Kayak and Raft Fishing Dad Part 2 ( 02/03/11)

Hello Folks,

I hope you enjoyed my introductory entry for "Kayak and Raft Fishing Dad".

Today, We'll continue with Part 2 of kayak fishing and some pics from my cherished picture collection from over the years...

Smallie Chaser on the Susquehanna River... We made a float the first day of the 2004 RiverSmallies.com (The now defunct "Mothership" of all smallmouth fishing websites) Rodeo.



Greg Smith, who now guides on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River, is holding a beautiful 18" smallmouth bass. I swear he was constantly looking for the throttle to his kayak. This may have been the last time he ever sat in a kayak to fish... LOL!



Jason Venesky (Pittsburgh, Pa.) on the "Doah River in Virginia during a 2003 Rodeo. We had a tough fishing morning. But there were three of us who were fishing together and we finally developed a steady fish catching pattern. The smallmouth were feeding directly in front of the ledges in the "push water". Cool!



Portaging Big Fall (Va.)on the New River in 2003...



DaggerDave (Ohio)...



Spud (Va) on the Rapidan with Phil (Oppiey) in 2004...



Here's Phil (Oppiey) and his son Joey in 2004...



Dad on the Juniata and Susquehanna Rivers float with Sean Beaver and his father. This was a fantastic day for spinnerbait bites. I hit an area right above Sherman's Creek (Duncannon, Pa.) on the Susquehanna River that produced a dozen smallies on a 3/8th oz. white/chartreuse spinnerbait. What a treat!



October 7, 2003 on the Swatara Creek with Eric Lohr (Tuberman). We only caught a few smallies that float while actively seeking Musky.



I used to like taking day floats on the Susquehanna River with groups of fishing buddies. Here is Daryl Richer (Susqyman)taking a short break and giving me a photo opp.



MTO Sammies from Sheetz make for excellent "float" lunches...



There's much more to come as I continue down memory lane with "Kayak and Raft Fishing Dad". It's hard to believe that I took so many trips over the years with such great fishing buddies.

I always get asked how I learned so much about smallmouth and largemouth fishing over the years. Well, folks, you are now seeing that I was extremely fortunate to be out fishing with some of the greatest smallmouth anglers over the years. No, we aren't professionals, but we definitely are serious about our bass angling.

I hope you enjoyed today's pictures and short stories. Be sure to check back real soon for a new entry in the adventures of "Kayak and Raft Fishing Dad".

Dad

Maine Saltwater Fishing Charters With Capt. George Harris & Super Fly Charters

Maine Striper Fishing Guided Trips

WOW...SNOW...SNOW...SNOW...And lot's of the knee deep, light, powdery stuff...the kind of rare snow that's perfect for outdoor activities like skiing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling...take advantage of it!!!Yup...We survived the latest monster blizzard that terrorized us up here on the coast of Maine and we're now firmly locked in winters icy's grip...but that doesn't mean that we're not busy getting ready for the 2011 season. We have a ton of work to do!!!We have lots of equipment to do annual maintenance on...we need to restock on line, leaders, lures and other misc. tackle...Our fly boxes need to be re stocked with killer patterns....and we need to assemble a list of projects to get the boat ready to splash...
Another part of the off season is making sure that you all get your trips booked with Super Fly Charters...so far, thats been pretty easy!!! I have had a few questions lately from folks that want to know what the most productive methods are for our Striper trips...that's a great question...with many different answers...Without a doubt, the most productive technique day after day is live lining frisky baits...it's a fact that no one can argue...however we also pursue Striped bass with an array of fly & light tackle artificial baits which can also be very productive...Some days, skipping jigs and swimbaits off the bottom in 20-40 feet of cannot be beat, while other days working current washed rocky shoreline structure with flies or soft plastics gets the nod...some days we're crushing fish on the shallow water sand, mud or eelgrass flats...a variety of factors come into play and it all centers on what baits the fish are keyed on...sometimes the fish are gorging on tiny sandeels, silversides or grass shrimp...other times it's a worm hatch when they wont even look at anything but a sand or bloodworm...maybe a herring or squid run that has the fish jacked up...on the tough days it's up to your guide to crack the code...On every trip we always have ALL the equipment aboard including a bait tank full of tasty livies...what does this mean for the angler...NO EXCUSES!!! In the unusual event that we're not catching fish...it just means that the fish are simply not eating during that stage of the tide...they call it "fishing" for a reason...that's where having the right tools aboard comes into play...we can often save the day by coaxing a dead bite into a full blown blitz just by employing a few simple techniques....When somebody books a trip with Super Fly...I really value the short time they are with us...our goal is to provide the best chance for success in that short 4, 6 or 8 hour window.
When I get a call or email asking if we can sight fish for Stripers or catch a Tuna on a topwater plug....my answer is always..."sure that is possible"...The Tuna bite can be epic but not always dependable and Granted, for sight casting on the flats the conditions can typically be good to very good...but it's also a very good possibility that the conditions won't be remotely good enough for sight fishing...I know that most of us saltwater inshore anglers all love to sight fish for Stripers with fly or light tackle...it's a blast for sure, but let's face it...we don't always have the conditions to allow for it here in Maine...wind, turbid water, cloudy conditions, fog for weeks on end can all hamper the sight fishing game...These are the times when the guide needs to switch gears and they need to do it quickly or you the angler suffers...This past summer a comment really got stuck in my head and sort of reinforces the way that we approach guiding, After telling a group of guides at a fly fishing only tournament, how successful we've been using livebaits...I had one guide in the group tell me, rather arrogantly, that he'd rather watch paint dry than fish livies on light tackle...hmm...a very interesting philosophy I thought to myself...but hey, everyone is entitled to their own opinion...to each their own...To me...it's not about fishing with the methods that I prefer...rather putting my anglers on fish...which I guess, to most anglers is the whole point at the end of the day...I just thought to myself that while those anglers are watching paint dry and struggling to get a well fed fish to eat a clump of feathers and hearing the excuses as to why the bite is turned off...we're hammering away on fish using alternate methods...even during the dog days of summer...We're on the water everyday and have the experience to advise you as to what methods or species that we should pursue...If you're willing to buck the odds and swing the bat after I've explained the current conditions...then we can go for it 100%...either way it's all about having a fun day on the water....just with an added challenge...hahaha!!!

This winter...We're also planning to make appearances at various sporting shows on the east coast...this season I'm even traveling out of the country to the Canadian city of Montreal to attend a sporting show....Since many of my gusts are from Quebec...it just makes good sense!!!

Reservations have been coming in at a good pace and fortunately for us, that means that we're going to have another super busy season.

What's Hot Right Now: Reports indicate that the Smelts have been biting well...if you'd like to give this fun winter activity a try please get in touch with me...I do a handful of guided trips on the hardwater during the winter months...We have the equipment and the know how to make this a fun experience for you!!! Please inquire for pricing

Also don't forget to stay connected with us to get the most up to date saltwater fishing reports on the Maine coast by joining us on our Super Fly Charters Facebook page....during the season we'll be posting our big catches as they happen...It's easy and free to join...just click the link on our sidebar!!!


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

Myakka River pictorial

Enjoy!

Snook, redfish and bass slamming lures in the Myakka River



This 29-inch snook fell for a D.O.A. 4-inch jerk worm on a CAL Jig Head.



Fishing has been very interesting on the Myakka River. Most days, we’re able to take a river slam: snook, redfish and largemouth bass.

Not bad.

The beauty of the river is you never know what you’re going to catch. Could be a 2-pound largemouth bass on one cast and a 20-pound snook on the next.

Every cast could result in a monster fish.

Those fishing the river should realize that the fish don’t jump in the boat; you have to work for them. Key is keeping your lure or fly in the water. The more time you’re lure is in the water, the greater your chances of hooking up.

We’ve been launching at Snook Haven, 5000 East Venice Ave. It’s located about a mile west of Interstate 75 off River Road. The place is quaint. In addition, the restaurant there serves up some decent grub and they offer live entertainment on Thursdays and Sundays. You can also hop aboard a large pontoon boat to take a tour of the river.

We usually launch long before Snook Haven opens. We’ve been paddling downriver about a mile.

We’ve discovered a new pattern that has been paying dividends. I won’t divulge it here, but just say we’re taking snook, bass and redfish in areas you normally wouldn’t cast.

Today, I took Nick Walter, the former outdoors editor of the Bradenton Herald, out for a morning of fishing. Walter now is writing outdoors stuff for www.bradentonpatch.com.

I showed him my new pattern and it worked pretty well for the second day in a row. We caught quite a few bass to about 2 pounds. We also caught and released a small snook. The highlight of the outing was a monster snook that I hooked. It towed my kayak and made five jumps. The snook was so large it couldn’t get its body out of the water.

Walter figured the fish to be 39 or 40 inches. I estimated it at 30 to 32. It wore through the leader before I could land it.

Not to be dismayed. You can’t lose a big fish unless you first hook one.

Every day is different. On Tuesday, I landed four snook to 24 inches, four redfish to 22, four bass to 15. In addition, I hooked and lost a couple of big gar.

I landed a 29-inch snook on Monday and two smaller fish. In addition, I caught and released three redfish and several bass.

I’m taking most of my fish on a D.O.A. avocado flake 4-inch jerk worm on a 1/8-ounce CAL Jig Head. The key is to slowly hop it across the bottom.

In addition to fish, we’ve been seeing a few alligators, raccoons, otters, osprey, great blue heron and night heron.

The Myakka River is my favorite place to fish this time of year. It’s a great place to fish for snook, and there’s always the chance you’ll hook a monster.

Even if you don’t land a fish (that won’t happen), you’ll have a wonderful time. The river, which has been declared a scenic body of water, is one of the most picturesque streams in the state – if not country.

I expect fishing to remain steady until we get two weeks or so of warm weather.

Until them, you can find me on the Myakka River.

Kayak and Raft Fishing Dad 02/02/11

Hello Folks,

Happy Groundhog Day from the great state of Pennsylvania. Our annual prognosticators seem to have a slight difference of opinion. "Punxsutawney Phil" came out of hibernation to claim he could not see his shadow and winter would end soon. However, our local Lancaster County whistle-pig, "Octoraro Orphie", predicted yet another six weeks of winter after seeing his shadow this morning... Wait, Octoraro Orphie! It was freezing rain outside this morning. Are you sure you weren't fooled by all the reporters' camera flashes and t.v. crews? Oh, well, winter will end when it does.

I'm going to start a topic today that I thoroughly enjoy and that is "Kayak and Raft Fishing". Please don't confuse this type of kayaking, like my insurance company once did, with white water kayaking that we often see on outdoor adventure shows. Yes, sometimes we do Class 1 and 2 rapids, but not the outrageous and very dangerous rapids we often associate with the smaller and very maneuverable kayaks used by Olympic kayakers and thrill seekers.

My kayaks were between the sizes of 9' and 12' in length and fully rigged for fishing.

Over the next couple of blog entries, I will be sharing close to 60 pictures of kayak and raft fishing adventures that started in 2003 and continued through 2009. Seven full years of memories, laughs, camp outs, and lots of fishing. I think that you are really going to enjoy this pictorial of friends and fish! So, let's get started.

I was introduced to kayak fishing by Pete and Tim Hanford on the Susquehanna River near the confluence of the Juniata River. We used to launch from under the Rt. 22/322 Clark's Ferry Bridge near Duncannon, Pa. So, let's start with kayak fishing and move on to raft fishing.

My first kayak was a Wilderness Pamlico 120. The Pamlico 120 was 12' "sit in" (SIT) yak. I had fully rigged it for bass fishing with two Scotty rod holders, a "fishing deck", and a waterproof deck bag attached to the front deck. I had added a padded seat to ease those long hours of seating on my butt while doing floats. A float is what we called launching from on location and "floating" to a take out point. A rule of thumb for kayak fishing was to estimate one hour of fishing per one mile of the float. Therefore, a five mile float under normal river flow would take about five hours... Leave at 6:00 a.m. and be finished by 11:00 a.m. Add another hour or two in for eating lunch, taking breaks to stand and stretch, or wade fishing.

After my bilateral hip replacements, I bought a Wilderness Tarpon 100. The Tarpon 100 is a 10' long "sit on top" (SOT) yak. It allows you to sit on the yak rather than in it. This allowed me to enter and exit the kayak rather easier under my restricted movement. The SOT sits a bit higher and is not quite as stable. I used knee straps to "lock" me in when maneuvering small rapids.

We kayaked and rafted a lot of rivers from Pennsylvania to Virginia. Here is a list of those that I can remember... Main Stem of The Susquehanna River (Pa), The Juniata River (Pa), Conestoga River (Pa), Codorus Creek (Pa), Swatara Creek (Pa), Sherman Creek (Pa), Rapidan River (Va), Rappahannock River (Va), Shenandoah River (Va), James River (Va), New River (Va), and the Potomac River (Va).

Kayak fishing puts you just inches off the water. It is a lot more stealth in it's approach to fish, but it does limit your visibility. The closeness to the water is a unique experience when landing a feisty smallmouth bass. My biggest pleasure while kayak fishing was catching my largest smallie at 23.75" on the James River!



Let's begin the kayak adventure!

Phil, Pete, and Dad on the Point b/w The Rappahannock and Rapidan Rivers. Phil and I had to "mud bog" his F150 from the parking lot to the take out in order to pick up our yaks and gear. This was the summer before I had my hips replaced!



Did you take note to the "2-Way Radios" we always carried in a waterproof bag? It always kept us in communication with one another when we would lose sight of our fishing buddies. Some of us carried GPS units to keep track of our location. Safety First!

This was a great weekend of fishing. Pete's screen name is BassmanPete until I dubbed him PinmanPete. No explanation is needed.



Harry Fetter assisting Pete in freeing his yak.



The very next day, Pete and I headed out together to fish the Rappahannock River and look what he did... AGAIN!



Yep... That's PinmanPete!

One great thing is communing with nature and teaching your children about the river and fishing. Here was a trip I took with my then 16 year old son, Zach. Zach will be celebrating his 22nd birthday on February 13, 2011.



A nice 17" smallie for my boy!


Here's a picture taken by Tim Hanford of me in 2004. This was the summer immediately after my hip replacements. I received a lot of help from my friends that summer so I could continue to enjoy fishing. I appreciate everyone and everything they did for me after my surgeries.



My good friend, Ron Reidenbach, with a smallie on the Codorus Creek in 2003.



Yakbow and Dagger Dave... Yakbow taking a cooling dip!





Hang tight and stop back soon. I'll be continuing this kayak and raft pictorial adventure in my next few blogs. I have plenty more to share, including an encounter with Walt Disney pescado.

Take care and be careful in this wintery weather,
Dad

First trip of 2011

I finally got out for the first fishing trip of 2011! The cabin fever had me feeling like Jack in The Shining. CRAZY! So, with an invitation from local fishing legend Forrest Short and it being the opening day of Kayak Wars, I was determined to get some pullage.

The air temps were in the mid to lower 40s with a little mist. It was nice night to paddle out and as I took my first few strokes I was glad it was dark so Forrest wouldn't see my gooberish grin. It was my first time out in over a month so all the feel-goods were flooding. As we were heading out I listened carefully as he shared valuable info about the area.

We got to the spot and realized we had some friends fishing on shore. Marty (PAHillbilly) and his friend Chris were getting into the striper already. Last I heard, Chris pulled in a 33"er. Anyway, Forrest and I started working our lures and eventually got into a few. I got one 21.75" striper and Forrest's final count was three with the biggest going 23"ish.

It was a tough night of fishing but it was still nice to get out. The highlight of the evening was a green VIMS tag in Forrest's first fish. I believe he can turn in the green tag and get $$$

The thing is, he ended up breaking his Tica rod last night as well. We're not really sure how it happened. He was messing with a 17"ish striper he just got in the yak and snap.

I guess that $$$$ will be going towards a new rod.

Good fishing with you Forrest and thanks for sharing your spot!

Fishing Tips Haruan

How to Get Fish Haruan

Haruan (snake head) usually inhabit freshwater areas of water flow quietly and protective structures such as drains, the labyrinth layer of wood in the water, along the lines grassy and woody in the teeth of a bush and ditch water. Haruan (snakehead) like to gather in the area to protect themselves from predators such as the toman.

Among the fishing technique haruan (snake head) The most popular is to use a frog. Typically, the bait is pulled through the citadel of frogs haruan (snake head) will stimulate haruan (snake head) to catch and feed the frog jump.

In this technique should dihenjut frogs feed on grass layer-medley (bottom haruan). Roll over the width of the river or the need to drain, then feed the frog should be dropped slowly into the leaves and grass-henjutkan dihenjut repeatedly. Good luck.

The following methods are replaced with bait artificial bait frog (soft plastic temple). The illustration below shows how to use artificial baits (soft plastic bytes) for the trapping haruan (snake head). Good luck.

Burrrr

Well it is currently -10 F  here in Idaho Springs Colorado.  This is definitely a day to tie flies!!  It also reminds me of some cold fishing days.  Here are some pics from those cold days!!!

Winter Bass Fishing at its Finest...Kinda - January 2011

When winter really starts to set in, which is typically January in North Carolina, fishing changes significantly. Air and water temperatuers drop and many fish, such as bass, start to get less active. Others, like crappie, school up and can often be more aggressive. Lakes and rivers become much different fisheries and even your local farm pond may require some different tactics to pull out a few bass. Over the past two and half weeks I made 3 trips on different bodies of water and had luck each time catching bass. This blog will give some short details of each trip and give some tips for anyone out there trying to get a few winter bites.

My first trip was to Falls Lake, NC. A friend of mine, Jun, who is in my department at Duke has been wanting to go fishing. So, he decided to give kayak fishing a try and we headed out in very cold temperatures. At launch, the air temp was 25 degrees and the wind was blowing pretty hard. We met up with two other guys and set out in search of fish. I knew the river channel would be the place to target, but the lake was down 6-8 feet and the wind made it tough to set-up where I wanted. So I moved to a spot I had found on my electronics last year. I was seeing large schools of bait and some feeding activity, so we started fishing there. A short time later, I hooked up with a solid 14" bass and Jun landed one right around 15". After catching a few large shad, we called it a short day as water was freezing everywhere - including my waders, jacket, rods, reels, kayak deck, and fingers. For me, this day was a case of 1) using your electronics - which I feel is very important in the winter & 2) knowing when to quit - which sometimes you just gotta do for your own safety and sanity.



My second trip was with my friend Gary (froggy waters) Ribet. Gary wanted to hit a small lake in Orange County. I promised to not reveal the name, but it is a public lake. We went out in search of anything that was willing to bite. We checked out the river channel, deep drops, rock banks, and just about any place would could think of, but we couldn't find good schools of fish. The only pattern I noticed on my electronics was that the fish were very spread out chasing schools of shad. We managed to catch 5-6 largemouths, 3-4 crappie, a yellow perch, and a bream between us, but all were fairly small. It was one of those days that makes you realize just how different winter patterns are and how important it is to be patient in the winter. Even though we were fishing areas that hold lots of fish during the majority of the year, the winter pattern had pushed fish elsewhere, most likely to the upper end of the lake where a river flows in (a 5+ mile paddle that we didn't make) and to very deep water (50+ feet).

On a late January afternoon, even an 8 inch spotted bass can make you smile!

My third trip was with Mary May. We decided to hit a local river and catch some spotted bass. It took a little while, but we eventually figured them out and caught quite a few fish using spinnerbaits and crankbaits. However, even in a smaller ecosystem, such as a river, bass want to find warmer, deeper, slower water. One side of the river looked amazing with slow pools, logs, and rock ledges, but we couldn't buy a bite there. The other side, which looked good, but to a lesser degree, had fish in every small pool. So sometimes, just a degree or two warmer water can be a key. Oh, and my Jackson Coosa continued to impress!

A little stand-up Coosa fishing

I hope others are out there enjoying the winter fishing, whether it be on open water down south or through the ice up north! Until next time, tight lines!