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 straightretrieve 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.
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!
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 .
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.
.. If you'd like to watch the public floor show that the Montana House of Representatives put on about HB 309 you can CLICK HERE. If you want to listen to it CLICK HERE. .. 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.
