my sunday morning sanctuary

Today I woke up and the river was calling me. I had the day off and thought I might as well go ahead and go to my church....yeah, that would be the river. It's probably the warmest,sunniest day of 2010. Not the ideal streamer weather, but I just couldn't resist. I started off chucking yellow and had several flashes and tags, but could not get anybody to commit. I switched colors and a few moments later I saw this big beauty come out from the undercut bank and crush my fly! As I brought her in some guys in the yard asked me if I wanted to come up and borrow their skillet! I laughed and said, "no thanks, she's going right back where she came from" and I think the guys had to pick their jaws up off the floor as I put the fish back in the river. Hopefully I will see her again soon!

a few new tricks

Friday evening I got a call about guiding on Saturday. I jumped all over it! I had met Clint several times at the launch and seen him on the river, but never had the chance to fish him. We had some of the lowest water of the year. Haven't seen much of that lately. We got to fish some of my favorite drifts using regular nymphing techniques which was great. We caught fish pretty consistently all morning. We enjoyed a nice turkey sammy and a cream soda for lunch and by that time the water had caught us so we ran back up, put the boat on the trailer, and headed up river. We did some cool two unit high water fishing and caught several nice rainbows! Clint had no idea you could fish in that kind of water, so he came away with some cool new secrets for fishing on his own. We had great weather which was also a plus!

Big John and The Farns.

Thursday I took out John and Robert. I hadn't had a chance to fish these guys since the fall, so it was their first trip of 2010. It was a cold day and we spent the first half of the day breaking ice out of the rod guides. We didn't have much of a low water window but we found some willing fish. The guys caught mostly rainbows with a few brownies thrown in the mix. It turned out to be a rather nice afternoon, full of good times.

ice fishing (lake county, il)

I was fishing this weekend with Blake and his son Lucas. Since we were bringing Blake’s son Lucas we agreed we needed a spot with nonstop action. I suggested the same lake I fished last weekend because it had treated us very well. The agreed start time was 6am, They were right on time, and I was late by almost an hour. By the time I got there they were already on fish, and had 2 flags set. I set my 2 flags and took advantage of the youngsters 3 extra lines by setting a few more out for him.

luke with a nice gill

After some non-stop bluegill action the cold got the best of Lucas and we setup camp. Once we were warm inside the shack the fish bite really started to heat up as well. We were hooking fish after fish and passing the rod off to Lucas. There was one point we had a fish on all four of the jigging rods. Lucas was in bluegill heaven and loved every minute of it. I think that “gill billy” is his new favorite word. He also took great pleasure in mocking us when we caught an undersized fish and at the age of 4 he’s already a smack talking pro.

a bent rod and a smiling face

Enough about the pan fish. Finally, the first flag of the day pops and that spindle is humming. With a solid hook set I am forced into hand to hand combat. I see a decent largemouth dart from one side of the hole to the other. I land him and he’s a respectable 17 incher.

tip up bass

After another half hour of Lucas catching bluegills my tip down goes off . At the end of the line was a nice 9inch crappie.

crappie on the artic warrior

 Soon after Blake’s tip down trips, this is no crappie the rod is bent and drag is ripping. Fish on! After a short fight I help lip his largemouth.

another tip up bass

Our great success doesn’t go unnoticed and a local guy from my childhood and his crew show up all on quads ripping power augers. They decide to make the ice between our flags and shack their new home. They setup a small mining town up blocking our view from our shack to our flags. What the hell were these guys thinking? As if that weren’t enough we were soon approached by 2 DNR wardens who briefly checked our licenses and then left to check the other fisherman. Not even a half hour later a 3rd officer comes out wanting to accomplish the same mission as the previous officers. He asks us for our licenses and I told him his twins were just here for the same reason. I pointed to another group on the other side of the lake and said “he never did check those guys”. He laughed and kept moving. I’ve fished this lake since I was 12 and never seen that sorta of DNR activity, maybe it’s a good thing?

Just as we get our licenses back in our pockets “BAAM” my tip down goes off for a second time with another decent crappie. Before you know it Blake’s flag pops. The spindle is burning up its moving so fast. Blake sets the hook, feels some pressure, and then the line snaps. After a quick retie and rebait that same flag flies again. More carefully, he sets the hook. Boom, the fight is on. I could tell this fish was a lot better than the previous fish. It’s another largemouth. We get the fish out of the water and estimate its 20 inches and 4 pounds.

blake's best bass through the ice this year

We didn’t have time to rebait, when another flag flies. Holy crap, things are getting hot and heavy. After a quick run to the flag we see the spindle spinning. The last fish was a short largemouth around 13 inches. We decide that enough is enough and we break down our gear and pack up. All in all a stellar day with multiple species caught. Even though we had to fight through the local hillbillys and the unforgiving rangers we ended with over 80 gills, 4 bass, and 2 crappies. Another great day. Take a kid fishing.

Working With Dad

I gave Brook a much needed day off today by taking the kids to 'work' with me this morning. In anticipation of them spending the day with dad, we got all of their warm working clothes together and laid out the night before and even were able to get 'em in bed earlier than usual. Mae came in at 2 am and 5 am, but it still wasnt quite time yet to get ready. Finally at 7 am, we were all up and at em getting ready for the days adventures.

Gma and Gpa picked us up at about 7:45 am and we headed out to the big lake to clean up and organize some stuff, feed the ducks, and of course ride the new tractor. It has definitely been too long since I have had the kids outside. Spring cant come soon enough so I can raise em up right- you know outside and dirty! It took me like 30 minutes to finally get explained that it is OK to get dirty and we can wash our hands and clothes when we get home. They definitely have been spending way too much time inside with Mom and Grandma Pat.

We had alot of fun hunting for and eating lots of icesickles, going down the slide, feeding the ducks, riding the tractor and just playing in the snow. They think this is what I do everyday when I am at work....haha I know what your thinking....even though my job is great, its not ALL fun and games. Here are some pics of working with dad day. Oh yeah, we only do some of this stuff when mom is not anywhere around. Today I fell through the lake up to my knees while holding Mae's hand and holding Noah in my arms- we got too close to the ducks open water. The slide and ladder was a little iffy as well, but they were wearing lots of padding, the snow was fairly deep and cushiony, and Noah at 2 years old is already well past the age of learning how to climb a tall ladder.

On the way to and from the big lake, we counted 13 deer and 37 turkeys. Once we even completely stopped the van to watch 7 deer run across the field and right onto the road 50 yards from us. The reason why I say this is because right now Mae and Noah are napping, but when they wake up we are headed over to Bloomington for the Deer and Turkey Classic. We have been talking about that since last night as well. We are going to see lots of deers and turkeys! (and coyotes of course, I sure hope there is one there).

So Brook slept in till 9:30, now she is out at the mall or something and I am sitting here typing away while Drake, Noah, and Mae are all sound asleep dreaming about deers, turkeys, and Noah probably about coyotes. We tell coyote and eagle stories every night before bed, its great! All these fond memories of the week are nice and all, but lets just pray that none of kids wake up before Brook gets home!

While I have a few more minutes of peace and quiet, I might as well slap on a few more pics from the week. I dont feel like answering any emails or working on anything today, so here goes. Drake has been showered with mucho hugs and kisses and gets held alot:

I have been gobbling up all the hundreds of delicious meals and cookies people keep bringing everyday. Me and the boy take lots of naps together after dinner. If you think me and Drake look a bit fatter in this pic, its not because the camera puts on a few lbs, its because we actually legitimately are. We both have been eating like kings this week.


Just goofing off with the kids:

Been a very busy week as folks from down in the southern states have started asking lots of pond questions and ordering their pond supplies for the year. Justin and I have been working on taking care of all that, updating everything for 2010 (you know like price increases and such) and we also this week have been busting out alot of concrete and putting in some toilets and showers out at Lake Norris.

Then last bit of news so I can let whoever is still reading get back on with their life, I also just became a Pond Boss Magazine Regional Field Correspondent for Illinois. Pond Boss is the nations leading pond and fish magazine and I will be writing articles monthly for their online magazine as well as contributing stories and studies for their world famous print magazine! Its a great opportunity for me that I am looking forward to greatly. Before I dropped out of school (twice I might add) English and Creative Writing were hands down my worst subjects. I hated writing my whole life with an extreme passion. I dont know what happened the last couple years, but gradually over time I have really started to enjoy putting words down onto paper.

Drake is now awake and in my arms, and I am guessing Mae and Noah will be soon too! I just hope this diaper can hold out for a few more minutes until Brook gets home to change him. You know whats great is that Brook is usually a week or so behind in reading the blog. That means it will be a week or so before she finds out all kinds of stuff like falling through the lake and that I knew about the stinky diaper, etc. I guess sometimes its great, but then again maybe sometimes not so much....

Wesser new style fly fishing

Nipped off site today with wes to get a few bits, his new stalking flying fishing glasses are superb!! I must admit they really suit him! Can you imagine him approaching you on the river, I think I would ring the Police!!

Nice one

Glen

Sent using BlackBerry® from Orange

ice fishing (fox chain of lakes, il)

After work it was time to aug some holes. Planned on meeting up with Blake when he gets off work. I got there first and got started with a long walk across the lake. Sometimes you gotta take the time make the haul. Sometimes it’s on account of the parking situation or it’s to take a hike to crush some uncharted uneducated fish populations. In this case, the fishing destination was about a mile away (one way) over thick slush and uneven ice. The walk sucked huffing and puffin all the way pulling a 150 pound sled behind me. God I wish we had a quad!

Reached my fishing spot and designated meeting location and got to work. Found 12 fow, no fish on the graph. I kept drilling and suffered through some very necessary recon. It isn’t easy to stay mobile when your hand drilling holes through 16 inches of ice. Finally got my 3 rods in the water in an area where I was at least marking some fish.

artic warrior doing its work at sunset

The sun set and the temperature dropped dramatically (about 15 degrees). I had the shack but didn’t see the reason to set it up. Regretted that later. Phone rang, it was Blake letting me know he was getting close. Just as I started talking to Blake, I catch a glimpse of the tip-down flag waving in the wind. “Got a bite” I tell Blake as I run over and set the hook. Fish on!! I reach down and lip a nice crappie. I’m stoked.

fox chain of lakes crappie

7:00 pm, Blake shows up right on time. We continued to move around and look for some more active fish. After an hour of fishing together we decided to eat a pastrami sandwich on rye bread with some muenster cheese. Washed it down with some red-bull and back to fishing. Just after finishing our sandwiches my same tip-down goes off again. This time my reward is a decent chain of lakes perch.

fox chain of lakes perch

Lots of hard work and cold extremities for a small pay-off. At least we beat the skunk and got out of the house on a winter weeknight. It was all worth it.

Playing tour guide and tourist with visiting family

My brother Arick and his wife Stephanie came to visit us here in Fiji. Of course we wanted to get them out on the water for a fish. Unfortunately the weather gods were not very cooperative.

We did manage to get in some quality beach time.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

As well as a river kayaking trip with Rivers Fiji that involved a kava ceremony with a village headman

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

and then a few hours on the river.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

We also managed to do Zip Fiji. A series of cables strung through the jungle that you get to zip around on. Great fun.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

We did get out to do a bit of fishing. I have to say the odds were stacked against us. With four cyclones that developed inside of two weeks within the region, we had massive swell, wind and unpredictable weather. We still managed some fish and of course we all had a great time.

First fish in the boat was a Longtom or the Fijian name is Saku.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

Next up was Arick and here he is showing us how it is done on a Bass, Fijian name, Bati.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

Then Stephanie decides she wants to have a go with the 50lb rod, and of course you know what happened. First cast, first pop, a fish on and landed. A nice Emperor to boot. Fijian name, Dakunivudi.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

Then it is Rosie's turn to show us all how it is done.

From fishing with Arick and Stephanie

We had a very good time with Arick and Stephanie and I think they had a good time with us. We hope they decide to come back again. Hopefully the fishing will be better.

Tight lines

Fly Anglers Online is all take and no give

I'm a little ticked and somewhat miffed.
I've been a contributor to Fly Anglers Online for a few years. I've written articlesfor the site free of charge. I've given them free photos. I've contributed the Fly of the Month with detailed tying instructions and photos.
A few months ago, FAOL began a new policy to elminate commercial advertising on its popular forum. I didn't think I was really advertising and didn't worry about. Then I noticed a link to my Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing website which I used in my signature had been removed by someone at FAOL. In addition, the link to this non-commercial blog was removed.
I wrote the forum administrator a nice note and stated my reasons for disagreeing.
His reply was that he didn't care and I could go elsewhere.
I didn't want to do that. I had made several friends at FAOL over the years and I liked participating in the forum.
Over the next few weeks, I saw posts from members with links to their websites in their signatures. So, I added mine. That didn't last long. Again, both links were deleted.
At that point, I decided I needed to make a decision.
I've made a considerable amount of money over the years writing about fishing, so I figured I was doing FAOL a favor by not charging them. Of course, they wouldn't pay anyway. But the point is that my articles and photos are worth money.
But FAOL's philosphy is "We take, but we don't give!"
FAOL will quickly accept free articles and photos, but won't allow me or others to have a linke to our sites in our signatures.
I understand that it's FAOL's new policy. I don't have to like it, but it's their decision.
No more free articles. No more free photos.
No more Free Anglers Online for this outdoor writing pro.

Visiting angler Colin Norman boat fishing
on a warm summers day, Summer of 07,
Location, off the Cork coast.
Fish, a a nice Pollock and best one of the day!

He Pees on Everyone!

Its official, my fishing blog has been taken over and turned into Drake's Baby Book or something. I don't have much going on this time of year in regards to fish stocking, electrofishing, or fishing trips, and the next time I get out fishing is wednesday, so all I can think about is writing stuff for and about Drake Dawg. He has a sense of humor that is completely uncomparable to any other 11 day old in the world. The docs thought he might be a little slow to develop, but really he is a genius, a mastermind of the world of pranks and practical jokes. He gets this sort of mischevious, onry, onery, ohnery, aunryness, who in the world knows how to spell that word anyway! Anyhow this sort of devious activity has been passed down from many generations in the meister family (my moms side for those of you wondering) and has I think been ultimately perfected in Drake............more on that in a bit.

So far since being home he is the perfect child. Eats great, sleeps great, just lays there great, and looks at you with the cutest little eyes so great. He even passed his first outpatient doctor appointment today great. Mae and Noah constantly are up in his face all the time and he doesnt mind one single bit, he just knows how to entertain them great. I told Brook this morning its like we have a new pet that the kids just cant get enough of. He can sleep through anything, GREAT.

Allright, so I will cut to the chase. It only took Drake 4 days to figure out the exact perfect moment to open up the fountain of life. Dr. Koralis plucked his diaper off and he waited perfectly, patiently for about 8 seconds before letting loose. It was great, let 'em let their guard down and BAMM! I had a big smile, just was proud of my boy! Then come to find out from Brook he had already been practicing that trick 2 previous times before the big audience!

Noah actually never peed on anyone before. We changed 100's, I dont know maybe even thousands of his diapers (I even changed a few so can be included in the before mentioned we) and he never once learned how to pee once willy was freed. It took Drake less than 3 days to get er figured out.

So anyhow early this morning I could hear Brook rustling around a bit unusually, but I lay in bed very still and pretended to be sleeping through the whole commotion to avoid......you get the point. Anyhow, Drake just finished his 5 am feeding and decided to hold a bit of ammunition back once he suckered Brook into changing his diaper. Not only did he get her so perfect with number one, but once she got that cleaned up he brought round two with you know what- number 2. For my fishing fellas still for some reason reading this, number 2 when your a little baby is really more like number 1. Enough said, moving on. Round 3 was just the icing on the cake, he doesnt usually spit up much, but pulled off his best vomit to date! It was great.

When the doctor's assistant told me to strip him down to get weighed this morning, I knew much better than to do just that unprepared. I very carefully got er done and took him out to the scale. We just finished weighing him, and I let my guard down for not more than a second and Drake had er timed just right. All over the scale, floor, everywhere. I couldnt believe how far he could aim! It was great.

I can't write without posting pics, so here are some pics simulating the boy in action. Look at that physique!

Oh yeah, he has already gained one full pound! He truly is my child! This picture is just great.

Phil,Matt,Glen and Guy hit the upper Severn and a 3lb Grayling!!

Well i did the live blog and it looked to be ok with the phone pictures not so bad as i thought, it something i will do now and again...

Its quite mad these days with all the tecnology, yesterday i could just email to my blog with a picture attached and it would post itself directly onto the blog!

I have met so many fisherman from the blog and had loads of help and info from fellow bloggers, i even met my mucker Woody who i fish with all over these days..

I had been in touch with Phil (thymallus thymallus) off the forum for a few years and finally we arranged a trip out together on his stretch of the Severn...

Also Laddfa mate Guy (Orvis fan) Matt and Wesser fancied the trip out, Woody could not make it due to family comitments so we all arranged to meet around half nine on the river..

I was up late on Saturday banging flys together, hoping to tye and new killer! but always drifting back to tying my favorite killers by John Tyzack... Its funny how you can start to tie mad patterns and i usually end up with loads of one offs that just never get used....I have bagged up all year using Jts patterns and cant see why i should change to anything else, my box is just of four different patterns in differnt size and weight and this is how i shall stay...

I woke up around 6.00 am and peered out the window to see a good 4inch of snow!! the main road by my house was thick with it and my heart sank... I rang wess and he said 'youth im going back bed' this was my first thought so i lay back down gutted...Matt rang and he turned back around as his car was all over the place! You wait all week buzzing about going fishing then the weather just ruins all your plans..

I then had a call from Phil, I asked him what he thought? He was already half way there battling through the snow! He said 'I am hardcore and going for it' That was enough for me, if Phil was going for it so was i.....
The roads in Stoke were horendous, i was all over the place, skipping past lorries stuck on banks and all sorts..I often thought to myself that i must be insane but the thought of hitting into them Ladies on the Severn just kept me going!!
As soon as i hit Shrewsbury the roads were loads better, they had only had a dusting of snow so it was plane sailing from there...Guy and Matt had also hit the roads...
We all got our tickets from the Spar and headed off to meet up with Phil on the river who had already caught a few fish..
The river was looking very low from my previous session, it was also gin clear so i new that it was going to be hard fishing..
We all introduced ourselves to Phil who gave us the low down on the river, Phil is a member and his knowledge was going to be a huge help to us..
I walked down to the river with a 3 nymph setup, i just glanced over to see at least 40 Grayling all packed up in a shoal, Phil had seen these fish and like a true angler he left it alone for us to all have a go, what a top bloke.....this was amazing to see and looking how these fish behave is a real lesson, i was slightly too heavy on the JT flashback as the flow had gone out of the river and i was stopping on the bottom, lazily i decided to stay with the point and did small lifts down the run, this induced a take with a proper zip in the line, a strike downstream and a bump....i was into a fish after 5 mins fishing, now these fish fight better than any i have had, usually after the first run they come to the net, these fish take line off your drag!!!
After a hard scrap i landed a 2lb 2oz PB, a fish which i can only describe as a old dogger , no pectoral fin and heron dents down its back, not perfect condition but this is what i liked about the fish, it had true character on was a pure 'dogger'
The shoal could be seen and flys could be run through but its obvious that this section gets some real hammer and these fish have everthing put past them by anglers...I noticed that you could drop the flys infront of these fish and they just shuffle to the side and ignore them...I was not going to stand there all day flogging them so i moved upstream with Phil..
The odd rise was seen in shallow water and this just gets my heart racing, i could not help myself to get out the dry so Phil and myself had a good go at catching one but nothing was playing..
We met back up with Matt and Guy, Guy had taken a few pounders out of the first stretch so he was buzzin his head off...
We all headed off downstream with Phil taking us through the pools explaining all the spots that hold fish, infact he pointed a pool out to me and i waded over and caught on my first cast!! Phil just gave that cool look and smiled saying 'hows that for guiding'!!
We all spread out and started to fish downstream, i chose a spot that produced well for me and Woody last time but on arrival the pool has disappered and gone to nothing with the low level of water...
I soon started to wade up a exellent glide looking for likely holes, I could see Phil coming down the stream towards me czeching away... phil gave me a quick shout as i saw his rod hooped right over, i then saw a huge bar of silver do a dolpin dive, fuck me what ever he was into was big!! the fish shot upstream of him taking line off!! now i thought trout as Grayling always come back down the flow, i waded over to him and  took the mclean's net out to do the deeds, we soon got a glimpse and yes it was a huge Grayling with its dorsal at full stretch holding in the flow!! I shouted the 'fuck me its a  3lber' Phil heart must have been in his mouth as he was shaking! a top experienced angler like Phil knew he was into a fish of a lifetime and he got his head on and started to play it like a dream, he never got in trouble, only the first run but the fish was holding current to the side of us, there was no rushing, he just kept nice tension and after a good 5min scrap she swept straight into the net!! Buzzin, we just held the net in the water and i gave phil a brother handshake before we got a proper look as we knew what he had just caught...
Well Guy had come down to see the comosion and when we lifted the net Guy said 'Its like a Barbel' and how right he was, this fish was fin perfect and hook prick clean, a fookin huge! We rested the fish for a minuite and then got the camera out for a few shots, I picked it up to hit the scales at bang on 3lb, not a oz under or over...i am sometimes funny with scales so i tested them last week with wezz on site and my net at a wet weight is bang on the mark which is a credit to Mcleans from New Zealand who manufacter these nets, i cant recomend a weigh net like these enough as most anglers have nothing, if Phil had caught this he would have had to guess the weight and he would never have known he was now a Grayling man of the 3lb possy!!
Well we put the fish back and it was time for a fag, if you look at the picture of Phil on my blog u will see a picture of him buzzin after the fish... This fish was very much deserved for a time served angler like Phil, i was buzzing that much for him it felt like i had caught it too, i would love to have one of them one day but for now it was just as good seeing one and gives me more hunger to get one...
We now told Guy to get in and fish the same pool as we knew what else would be paired up with the 3lber, and sure enough on Guys third cast he hit into a very hard fighting lady which was netted after a right good scrap!! Another clunk weighing in at 2lb 2oz, another personnel best for Guy...Well done bro...
We all took a stroll down the river plucking a few fish here and there, most around the nice pound mark and a few nice 4oz young..Phil was on cloud nine and we were all enjoying a perfect day in exellent surroundings..
On the way back up i had a flick into the holy pool to hook another Lady which fought better than any Grayling ever, it would see the net and bolt off again and again, 5 mins later Phil netted me another clunk weighing in at 1lb 14oz!! What a day this had been, one of them days that come around only now and again and we all went back to our cars with big smiles on our faces, Matt had caaught fish and loved it, he wanted one of the clunkers but luck was not on his side today, his time will come very soon.....
I would like to thank Phil for showing us around his great river, a lad whom has the same buzz as me, and that takes some doing! his knowledge of Grayling fishing is vast and he was willing to show us all his pools ect which is something not many anglers do these days..
Well done Phil you are a member of the 3lb possy!!!
Nice one
Glen

21/02/10 - Lands End - Speci Lake

Weight – 13lb 8oz
Catch – 20 Perch, 17 Roach
Weather – Bright & sunny.
Water Temp – 5.0c > 5.0c
Match – Lands End Winter League – rd 5 - 31st overall, 4th in section, 2nd Silvers overall

With more cold weather forecast another difficult day was expected, although come the morning of the match the frost had stayed away and it was a pleasant, almost warm day.

The 5th round of the winter league meant we were back to a random draw and I needed a decent peg to maintain a challenge for the top 7, unfortunately peg 36 on speci was far from ideal. The last 3 matches has only seen a top weight of 8lb and during this series the most anyone has managed is 3pts (out of 6). It was also in the middle of a tough section, with Tony Rixon on 33, Bela Bakos on current flyer of 34, Mike West on 39 and Andy France on 40. So a section of carp baggers and I was unlikely to see 1. I told Jason Radford on 37 we would be fighting for bottom of section.

With little prospect of winning from the peg, damage limitation was the order of the day, which meant a day silver fish hunting and hope the form pegs blew out, particularly since the water was still very cold.

Decided on 2 swims, 13m at the bottom of the shelf and the top of the shelf, so a pinch of micros & caster was deposited at 13m and I went straight over to the island hoping for a rogue carp. After 20mins it was obvious there were none around, so time to start my assault on the silvers.

After cupping a few casters with some worm atomic “kitten” cloud by the left hand bush, I went over my 13m line, but no bites, meant a switch the far side, but it was a further 10mins before I could get a fish. I had to ditch the LH bush after snagging on roots a couple of times and swapped to the RH bush which seemed to be a bit clearer. For the next hour or so I caught mostly Perch up to 1½lb on caster or maggot, toss potting 4-6 bits of caster every put in.

By the halfway stage I had 20 fish, but the swim was dying. Tony was comfortably winning the section, but Bela was struggling. It appeared the carp had moved off the island into the deeper water. I thought I was just ahead of Jason, but I couldn’t see how Mike and Andy were doing.

Whilst fishing to the island I kept the 13m swim topped with a small amount of micros and caster, hoping for a few skimmers or F1s to put in appearance, but they never did, managing only small roach and a single perch. I did try another “down the track swim” just feeding caster, but this also proved fruitless. I kept the caster going into the RH bush and periodically tried other areas along the island picking up the odd fish.

To get bites I had to dot the float (roach 4x10) right down and even then they were only little dinks. I tried showing more bristle but couldn’t get a proper bite. The real frustration was the number of perch that dropped off the hook. 9 in total.

Come the end of the match, I managed to beat Jason & Mike and was only a 1lb away from Andy who had 11lb of silvers, plus a small carp. Tony caught all day for 133lb, whist Bela was left wondering what if, although he did manage 3 carp & 2nd section.

Getting 3 points was probably the best I could hope for unless a few carp put in an appearance, but at least I picked up top silvers weight on the lake (and 2nd overall). Individually I’ve dropped from 6th to 8th so not too bad, but with 3 rounds left I could really do with a couple of decent draws.

1-Nicky Collier - 29pts
2-Vince Shipp - 27
3-Dave Hodgson - 25
4-Garry Wall 24
5-Mat Tomes 23 (236-5)
6-Martin Pettifer 23 (136-1)
7-Rod Wootton 22 (190-1)
8-Ken Rayner 22 (122-15)
9-James Wither 21 (155-8)
10-Larry Burns 21 (135-11 )

ice fishing (lake county, il)

shannon the bluegill slayer

Hit the ice for the afternoon bite taking my girlfriend (Shannon) on the ice for her first time ever! Weather was overcast with a slight wintry mix coming down and she was wearing her bright pink jacket, and wanting to bring a purse. I advised her this was not proper ice attire as we trudged through the snowy slushy slop. Our destination wasn’t far from the shore and this spot was one I had already run recon on and done well the week before. We were fishing the main and only prominent point on this couple hundred acre lake.

another good gill for shannon

Immediately I set two flags and an arctic warrior all rigged with fat healthy med shiners. I popped a few more holes for jigging and got my girl setup with the vexilar and a wax worm. Man, she was ready to fish. BAM!! Before I could even put a rod in the water had her first bluegill on the ice. The graph, at this point, was absolutely packed with fish. I thought to myself “right on, the fish are still here”. One after another I unhooked bluegill after bluegill, I couldn’t even keep up with rebaiting let alone have any time to fish. What a blast, I’m so glad she was having fun.

After the first dozen fish, things got a bit wet and cold. We decided to setup the shack and it wasn’t long before things were situated and the heater was cranking. The first flag went up, and as I approached I could see the spindle spinning. Fish on! I was a bit flustered, not wanting to look like a fool I took a deep breath and regained my composure. After some precise timing, an impeccable hook set, and a some brief hand to hand combat, I pulled a nice 18 inch largemouth through the hole.

a decent bass for neal

We get back in the shack, only to continue to get showed up by my girl. The bluegill action was hot and heavy for the majority of the day. A tip-down produces an average crappie and the second flag adds another largemouth to our fish count. This lake has to be just packed with healthy fish. I got sick of rebaiting waxies, so I switched over to some gulp (1 inch fish fry white). It didn’t matter what I used they were hungry. It seemed liked they actually preferred the gulp with the added bonus of keeping the smaller fish at bay. We ended up with a total of 70 + bluegills, a nice crappie, and 2 bass. We kept 23 keepers for the frying pan. What a great first ice-fishing trip for Shannon and what a great fish fry!

hungry anyone?