Another Rare Louvar Found off of Cabo San Lucas

Here are some photos of the louvar taken by the Tracy Ann on Monday, different angle.  Robert Lee from Plano, Texas was on board as Julio and Martin headed out in search of marlin, they had studied the Terrafin water temperatures and decided that 35 miles out would be a good spot. When they got out to their chosen fishing spot, it was super calm, the water almost looked oily, which is why they were able to spot something shimmering about half a mile away. At first they thougth it was turtle and started heading towards it. As they drew closer they saw a striped marlin that was circling the shimmering creature, it would circle and then close in. Knowing a good opportunity they cast a live bait to the marlin and registered a solid hook up, it took about 25 minutes to release the striper. Julio commented "the marlin are very strong right now, they are eating big, big squid, that hardly fits in their throat". Once the marlin was safely released, they turned their attention to the odd creature which was alive but fading fast. They brought it on board knowing that it was not going to survive. They had never seen anything like it, "it looked like a little alien" Julio said. He thinks a blue marlin may have attacked it and that the striped marlin might have tried to eat it too, but it was way too large for a striper to swallow. Nevertheless, the skin stripped away could definitely have been done with a marlin bill. They brought it back to port where it is stashed in our freezer awaiting the arrival of scientists from our state capital of La Paz, who would like to have some tissue samples. This is only the third louvar we have seen in 30 years.

HOME WATERS

A PROMISE OF SPRING

Myakka Minnow works well, but some want to change it

The Mighty Myakka Minnow can be tied in a variety of colors and works whenever fish are feeding on minnows.

I get a kick out of people critiquing flies.

Don't get me wrong. They have that right. This is America. Isn't it?

Several years ago, I designed a small, epoxy minnow fly that has performed very well for me. Since its inception, I have caught thousands of fish on my Mighty Myakka Minnow.

Everglades oscars are suckers for Myakka Minnows

If you don't know the story, I came up with the fly after a very frustrating day on the Myakka River. I was casting a small popping bug to fish that were busting minnows along the shoreline. I couldn't draw even remote interest.

When I got home, I was determined to come up with a small, inch-long minnow imitation. I fiddled with several designs before finally settling on one. I've tweaked it over the years, but it has remained virtually the same.

I launched my kayak on the Myakka River a few days later and again was greeted by busting fish. This time, however, the results were different. I began catching bass and bluegill.

Since then, I have caught a variety of fish on the Myakka Minnow: bass, bluegill, shellcracker, stumpknocker, speckled perch, redbreast sunfish. tilapia, channel catfish, bullhead, oscar, Mayan cichlid, peacock bass and gar in fresh water.

Bass dig the minnow, too!

The fly has also taken snook, spotted seatrout, redfish, Spanish mackerel, bluefish, ladyfish, mangrove snapper, pinfish, grunt, little tunny and tarpon in salt water.

I've also heard it has taken rainbow trout, brown trout and salmon.

Since the pattern can be tied on any size hook, you can make it fit your needs.

However, some people are hellbent on changing it.

"I see you clip the marabou tail very short," wrote one critic. "I would leave the marabou long so that it would  offer a little more action."

Hmmm. Interesting point.

"Instead of Body Braid, I would use mylar tubing," wrote another.

"How about using Krystal Flash as the tail?" one fly fisher posted in a forum. "I think the flash would attract more fish."

I wonder if they want to modify Lefty's Deceiver? Or Del's Merkin?

I bet not.

Now, I'm not even intimating I'm in the class of Lefty Kreh, Del Brown or Tim Borski. However, I do tie some fish-catching flies that stand on their own.

And the Myakka Minnow has caught fish for anglers in Florida, North Carolina, Texas, California, Michigan, Ohio, New York, the Bahamas, Grand Cayman, Mexico and other places.

What more do you want?

I had a fly fisher from somewhere in the Midwest a few years ago. We were fishing a local river. I was catching some mighty nice bluegill on the Myakka Minnow while his popping bug was being ignored.

"I have plenty of Myakka Minnows if you'd like to try one," I offered.

He declined, but changed his mind after I caught three more jumbo bluegills over the next couple of minutes.

I cut his popper off and tied on a Myakka Minnow. But instead of catch fish on it, he made two casts, cut it off and retied the popper.

Go figure.

On another trip, I was fishing with fellow who wasn't having much luck while I was catching and releasing a good number of bluegill on the Myakka Minnow. I offered him one, but he declined. I must have caught at least 15 more before we decided to paddle back to the launch to call it day.

"Say, could I buy a dozen of those minnows off you?" he said.

I didn't have a dozen with me, but I tied up a dozen when I got home a sent them to him.

You would have thought he would have tried them on the water.

The Myakka Minnow works. And it catches lots of fish. Any time the fish are feeding on small minnows, it's effective.

There are days when I catch a majority of my fish on it. There are days when I don't use it. But isn't that like all flies?

The Myakka Minnows is not magic. You won't catch fish on it every cast. You won't catch fish on it every trip. But there are times when it will be the only fly that will produce.

For panfish, I tie it on a No. 10 nymph hook. I use monofilament thread. The tail is a short clump of marabou. I tie the marabou in and clip it. I then add 8 to 12 wraps of .20 lead wire. Then I'll tie in the Body Braid just in front of the tail and wind if forward, building up a minnow shape. I will wrap the braid  back and forth a couple of times.

When I achieve the minnow shape I want, I add 3D prism eyes and coat the minnow with Devcon 2-Ton epoxy. I usually epoxy at least a half dozen Myakka Minnows at a time.

I've found that the 2-Ton epoxy works best. If you use 5-minute epoxy, you can only coat one or two flies at a time.

Of course, I have a fly turner to help in the process. The flies must be turned on a rotisserie device so that the epoxy dries evenly.

When fishing the fly, I cast it out and let it sink. I then begin a slow retrieve with my rod tip pointing down the line. I watch the end of the fly line for any sign of a strike.  It seems like the slower I'm able to work the Myakka Minnow, the more effective it is.

Doesn't matter, however, how you work it. If you're catching fish, just keep doing it.

GIBBY'S MIGHTY MYAKKA MINNOW

1. Hook: Bass Pro White River 396 nymph hook No. 10

2. Thread: fine mono

3. Tail: short clump of marabou

4. Weight: .20 lead wire

5. Body: Body Braid by Spirit river

6. Eyes: 3D prism stick-on

7. Coating: Devon 2-Ton Epoxy

HOFP Night with Chef Todd!

If you are reading this blog than Chef Todd cordially invites you to his Wild Game Appetizers and Open House at the newly renovated Hooked On Fishing Park Clubhouse in East Peoria On Tuesday night April 2nd from 4-8 pm!


He is cooking up a wild game appetizer feast that consists of:
Grilled baja fish tacos
Snow goose and Italian sausage stuffed mushrooms
Blueberry and blue cheese venison sliders
Fulton Co. wild turkey egg rolls with sweet chili glaze

Also we will have brats, hot dogs, and s'mores y'all can cook over the big camp fire outside or take hot off the grill...

So just to repeat here are the details:
Chef Todd Open House at Hooked on Fishing Park
Tuesday April 2, 4-8 Pm
1807 N. Main St, East Peoria, IL right next to Dixon’s Seafood Shoppe.

 Also that night we will have information about our volunteer round up program.
Are you looking for a fun and rewarding volunteer position? Do you enjoy fishing? Do you like working with kids, senior citizens, and disadvantaged individuals?
Hooked on Fishing will hold orientation for people interested in being volunteers during the 2013 season. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, you are invited to come to the park at 10 a.m. on either Saturday, March 30 or Saturday, April 6. The orientation will include a description of volunteer positions in the areas of fishing helper, park maintenance, fundraising, and other duties around the fish park. All applicants for volunteer positions will be background checked.

More information about Hooked on Fishing can be found on our website www.hookedonfishingpark.org

Please call 309-219-3560 for more information, or email us at Hookedonfishingpark@gmail.com.

If you are unable to attend either of our orientations, please contact us so we can make alternate arrangements.

As you can see, we are able to take lots of kids fishing at the park each summer!!


Along with eating some good grub and checking out the new clubhouse and learning more about volunteer opportunities, you will have an opportunity to win via silent auction one or more of these awesome guided fishing trips from local fishing experts at the best places to fish in Illinois:

Guided multi species trip by Paul Center to Lake Bloomington or Everygreen Lake

Guided bass fishing trip with Bass Pro Fish guru Chad Fargher to private water

Fulton Co strip mine bass fishing with Kelly Presley

Trophy Crappie with Brad Belser at private lake

Fishing with John Graham. Fly fishing or river small mouth

Fish the "Rock" with Chris Rock for trophy bass

Illinois Land Company mystery lake trip, private waters galore with big fish!

Knox county private water self guided bass fishing trip for BIG bass

Ultimate multi species trip with Herman Brother's Lake Management

On the water with two elite High School Anglers. Private waters for big bass

Bass fishing with Bob Rask for trophy bass

Guided Otter Creek bass fishing

 Memorial Day Weekend at Otter Creek. 8hrs, Limit 10 boats, 2 per boat, $450/boat. Lunch included and prepared by Chef Todd. May 25th

Chef Todd cooking event at the Hooked on Fishing facility. Great for company gatherings!






So there you have it, tons of info packed into one little blog post, but hopefully the info was presented well enough to entice you guys to come on down and hang out with us at the park in east peoria from 4-8 pm!

When the action slows, go deep for fast, freshwater action

This Manatee River speckled perch was taken on a No. 12 nymph under a strike indicator by Patrick O'Connor.

I'm not your typical Florida fly fisher.

When I'm not guiding, I like to head for a local lake or stream to fly fish for bluegill.

Many anglers turn up their collective noses when it comes to fly fishing fresh water for panfish.

They want the big boys: snook, redfish, tarpon, bonefish, permit.

I like those species, too. But I also find casting a light fly rod for bluegill, shellcracker, speckled perch  bass and channel catfish to be very fun -- and challenging.

Patrick O'Connor with a fly-rod channel catfish.

My favorite spots to fish are Lake Manatee, the Manatee River, Myakka River, Braden River, Evers Reservoir , Upper Myakka Lake and the Nine Mile Canal (North Port).

My fly fishing days in Florida go back to the 1970s. Back then, I cast popping bugs until the bite ended. When that happened it was time to go home.

There's nothing better than a panfish or bass busting a popper on the surface. But I don't think it makes too much sense to continue casting a surface fly when the topwater bite has ended.

That's the time to change tactics.

I learned long ago that when the topwater bite ends, the subsurface action is just beginning. Switching to sinking flies has extended my hours on the water and increased my productivity.

When it comes to subsurface fly fishing, I like three flies: 1. Gibby's Mighty Myakka Minnow; 2. Gibby's Aunt Sara's Homely Daughter Nymph, 3. scuds.

A beefy bluegill on a nymph.

Carry those three flies and that's all you'll ever need.

A recent trip to the Manatee River is a perfect example.

Patrick O'Connor of North Port, a fly-fishing junkie, joined me a half hour beforee daylight. We launched our Native Watercraft kayaks at Ray's Canoe Hideaway (1247 Hagle Park Road) just as it was beginning to get light.

We paddled upriver, stopping occasionally to cast poppers around fallen trees or other structure.

Our hands were numb as we paddled or fished in the 47-degree air. It became obvious that it was too cold for the fish to rise to a surface fly.

We moved into an oxbox in the river, and O'Connor began casting a No. 12 nymph under a strike indicator.

That's just what the fish wanted. He caught a few bluegill and a channel cat.

I switched to one of my Aunt Sara's Homely Daughter Nymphs and immediately began catching fish. In fact, I landed 15 or more of the biggest bluegill I've caught in a long, long time. Manatee River bluegill are consistently among the largest around. They're thick, lengthy and great fighters.

Aunt Sara's Homely Daughter Nymphs

I also landed a small bass and a channel cat.

"I've never caught a speckled perch in the river, " I said. "But I would think this would be the spot for them."

Would you believe O'Connor caught a speck on his next cast?

"Amazing," he said, as he landed the 11-inch black crappie.

When that bite slowed, we moved back into the main river for the paddle back to Ray's. We fished fallen trees and other shoreline structure. We landed five out of eight channel cats and a few big bluegill.

The Manatee River has a good population of channel catfish -- and they'll hit a fly. I've caught loads of channel cats over the years. Most have been taken on the Myakka Minnow or nymph.

On this outing, the fish average about 2 pounds. But I've landed catfish to 7 pounds. And I've lost many larger fish. The trouble is that I usually use light fly rods and tippets. I have a difficult time when a big cat inhales one of my flies.

For most of my freshwater fishing, I use light fly rods. I employ a 1-weight rod for nymph fishing. I will cast a popper on a 2-weight. I use a 3-weight for the Myakka Minnow. All of my rods feature full floating lines and 7 1/2-foot leaders.

I fished Lake Manatee recently with mixed results. Pro fly-fisher Joe Mahler drove up from Sanibel Island to join me. We both thought we were in for a great day when we found a school of big bass busting golden shiners along the shoreline.

I got a hit the first cast on a popping bug. I missed the fish, but quickly hooked up on my second cast. When the fish jumped, I knew I was in for a battle. The bass weighed at least 5 pounds. The bass made a lengthy  run, then threw the hook on its second jump.

Mahler hooked a big fish, but eventually lost it. And a second big bass pulled off a few minutes late.

The bass continued to herd minnows along the shoreline, but were oblivious to our offerings thereafter.

When we left the bass and began probing for panfish the action was very slow. I caught a stumpknocker and decent bluegill before we headed up the lake to another spot.

Mahler landed a small bass in a spot that usually yields nice bluegill. That turned out to be the only fish he landed.

Using the nymph and later Myakka Minnow, I landed 15 more bluegill and a beefy blue tilapia before we called it a day.

"Next time, I'll take you up on the offer of one of those nymphs," Mahler said.

Nymph fishing just isn't a cold-water tactic for trout.

It works great on Florida bluegill, shellcracker, speckled perch and channel catfish.

Fishing Roundup

March 16 to 22nd, 2013

Overall Catch Success Rate 90%
 Numbers at a glance: Billfish 13%, Tuna 54%, Dorado 29%, Small Game 19%

Twist and Shout! Beautiful Striped Marlin hooked aboard Valerie

 

BILLFISH: March is notoriously slow for marlin, but we have had some obliging fish that have stuck around, resulting in some nice catches. All the marlin catches were in the calmer seas of the Cortez with Punta Gorda proving to be one of the best areas. March 20th was surprisingly good for some boats, when Pisces Bill Collector had five striped marlin and boated a dorado for John Davies and Brian Rodgers from Minnesota. This same day Tracy Ann released three stripers for long time Pisces client Steve Roorda from Minneapolis – the fish were from 120 to 140 lbs. and took live mackerel.  Next day out Pisces Adriana had two marlin and a dorado, also at Punta Gorda for Tammie Rydberg & Shelly Anderson from Minnesota – go girls! Bill Collector didn’t miss a beat and went on to release three striped marlin this day for Robert Thurgood from Dallas, who fished with Chris Vansumeron from Bay City, Michigan. The big billfish story this week though was the one that got away (isn’t always). Shawn Promer, Scott Murphy & Paul Bloch are from the colder climes of Wisconsin and headed to Cabo where they booked Pisces 31 ft. Bertram La Brisa. They had heard that the tuna bite was good and headed out offshore, twenty nine miles in fact, to a place known as the 240 spot. They soon loaded up with twenty tunas in the 10 to 20 lb. class and also managed to hook and boat a 20 lb. dorado, when deckhand Salvador spotted a swordfish on the surface, quickly put a live mackerel on his bait rod and cast it expertly to the slow moving fish. Within seconds he had a hook up and the battle began……it lasted five hours, until the approximate 350 lb. fish was lost and swam down to deeper water. Frustrating, but a great adventure giving these guys a story to tell back on land, plus they had the consolation of the fish boated earlier in the day; perhaps not quite as tasty as the swordfish, but nevertheless plenty of fillets to take home. The marlin bite was not consistent and again this week, many boats preferred to try for tuna, which had better odds. With the moon getting bigger every night and the wind picking up, we may be in for a few tough days, but then again this is Cabo – anything can happen. Thirteen percent of our boats caught striped marlin between 100 and 150 lbs. resulting in a total of sixteen marlin released.

Tuna were the number one catch again, this week we totaled 531.

OTHER SPECIES: Yellow fin tuna catches retained the top spot again this week in Cabo, with our total fish count not as high at last week but nevertheless pretty good with 531 fish caught. The sizes on the tuna are still of school size at 10 to 25 lbs. with cedar plugs proving to be unbeatable in getting them to bite. They were found in various places such as San Jaime and off of the Old Lighthouse & even 40 miles off of Lands End. Top tuna boat this week was Rebecca, with 35 fish caught, some released on March 22nd at San Jaime for Kevin Powers and friends from Klamath Falls, Oregon.  Dorado catches were had by twenty nine percent of the boats, but when found they were seldom more than one or two fish, picked up trolling. Pisces Andrea had four up to 20 lbs., plus a striped marlin released for Javier Caldera from Irving, Texas. Inshore not much was happening for the boats, with just a few skipjacks.

Rene Perez from Tijuana did extremely well to catch this 18 lb dorado from the beach.

SURF FISHING: We had four surf fishing trips this week with Wesley that produced 12 jack crevalle, 12 sierra and 1 dorado. The jack crevalle were up to 20 lbs. The dorado was caught by Rene Perez from Tijuana, a significant catch from the beach.  The fish weighed approximately 18 lbs. and took a Shimano Orca lure. The dorado was chasing ballyhoo and probably didn’t even know it was hooked as Rene had it up on the beach so fast. Guide Wesley told us that he had “only once caught a dorado from the beach” himself and was pretty amazed at Rene’s catch.
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Clear sunny skies, windy most days, seas on the Pacific choppy.
AVERAGE WATER TEMP: 66-67 F
BEST LURES: Live mackerel, cedar plugs, and feathers.
Based on the catches of Pisces by Tracy Ehrenberg

Fire, Apples, and Trophy Trout

Saturday was by far the best outdoor day of the year! The wind was calm, the sun was shining, and and we got er done....had a big list to chew off so I spent Friday night laying it out as best as humanly possible.

So I guess I'll back up to Friday night late and this guy was riding shotgun with me. We were delivering a couple deer heads and a bunch of trout fishing gear and supplies to a client out in the country...


Saturday morning I started out at a prescribed burn clinic with the Peoria County SWCD. Here are some pics:





From there I made it out to help the guys plant 70 apple trees at our hunting farm near Ellisville:


Actually it was many varieties of apples, pears and persimmon trees. Each tree gets caged individually for protection from the deer and the white tree guards will stay on for about another month for protection from rabbits and mice.


So then I had to fly to Brimfield for some trophy trout fishing for an awesome fishing/eating event. En Route I stopped at ACE hardware in Farmington to grab some last minute fishing supplies and right next door is a grocery store so I picked up some corn and chicken liver and some last minute grocery items....

At 4 pm I made it to Brimfield and kicked off the trout fishing party! Our goal was to catch enough trout to feed 30 people....its a good thing the trout were biting, cause there were more like 40 people or more showing up for dinner:

Trent started off by landing this monster:


Rand followed it up with a beast of his own:


Pretty much everyone got in on the fish catching action:





Chef Todd was busy, so instead of pulling this off by myself, I just put all the guests to work cleaning the fish, prepping the veggies, mixing the trout chowder, wrapping the fish stuffed with veggies and bacon with aluminum foil and even grilling too... Assembly line delegation at its finest:




So every speck of food was gobbled up! Right there is a perfect example of enjoying a 1/3 acre fishing pond for fishing, food, fun, and fellowship! Everyone had a blast from start to finish and many kids caught there first fish and definitely cleaned and prepped their first fish...There will be many more fun fish fry's from this little pond throughout the year...next one will be during mushroom season......bluegills and mushrooms....

So I packed about as much as humanly possibly can be packed into one day in the great outdoors! Was just an awesome day that was topped off with some late night NCAA basketball. I was pretty tired during that last game....

Actually Saturday capped off a pretty awesome week in general. We picked up a load of Apple and Pear trees on Tuesday down in Missouri.


Allen and I installed a bunch down in Southern Illinois Wed and Thurs while Justin and Jared were installing orchards in Henry, IL and Canton, IL:


I have some real good clients down in Southern Illinois who have become really good friends! They have a little guesthouse tucked in the woods that we stay at every chance we get. Which is really convenient cause we go through their zone several times each year. Anyhow what I am getting at is we stop in every chance we get, cause Connie is literally one of the best cooks on the planet. Seriously no one compares to a full course Connie dinner.

Chef Todd is tops when it comes to wild game and fish, but he admittingly lacks in the dessert category. I turned off my diet for Wednesday evening! After Chicken Cordon Blue, almond bacon green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, and glazed carrots, we had to decide between cherry or peanut butter pie....Im not good with such decisions, how can you choose just one?


Despite my little feast on Wednesday, I have been working out with my fam 3 days a week and am down 21 lbs in exactly 30 days....I am feeling stronger than ever and the extra energy is definitely an added bonus to eating all those fruits and veggies....

The snow today is definitely a downer, but I've already rerouted our early week plans and will be rockin full throttle once this stuff melts off!