In fact, later in the DVD in a bonus section on Northern pike is the most incredible fly take I have ever seen in video, when a Pike comes almost vertically from below a fly and it's jaws snap shut over it like some scene from a Godzilla movie where the giant lizard eats a boat!

In this segment mr. Dahlberg performs an effective demonstration to show the physics behind casting with a fly line vs. casting any other way, showing how the weight of the line provides the power. this leads us into a segment on Largemouth bass which reiterates the crossover facts from bluegills, plus gives a where, when, why, how on the techniques and conditions for catching this larger cousin. He mentions that hsi favorite flies for hunting mr. Bucketmouth are the diver, popper, slider and skipper, and demonstrates each.

From here we go to casting instruction. Declaring stroke and timing to be the highest priority issues involved in casting, he uses a small wooded dog with bright orange wheels to demonstrate with tremendous clarity the role of timing. (You have to see it to believe it.)

From here he launches into casting instruction that includes the best videography of good and bad casting that I've seen to date. Demonstating hauling, roll casting, false casting, line control and other important factors in making your fish catching experience all it can be, I truly believe that a person could watch, pause, try, repeat and master all the basic casts. Mr. Dahlberg takes great pains to note the benefit of practicing in your backyard before even considering going near water! If you have a portable DVD player, this would be where it earns its' keep. take it outside with you as you practice.

The next segment covered is Smallmouth Bass fishing in rivers. This segment contains more great video of casting techniques and goes into boat control, detailed fish location and how to thoroughly work a pool.
While the topics are well covered, drift control is inexplicably left out. Perhaps more important to the trout fisherman, I think it does come into play at time with Smallmouth, especially when fishing a mayfly hatch. Otherwise another great segment.

Our next topic is knots, and this segment gives up close presentations of how to tie the accepted, effective knots going from tying the line to the reel all the way down to the tippet/fly connection. I was surprised to not hear a reminder of wetting the knot before tightening, a reminder I think should always be made.

From here is a brief tying segment which showed how to tie mr. Dahlbergs' favorite panfish fly, the Black Gnat, and one of his Dahlberg Divers. This segment would be best suited for someone who has already begun tying. It goes by very quickly and you'd need to know the basics of tying first. Though if you do, it'll be pretty simple to follow and make these two flies.

The last segment is on Northern Pike, and really seems more like a chance just to show another fish, as details are few. There isn't a plan given on where or when to find them on a given body of water, and more tackle details would've helped.

I am admittedly a Larry Dahlberg fan, that's what influenced me to buy this DVD in the first place. Still, for the beginning (1st or 2nd...even 3rd year) fly fisher who hasn't taken any classes, this video is an outstanding tutorial. Mr. Dahlbergs passion is evident, his instruction clear, and the video shows all. The experienced fly fisher may find that parts of the casting segment drag a bit, but I can recommend this DVD even for you because one day you'll wanna teach others how to fly fish, and even if you are already an effective teacher, (and especially if you aren't!) this DVD will add to your ability to teach.

For it's purpose, teaching the basics of fly fishing for bass and panfish, I give "Panfish and Fly Fishing Basics" a 10 out of 10. I paid $17.99 for it.

Truth hurts

2008-02-25T10:46:00.000-08:00

(WHAT?!? whuzzat?? Oh, the alarm clock. Stupid clock. Hey wait, fishin' today, YAH! Erie here I come. I wonder what the streams look like. Man, I'm gonna catch a bunch o-) "Ouch!" (STUPID CHAIR! MMMMMM, coffee. Okay lessee, rods are in the truck. Where's my thermos? Gotta call Mike and Shawn make sure they're ready.) "Hey. You up? 15 minutes. Cool. I dunno, maggots, minnows, treat 'em like Trout is what I'm told. Cool. Hey, call Shawn and I'll meet you at the church parking lot. Cool."

(Man it's colder than I thought it would be. Oh well. Lord, please let me catch a few. Nice ones. C'mon truck warm up already. Where-Oh, there they are.) "Hey. Yup. I got coffee. Yeah, we'll stop at the McDonald's off the Grove City exit. y-a-w-n. Ready? Cool." (Man, this is gonna be great. I'm gonna catch my limit then just catch and release. Hey, I wonder if John's on the air yet. C'mon radio. Wow, I haven't been up this early since... since I was fired from A.)

"Hey, wake up. Yeah. Uh, Sausage biscuit and hash browns please. Thanks. You guys ready? Cool. I dunno, about another hour. What are you gonna do with your fish? Yeah, right! I'm gonna keep one for the smoker, one for the grill, and I'll probably give one to Sue, they have been on kinda hard times lately. Cool." (Man it's pretty up this way. Boy it's taking forever to get there! Arrggh! I can't wait!! Gotta remember to get maggots and spoons. Need some floats too. Did we pray yet?) "Hey, let's pray and thank God for today and pray for a safe time." "------ Amen." ( and lots o fish too Lord, okay?) "Which way now? You're some help. Look on the map! D'uh! Here? Okay. C'mon let's make this quick, and don't spend too much 'cause you're payin' for gas!" (C'mon, c'mon, hurry up! Why can't they be like me, everything rigged up before I take them out of the car, know what I want before I walk into the-hey, what's that?) "Two of these please. So, can you tell me how to get to Walnut Creek. Nope. Okay, okay. A left? Cool, thanks. Stop sign. Have a good one! You got what you need? Let's go, C'mon."

(Please Lord, don't let me get skunked, not this time. Please.) "I'm gonna catch the biggest fish you do realize, right? Man! Look at all those people!" (Here's a good spot to park. Thank you Lord.) "You got everything? Let's go over there." (How do we get down there?) "Can you see how to get down? Okay good, now hurry up, I got fish to catch. Where are they? What do you mean right there? Whoa... look at those fish!" (MANOMANOMANOMAN) "WOW! I can't believe it! Look at those fish! They're huge!" (I can't believe this! This is gonna be great!)

"Man this is sweet! This is gonna be so easy! You got one?! Alright!! Way to go, man!" (Anytime now, anytime... C'mon, take the bait!) "Another one? Alright! You Got one yet? Don't worry, if he got one, anybody can!" (except me apparently. C'mon PLEASE bite! Worms, minnows, maggots, they've gotta want SOMETHING!) "You got one? 'Bout time! Just what 'til I get mine, you'll be shamed!" (and you can feel like I do now. 5 hours!?!? what am I doing wrong?) "Almost had one!" (Now HE'S got one! Is everybody gonna get one but me?) "Now, you know I'm not goin' home fishless! I'm gonna work my way down to the lake. Yeah! Okay. Hey buddy, doin' any good? 3 eh? Good job." (I hate you.) "What are they hitting on? A piece of yarn?!?" (What kind of mess is that??) "Sure, let me help. Easy, okay I got him in the net. Man, he's even bigger than your last one!" (F*** YOU!!)

"Hi! Looks like you're doin' good. What're they hittin' on? Oh, yeah? I've been usin' them and haven't landed one." (Stop lying! You haven't even had a hit!!) "Not using them right? yeah okay..." (Whatever. Lord, it's a 2 1/2 hour drive, why is this happening to me? I'm not THAT bad. I catch plenty of Trout, why can't I catch them?!? Yeah, "fish on" my a**. Sorry, Father, I don't mean to curse, but I HATE this. Everybody else is catching fish, why can't I? Wait, there's one holding in that groove. Okay, patience, get the drift right in front of him, DARNIT! that drift was perfect! Okay, maggot. CRAP! Minnow. -----, powerbait, what color? okay... he's gonna take it! NO! NONONONO! Why the hel* did it spook! I HATE THIS! I HATE FISHING. I DRIVE ALL THIS WAY FOR NOTHING! STUPID FREAKIN' FISH!)

(Please God pleasepleasepleaseplease)

"No. No. How many did you get? Cool." (Screw you.) "How many did you get? Good deal!" (SO what!) "Yeah, I'm ready. I didn't have what I needed this time, but you watch next time. You won't even be able to carry the fish I catch 'cause they'll be so big!" (I'll never do this again. what a complete waste.) "Yeah, I can give you a great recipe. No, but it looks good." (Stupid recipe, stupid fish) "Yeah, wow, that sounds like it was fun. Yeah, I did see you catch that one, that was great!" (Can't you understand how much this sucks for me?? I will never do this again. Fish suck. I hate to clean them anyway. 5 hours of driving.) "Oh, yeah, I can't wait 'til next time. I'm gonna try this new spinner I bought, and I think I know EXACTLY what will work on them. I'm gonna catch a bunch!" (LIAR!) "Sure. No, I don't want one of yours, 'cause next time you'll be wantin' one of my big ones! Ha Ha!"

(I will never make this drive again. What a stupid freaking waste of time. Darn fish are too finicky. You can only catch them if you know the area. It was too windy anyway. Plenty of fish close to home.) "Alright man. Yeah you did great! Watch out for me next time though! Thank you Lord for getting us back safely. See ya'! (Stupid fish. How much humiliation is one guy supposed to take?) "Hey babe. No, I didn't have the lure they were hitting on. Yeah, I know. I think I'm gonna concentrate on figuring out the Walleyes down Montour for a while. Got plenty of jigs. Hunh? That's a little Cleo, I bought 6. Yes the leftover maggots are goin' in the fridge. Don't worry they're wrapped tight. I'm gonna leave my gear in the truck. Prob'ly go down the river tomorrow. Yeah, they both caught fish. How do I know? I'm NOT yelling! Fine."

(Never again. Never.)

(It's a long drive for nothing.)

(Maybe I'll try that yarn thing next time.)

(Yeah. That'll get 'em)

Carp story number two

2008-02-18T19:49:00.000-08:00

No, I didn't forget, I'm just learning that it isn't easy to work two blogs along with my production and regularly hourly work, but it is a good way to stay out of trouble. Except of course, in relating to the people who connect on my blogs, through my production, or in my regular job. ;)

I like fishing with the lightest gear that I can reasonably get away with. Now bear in mind, I'm not going after Flathead cats with 2 pound line or anything like that, and I'm not using gear that would play fish to complete exhaustion. I just know that you can usually use much lighter gear than we usually use and with a dash of skill + experience, you can safely and quickly land a pretty big fish.

This in mind, a couple of summers ago I picked up two new rods. One a 7 1/2 foot ultralight, and the other a 7 foot light action. The 7 foot rod I geared to fish 4 pound line, and couldn't wait to take it out on the water. I transferred a small reel from my 4 1/2 ultra light Ugly Stik to use on the long rod along with a fresh spool of 4 pound Trilene XL. Even though I was going to be running errands all day, one Friday I decided to put it in the back of the truck and stop by the mouth of a particular stream which enters the Ohio River not far from one of my stops.

It was a beautiful afternoon about 1:30 PM as I pulled off the main road and pointed my vehicle toward the railroad tracks which follow the rivers around here as faithfully as a hound follows his master in hopes of some play. A hundred yards or so upriver found me at one of my favorite fishing spots, a spot ordinarily so reliable that if I don't get a bite within 20 minutes I know that I can go ahead and leave.

I parked, excitedly snatched my new rod and "emergency fishing pack" from the truck and headed down through the weeds toward the water. (You've got an emergency fishing pack don't you? The mini-tackle box and gear that fits in your pocket and never leaves the truck just in case you drive past a likely spot during your days' travels and need to see if there are any fish there? You've gotta have one of these packs. I have one for fly fishing and one for lure/bait fishing.) The water in the mouth of this creek runs crystal clear nearly all the time despite the immediate conversion to olive green it assumes upon combining with the river.

There is a large tree that fell from the bank and sticks halfway across the mouth, and several boulders strewn haphazardly throughout its wide but shallow lower reaches. At any given time there are Rainbow and Brown Trout, Largemouth or Smallmouth Bass, Walleye and Sauger, Pike, Musky, Hybrid Stripers large Shad and probably a half dozen other species milling around this apparent haven.

One visitor nearly always in residence is the Carp, and normally in schools of no less than 10. This day was much like any other in that moments after reaching the bank, I saw several dark brown shadows cruising the area, stopping now and then to sip at the surface, much to my delight. As with most Carp schools, this one was accompanied by one fish which was a bit different from the rest. Why this happens is a mystery to me, but it seems that about 7 out of ten schools I see have one fish which is a total standout. I'll never forget the school I saw years ago which held one big Carp which looked all black.

This schools' oddball was about 3 shades lighter than all the rest, and seemed just as golden from above as the average Carp does when viewed from the side! Despite only being about mid-sized for this school of fish, he was the one I wanted. I decided to tie on a one inch pale tan Crappie tube jig, on a 1/16 oz jig. After watching the fish for a while to determine their direction (they were "pacing" the mouth of the stream as they fed), I tossed my little jig on 4 pound line on my new light action rod about 6 feet in front of the group. Several fish noticed the jig and swam toward it, but lost interest fairly quickly.

In the 2 feet of crystal clear water, twitching it on the bottom for their attention wasn't going to to be a problem. In fact, I had to be careful to twitch lightly because my next cast, sink, twitch cause about 6 of the fish to startle and swim off upstream a ways. I was kicking myself for this over the fear that they wouldn't return, but after just a few minutes my concerns were squashed, as the whole gang, with "goldie" off to the side of the school nearest the bank I attended.

I watched as they came slowly back downstream, sipping at the surface, nipping at the bottom, and before they were within 20 feet I decided to set my tube jig out there so that it could settle before the fish arrived, and then I could work it after they were near. With a flip of my wrist the teeny tube sailed through the air and landed with barely a ripple about 5 yards in front of me. The fish were getting closer, and the anticipation was making me nuts!

As the front of the school flowed by, the gold Carp that had initially attracted my attention stopped short, taking some small bug off the surface, and at that moment with the fish only three feet upstream and to the right of my jig, I started to swim it up off the bottom. Slowly, with small sweeps like a fleeing crayfish I moved my tube only an inch or two off the bottom, and that Carp pounced on it like a shark on a mullet!

Let me pause here to say that one of the most common mistakes when a fish strikes in this type of situation is to get so caught up by the take that the fisherman forgets to set the hook, the fish spits the hook and the chance is gone for good. So, this in mind I had been telling myself over and over "if this works, don't get so caught up by the take that you forget to set the hook".

So, after seeing this Carp so aggressively attack my jig, I found myself so caught up in the take that I forgot to set the hook. Momentarily. ;)

With just a tug on the rod the fish was on as was the fight! It took off several yards of line almost instantly, spooking the rest of the school out of the area. As my drag screamed I though of how much I love that sound, and how glad I was that there was another fisherman there to see me catch this fish, 'cause you know when you catch nice fish there's never anybody to witness it! This fish and I played tug of war for a couple of minutes, with me hoping and praying that it didn't come off the hook. At one point it seemed to become disinterested in our little game and headed for the deeper water out in the river channel and I started to believe I would never land this fish.

After fighting it back in close it decided to head toward the downed tree I mentioned earlier, and I feared it would either wrap in the branches or around one of the boulders in the water before me. Thankfully, it wasn't able to pull off an escape, and a minute or so later I was ble to bring it to hand. It wasn't big for a Carp, only about 6 or 7 pounds, but it was as bright and shiny as new copper wire and had given me a great thrill as the first fish on my new rod and reel.

As I unhooked the jig I realized that the hook had been bent nearly straight by the strong jaws and powerful fight of this "golden bone", and my respect for this wet warrior returned anew. As it slid through my hands back into its watery haunt, leaving me with a mitt full of slime, I smiled. This had been very good.

I was at the local fish market a couple of days ago, and as I saw the stack of Carp for sale I thought of the many days this fish has out pulled, out fought, and on rare occasion, out jumped, everything else caught on any given day.

There, over shadowed by the Striped Bass, the fresh shrimp and the Tuna steaks lay the simple, everyday Carp. Too well-known to be appreciated as it should, to common to be thought special, much maligned while showing itself a survivor capable of thriving in nearly any environment.

I looked, I smiled, and I walked away knowing that we would meet again, and that it was not a certainty that in our next meeting, I would again be the winner.

A wise fisherman pays attention

2008-02-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

If you fish for Striped Bass or the hybrid "Wiper" (a cross between White Bass and Striped Bass), and you've never visited "Striper Moon", you're a bit behind where you could be.

Ken Abrames knows Striper fishing, and is a pretty good writer too.

Serious fishermen seldom try to draw attention to themselves, as a rule they are clandestine and avoid large groups of spectators. They often come out only at night and cannot be identified by the bumper stickers on their vehicles or by the display of rods and reels attached to the front or top or back of their off road 4X4 super duper fishing trucks because they don't often own one. They mostly walk by themselves or with one or sometimes two other serious fishermen that they have known for twenty years or more. They are not actually stand-offish but they are truly going fishing when they appear on a beach and so they are not likely to join in a group of spectators who are there primarily for the companionship of staying out all night with brother 4X4 beach riders. They seldom listen to the radio or watch television when they fish and are more prone to fish than to socialize. They never sit in lawn chairs and their equipment is often old-fashioned which now-a-days means two years old or more.

Check out his newest article "Overlooking the obvious", at Striper Moon. Have a great weekend!

Pike revenge!

2008-01-29T19:15:00.001-08:00

Carp fishing

2008-01-21T17:31:00.000-08:00

I'll never get used to it. You talk to almost any group of fisher folk and mention Carp. Somebody invariably insults the Carp as a "trash fish", worthy only of tossing back into the water or worse, thrown alive onto the bank to suffocate. NO fish should be treated that way. If you're going to kill it, then do so. If not, then put it back in the water. It's only humane.

Admittedly Carp do overpopulate many waters due to their incredible propagative ability. Then they need to be thinned out, but still humanely. The thing that irritates me about the complete lack of respect shown these fish is that they are tremendous fun to catch!

Hooking up with a ten pound Carp, which is likely almost anywhere they can be found, is hooking up with a ten pound fish! They fight like your big brother whoopin' on you for taking the last cookie, and pound for pound their stamina is a match for any other freshwater fish.

You can't always just throw bait at them either, especially as they grow older. Carp are totally aware of their environment and that usually includes you. The best Carp anglers in the world, generally speaking, can be found in Great Britain. These folks have honed their skills fishing along some of the world's most crowded banks, refining and refining again their approach to a fish which can pick up and drop a bait without you even knowing they've seen it.

Some anglers call the Carp the "Golden Bonefish" because in their feeding habits, skittishness and near invulnerability to the hook in clear water. The name fits. I am certain that you've seen more wakes suddenly headed away from you than you've seen the actual Carp in the your area, and in clear water, you may not have seen them at all.

My 2 favorite Carp memories both took place on, believe it or not, trout streams! Yup, Carp make a way.

The first one was on one of the best trout streams in the northeast. I was fly fishing at a dam on the stream, drifting a small nymph through the pockets in the dam formed by rocks splitting the overflow as it tumbled over it's 3 foot drop in front of me. It was a comfortable spring day and I'd been catching fish pretty regularly. I was drifting it deep after seeing a few large shadows which I took to be smallmouth, when my line tightened slowly. I set the hook, and within 20 seconds I got that cold feeling in the pit of my stomach that tells you something bad is about to happen.

My line had followed the plunge pool of the waterfall from one side to the other, without slowing in the least. The cold feeling set in. Then, when my line turned East and started downstream toward the rapids area, my gut started to quake a little. I'm gonna be real honest here, more honest than a fisherman should. I had two thoughts making me nervous. Thought number one: "Oh shoot, I'm gonna lose this fish!" Thought number two, the...ugly thought...was: "Oh shoot, I'm gonna lose this fish...and everybody's gonna see it happen!" I hate when that happens. It's not as bad when you lose a fish and are the only one who knows it, but when everybody knows...ugh.

My mind got off that real quick when I looked down and saw that this fish had stripped my fly line off the reel and was down into the backing and still hadn't so much as paused in it's mad dash to be free of that hook. Since I couldn't run across the stream and the near side was bounded by high weeds, I had one choice: follow the fish through the rapids. Scared? You bet. I was running out of line though, and determined to find out what was making me sweat.

It took some serious scrambling on my part and some furious reeling to finally get my fly line back on the reel, and by this point I was down near the fly shop which sits on the bank of the Neshannock Creek. This was a Saturday and there were plenty of other guys fishing. They quickly realized that I was fighting something big, and everybody stopped to look. Bob Shuey, the owner of Neshannock Creek Fly Shop, came out and gave me a little heck. "What's this commotion you're causing out here?" he asked. To be honest, I was so wound up fighting this fish that I don't even remember what I said in response!

I had been fighting this fish for about 20 minutes at this point and all eyes were on me. (Nervous? Bah!) Finally, after all this running, climbing and fighting, the fish showed itself at the surface. It was simply the biggest carp I've ever hooked! I mean when this baby rolled up top it was like a golden side of beef! So when the angler down from me (the fish was still over 20 yards away) offered to net it for me, I quickly accepted.

*Ominous music starts*

Then it all came crashing down. As carp will, this fish reacted badly to the approach of this guy with his net. One huge flip and it threw the hook and took off back upstream.

On the bright side, everybody saw my big fish. On the dark side, I SO wanted a picture with that beast.

Next time I'll tell you about the 4 pound line, Crappie jig, crystal clear water and 6 pound carp. 'Til then...

This...is...SPARTA!!!

2008-01-21T16:12:00.000-08:00

Nah, it's Adventures with Fish, but I got your attention didn't I?

Ever been scared by something out there? -conclusion

2008-01-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

At that moment, a large (12-15pound) black object rose slowly from the water in front of me, and then after a moment of shock I realized what it was; I was staring at a huge Cormorant! I had no idea they'd come this far south from the place where I'd last heard they were becoming a nuisance, Lake Erie. There is a chance that it could have been a large black Loon, although I didn't see the tell-tale white or grey band around it's neck which most Loons I see have.

It looked at me and quickly took flight (why does everything run from me?) across the river, flapping hard to ascend more than a few inches above the water until it had traveled quite a few yards, when it finally attained full flight. At this point you're probably asking yourself why this would have scared me. Remember: it had been very quiet and I had not heard that bird enter that water. All I knew was that suddenly, less than eight feet away from me, a large black living thing was rising from the water before me.

Yeah, Blair Witch Project scared me, too.

Anyway, after the big bird flew out of sight and I picked up my lower jaw, I got out of the water to wait and see if this bird had any companions following. It didn't, so I got back to fishing, but the bites were done.

No problem. It was time to go to work anyway.

Ever been scared by something out there?

2008-01-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

It was a cold, grey day. I decided to spend some of my afternoon fishing the beautiful Allegheny River in Pennsylvania. I was bundled against the cold, dressed in layers. In fact, many layers. Four sweatshirts and a denim jacket over my neoprene waders. The end result is that I look like "Ralphie's" little brother in "A Christmas Story", my arms stiffly out to my sides. I'm in so much trouble if I ever fall down in winter. (I must invest in some decent winter fishing fashion!)

I parked at the top of a hill overlooking the spot I was planning to fish. A trail leads down the 30 or so yards to the waters' edge and I waddled it with no real agility. (Though I didn't fall!) The area has a clear dirt beach maybe 10 feet from treeline to shore, and leading to the mouth of what I think it a runoff drain, though it's well disguised with overhanging vegetation and boulders around the mouth to the point where it would fool you into thinking it's natural until you look closely under the weeds and see the bricks used to form the opening.

I settled in and started casting a 1/4 oz Roostertail spinner, white body with a silver blade and white tuft on the hook. The Smallmouth were very friendly that day, and within an hour and a half I'd caught about 13. At this point with an icy breeze scraping my cheek I decided to take up position leaned against a large boulder which blocked some of the wind. I was balancing myself carefully between a number of basketball sized boulders, in ankle deep water. About 4-6 feet in front of me the bottom dropped off quickly to 5 feet, then after a foot or two more horizontally, over 9 feet.

The bass were hitting as the spinner skirted the edge of the first, more shallow drop. They were anyway, until suddenly there was nothing. No more bites, no chases, nothing. Ordinarily I discount this to the appearance of a predator near the school I'm fishing. A pike, or musky maybe. Oh, it was a predator all right, but not the fish I'd expected. In fact, it wasn't a fish at all.

As I mindlessly fan cast the area waiting and hoping for the bite to begin again, a small dark circle formed in the water only slightly more than a rod length in front of me, slightly off to the left. This circle got bigger, and bigger, when I suddenly realized that something large was rising up from the bottom of the river!

The next thing that happened is what really freaked me out: a black head, atop a long black neck (like those grainy pictures of the Loch Ness Monster), then broke through the surface and that neck kept getting longer. Finally, a large body broke the surface and I found myself face to face with...

...to be continued.

What is the monster in Cloverfield?

2007-12-26T16:24:00.000-08:00

If you've seen the "Cloverfield" commercials then you know it's some kind of monster movie, but what kind? On the surface, it seems like another Godzilla movie, but when you really check it out the truth points elsewhere. (I know, I know, this is a fish blog. You'll see how this relates in a moment.)

In the commercial something big is obviously wreaking havoc, tossing the head of the statue of Liberty into the city street. However, there's also a brief clip of hazard suit garbed guys escorting a woman behind a bio-screen type curtain. This is what made me think that there is a main monster, but that it was created by some sort of parasitic infection. Then as I found stuff online about the movie, I've settled on this idea: the monster is some large sea creature somehow infected by [whatever], which comes ashore and somehow infects others. Something that big ain't gonna infect people by biting anymore than a Musky could infect a minnow by biting.

The big boy is an infected Blue Whale or Killer Whale which somehow mutates into being able to motivate across dry land, and pustules on it's skin allow the infectious parasites to escape. That's what I'm thinkin' anyway.

I found a cool 5 minute preview at a site discussing the movie, where I later saw a picture someone had drawn of what the creature will look like, and lo and behold, it has the head of a whale!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Hi fish folk, I just wanted to take a moment and wish you a very Merry Christmas in the name of The Savior Jesus Christ. I hope yours brings Him home to you!

Do you have video of your hunt?

2007-12-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

Are you a photog who has good video of your outdoor experience? Check this out from PA Back Country:

Have you ever thought it would be great to showcase some of your outstanding video from past hunts or even just wildlife videography you have acquired over time? Pennsylvania Back Country would like to give you that opportunity to display your video to a national audience. We are currently looking for home video of hunts or wildlife involving deer, bear and turkey. The only restriction is that we ask it be taped in Pennsylvania. The video can be funny or serious, however we do request that it follow all hunting ethics. If your video is used on “Pennsylvania Back Country” we will mail you a special gift in appreciation.

These guys are a class operation all the way 'round. I had the opportunity to film a fishing segment with them and it was great fun while remaining completely professional the whole time. Check them out here, and let me know if you submit some video, I'd like to see it too!

Fishing on YouTube!

2007-12-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

There's plenty of stuff to run from for various reasons on YouTube. If you look carefully though you can find some neat stuff. Even with the good clips you have to beware of the moronic/crude comments that show up to drag down every comment thread. The other day I was researching some fishing lures and came across this very interesting video. It's an unusual technique called noodling and you shouldn't hold your breath waiting for me to do it. I kinda like having all ten fingers.

A great floater/slider fly

2007-11-29T11:18:00.000-08:00

I just tied a bunch of these for a fly swap at Fly Tying Forum and I thought I'd share a pic. These guys work really well as a crippled minnow. It lies flat in the water (one eye up, one eye down) because the hook is sideways instead of up-and-down, and the synthetic hairs create great follow-up motion. The shine down the middle is just a piece of flash material.

Cast, sit... twitch-twitch...pull...twitch...KA-BLAMMO!!

Dead waders

2007-11-27T20:53:00.000-08:00

[Hmmmm... maybe not the most accurate title ever...]

I see conversations all the time online, and I hear them in the bait shop, from guys who've spent hundreds of dollars on their chest waders because anything less would mean cheap, low-quality waders that would fall apart if a gnat sneezed on them. I'd laugh inside every time because my less than $50 Gander Mountain brand breathable chest waders have carried me through nearly 5 years of trouble-free wading through water, mud, weeds, down rocky banks, up two trees, over thousands of miles of highway (I put them on before I leave the house in order to save time), into a few pizza shops, innumerable trips into bait stores and fly shops, and probably have become my most often worn article of clothing.

So that's why, when I felt the sudden rush of cold hitting my left ankle last week, I was hit a very real sadness. I knew their time had come.

I was wading the shallow edge of a deep pool on the Allegheny River, casting minnows to some very cooperative Smallmouth Bass. It was a Grey day, and I was bundled up against the cold. A denim jacket, two sweatshirts and a hoodie covered my upper body, and beneath my treasured waders I wore only sweat pants.

I'd caught a number of fish and was delicately poised between 3 boulders, about calf deep. I'd wedged my right foot between two of the boulders, and rested my left against the base of the other. I was slowly retrieving my minnow while admiring a flock of gulls coasting out over the river, calling to each other over and over again, when the top of my left ankle turned to ice! My instant fear was confirmed in less time than it takes to tell, as that icy grip spread across my ankle and down my heel.

My heart sank as I realized that, with my love of wading, my fishing year was coming to a serious postponement, if not end. I left about an hour later and drove home dispirited to say the least. I stood in my kitchen prying off the stockingfeet of my waders, exposing my now certified wet stocking foot.

I briefly pondered repairing the leaky foot, but quickly realized two things: they were inexpensive when new and this could be my excuse for a new pair!

I could make the effort to repair them. I have repaired neoprene waders before, and every blood stain, scratch and smell in these things has it's own unique story. However, if memory serves, they cost me about $40 and that's real close to the tipping point of the "repair and spend labor-hours/spend a few dollars for a new one" value.

I think the toughest part is that I'm a sentimental kinda guy. I dig the idea of looking at a pair of old waders, covered in patches and various stains, and reliving the stories that put each blemish in place. You can imagine the difficulty I have with the manufacturing standards of today. "Build it as cheaply as possible out of the cheapest materials and they can buy another one in a year" is the mantra of so many companies these days that fewer and fewer people even expect high quality out of the material goods they buy now.

Many kids aren't taught how to repair things anymore. "Smaller and lighter" have somehow become adjectives denoting quality, when just over a decade ago the terms large and heavy indicated something made with quality ingredients and a portion of pride. But, I digress...

I haven't checked wader prices recently, but I could probably get another pair of the same brand for nearly the same price. I can't justify the expensive (over $120) pairs on my budget, although I seriously want a pair with the built-in fly (no explanation needed.)

So, fix-'em or buy a new pair seem to be my best options. Which would you do?

Hello there!

2007-11-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hi, many people call me luvinbluegills, and I like fish.

I'm a Christian guy who likes fishing and every kind of fishing, I read books on fishing and fly tying, I tie flies (I'm a 2-time fly tier of the year contest winner), I like cooking and eating fish, I like aquariums, I like the nature shows that focus on living things under the water and pretty much everything to do with fish. So what's this, yet another blog, gonna be about?

My various adventures with fish!