WALLPAPER
Friday, July 29, 2011
Fishing Derby This Saturday!
This Saturday, July 30th we are hosting a free fishing derby for kids under 16. Everyone is invited to come and spend the day at the Hooked on Fishing Park in East Peoria.
The derby starts at 10 am and lasts until noon. Prizes will be awarded to mini-anglers who catch tagged fish and also for the biggest fish! Should be alot of fun and we can accommodate several hundred anglers comfortably so there will be plenty of room, come on down.
Also after the derby you are invited to spend the afternoon fishing with your family or just relaxing outside at the park. We have a covered pavilion and an awesome walking trail around the levy overlooking the Illinois River. Fishing instructors will be onsite and can help teach anyone how to fish, but I do stronly encourage you to come and spend time with your own children fishing. Take off a Saturday from the rat race and bring your kids out for a day they will not forget this summer.
Here is a short video that has some pictures and explains just a bit more about the park for those interested in what we do down there.
Oh yeah, we will of course have food and drinks and prizes on Saturday. This fishing derby and community day is being sponsored by Uncle Bob's Ice Cream, Jimmy Johns, Firehouse Pizza, EP's Timeout, Brewers Distributing, Culver's, Weaver Ridge Golf Course, Avanti's, Burger Barge, Presley's Outdoors, Bob Grimm's Chevrolet, Moon's Dentistry, Herman Brothers Lake and Land Management, Prairie Home Alliance, Fortner Insurance, Cefcu, and Heartland Outdoors!
If anyone out there would like to help out with this event and future events, please make sure to contact me directly at nate@hblakemanagement.com or hookedonfishingpark@gmail.com. We could always use more prizes for this event, more food, more drinks and more volunteers down at the park! Quality experiences outdoors are few and far between these days..
Hoping eventually to have every local business involved helping out with the fishing park. The more people we can get involved the more people we can accomodate down at the park. To date we have taken more than 3500 senior citizens and children fishing free of charge over the last 3 summers. That number could easily be met in just one summer with more people involved helping out!!
The derby starts at 10 am and lasts until noon. Prizes will be awarded to mini-anglers who catch tagged fish and also for the biggest fish! Should be alot of fun and we can accommodate several hundred anglers comfortably so there will be plenty of room, come on down.
Also after the derby you are invited to spend the afternoon fishing with your family or just relaxing outside at the park. We have a covered pavilion and an awesome walking trail around the levy overlooking the Illinois River. Fishing instructors will be onsite and can help teach anyone how to fish, but I do stronly encourage you to come and spend time with your own children fishing. Take off a Saturday from the rat race and bring your kids out for a day they will not forget this summer.
Here is a short video that has some pictures and explains just a bit more about the park for those interested in what we do down there.
Oh yeah, we will of course have food and drinks and prizes on Saturday. This fishing derby and community day is being sponsored by Uncle Bob's Ice Cream, Jimmy Johns, Firehouse Pizza, EP's Timeout, Brewers Distributing, Culver's, Weaver Ridge Golf Course, Avanti's, Burger Barge, Presley's Outdoors, Bob Grimm's Chevrolet, Moon's Dentistry, Herman Brothers Lake and Land Management, Prairie Home Alliance, Fortner Insurance, Cefcu, and Heartland Outdoors!
If anyone out there would like to help out with this event and future events, please make sure to contact me directly at nate@hblakemanagement.com or hookedonfishingpark@gmail.com. We could always use more prizes for this event, more food, more drinks and more volunteers down at the park! Quality experiences outdoors are few and far between these days..
Hoping eventually to have every local business involved helping out with the fishing park. The more people we can get involved the more people we can accomodate down at the park. To date we have taken more than 3500 senior citizens and children fishing free of charge over the last 3 summers. That number could easily be met in just one summer with more people involved helping out!!
Goodbye East Coast Fishing
Wednesday morning we woke up at 3:45 am and headed for the harbor. The forecast called for bright sunny skies so we knew the morning topwater bite would not last nearly as long as it did the day before. Its funny how only the second day ever of commercial striped bass fishing for me and I am already an expert on all things striped bass... Self-proclaimed, but thats basically how I operate. I am a quick learner, ask a million questions, and retain every bit of fishing related intel.
The topwater bite lasted for only the first 30 minutes of light, and then the stripers moved out into deeper water...When the bite is on for topwater, you dont waste any time taking pictures. Here are some photos after the topwater bite was over and the sun was shining:
Then we headed out to deeper water to jig fish for them. Was a great new learning experience to jig for stripers in 80 feet of water. Basically in freshwater fishing you have to keep the bait in the strike zone for as long as possible to be successful. Freshwater fish need all the help they can get to bite your bait. In saltwater its the complete opposite! If you want to catch lots of saltwater fish you need to briefly show your bait in the strike zone and then real it away as fast as humanly possible to get them to come chase and strike! Goes against everything in my nature, but just drop the diamond jig down to the bottom and then rip and reel it up as aggressively and lightning fast as you can. If you dont get one to bite, than drop it down and do it again. The faster you go the more bites you get.
We had a ball jigging stripers! Big fish after big fish:
Once we started catching fish, every boat within 5 miles started congregating into the hot spot. The schools of stripers would move around and so would all the boats:
Occasionally if you would keep your jig down near the bottom too long a small shark would eat your bait. I brought one into the boat for a picture. He was grinning from ear to ear to get his photo taken!
This boat had all three of their anglers hook up all at the same time! Kind of cool. We had lots of doubles, but never could get a triple. You might have to click on the picture to see it better.
So we stayed out on the water as late as possible, but had to catch an evening flight out of Boston. We jumped in the car and rushed straight to the airport and had just enough time to grab a terribly overpriced chinese meal at the airport before loading onto the plane. We even didn't order drinks with the meal cause that would of costed an extra $6.18 plus tax for the both of us and that was for water or soda.
That chinese meal costed $22.36 without drinks. That same exact, only better tasting meal here in Central Illinois would of costed $12.50! Probably was green, organic, natural east coast chinese. Its no wonder everyone out there is skinny and cranky! Their food (except their lobsters and striped bass) is terrible and overpriced.
Anyhow we made the plane and got back to Midway and I was home sleeping in my own bed at 1:10 am. I had to shower though first, cause boy did I stink riding home on the plane with fish slime and even a few scales on my clothes!!
Being up from 3:30 am and jampacking a full day of fishing and traveling all the way till 1 am sure makes a guy tired. I am going to need to go on a vacation just to recoup from this vacation. Instead I had the priviledge of answering voice mails and emails all day long. My customer service was terrific today, but for some reason I didn't make very many sales?? Sir your pond is fine, quit worrying so much and scoop up your dead fish! Sheesh, thats like the fifth time you left a voice message......
BTW, FYI, (Im getting good at texting codes, might as well start applying them to the blog). Anyhow fish are dying all over across the state of Illinois. Many ponds just aren't geared to handle this hot of weather for this long with no relief even at nighttime. Rain and cold fronts that do come only make things worse and thats usually when a big fish kill will happen. Several hot hot days in a row followed by a cold front or rain storm. On a serious note, if your fish are dying, give me a call and I can help figure out exactly what happened and ways to remedy the problem for the here and now as well as ways to help fix the problem for the future.
The topwater bite lasted for only the first 30 minutes of light, and then the stripers moved out into deeper water...When the bite is on for topwater, you dont waste any time taking pictures. Here are some photos after the topwater bite was over and the sun was shining:
Then we headed out to deeper water to jig fish for them. Was a great new learning experience to jig for stripers in 80 feet of water. Basically in freshwater fishing you have to keep the bait in the strike zone for as long as possible to be successful. Freshwater fish need all the help they can get to bite your bait. In saltwater its the complete opposite! If you want to catch lots of saltwater fish you need to briefly show your bait in the strike zone and then real it away as fast as humanly possible to get them to come chase and strike! Goes against everything in my nature, but just drop the diamond jig down to the bottom and then rip and reel it up as aggressively and lightning fast as you can. If you dont get one to bite, than drop it down and do it again. The faster you go the more bites you get.
We had a ball jigging stripers! Big fish after big fish:
Once we started catching fish, every boat within 5 miles started congregating into the hot spot. The schools of stripers would move around and so would all the boats:
Occasionally if you would keep your jig down near the bottom too long a small shark would eat your bait. I brought one into the boat for a picture. He was grinning from ear to ear to get his photo taken!
This boat had all three of their anglers hook up all at the same time! Kind of cool. We had lots of doubles, but never could get a triple. You might have to click on the picture to see it better.
So we stayed out on the water as late as possible, but had to catch an evening flight out of Boston. We jumped in the car and rushed straight to the airport and had just enough time to grab a terribly overpriced chinese meal at the airport before loading onto the plane. We even didn't order drinks with the meal cause that would of costed an extra $6.18 plus tax for the both of us and that was for water or soda.
That chinese meal costed $22.36 without drinks. That same exact, only better tasting meal here in Central Illinois would of costed $12.50! Probably was green, organic, natural east coast chinese. Its no wonder everyone out there is skinny and cranky! Their food (except their lobsters and striped bass) is terrible and overpriced.
Anyhow we made the plane and got back to Midway and I was home sleeping in my own bed at 1:10 am. I had to shower though first, cause boy did I stink riding home on the plane with fish slime and even a few scales on my clothes!!
Being up from 3:30 am and jampacking a full day of fishing and traveling all the way till 1 am sure makes a guy tired. I am going to need to go on a vacation just to recoup from this vacation. Instead I had the priviledge of answering voice mails and emails all day long. My customer service was terrific today, but for some reason I didn't make very many sales?? Sir your pond is fine, quit worrying so much and scoop up your dead fish! Sheesh, thats like the fifth time you left a voice message......
BTW, FYI, (Im getting good at texting codes, might as well start applying them to the blog). Anyhow fish are dying all over across the state of Illinois. Many ponds just aren't geared to handle this hot of weather for this long with no relief even at nighttime. Rain and cold fronts that do come only make things worse and thats usually when a big fish kill will happen. Several hot hot days in a row followed by a cold front or rain storm. On a serious note, if your fish are dying, give me a call and I can help figure out exactly what happened and ways to remedy the problem for the here and now as well as ways to help fix the problem for the future.
Z Fish Report (7/28/11)
At 6 miles, or even closer, the 85 degree blue water is still following the 100 fathom line. The offshore fishing is also holding; with a couple of sailfish a day average per boat, yellowfin tuna to 40 pounds, and quite a few dorado in the 10 to 25 pound range.
The inshore roosterfish action, especially for 30 pound plus roosters, is still the hot ticket here. It is fantastic, maintaining a 5 to 7 fish per day average per boat. The average could be higher, but there simply is not enough time in the day to catch more of these hard fighting fish, which take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour for each one.
Fishing with Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, Erick and Stephanie Lansdon of Eugene, Oregon caught 5 nice roosters (with Stefanie releasing an estimated 60 pounder), a jack crevalle, and a nice dorado for dinner. On their way back to the pier, Adolfo called me on his cell phone telling me “I have a huge area of very large and very hungry gallos located…now would be the perfect time for a fly fisherman…Get me a fly fishing client!”
I lucked out and complied. Chad Hansen of Boise Idaho next fished with Adolfo. He got 3 large roosters on the fly, with one huge fish (over 60 pounds) breaking the leader near the boat.
Ed Kunze
The following is a trip report Eric Lansdon emailed me about his two day fishing experience here in Zihuatanejo:
The Day began with more than a little apprehension by my bride of a little over a week. The first day of fishing in Zihuatanejo hadn’t quite gone exactly as planned. Although I will say that the weather did not cooperate much either. We booked a trip through an online website, and as dumb Americanos, we thought we had it all figured out. The bottom line is we shouldn’t have even gone out that day. The ocean was quite similar to what I am used to fishing out of Winchester Bay Oregon in July- a rolling 6 foot swell (at times 8) with about a foot or two of wind chop. The panga we fished on the first day was not exactly the most comfortable of a ride as we plowed into the oncoming swell for quite some time. Sparing many details, I will say the fishing equipment was poor, the boat was unkempt, yet the skipper was a genuinely nice guy. We ended up with a yellowfin tuna after a couple hours, and I pulled the plug - lest I get a divorce before my honeymoon was over.
This experience led me to call on Ed, who lives in Zihuatanejo, and was referred to me through a friend. Our trip was winding to an end, and I knew we had to give it another try. We had to. Ed set me up with Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos for a day of Rooster Fishing. Ed told me that Adolfo was the best. I believed him, and we were stoked. My wife, however, was a little guarded.
We met Adolfo at seven at the municipal pier, and the first thing I noticed was his gear. Everything was right. Nice rods, nice reels, clean boat, organized tackle….This was a good sign. Furthermore, Adolfo and his deckhand Jesus (pronounced Hey-soos), were immediately very friendly. My Spanish is limited, but I try. Their English was limited, but they gave it their best too, always with a smile. We liked them immediately.
As we made our way out of the Bay and into the open ocean, Adolfo put us into the trough, and gave us a most comfortable ride. After a breathtaking ride along some of the prettiest beaches surrounded by dolphins and sea turtles, we arrived at the spot. As I got up to the front of the boat, I could see porpoises feeding up ahead of us, and baitfish popping along the backs of the swells just before they crashed on the sand.
I was told to cast as far as I could toward the beach, keep my rod tip up, and reel as fast as I could. After a few shots, I was beginning to feel like I had it down, but I began to worry about my wife, as I knew she wouldn’t be able to stand in the front of the boat and do this. I didn’t know that Adolfo had her hooked up with live bait, and was coaching her up on the particulars. I had one really good strike where a fish followed, crashed, and missed. It was one of the most exciting things I have done as a fisherman. On the very next cast, I hooked a smaller one and landed it a short while later. A couple of moments later, just as I was feeling bad for my wife, I look toward the stern and see a needle fish fly out of the water, and I hear Stephanie laughing. I guess she was doing just fine without me.
The next rooster crushed my white and red surface lure about five minutes later. The lures we used were not poppers as I know them as they do not have a blunt end. Rather, they look like short fat cigars that walk across the surface. This fish followed my lure this time, and I could see his rooster like fins behind the bait as it gave chase. In my life, I have never seen a more aggressive bite than this. We were locked up for the next half hour, and when we brought him aboard, I was stunned and tired. After we released him, Stephanie hooked a Jack Crevalle, and I took this time to watch her fight it. I didn’t get to rest long, as I was to tie into yet another 35 lb rooster minutes later. Unfortunately, this fish inhaled the lure and was bleeding when we landed him.
Just as I got back into position at the front of the boat, Stephanie had hooked up again. This fish was different, however, as we didn’t see him immediately. Rather, it was a run, followed by a run, followed by a run. When we did see him, we knew he was special. After about an hour, Stephanie landed a 60lb rooster, and Adolfo said “Erik, welcome to my country!”
This was quite possibly the prettiest fish either of us had seen, and we both agreed to get a replica fiberglass mount made in his honor.
I will say that I have caught marlin, halibut, salmon, and an eight foot sturgeon. These guys have nothing on the rooster. Hands down, hardest fighting fish I have ever experienced. Our totals for the day were five roosters, four needle fish, the jack, and a beautiful Dorado that probably went about ten pounds.
Adolfo is the man. He is not only an amazing fisherman, but a true gentleman. Quite simply, he is the kind of guy you want in your camp. And, he is very, very fishy. There are very few professionals out there who have “it”. This guy is one of them. The harbor is loaded with pangas and many of them charge less. Fishing with Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos was one of those experiences that was truly priceless. You can’t put a number to it. And in about three months, we will have an awesome reminder of our honeymoon hanging on our wall.
The inshore roosterfish action, especially for 30 pound plus roosters, is still the hot ticket here. It is fantastic, maintaining a 5 to 7 fish per day average per boat. The average could be higher, but there simply is not enough time in the day to catch more of these hard fighting fish, which take anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour for each one.
 |
| Stephanie with her nice rooster |
Fishing with Adolfo, on the panga Dos Hermanos, Erick and Stephanie Lansdon of Eugene, Oregon caught 5 nice roosters (with Stefanie releasing an estimated 60 pounder), a jack crevalle, and a nice dorado for dinner. On their way back to the pier, Adolfo called me on his cell phone telling me “I have a huge area of very large and very hungry gallos located…now would be the perfect time for a fly fisherman…Get me a fly fishing client!”
I lucked out and complied. Chad Hansen of Boise Idaho next fished with Adolfo. He got 3 large roosters on the fly, with one huge fish (over 60 pounds) breaking the leader near the boat.
Ed Kunze
The following is a trip report Eric Lansdon emailed me about his two day fishing experience here in Zihuatanejo:
The Day began with more than a little apprehension by my bride of a little over a week. The first day of fishing in Zihuatanejo hadn’t quite gone exactly as planned. Although I will say that the weather did not cooperate much either. We booked a trip through an online website, and as dumb Americanos, we thought we had it all figured out. The bottom line is we shouldn’t have even gone out that day. The ocean was quite similar to what I am used to fishing out of Winchester Bay Oregon in July- a rolling 6 foot swell (at times 8) with about a foot or two of wind chop. The panga we fished on the first day was not exactly the most comfortable of a ride as we plowed into the oncoming swell for quite some time. Sparing many details, I will say the fishing equipment was poor, the boat was unkempt, yet the skipper was a genuinely nice guy. We ended up with a yellowfin tuna after a couple hours, and I pulled the plug - lest I get a divorce before my honeymoon was over.
 |
| Eric |
We met Adolfo at seven at the municipal pier, and the first thing I noticed was his gear. Everything was right. Nice rods, nice reels, clean boat, organized tackle….This was a good sign. Furthermore, Adolfo and his deckhand Jesus (pronounced Hey-soos), were immediately very friendly. My Spanish is limited, but I try. Their English was limited, but they gave it their best too, always with a smile. We liked them immediately.
As we made our way out of the Bay and into the open ocean, Adolfo put us into the trough, and gave us a most comfortable ride. After a breathtaking ride along some of the prettiest beaches surrounded by dolphins and sea turtles, we arrived at the spot. As I got up to the front of the boat, I could see porpoises feeding up ahead of us, and baitfish popping along the backs of the swells just before they crashed on the sand.
I was told to cast as far as I could toward the beach, keep my rod tip up, and reel as fast as I could. After a few shots, I was beginning to feel like I had it down, but I began to worry about my wife, as I knew she wouldn’t be able to stand in the front of the boat and do this. I didn’t know that Adolfo had her hooked up with live bait, and was coaching her up on the particulars. I had one really good strike where a fish followed, crashed, and missed. It was one of the most exciting things I have done as a fisherman. On the very next cast, I hooked a smaller one and landed it a short while later. A couple of moments later, just as I was feeling bad for my wife, I look toward the stern and see a needle fish fly out of the water, and I hear Stephanie laughing. I guess she was doing just fine without me.
 |
| Adolfo, Stefhanie, and Mr. Jack Crevalle |
The next rooster crushed my white and red surface lure about five minutes later. The lures we used were not poppers as I know them as they do not have a blunt end. Rather, they look like short fat cigars that walk across the surface. This fish followed my lure this time, and I could see his rooster like fins behind the bait as it gave chase. In my life, I have never seen a more aggressive bite than this. We were locked up for the next half hour, and when we brought him aboard, I was stunned and tired. After we released him, Stephanie hooked a Jack Crevalle, and I took this time to watch her fight it. I didn’t get to rest long, as I was to tie into yet another 35 lb rooster minutes later. Unfortunately, this fish inhaled the lure and was bleeding when we landed him.
Just as I got back into position at the front of the boat, Stephanie had hooked up again. This fish was different, however, as we didn’t see him immediately. Rather, it was a run, followed by a run, followed by a run. When we did see him, we knew he was special. After about an hour, Stephanie landed a 60lb rooster, and Adolfo said “Erik, welcome to my country!”
This was quite possibly the prettiest fish either of us had seen, and we both agreed to get a replica fiberglass mount made in his honor.
I will say that I have caught marlin, halibut, salmon, and an eight foot sturgeon. These guys have nothing on the rooster. Hands down, hardest fighting fish I have ever experienced. Our totals for the day were five roosters, four needle fish, the jack, and a beautiful Dorado that probably went about ten pounds.
Adolfo is the man. He is not only an amazing fisherman, but a true gentleman. Quite simply, he is the kind of guy you want in your camp. And, he is very, very fishy. There are very few professionals out there who have “it”. This guy is one of them. The harbor is loaded with pangas and many of them charge less. Fishing with Adolfo on the Dos Hermanos was one of those experiences that was truly priceless. You can’t put a number to it. And in about three months, we will have an awesome reminder of our honeymoon hanging on our wall.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
pack it up
The Mogan Man hits the road again this week and he's bringing as many friends as he can with him. First stop, Bradenton for the Mogan Tour. Next weekend, everyone we know is flash mobbing Jensen Beach for that wacky weekend we call Mogan Mania. Pack your bags and come along for the ride!
Let the countdown begin! Mogan Mania is only a week away. Can you stand it? Mogan Maniacs from near and far will pour into River Palm Cottages next Friday to spend a weekend full of friendly fishing fun and festivities. Everyone is invited, so just show up! There's the Meet & Greet Happy Hour on Friday, Family Fun Fishing Showdown Saturday morning, with the Feast and awards party that evening. The Feast is a potluck style dinner so bring your best concoction and a huge appetite! Sunday morning there's usually a coffee gathering at the Chickee to say good-byes before departing for a last minute fishing trip or long trip home. The weekend is a flash in the pan but the memories last a lifetime!
There's still work to be done before we go on vacation. We're bringing the Mogan Tour to Dick's Sporting Goods in Bradenton this Saturday 11am – 4 pm. Come out and meet the AF Crew and get an autographed picture from the Mogan Man himself. We'll have some FREE stuff! Don't forget to drop off your $10 donation to Project Snook and get a bottle of Blair's Boat Wash from Star brite. Pick up a $10 coupon before heading to the checkout lane and save some cash.
Another one of the Mogan Lounge Lizards graces the Mogan of the Week. He just bought a 7'6" Flats Blue rod last week and is already puttin' a whoopin' on the local redfish population. Colby Price, thanks for livening up the Lounge! We always look forward to your contributions of pictures and fish tales.
Packin' a few extra tail feathers,
BillBird
Summer Time, the livin is easy!
So for the past few weeks the summer livin has been easy! Lots of good fishing and good fun! There's no doubt it's been hot, but the fish have had cool squirts of water on them every day and has kept them active. The river has stayed with a pretty medium flow to it with some windows of lower water. We've been clobbering them on attractors and soft hackles. The streamer bite has been great in periods of low light as well and on occasion fish have been willing to eat a dry. Here are a few pictures of some boys and girls who have been enjoying the summer bite. As we creep into August and September the hopper bite should get great. The higher flows are truly to our advantage if you want to try and fool some fish 
on the surface with foam and rubber! In addition, the Hybrids are surfacing on Greers Ferry and feeding hard on threadfin. So, dont forget there is some awesome fishing to be done the rest of the summer!
on the surface with foam and rubber! In addition, the Hybrids are surfacing on Greers Ferry and feeding hard on threadfin. So, dont forget there is some awesome fishing to be done the rest of the summer!
The Snortle Strikes
GULPER GONE DOWN ?
Seek 'Em With A Snortle
fish seem to eat when they can
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.. Light is penetrating the water just fine but, the Pac-Fish action is just now becoming apparent. This is probably because weed beds are just a bit deep for the sensitive bugs that inhabit them to be awakened by the requisite photo-period for maximum intense activity... The wind has been coming on strong a skosh early too. So action is truncated by less than desirable conditions earlier in the mid morning than most fishers would like.
.. All is not lost if the gulpers abandon the surface. Stay with your selected weed forest and go down. Traditionally, the neighbors use small buggers, leeches, and the local favorite the Snortle.
--The Snortle, (spelling can vary,) is a typical silli-legs pattern that is tied variously by different artisans. The recipe for the one shown above is:
Tail: 2 silli-legs about the length of the hook,
Body: peach Antron ribbed with scarlet Antron twisted on top,
Thorax: coarse hare's mask with two pair of silli-legs,
Hook size: 8, (unusual,) to 14, (a tough proposition.)
.. The most common variation is like the standard variety with black wool yarn substituted for the scarlet Antron. Some of the neighbors use a copper or lead wire under-body.
.. The fly is fished on a short, (5 or 6 foot leader and counted down to the weed tops or sides of the subterranean forest. A slow herky-jerky retrieve is the common action used. Brave and intrepid fishers let it sink into the edge of a weed bed and retrieve with a 2" - 3" motion with a 5 or 6 second pause in between.
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