Weight –10lb 12oz
Catch – 11 Roach, 4 Bream, 3 Perch, 1 Tench, 1Rudd
Weather – Cold start, showery, chilly wind.
Match – Open – 10th
A really busy week with trips to Cardiff and London which will provide some financial breathing space, which will mean I can get back fishing more regularly and I may able to buy Sue a car albeit a cheap one. Fingers crossed.
After a long week, I wasn’t that bothered about going fishing this weekend, but Mark offered to pick me to fish Lands End and I thought why not, I haven’t been there for ages and to be honest was missing the place.
14 had turned for today’s match, 10 on match and 4 on the 4 corners of speci! There are very few fishery owners like Mike that give you so much room to fish a match. I wasn’t too bothered where I drew, but peg 3 would have been last on the list. Looking at the results from the last 2 matches, it had come close to bottom on both occasions.
Anyway, I had come for a days fishing and the peg can occasionally throw up a weight. However, with an increasingly strong wind blowing down the lake into peg 1 I wasn’t optimistic. So decided that targeting the silvers would be the best way forward.
On the all in, a few casters went in at 5m and in front of the platform on peg 2. A few micros & 4mms went in at 11.5m at the bottom of the shelf. I started tight to the far side to see whether I could pickup an early perch, before the wind got too strong. 1st drop in I had a small rudd, but the wind did get too strong, so concentrated at 5m and in front of the peg 2 platform.
After 45min I had only added 1 small roach, before 1½lb tench made an appearance at 5m. Although it was slow, I started to get a few small roach at 5m, but the platform swim only produced 2 perch, including a 2lber.
With 3hrs gone everyone except Anton on peg 21 were struggling for bites. The recent colder snap was having its effect, but fortunately the wind was dropping, so at least I could now fish the far side again. The top of the shelf produced only a couple of fish, plus 1 very decent perch that dropped the hook – again.
I had started feeding 4mm by catapult 14.5m to my left at the bottom of the far shelf, hoping to pull in a couple carp that were boshing on the corner the island, but I think they went in Anton’s direction, however I did pick up 3 decent skimmers on pellet, plus another over my micro pellet swim.
I tried dumping maggot & caster at the bottom of the near shelf, hoping for a late tench or big perch, but nothing.
Other than Anton who won with 100lb, Match Lake fished poorly with the next best weight on the lake of 28lb from the sheltered peg 16. 2nd on the day was Somerset’s rent boy Tom Thick with 50 odd pound, even his dad called him twat – lol.
Mark won the silvers from peg 25 with 19lb of skimmers & f1 on soft pellet.
A disappointing result, from a dodgy peg, but was glad to get back to Lands End.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Dry Fly!!! How many do you need!!!
I see many a post and blog that hammer on about different flys colours shapes size, you name it there are thousands of different patterns that come up every year claiming to have the new killer fly...
Well i am far from any 'expert' in these lines but all i can say is what i have learnt and what i have seen in my fishing situations on the river..
There are two split differences in fishing the dry... you get the lads who just stick on a attractor pattern eg a big sedge and fish everywhere hoping for a trout to smash it through its instinct..
Then there is the lads who will wait for a rise, select the right fly ( match the hatch) and then then catch the trout by its feeding match..
I have found that the lad using the attractor pattern will catch a very good fish from time to time, due to the size of the fly used..
But on the other hand the lad who 'matches the hatch' will catch many more fish over the season
What is the best i dont know but i have done both and use them at different times throughout the season..
I do prefer to match the hatch as you feel as you worked for your goal when it comes off...but this is where i see millions of flys being tied for each and every dry fly, and in my view this is where most fail...
For me i only use 5 flys for all of my season, if someone is in any hatch i find i have it all in these 5!
Every one of my flys i use will match any most hatches but most of all the SIZE matters.. every one of my patterns will have at least 5 different sizes...
I shall be blogging all my flys but for now my no 1 LTD SEDGE....
This is a fly i tied a few years back and its nothing really flash but has worked no end for me and others who have used it on the Derbyshire Wye..
You could say it can be a attractor pattern and yes its superb for that but when the sedge are out i have used no better..Woody has used it and loves it, infact i tied him the emerger and standard pattern and he had unbelievable results on both..some days emerger and others standard...
We used this in Islay on the wild lochs and a very small size 19 was just the job, any bigger and we would not even get a rise to it!
This is where i come back to the size thing....i fished the Wye in Derbyshire and the famous black sedge were coming off in huge hatches, the tricky Grayling were Cooley sipping them down, i could not get the ltd sedge to work on a size 17 until i went down to a 19!! now you might think this is bullshit but the river keeper Jan Hobat saw it happen..Grayling will not hit anything unless it looks like the real thing and you know you are fishing well if you hook Grayling in a hatch..
When tieing this pattern i make sure i build them to the size of the hook, i see many fly tiers do them on a size 19 when really they have tied the build on them like a size 15!! so when they choose a smaller hook they are still fishing the same size!!! Big mistake
Click on the link below for the step by step
Nice one
Glen
http://glenpointon.blogspot.com/2009/07/ltd-sedge-pattern.html
Well i am far from any 'expert' in these lines but all i can say is what i have learnt and what i have seen in my fishing situations on the river..
There are two split differences in fishing the dry... you get the lads who just stick on a attractor pattern eg a big sedge and fish everywhere hoping for a trout to smash it through its instinct..
Then there is the lads who will wait for a rise, select the right fly ( match the hatch) and then then catch the trout by its feeding match..
I have found that the lad using the attractor pattern will catch a very good fish from time to time, due to the size of the fly used..
But on the other hand the lad who 'matches the hatch' will catch many more fish over the season
What is the best i dont know but i have done both and use them at different times throughout the season..
I do prefer to match the hatch as you feel as you worked for your goal when it comes off...but this is where i see millions of flys being tied for each and every dry fly, and in my view this is where most fail...
For me i only use 5 flys for all of my season, if someone is in any hatch i find i have it all in these 5!
Every one of my flys i use will match any most hatches but most of all the SIZE matters.. every one of my patterns will have at least 5 different sizes...
I shall be blogging all my flys but for now my no 1 LTD SEDGE....
This is a fly i tied a few years back and its nothing really flash but has worked no end for me and others who have used it on the Derbyshire Wye..
You could say it can be a attractor pattern and yes its superb for that but when the sedge are out i have used no better..Woody has used it and loves it, infact i tied him the emerger and standard pattern and he had unbelievable results on both..some days emerger and others standard...
We used this in Islay on the wild lochs and a very small size 19 was just the job, any bigger and we would not even get a rise to it!
This is where i come back to the size thing....i fished the Wye in Derbyshire and the famous black sedge were coming off in huge hatches, the tricky Grayling were Cooley sipping them down, i could not get the ltd sedge to work on a size 17 until i went down to a 19!! now you might think this is bullshit but the river keeper Jan Hobat saw it happen..Grayling will not hit anything unless it looks like the real thing and you know you are fishing well if you hook Grayling in a hatch..
When tieing this pattern i make sure i build them to the size of the hook, i see many fly tiers do them on a size 19 when really they have tied the build on them like a size 15!! so when they choose a smaller hook they are still fishing the same size!!! Big mistake
Click on the link below for the step by step
Nice one
Glen
http://glenpointon.blogspot.com/2009/07/ltd-sedge-pattern.html
Just Plain Scary
CLICK FOR INFORMATION
HB 309 Poop
do it now or forever hold your tongue
-------
.. "SATISFACTORY" is not what is needed! Words like 'enormous' and 'overwhelming' would be more to our liking.
.. Send a letter now. Make a telephone call now. Send an email now. This insidious push to remove access to the public-owned waters of Montana will continue if the response is only "satisfactory."
.. Below are listed some recent blog posts, news articles, and other information that will help you understand the issue. Also listed are a few key addresses for your use.
-------
==> Interview with Montana T.U. Conservation Director Mark Aegenes @ Chi Wulff.==> Dirty Dozen threats to Montana's rivers and access still alive in the current legislative session @ Chi Wulff.
==> Ranchers Strike Back At Stream Access in The Flathead Beacon.
==> The debate in Helena: from KPAX.com.
==>Passage of the ditch bill from the Helena Independant Record.
==> Representative Welborn's rationale for sponsoring the bill and what the language "really" means. From his lips.
==> Post from The Shooting Head in Washington - good plan of action.
-------
.. Now that the senate has the bill we need to let the senators in Helena know our feelings. Provide them with the sane and rational reasons to defeat this bill. Here's a list:.....
SD 01: Chas Vincent (R)
34 Paul Bunyan Lane
Libby, MT 59923
293-3839 / Cvvincent@hotmail.com
SD 02: Ryan Zinke (R) 409 West 2nd Street Whitefish, MT 59937
862-0823 / Ryanzinke@yahoo.com
SD 03: Bruce Tutvedt (R) 2335 West Valley Drive Kalispell, MT 59901
257-9732 / Tutvedt@montanasky.us
SD 04: Jon Sonju (R) PO Box 2954 Kalispell, MT 59903
270-7113 / Sonjumt@yahoo.com
SD 05: Verdell Jackson (R) 555 Wagner Ln Kalispell, MT 59901
756-8344 / vjack@centurytel.net
SD 06: Carmine Mowbray (R) PO Box 1202 Polson, MT 59860
883-4677 / clarity@cyberport.net
SD 07: Greg Hinkle (R) 5 Gable Road Thompson Falls, MT 59873
827-4645 / ccwhi@blackfoot.net
SD 08: Shannon Augare (D) PO Box 2031 Browning, MT 59417
450-0020 / Shannonjaugare@aol.com
SD 09: Rick Ripley (R) 8920 Highway 200 Wolf Creek, MT 59648
Ripleys@3rivers.net
SD 10: Bradley Hamlett (D) PO Box 49 Cascade, MT 59421
264-5885 / Wranglergallery@hotmail.com
SD 11: Anders Blewett (D) PO Box 2807 Great Falls, MT 59403
231-8618 / Anders.blewett@gmail.com
SD 12: Mitch Tropila (D) PO Box 929 Great Falls, MT 59403
899-3474 / tropila@mt.net
SD 13: Edward Buttrey (R) 27 Granite Hill Lane Great Falls, MT 59405
250-5103 / ebuttrey@cteq.com
SD 14: Llew Jones (R) 1102 4th Avenue South West Conrad, MT 59425
271-3104 / Lcjones@3rivers.net
SD 15: Jim Peterson (R) 1250 Buffalo Canyon Road Buffalo, MT 59418
374-2277 / jpranch@ttc-cmc.net
SD 16: Jonathan Windy Boy (D) Box 269 Box Elder, MT 59521
395-4718 / Windyboy_j@yahoo.com
SD 17: Rowlie Hutton (R) 2 Lila Drive Havre, MT 59501
hutton4senate@yahoo.com
SD 18: John Brenden (R) PO Box 970 Scobey, MT 59263
783-5394 / senatorbrenden@gmail.com
SD 19: Donald Steinbeisser (R) 11918 County Road 348 Sidney, MT 59270
433-2187 / Donstein@midrivers.com
SD 20: Frederick Moore (R) 487 Signal Butte Road Miles City, MT 59301
234-3562 / elmoore@midrivers.com
SD 21: Sharon Peregoy (D) PO Box 211 Crow Agency, MT 59022
639-2198 / apsaalookewoman@yahoo.com
SD 22: Taylor Brown (R) 775 Squaw Creek Road Huntley, MT 59037
348-2070 / Taylor@northernbroadcasting.com
SD 23: Alan Olson (R) 18 Halfbreed Creek Rd Roundup, MT 59072
323-3341 / Ajolson@midrivers.com
SD 24: Kim Gillan (D) 750 Judicial Avenue Billings, MT 59105
248-6063 / Glonky@aol.com
SD 25: Kendall Van Dyk (D) PO Box 441 Billings, MT 59103
690-1728 / Kendallvandyk@gmail.com
SD 26: Lynda Moss (D) 552 Highland Park Drive Billings, MT
59102 252-7318 / Lyndamoss@imt.net
SD 27: Gary Branae (D) 415 Yellowstone Avenue Billings, MT 59101
245-2127 / Garybranae@gmail.com
SD 28: Jeff Essmann (R) 2101 Grand Ave #5 Billings, MT 59108
259-8404 / Jeff@jeffessmann.com
SD 29: Edward Walker (R) 4221 Rimrock Road Billings, MT 59106
697-6967 / ewalker@edwalker2010.com
SD 30: Jason Priest (R) PO Box 743 Red Lodge, MT 59068
425-0674 / jason@priest2010.com
SD 31: Ron Arthun (R) 285 Shields River Road Wilsall, MT 59086
578-2340 / ronarthun@gmail.com
SD 32: Larry Jent (D) 506 East Babcock Bozeman, MT 59715
587-1210 / larry@imt.net
SD 33: Bob Hawks (D) 703 West Koch Street Bozeman, MT 59715
587-1403 / R_hawks@imt.net
SD 34: Joe Balyeat (R) 6909 Rising Eagle Road Bozeman, MT 59715
539-5547 / Joebalyeat@yahoo.com
SD 35: Art Wittich (R) 3116 Sourdough Road Bozeman, MT 59715
585-7418 / art@wittich4senate.com
SD 36: Debby Barrett (R) 18580 Highway 324 Dillon, MT 59725
681-3177 / Grt3177@smtel.com
SD 37: Steven Gallus (D) 2319 Harvard Avenue Butte, MT 59701
494-3914 / Steve.gallus@gmail.com
SD 38: Jim Keane (D) 2131 Wall Street Butte, MT 59701
723-8378
SD 39: Terry Murphy (R) 893 Boulder Cut Off Road Cardwell, MT 59721
285-6937 / murphter5@yahoo.com
SD 40: Mary Caferro (D) PO Box 1036 Helena, MT 59624
443-4066 / Marycaferro@gmail.com
SD 41: Christine Kaufmann (D) PO Box 1566 Helena, MT 59624
439-0256 / Kaufmann@mt.net
SD 42: Dave Lewis (R) 5871 Collins Rd Helena, MT 59602
458-5511 / Davelewisd@aol.com
SD 43: Gene Vuckovich (D) 1205 West Third Street Anaconda, MT 59711
563-2313 / genev@q.com
SD 44: Bob Lake (R) PO Box 2096 Hamilton, MT 59840
363-4091 / Lakemill@montana.com
SD 45: Jim Shockley (R) PO Box 608 Victor, MT 59875
642-6647
SD 46: Carol Williams (D) 3533 Lincoln Hills Point Missoula, MT 59802
728-8735 / Cwilliams@montanadsl.net
SD 47: Ron Erickson (D) 3250 Pattee Canyon Road Missoula, MT 59803
549-4671 / Nancron@aol.com
SD 48: Tom Facey (D) 418 Plymouth Missoula, MT 59801
728-6814 / facey_tom@hotmail.com
SD 49: Dave Wanzenried (D) 903 Sky Dr Missoula, MT 59804
543-2775 / daveew@gmail.com
SD 50: Cliff Larsen (D) 8925 LaValle Creek Road Missoula, MT 59808
728-1601 / Cliff@larsenusa.com
.............
.. If you need inspiration for a letter or email check out the one written by Wayne Mumford over at WILL FISH FOR WORK...........
.. Fishing and catching ends on the wade section of the Madison River today, (February 28, 2011.) It's time to let the fish cavort and indulge in sexual shenanigans. Only the section between the lakes is now open. With the return of a few sunny & warm, (20's,) days the midges should return with a vengeance. We'll let you know.-------
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Latest Fish Report Cabo
February 19th to February 25th, 2011
Overall Catch Success Rate 71.70%
BILLFISH: This week was definitely the best we’ve had in awhile for marlin especially when we look back on the past month. Nevertheless we did have a few “skunks”, but this was mainly due to anglers requesting half day trips, when they saw lots of marlin but could not get them to bite. Patient is a must with fishing and perhaps these boats would have got hook-ups if they had stayed longer. Thirty one percent of our boats caught one to three striped marlin this week. “Tracy Ann” started out with a bang on February 19th, the envy of the dock, when they showed up with three marlin flags. Robert Bernstein was on board from Weston, Florida and they fished close to Palmilla; all three fish were released and were estimated between 120 to 160 lbs. This same day, “Bill Collector” released two stripers for Armand and Ryan Maaskamp from California five miles in front of Cabo Real as well as landing a bonita. “Bill Collector” also did well at the end of this report, releasing two more striped marlin at Punta Gorda for Griffin Ordway from San Diego, CA and his father in law from Russia. On February he 25th, Reed Mack and Mike Kelly from San Jose, Ca. had a double marlin aboard “Great Escape Jr”, this time at the 11:50 spot; both fish took live caballito. Jed Crabb and Jim Bielich from Edmond, Ok released one striped marlin which was between 150 – 160 lbs seven miles out from Chileno aboard “Adriana”. Pisces anglers had twenty one striped marlin this week; all released except two.
OTHER SPECIES: Dorado catches were basically the same, just a couple around, the water is a bit on the cold side for them. One of them was a respectable 35 lb’er for Brian and Glenn O´Neil from Keansburg, NJ aboard “La Brisa”, who also did well to release a striped marlin on the 24th at Punta Gorda. Tuna catches are steady but not great, with twelve percent of our boats catching between one to twenty two fish. Actually the last day of this report was the best for tuna. “Rebecca” slammed them with twenty two tuna, for Dale & Cheryl Duke & Mike Malone from Kent, WA; the fish took a combination of cedar plugs and brown/black lures. Not far behind was “Andale” with sixteen tuna for a group from Austin, TX; they went thirty five miles out from Santa Maria bay. “Tracy Ann” also did well for Dwayne Skow and friends from Texas, boating thirteen yellow fin tuna between 15 to 20 lbs in front of Palmilla by the Sea of Cortez.
As to other species, sierra catches are still good with twenty one percent of our boats catching between one to twenty five fish- many released. Darren Stevenson and son from Alberta, Canada went out on the 24th aboard a panga and had a lot of action reeling in twenty five of these little fish (great fun on light tackle) most of them between 8 to 10 lbs with hoochis as lure by the old lighthouse. This same day “Attitude Adjustment” went inshore and achieved twenty sierras at Los Arcos on the Pacific side. Tom Schmidt and Mark Wright from Wilder, KY did well on February 19th, aboard a panga with ten Spanish mackerels, one bull shark and one jack crevalle released; the fish took a combination of live bait and hoochis.
On the 19th, "La Brisa" was out with some anglers who had traveled a REALLY long way to be here; Campbell & John Ferguson are from Melbourne, Australia, which is a very long flight. They were fishing out at Punta Gorda and had already caught a striped marlin that weighed around 150 lbs (thanks guys for making us look good, when fishing has been ahem.....slow) when the crew saw something odd floating on the surface and went over to investigate, it was a ratfish, also known as a quimera and it was dead. They gently lifted it into the boat to bring back to shore and to the scientists. You may recall that we saw the first one of these two years ago and nobody had a clue as to what it was. It was identified by local scientists who went on to do research with the specimen we gave them. We followed up with a second fish several months later and now they have this one. It appears that this is a new species of ratfish, not known before and they are expected to publish a paper on it soon. We applaud the crew of La Brisa, as they have been working with the scientists on several projects and all of our crews are showing a keen interest in conservation and want to learn more. They did well to recognize this as something unusual and to get it to us intact to the freezer.
As to other species we had rooster fish, skip jacks, lady fish, sea bass, bull shark, rock fish, mojarras, jack crevalle, rat fish and many bonitas.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear, sunny skies. Some windy days. Mostly calm to choppy seas. We are back to cooler mornings.
LOCATION: Pacific Side РGolden Gate, Migri̱o, Pozo Cota, Los Arcos, Old Lighthouse, Molino.
Sea of Cortez – Palmilla, Chileno, 95 spot, San Jose del Cabo, Punta Gorda, 11:50 Spot, Cerro Colorado, Destiladeras, Santa Maria
AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 73 F
BEST LURES; Cedar plugs, rapalas, hoochis, petrolero, chilliwilli, green, guacamayo, black/brown
Live bait: caballito, ballyhoos, sardine
Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.
oak creek gives up a brown trout
Fishing with Damien is always alot of fun. He is top notch at knowing exactly when to give a fly that subtle twitch. He proves it again with a nice (estimated 8 pound) brown trout taken from a deep bend on an egg sucking leach.
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| taken on the twitch |
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| oak creek brown trout |
Saturday, February 26, 2011
ice fishing lake geneva part 2
As my friends in the fishing world grow so do the number of reports that get sent to me via email and text. I've been fishing with Randal (a long time friend of Neal) for 3 years and would put him toe to toe with the best of them. He always seems to be the first who is calling the jig color that puts the rest of us on the bite.
On his last trip to Lake Geneva he came back with some real toads and these crappie might actually top the previous. Great job to you and your father-in-law!
On his last trip to Lake Geneva he came back with some real toads and these crappie might actually top the previous. Great job to you and your father-in-law!
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| lake geneva slob crappies |
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| 10 inch red ear |
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| 2 big crappies dwarf the rest |
Friday, February 25, 2011
the pike river in early spring
Neal sent over some photos earlier of the pike river just a short walk from home. Looks like almost all the ice gone and the river was as cold as he had ever felt it. No Fish sighted but steelhead conditions look promising.
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| pike river in racine wisconsin |
Pattern changes as the weather heats up
 |
| Ken Taylor of North Port, Fla., is a happy angler after landing this fine Sarasota Bay pompano. |
The pattern has changed – just as we suspected it would with the advent of warmer weather. We’ve left the deeper channels and other winter haunts and are now fishing the backcountry shallows and offshore grass areas.
As a result, we’ve been taking loads of spotted seatrout, plus Spanish mackerel, bluefish and pompano. That action should only heat up as we move toward spring.
This fishing can be fast and fun. When it’s going on, we often find hits on most every cast. And it doesn’t matter if you’re spin fishing or fly fishing.
Although a majority of the trout are 20 inches or less, there are some big girls out there. A friend of mine, Capt. Rick Grassett of the Snook Fin-Addict Guide Service, recently took a 6-pounder off the deep grass.
The bluefish often will top 5 pounds. Pompano will go better than 4 pounds. Most of the mackerel will range from 2 to 4 pounds. However, last spring, I took a 7 ½-pounder!
Randy Honaker of Centerville, Ohio joined me recently and caught a number of spotted seatrout. He also had shot at bluefish and Spanish mackerel, but didn’t connect. He had one fish that took line and made the fly line “rooster tail” through the water.
The next day, Russ DesErmia of Bradenton and his father, Bruce DesErmia of Traverse City, Mich., had a better day. They combined to land a bunch of spotted seatrout and Spanish mackerel. I think they also caught a couple of bluefish. All were taken on CAL Jigs.
Randy Honaker fished the west side of Sarasota Bay and was able to make a couple of casts to tailing redfish. He didn’t connect, but it makes your knees knock and your heart beat faster when you see those tails sticking out of the water.
Later that morning, we managed spotted seatrout to 21 inches, a redfish and several ladyfish. The highlight of my day was a squid that I took on a CAL Jig.
Ken Taylor of North Port fish the deep grass with me and did very well. We got into tailing reds early, but the fish didn’t tail very long. We caught jigs and topwater plugs in the shallows off Whale Key and landed four redfish and a trout. When we finally got out to the deep grass, we managed 45 trout, several ladyfish and a couple of fine pompano.
As the weather warms, snook will move out into the bay. When that happens, anglers fishing with me will get a shot at a snook or two just before daylight on either flies or jigs. That’s an added benefit!
In fresh water, we’re getting big bluegill and largemouth bass.
Beach snook season is just around the corner. The action will begin to heat up in May and run through August. This is “sight fishing” at its best. My anglers usually get shots at 300 or more snook of a morning, including fish of 20 pounds or more.
Please book your beach snook trips early. My schedule tends to fill up quickly.
Steve Gibson
Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing
www.kayakfishingsarasota.com
http://gibbysfishingblog.blogspot.com/
(941) 284-3406
Waterfowl Biologist Meeting
Last night I had the opportunity to host a bunch of waterfowl biologists from the entire Mississippi flyway down at the Hooked On Fishing Park. They came from like 14 different states from Alabama all the way up to Canada. Some Ducks Unlimited biologists and other US Fish and Wildlife people were there as well. Altogether we had about 50 guys come down to the park just to hang out, do some fishing and of course EAT! A great break from a bunch of meetings and seminars.
Here is about half the group standing together.
They are all in town meeting for a week solid about hunting seasons, limits, conservation, habitat, and all sorts of stuff that directly affect how we manage our flock of birds in the flyway. It was extremely interesting to spend some time with these guys and get some inside information not typically available to the public. I am sworn to secrecy so I can't mention anything about stuff like the new 90 day duck season proposal and 5 goose bag limits.....just kidding.......
Anyhow Chef Todd outdid himself with this feast! With the help of key park volunteers Charlie Bracket, Bill Johnson, Todd Clanin and Brett Erickson, he pulled off a wild game feast of epic proportions! He basically cooked all this food outside in 40 degree weather with a big grill, a turkey fryer, a deep fryer, and a generator powering roasters.
Chef going to town on the big grill:
While some of the guys were out fishing and catching rainbow trout, largemouth bass, and big bluegills; Chef and co were cooking away under the pavilion, and the rest of us were gobblin it down as fast as it would come hot off the press. I feel kind of bad, but I was pretty much camped out under the pavilion near the food the entire evening and only snapped one fish photo. He caught a monster rainbow right next to the pavilion so I finally ventured out from my laziness den and snapped the pic quick:
I snapped plenty of food photos though cause they were near my home base! On this plate there is antelope, mule deer, and whitetail to munch on.
Chef's secret homemade duck egg rolls:
Eggroll after spending a couple minutes in 400 degree grease:
Todd Clanins famous pulled, smoked pork butt. We had 4 different barbecue sauces for this meat!
Homemade goose gravy! Was supposed to be duck gravy, but we brought the wrong package of meat so it became goose gravy and by golly it turned out way better than this puky picture looks!
She was the only lady biologist and is from Michigan. From what I could tell she probably caught more fish than anyone until she lost her secret mepps spinner to a big fish. Cheff loaded her up with about 2 platefulls of food.
Duck eggroll, Chef's famous cole slaw, pulled pork sandwich, elk stuffed mushrooms covered with grilled bluecheese sauce and jalapeno mashed potatoes smothered with goose gravy!
Jeff Lampe's first plate. I don't think anyone had just one plate! There was always hot food coming off the press all night long!!
Grilled Elk stuffed mushrooms!
Fresh sweet chili glazed trout
I didn't get any pics of the fried yellowtail snapper fillets or several items that I have since forgotten about without picture documentation, but you get the point.... I had a early breakfast meeting this morning with a mennonite pastor at Bob Evans and didn't have much of an appetite for some reason? I choked down some pancakes, but definitely didnt go for the usual gravy and meat breakfast!
On another note, event planning for our annual Hooked On Fishing Fundraising Banquet at the new Metamora Fields Golf Course is going great! So far we have sold 38 tables of 8 to many friends of the park and several key area businesses. I have about 8 tables left and hope to fill them very soon!
Just this week the following businesses have stepped up and helped us out tremendously by donating items and sponsoring tables- Cefcu, Prairie Home Alliance, Lone Wolf Concrete, Rocke Brothers Masonry, Noah Herman Sons Builders, Presleys Outdoors, Sun Foundation, Heights Finance, Kaiser Electric, Bob Grimm Chevrolet, Timber Creek Land Company, Midwest Land and Habitat, Fort Transfer, FW Boland Plumbing, Carver Lumber, Dust Boss, Bobby Smith Remodeling and Roofing, The gang at Led's Shed and Heartland Outdoors! I know there are more businesses out there with a passion for outdoor education!!
I can't thank these businesses enough for their support of the park and also the entire community! I still have a handful of individual tickets left for $75 each and like mentioned earlier about 8 tables and then we will have the banquet hall filled to capacity! If we can fill those tables, the sky will be the limit for the fishing park this season!!!
Here is about half the group standing together.
They are all in town meeting for a week solid about hunting seasons, limits, conservation, habitat, and all sorts of stuff that directly affect how we manage our flock of birds in the flyway. It was extremely interesting to spend some time with these guys and get some inside information not typically available to the public. I am sworn to secrecy so I can't mention anything about stuff like the new 90 day duck season proposal and 5 goose bag limits.....just kidding.......
Anyhow Chef Todd outdid himself with this feast! With the help of key park volunteers Charlie Bracket, Bill Johnson, Todd Clanin and Brett Erickson, he pulled off a wild game feast of epic proportions! He basically cooked all this food outside in 40 degree weather with a big grill, a turkey fryer, a deep fryer, and a generator powering roasters.
Chef going to town on the big grill:
While some of the guys were out fishing and catching rainbow trout, largemouth bass, and big bluegills; Chef and co were cooking away under the pavilion, and the rest of us were gobblin it down as fast as it would come hot off the press. I feel kind of bad, but I was pretty much camped out under the pavilion near the food the entire evening and only snapped one fish photo. He caught a monster rainbow right next to the pavilion so I finally ventured out from my laziness den and snapped the pic quick:
I snapped plenty of food photos though cause they were near my home base! On this plate there is antelope, mule deer, and whitetail to munch on.
Chef's secret homemade duck egg rolls:
Eggroll after spending a couple minutes in 400 degree grease:
Todd Clanins famous pulled, smoked pork butt. We had 4 different barbecue sauces for this meat!
Homemade goose gravy! Was supposed to be duck gravy, but we brought the wrong package of meat so it became goose gravy and by golly it turned out way better than this puky picture looks!
She was the only lady biologist and is from Michigan. From what I could tell she probably caught more fish than anyone until she lost her secret mepps spinner to a big fish. Cheff loaded her up with about 2 platefulls of food.
Duck eggroll, Chef's famous cole slaw, pulled pork sandwich, elk stuffed mushrooms covered with grilled bluecheese sauce and jalapeno mashed potatoes smothered with goose gravy!
Jeff Lampe's first plate. I don't think anyone had just one plate! There was always hot food coming off the press all night long!!
Grilled Elk stuffed mushrooms!
Fresh sweet chili glazed trout
I didn't get any pics of the fried yellowtail snapper fillets or several items that I have since forgotten about without picture documentation, but you get the point.... I had a early breakfast meeting this morning with a mennonite pastor at Bob Evans and didn't have much of an appetite for some reason? I choked down some pancakes, but definitely didnt go for the usual gravy and meat breakfast!
On another note, event planning for our annual Hooked On Fishing Fundraising Banquet at the new Metamora Fields Golf Course is going great! So far we have sold 38 tables of 8 to many friends of the park and several key area businesses. I have about 8 tables left and hope to fill them very soon!
Just this week the following businesses have stepped up and helped us out tremendously by donating items and sponsoring tables- Cefcu, Prairie Home Alliance, Lone Wolf Concrete, Rocke Brothers Masonry, Noah Herman Sons Builders, Presleys Outdoors, Sun Foundation, Heights Finance, Kaiser Electric, Bob Grimm Chevrolet, Timber Creek Land Company, Midwest Land and Habitat, Fort Transfer, FW Boland Plumbing, Carver Lumber, Dust Boss, Bobby Smith Remodeling and Roofing, The gang at Led's Shed and Heartland Outdoors! I know there are more businesses out there with a passion for outdoor education!!
I can't thank these businesses enough for their support of the park and also the entire community! I still have a handful of individual tickets left for $75 each and like mentioned earlier about 8 tables and then we will have the banquet hall filled to capacity! If we can fill those tables, the sky will be the limit for the fishing park this season!!!
Z Fish Report (2/24/11)
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| H.C. Lee of Arlington Texas with Leonardo on the panga Fish On with a very nice bull dorado Photo by Don Grantages |
What really got my attention though is Len is staying out at Barra Potosi and was telling me of the huge numbers of sardines in the surf there. This is an annual thing, and when the sardines come in like that, the jack crevalle follow. And the jacks are big enough, the Mexican hand line fishermen are having a tough time carrying their 4 or 5 fish back home.
The reason I was really interested about the Barra is because this is an excellent way to spend a day, and one of the few areas on this coast the surf is not too high for a spin or fly rod fisherman for shore fishing. You can kick back under the palapa of one of the restaurants there, have a cold one, a few traditional Mexican appetizers, and wait for the jacks to breeze in again. When the jacks start crashing the bait, you go out and catch a couple of the hard fighting fish, and then back to the cold one. Any fly in a 3 or 4 inch sardine pattern will work, and the spin fishermen are having better luck with shiny 1 to 2 oz spoons and Mega Bait jigs of the same length as the flies.
Otherwise, Santiago told me he made a long run down south to La Barrita and only got a few jacks and a couple of small roosters. Other inshore fishermen are picking up a lot of very nice sized sierras.
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| Lee's dorado in action |
For an idea how a few of the other captains are doing for a single day of offshore fishing: Mecate, on the cruiser Agua Azul, got 2 sails and 1 nice dorado. Martin, on the Gaviota, got 3 sailfish, and Cheva, on the panga Dos Hermanos II, got 3 striped marlin and 1 sailfish.
Leonardo, on the panga Fish On, fishing with Don Grantges of Texas, had a large Black Marlin on for a while and then it got off. Twenty minutes later they hooked a huge bull dorado over 5 feet long and approaching 60 pounds. It did not get off. It is dinner for several nights to come.
Ed Kunze
To order a copy of my fishing book:
http://www.mexperience.com/store/vuitem.php?itemid=13&sc=KUNZE-13
Thursday, February 24, 2011
the twitch
Judging by the weather this week, I think Spring has sprung. The tackle shops are crowded with shoppers, "Flats Blue" rods are flying off the shelf and everyone we talk to is getting the itch to go fishing. Here are a couple of items you want to know about to fill the gaps between your next trips.Need a pick-me-up Monday morning? Mr. Producer uploads a full length episode from last season every Monday for that little adrenaline boost. From wade fishing the flats of Stuart for trout and snook to striper fishing out of New York City, another Addictive Fishing adventure is available at the click of a mouse. Subscribe to our YouTube page and be notified as soon as new episodes become available. If we get enough subscribers we'll be able to post the brand new 2011 season episodes straight to the internet this season! Be sure to sign up and tell your friends to do the same.
Next weekend, the Mogan Man will be in Tampa with FINS for the Tampa Tribune Outdoor Expo. The expo will run March 4-6 at the State Fairgrounds Expo Hall. Capt. Blair will have plenty of FINS line for sale so be sure to pick up enough to respool for the season. He'll also be showing off his new "Flats Blue" rods and maybe a few other goodies. Don’t forget to drop off your donation for Project Snook. Every dollar counts and goes directly to funding Mote Marine’s snook research. Hope to see you there!
It's been a while since we've had a Mogan Maiden as our Mogan of the Week. Sharon Magwood recently got a new kayak and she couldn’t wait to put it in the water. She picked up the kayak at the shop and took it straight to the water for a quick trip before sunset. Using a CAL shadtail, Sharon christened her new boat with a healthy Tampa Bay snook. Way to break it in, Sharon!
Feeling the urge,
BillBird
another local blogger steps up to the plate
Nick from Brookfield Angler is another local blogger from the greater Chicago-land area that is just starting to establish a name for himself. I just recently came across this site from a local fishing forum and spent some time giving his site a read. Even though the site is in its early stages, I found the content and writing thoughtfull and to the point.
Being a new blog, they have just a few followers at this point. I've already followed and would be greatful if people in the blogger world would stop on by and show him some support. Click this link to be taken to Brookfield Angler.
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| brookfieldangler.com |
So I Caught Fish Now What Do I Do With It?
Another One of Those Weird & Ugly Fish!
Readers Choice Award Goes to Pisces!
We were thrilled to receive this beautiful award given this past Saturday at a fabulous event in Palmilla.
Representing our comapany were Ady Moya (left) and Ale (Alejandra) Almada (right). Visitors to Cabo were asked to vote for different companies ranging from restaurtants to activites. Pisces got most votes for best fishing and yachting. The voice of the public speaks......
Is This An Incredible Shark or What?
The following took place at Ucluelet on the west side of Vancouver Island, Canada:
While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing for dogfish, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail !!!
'And that's when the s**t hit the fan!!'
The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned.
She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino Current into local waters in search of food. This took place on November 29th, 2006 and we want to thank David Flores for sending us the photos.
Although mid 60 degree water is considered ideal for these sharks, the larger ones can tolerate water in the low 50s- according to the person that posted this story.
Actually Great White sharks are found in Baja with Isla Guadalupe being one of the best spots to observe these magnificent creatures.
While the ocean vessel 'Dawn Raider' was commercial fishing for dogfish, this Great White was hooked in the mouth but only resisted slightly for 15 minutes before it came up alongside the boat to have a look; long enough for one of the crew members to slip a rope around it's tail !!!
'And that's when the s**t hit the fan!!'
The Shark took off towing the 42 foot fishing boat backwards through the water at about 7 Knots. Just like in JAWS, the boat was taking on water over the stern and the crew watched in horror as the shark would actually jump completely out of the water at times. This went on for an hour before the shark finally drowned.
She weighed in at 1035 LBS. It is suspected she followed a weak El Nino Current into local waters in search of food. This took place on November 29th, 2006 and we want to thank David Flores for sending us the photos.
Actually Great White sharks are found in Baja with Isla Guadalupe being one of the best spots to observe these magnificent creatures.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Megabass Flutta Bait...
This is a lure that I have had in my box for a while and have caught on. Using it over clean ground with fast moving current , sinking and drawing it as the tide carried it from left to right . This method works well for this lure and I put my hand up and say this is probably the only situation and method that I would have used this lure for ( not anymore ). After getting a demo on this lure in France last weekend it is going to move up into a lure that I will turn to far more often . It is amazing on a straight retrieve with a few twitches and if the area allows ( depth of water ) stop and pause for a few seconds a few times through the retrieve . It is one of many lures that really impressed me over the weekend . It weighs 35g so you are certainly going to cover plenty of ground and when the wind is up you are going to have no problem pumping it out. One situation that I can not wait to give it a go is off the rocks with a big surf coming in as it will certainly stay down and stable. Some of the best lures on the market can not handle these situations but as you know we get lots of rough weather and wind, finding another lure to have in my box that is going to work well in this situation gives me another advantage (I can not wait to get out with some lures).
More reports on lures seen in Nantes to come during the week.
Cian.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
The Doc
Last Friday I took Doctor Albright out for the day...The Doc fishes with me a good bit and its always a lot of fun! We had the river to ourselves and it was awesome..I bet Doc boated over 80 fish including two browns over 18 and a pig of a rainbow over 20! All morning fish smashed the surface and just couldn't get enough of his flies! A little rain came in the afternoon but didn't slow us down! What a great day to be on the water!
Fisherman I Need Your Help!
If your reading this somewhere online, I could definitely use your help! Not just fisherman, but anyone with a passion for teaching, helping, fishing, and the great outdoors!
Back in 2008 I helped start the Hooked on Fishing Park down in East Peoria at the old Dixons Ponds. Since then we have completely renovated the entire facility and have hosted more than 3000 kids and seniors fishing free of charge! For the first 3 years I helped with renovation and was in charge of making sure the ponds were well stocked with Fish.
However starting in January of 2011, I am now completely in charge of running the entire facility from start to finish from A to Z and I need some serious help! In all phases of running the fishing park I need help from everyone I know and many people I have yet to meet. I need to raise enough funds to keep the park rolling and get everything started for this upcoming season.
Here is a brief video that showcases the renovated fishing park and describes a bit about our mission.
Before any kids even reach the ponds on May 3rd (150 middle school kids from East Peoria grade school are coming for a field trip) I need to pay for 1/2 the property taxes, and a handful of other monthly expenses. In the next few paragraphs I am going to lay out all the information for what is needed to run the fishing park this year and hope that I can get the right people to fill in with some much needed help and expertise.
First thing I need help with is that on Saturday evening, March 12 we are having a fundraising dinner at the Metamora Fields golf course. Their new banquet facility is showcasing many of their menu items for this dinner and all funds raised will go towards our 2011 operating expenses at the fishing park. There is plenty of room for up to 400 people for this event and I really hope to be able to get at least 300 people to make the evening a great success! More info is available at this link- Dinner Info
The cost is $75 per ticket or $500 for a table of eight. We will be having appetizers starting at 5:30 pm and the dinner starts at 6:30. Just give me a call at 309-303-5691 or shoot me an email to hookedonfishingpark@gmail.com or visit our website at hookedonfishingpark.org to purchase tickets either by mailing a check or with a credit card online. We are a 501 c-3 not for profit organization and all donations and dinner tickets are tax deductible.
Next I could also use some items from local businesses or individuals for a small auction and raffle and door prizes to help raise funds at the event. I already have some amazing guided fishing trips to world class fishing properties, catering packages for large groups, fishing gear, Matthews Solo Cam bows, car care packages, and such for some items to raffle and give away, but I definitely could use more items if anyone knows anyone willing to help with this sort of thing.
Moving along past the dinner is other items I could really use help with. I would love to start a fishing program at the park for the high school bass fishing teams. The park is the perfect place to practice fundamentals of fishing. A new casting course with a fishing boat on the big pond would just be awesome to host practices and have casting competitions/tournaments. I would love for someone to step up and coordinate the high school fishing team program, create the casting course of some sort and line up whatever the coaches would need to successfully teach their teams rock solid fundamentals. We have open water year round, plus we have a bunch of bass too.
With the same theme as the high school bass fishing program, I would love for someone to coordinate a boy scout/girl scout/cub scout program for the park. There is so much potential down there for those groups to get together and learn all sorts of outdoor related activities and badges. I just need someone familiar with those organizations to create and coordinate that program.
I would love to have a handful of organized fishing derbies this summer. They could be themed like father/son or mother/daughter or just general fishing derbies with prizes, etc. If anyone or any business would like to coordinate or sponsor a fishing derby that would be great!
Last year we had tons of nursing homes coming down on pretty much a weekly basis to grill lunch, do some fishing, and just hang out together outside. Those groups are great for the park and are usually pretty self sufficient. If someone would want to help coordinate them or just come hang out with them any help would be greatly appreciated!
We are open to all groups of any shape or size to use the fishing park, I just need volunteers to help coordinate and staff various events. We have a great core of existing volunteers, but if we are going to expand or even just carry the same capacity as last year we are going to need a bunch more help!
I have put together a needs list for pretty much everything I can think of for the fishing park for this upcoming season. Any help with any of these items specifically would help out tremendously. I really visualize this fishing park as a great way to not only teach the sport of fishing, but to bring the entire community together outdoors. The list of needs for 2011 is basically the following:
Needs Per Month during our 6 month fishing season:
70 doz night crawlers per month
300 bottles of water per month
30 bags of ice per month
100 lbs of hamburgers per month
200 hot dogs per month
200 hamburger and hot dog buns per month
Bunch of plastic dinnerware and paper goods
3 bags of charcoal per month
1 bottle of lighter fluid per month
$500 fish stocking per month
$60 fish food per month
$130 per month for Porta Jon Services
Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance Volunteers
Fishing Instructor Volunteers
Any sort of Volunteers
Lots of kids, seniors, groups wanting to catch some fish!
Needs Per Month Annually:
$510 per month for property taxes
$185 per month for Cilco Bill
$280 per month for various Insurance Bills
$33 per month for garbage services
$55 per month for website services
Physical Items Needed:
Small quiet generator
Used freezers and fridges
3 big coolers
2 used push mowers
1 weed eater
20 gallons of Fuel
More fishing equipment
Tackle, Line, Bobbers
Prizes for kids/events
Casting Course/Platforms/Ideas?
High School Fishing Program Coordinator(s)
Boy Scout/Girl Scout Program Coordinator(s)
Any other program coordination ideas
Fundraising Ideas
General Ideas for Using the Park to further Outdoor Education and Experiences?
If you haven't been down to see the new renovated fishing park, please take the time to drive by and check it out! We have worked very hard to create a world class fishing and outdoor facility and are excited about getting the community involved in utilizing this place to its fullest potential!
I need your help to make this happen! Events I have planned to help the fishing park raise support this year are the fundraising dinner Saturday March 12th (I hope to see you all there), a big fishing tournament fundraiser at Otter Creek Preserve for donors and volunteers (you don't want to miss this), a golf outing later this summer at the new Metamora Golf Course (I could use some help with that one for sure, I am not a golfer), and a few fishing days/cookouts with Chef Todd at the park this summer.
Please stay tuned for more updates about the park and please help out anyway you possibly can. I am trying to coordinate everything in my spare time and could use as much help as possible!
Here are a couple more Youtube videos about the fishing park:
Here are a couple articles published in newspapers and magazines about the fishing park:
Peoria Journal Star
Pond Boss Magazine
Article From Lighthouse Academy Kids
More Articles
Thanks for taking the time to read all the way down to the end. I know it is quite a bit of information jam-packed into one blog post. Here is one last link and bit of information to help support the fishing park.
Link to Online Donations and Purchase Dinner Tickets
Or send Check to
Hooked On Fishing Park
8913 N Prairie Point
Peoria, IL 61615
Please specify how many tickets or what specifically you would like to sponsor or donate. Physical items please contact me ahead of time to arrange pick up/delivery.
Back in 2008 I helped start the Hooked on Fishing Park down in East Peoria at the old Dixons Ponds. Since then we have completely renovated the entire facility and have hosted more than 3000 kids and seniors fishing free of charge! For the first 3 years I helped with renovation and was in charge of making sure the ponds were well stocked with Fish.
However starting in January of 2011, I am now completely in charge of running the entire facility from start to finish from A to Z and I need some serious help! In all phases of running the fishing park I need help from everyone I know and many people I have yet to meet. I need to raise enough funds to keep the park rolling and get everything started for this upcoming season.
Here is a brief video that showcases the renovated fishing park and describes a bit about our mission.
Before any kids even reach the ponds on May 3rd (150 middle school kids from East Peoria grade school are coming for a field trip) I need to pay for 1/2 the property taxes, and a handful of other monthly expenses. In the next few paragraphs I am going to lay out all the information for what is needed to run the fishing park this year and hope that I can get the right people to fill in with some much needed help and expertise.
First thing I need help with is that on Saturday evening, March 12 we are having a fundraising dinner at the Metamora Fields golf course. Their new banquet facility is showcasing many of their menu items for this dinner and all funds raised will go towards our 2011 operating expenses at the fishing park. There is plenty of room for up to 400 people for this event and I really hope to be able to get at least 300 people to make the evening a great success! More info is available at this link- Dinner Info
The cost is $75 per ticket or $500 for a table of eight. We will be having appetizers starting at 5:30 pm and the dinner starts at 6:30. Just give me a call at 309-303-5691 or shoot me an email to hookedonfishingpark@gmail.com or visit our website at hookedonfishingpark.org to purchase tickets either by mailing a check or with a credit card online. We are a 501 c-3 not for profit organization and all donations and dinner tickets are tax deductible.
Next I could also use some items from local businesses or individuals for a small auction and raffle and door prizes to help raise funds at the event. I already have some amazing guided fishing trips to world class fishing properties, catering packages for large groups, fishing gear, Matthews Solo Cam bows, car care packages, and such for some items to raffle and give away, but I definitely could use more items if anyone knows anyone willing to help with this sort of thing.
Moving along past the dinner is other items I could really use help with. I would love to start a fishing program at the park for the high school bass fishing teams. The park is the perfect place to practice fundamentals of fishing. A new casting course with a fishing boat on the big pond would just be awesome to host practices and have casting competitions/tournaments. I would love for someone to step up and coordinate the high school fishing team program, create the casting course of some sort and line up whatever the coaches would need to successfully teach their teams rock solid fundamentals. We have open water year round, plus we have a bunch of bass too.
With the same theme as the high school bass fishing program, I would love for someone to coordinate a boy scout/girl scout/cub scout program for the park. There is so much potential down there for those groups to get together and learn all sorts of outdoor related activities and badges. I just need someone familiar with those organizations to create and coordinate that program.
I would love to have a handful of organized fishing derbies this summer. They could be themed like father/son or mother/daughter or just general fishing derbies with prizes, etc. If anyone or any business would like to coordinate or sponsor a fishing derby that would be great!
Last year we had tons of nursing homes coming down on pretty much a weekly basis to grill lunch, do some fishing, and just hang out together outside. Those groups are great for the park and are usually pretty self sufficient. If someone would want to help coordinate them or just come hang out with them any help would be greatly appreciated!
We are open to all groups of any shape or size to use the fishing park, I just need volunteers to help coordinate and staff various events. We have a great core of existing volunteers, but if we are going to expand or even just carry the same capacity as last year we are going to need a bunch more help!
I have put together a needs list for pretty much everything I can think of for the fishing park for this upcoming season. Any help with any of these items specifically would help out tremendously. I really visualize this fishing park as a great way to not only teach the sport of fishing, but to bring the entire community together outdoors. The list of needs for 2011 is basically the following:
Needs Per Month during our 6 month fishing season:
70 doz night crawlers per month
300 bottles of water per month
30 bags of ice per month
100 lbs of hamburgers per month
200 hot dogs per month
200 hamburger and hot dog buns per month
Bunch of plastic dinnerware and paper goods
3 bags of charcoal per month
1 bottle of lighter fluid per month
$500 fish stocking per month
$60 fish food per month
$130 per month for Porta Jon Services
Landscaping and Grounds Maintenance Volunteers
Fishing Instructor Volunteers
Any sort of Volunteers
Lots of kids, seniors, groups wanting to catch some fish!
Needs Per Month Annually:
$510 per month for property taxes
$185 per month for Cilco Bill
$280 per month for various Insurance Bills
$33 per month for garbage services
$55 per month for website services
Physical Items Needed:
Small quiet generator
Used freezers and fridges
3 big coolers
2 used push mowers
1 weed eater
20 gallons of Fuel
More fishing equipment
Tackle, Line, Bobbers
Prizes for kids/events
Casting Course/Platforms/Ideas?
High School Fishing Program Coordinator(s)
Boy Scout/Girl Scout Program Coordinator(s)
Any other program coordination ideas
Fundraising Ideas
General Ideas for Using the Park to further Outdoor Education and Experiences?
If you haven't been down to see the new renovated fishing park, please take the time to drive by and check it out! We have worked very hard to create a world class fishing and outdoor facility and are excited about getting the community involved in utilizing this place to its fullest potential!
I need your help to make this happen! Events I have planned to help the fishing park raise support this year are the fundraising dinner Saturday March 12th (I hope to see you all there), a big fishing tournament fundraiser at Otter Creek Preserve for donors and volunteers (you don't want to miss this), a golf outing later this summer at the new Metamora Golf Course (I could use some help with that one for sure, I am not a golfer), and a few fishing days/cookouts with Chef Todd at the park this summer.
Please stay tuned for more updates about the park and please help out anyway you possibly can. I am trying to coordinate everything in my spare time and could use as much help as possible!
Here are a couple more Youtube videos about the fishing park:
Here are a couple articles published in newspapers and magazines about the fishing park:
Peoria Journal Star
Pond Boss Magazine
Article From Lighthouse Academy Kids
More Articles
Thanks for taking the time to read all the way down to the end. I know it is quite a bit of information jam-packed into one blog post. Here is one last link and bit of information to help support the fishing park.
Link to Online Donations and Purchase Dinner Tickets
Or send Check to
Hooked On Fishing Park
8913 N Prairie Point
Peoria, IL 61615
Please specify how many tickets or what specifically you would like to sponsor or donate. Physical items please contact me ahead of time to arrange pick up/delivery.
Latest Fish Report
February 12th to February 18th, 2011
Overall Catch Success Rate 83.34%
Overall Catch Success Rate 83.34%
BILLFISH: The billfish catches were steady this week with twenty two percent of boats releasing striped marlin, despite full moon at the end of this report. There has been a shortage of good live bait, caballito was available most days, not the very best marlin bait, but even then bait vendors did not have enough. This didn’t stop “Ruthless” though, who with captain Leon and deckhand Beto managed to release two striped marlin estimated 140 and 150 lbs on the 18th for Greg Callaway and friends from Houston, TX at Punta Gorda. One of this marlin took live caballito and the other a calamari lure. This same day, “Tracy Ann” released one striper in the 160 lbs class for a group from Temple, Texas in the same area. “C-Rod” also released another striped marlin on the 16th for Thomas and Rachel Hill and friends from Idaho twenty five miles out from Chileno; they also boated one 20 lbs yellow fin tuna which took a cedar plug. It’s rare that “Shambala” does not catch fish and true to form they also released a marlin for a group from Saint Louis, Missouri four miles out from Cabeza de Ballena. Looks like most of the marlin are at the Sea of Cortez. All the marlin were released this week and we are pleased to see a good size to them. Pisces anglers released ten striped marlin.
OTHER SPECIES: The number one catch of this week was sierra (Spanish mackerel) thirty six percent of our boats caught this tasty toothy fish, for a total count of 198 fish up to 10 lbs. On the 16th, “Tracy Ann” had 35 sierras between 8 to 10 lbs for Michael and Brenda Pinskey from Richmond, Michigan at Elias Calles. “Rebecca” had 34 sierras at the same spot for Al and Don Kodet from Minnesota; they also caught four bonitas; the fish took hoochis and rapalas – the majority of sierra are being released. Our anglers also tried some bottom; “La Brisa” out on the 18th with George & Linda Cunningham from Castle Rock, CO caught five sierra, four 20 lbs yellow tail, two mojarras and one sea bass with a mix of live bait and hoochis – what a fun day. Dorado was on the slow side this week, with only a couple of them caught. On the 16th, Thomas and Amanda Altstadt along with their daughters caught a 25 lb dorado aboard “Adriana” at the 95 spot. Yellow fin tuna catches decreased this week as our anglers preferred to stay closer in or go in search of marlin. Fifteen percent of our boats caught between one and four fish. On the 17th “Bill Collector” had a good day boating four yellow fin tuna, football size, for the Hendricks’s from North Carolina and Arizona; they also released one striped marlin, six skipjacks and bonitas. The fish were caught at Punta Gorda. “Tracy Ann” also caught four tuna for Rod and Nina Pace from Tucson, Arizona on the 13th. This time, they went 40 miles straight out near the 220 spot; the fish took cedar plugs.
As to other species we had yellow tail, mojarra, sea bass, rooster fish, jack crevalle, skip jack and many bonitas.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear, sunny skies. Some windy days. Mostly calm seas. Warmer weather.
LOCATION: Pacific Side _ Migriño, Cerro Blanco, Elias Calles, Pozo Cota, Los Arcos, Old Lighthouse, 210 spot, Cerritos, Pescadero, Golden Gate
Sea of Cortez - Cabeza Ballena, Chileno, 95 spot, Herradura, San Jose del Cabo, Punta Gorda
AVERAGE WATER TEMP. 72 F
BEST LURES; Cedar plugs, rapalas, hoochis, petrolero, green/black, feathers, yoyos
Live bait: caballito, ballyhoos
Based on the catches of Pisces by Ale Almada & Tracy Ehrenberg.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Nantes
Firstly I would like to thank everyone who reads the blog . While I was away over the weekend in France the blog reached over twenty thousand hits since we started. It is amazing how many people are reading the blog and both I and James love doing it . So thank you to everyone .
The picture above is of me Paul Burns ( my fishing buddy and tackle junkie) , Yannick ( the owner of ultimate fishing ) and Mick Ward (my good friend and ultimate fishing agent ).
Myself Yannick and Mick.
One of the lure tanks at the show where lures are demonstrated . It is brilliant to see lures being worked at close range. What action needs to be put into these lures , what speed to retrieve and so on . But most important to look at new shiny stuff swim by .
If you are a lure fishing nut I would highly recommend making the trip over to this show . To be honest my mind still has not caught up with the amount of information I took in over the weekend . Hopefully I will settle down and be able to right about what I learnt over the weekend but at the moment my head is buzzing with info .
Cheers,
The picture above is of me Paul Burns ( my fishing buddy and tackle junkie) , Yannick ( the owner of ultimate fishing ) and Mick Ward (my good friend and ultimate fishing agent ).
Myself Yannick and Mick.
The lure forum gang having a meal on the Saturday night . What a great group of guys and passionate lure anglers . It was a pleasure to spend the weekend which such a nice group of lads . It was great to spend time with these lads and find out what techniques they are using and what lures are working for them .( also just to have a good laugh in good company).
One of the lure tanks at the show where lures are demonstrated . It is brilliant to see lures being worked at close range. What action needs to be put into these lures , what speed to retrieve and so on . But most important to look at new shiny stuff swim by .If you are a lure fishing nut I would highly recommend making the trip over to this show . To be honest my mind still has not caught up with the amount of information I took in over the weekend . Hopefully I will settle down and be able to right about what I learnt over the weekend but at the moment my head is buzzing with info .
Above are two of the product designers from DUO . Both of these guys had great English and were more than willing to share information . To be honest they blew my mind . We went to the lure tank where they did demos of some new lures and some which I have been using for years . There is no right and wrong but I have been shown some very effective ways to use these lures that I would have never come up with on my own in a lifetime of using them . Later in the week I will get some pics of lures up and explain as best I can what was shown to me and what way these lures were intended to be used by the guys that designed them .
Cheers,
Cian.
special edition
Billbird is a little under the weather this week and so you’re stuck with me! And just like the nurses have been telling our fine feathered friend right before stickin’ him with a shot, "I promise to make this quick and painless."
Mr. Producerman is spending his birthday out on the Louisiana marshes with the Mogan Man. Capt. Blair will be hooking Producerman up with some birthday reds and who knows what else they'll catch on the water to bring back and fry up for a tasty celebratory dinner. Happy Birthday to the creative mind behind all that rod bendin' drag screamin' action!
When the AF Crew comes in off the water they'll head into town to spend the weekend at the Bassmaters Classic in New Orleans. Capt. Blair will be on hand to demo the new Flats Blue rods, answer questions and sign autographs. Don’t miss your chance to be the first to pick up the new Mogan Man jersey! Come by the Wright & McGill booth and get the latest and greatest gear including the Flats Blue rod. If you buy a Flats Blue rod during the Classic, the Mogan Man jersey will be included. Sa-weet!! Watch out Bourbon Street . . . the Mogan Militia will be marching in!
Birds of a feather stick together, so just filling in 'til you're back to seeing things straight Billbird.
Get well soon!!
Trice
Mr. Producerman is spending his birthday out on the Louisiana marshes with the Mogan Man. Capt. Blair will be hooking Producerman up with some birthday reds and who knows what else they'll catch on the water to bring back and fry up for a tasty celebratory dinner. Happy Birthday to the creative mind behind all that rod bendin' drag screamin' action!
When the AF Crew comes in off the water they'll head into town to spend the weekend at the Bassmaters Classic in New Orleans. Capt. Blair will be on hand to demo the new Flats Blue rods, answer questions and sign autographs. Don’t miss your chance to be the first to pick up the new Mogan Man jersey! Come by the Wright & McGill booth and get the latest and greatest gear including the Flats Blue rod. If you buy a Flats Blue rod during the Classic, the Mogan Man jersey will be included. Sa-weet!! Watch out Bourbon Street . . . the Mogan Militia will be marching in!
Birds of a feather stick together, so just filling in 'til you're back to seeing things straight Billbird.
Get well soon!!
Trice
Ex Post Facto
WATCH 'EM IN ACTION
The Reps On The Floor
and in committee
(P.S. snow for a few days)
(P.S. snow for a few days)
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.. Should you be interested enough to watch the Montana House of Representatives Agriculture Committee address this bill CLICK HERE. If you want to listen to it CLICK HERE. The committee session includes interested-party testimony.
.. These are long media clips provided by the State of Montana and should allow you to see the House of Representatives in action. The floor session is about 37 minutes long. The committee session is about 1 hour and 16 minutes long. [Requires RealPlayer.]
.. The first half of the committee session is given over to proponents of HB 309.
.. The time markers for opponents of the bill & of interest to fly fishers are:
==> Montana Wildlife Federation = @ 25 minutes and 57 seconds,
==> Montana DFWP legal counsel = @ 29 minutes,
==> Montana Trout Unlimited = @ 37 minutes and 30 seconds,
==> Clark Fork Coalition = @ 45 minutes and 20 seconds.
.. When the Senate media becomes available we'll let you know.
.. If you're up for a real YUK check out the Montana Cowgirl Post on Nutjob Bills in this current legislative session.
.. The first half of the committee session is given over to proponents of HB 309.
.. The time markers for opponents of the bill & of interest to fly fishers are:
==> Montana Wildlife Federation = @ 25 minutes and 57 seconds,
==> Montana DFWP legal counsel = @ 29 minutes,
==> Montana Trout Unlimited = @ 37 minutes and 30 seconds,
==> Clark Fork Coalition = @ 45 minutes and 20 seconds.
.. When the Senate media becomes available we'll let you know.
.. If you're up for a real YUK check out the Montana Cowgirl Post on Nutjob Bills in this current legislative session.
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*P.S.
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