December started slowly, but heated up with trout and snook

Dick Badman of Pennsylvania shows off a fine Myakka River snook, one of seven caught and released on the day.

December was one of the more memorable months in Southern Drawl history – although it certainly didn’t start out that way.

The month included some of the best spotted seatrout, flounder and snook fishing we’ve ever experienced. Bluegill and speckled perch action wasn’t too bad, either.

The month began with repeat client Dave Sutton on Michigan pursuing his passion – bluegill on fly rod. I’d scouted Lake Manatee the day prior and done very well, catching hand-sized bluegill, shellcracker, speckled perch and channel catfish on my Myakka Minnow, nymphs and popping bugs.

I’m not sure what happened, but the next day was really tough. We caught fish, but not nearly as many. We had to work extremely hard and ended up with a fair catch of bluegill, including several hand-sized fish. Best flies included the Myakka Minnow, poppers and nymphs.

Regular client Dick Badman of Pennsylvania fished with me in early December and we did well on spotted seatrout, flounder, redfish and sheepshead. An avid fly fisher, Dick caught more than 30 trout, plus a hefty flounder and a sheepshead on my Big Eye Baitfish. Sheepshead are rare on fly. We fished Palma Sola Bay.

Dick joined my again and we fished Stephens Point in Sarasota Bay. Using the Big Eye Baitfish Fly on a 6-weight TFO TICRX, Dick caught a plethora of spotted seatrout, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel and bluefish.

Repeat client Jason Beary of Pennsylvania had a banner day. We fished Buttonwood Harbor along western Sarasota Bay and experienced some of the finest spotted seatrout action I’ve ever seen. We caught and released more than 50 trout between 3 and 5 ½ pounds. In addition, he landed Spanish mackerel and bluefish. Jason hooked a big redfish late in the day, but lost it after a 5-minute battle. We used Big Eye Baitfish Flies, Gibby’s Duster, MirrOlure MirrOdines and D.O.A. CAL Jigs with gold paddle tails.

Dan Byers of Colorado was next. We tried Buttonwood Harbor, but found slow action. A cold front had moved through and evidently moved the fish. We loaded up the kayaks and headed for Palma Sola Bay. It was a good move. We caught plenty of spotted seatrout to 16 inches, flounder to 15 and ladyfish. Action was very fast. Our lure of choice was the CAL Jig with gold or copper crush paddle tails.

Dick Badman joined me the next day. We opted for the Myakka River. Because the temperature had been dipping into the 40s at night, I suspected snook might have made their way up the river.

I knew after two casts I was right. We launched at Snook Haven and found most of the action about a mile down the river.

We caught and released seven snook to 36 inches on GIP Flies and D.O.A. 4-inch jerk worms on 1/16-ounce jig heads.

River fishing isn’t fast, but often produces large fish, including snook, redfish and largemouth bass. The action should be good through February and is a favorite of mine.

I’ve found a pattern than I’m not sure if anyone else has discovered. And it has produced good catches of all three species over the last year.

We have taken snook to 36 inches, redfish to 28 and largemouth bass to 6 pounds – all on the same lure.

This is the coldest time of year in our area, but it often means hot fishing. When the daytime highs reach the upper 60s or low 70s, it’s time to hit the river. We dress in layers, and usually remove our jackets by mid-morning.

In addition to fine fish, the river offers really gorgeous scenery.

We anticipate good river action on snook, redfish and bass in January. In addition, the deeper grass areas of Sarasota Bay should produce trout, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and pompano.

January also is a great month for freshwater fishing in The Everglades.

Upcoming seminar schedule:

Jan. 21: Redfish Tactics and Techniques, 12:30 p.m. – 2 p.m., Flying Fish Outfitters, 820 Albee Rd., Nokomis.

Feb. 11: How to Tie the Myakka Minnow, 10 a.m. – noon, Flying Fish Outfitters, 820 Albee Rd., Nokomis.

Happy New Year to all. May fish and fun be in your future.

I would like to thank my sponsors: Native Watercraft, TFO Fly Rods, Go Fish! Sportsman Sunscreen and Peak Fishing.

I hope 2012 is as good as 2011.

Hope to see you on the water.

Steve Gibson

Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing

www.kayakfishingsarasota.com

(941) 284-3406

time warp

Roll out the old and ring in the new; it's a New Year's party all week long at the Dirty Dog Ranch. Patrice has packed away the holiday decorations, Kevin is laying out the path for next year and Capt. Blair has already taken a few steps into the future by getting a jump start on the shooting schedule for the new season of Addictive Fishing. From all of us at AF, we would like to thank our fans and sponsors for their generosity and continued support as we ramp up for the next installment. Let's give the sponsors some love and let them know who has the best fishing show on television. May 2012 bring prosperity and good fortune to you all!

If it's Blair's magic Mogan flip flops that allow him to step into the future, they sure would be fun to wear at Port Canaveral's New Year's Eve Street Party. After having some fun there, skip to the Downtown Melbourne's New Year's Eve and then hop over to the Rockin' the Dock New Year's Eve party. Don't miss any of the festivities! Visit Florida's Space Coast online for a full list of events.

The time machine footwear could also be used to outrun the tax man. There are only a few days left in 2011 to make a generous charitable donation to an awesome organization like Mote Marine Laboratory. The funds are used for research to help understand and protect our marine environment. Project Snook helps bring funding directly to the Mote Aquaculture Park and the group that studies and breeds snook. The more we know, the better we can manage. Invest in the future of our fisheries. Donate today!

Sailing away! A picture is worth a thousand words… which creates more typing for this reporter. Fernando Romero is a man of few words but this sailfish left him speechless. Do you want a chance to be Mogan of the Week? Share your pictures with us on the AF FaceBook fan page or post them in the Mogan Lounge. Be sure to include a story about the fight, what kind of bait and equipment you were using, and most importantly, the GPS coordinates of your catch. Well, okay, maybe not the GPS numbers, but give us an idea where you were in this great big world.

Needing a set of those flip flops,
BillBird

THe Snow Has Arrived

resolutions

Resolutions: a commitment that a person makes to one or more lasting personal goals, projects, or the reforming of a habit.

With every year that passes, people all around the world make resolutions for change. It’s almost a call to action to set out and make this next year better then the past. I have never been a big fan of these “new year’s resolutions”. I have always thought if there’s something I want different in my life now, why wait?

Brian with a nice wisconsin steelhead

This week, something out of the ordinary happened. I was contacted on my email by another local outdoor writer who expressed a sincere interest in producing some quality content for the Illinois Wisconsin Fishing blog. The thought of expanding the author pool has crossed my mind a few times. I have never actually acted on that thought other than trying to twist Damien’s arm for some more driftless and harbor reports. As I mulled the idea over and over in my head, I became halfway flattered and halfway sick. This blog over the past two years has become my fourth child and the thought of putting it up for adoption was scary. My fears were put to rest after having a chance to really look at this mystery mans work. He brings to the table a diverse fishing spectrum chasing almost everything that swims. His thoughts come across very well written and his videos are off the hook. Then I had the opportunity to talk to him… and what I found is an individual who is very motivated to share his outdoor experience with all who are willing to read. We share many similar goals and have very close family dynamics.  With all that being said, it’s my pleasure to introduce Brian Schiller as a new writer for the blog. Welcome to the team and I’m very excited about the new opportunities your presence will bring to the table.

another driftless trout addict

Anyone who has ever written a blog or produced an online website that frequently updates its content knows it takes a certain type of person to stick with it. I've seen many bloggers come out strong but quickly their interest wanes. This isn't a paid job and these chosen few who stick with it must have a strong passion for sharing with others about the outdoor diversity found in our backyards. I’m confident that we now have two of these “chosen few” to take this site into 2012.

Here is our short list of goals-

• expanded coverage of new water and different species
• upgraded photo quality with my new cannon t3i
• new videos
• more flies (recipes and instructional videos)
• new product reviews
• finally convincing Damien to write a few posts
• hunting?

May your 2012 be filled with many wonderful moments, good health, and good fortune. Thanks for reading!

On The Incoming....

Thousands of fish up to 40lb's crash the flats,, says it all really. Here is some really cool striped bass fishing they really are a super looking fish..... may have just given me the final push I needed....

If you would like to check out the coolest fishing videos out there have a look at the the drake mag site here go to the video section and dream......

Tight lines.

Not Enough Time in The Day.......

.....Bring out the lights! As usual I have bitten off a bit more than I can chew and I run out of daylight pretty much daily. A little honda generator and some sets of jobsite lights have remedied that problem! I actually got a head mounted flash light for Christmas.



Got the underground plumbing in on Wednesday evening and am getting ready to set the floor joists maybe even this weekend if I can get caught up on everything else. (Theres no hope of getting caught up, but such is life).

Every spare moment has been working on my house. During the days I have been to really cool places like Brownstown, St. Elmo, and Tolono. This week was extra special because on Tuesday morning down in Southern Illinois before a new lake consultation I was fed the best breakfast on the planet by Connie from Brownstown!

Yep, the highlight this week isn't fishing (there isnt a whole lot of that going on...) Gourmet French Toast, Homemade Biscuits and Gravy, Ham and Potato Casserole, and Cinnamon Rolls so good I keep dreaming about them several times per day.



Anyhow after I get done writing this blog post I will be putting together a lake stocking plan for Jim over near Burlington, Iowa. He has a brand new 6 acre lake that he wants to grow trophy largemouth, smallmouth, and bluegill. He doesnt want to wait so he is getting a heavy dose of shiners and fatheads and superior genetic bluegill first thing this spring, and then wants to go the route of stocking feed trained largemouth and feed trained smallmouth bass in advanced sizes just a couple months later. 50 LMB and 50 SMB per acre which is a bit more than what I normally stock for a trophy bass pond, but since all the bass will be feed trained we can support quite a few more than typical. He is gonna have a very fun fishing pond and a full fledge feeding program!

Ryan down in Southern Illinois has a brand new 5 acre pond that I will be posting pictures of next week. The habitat he has created on the bottom is unbelievable, stay tuned for those pics. Anyhow he also wants a trophy largemouth and smallmouth pond, but is going at it from a different approach. He is going to stock less fatheads and shiners initially and give them more time to populate on their own. Than we will stock fingerling not feed trained LMB and SMB. Ryan is still going to feed the bluegills which in turn will produce extra forage for the bass to eat. His feeding program will be way less intense, but he is going to have an unbelievable awesome fishing pond.

Every lake stocking plan I do is completely customized to the owner and their exact situation. I have been setting up lots of crappie ponds lately which is super fun!

Anyhow, there will be a wedding at this little pond in June for a clients daughter and I need to build a big removable dock and figure out how to do some awesome floating candles for the pond for the wedding/photos.

Also we are tinkering with the idea of fishing gear/fishing for them for some of the wedding photos as well. Here are some photos from my sisters wedding where I got the idea for them from. (these are printed photos that I snapped a pic of with a cell phone so the quality isnt too great, but you get the concept).



The thing I love about my job is the diversity and being able to be very creative. When I started the pond management company full time back in '07 I could only visualize killing algae and lake weeds and stocking some fish.

So right now I got quite a few different things on my mind, the bulk of which never makes the pages of the blog. First off main thing right now is those cinnamon rolls, and well none of the other stuff really matters...I'll get er all done. It was a shame how there was quite a bit of the icing left on the bottom of the cinnamon roll platter. I sneaked a couple scoops of it off when no one was looking, but really just wanted to pick up and lick the plate off clean. Brook's been trying to teach me table manners, but all bets are off when some really good icing could potentially go to waste....

I actually made some homemade egg nog on Christmas Eve. I read a few recipes online and then kind of took the best attributes from them all and created the best egg nog on the planet! I cant wait for New Years to make another batch.... I made a gallon and a half and it all got gobbled up pretty quickly. I never realized how many eggs were in egg nog, I am gonna have a whole shopping cart full of eggs this weekend!!

Drake got a stuffed fish for Christmas, among a million other things from grandparents, cousins, etc. Anyhow the fish is his favorite, booyah! Thats my boy. Brook got a pair of muck boots and some flannel lined jeans (for working on the house).





Hey, if we ever get ice, make sure to save the date of Saturday, January 21st. I will hopefully be posting the details soon, but make sure to SAVE that DATE! You dont want to miss this event, gonna be so much fun with super good food.

Jim is gonna have to wait till next year for his fish stocking plan, cause I got real tired finishing this blog post and my whole body is sore and getting stiffer by the moment from all the digging and grading of my basement floor. Only two days left of 2011! Happy New Year!!!

A Little Snow

A LOT OF WIND

River Bass.

This story was recently in the Uk newspapers. Apparently this 11lb 14oz  fish was caught and released on the River Avon near Christchurch in Dorset miles from the sea, the angler was fishing for Pike at the time. My family know this stretch of river well as my Father lived in Christchurch during World War II and the River Avon was the play area of him and his chums. Another reason this story's of interest to me is that I caught my first (Much smaller) Bass as a boy in freshwater from the adjacent River Stour just a few miles away. Bass are known to move up rivers especially large solitary fish, I remember being told a similar story about a big fish being caught well up a river in Wexford, on a dead bait intended for Pike, over Christmas a few years ago.

Z Fish Report (12/29/11)

Earlier in the week the 83° blue water was around the 100 fathom line (6 miles), with a large area of discolored water to the north of Troncones. The discolored water was due to large releases of nutrient rich fresh water from the Rio Balsas up at Lazaro Cárdenas. This has almost cleared up by now, with all areas having decent blue water.

The sailfish average per boat has has picked up a bit this week, with a 2 to 3 fish per day average. The main body of fish has moved in a bit, and is back at the traditional 11 to 15 mile marks.

Jack Jones and his granddaughter fished with Francisco on the super panga Huntress, and released 2 sails at 11 miles and on a southerly heading.

Adan, on the panga Gitana II tagged and released 4 sails three days ago, 2 sails and 2 dorado yesterday

Luke, with an average size black skipjack

Another client from Canada (Paul) wanted an opportunity for himself and his 13 year old son (Luke) to catch their first saltwater fish on the fly rods, so I set them up with Leonardo on the panga “Fish On”, with Adolfo Jr. as the teaser man and mate. This is what Paul emailed back to me:

We set out in the morning at 6:40 and headed directly to a pristine beach on the other side of Ixtapa Island to try for roosters. On the way we hooked into 4 skip jack while trolling. There was no sign of roosters along the beach while we presented them with expertly tied local flies. So we headed back into open water to try for more skip jack and dorado. The only dorado of the day hit quickly then it was skip jack for the rest of the day. They went hard for our flies and were a pleasure to catch. By day’s end at 1:45 we had caught 25 fish. It was a great day with skipper Leonardo and mate Adolfo.

And, Scott Donaldson of the Tacoma, WA area called me wanting to try his hand at saltwater fly fishing. I met Adolfo Jr. and Don at the pier early, and we drove down to Puerto Vicente Guerrero. When we got to my favorite spot, the action was not as hot as a few days before, but by mid-morning we had jack crevalle and even several huge roosters following Adolfo’s surface popper teaser back to the boat. We raised at least 7 roosters, which was a pleasant surprise for us, but they were mixed in with the jacks. You could actually see the huge roosters going for the fly, and then a smaller jack crevalle would come zipping in from the side, getting to the fly first. Most of the jacks were averaging 12 to 15 pounds. The roosters were all over 40 pounds and up to 60.

Paul, with his first saltwater fly caught fish

It is hard to describe the hole in the water, and the excitement generated, when a 50 pound plus rooster blows up on a surface popper teaser. I told Scott about the time Enrique Amatori, from Argentina, with fly rod in one hand, just stood there pointing with the other hand at a 60 pound rooster as it surfed down the back side of the wave and slashed at the popper all the way back to us. The rooster swam by at about 10 feet from the corner of the boat. Enrique just kept pointing and saying “LOOK”, “LOOK”! I then told him… “Yes, but please make a cast the next time”. His face just fell. He was enchanted and had frozen up. Enrique had completely forgotten the hundreds of dollars he had spent to get here from Argentina, to be on that boat for a chance for that specific size of fish.

Scott with one of his jack crevalle,
 with Jose Pino looking on

The following is what Scott sent to me about our day on the water at Puerto Vicente Guerrero:

We just got home and I wanted to thank you for the wonderful day! Not just on the water but the trip down and back on the coast from Zihuatanejo to Puerto Vicente Guerrero. I will forever look back and say it was one of the most remarkable fishing trips I've ever had. The lessons learned and the experiences shared; these I will always cherish. I will work the two hand strip into my fishing here on Puget Sound! And, thank you for the copy of your book. I'm half way thru it already. I wish you tight lines and fair seas till the next time our paths cross.
Scott

Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos has been fishing this last 2 weeks every day straight with French clients (After 4 years of steady French clients, his French is getting almost fluent by now). Using spin gear, they had a day where the clients got 32 jack crevalle, and 5 medium sized roosterfish. They are fishing up north above Saladita.

Ed Kunze                                                                                                                                            IGFA Representative

To order a copy of my fishing book about fishing here on the West Coast of Mexico: http://www.mexperience.com/store/vuitem.php?itemid=13&sc=KUNZE-13

For a decent explaination to the seasons and best fishing for each species here in the Ixtapa /Zihuatanejo area check out this web site. http://calendarforfishing.blogspot.com/

28/12/11 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight – 18lb 4oz (7lb 0oz – silvers)
Catch – 17 Roach, 9 Perch, 2 Carp, 1 Rudd
Weather – Mild, blustery showers, windy.
Water Temp – 8.3c – 8.3c
Match – Avon Angling Open – 9th out of 16 (3rd overall)

Today it would have great to fish the Stafford Moor Christmas match, but the funds wont stretch that far yet, so Lands End it was and for the 3rd time on the bounce I drew peg 5.

With the recent mild weather I was surprised to see the lake was still quite clear. With 16 fishing 12 were put on match lake and 4 on speci, with p33 being the one everyone wanted. So no surprise when Mark drew it! The only issue today would be the wind. For the 1st couple of hours there was a slight breeze, but as the day progressed the wind got stronger, making presentation difficult.

I had a carp first put in on corn, without any feed in front of the gap, however other than a couple of dinks no more followed and when I put on a maggot I had a roach which told its own story.

For the rest of the match I never really got going, which was made more difficult by the wind. Also with John Bradford on p19 and Mark Walsh on p18 not fishing long the fish had plenty of room to hide away and I probably tried too hard to pull the carp to my side of the lake.

In reality I should have concentrated on the silvers, since I only needed another 3lb to pick up 2nd place, although getting the 22lb of roach and perch Anton had from peg 3 would have proved more of a challenge! Most of my fish came from the bottom of the far shelf mostly caster, plus some big perch from under the platform on peg 6.

In the end most of the weights came from the sheltered part of the lake.

1st 36-10 Mark Poppleton – p33
2nd 34-14 Jim Jenner – p15
3rd 31-12 Dave Sawyer – p13
4th 31- 0 Alan Oram – p16
5th 28- 2 Steve Seagar – p11
6th 24-10 Mike West – p25

Silvers
1st 22-12 Anton Page – p3

Boxing day or better yet Fishing day

'Twas the day after Christmas and in all of the sea, not a ripple was seen, not even a swell. The sky was blue and the tides were right, we had no excuses, it was time for a fish fight.

We loaded the boat with rods and reels, nothing was left but to take hold the wheel.

Off we went like a bat out of hell, the fish were hungry we could tell.

From Boxing day 2011

From Boxing day 2011

Ok enough Xmas rhymes, time for some fishing porn.

First thing you will notice is there are no pictures of me. My back is still messed up and I tried to cast a stick bait but the pain was a little to much for this old fisherman. So with that being said, this is the view the Captain sees most of the day.

From Boxing day 2011

Yep, that's it, other people fishing and the sounder/GPS.

In case you are wondering, the round object on the left is a green coconut. (Just one of the many benefits of living in the tropics). It has been husked and put on ice so that the Captain has something refreshing to drink and stays happy even though he can't fish. The yellow water tight Pelican case holds the phones and ID's. The bulging at the top of the image is a life jacket pocket that is held up with a bungee cord, easy access.

Ok now you see what I did all day let's get into some fish.

First up was a very unlucky Barracuda. I say unlucky because here in Fiji we eat them and they taste great. So you know it went to the ice box first aid station.

From Boxing day 2011

From Boxing day 2011

The next patient for the first aid station was a lovely Bluefin Trevally.

From Boxing day 2011

Things got a bit quiet after the Bluefin, so off we went to a spot that has almost never let us down. The current was ripping around some bommies and there was a little bit of chop on the surface. Perfect for a GT to be hanging out in the eddies waiting for unsuspecting prey.

Rosie fished like a machine, she was unrelenting in her casts. As she scanned the surface of the water, pinpointing the next cast to a position that should hold fish.

Finally after a good long, hard slog, she was rewarded. The strike was hard and fast. The predator was dark in color and came from nowhere. It crashed the popper with an almighty splash. Once the hooks were set the fight was on. Line melted from the Stella as if there was no drag. Of course the drag was preset to 8kg or 17+lbs. Once the fish was off the bommie it was time to bring it home.

From Boxing day 2011

It was Rosies first Black GT. Short, fat, shaped like a barrel. Tough as nails and refused to smile for the camera. I swear he gave us the fin when we let him go.

Next up was the smaller cousin of grumpy. Yet he still put up a good fight. There was no coming in easy with this one either.

From Boxing day 2011

Now you would think that by now Rosie had had enough. Oh no, not even close. So what does she do? Adds one more to the list and just to be different, this one is small and full of piss and vinegar. It puts up a hell of a fight and even when it was in the boat it still fought and struggled. In fact we almost did not get a photo as the small GT tried to make a flying leap out of Rosie's arms into the water. Alas I was quick with the camera and here is the photo to prove it.

From Boxing day 2011

The hour was getting late and we called it a day. Rosie of course a little worse for wear.

Tight Lines

And So It Goes

black prince

Noted as one of the worlds oldest steelhead flies, originating from the Umpqua River System.

thread- black
tail- red hackle
rib- tinsel
body-
   rear- 1/3 yellow wool
   front- 2/3 black wool
wing- black bear
hackle- black

THAT'S THE BREAKS

Wishing all my friends a belated Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

This has been the windiest week of the year for the East Cape and there is no fishing activity at this time to report on.

Reflecting back on our fishing year for 2011, Jen Wren boats had some good breaks and some bad breaks. Thankfully some days the fish gods just tossed us one and I call that a lucky break. I have posted some images of just a few of the lucky breaks we had this year.

Right out of the gate on our first fishing day of 2011 we landed a wahoo that hit a marlin lure rigged with straight mono. Lucky break.

This striped marlin really put up a battle. At leader we could see the fish was never hooked, just lassoed. Lucky break

The bite was off on this day and fishing was tough until we tail hooked this striped marlin with the treble hooks of a Halco GT Jig. Lucky Break.

Another lassoed marlin. Lucky break.

On this day we found a school of bottle-nose dolphin near Punta Pescadero. We trolled around and around through the dolphin changing lures and trying everything in our bag of tricks. I could see fish in my meter but we just couldn't get em to go. My deck hand got frustrated and said "let's get out of here". I wasn't ready and decided to stop and soak a mackerel. As Jen Wren III slowed to a stop the Zuker 5.5 teaser we were trolling started to sink and bendo! We hung this 200 pound tuna. Lucky break.

On this day we had a double billfish hook up drifting live baits on the high spot off La Ribera. What are the odds? Both fish turned out to be lassoed around the bill without a hook in either. We were able to release them both. Lucky Break.

By the skin of your chinny chin chin. Lucky break

Almost pulled the lips off of this Yellowfin tuna. Lucky break

And then there is Accurate Jack Nilsen. His middle name is Lucky break.

Wishing everybody tight lines and lots of lucky breaks in 2012.

Mark Rayor

teamjenwren.com

markrayor.blogspot.com

Poodle Magic

So If you've read my blog before you probably know that I love to fish streamers. Jamie was on the front edge of this streamers revolution. He was chucking lead lines and big flies long before it was in every fly fishing magazine. One day He took me out and a buddy out and was pulling big browns off the banks in September and it just blew my gourd! Ever since then Ive been hooked. Anyways This fall many a big fish were taken on streamers of all types but one fly in particular seemed to make the magic happen the most. That was Rouse's own Poodle. We've always kind of like to keep our hot flies sneaky but last year Jamie leaked this fly to Orvis and now its available in three colors to everyone. Winter streamer fishing can be the best of the year if the flows are right. So don't be afraid to go ahead stock up on them!

Season's Greetings From The Neighborhood Kids

Jamie Rouse Fly Fishing Adventures

So as this slamming fall season begins to slow and we ease into winter, Kati ( the business end) of Jamie Rouse Fly Fishing has been doing some awesome new stuff to our Teams official website and to the Guide Shack Chronicles. It's got some cool new photos and features and is really becoming sweet! Make sure you subscribe to it as well so you can see what else is going on with the team! Winter is usually an awesome time on the Little Red River. It's looking like we will have low water around the first of January. Winter midge fishing can be stellar as well as an amazing streamer bite. We are offering a cool "Cabin Fever" trip. Make sure you email Kati for booking and trip info! My book already has a pretty solid chunk of Jan. booked so get in on the killer winter action while you still can!

Merry Christmas!

Well its Christmas Eve!  Amy, Caroline, and I went out to break in the new boat for a test drive today...We just made a couple of drifts.  Maybe 4 or 5, and Amy had 4 fish on  and landed 3 of them! Afterwards Caroline got cold so we headed in for the ramp. The new boat rides smooth....real smooth. I'll post some pics soon. Anyways, I was just browsing some of the blogs I like to read and stole this poem from Moldy Chum.  It's just a silly little Christmas poem I thought I would re post!
                        Twas the night before Christmas when down by the stream
The full moon looked out on a chill winter scene.
A lone trout was sipping a midge in his brook,
Untroubled by worries of fishers with hooks.

Then from above a small sleigh did appear
Pulled by a brace of eight tiny reindeer.
It swerved of a sudden and down it did glide,
Settling its runners along the streamside.

The fat, jolly driver dove into his sled
And emerged with his three weight held high over head.
"Thank you my elves for this wand smooth as silk.
This break will be better than cookies and milk."

Merry Mogan Christmas from the AF CREW

No BBQ ??

Would've Been A Great Christmas Eve Dinner !!

101011100001.

It suddenly struck me the other day that the internet “Favourites”  or links to sites I find of interest are actually something I’ve come to  view as quite valuable or even as possessions of sorts. Having had a quick count up I find I have around 30 Folders containing about 200 links and the list grows on a daily basis! I don’t do as much research as I used to but I still like to find new information and resources.

 I would credit the internet a great deal with my development as a Bass angler, no way would I have gained as quickly what I have in terms of knowledge, equipment , contacts not to mention live weather & tidal information webcams and so on. The web allows us all  to communicate and learn from others via quality Forums like The Lure Forum  (Not a huge user) email and even the dreaded Facebook (Again I’m not a big user).

Having said all this it means nothing without hours of focused effort with rod in hand especially when the fishing is tough, when it comes to learning, and I’ve been very lucky to have the time for both the web research and the fishing!

I don’t want to be a keyboard warrior who lives half his fishing life on the web. I will never be, and don’t want to be a “Super poster” on any of the forums but there are some very clued up posts amongst the nonsense.

This blog has been a rewarding experience and has added greatly to my fishing life as have the wonderful blogs of many others, the digital photography with editing software and the ability to post photos, with text, in seconds for anybody in the world to read, even from small hand held devices, is quite simply amazing and so easy to take for granted. It will also be funny to look back at what is a marvel now and compare it to what becomes the norm in the future, as with all things.

The digital age has been an incredible assest to all Anglers and will continue to be going forward,  it will fascinating to see,  and hopefully be a tiny part of,  it’s continued evolution going forward......will it be something similar to classic futuristic Sci-Fi  films “The Matrix”?  Hopefully not! Anyway don’t worry about all that for now just concentrate on having a 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS !!

Merry Christmas!

A Different & Beautiful Christmas Story

The real Christmas story is impossible to beat, but spending time with family and friends is the best part about Christmas these days. So this is what the Hall family from Camarillo, California are doing. After much planning they decided on Cabo San Lucas and seeing as they wanted a really special fishing trip, they decided to book "Shambala" our 60 ft Hatteras with Captain T.J Dobson. This trip was to be one of firsts, not least when 87 year old Lynn Hall caught and released his very first striped marlin.

A Spry Looking 87 Year Old Lynn Hall, Poses with his Striped Marlin Before Releasing It.

 Not to be outdone the younger generation got in on the action as Lynn's grandson, Eric Olson from Corona del Mar, California, also released a striped marlin.

Eric Olson from Corona Del Mar, Ca. also released a striped marlin.

They then decided to look for some sharks to try something different and they soon spotted something on the surface. They motored over to find a poor turtle caught in a commercial fishing rig consisting of buoys and lines.

The Distressed Turtle was Brought on Board with his  Unwanted Appendages

He had become entangled around his left front flipper and the thick nylon rope had already cut deep into his flesh.

The Nylon Line was Deeply Embedded Around the Flipper

 They pulled him aboard and quickly set about cutting the nylon line away, before safely setting him back into the ocean.

Without their intervention he would have been facing death in a short time, so it was like he got a new lease on life and was born again.

Lines were set back in the water and almost immediately they got hit; the prize turned out to be a 60 lb wahoo reeled in by Tony Westover from Arizona.

 It was like a reward from heaven for their good deed. Call me sentimental if you like; I am. What a memorable day for this family and a Christmas they will  never forget.

The Hall Family & Friends, 87 Year Old Patriarch Lynn Hall  Shown Center in Place of  Honor.