Hello Folks,
I am simply amazed by the many locations my visitors come from. Here is an example of my last 20 visitors over the past two days in July...
Fishing With Dad
Recent Visitors by Location
Detail Country Location
1
Unknown
2
Unknown
3
Unknown
4
United States Washington, District of Columbia
5
Canada Toronto, Ontario
6
Unknown
7
Japan Tokyo
8
Unknown
9
United States Lawrence, Massachusetts
10
United States York, Pennsylvania
11
Unknown
12
United States Mountain View, California
13
Unknown
14
Unknown
15
Unknown
16
India New Delhi, Delhi
17
United States York, Pennsylvania
18
United States
19
Unknown
20
Unknown
As you can see, visitors come from all around this great big world of ours. In the USA... From Massachusetts to California and beyond our USA borders... New Delhi (India), Tokyo (Japan), and Toronto (Canada).
I am so happy to see that folks from all walks of life enjoy visiting and reading my blog. What this shows me is that fishing transcends all boundaries and brings us a bit closer each day.
I enjoy sharing my adventures and especially the pictures I take on my fishing trips. Although I may not understand most languages, I am sure that one of my pictures crosses the language barrier each and every day. Simply amazing!
Once again, thank you for sharing a little piece of your day with me and don't be afraid to leave a comment or two. Your feedback inspires me to keep my blog up and running.
Take care.
Dad
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Lake Aldred, Susquehanna River... Fishing With Dell 07/31/10
Hello Folks,
Arose at 5:00 a.m. this morning to meet Dell at his home by 6:00 a.m. We made it to the ramp and on the water by 6:40 a.m.
The air temperature was only 58 degrees this morning and the water temperature was 80.4 degrees. That made for some steam rising off the water as we ran north.
Just outside the access, I looked into the sky to see one of our bald eagles soaring just above us. As we neared the eagle, it turned and ran along side the boat... Cool sight so early in the morning!
We arrived at our destination near the Safe Harbor Dam and started to throw topwaters. There was a breeze blowing across the river from the ESE. That put just enough ripple on the water to turn the topwater bite off in the area we were fishing. So, I picked up a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait and got my first fish to hit.
We did speak to a few anglers who were fishing a more protected area in the morning and they were able to get a couple of "blowups" on topwater lures, but failed to hook up. That is one thing about a topwater... low percentage hook ups, but a heck of a lot of fun watching!
As we entered an area with several pronounced ledges in about 3.5' to 4' of water, we started to hit bass on lipless crankbaits. The biggest fish of the day was just over 16". Dell caught this beauty just below the damn in about 5' of water.
The weekend warriors were out in force today. We met several anglers at the ramp and several more while on the water. It's a pleasure meeting new folks who also enjoy fishing just as much as we do. Many don't get the opportunity to fish as often as we do over the summer months and if I can help them make a decent day out of their limited time on the water, I will do so gladly.
I hit a few nice 15" smallies on the lipless crankbait almost back to back. At one point during our adventure, Dell and I had a double hook up. That's always fun to do.
The water level was down a bit from what Safe Harbor's website mentioned it would be. The site stated that the water level would be near top level at 169'. I would say it was more in the 167-168' level or about two feet below what was stated. Plus, they did not generate any electricity all morning long. That means no water spill from the turbines. It was like fishing in a big bath tub.
In such situations, I will throw an reaction bait to entice the fish to attack... spinnerbaits, crankbaits, lipless crank baits are in order.
I believe that they were cleaning some units and every now and then, after 10:00 a.m., the siren would go off and just a small amount of water would discharge from different locations. This was not enough to turn on the fish and get things started.
We ended our trip around 11:00 a.m after catching 15 smallmouth and one nice channel cattie. Only three bass were longer than the 15" limit. That's not a bad day for just 4.5 hrs. of fishing. Dell had a great day throwing a SPRO ArukuShad in the Wild Shiner color.
Dell has gone from being a Mr. Twister tosser 100% of the time to an angler who now throws an array of lures. By doing so, he has increased his catch ten fold. We were talking today about his growth as an angler over the past five years or so. His confidence has improved in some of these lures that he now throws and he isn't hesitant to risk losing a lure to get a good bite going. For example, he broke off a crankbait and a small jerkbait today. These are the first two lost lures he has had this summer while fishing with me. That's pretty darn good!
We're suppose to get rain tomorrow and Monday. Tuesday's forecast looks like a decent day is in store for us . Then the remainder of the work week looks like there will be a potential of thunderstorms each day. temperatures will be in the low to mid-80's all week long.
Hopefully, I'll get a good report from the surgeon on Tuesday and be out on the water several days next week.
Take care and Stay Safe!
Dad
Arose at 5:00 a.m. this morning to meet Dell at his home by 6:00 a.m. We made it to the ramp and on the water by 6:40 a.m.
The air temperature was only 58 degrees this morning and the water temperature was 80.4 degrees. That made for some steam rising off the water as we ran north.
Just outside the access, I looked into the sky to see one of our bald eagles soaring just above us. As we neared the eagle, it turned and ran along side the boat... Cool sight so early in the morning!
We arrived at our destination near the Safe Harbor Dam and started to throw topwaters. There was a breeze blowing across the river from the ESE. That put just enough ripple on the water to turn the topwater bite off in the area we were fishing. So, I picked up a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait and got my first fish to hit.
We did speak to a few anglers who were fishing a more protected area in the morning and they were able to get a couple of "blowups" on topwater lures, but failed to hook up. That is one thing about a topwater... low percentage hook ups, but a heck of a lot of fun watching!
As we entered an area with several pronounced ledges in about 3.5' to 4' of water, we started to hit bass on lipless crankbaits. The biggest fish of the day was just over 16". Dell caught this beauty just below the damn in about 5' of water.
The weekend warriors were out in force today. We met several anglers at the ramp and several more while on the water. It's a pleasure meeting new folks who also enjoy fishing just as much as we do. Many don't get the opportunity to fish as often as we do over the summer months and if I can help them make a decent day out of their limited time on the water, I will do so gladly.
I hit a few nice 15" smallies on the lipless crankbait almost back to back. At one point during our adventure, Dell and I had a double hook up. That's always fun to do.
The water level was down a bit from what Safe Harbor's website mentioned it would be. The site stated that the water level would be near top level at 169'. I would say it was more in the 167-168' level or about two feet below what was stated. Plus, they did not generate any electricity all morning long. That means no water spill from the turbines. It was like fishing in a big bath tub.
In such situations, I will throw an reaction bait to entice the fish to attack... spinnerbaits, crankbaits, lipless crank baits are in order.
I believe that they were cleaning some units and every now and then, after 10:00 a.m., the siren would go off and just a small amount of water would discharge from different locations. This was not enough to turn on the fish and get things started.
We ended our trip around 11:00 a.m after catching 15 smallmouth and one nice channel cattie. Only three bass were longer than the 15" limit. That's not a bad day for just 4.5 hrs. of fishing. Dell had a great day throwing a SPRO ArukuShad in the Wild Shiner color.
Dell has gone from being a Mr. Twister tosser 100% of the time to an angler who now throws an array of lures. By doing so, he has increased his catch ten fold. We were talking today about his growth as an angler over the past five years or so. His confidence has improved in some of these lures that he now throws and he isn't hesitant to risk losing a lure to get a good bite going. For example, he broke off a crankbait and a small jerkbait today. These are the first two lost lures he has had this summer while fishing with me. That's pretty darn good!
We're suppose to get rain tomorrow and Monday. Tuesday's forecast looks like a decent day is in store for us . Then the remainder of the work week looks like there will be a potential of thunderstorms each day. temperatures will be in the low to mid-80's all week long.
Hopefully, I'll get a good report from the surgeon on Tuesday and be out on the water several days next week.
Take care and Stay Safe!
Dad
Van Wormers Fishing Report 7/30/10
by Eddie Dalmau, Van Wormer Resorts
MORE BIG TUNA! The big tuna were back this week in the East Cape and lot of them. The week started out with some very nice tuna in the 50-100 pound range, but as the week came to an end, we saw some monsters arrive. From Wednesday to Friday we say tuna come in weighing 120lbs., 130lbs., 165lbs., 170lbs., 180lbs., and the biggest of them all was landed by Richard Kingsmill of Mokelumne Hills, CA, weighing in at a whopping 224lbs. Needless to say, the tuna fishing is wide open. As is the dorado fishing, with boats coming in with limits on both tuna and dorado. The biggest dorado this week weighed in at 52lbs. with many medium size bulls as well. This week in the East Cape the Bisbee tournament took center stage, and it was an incredible tournament with lots of big Blue Marlin landed over the three day event. The first two days saw some nice blues in the 300-370 pound range, but on Friday the winning fish was weighed at approximately 450lbs. The award ceremony will be held tonight, so as of yet I do not have any results. I do know that our own Chucky Van Wormer landed a nice 119lb. yellowfin today while fishing in the Bisbee, but this was not enough to win the biggest tuna award.
Blues were not the only billfish being landed this week. There were over 80 Stripe Marlin and 60 Sailfish landed and released this week as well. In shore we are still seeing lots of medium size roosters, some nice sierras, and Jacks as well. It was another great week in the East Cape, and the best part about it is that the fishing is all happening about 2-3 miles from the hotel. One angler that I spoke with out of Playa Del Sol told me that his boat landed 15 tuna, 8 dorado, a stripe marlin and a sailfish all in one day, and he was back at the hotel before 2pm. Not a bad day on the water. If you don’t have plans to be down here this month, it’s not too late. Van Wormer Resorts is offering up some great August deals for last minute reservation and the fishing could not be better. Hope to see you down here soon.
Until next week!
Eddie Dalmau
Baja’s Van Wormer Resorts
MORE BIG TUNA! The big tuna were back this week in the East Cape and lot of them. The week started out with some very nice tuna in the 50-100 pound range, but as the week came to an end, we saw some monsters arrive. From Wednesday to Friday we say tuna come in weighing 120lbs., 130lbs., 165lbs., 170lbs., 180lbs., and the biggest of them all was landed by Richard Kingsmill of Mokelumne Hills, CA, weighing in at a whopping 224lbs. Needless to say, the tuna fishing is wide open. As is the dorado fishing, with boats coming in with limits on both tuna and dorado. The biggest dorado this week weighed in at 52lbs. with many medium size bulls as well. This week in the East Cape the Bisbee tournament took center stage, and it was an incredible tournament with lots of big Blue Marlin landed over the three day event. The first two days saw some nice blues in the 300-370 pound range, but on Friday the winning fish was weighed at approximately 450lbs. The award ceremony will be held tonight, so as of yet I do not have any results. I do know that our own Chucky Van Wormer landed a nice 119lb. yellowfin today while fishing in the Bisbee, but this was not enough to win the biggest tuna award.
Blues were not the only billfish being landed this week. There were over 80 Stripe Marlin and 60 Sailfish landed and released this week as well. In shore we are still seeing lots of medium size roosters, some nice sierras, and Jacks as well. It was another great week in the East Cape, and the best part about it is that the fishing is all happening about 2-3 miles from the hotel. One angler that I spoke with out of Playa Del Sol told me that his boat landed 15 tuna, 8 dorado, a stripe marlin and a sailfish all in one day, and he was back at the hotel before 2pm. Not a bad day on the water. If you don’t have plans to be down here this month, it’s not too late. Van Wormer Resorts is offering up some great August deals for last minute reservation and the fishing could not be better. Hope to see you down here soon.
Until next week!
Eddie Dalmau
Baja’s Van Wormer Resorts
Friday, July 30, 2010
Lancaster County Hawg Hunters Thursday Night Tournament
Hello Folks,
I got the text from Josh around noon yesterday asking me if I would like to fish with him in the Lancaster County Hawg Hunters Thursday Night Tournament. We had fished in the very first one back in June, 2010 and took fourth place.
Josh's usual partner backed out on him and he needed someone to be his teammate. So, I told him I would do it.
We met at the Burger King in Columbia, Pa. at 4:15 p.m. for a strategy supper meeting... LOL! I told him what I thought, "Fast water, Big Fish, Win Tournament!"
We both agreed that we need to find a decent water flow and that would mean finding some moving water below ledges. What we weren't sure of was what lures to toss at the smallies. I had checked with several fishing buddies who I can rely on and they almost unanimously selected the fluke as their Number 1 lure of choice.
I have three crankbait rods and three spinning reels that I carry with me at all times. The three crankbait rods had the following lures tied on... spinnerbait, crankbait, and lipless crankbait. The three spinning reels had tied on... A Winco Custom Lure G & W Krinkle Worm, A Tube, and a Winco Custom Lures River Darter Sr.
The tournament launches out of the lower ramp at Long Level, Pa. We arrived at the ramp around 5:10 p.m. and prepped the boat for launching. Josh backed the rig to the access and I took control of the boat. It's a pretty smooth operation, normally. There was a good chop with white caps on the main lake last night. But I've handled a jet rig for well over 20 years now and can pretty much take control of such a situation. Bouncing all over the place, I cautiously maneuvered the jet rig and picked Josh up at the upriver dock. He took control of the rig and we were set for the traditional 5:30 p.m. blast off.
We got beat up a bit as we headed up river to our fishing hole. The closer we got to the "rock garden" the better the water situation. The NW winds tend to be blocked by the western hillside.
The water was quite clear and had a beautiful green stain to it. The water temperature was in the low 80's. The air temp on my truck thermometer as I drove into Columbia, Pa. was 93 degrees!!
Well, we fished our first area for about an hour without a single hit and decided to move downriver to another one of our favorite spots. Once there, I was able to hook into a 15 1/8th inch smallie that weighed in a 1 lb. 7 oz... Little, but important. The smallie took a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait that I slow rolled on the bottom behind a well-defined ledge.
Weigh-in was at 8:30 p.m. The winning boat only brought in two bass... One LM and one smallie. The weight was a bit over 4 lbs.
We ended up in 5th place and won a bottle of fuel stabilizer for our efforts. Josh had received a bottle of the same stabilizer last week and offered me this one. Thanks, Josh!
Susquehanna Fishing Tackle helps sponsor these Thursday night tournaments and last night was "SFT Night." George Acord from SFT cooked burgers for all participants and had nice cold drinks available. He also brought along some raffle prizes.
Josh won tow rolls of braided line worth close to $50 and I took home a nice SFT visor worth $13... Cool!
A big thanks to SFT for all they do for the anglers in this area and providing such a great time after last night's tournament.
I'll be heading out on the water with my buddy, Dell Jackson, tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Dell is taking off for the North Branch of the Susquehanna River next week and we wanted to be sure to get on the water one more time before his departure.
Take Care,
Dad
I got the text from Josh around noon yesterday asking me if I would like to fish with him in the Lancaster County Hawg Hunters Thursday Night Tournament. We had fished in the very first one back in June, 2010 and took fourth place.
Josh's usual partner backed out on him and he needed someone to be his teammate. So, I told him I would do it.
We met at the Burger King in Columbia, Pa. at 4:15 p.m. for a strategy supper meeting... LOL! I told him what I thought, "Fast water, Big Fish, Win Tournament!"
We both agreed that we need to find a decent water flow and that would mean finding some moving water below ledges. What we weren't sure of was what lures to toss at the smallies. I had checked with several fishing buddies who I can rely on and they almost unanimously selected the fluke as their Number 1 lure of choice.
I have three crankbait rods and three spinning reels that I carry with me at all times. The three crankbait rods had the following lures tied on... spinnerbait, crankbait, and lipless crankbait. The three spinning reels had tied on... A Winco Custom Lure G & W Krinkle Worm, A Tube, and a Winco Custom Lures River Darter Sr.
The tournament launches out of the lower ramp at Long Level, Pa. We arrived at the ramp around 5:10 p.m. and prepped the boat for launching. Josh backed the rig to the access and I took control of the boat. It's a pretty smooth operation, normally. There was a good chop with white caps on the main lake last night. But I've handled a jet rig for well over 20 years now and can pretty much take control of such a situation. Bouncing all over the place, I cautiously maneuvered the jet rig and picked Josh up at the upriver dock. He took control of the rig and we were set for the traditional 5:30 p.m. blast off.
We got beat up a bit as we headed up river to our fishing hole. The closer we got to the "rock garden" the better the water situation. The NW winds tend to be blocked by the western hillside.
The water was quite clear and had a beautiful green stain to it. The water temperature was in the low 80's. The air temp on my truck thermometer as I drove into Columbia, Pa. was 93 degrees!!
Well, we fished our first area for about an hour without a single hit and decided to move downriver to another one of our favorite spots. Once there, I was able to hook into a 15 1/8th inch smallie that weighed in a 1 lb. 7 oz... Little, but important. The smallie took a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait that I slow rolled on the bottom behind a well-defined ledge.
Weigh-in was at 8:30 p.m. The winning boat only brought in two bass... One LM and one smallie. The weight was a bit over 4 lbs.
We ended up in 5th place and won a bottle of fuel stabilizer for our efforts. Josh had received a bottle of the same stabilizer last week and offered me this one. Thanks, Josh!
Susquehanna Fishing Tackle helps sponsor these Thursday night tournaments and last night was "SFT Night." George Acord from SFT cooked burgers for all participants and had nice cold drinks available. He also brought along some raffle prizes.
Josh won tow rolls of braided line worth close to $50 and I took home a nice SFT visor worth $13... Cool!
A big thanks to SFT for all they do for the anglers in this area and providing such a great time after last night's tournament.
I'll be heading out on the water with my buddy, Dell Jackson, tomorrow morning at 6:00 a.m. Dell is taking off for the North Branch of the Susquehanna River next week and we wanted to be sure to get on the water one more time before his departure.
Take Care,
Dad
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Maine Striper Fishing Report July 28th, 2010
Maine Saltwater Fishing Report July 28, 2010; Kennebec River Striper Fishing Remains Solid
This past week has been very busy for us...we've mostly focused on the Striped Bass fishery of the Kennebec River...7/23,I had Dennis Kelly return from Sag Harbor,NY...Dennis has tagged over 12000 striped bass in his career...He was able to tag close to two dozen stripers on this trip...not too bad for fishing one rod....Dennis is a great fisherman and hopefully i'll see return next month or in September...Most of the Stripers that we're seeing are still holding on the ledges with fast water moving over them...Fly fishing has been best during the lower light levels and at certain stages of the tide...remember that it is mid summer here and the water is warm...the stripers are well fed and they're not feeding with reckless abandon like they'll be doing in september...For the most part, We've been able to pattern where they're feeding and at what stages of the tide
Yesterday I had Ed Hennessey and his grandkids aboard along with Gary Darby. Ed owns beautiful 60 acre Davis Island, located off Port Clyde, Maine.
I'd been contacted by island caretaker Gary Darby who expressed to me that they'd been having a hard time getting located on the stripers...I put a game plan together and we hit the Kennebec river in search of Striped Bass...
the fishing started off slow but as the incoming tide started to cook...we started scoring good numbers of fish over the ledges...Ed's grand son boated several nice stripers and decided that he wanted to try my trick rod...a short but stout 24" jigging rod designed to jig lake trout through the ice, when the bite is cranking it's a good way to add some fun especially with kids aboard...young Ed was able to boat several more stripers with the trick rod..., which he seemed to be quite proud of Everyone on board caught some nice stripers too...most likely I'll be seeing them again in a week or two.
Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
This past week has been very busy for us...we've mostly focused on the Striped Bass fishery of the Kennebec River...7/23,I had Dennis Kelly return from Sag Harbor,NY...Dennis has tagged over 12000 striped bass in his career...He was able to tag close to two dozen stripers on this trip...not too bad for fishing one rod....Dennis is a great fisherman and hopefully i'll see return next month or in September...Most of the Stripers that we're seeing are still holding on the ledges with fast water moving over them...Fly fishing has been best during the lower light levels and at certain stages of the tide...remember that it is mid summer here and the water is warm...the stripers are well fed and they're not feeding with reckless abandon like they'll be doing in september...For the most part, We've been able to pattern where they're feeding and at what stages of the tide
Yesterday I had Ed Hennessey and his grandkids aboard along with Gary Darby. Ed owns beautiful 60 acre Davis Island, located off Port Clyde, Maine.
I'd been contacted by island caretaker Gary Darby who expressed to me that they'd been having a hard time getting located on the stripers...I put a game plan together and we hit the Kennebec river in search of Striped Bass...
the fishing started off slow but as the incoming tide started to cook...we started scoring good numbers of fish over the ledges...Ed's grand son boated several nice stripers and decided that he wanted to try my trick rod...a short but stout 24" jigging rod designed to jig lake trout through the ice, when the bite is cranking it's a good way to add some fun especially with kids aboard...young Ed was able to boat several more stripers with the trick rod..., which he seemed to be quite proud of Everyone on board caught some nice stripers too...most likely I'll be seeing them again in a week or two.Maine Striper Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
www.superfly-charters.com
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Little Road Trip Today 07/28/10
Last evening, my wife asked me if I wanted to take a little road trip tomorrow to Harrisburg and the Bass Pro Shop. "Ahhhhhh... Okay!"
So, this morning we got up, ate breakfast, and headed north to Harrisburg, Pa. and the BPS Outdoor World. It's like a Mecca for anglers and hunters alike.
It's been several months since I last visited BPS. I was due for a trip. Although I rarely buy much, I do like to walk the aisles of the fishing department and see what's new and what prices are being asked for the lures I use the most.
Today, I bought a couple of crankbaits (Big O's) and spinnerbaits (Stanley Wedge). I needed to replace a few that I offered up to the river gods over the past few months. I believe my wife was amazed that I kept the cost below $20.00. :)
I found it hard to find a 3/8 - 1/2 oz. white spinnerbait with double willow leaf chrome blades. I ended up with a Stanley Wedge with the large blade being chrome and the smaller blade being gold. It was the closest I could get to what I want. I'll have to trade out a smaller chrome blade form another spinnerbait.
After shopping at BPS, we drove south to Middletown and ate lunch at the local Hardee's. I just love their mushroom and swiss hamburgers with curly fries combo. We don't have a Hardee's here in Lancaster, Pa.
They messed up our order by charging for something we didn't order and my wife got her burger for free... Yea! She's a good one for reviewing all receipts we get from stores and she often finds mistakes that work out to our benefit.
After lunch, we stopped by to see our old fishing buddy, Bob Clouser. Bob lives just outside of Middletown, Pa. in the small town of Royalton, Pa.
Those of you who are fly fishermen will recognize Bob as a world famous fly tyer and angler. He is well-known for many flies, including the Clouser Deep-Diving Minnow and The Clouser Crayfish.
Bob has suspended store hours at the shop he and his wife, Joan, ran for many, many years. The shop is only opened when he is in town... hit and miss. I;d suggets calling before going to visit. He travels extensively to seminars and does guided trips throughout the USA and even below the border.
In the next few months, he'll be announcing a program that will take place as he begins to dismantle his fly shop. This announcement will create deals for those who are members of a newsletter he'll be developing.
Good luck to Bob and Joan as they begin a new stage in their long angling career.
Bob at The Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show in Harrisburg, Pa. in February, 2010
On our way home to willow Street, we drove along Rt. 441 S and stopped at the Middletown Access (Swatara Creek), Canal Lock Access (Above TMI), and The Falmouth Access. I was curious to see just how low the river looked since the last time I was up that way well over a month ago. Boy, it was low alright! Some of the ledges that we floated over back in June are now well out of the water. The flow has slowed which doesn't allow for the dissolved oxygen (DO) to get into some of the eddies and slack water along the banks. Some of the major chutes are unpassable due to exposed rocks.
I met up with a Pa. DEP rep at the Falmouth Access who was monitoring the waterway for any of the gasoline spill that occurred on the Clarks Ferry Bridge (Rt. 22/322) yesterday. A tractor trailer filled with 7300 gallons of diesel and gasoline turned over after a mini-van pulled into the lane.
DEP isn't quite sure how much actually reached the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers. They are hoping that very little overall made it into the waterways.
This is not what our beloved rivers needed right now during the current low water levels and hot summer temperatures. The DO is already low and we don't need more problems to stress our smallmouth population.
Take Care,
Dad
So, this morning we got up, ate breakfast, and headed north to Harrisburg, Pa. and the BPS Outdoor World. It's like a Mecca for anglers and hunters alike.
It's been several months since I last visited BPS. I was due for a trip. Although I rarely buy much, I do like to walk the aisles of the fishing department and see what's new and what prices are being asked for the lures I use the most.
Today, I bought a couple of crankbaits (Big O's) and spinnerbaits (Stanley Wedge). I needed to replace a few that I offered up to the river gods over the past few months. I believe my wife was amazed that I kept the cost below $20.00. :)
I found it hard to find a 3/8 - 1/2 oz. white spinnerbait with double willow leaf chrome blades. I ended up with a Stanley Wedge with the large blade being chrome and the smaller blade being gold. It was the closest I could get to what I want. I'll have to trade out a smaller chrome blade form another spinnerbait.
After shopping at BPS, we drove south to Middletown and ate lunch at the local Hardee's. I just love their mushroom and swiss hamburgers with curly fries combo. We don't have a Hardee's here in Lancaster, Pa.
They messed up our order by charging for something we didn't order and my wife got her burger for free... Yea! She's a good one for reviewing all receipts we get from stores and she often finds mistakes that work out to our benefit.
After lunch, we stopped by to see our old fishing buddy, Bob Clouser. Bob lives just outside of Middletown, Pa. in the small town of Royalton, Pa.
Those of you who are fly fishermen will recognize Bob as a world famous fly tyer and angler. He is well-known for many flies, including the Clouser Deep-Diving Minnow and The Clouser Crayfish.
Bob has suspended store hours at the shop he and his wife, Joan, ran for many, many years. The shop is only opened when he is in town... hit and miss. I;d suggets calling before going to visit. He travels extensively to seminars and does guided trips throughout the USA and even below the border.
In the next few months, he'll be announcing a program that will take place as he begins to dismantle his fly shop. This announcement will create deals for those who are members of a newsletter he'll be developing.
Good luck to Bob and Joan as they begin a new stage in their long angling career.
Bob at The Eastern Sports and Outdoors Show in Harrisburg, Pa. in February, 2010
On our way home to willow Street, we drove along Rt. 441 S and stopped at the Middletown Access (Swatara Creek), Canal Lock Access (Above TMI), and The Falmouth Access. I was curious to see just how low the river looked since the last time I was up that way well over a month ago. Boy, it was low alright! Some of the ledges that we floated over back in June are now well out of the water. The flow has slowed which doesn't allow for the dissolved oxygen (DO) to get into some of the eddies and slack water along the banks. Some of the major chutes are unpassable due to exposed rocks.
I met up with a Pa. DEP rep at the Falmouth Access who was monitoring the waterway for any of the gasoline spill that occurred on the Clarks Ferry Bridge (Rt. 22/322) yesterday. A tractor trailer filled with 7300 gallons of diesel and gasoline turned over after a mini-van pulled into the lane.
DEP isn't quite sure how much actually reached the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers. They are hoping that very little overall made it into the waterways.
This is not what our beloved rivers needed right now during the current low water levels and hot summer temperatures. The DO is already low and we don't need more problems to stress our smallmouth population.
Take Care,
Dad
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
"Today was a good day"
The alarm went off at 5:45am and my eyes were wide open. No snooze button today. Optimism swelled as I brushed my teeth, kissed my wife, and got in my already loaded car. There was no traffic the entire way, not even at the HRBT and the tunes were cranking when I pulled into the parking lot at Ocean’s East 2 tackle shop. As I get out of the car, the guy taking out the trash smiles and askes “how many fiddlers today, bud?” It almost felt like Cheers, where everybody knows your name and already has your beer ready for you. 4 dozen please, big bag of ice, and I’m off to Chicks beach, lickety split. I’m ready to launch to perfect conditions at 8am when a family comes over and oohhs and aaahhs and asks about what I’m fishing for. I tell them sheepshead, which they never heard of. I just smiled and said “they’re a ton of fun”. As my butt hit the seat of my “cool ride”, I was wished good luck and happy hunting. I yelled back “thanks” as I took my first few paddle strokes. I love the first few strokes of the day.
After a smooth paddle out, I was on the spot under the CBBT. For those of you who really want to know, I use 30lb braid, to swivel, to 40lb leader with dropper loop, size 1 Owner J Hooks, 2 or 3 oz sinkers with the swivel on top. My dropper loop is around 6 or 7 inches above the sinker. All on a 7’ medium heavy Shimano Teremar rod. Anyway, I get out there and immediately I get bites. They’re quick and fluttering bites, so I knew they weren’t sheepies. It turned out to be these guys.
I switch pilings and immediately felt a different type of bite. Light, subtle and before I knew it, my hook was clean. I knew it was a sheepshead. I quickly re-bait and get it down to the same spot. As soon as it hit bottom, I felt that same subtle bump and as soon as the second tap came, I energetically swung up with the rod and... swing and a miss. Without hesitation and as quickly as possible, I re-bait again. I get the fiddler down to the bottom, hoping to feel that tap again, but it’s not there. A few minutes go by and my heart beat goes back to normal and I let out a long sigh. And bamm! There it was, barely a tap and my muscles instantly knew what to do. I guess the adrenalline was still pumping. Drag ripping mayhem ensues as my kayak gets banged around the piling I was on and I see my line rip towards the next piling, I finally get my leg around to the right side, kick off and away from the piling and desperately try to stop this fish. He gets turned around, I get him close enough to see (or for him to see me) and he goes on another amazing run. Taking drag he pulls me all the way back to the bottom and I feel something strange happen and he’s gone. That strange feeling was my sinker getting lodged in something and getting broken off at the swivel. The swivel was still on the bottom of my rig, but no lead, and my hook was bent open. I was in shear and utter amazement at the power I just felt. I pulled on the line from the reel to feel how much drag I had going. It was pretty tight. I remembered looking on Shimano’s website and it said max drag pressure for that Corvalus reel was 11 lbs. so I tightened it all the way down.
The next couple of hours were spent talking to God. And I’m not really the religious type, but it’s funny how fishing will do that. I fed a bunch more puffers, had a few more highly suspect sheepshead bites, but no hook ups. At this point, I was even running low on fiddlers. I took a deep breath, looked up at the sky and on my exhale, I told myself, it’s a beautiful day, gorgeous sky, a perfect light breeze, it’s not insanely hot, happy families playing on the beach, I’m out on the water, doing what I love to do..... today is a good day. Sure as hell beats the office anyway!
Well, just then, my muscles went into auto drive again and set the hook on something huge. Even with drag rippping, 3/4 of my rod is pulled into the water and my kayak started leaning as the line shot under the boat. I desperately held onto the rod as I leaned back the other way. An intense battle commenced as I brought him to the surface and he dove back down. If I remember it correctly, he did that about 4 or 5 times and each time he dove back down, drag ripped and my heart came up to my throat... once again, praying to god that the hook stayed in him. Eventually, I got him to stay on the surface. When I saw that the hook placement was good, I grabbed the leader, dragged him over the gunwale and it was like that Berkley commercial where they show a bunch of guys yelling “Woo Hoo!”. Except mine was louder and followed by “#%&K YEAH! I LOVE THIS $H*@!!!”
About 20 minutes later I ran out of bait, so I paddled in, proud of my one fish. I packed up my equipment and drove over to Ocean’s East to show them what their fiddlers did for me. It ended up weighing exactly 11lbs and was my first citation sheepshead. I felt the adrenaline still rushing as I signed the paper work and I was all smiles when I asked for 4 dozen more fiddlers. The guy looked up and asked “Are you serious?”. I looked at the clock. It read 11:45 am. I said “Damn skippy, I took the day off of work and I’m gonna spend as much of that time fishing.” He replied “Sounds good man. Go gityerself ‘nother one”. I smiled, got my bait, a bite to eat and I was back on the water in no time.
Well, I know this story’s getting kinda long, so I’ll wrap it up. I spent 4.5 more hours on the water, hooked and lost another one, and ended up with 2 more citations!!! 13lb 4oz and 13lb 2oz !!! One of them wasn’t hooked very well so I used my leg to help lift it into the boat and I got the marks to show it.
I showed back up at Oceans East and put on a spectacle. After signing the paper work, I dropped off one fish at my parents and before I hit the road I stopped off to get some gas. As I was pumping, I looked at my reflection in the glass and realized my fishing shirt was on inside out. I chuckled and said to myself “Today was a good day”.
p.s. I might have to wear my fishing shirts inside out from now on.
Also, I decided that I’m not going to keep any more of these big sheepies.
After a smooth paddle out, I was on the spot under the CBBT. For those of you who really want to know, I use 30lb braid, to swivel, to 40lb leader with dropper loop, size 1 Owner J Hooks, 2 or 3 oz sinkers with the swivel on top. My dropper loop is around 6 or 7 inches above the sinker. All on a 7’ medium heavy Shimano Teremar rod. Anyway, I get out there and immediately I get bites. They’re quick and fluttering bites, so I knew they weren’t sheepies. It turned out to be these guys.
I switch pilings and immediately felt a different type of bite. Light, subtle and before I knew it, my hook was clean. I knew it was a sheepshead. I quickly re-bait and get it down to the same spot. As soon as it hit bottom, I felt that same subtle bump and as soon as the second tap came, I energetically swung up with the rod and... swing and a miss. Without hesitation and as quickly as possible, I re-bait again. I get the fiddler down to the bottom, hoping to feel that tap again, but it’s not there. A few minutes go by and my heart beat goes back to normal and I let out a long sigh. And bamm! There it was, barely a tap and my muscles instantly knew what to do. I guess the adrenalline was still pumping. Drag ripping mayhem ensues as my kayak gets banged around the piling I was on and I see my line rip towards the next piling, I finally get my leg around to the right side, kick off and away from the piling and desperately try to stop this fish. He gets turned around, I get him close enough to see (or for him to see me) and he goes on another amazing run. Taking drag he pulls me all the way back to the bottom and I feel something strange happen and he’s gone. That strange feeling was my sinker getting lodged in something and getting broken off at the swivel. The swivel was still on the bottom of my rig, but no lead, and my hook was bent open. I was in shear and utter amazement at the power I just felt. I pulled on the line from the reel to feel how much drag I had going. It was pretty tight. I remembered looking on Shimano’s website and it said max drag pressure for that Corvalus reel was 11 lbs. so I tightened it all the way down.
The next couple of hours were spent talking to God. And I’m not really the religious type, but it’s funny how fishing will do that. I fed a bunch more puffers, had a few more highly suspect sheepshead bites, but no hook ups. At this point, I was even running low on fiddlers. I took a deep breath, looked up at the sky and on my exhale, I told myself, it’s a beautiful day, gorgeous sky, a perfect light breeze, it’s not insanely hot, happy families playing on the beach, I’m out on the water, doing what I love to do..... today is a good day. Sure as hell beats the office anyway!
Well, just then, my muscles went into auto drive again and set the hook on something huge. Even with drag rippping, 3/4 of my rod is pulled into the water and my kayak started leaning as the line shot under the boat. I desperately held onto the rod as I leaned back the other way. An intense battle commenced as I brought him to the surface and he dove back down. If I remember it correctly, he did that about 4 or 5 times and each time he dove back down, drag ripped and my heart came up to my throat... once again, praying to god that the hook stayed in him. Eventually, I got him to stay on the surface. When I saw that the hook placement was good, I grabbed the leader, dragged him over the gunwale and it was like that Berkley commercial where they show a bunch of guys yelling “Woo Hoo!”. Except mine was louder and followed by “#%&K YEAH! I LOVE THIS $H*@!!!”
About 20 minutes later I ran out of bait, so I paddled in, proud of my one fish. I packed up my equipment and drove over to Ocean’s East to show them what their fiddlers did for me. It ended up weighing exactly 11lbs and was my first citation sheepshead. I felt the adrenaline still rushing as I signed the paper work and I was all smiles when I asked for 4 dozen more fiddlers. The guy looked up and asked “Are you serious?”. I looked at the clock. It read 11:45 am. I said “Damn skippy, I took the day off of work and I’m gonna spend as much of that time fishing.” He replied “Sounds good man. Go gityerself ‘nother one”. I smiled, got my bait, a bite to eat and I was back on the water in no time.
Well, I know this story’s getting kinda long, so I’ll wrap it up. I spent 4.5 more hours on the water, hooked and lost another one, and ended up with 2 more citations!!! 13lb 4oz and 13lb 2oz !!! One of them wasn’t hooked very well so I used my leg to help lift it into the boat and I got the marks to show it.
I showed back up at Oceans East and put on a spectacle. After signing the paper work, I dropped off one fish at my parents and before I hit the road I stopped off to get some gas. As I was pumping, I looked at my reflection in the glass and realized my fishing shirt was on inside out. I chuckled and said to myself “Today was a good day”.
p.s. I might have to wear my fishing shirts inside out from now on.
Also, I decided that I’m not going to keep any more of these big sheepies.
Surface fishing
 |
| My mullet float set is very simply... |
 |
| ...and works :) |
 |
| The same day, couple hours later, different mark, one fish only but... |
 |
| ...2.57kg |
 |
| Oxygenation |
It was another great day with mullets :)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Spades n Triggers
Friday, my main focus was spades. I got out to the CBBT and I immediately started hookin up.
Only problem was...
...they were tiny.
The biggest was 10".
I also found some triggers.
It was crazy hot so I took a break when the current got too fast to fish and took a swim by the down current side of the island. Other than tiny black sea bass, I didn't catch anything else all day and of course... the paddle back was miserable. I had a nasty head wind and I had water crashing over my bow on every other wave. Salt sprayed in the mouth as I breathed through my teeth and the upstroke end of my paddle felt like a sail on every stroke. It sucked.
Sunday I went looking for sheeps and found a couple little guys.
Only problem was...
...they were tiny.
The biggest was 10".
I also found some triggers.
It was crazy hot so I took a break when the current got too fast to fish and took a swim by the down current side of the island. Other than tiny black sea bass, I didn't catch anything else all day and of course... the paddle back was miserable. I had a nasty head wind and I had water crashing over my bow on every other wave. Salt sprayed in the mouth as I breathed through my teeth and the upstroke end of my paddle felt like a sail on every stroke. It sucked.
Sunday I went looking for sheeps and found a couple little guys.
Alex and I Beat the Heat on the River - 7/25/10
On Sunday, Alex decided that she wanted to do some fishing. Particularly, she wanted to catch a striper from her yak and I really wanted her to do so. We decided the best bet would be to float a stretch of river south of Durham. With temperatures reaching 102 over the course of the day, we decided to head out and fish the late afternoon to early evening bite.
We launched around 4:30 PM and were on our way in the sauna like conditions. Alex caught a spotted bass on her second cast, but that would be our only fish in the area we started fishing. We slowly floated down river fishing around cover and on the shady bank. We were regularly catching spots with some catfish thrown in as well. The first decent fish of the day was about a 4-5 lb channel cat that Alex brought to the boat. A few minutes later, I got a good bite in the same general area. I expected it to be a cat, but to my suprise it was a spot...and a nice one at that. The fish measured just over 15 1/4" - good enough for a North Carolina fishing citation. This would be my second trip in a row catching a citation size fish.
A few casts later Alex got a huge strike. The fish ate the bait and jetted for the channel, exposing a large back. Neither of us could say for sure what type of fish it was, but it was certainly a brute and would be our "one that got away." We continued catching decent fish and I lost another that felt good, but which we could not identify. We decided to switch to the other bank, which would prove much less fruitful.
I had a couple bites on a buzzbait, but they were few and far between. Alex did get a bite from and fought a gar to boat side before it tossed the hook. It was her first gar ever.
As the day dwindled we headed back up to a rapid area in hopes of landing a striper or hyrbid, but it wasn't to be as we didn't land a single fish. We left a little early since this particular area has a repuration for unruly characters and headed to get some Cook Out...the perfect ending to a great multi-species day on the water.
We launched around 4:30 PM and were on our way in the sauna like conditions. Alex caught a spotted bass on her second cast, but that would be our only fish in the area we started fishing. We slowly floated down river fishing around cover and on the shady bank. We were regularly catching spots with some catfish thrown in as well. The first decent fish of the day was about a 4-5 lb channel cat that Alex brought to the boat. A few minutes later, I got a good bite in the same general area. I expected it to be a cat, but to my suprise it was a spot...and a nice one at that. The fish measured just over 15 1/4" - good enough for a North Carolina fishing citation. This would be my second trip in a row catching a citation size fish.
A few casts later Alex got a huge strike. The fish ate the bait and jetted for the channel, exposing a large back. Neither of us could say for sure what type of fish it was, but it was certainly a brute and would be our "one that got away." We continued catching decent fish and I lost another that felt good, but which we could not identify. We decided to switch to the other bank, which would prove much less fruitful.
I had a couple bites on a buzzbait, but they were few and far between. Alex did get a bite from and fought a gar to boat side before it tossed the hook. It was her first gar ever.
As the day dwindled we headed back up to a rapid area in hopes of landing a striper or hyrbid, but it wasn't to be as we didn't land a single fish. We left a little early since this particular area has a repuration for unruly characters and headed to get some Cook Out...the perfect ending to a great multi-species day on the water.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Bash and Splash 2010
Hello Folks,
Today was our annual and possibly last "Bash and Splash". We began the Bash and Splash five years ago as a way to thank all my friends and fishing buddies who helped me through my hip surgeries and afterward. It was our way of saying a big "Thank You!" to all who assisted me.
The day began as it did the day before... Hazy, Hot, and Humid. It was already 80 degrees by 8:00 a.m.! My wife and I went to a local restaurant for breakfast to make plans for the morning setup.
When we got home, we started to work in the yard setting up the Pop Up for shade and carrying chairs our to the pool patio. I was sweating like a pig before it was all done.
Max "The Wonder Dog" and Missy "The Jug" inspect the toys in the pool.
A couple of umbrellas for shade. The one on the left protects my granddaughters baby pool.
The grill and the Pop Up waiting to be put into use.
Folks started to arrive around 1:00 p.m. Petey Hanford drove in from Sunbury, Pa. That's about a 2 hour and fifteen minute drive. Petey brought his "world famous" Barely Edible Salad. Let me tell you folks, this stuff is to die for.
Steveinpa and his son and daughter arrived next. It didn't take long for Tyler (16 yrs. old) and Kayla (12 yrs. old) to jump in the nice pool water. In fact, this old man joined them.
Along came Josh "smallieman" Kreider and his girlfriend, Vanessa and her five year old son, Jamie.
We all gathered around the pool deck and were enjoying each others company. Josh kept track of a wicked storm crossing the state and darkening the western skies.
I was suppose to start the grill at 1:30 p.m., but the ominous clouds and the distant rumbling of thunder helped me make up my mind to hold off cooking. I'm glad I did because within fifteen minutes, the skies open up and we got nailed with a tremendous thunderstorm and torrential rains.
We rushed to collect our belongs, drop the umbrellas, and lower the Pop Up. A big thanks to everyone for helping.
That didn't damper our spirits, we moved into the basement and set up our chairs to wait out the storm.
After about an hour and no let up in the rain, my wife started the burgers and doggies in the oven. We were all so hungry by then that we were willing to forgo cooking on the grill to get some food into our bellies.
Here is a pic of some of the food we had set up in the kitchen.
Check out Steveinpa and Josh "smallieman" Kreider chowing down on the scrumptious food brought in by all who attended. Al Winco has his back to Steve and my oldest son, Chris is off to the right with his wife. They're expecting our second grandchild in September!
Around 4:00 p.m., the clouds broke and we moved the "Bash and Splash" outdoors. We had a fantastic evening of swimming and even a casting contest in which Petey Hanford took honors and the grand prize... an old fashion cane pole! LOL!
Thanks to all my family, friends, and fishing buddies who have been there to help me when times were tough!
Dad
Today was our annual and possibly last "Bash and Splash". We began the Bash and Splash five years ago as a way to thank all my friends and fishing buddies who helped me through my hip surgeries and afterward. It was our way of saying a big "Thank You!" to all who assisted me.
The day began as it did the day before... Hazy, Hot, and Humid. It was already 80 degrees by 8:00 a.m.! My wife and I went to a local restaurant for breakfast to make plans for the morning setup.
When we got home, we started to work in the yard setting up the Pop Up for shade and carrying chairs our to the pool patio. I was sweating like a pig before it was all done.
Max "The Wonder Dog" and Missy "The Jug" inspect the toys in the pool.
A couple of umbrellas for shade. The one on the left protects my granddaughters baby pool.
The grill and the Pop Up waiting to be put into use.
Folks started to arrive around 1:00 p.m. Petey Hanford drove in from Sunbury, Pa. That's about a 2 hour and fifteen minute drive. Petey brought his "world famous" Barely Edible Salad. Let me tell you folks, this stuff is to die for.
Steveinpa and his son and daughter arrived next. It didn't take long for Tyler (16 yrs. old) and Kayla (12 yrs. old) to jump in the nice pool water. In fact, this old man joined them.
Along came Josh "smallieman" Kreider and his girlfriend, Vanessa and her five year old son, Jamie.
We all gathered around the pool deck and were enjoying each others company. Josh kept track of a wicked storm crossing the state and darkening the western skies.
I was suppose to start the grill at 1:30 p.m., but the ominous clouds and the distant rumbling of thunder helped me make up my mind to hold off cooking. I'm glad I did because within fifteen minutes, the skies open up and we got nailed with a tremendous thunderstorm and torrential rains.
We rushed to collect our belongs, drop the umbrellas, and lower the Pop Up. A big thanks to everyone for helping.
That didn't damper our spirits, we moved into the basement and set up our chairs to wait out the storm.
After about an hour and no let up in the rain, my wife started the burgers and doggies in the oven. We were all so hungry by then that we were willing to forgo cooking on the grill to get some food into our bellies.
Here is a pic of some of the food we had set up in the kitchen.
Check out Steveinpa and Josh "smallieman" Kreider chowing down on the scrumptious food brought in by all who attended. Al Winco has his back to Steve and my oldest son, Chris is off to the right with his wife. They're expecting our second grandchild in September!
Around 4:00 p.m., the clouds broke and we moved the "Bash and Splash" outdoors. We had a fantastic evening of swimming and even a casting contest in which Petey Hanford took honors and the grand prize... an old fashion cane pole! LOL!
Thanks to all my family, friends, and fishing buddies who have been there to help me when times were tough!
Dad
Bay and beach action has been pleasing anglers
OK, here's the deal in the world of southwest Florida fishing:
Snook are cooperating along the beaches.
Spotted seatrout, jack crevalle, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and tarpon are keeping things fun in the bay.
Some days are better than others. We finally got some decent tides and the action has picked up.
I had Ray and Nena Johnson out for a half day and they did well. Ray managed a number of nice spotted seatrout and ladyfish on fly. Nena caught several trout, including a 25-incher.
Cameron Knox of Scotland (below) joined me for a beach snook trip and had a lot of fun. He got to cast at well more than 500 snook. He landed two to 26 inches, hooked several others and had many, many follows.
Jonathan Allred (top photo) fished a six-hour trip and did well around Buttonwood Harbor. Mainly a freshwater fly fisher, Allred, who resides in Texas, caught spotted seatrout, jack crevalle and ladyfish. I hooked a fish on a topwater plug first thing in the morning, but lost it after a five-minute battle. When I reeled in my Rapala Skitter Walk, I noticed the a couple of straightened hooks. I'm guessing it was a large jack crevalle or bull redfish.
We've been encountering a few tarpon in the bay that are fishable on calm mornings. I'm betting they'll hit a well-placed fly or topwater plug.
Trout have been running the gamut of sizes. I've caught a number of fish from 20 to 25 inches. In addition, I've been getting some nice bluefish. We've been seeing Spanish mackerel, but haven't landed any.
Sarasota's Dave Robinson and I fished Buttonwood Harbor recently and caught a number of trout (to 25 inches), ladyfish and jack crevalle.
Redfish have been noticeably absent because of lousy tides, but that should change now that we're getting low tides in the morning. These fish are suckers for topwater plugs.
If you plan to be in the area, give me a call and book a trip. The action's much hotter than the weather. We get out early to avoid the heat.
My phone number is (941) 284-3406.
Van Wormer Resorts Fishing Report - 6th Annual Dorado Shootout Tournament
by Eddie Dalmau, Van Wormer Resorts
The sixth annual Van Wormer Resorts East Cape Dorado Shoot Out was held last Saturday, July 17th and what an event it was. I’d like to personally thank each and every one of the participants for attending and making this the premier event in the East Cape for the sixth straight year. This years event saw 122 teams participate with close to 400 anglers bidding for the grand prize, a 2010 fully loaded 4x4 Honda Ridgeline courtesy of Honda of Los Cabos, plus thousands in cash. Third place went to Ray Figueroa from Reno, NV with a 49.1 lb. Dorado. Mr. Figueroa also won the $500 and $1,000 jackpots totaling $33,150.00. Second place went to Samir Manriquez from La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico with a 50.1 lb. Dorado. First place went to Edmundo Castro from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico with a 53.3 lb. Dorado. Mr. Castro not only won the Honda Ridgeline, but also won the $200 and $300 jackpots totaling $28,560. There were also nice prizes given to the angler with the largest Tuna and Wahoo. The biggest Tuna of the tournament was landed by Dennis Boelts weighing in at 56.7 lbs. The biggest Wahoo was landed by Manuel Mackliz weighing in at 47.5 lbs. There was a bigger Wahoo weighed that day, but came to the weigh station after it was closed. Jesus Aragon was given honorable mention award for his 56.6 lb. wahoo. Once again, a big thank you to all of the participants, sponsors and volunteers that made this event possible.
There was some pretty good fishing the rest of the week as well in the East Cape. We are still seeing an incredible yellowfin tuna bite, with tunas in the 50 lb. to 100 lb. still making there way to the dock every afternoon. The dorado bite picked up just in time for the Shoot Out and has been steadily getting better with each passing day. There were over 250 dorado landed this week between the four resorts, the biggest weighing in at 59 lbs., caught a few days after the Shoot Out. There is also a tremendous amount of marlin in the area right now. More than 10 large blues were landed this week with an average weight of approximately 400 lbs. The stripe marlin were also a big target this week with more than 50 landed and released. Closer to shore, the roosters, jacks and pargo were keeping the fisherman busy. There were more than 20 roosters, 12 pargos, and 20 jacks landed this week. We also saw the return of the sailfish this week. The sails had moved away when the water turned cold, but are starting to come back as the water warms. The day time highs are reaching the upper 90’s now and the water temperatures are in the high 70’s to low 80’s.
That’s it for this week amigos
Eddie Dalmau
Baja’s Van Wormer Resorts
The sixth annual Van Wormer Resorts East Cape Dorado Shoot Out was held last Saturday, July 17th and what an event it was. I’d like to personally thank each and every one of the participants for attending and making this the premier event in the East Cape for the sixth straight year. This years event saw 122 teams participate with close to 400 anglers bidding for the grand prize, a 2010 fully loaded 4x4 Honda Ridgeline courtesy of Honda of Los Cabos, plus thousands in cash. Third place went to Ray Figueroa from Reno, NV with a 49.1 lb. Dorado. Mr. Figueroa also won the $500 and $1,000 jackpots totaling $33,150.00. Second place went to Samir Manriquez from La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico with a 50.1 lb. Dorado. First place went to Edmundo Castro from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico with a 53.3 lb. Dorado. Mr. Castro not only won the Honda Ridgeline, but also won the $200 and $300 jackpots totaling $28,560. There were also nice prizes given to the angler with the largest Tuna and Wahoo. The biggest Tuna of the tournament was landed by Dennis Boelts weighing in at 56.7 lbs. The biggest Wahoo was landed by Manuel Mackliz weighing in at 47.5 lbs. There was a bigger Wahoo weighed that day, but came to the weigh station after it was closed. Jesus Aragon was given honorable mention award for his 56.6 lb. wahoo. Once again, a big thank you to all of the participants, sponsors and volunteers that made this event possible.
There was some pretty good fishing the rest of the week as well in the East Cape. We are still seeing an incredible yellowfin tuna bite, with tunas in the 50 lb. to 100 lb. still making there way to the dock every afternoon. The dorado bite picked up just in time for the Shoot Out and has been steadily getting better with each passing day. There were over 250 dorado landed this week between the four resorts, the biggest weighing in at 59 lbs., caught a few days after the Shoot Out. There is also a tremendous amount of marlin in the area right now. More than 10 large blues were landed this week with an average weight of approximately 400 lbs. The stripe marlin were also a big target this week with more than 50 landed and released. Closer to shore, the roosters, jacks and pargo were keeping the fisherman busy. There were more than 20 roosters, 12 pargos, and 20 jacks landed this week. We also saw the return of the sailfish this week. The sails had moved away when the water turned cold, but are starting to come back as the water warms. The day time highs are reaching the upper 90’s now and the water temperatures are in the high 70’s to low 80’s.
That’s it for this week amigos
Eddie Dalmau
Baja’s Van Wormer Resorts
Saturday, July 24, 2010
One Man's Junk Is Another Man's Treasure - "Sale-ing"
Hello Folks,
My lovely wife started her week's vacation today and instead of resting, we had a "Yard Sale!"
Ah yes, the annual yard sale where dad does 90% of the manual labor and mom reaps in the money... LOL!
We started to prepare for the sale on Wednesday evening. Julie and I were in the bedrooms and basement looking for sale items that may catch someone's eye and we no longer used. The task was rather easy.
I have been harboring a ton of stuff in our basement for other people. My sister-in-law moved to New Mexico three years ago and I have a bunch of her family's stuff that she gave us in the basement. None of it has been used and just taking up space. These were excellent items to move out to the sale.
My son and his fiancee buy new and used DVD movies and television series. They had a ton of those to sell and did quite well doing so.
I awoke at 5:00 a.m. to eat wash and shave, eat breakfast, and get working!
The boat needed to be removed from the garage and parked along side the house. I did this as the sun was rising.
It was already extremely humid outside and the temperature was around 81 degrees before 8:00 a.m. It was hazy, hot, and humid... The 3 H's! I was sweating bullets within a few minutes of carrying items up the basement stairs and out to the front yard.
We usually get the "Early Birds" around 6:30 a.m. when the sale actually starts at 7:00 a.m. Well, due to the hot and humid conditions, our first customers didn't stop until 7:10 a.m. I remember thinking to myself, "This isn't a good sign of things to come."
But as the morning wore on, the people kept coming. Sales went in waves, but we did quite well overall. My son and his fiancee did really well. It was good to see them pick up a few extra bucks to help things out.
Well, the sale has been over for about 2 hours or so and we still have a few items on our hill by the road that are free for the taking. There are a baby buggy, a baby car seat, and two boat bumpers left over from this morning sale. I'm sure they'll all be gone by dark. Our hillside is an incredible place to move things out that we no longer want or need.
Tomorrow is our annual "Bash and Splash 2010." It is an annual pool party Julie and I throw to thank all my friends for helping me through the tough times when I had my hip surgeries and all my other hospital stays. I am contemplating this being the last year for the gathering. So, I'm expecting a very good time and a good turn out.
We will be starting the "Bash and Splash" around 1:00 p.m. with the grill being lit by 1:30 p.m. Nothing gets better than having family, neighbors, and good friends over for some favorite liquid refreshments, fish stories, casting contest in the pool, and especially THE FOOD!
Dad
My lovely wife started her week's vacation today and instead of resting, we had a "Yard Sale!"
Ah yes, the annual yard sale where dad does 90% of the manual labor and mom reaps in the money... LOL!
We started to prepare for the sale on Wednesday evening. Julie and I were in the bedrooms and basement looking for sale items that may catch someone's eye and we no longer used. The task was rather easy.
I have been harboring a ton of stuff in our basement for other people. My sister-in-law moved to New Mexico three years ago and I have a bunch of her family's stuff that she gave us in the basement. None of it has been used and just taking up space. These were excellent items to move out to the sale.
My son and his fiancee buy new and used DVD movies and television series. They had a ton of those to sell and did quite well doing so.
I awoke at 5:00 a.m. to eat wash and shave, eat breakfast, and get working!
The boat needed to be removed from the garage and parked along side the house. I did this as the sun was rising.
It was already extremely humid outside and the temperature was around 81 degrees before 8:00 a.m. It was hazy, hot, and humid... The 3 H's! I was sweating bullets within a few minutes of carrying items up the basement stairs and out to the front yard.
We usually get the "Early Birds" around 6:30 a.m. when the sale actually starts at 7:00 a.m. Well, due to the hot and humid conditions, our first customers didn't stop until 7:10 a.m. I remember thinking to myself, "This isn't a good sign of things to come."
But as the morning wore on, the people kept coming. Sales went in waves, but we did quite well overall. My son and his fiancee did really well. It was good to see them pick up a few extra bucks to help things out.
Well, the sale has been over for about 2 hours or so and we still have a few items on our hill by the road that are free for the taking. There are a baby buggy, a baby car seat, and two boat bumpers left over from this morning sale. I'm sure they'll all be gone by dark. Our hillside is an incredible place to move things out that we no longer want or need.
Tomorrow is our annual "Bash and Splash 2010." It is an annual pool party Julie and I throw to thank all my friends for helping me through the tough times when I had my hip surgeries and all my other hospital stays. I am contemplating this being the last year for the gathering. So, I'm expecting a very good time and a good turn out.
We will be starting the "Bash and Splash" around 1:00 p.m. with the grill being lit by 1:30 p.m. Nothing gets better than having family, neighbors, and good friends over for some favorite liquid refreshments, fish stories, casting contest in the pool, and especially THE FOOD!
Dad
Friday, July 23, 2010
Chasing Chatham County Monsters
Friday morning, two good friends (Scott and Bob)and I hit a Chatham County river to chase stripers, hybrids, largemouth, spots, and anything else that happened onto our hooks. This spot had been very productive for us this summer so we had high hopes.
We had planned a 4 AM meet-up and 4:15 AM launch to try and get the entirety of the striper bite. However, the moon, which was a beautiful orange on the drive south, disappeared into the clouds around 3:45 AM leaving the morning nearly pitch dark. We launched on time, but the bite was slow. It proved quite difficult, throwing to the faint outlines of current breaks, boulders, and logs. I had a good blow-up on a buzzbait, but the fish never got the hook. Shortly after, I heard Scott let out a yell and he landed a chunky blue catfish on a topwater plug. We took our time until about 5:15 AM, when twilight came and we could actually begin to see where we were casting.
We spread out, fishing hard and switching baits as we saw fit. I landed my first fish rather quickly, a small spotted bass, and two casts later had a second spot in the boat. But the bite was a little slow. I had a nice blow-up on a Lucky Craft Sammy (which was the bait that landed the first 2 fish), but again the fish never drew hook. As the sun got higher I decided to switch to a Sebile Magic Swimmer swimbait. As I tied it on I realized that the hooks were smaller than I would have liked, but I certainly wasn't going to change them right then and there. Two casts later I hooked a solid fish in the current. I had made a long cast and the fish was pulling hard through the boulder filled channel. About midway to the boat he broke the surface and revealed himself to be a 20" (or so) striper. On the same jump, he threw the hook....I would go striperless for the day!
It turns out Scott and Bob hadn't had much better luck with a blow-up here and there, but no fish other than spots. We started working our way down river and I threw a mix of topwater and spinnerbaits. We got to a rocky area to find the bite much slower than normal. In fact, the area, which is typically littered with spotted bass, seemed nearly void. I decided to paddle down a side channel where a creek came in to explore a bit. This turned out to be one of the better moves of my day.
The channel, which contained a couple class 2 rapids, looked more like a trout stream. The most bizarre part was that even in the current, it was full of carp. However, some of the side pools looked awfully bassy. After navigating through the rapids I stowed my boat on shore and waded back up to some of the pools. Nearly every current break and eddy seemed to be full of spots and for the next 40 minutes I rarely went 2 casts without a bite. I landed 20 or more spots (the Kentucky breed) with numerous fish over 12" and one pushing 14".
At this point Scott turned around and I am not sure how the rest of his day went. Bob and I decided to explore further down river. This turned out to be more work than we had expected as the bite was slow, weather was hot, and haul back up river was brutal. After our unsuccesful exploration, which yielded only a few small fish, we headed back toward the area where we had started.
On my first cast I landed a 13" spot on a spinnerbait, which I thought was a sign that the bite would be hot. 2 casts later I had a fish blast the spinnerbait, but didn't hook up. However, the next 30-40 minutes was spent casting numerous baits without a bite. We decided to pack it in and head for the trucks as we were beat and the temperature was quickly rising toward triple digits. As we paddled for the bank I threw my spinnerbait in a fishy looking chute where I had thrown probably a dozen or more casts throughout the day. As the bait got within about 8 feet of the boat I saw a big mouth and head appear behind the lure. The bite was awesome and it felt like the rod would be jolted from my arm. Upon seeing the fish, my brain was trying to process what it was. It wasn't a striper or hyrbid, nor a largemouth or spot. It wasn't a cat.....it was a bowfin.
For those of you not familiar with bowfin, they are a unique fish. They have been around for over 150 million years, have extremely hard scales and mouths, and rows of sharp teeth. I had only landed 2 bowfin previously and only hooked 3 that I could positively identify. However, until today I didn't have a picture of one because I never had a desire to bring one in my kayak with me.
After a good fight and multiple jumps the fish came to boat side. Thankfully Bob saw the aerial display and turned back to help take pictures. He also lended me his Boga grip (I need to get one of those!) to clamp on the fish while I removed the hook with pliers. My spinnerbait was stucky squarely in his upper lip, but popped out of the bone hard upper jaw like it was nothing. Upon removal from the water, we noticed the fish had a split lower jaw and looked like it had been in some battles. The fish measured around 25" and 5 lbs. This bowfin was my 3rd from this river and 3rd largest, and it was big enough to qualify for a North Carolina fishing citation. It was a great way to end a day that had its ups and downs. In hindsight, we have been really spoiled by this river this summer because when a 30 bass day topped off with a citian bowfin and lost striper is considered slow, you know you have it good!
Fish were caught on a Lucky Craft Sammy topwater, Storm Chug Bug, River2Sea Buzzbait, J&M Spinnerbait, and Sebile Magic Swimmer with the J&M spinnerbait being the most productive by far. And as usual, the scenery was awesome, having carp, gar, and catfish cruising under the boat, multiple birds roaming the banks/skies, and watching panfish sip bugs off the surface all day long. Thanks again to Scott and Bob for joining me. Tight lines!
We had planned a 4 AM meet-up and 4:15 AM launch to try and get the entirety of the striper bite. However, the moon, which was a beautiful orange on the drive south, disappeared into the clouds around 3:45 AM leaving the morning nearly pitch dark. We launched on time, but the bite was slow. It proved quite difficult, throwing to the faint outlines of current breaks, boulders, and logs. I had a good blow-up on a buzzbait, but the fish never got the hook. Shortly after, I heard Scott let out a yell and he landed a chunky blue catfish on a topwater plug. We took our time until about 5:15 AM, when twilight came and we could actually begin to see where we were casting.
We spread out, fishing hard and switching baits as we saw fit. I landed my first fish rather quickly, a small spotted bass, and two casts later had a second spot in the boat. But the bite was a little slow. I had a nice blow-up on a Lucky Craft Sammy (which was the bait that landed the first 2 fish), but again the fish never drew hook. As the sun got higher I decided to switch to a Sebile Magic Swimmer swimbait. As I tied it on I realized that the hooks were smaller than I would have liked, but I certainly wasn't going to change them right then and there. Two casts later I hooked a solid fish in the current. I had made a long cast and the fish was pulling hard through the boulder filled channel. About midway to the boat he broke the surface and revealed himself to be a 20" (or so) striper. On the same jump, he threw the hook....I would go striperless for the day!
It turns out Scott and Bob hadn't had much better luck with a blow-up here and there, but no fish other than spots. We started working our way down river and I threw a mix of topwater and spinnerbaits. We got to a rocky area to find the bite much slower than normal. In fact, the area, which is typically littered with spotted bass, seemed nearly void. I decided to paddle down a side channel where a creek came in to explore a bit. This turned out to be one of the better moves of my day.
The channel, which contained a couple class 2 rapids, looked more like a trout stream. The most bizarre part was that even in the current, it was full of carp. However, some of the side pools looked awfully bassy. After navigating through the rapids I stowed my boat on shore and waded back up to some of the pools. Nearly every current break and eddy seemed to be full of spots and for the next 40 minutes I rarely went 2 casts without a bite. I landed 20 or more spots (the Kentucky breed) with numerous fish over 12" and one pushing 14".
At this point Scott turned around and I am not sure how the rest of his day went. Bob and I decided to explore further down river. This turned out to be more work than we had expected as the bite was slow, weather was hot, and haul back up river was brutal. After our unsuccesful exploration, which yielded only a few small fish, we headed back toward the area where we had started.
On my first cast I landed a 13" spot on a spinnerbait, which I thought was a sign that the bite would be hot. 2 casts later I had a fish blast the spinnerbait, but didn't hook up. However, the next 30-40 minutes was spent casting numerous baits without a bite. We decided to pack it in and head for the trucks as we were beat and the temperature was quickly rising toward triple digits. As we paddled for the bank I threw my spinnerbait in a fishy looking chute where I had thrown probably a dozen or more casts throughout the day. As the bait got within about 8 feet of the boat I saw a big mouth and head appear behind the lure. The bite was awesome and it felt like the rod would be jolted from my arm. Upon seeing the fish, my brain was trying to process what it was. It wasn't a striper or hyrbid, nor a largemouth or spot. It wasn't a cat.....it was a bowfin.
For those of you not familiar with bowfin, they are a unique fish. They have been around for over 150 million years, have extremely hard scales and mouths, and rows of sharp teeth. I had only landed 2 bowfin previously and only hooked 3 that I could positively identify. However, until today I didn't have a picture of one because I never had a desire to bring one in my kayak with me.
After a good fight and multiple jumps the fish came to boat side. Thankfully Bob saw the aerial display and turned back to help take pictures. He also lended me his Boga grip (I need to get one of those!) to clamp on the fish while I removed the hook with pliers. My spinnerbait was stucky squarely in his upper lip, but popped out of the bone hard upper jaw like it was nothing. Upon removal from the water, we noticed the fish had a split lower jaw and looked like it had been in some battles. The fish measured around 25" and 5 lbs. This bowfin was my 3rd from this river and 3rd largest, and it was big enough to qualify for a North Carolina fishing citation. It was a great way to end a day that had its ups and downs. In hindsight, we have been really spoiled by this river this summer because when a 30 bass day topped off with a citian bowfin and lost striper is considered slow, you know you have it good!
Fish were caught on a Lucky Craft Sammy topwater, Storm Chug Bug, River2Sea Buzzbait, J&M Spinnerbait, and Sebile Magic Swimmer with the J&M spinnerbait being the most productive by far. And as usual, the scenery was awesome, having carp, gar, and catfish cruising under the boat, multiple birds roaming the banks/skies, and watching panfish sip bugs off the surface all day long. Thanks again to Scott and Bob for joining me. Tight lines!
Big Fish of 2010
Hello Folks,
I was looking over my pics from 2010 and I put together a little slide show of some of my Big Fish of 2010.
I am looking forward to bringing all of you more of the same as we speed towards fall fishing. Wishful thinking on my part since tomorrow it is suppose to be 98 degrees here in Willow Street, Pa. Arrrggghhh!
Enjoy!
I was looking over my pics from 2010 and I put together a little slide show of some of my Big Fish of 2010.
I am looking forward to bringing all of you more of the same as we speed towards fall fishing. Wishful thinking on my part since tomorrow it is suppose to be 98 degrees here in Willow Street, Pa. Arrrggghhh!
Enjoy!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Lake Aldred, Susuqehanna River, With Dell 07_22_10
Hello Folks,
The last fishing trip we made was back on July 8, 2010! It's been two weeks since I was out on the river and I was happy that we could make the trip today.
We have had numerous days in the 90's and today was pushing that again. One thing different about today was the lack of humidity that we've seen most of those terribly hot days. It felt perfect this morning when we launched at 6:30 a.m.
Holtwood Dam had the water at "Top Level" which was to my liking. The last time we went to that ramp, we couldn't even put in because the water was so low.
There were two other boats in the area we were fishing today. As the morning progressed, I saw two additional boats floating this area. That may seem like a lot, but this area can hold quite a number of boats without interfering with one's fishing.
We tried top waters before the sun rose over the hillside. We had no hits until we moved to the lipless cranks, then the fun began. We caught over 15 bass in about 2 hours of fishing. Several were in the 15 inch range and the rest were smaller. The reaction strike was a good one!
The fishing slowed by 10:00 a.m., but we were getting hits on occasion with white spinnerbaits with tandem willow leaf blades in chrome.
I tried other colors of spinnerbaits, but the white was on today.
While on the river, we were able to spy this coming across the sky from York County...
A UFO! No, no... It was the DirectTV Blimp!
You just never know what you'll see while fishing!
The water temperature was 81.5 degrees with an 87 degree surface reading... Hot. There were a few passing clouds and a nice NW breeze blowing keeping the heat tolerable.
Thank goodness the humidity was low today. I understand that it will be returning over the next two days and that we may have a "heat advisory" for tomorrow! I best get out tonight to cut the grass for our "Bash and Splash 2010" on Sunday!
Take Care,
Dad
The last fishing trip we made was back on July 8, 2010! It's been two weeks since I was out on the river and I was happy that we could make the trip today.
We have had numerous days in the 90's and today was pushing that again. One thing different about today was the lack of humidity that we've seen most of those terribly hot days. It felt perfect this morning when we launched at 6:30 a.m.
Holtwood Dam had the water at "Top Level" which was to my liking. The last time we went to that ramp, we couldn't even put in because the water was so low.
There were two other boats in the area we were fishing today. As the morning progressed, I saw two additional boats floating this area. That may seem like a lot, but this area can hold quite a number of boats without interfering with one's fishing.
We tried top waters before the sun rose over the hillside. We had no hits until we moved to the lipless cranks, then the fun began. We caught over 15 bass in about 2 hours of fishing. Several were in the 15 inch range and the rest were smaller. The reaction strike was a good one!
The fishing slowed by 10:00 a.m., but we were getting hits on occasion with white spinnerbaits with tandem willow leaf blades in chrome.
I tried other colors of spinnerbaits, but the white was on today.
While on the river, we were able to spy this coming across the sky from York County...
A UFO! No, no... It was the DirectTV Blimp!
You just never know what you'll see while fishing!
The water temperature was 81.5 degrees with an 87 degree surface reading... Hot. There were a few passing clouds and a nice NW breeze blowing keeping the heat tolerable.
Thank goodness the humidity was low today. I understand that it will be returning over the next two days and that we may have a "heat advisory" for tomorrow! I best get out tonight to cut the grass for our "Bash and Splash 2010" on Sunday!
Take Care,
Dad
L S D
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