Just one more...

Despite having three separate invitations to fish freshwater today (Lake Anna Stripers with Dan Smullen, Smallmouth Bass with Alan Tharrington and Catfishing with my boss), I decided to go to the Elizabeth river (hot ditch) to see if I could catch one more citation before the end of the year. I launched around 10:30 and immediately started catching...

10"-16" spikes

And lots of them. The majority of the time I was throwing a 1/4 oz jighead n dark green body/chartreuse paddle tail. The action stayed steady for a little while and eventually pulled up two 20"ers.

Shortly there after Justin Mayer joined me and he got in on the action too.

20"er

As the tide started to shift, we decided to try a different spot. I trolled over to "the cove" and found a minefield of bobbers. I paddled along the shoreline, courteously staying clear of the other boats and their live baits. I found a decent spot, tossed my soft plastic and immediately hooked up with another spike. Not what I wanted but better than nothing I thought. I busted out the trusty black and orange MirrOLure and worked it really slow. I had something hit it, but not hook up; which is hard to understand because they have three treble hooks on them. Anyway, I checked my watch and realized I was suppose to leave 15 minutes ago.

I casted my lure one last time, started cranking, and BAM! There it was! About 15 seconds into the fight my Mirrolure came flying out of the water and the side of the fish flashed and teased me through the brown-orange water. As expletives flew out of my mouth I knew I couldn't leave now. It looked like it could have measured in the lower 20's. I made several more casts and after about 10 minutes I started to get discouraged. I knew I'd be in deep doo-doo if I stayed much longer. So I casted one last time, again, let it sink to the bottom, slowly crank, and about halfway back to the yak it got crushed! The drag ripping from my 2lb test ultralight outfit seemed so loud in the quiet, windless air. I frantically repeated "Please stay on, please stay on, pleeeeeeeease stay on....". After a couple more nerve racking good drag runs, I finally landed what I came for.

24.25" Release Citation Speck

After a two hour ride, I came home to a pleasant wife who immediately put me on diaper duty and bath time. Afterwards, I got a message from Justin telling me about his great catch after I left. Here is his report.

North Branch of the Susquehanna River - October 16, 2005

Hello Folks,

Here is yet another "Blast From The Past" that I hope you enjoy while our rivers and streams are iced over here in Pennsylvania...

This was "The Day Greg Believed!" Let me explain JetboatGreg's revelation. Tim Fehr and I were using Lucky Craft Pointer 78 and 100 jerkbaits for a couple of seasons and Greg was not. So, on October 16, 2005, Greg and I went fishing together and the stars aligned, the fish were biting, and Greg yelled out, "I Believe!" Let the pics explain...


"Hey, watch it!"







"Yep, tubes work, too!"










Now can you see why Greg believes!? :)

We went on this fishing adventure about a year or so before Greg started to guide on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. He now has a guide service called the "North Branch Outfitter".

http://www.northbranchoutfitters.com/

The Fish Tale:
Greg and I set out in the early morning to catch smallies. We arrived at our spot and saw a newly fallen tree with green leaves still attached to the branches. Before we got serious about fishing, I told Greg to let me toss a tube upriver from the tree and let it flow under the tree to see if it would get hung up.

My first cast brought the tube near the end of the fallen tree. It came through without hitting any obstruction. Okay... Let's try this again and I made a second cast a bit closer to the bank. Once again, the tube bounced along the bottom freely and came through without hanging up.

"Okay, Greg, you can toss that $15 Lucky Craft Pointer 100 under that tree."

Hmmmmmm... I could see the concern in Greg's eyes and that "Are you an idiot?" look. However, He did follow my suggestion and tossed that LC Pointer 100 upriver, gave it a few jerks to get it down in the water column, and WHAM!

"I BELIEVE!", yelled Greg! LOL!

Cast after cast under that fallen tree brought fish after fish to the boat.

As we worked our way upriver, each and every oxbow held fish for the taking. What a day!

Oh, by the way, I did catch fish that day. However, I was so busy helping Greg land fish and taking pictures that we didn't take a lot of time to capture many of my catches. I stuck to a tube simply because Greg was using the JB. That way, we were covering little more property.

Here are a few pics we were able to take in between his LC Pointer pigbeasts!







What a great day for making memories on the North Branch of the Susquehanna River. I'll be delving into more of my archive of pics to bring you more of these fantastic trips from the past.

I hope you enjoyed this jaunt down "Memory Lane".

Dad

Maine Saltwater Fishing 2011: Super Fly Charters & Capt. George Harris

Whether it's on the fly...pitching plugs or live lining frisky live baits we've got you covered check out our website for all of our trip offerings...and stay tuned for some new trips options for 2011If you're addicted to catching Striped Bass, Bluefish, Shark, Bluefin Tuna and Cod or would like to give our Merrymeeting Bay "Trash Can Tarpon" (aka Carp) offering a try...please give us a call or shoot us an email to discuss the possibilities. Please Come Join Super Fly Charters in 2011: Midcoast Maine's premier fly & light tackle guide service, fishing for Striped Bass, Bluefish, Bluefin Tuna and More!!! ~ USCG 100 Ton Master ~ Registered Maine Tidewater Guide ~ For reservations call 207-691-0745. Also for those who have been asking there is still time to purchase that holiday gift certificate for your loved ones. We can customize a gift certificate for any of the guided trips that we offer. As an added bonus all of our trips are currently $50.00 off our listed rates

Maine Saltwater Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
info@superfly-charters.com
www.superfly-charters.com
Right now someone out there is hooking up to the fish of their dreams!!! I hope it's YOU <*(((((>{

Video Blog: Winter Trout Fishing on Penns Creek - December 28, 2010

This is my first video blog - a format I am going to be using more in the future. I hope you enjoy! Tight lines!

"Living the Dream"

Well Christmas has come and gone, and with the new year upon us, I find myself reflecting upon the past and what is to come. In previous years, this annual ritual was filled with plans for myself, including goals for fishing. Life for me has changed dramatically and to be honest, there have been moments where I ask myself... what the hell have I got myself into? TWO kids, really? All the things I want to do for myself seem to be fading and the uncertainty of when they may return has weighed heavy on my mind.

On the other hand, new dreams have spread roots in my soul. As my daughter gets older, the realization of all the things I will be able to do with her soon is very exciting. She is learning so much so fast, so I decided to get her her first fishing rod this Christmas.

It was priceless.

I got something in the mail the other day from someone else who makes me question my dreams. It was Kayak Kevin's new DVD of his Chesapeake Bay Tour. After all the holiday shenanigans with the fam, I finally got to watch it. Now, as you can tell from my previous posts, I have become friends with Kevin, so I'm trying to be as unbiased as I can when I write this "review". As the name implies, this is not an all out fishing DVD like his last one, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It is a real-as-it-gets movie on long distance kayak touring. From "pee barriers" to "nightly critter kills" and frustrations with NOAA, it was really quite a treat to see the Chesapeake Bay from that vantage point. There was excellent footage of the wildlife and gorgeous sunsets on some beautiful beaches along with some intense storms. However, my favorite quote is "then.... out of nowhere... without warning.... an all out blitz erupted!". That was followed up with an insane scene with boiling water everywhere and baitfish doing cartwheels. I'm trying not to give it all away... but man, that was awesome.

I noticed something while watching the DVD. On the stern of his touring kayak he wrote "Living the Dream". And for many, that really is living the dream. Being out there... on your own... with mother nature. And perhaps, one day I may try that too (down the James River), but for now, I have my dreams firmly planted in my children.

Thank you Kevin for sharing yours with us.

I hope everyone had a great holiday and may your dreams come true in the new year!

Christmas Day Trout Fishing - Penns Creek, PA - December 25, 2010

I went to bed on the 24th dreaming not of santa and reindeer, but instead limestone ledges and giant brown trout. My family was set to get in late on Christmas Day, so again, I loaded up the car and headed for the stream. I started in an area about 1/2 mile downstream from the day before in a deep pool. My first weapon of choice was a Lucky Craft 75 SP jerkbait in an MS aurora brown color. On my fourth cast this 14 inch brown crushed the bait.



After getting a couple follows and landing about a 12" fish I switched to an in-line spinner as I fished through a faster section of creek. I went biteless and didn't see a fish for about 15 minutes, so I decided to switch to "old faithful" this time of the year. I tied on a 2 3/4" Rapala husky jerk in the silver with black back color. On my first cast I landed a chunky 14" brown trout and 2 casts later I hooked into this solid trout.



Shortly after I landed my best trout of the day - a hair under 17". Unfortunately, he slipped my grasp while trying to get my camera/phone out of my waders. I kept fishing and found 2 really consistent holding patterns for the trout and was landing solid 12"-15" fish regularly. The best part was that I could see most of the strikes, including one fish that I saw come out from under a rock, crush the bait, and head straight for the air.

I landed a bunch of beautiful brown trout and lost count somewhere past 15. I lost what looked to be a 17"+ rainbow, but thankfully a few casts later I landed this gorgeous brownie.



Finally, I decided to call it a day fishing the trophy trout section. I caught somewhere around 20 trout, had probably another 15 follows, and spotted another 15+ smaller trout. After that great day, I decided to head to a different stretch of stream in search of dinner. After about 5 minutes at one of my favorite winter holes I landed a chunky 14" rainbow, threw him on a stringer, and hit the road. Sauteed in butter and garlic, he made for a tasty Christmas dinner! Tight lines!

A Fish Tale From December 20, 2003

This "past fish tale" was made a day before I entered the hospital and two days before I had my first hip replacement surgery. Jitterbug (Ron) and I headed to the river to get my last fishing trip in for several months. I had my second replacement a month later.

I owned a beautiful Wilderness Pamlico 120 (SIK) that was fully rigged for fishing. I loved that yak! We were both dressed in our neoprene waders and cold weather/water gear.

I caught several fish that day in extremely cold and icy water conditions...







Okay... They're not Bill's (DRY1 @ Smallmouths.com) flashy Dollar Tree gloves ;) , but these wool gloves got the job done seven years ago. I still use a similar pair today.

Dad

Ahhhh... The Day After Christmas 2010

Hello Folks,

I hope each and everyone of you had a "Very Merry Christmas". I am sitting at my computer and listening to a Christmas Channel I created on Pandora... Beautiful music of the season.

There are many who visit "Fishing With Dad" who do not celebrate Christmas. To you, I hope that the season has been kind to you and your loved ones. May the New Year bring joy and prosperity.

Many blog visitors who live in our Southern states woke up to snow yesterday! Atlanta, Ga. (Weather Channel) hasn't had snow for Christmas Day in over 120 yrs. That is a long, long time not to have a White Christmas. I bet there were a lot of "White Christmas" (Bing Crosby) albums being played by my Southern brethren.

Since Christmas Day is my birthday, I awoke to a "Christmas Birthday Breakfast". My wife and two of my three sons decorated the kitchen with a large "Happy Birthday" sign and doughnuts with lit candles... LOL! There were noise makers and small festive decorations on the kitchen table declaring "Happy Birthday, Dad". My sons got me a gift certificates for Fandango, since they know I love attending movies, and the Susquehanna Fishing Tackle shop... Perfect for a Fisherman!

We then ate breakfast of eggs and bacon with a Birthday Doughnut and coffee.

Afterward, we all moved into the living room and gathered near the Christmas Tree to open our Christmas gifts... Yeah! :)

It was a beautiful and sunny morning here in Willow Street, Pa.

At 10:30 a.m., we packed up the relative's gifts and headed over to my middle brother's home to celebrate Christmas. My oldest son, his wife, and our two beautiful granddaughters came over to his home. Also gathering were my oldest brother, his wife, and one of four sons, his wife and 6 month old son also joined us. Phew! That wasn't easy to write, but I don't think I missed anyone!

My oldest brother's remaining three sons and their families were scattered throughout the USA... Las Vegas, Nevada and Chicago, Illinois.

After the gift exchange (Youngest to Oldest), we visited with one another until my oldest brother and his family left for their in-laws. Now it was time to turn to our Christmas meal... Ham, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Corn, and hot buns. All cooked by my single brother... Did I mention mashed potatoes? He just loves his mashed potatoes. Maybe it's the Irish in him. :)

We returned home around 3:00 p.m. and spent our Christmas evening sitting in the living room by the Christmas Tree and watching some great basketball games. I was really excited about the Miami Heat and the Lakers match up. Man, did the Heat take control of that game early and they never let up. The Heat played great defense. Kobe was visibly frustrated, especially after losing their last game by 19 pt. There was some jawing and smack talking between Kobe and Lebron James. I love it!

I am looking forward to this week at home with my wife. She's on vacation and it's getting ready to snow here 6-10" according to the forecast. No fishing for awhile!

Take Care and Happy Holiday!
Dad

'Twas the Night Before Christmas Trout - Penns Creek, PA - December 24, 2010

I arrived at my childhood home in central PA to an empty nest. My parents were traveling; visiting my sister and her family in Wyoming - a trip I was unable to make due to other obligations. Knowing that they wouldn't get home until late Christmas day, it meant one thing - time to hit the local trout streams.

I stepped outside to find a cold breeze and 26 degree temperatures. Immediately, I turned around, went back inside, and got another fleece to wear. I hit the road and after getting squared away with a new license, I met up with my good friend Levi and his father Jim. We decided to hit a stretch of Penns Creek that we all grew up fishing - one that is extremely productive this time of year. It is a native stream, with trophy trout regulations and therefore a healthy population of big brown trout.

This time of year we like to throw big jerkbaits (3"-4") to lure the trout from their winter hiding spots. Color, retrieve speed, and size may vary from trip to trip depending on conditions, so it is important to let the trout dictate what they want. I decided to start with a 3 5/8" Yo Zuri Twitch n' Minnow in a gold color.

Armed with my ultra-light combo, I waded into the stream and within about 10 minutes I had my first bite. After a nice fight, I landed a 13"-14" brown trout, which would be about average for the day. The key seemed to be a retrieve with long pauses after each twitch/jerk of the bait. It was at this point I realized I forgot my camera and was relegated to camera pics for the day.



A few minutes later Levi landed another brownie - about the same size. His hit a Rapala Husky Jerk. We continued fishing and quickly realized the fish were being lazier than usual in the cold water. We were getting a lot of follows without strikes and fish were mainly holding in very particular areas. We fished for about 45 minutes more. I got to a new pool and on about the 3rd cast I saw a fish follow my bait from mid-stream and finally strike near the bank. After a short fight I landed a beautiful winter brook trout. Brookies are very rare in Penns Creek, so I was especially happy to have caught this 12"+ fish. Shortly after, Levi lost a nice brown trout near the bank. We then decided to drive to another stretch of stream that we thought would be productive given the conditions.



The new area looked perfect and sure enough, on my first cast, I landed a healthy 12"-13" brown trout. Over the next hour and half I landed 3 more brown trout around 13"-14" and 1 around 10". I also had 5-6 more fish follow to the bank without striking. I found out that Levi and Jim, who had walked down-stream, landed a few fish too. They had to get going, so we drove back to their place to grab my car. Originally I was going to head home, but after a moment of debate I decided to hit the stream for about an hour more. I went back to the same area and despite my best efforts only landed one more fish - another 12"-13" brown trout. I did lose a 15"-16" fish at the bank and had another 4-5 follows.

Overall, it was a great day landing 8 trout myself and seeing many more. Plus, fishing the beautiful, clear December water in Penns Creek is a treat in itself, especially when I can share it with friends. Believe it or not, I will be on the water tomorrow morning in hopes of catching Christmas dinner. Tight lines and Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas - December 25, 2010

Hello Folks,

My family and I want to wish each and every "Fishing With Dad" blog visitor a very Joyous and Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

This has been a very exciting year with many fishing adventures. The past month has been unusually cold and windy. Because of this abnormal cold weather pattern, the Susquehanna River froze over and has prevented us die-hard winter anglers from accessing water with our jet rigs. *Sigh*

Folks, it has been a very difficult week for me personally. I lost two ex-students who were only 25 and 26 years old. Cpl. Eric Torbert, Jr., 25, died in Afghanistan this past Saturday due to an explosion. This fallen soldier was returned to Dover Air Force Base where the son of my "Best Man", Jason Stone, accepted his body as a member of the USMC Honor Guard.

When Jason's father,Mike, sent me pictures of what his son's task was, I broke down. How unusual is it to know both the son returning and the son accepting? Mike wrote to me on Wednesday, December 23, 2010, and told me that Jason indeed had accepted Eric. He had contacted Jason to keep watch for Eric and Jason did. God bless the fallen and those still in service. My heart goes out to their families during this Christmas Season.

On Wednesday, December 22, 2010, I read in the obituaries that Trevor Bair, 26, died expectantly in New Jersey. I aslo had Trevor's brother, Kyle, as a student.

It wasn't unlikely that I saw several generations of siblings pass through my schools in 24 years of serving as the middle school counselor.

On Tuesday, December 21, 2010, my wife and I lost a friend, Preston "Barry" Kline, 67, owner of the "Tag Shop" in Lancaster, Pa. My wife and I often frequented this little Central Market alleyway shop for gifts and clothing. His wife, Mary Jo, was always by Barry's side and a very active co-owner. He will be sorely missed by the many who loved his wit and humor.

It's definitely hard to lose three people who passed through your life and all in just a few days. But my faith that they are now in a better place that is void of pain and suffering, allows me to accept our loss and move on in life.

Here's a little Dad "scoop"... December 25th, Christmas Day, is my Birthday! I was born in 1954. You do the math... :) (56!) My mother used to tease me and would say that she named me Tom because she was stuffing the Christmas turkey (Tom Turkey) for Christmas Day dinner when I decidd it was time to meet the world. The actual truth was that she named me after her uncle who was a Canadian Royal Mounted Policeman. She had a picture of my Great Uncle Tom sitting atop his stead in full dress. I have absolutely no idea where that picture has gotten to after she passed away five years ago. Most likely, one of my two older brothers have the picture stored away and have absolutely no idea who he is... LOL.

We usually try to get our sons at least one gift that they truly want for Christmas. So, this year, our youngest son got a set of 50 lb. "dial-in" dumbbells for his P90X workouts. He dropped from 240 to 171 lb. by watching his diet and working out using this workout system. We are so proud of him.

Our middle son received a Kinect for his X-Box 360. And my oldest son, received two video games... NBA Jam for X-Box 360 and Epic Mickey for Wii.

This will be our second granddaughter's (Oldest Son's Child) very first Christmas. What a blessing to have two very healthy little granddaughters. We love them dearly!

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Dad

Solution :)

MERRY XMAS :)

Maine Striper Fishing: Super Fly Charters

(Happy Holidays To All!!! See info below to book your 2011 Maine Saltwater Fishing Adventure!!!

Maine Saltwater Fishing Guide
Capt. George Harris
207-691-0745
info@superfly-charters.com
www.superfly-charters.com
Right now someone out there is hooking up to the fish of their dreams!!! I hope it's YOU <*(((((>{

Ireland or Iceland ?

Cpl. Eric Torbert, Jr., A Fallen Marine

Hello Folks,

It's with a heavy heart that I am writing this. I learned today that one of my ex-students, Cpl. Eric Torbert, Jr., was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday.

My prayers go out to his parents, Eric and Denise, of Millersville, Pa.

Eric also had a brother, Dennis, and a sister, Lynn.

Please keep Eric's family in your prayers throughout this Christmas Season.

Dad

MM & I Hit Jordan Lake in Pursuit of Crappie - December 17, 2010

The end of the semester kept me incredibly busy and, hence, off the water. Then the weather foiled my fishing plans over the past week. But finally, Friday was looking decent so Mary May convinced me to load up the gear and take her fishing. Although it was tough to get out of my warm cozy bed (even my dog Brewer didn't seem to want to get up), I was excited to hit the lake. We bundled up and headed south.

Mary May had never been crappie fishing before and I knew the minnow fishing experience would be fun for her (and I). So, after a quick stop at the Wilsonville General Store we pulled up to the Seaforth launch and were on the water shortly after - around 1:40 PM. To make things even more interesting, the depth finder was still rigged for my old kayak, so she got to learn to read the fish finder for the day. We paddled out toward the HWY 64 bridge. There were 3 boats in that vicinity already and we decided to stop about a hundred yards away in an area I thought would be pretty good based on location of the river channel, depth, and a hump on the lake floor. Additionally, the wind was blowing under the bridge and it allowed for a nice drift down the old river channel with some subtle paddle adjustments.

Mary May was ready to drop some minnows!

We got set up and dropped our minnows. No sooner did my minnow get set than I saw my rod tip bobbing and I set the hook into a nice crappie that measured 11.75". I thought I had the first fish of the day, but just as I landed my fish I turned around to see Mary May reeling one in as well. Her crappie, the first she ever caught, was 13.6" and a really chunky fish. Both fish went on the stringer and we dropped our baits again. Within minutes we caught two more nice fish - both right around 11". We tossed them back and repeated the process. The bite was steady for us both for quite some time.

A beautiful afternoon on Jordan Lake

Around 3:50 PM the wind really started to die down, which seems to never happen to me on Jordan. The bite slowed a little, so we moved up close to the bridge pilings and were catching fish very regularly, but most were just under 10". Finally, we started getting into some nicer fish and boated quite a few that were right at or over 11".

MM cutting through the calm water

Around 5:10 PM we headed back to the launch, packed up, and hit the road. It got cold awfully quick as the sun set. We caught somewhere between 30-35 crappie with probably 10-15 keepers. We kept 4 that I breaded and baked Saturday night....yum yum!

Our dinner....and yes, she caught the biggest

Fish were all caught on minnows in 12-30 feet of water, but the best bite was around 20-25 feet deep. Again, I was impressed with the Coosa - it had plenty of room and performed well in the open water. Merry Christmas and, as always, tight lines!

Additional Photos:

Good looking girl, good looking fish, good looking boats!

A beautiful December sunset over Jordan

Okay... Now what?

Hello Folks,

In my last report, I mentioned that I had removed my reels and had taken them to Susquehanna Fishing Tackle for their annual winter maintenance. Six rods now lay bare awaiting for their return.

Now what?

It's now time for my attention to turn to my rods. Each will be cleaned with a very mild soap to remove any dirt, grime, or contaminates that have collected throughout the past year of fishing. I normally use a soft towel, sponge, and old toothbrush for this task.

Each and every guide will be inspected and straightened for optimum performance. A Q-Tip will be run on the inside of each guide to be sure that there are no nicks that have gone unnoticed and may cause line damage. Most nicks will show by pulling the cotton. If you see this, replace that particular guide before using the rod again.

I prefer cork handles for their low memory, soft feel, and superb grip. It is so important not to use any harsh chemical cleansers that may damage and break down a cork handle. Over time, as a cork handle ages, there may be small pieces that break free. This will, in no way, lessen the effectiveness of the handle and gives it some age old character.

I will take a mild soap and remove as much dirt as I can and then let it be. I refuse to use anything, like sandpaper or bleach, that may cause damage to the cork. Actually, one of the best things any angler can do for their cork handle is to let it be and it will be just fine.

Overall care of a rod is very important. Try not to allow the rod to fall against hard surfaces. This alone can cause nicks that could eventually lead to a rod snapping under pressure of landing that trophy bass.

One thing that is notorious for knocking out the tip guide insert is running a lure up tight against the tip. I know that have done this numerous times over the years and usually when I'm not paying close attention to what I am doing. If I notice my mistake, I immediately check the guide to be sure the insert is still intact. The only consolation I have when I do knock an insert free is that the tip is one of the easiest for me to replace.

I hope that this gives you an insight on how I take care of my rods in my downtime. It doesn't take too awfully long and gives me piece of mind once I get back out on the water that my gear is in tip-top shape.

Dad

Fishing has been good in between cold fronts



Spotted seatrout have been providing a bulk of the action.



December fishing has been a matter of dodging fronts and scraping ice off the kayaks.

During any warming trend, we have been finding excellent spotted seatrout action in Palma Sola Bay. Most of the fish are being caught on D.O.A. CAL Jigs with gold paddle tails, MirrOlures Tiny MirrOdine and Clouser Deep Minnow flies.

The trout have been ranging from undersize to 22 inches. There have been outings where a majority of the trout run from 17 to 22 inches, with few small fish.

Tide is the key. Most of the action has been taking place along channel edges on the incoming tide.

Redfish are making their presence known, too. Most are small, but we have taken a few in the slot (18 to 27 inches). Reds are holding along channel edges and around docks. D.O.A. CAL Jigs are the ticket to redfish success.

Flounder also are cooperating. A slowly worked jig along the bottom is a sure way to find flatties.

Dave Robinson of Sarasota fished with me and we totaled more than 50 trout, 10 redfish and several flounder. We used CAL Jigs, jerks worms and MirrOdines.

Dick Badman, a winter visitor from Pennsylvania, caught some really nice trout on Clouser Deep Minnows.

I took a busman’s holiday on Friday and did well before the wind started to blow. Started out with eight trout and a flounder on my first 10 casts. Ended the day with 30 trout, two flounder and two reds.

I look for good action between fronts. A warming trend should spark bluefish, pompano, Spanish mackerel and spotted seatrout over the deep grass flats in Sarasota Bay.

Even though the water temperature plummeted to 53 degrees, I haven’t heard of any substantial snook kills. We don’t need any more cold weather.

My calendar is filling up, so figure out what date(s) you’d like to fish and let me know.

I would like to thank my sponsors: Native Watercraft, D.O.A. Lures, Temple Fork Outfitters.

Happy Holidays to all!

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

(941) 284-3406

Basic shrimp fishing, take appropriate weight

Various types and sizes of shrimp in the market. You can select as appropriate places. Hooks usually have two kinds of thorny pandan pandan and no thorns.

If fishing in the river, kind of thorny pandan recommended. For the pool, many anglers choose not barbed hooks. Basically hook size from 5 to 8 is suitable for any size lobster.

If you wish a bigger prawn fishing, bigger eyes is needed. Leader for river shrimp is 8 to 12 pounds while swimming 6 lbs.

Kapok seeds can be used for carp fishing. In addition, rice bran and palm kernel is also widely used.

Use basic sinker to the bottom of the sink the bait. Obviously there is no difference in the use of this type sinker. For deep-sea fishing, die sinker type widely used as easily be changed if the current changes.

The use of pendulum of life takes time to tie the leader if you want to change the size.

This type sinker for fishing, which is very sensitive to the bait. When touched the bait, the fish will continue to swallow if he feels no burden on the bait.

The best time fishing commercial fish and shrimp ponds is the morning, afternoon and evening. The time blazing hot weather, the fish became passive and did not take the bait. You also need to listen hard on the bottom of a pool to ensure a satisfactory result of provocation.

Meanwhile, different horizontal reel (multiplier) and vertical (spinnng) is the position of the reel on the rod. Horizontal reel in the rod and the vertical or open type mounted on the boom.

Fishing has been good despite the cold weather

I'm pretty impressed by the fishing, considering the freezing weather we've experienced over the last two weeks. There has been ice on my windshield nearly every morning.
A week ago, I fished with Dave Robinson of Sarasota and totaled 28 spotted seatrout, eight redfish and a pair of flounder. Many of the trout were in the slot or slightly over (slot limit is 15 to 20 inches).
On Thursday there was ice on the kayaks when I pulled out of my driveway to meet Dick Badman of Pennsylvania. We fished Palma Sola Bay and did well, catching and releasing 20 trout to 21 inches and a flounder. Most of the fish were taken on a 1/16-ounce D.O.A. CAL Jig with a gold paddle tail. The MirrOlure Tiny MirrOdine also produced a few fish.
I'm thinking the action should really improve if we get a few days of warm weather.

NEW WORLD RECORD YELLOWFIN TUNA

From the watery desk of Mark Daugherty

From the docks of the San Diego Long Range Fleet, a new pending IGFA world record yellowfin tuna was landed by Mike Livingston of Sunland, CA. The SUPER COW weighed in at 405.2 pounds topping the current record of 388, 12 ounces held since 1977. Livingston fought the pending record fish for just under three hours on a Penn 30W filled with 100lb. PowerPro spectra, 100lb. SoftSteel Ultra and a 9/0 Owner Mutu circle hook on a sardine bait. The fish was landed on the 80-foot deluxe sportfisher Vagabond captained by Mike Lackey.


Mike Livingston 405.2-pound yellowfin from paul@fishingvideos.com on Vimeo.

Buena pesca,

Mark
EastCapeGuides.com 

Lures Used on December 11, 2010

Hello Folks,

It always interests me to know what seasonal lures anglers are using when fishing for bass. Whenever I read a report that someone has submitted, I look for the lures that were used and why they were chosen. What I find is that the reason for selection is often left out of the report and even I am guilty of doing that.

So, this morning, as I was preparing to take my reels in for their annual maintenance check, I took note to the lures I had tied on during my last trip. I grabbed my camera and took a snap shot of the last four that I used. I had also used a 2.5" tube, but I didn't take a picture of that one since I assumed most of you knew what a typical tube bait looked like.



The lure on the left side of the picture is Al Winco's new and very productive "Chillee Willee". It measures in at 3" long and has a very recognizable paddle tail design. This small profile bait has been a killer in very clear and cold water. It has been catching fish on the Susquehanna and Juniata Rivers for the past several months and was productive for Juan Veruete last weekend as he and Jeff Little fished the confluence of the Juniata and Susquehanna RIver.

Central Pennsylvania Fishing:
Kayak bass fishing with Juan Veruete


Jeff Little and Juan Veruete Last Weekend

The "Chillee Willee" has a unique paddle tail that is designed to rise off the bottom when used with the correct jig head.

Winco's Custom Lures

The next lure in line is a standard home made hair jig with a 1.4 oz. jig head weight. I tie these myself using dyed deer tails and black thread. The jig heads are dipped in powder paint. I don't "cure" the jih heads because I rarely have them long enough to worry about... LOL!

The third lure is a Lucky Craft Pointer 100 in a Chartreuse Shad. The Pointer 100 measures in at 4" plus the extended lip. We turned on to LC Pointers a number of years ago and have been using them ever since. They usually run around $15 and are well worth the expense.

The fourth and final lure I was using is an Al Winco's Cold Water Smallie Delight (CWSD) rigged on a Winco Flutter Head Jig. DRY1 (Bill) has made this one well-known as he winter fishes the Susquehanna River shorelines of Selinsgrove, Pa.

The CWSD measures in at approximately 3.5". It is attached to the Flutter Head Jig by a coil keeper. This allows the lure to lat out straight when rigged.

The CWSD also has "tentacles" added for attraction.

Okay, so why do I use these lures during winter months? It's quite easy to understand and not rocket science at all. They match the forage of the season. The crayfish are all dug into their wintering muddy banks and the bass, when feeding, are looking either for bait fish or fly hatches/terrestrials. There are hatches happening everyday of the year along the Susquehanna River.

So there you have it, folks. A little run down and some pertinent information regarding the lures I used on December 11, 2010 and the simple explanation as to why I selected them.

I wish I could impart how to fish these in a short writing, but that, of course, is impossible. You'll have to do a little researching on the water yourself to figure that one out.

Take care and stay safe if you plan to fish this winter.
Dad

So this is winter

Christmas time. Busy time. It is very hard to take day off. But what to do if I can't resist without fishing more than a week? And it has been almost three weeks since last trip. Winter in Ireland still continues. Radio annoucements talk about bad road conditions. Black ice is the biggest threat at the moment. But last Tuesday I had day off, so decided to go fishing. Trip was not to long, 120 miles only. Normally it takes me up to two hours, but in these conditions has increased to nearly five. But it was worth it, for the stunning views mainly.

First look at the river

The sun slowly began to break through the forest behind

To play along with the mist in a wonderful performance

In the end, however,  it's time to wet the line

...and catch something

I didn't get any specimen this time, but I think it was succesful session anyway, despite to heavy winter  conditions and very low water temperature.
Couple hours after,  I changed location...

Where I saw an intresting view of  freshwater fleet in a winter sleep

while some Cruisers where still in operation

I wonder how they do the  trick with this :)

 The end :)