1st island Togs

My first trip to the 1st island of the CBBT took one hour and five minutes. It was a perfect day for it. The wind was non-existent and it was nice paddle out. I left about 8:00am and got there at 9:05. When I got there, I decided to go all the way around the island just to see if there were any other yakers around. None. First fiddler in and not a minute later, I felt that faint little bump. It had been a very long time since I went Tautog (calle blackfish up north) fishing. The bite is so fast and easy to miss. But instinctively, the split second I felt the next bump, it was on. I almost feels like you're snagged on a rock, until it decides it wants to get back to it's hole. They are awesome fighters. It was a decent 16incher. The action came and went for the next 5 and a half hours. I ended up with 15 togs and brought home the 4 biggest. Two tubby-ass females, were thrown back. It took me about the same amount of time to get back.

It was a perfect day for a client to cancel a meeting, the wind was barely blowing.

Hot, Hot, Hot! 91 degrees - Susquehanna River with Josh Kreider

We started the day at 4:30 a.m. by meeting up at Josh's apartment, headed to Sheetz for a couple of sammies, and then off to breakfast. We got on the river around 6:30 a.m. The air temp was 56 degrees and the water temp was 60 degrees. The winds were calm and the water was glass.

We headed north to a favorite hole and Josh nailed this 17.75" on a spinnerbait within 10 minutes... Look at the coloration and markings on this beauty!



We caught several smaller fish throughout the morning on spinnerbaits, tubes, and the LD Slammer 3" Trick Worm.

As you can tell by Josh's attire, It took awhile until he caught this nice chunky 18.5".



Our biggest fish came on a spinnerbait in the early afternoon... 19.25".



Our goal is always to target bigger bass and this week has been very successful. I have been in touch with several friends who were able to find 20" bass this week. What a great week on the river.

I see no evidence locally that the bass are moving towards bedding. This may change shortly if the weather remains so warm. Tomorrow may be a repeat of today's temperatures. Today, as evening approached, we started to get a very stiff southerly wind. Most the day, we had blue bird skies, but it became partly cloudy by 4:30 p.m. We had a 35 degree temperature rise throughout the day. It hit 91 degrees around 2:00 p.m. It was still 86 degrees at 6:30 p.m. when we trailered the boat.

When I was backing the trailer down the ramp, a fellow approached me and asked me to wait. River Rescue was coming to launch a rescue boat for a distressed boater. We could see the boater across from the ramp in some mid-river islands. After they launched, they allowed me to get Josh off the water before they returned.

dadTB

Sean Beaver and dad, Susquehanna River 04_24_09

I'll keep it short... H2O was 53 degrees. Rose about 1.5 degrees throughout the day. Air temp was 40 degrees at 8:00 a.m. and 76 degrees at 2:30 p.m. !!!!

Winds blew steady (15-20 mph) from the NNW and changed to southerly winds by noon. That's when the air temp began to rise rather quickly.

Hit the same area as Josh and I fished on Tuesday, plus a few of Sean's favorite holes. We caught 16 bass with the largest going 19"/4lb.3oz. She came on a War Eagle 1/2 oz. spinnerbait. We missed quite a few bass with short strikes. We even shortened our plastic skirts and they would drop them.

Sean took a pic of the "Big One." Once I get them, I'll post a pic.

04_27_09 Here's the pic I promised!


We caught fish on... spinnerbaits, tubes, LD Slammer 3" worms, and JB's. I tired the WWD and the Winco Creature w/o a hit today. I thought the WWD would be successful because that's about the size that they seem to want. When crayfish are moving about, this lure has been a killer for me.

Please remain careful out there. Even as the air temp rises into the 80's over the next few days, the water temperature is still 40+ degrees cooler than our body temperature.

We saw Jst Fishin (Dave Shindler) with his clients. They were all enjoying the day on his beautiful new Snyder.

Just a perfect day to be on the water! I knew it was a good day 'cause I was definitely beat when I got home.
dadTB

22nd april Milldale,river dove

Arrived at milldale around about 2.30pm.it
was noticebly cooler in the area around dovedale
with my cars thermometer showing 15 degrees
a whole five degrees lower than derby.
could not see many insects around but noticed
a few fish moving in the open meadow that is
the 59s stretch .carried on all the way down to
ilam rock stopping now again to have a few casts
did catch a lovely grayling which was quite a
surprise as it snaffled my olive klink at fought
like a tiger on my 6.5 foot rod which was bent
double.

as you can see from the pictures we are still only
just getting into spring with a lot more growth
needed to give the fish more cover and the
confidence to feed without caution.


managed a few trout mainly on a renegade which
as a white hackle and a ginger hackle (which i
partially cut away)which i suppose was mistaken
for the odd ldo .
seen some quite large upwings which another
angler commented on which may have been
march browns?

met charlie off the forums(dovemink) just as i
was about to pack in.sorry i had to rush off but
the wife was waiting with the rolling pin as i got
carried away, losing the track of time.
nice afternoons fishing but maybe a bit early
just yet.

A Perfect Day on The Susquehanna River 04_21_09

I met up with Josh around 8:00 a.m. at his apartment and headed to breakfast. After a hearty breakfast, fishing talk, and some morning coffee, we were back on the road and heading to the river.

We headed north and fished the western shoreline w/o success. After about 90 minutes, we decided to change our strategy. But the further north we ran along the west back, the dirtier the water became. A small creek was pumping some ugly looking water into the main stem.

When we got above that creek, the water began to look really nice. Josh headed up the middle of the river and we spied three boats fishing along the west bank. He asked if we should head in that direction and I asked him to go in the opposite direction of the "crowd".

We had been throwing spinnerbaits most of the morning. Josh continued with the same spinnerbait when we got to our location. He had one chase it back to the boat, but that was it.

The sun started to peak out as we drifted south. So, I tied a nice silver bladed apinnerbait onto my baitcaster. I nailed a 13.5" and then within a few minutes, I had a 14".

Okay, I believe we were dialing into something. Josh let me take the front while he found his spinnerbaits in the same model. I held at the spot we were at until he came back to the front.

Well, within several cast he caught this 4lb. 4oz. pig!



We caught a few more before I caught this beaut.



Josh got hung his spinnerbait on something and we headed over to get it back. After he retrieved it, I told him to cast the spinnerbait upriver on a different angle the we had been throwing and he connected with this 4lb. 8oz. momma! Oh yea... Now that's what I'm talking about.


Water temp rose to 55 degrees today. The water was dirty to stained to clear depending on which part of the river we were on.

When we arrived at the ramp (9:30 a.m.), it was overcast and took a few hours to clear off. When it did, the spinnerbaits were definitely the ticket for big fish.

There was a slight breeze which made it rather pleasant. The air temp was around 50 degrees when we started to fish and it rose to a very comfortable 67 by 3:00p.m. What a beautiful day to be on the water!

dadTB

Super Fly Charters: Gearing Up For The Maine Striper Fishing Season and the Spring Herring Run

40+ incher caught & released during the spring Herring run
Beautiful Herring pattern


During the spring herring run thousands upon thousands of Striped Bass will be entering the tidal rivers & bays of Maine to feed on the huge schools of herring. The first Stripers will be "schoolie" sized fish 18-26 inches with larger fish coming shortly after.
So...today I am tying some Alewive & Blueback herring flies to "match the hatch". I use many of the new synthetic fibers and flash material when tying these flies, DNA fusion & Slinky fibers work well. I use long, thin stemmed saddle hackles too. Using synthetics & "Hollow Fly" techniques, perfected by noted NJ angler and master fly tier Bob Popovics, I'm able to quickly build a bulky yet sparse herring profile. some lead wire wrapped around the hook shank will help the flie get down in heavy current. I like the Tiemco 600sp or similar hook, they're razor sharp right out of the package & super strong, they wont straighten under the weight of a big fish.
For colors, I tie with a white or gray belly, some light pink, light blue & lavender along the sides topped with olive. finished off with a prominent holographic eye. (For detailed tying instructions click the "Hollow Fleye" link or the link on my "fly tyers bench" to enjoy Steve Farrars expert video presentation. Hollow Fleyes are fun to tie and even more fun to fish...come tie one on with us this season!!!)

8-10 wt rods with 300-450 grain lines will pull these flies down deep to where "biggie" Stripers are usually holding station. We focus on the Herring runs of Muscongus Bay & the many tidal rivers that flow directly into it. The Saint George, Medomak & Damariscotta river all harbor huge runs of "river herring" Come join us this season!!!

Reservations continue to come in for the 2009 Maine Striper fishing season!!!

Call us today to set up a time before prime dates fill. Let's go fishing!!!

Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com


Check us out in the the May/June 2009 issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters magazine we're the featured guide service for Maine Saltwater sportfishing (pg. 76) Spring "Hot Spots" section. "Maine is shaking off the cool weather in a big way, which means it's time to enjoy the sun and catch that fish of a lifetime. June is time for huge Stripers and Bluefish on the flats. If that isn't enough, how about throwing a 14wt at busting Bluefin Tuna. Fly Fishing for "football" Bluefins has been getting more and more popular in Maine"

Judo - Past Photos

Yes, I was a judo player back in the early '70's through the 80's. I competed with the Millersville State College (University), Pa. team and ran my own club in the late 70's. As you can see, I was a bit lighter, but very, very quick. I also had a full head of hair!

I often get a kick out of guys who make off the cuff threats not realizing my extensive background in judo. I had a fellow once say that some of his buddies were upset with me and "wanted to kick my butt." I explained to him that he best tell those "friends" of his that they may not fare too well. :-)

I tend to be low keyed and not a boisterous guy. I believe that may give them the impression that I'm a lover and not a fighter... Oh well!

Improvements

Things are moving along quite well with OT. I've seen major improvement in motion over the past two weeks (5 sessions). Tomorrow, I will be start strengthening my hand and wrist. I'm looking forward to this segment of my OT since I've felt so weak since getting my cast removed.

I was able to go fishing last week and picked up a couple of smallmouth bass. The first was the nicest at 16". I threw just about everything at them and the only things I got a hits on were tubes... black neon (Black with Red Flake) and mudpie (Green Pumpkin with Orange Flake)on a 1/8th oz. weedless tube jighead.



I had a buddy, Mike S., who caught a beautiful 5lb 5 oz. smallie over the weekend. That was a tough task with the rising water and fast current from recent rains. He was fishing a tourney for a fund raiser. It was lunker for the day.

A second big fish came in at 5lb. 3 oz. Both of those fish were perfect springtime smallmouth. The water temps are still in the upper 40's and much cooler than one would suspect for this time of year.

The tourney fish were caught in slower moving eddies against the shoreline bank.

5th april foremark reservoir

Had a days fishing at foremark reservoir today
with my brother mick.didn't get there till about
10.30 am with mick starting earlier and already
catching several fish.started off in flamingo bay
with a few fish and many pulls.worked our way
around to verduns point but with someone fishing
there we tried a few casts catching one fish before
deciding that bramble bay was worth a try.
The fishing in bramble bay was just as good with
loads of pulls.tried buzzers, two olive buzzers with
a larger one on the point with a few fish caught we
decided that the fish wanted to chase something
with a little movement in it.The water is noticably
low at the moment leaving a beach around the
waters edge making all the bank easily accessible.

ARC's Old Dominion Canoe and Kayak shad tournament

Appomattox River Company held a Shad Tournament on the James River in Richmond and I got second place with 9 shad plus one for a flyfish only "handicap". The winner caught 12 fish. I usually do much better (20-30 fish by this time in the season), but I just couldn't find what they wanted. The water was like chocolate milk too. Anyway, I got an X-tools scale. Good times. Thanks Vic. Here's a picture of my biggest of the day 1lb 11oz.

Maine Striped Bass & Bluefin Tuna Fishing Charters: 2009 Costa Rica Trip Report

As many of you already know...We at Super Fly Charters have been recently blessed with an extended fishing trip that took us down the Pacific coast of Costa Rica fishing for the legendary Sailfish, Roosterfish and Snook that inhabit these storied waters...As one might expect...this trip did not disappoint!!! As a small boat charter captain off the coast of Maine, My goal was to only fish with small boat "Panga captains"...as that is basically what I consider myself.

Our first three days of fishing brought us to the small fishing village of Playa Herrudura and the "World Class" Los Suenos Resort & Marina. We did two days of offshore fishing for Sails and although the "bite was slow" we raised raised many sails into our spread of teasers and baits, boating several nice Sailfish over the course of two days

The third day was spent chasing the mystical Roosterfish that prowl the surfline of the rocky coast & reefs. We pursued the roosters using a variety of techniques that included fly-fishing, tossing huge poppers with spinning rods and the local standard...pitching livebaits. All methods proved to be successful and extremely exciting!!! Day four had us out with a kayak fishing guide fishing a little to the north out of Punta Leona...this was an amazing way to view the incredible beauty of Costa Rica's jagged and mountainous coastline...While the fishing was not as productive, we were able to view massive Roosterfish as they prowled the reefs below us!!! Check out Kayak Jaco for more info

Moving our base to the South, we landed in the legendary sportfishing port of Quepos. Our goal here was to sample some of the amazing inshore fishing that takes place around the numerous river mouths that empty into the Pacific. After connecting with our fishing guide, Panga Capt. Jeffery Zappata, courtesy of the bartender of Los Pescadores...(the local watering hole)We arranged to meet early the next morning at a spot a stones throw from our hotel room. Admittedly we were a little skeptical about this trip and our skeptism grew after seeing our Captain and mate show up in a rickety pink panga powered by an obviously antique Johnson outboard. Our skeptism quickly evaporated as our mate made one throw of the castnet to secure a healthy supply of sardines...as we were culling out the baits the water all around us erupted with large fish that were gulping our wounded baitfish...We looked to our capt for instructions on how to catch these monster fish that were crashing baits all around us...he simply fired up the outboard and headed north...at that moment we knew we were in for a treat if we were leaving the carnage unfolding behind us. A 20 min ride brought us to the Boca Rio Parritta(mouth of the parritta river). The very first cast here yielded explosive strikes from a pair of 30+ inch snook that grudgingly came to the boat...Next came a completely different yet familliar strike and line that just melted off the spool as the large Rooster headed for the horizon at warp speed...eventually we gained the line back and brought the rooster to hand for a quick photo...Next came another Rooster that made several drag smoking runs before coming into the boat for the first time, upon seeing the boat, the Rooster dove for the bottom with another scorching run....POW....the four piece Lamiglas rod explodes into shards of splintered graphite...amazingly we stay connected and bring the brute to the boat after several more line peeling runs...and so it would go for the rest of this amazing day trip. Roosters & Snook all day long!!!

Now back to Sailfish....Meeting our Captain at the Municipal fishing pier at the gentlemanly hour of 7:00 am we hopped aboard the 28' panga and headed offshore to where a hot sail bite had been the day before...45 miles offshore!!! Within 5 minutes of setting the spread...the right rigger gets hit and it's game on as I feed the big Sailfish and drive home the circle hook as the Sail streaks away with an impressive tailwaking aerial display...15 minutes later the mate leaders the fish and we haul it up on the rail for a grab & grin photo op...we raised numerous more sails into our spread boating one more...the hightlight of the day was seeing an enormous Black Marlin crash repeatedly into our baits...although we did not hook this behomoth(thankfully) it was just amazing to see!!!

While we were in Costa Rica we got to test out Some TUFF STUFF flourocarbon leader material...While Tuff Stuff is not at all new to the world of Sportfishing, it was new to us at Super Fly Charters and we were very excited to test this product. We were able to test 40, 30 and 20 pound class leader. The first thing that I noticed was it's suppleness...which is very important when cinching knots down tight and allowing for a free swimming lure, fly or live bait. Now to the real world test...Fishing for Sailfish requires an incredibly strong and abrasion resistant leader....we pushed this envelope by starting out with 30# test flouro leader...The first bite came very quickly and we had a Sail engulf a naked ballyhoo that was rigged with a circle hook after a quick drop back we hung the sailfish and it was game on....a 30 minute battle ensued complete with many head shaking jumps that we were sure would chafe the through the leader...boy were we wrong!!! the sail came to the mates hand with very little leader abrasion....ok, this is cool we think....next we bump up to 40# leaders and wait for the next bite, which was slow in coming...bang, game on again!!! We're hooked up tight to another BIG Sail that makes a 200 yard line blistering run and then settles down for the slugfest...right away we can tell that this fight is different and the mate suspects that the fish is tail wrapped....ok, goodbye sailfish we think...wrong again...We get the big Sail close and the mats suspicions are confirmed...tailwrap indeed!!!Ok the leader comes into the rod tip and the mate gently leaders the fish, unwraps its tail and swings it around to grab the bill to pop the hook out...after reviving the fish we inspect the leader only to find minimal abrasion damage. I certainly would not reccomend that you fish for sails with such light leader, however I was VERY impressed on how well TUFF STUFF held up to the abuse...Inshore tests proved to be very similliar when fishing around rocks and surf for Roosterfish & Snook...We'd catch several raspy jawed Snook before even thinking about retying....To me this is the only kind of testing that will convince me of a products durabilty and quality. I'm happy to Report that TUFF STUFF easily passed the test!!! Learn more about TUFF STUFF by clicking this link www.tuffstuffunlimited.com

In addition to the 8 amazing days of charter fishing we did while in Costa Rica...we were also able to travel around and sample some of the amazing local food and culture...meeting many interesting and hard working people...We also made a side trip to the carribean side for a whitewater rafting trip on the amazingly beautiful Pacuare river, one of the top five rivers in the world for whitewater rafting... visit Exploradores Outdoors for more info.
Please feel free to contact me for any info on all the local Panga Captains/Guides that we fished with.

Reservations continue to come in for this season and we hope to fish with you all again this year...please contact us to reserve your date!!!


Maine Flats Fishing Striper Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com

Costa Rica 2009

Judo and OT

Since my last blog, I have begun OT for my right wrist and hand. I've had three sessions as of today and each has gotten progressively tougher. My hand and wrist are still very tight and sore which is to be expected with the amount of work that was performed.

A funny thing happened today. My therapist recognized me from 30+ years ago! She had been new to the city and lived in an apartment where a friend of mine lived. My friend ran a karate school and we partnered up. I had half of the warehouse floor for our judo club... The Academy of Kodokan Judo, Lancaster, Pa.

My therapist was a gymnast and we allowed her to use the facility to stretch and practice. She remembered the mat that we had built and even the location of the club.

She also remembered being invited by my wife and I to our annual Christmas Eve drop-in party. We had lived near McCaskey High School in a three room apartment after we had married (1977). She even remembered that my wife worked for a local company. Now that is a good memory!

Judo Revisited

This past weekend, we spent time running a score table for the USA Judo National Scholastic Youth Tournament. This tournament drew young competitors as far away as Hawaii and Alaska. There were over 400+ competitors who ranged from the little guys to the collegiate level. We even hosted a team from Puerto Rico in a Goodwill Game on the mat we worked.

My job was the Table Supervisor. I was in charge of 8-10 volunteers who ran the electronic scoreboard (laptop/monitor), brackets, Texas Score Cards, and manual timing for both the matches and hold downs just in case the laptop went down. We also had to keep all non-competing athletes and coaches who do not have athletes on the mat or on deck out of the table/mat area (they tend to gravitate to their coaches and where the action is).

The Texas Card System allows each athlete and coach to know which match number they will have throughout the competition. It's very efficient, but a major responsibility for the person doing the brackets... which happened to be my lovely and very intelligent wife. :-)

Our first day last 10 hours!! (8:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.) We had more matches than any other score table, plus, along with Mat1, we hosted 24 additional matches of the Goodwill Games b/w the Puerto Rican team and the USA Team (USA team chosen that day from all competing athletes).

Our second day went rather smoothly and we actually finished before the other three tables... Cool. (8:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.) We needed that shorter day after the marathon we put in the day before.

On Friday, 5 of us put the mats together and did all the taping necessary to keep them safely together. Back in the day, we used wrestling mats. These mats were specifically designed by Swain in Texas for judo. Four mats that interconnect... cool.

There were many other volunteers preparing other areas of the venue... Poster hanging, setting up tabels, chairs, and bleachers, etc.

After lunch (bet part of volunteering) on Friday, I continued to help arrange the score, medical, and referee tables. Others had set the tables up and I arranged and placed all the identifying posters on them.





Here's a picture of our table at Matt 2. My wife is off to the right in the "official" volunteer T-shirt.



What you see here is our volunteer, Jim, working the "official" score board and timer from a laptop. Gary Berliner, MD. is the referee sitting as a corner judge.



This is a shot of our Mat 2 Score Table. You can see Jim, Laura, Mike, and Joel seated at their posts. There is a coach seated on the coaches chair and watching a match in the background.



This pic is actually a photo of Mat 1. However, one can see our score table crew off to the left and behind the competition. My wife is the lady seated on the right end of that table running the brackets for Mat 2, a very important job which doesn't allow for mistakes.



As you can see, this was a major undertaking. Prior to the event, I assumed the responsibility of seeking local judo club volunteers to assist throughout this national event. We were able to gather 20 or so volunteers. The York, Pa. Convention Center also assisted in the volunteer search. Together with USA Judo, we were able to gather enough people to run the event.

For some really great action photos from the event, please visit the USA Judo site and click on Youth and Scholastic Nationals Day 1 and Day 2, plus the "Team USA Defeats Puerto Rico in Goodwill Match" in the Photo Gallery. http://www.usjudo.org/

dad