http://www.fishingclub.com RSS feeds for North American Fishing Club 60 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2806/so-what-about-sunday-march-20th#Comments 0 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=94&ModuleID=464&ArticleID=2806 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2806&PortalID=0&TabID=94 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2806/so-what-about-sunday-march-20th Why do you ask?   Well, it was the last day where we had decent sunshine, calm winds and a reasonable 48 degree day and, finally, 99% of the ice off the rivers and ponds up here in Massachusetts. Lakes are still pretty thick, but they're coming right along. Match this with water at 48 degrees in the river channels and 50 degrees on the flats and that's not bad for the day before the first day of Spring. And also the day before what was to be a full ten days of temperatures ranging from mid 30s with snow to low 40s with wind and rain and mostly clouds. Yikes! It's as if winter gave us Sunday March 20th as a spring tease (maybe I should call it a preview) and then just rolled right back over us to assert itself as it has been doing all season.   Needless to say, the weather has been big news in New England this winter with record snow falls, municipal plowing budgets being blow up on a regular basis, ski resort sales records and bad backs aplenty from snow shoveling, And oh!, a new sport for you homeowners. Roof snow shoveling! You too can either pay a four digit sum or risk your life to insure your house won't cave in. Gee, isn't New England wonderful!/   The answer is: Yes, it is. It really is. It comes in the form of Sunday, March 20th. The first day of fishing for this fisherman, in 2011.   I arrived at the launch about 3:30pm as the warmest temperatures for the day were set to occur between 3 and 6 o'clock. And there, at the launch area to greet me, was a nice big snow bank, still persisting but not presenting an obstacle to the ramp as it had on a visit a few weeks earlier to gauge conditions on the late winter river. Looks like my timing is okay. In a less confident moment, I may think I'm over eager and pushing my luck. I still have to maneuver the trailer to get to the ramp, but since I've already shoveled my way to Buffalo and back on my driveway at home, I'm happy I don't need to shovel just to launch my boat.   Launching the boat off the trailer is most often a routine matter and would have been had I worn some knee high muck boots. With the water levels at their Spring measure, the back half of the truck was in water so I had to do some delicate work to avoid stepping into the 48 degree water with my ankle high shoes... I was not successful. Left foot wet and cold. Okay. I'll take note, muck boots would have made the event take half as long and, by the way, dry.   Once out on the water the air was cool but the lack of wind and good sunshine felt wonderful. My first task was the run the 60hp EFI 4-stroke outboard to see how it's winter storage faired. I'm happy to report, all is quite well with the Merc as it was running like the day I bought it. An even and quiet idle, and a nice roll into the power as the throttle is gently brought up. I never cease to marvel at the engineering and precision built into modern outboards.   This is setting up to be a good day! No shoveling needed, the motor's runnin' great, if the fish have begun their movement into the slowly warming flats, we might actually have a heck of a day on our hands.   First stop a small shallow flats area that you could call a mini-oxbow. On the outer seem of the flat at the river's edge, there's shoreline made up of grasses and brush with openings on either side large enough for my boat move through. Using the trolling motor I silently glide over the less than 2 foot bottom which appears brown and stubby as all the water plants are still in their winter slumber. I start with a perch pattern 2 inch split back Rapala crank bait. Working a very slow retrieve with the occasional 'are you home?' pause, the answer comes back 'I'm not home.' Hmmm, am I too early? So I change to a firetiger pattern crank and work that, hoping the eye-popping colors will spark interest where the more natural perch pattern leaves them sleeping. 'I'm not home' comes the answer to the firetiger... okay what about a 3/16 oz white/chartreuse spinner bait with the classic nickel/Colorado and copper/Willow blades? 'I'm not home.'  Looks like this flat is yet to get it's tenants, move-in day is still some number of days off. So I head up river to the next flats area, this one about twice the size of the first flat I visited, but no real structure around it except for a tree line along it's northern border and low lying scrub on the southern side which borders the main river. Again, no one home while working the perch and firetiger baits. I put the spinner bait away since it's just too early for this bait which runs much fastern than the crank baits. In this early season, slow, slow, slow is the pattern.   Then, up to the main flats area, about an acre in size, which is big for a flat off this river in central Massachusetts. There's a nice island in the middle and a weed filled hump that just reaches the surface over in the northeast corner. And so I work the edges all around the perimeter of the flat and in and around the hump area where in year's past some of the largest bass on the flat are caught. It seems the bass are just not home yet. Still in their winter slumber, or should I say 'vacation' homes?   It's getting toward 6pm and the sun, while still up and shining, is moving into the tree tops and so the chill is a bit colder although it's very nice when I face the sun. This time of year, being in shade is a wholly different experience than being in the sun. Coming right up to the inside of the island on the flat I begin long slow retrieves with the firetiger Rapala and sure enough, just like he was waiting for me, big bump! A healthy and very cold, 22" pickerel saying 'I'm home!'. He's trying his best to scrub the bait off on the bottom weeds but they're just not thick enough but when I lift him from the water via thumb and forefinger behind the gill plates, there's a nice clump of brown muck on the bait. Now this is spring fishing in New England! It appears the pickerel are staging in the middle of the flat and have not yet moved towards the shorelines to begin their spring feeding, certainly a sign that the bait fish haven't gotten going yet either. But, following what appears to be an emerging pattern for the pickerel, I continue the slow retrieve with the firetiger Rapala and thump, this is a fish, but it doesn't feel quite like a pickerel. Looks like his neighbor, the yellow perch has moved in. And what a perch! Almost 14 inches long and a solid 2 pounds, this has to be the largest perch I've caught in many years. This is clearly a spawning perch with it's belly all fattened up and private parts swollen and red. This female has been laying eggs. So I carefully remove the hook and return her to the water, none the worse for wear. Continuing with my slow retrieve I manage to catch two more perch of the same large size and spawning color and one more good size pickerel. All in all, quite a good day in the neighborhood!   Alas, the sun is now well below the tree line and the 48 degree air is now dropping quickly into the 30s... time to head home. The outboard starts right up and steady but slowly, I make my way up river to the launch. Yes, it was a typical early and cold spring day in New England, but I'm warmed by the sun on my face and my neighbors, who have given me their river welcome, 'Yes, we're home'!               blincoln Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:56:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2806 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2740/pennaz-post-giant-trout-huge-bass-and-ice#Comments 0 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=94&ModuleID=464&ArticleID=2740 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2740&PortalID=0&TabID=94 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2740/pennaz-post-giant-trout-huge-bass-and-ice I spoke to my father-in-law over the weekend. He and his bride of 50-plus years are wintering on the Texas Gulf Coast, like they have for the past several years. And he and I share fishing reports on a weekly basis, much like Hank Jr's buddy from New York in a "Country Boy Can Survive" would share.      "I had a good friend in New York City He never called me by my name, just hillbilly My grandpa taught me how to live off the land And his taught him to be a businessman He used to send me pictures of the Broadway nights And I’d send him some homemade wine."   Richard tells me about fishing reds and sheepshead and I'd whine about how cold it is back home.   But Saturday he through me for a loop. Seems that he caught a whale of a seatrout on his favorite gold spoon. "It went 29 and a half inches," he told me. "After I released it I learned it may have been a bay record," he said with a chuckle.   I'm also getting tremendous reports on the bass spawn from across the South. And hear there's an incredible tarpon bite shaping up in the Keys (call Capt. Jim Willcox in Islamorada for more details--305-393-1128).   Meanwhile I look out my back door to see trucks still scampering across the lake I call home. A note to local fish---I'm sharpen hooks and rigging gear; fishing will soon be here.  -- North American Fishing Club Executive Director Steve Pennaz hosts the Club's TV show, "North American Fisherman," which airs Saturdays at 6 a.m. on Versus.   NAFC Social Media Editor Wed, 16 Mar 2011 13:35:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2740 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2717/pennaz-post-fishings-hottest-secret#Comments 3 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=94&ModuleID=464&ArticleID=2717 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2717&PortalID=0&TabID=94 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2717/pennaz-post-fishings-hottest-secret Know up front that the headline above was stolen from an article by Byron Scott with the same title that appeared in the February 1956 edition of Outdoor Life. Despite its age, I am fascinated by the piece. Did you know that media around Possum Kingdom Lake in Texas (roughly 70 miles west of Forth Worth) used to provide regular reports on the lake’s thermocline? In fact, the following is an edited radio report from August 1954:   “Here is the thermocline report from Possum Kingdom Lake . The minor temperature break is at nine feet and the major temperature break is at 36 feet. This information is supplied by the Possum Kingdom Association’s Thermocline Station. Anglers are advised to fish from the surface down to 8 feet for largemouth bass and at 17 feet for crappie.” I find it interesting that 57 years after this radio report was broadcast, anglers still struggle to understand the thermocline’s impact on fish position after it forms during the warmer months of the year. This video from bass pro Stacy King does a superb job explaining the thermocline http://www.versus.com/fishing/videos/the-thermo-what so I encourage you to invest a few minutes to watch it. This information simple wasn’t available to anglers a couple generations ago, which is why I found this piece to be so ground breaking for the era in which it ran. The thermocline report was developed as a means to improve fishing success of Possum Kingdom Lake anglers whose success rates dropped as the water warmed. In February 1954, Texas Game & Fish Commission (now Texas Parks & Wildlife Department) biologist Robert Hambric told members of the Possum Kingdom Association of a new $225 thermometer developed to accurately measure water temps at any depth. He theorized that both temperature and water chemical make-up would provide clues to fish position once the thermocline formed each spring.   So the lake association ponied up the money for the new thermometer and the Hambric began to gather data all hoped would help improve both knowledge of fish behavior and fishing success. The media reports were a byproduct of the resulting research. The author credits the thermocline information with helping him and other area anglers catch more fish, and when you think about it, the information provided would be nearly as valuable today as it was in grandpa’s time (sonar wasn’t around then). Knowing the position of the thermocline allows you eliminate vast amounts of water quickly (no fish can live in the oxygen-free water below the thermocline).  Like I said, fascinating stuff!   -- Steve Pennaz NAFC Social Media Editor Fri, 11 Mar 2011 20:55:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2717 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2693/missouri-water-temps#Comments 1 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=94&ModuleID=464&ArticleID=2693 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2693&PortalID=0&TabID=94 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2693/missouri-water-temps Water temperatures have finally reached the 40 degree mark here in Missouri. Lots of rain has made things difficult but the fishing is really going to pick up in the next couple weeks. The truth is cranking and spinner baits may rule here very soon. Hope to get busy and rip some lip in the near future. If anyone is ever going to hit up some Missouri waterways shoot me a message and I can for sure give out some pointers as I am on several streams and lakes throughout the year. MissouriBronzeBacks Sun, 06 Mar 2011 00:23:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2693 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2718/pennaz-post-background-on-national-saltwater-anglers-registry#Comments 0 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=94&ModuleID=464&ArticleID=2718 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2718&PortalID=0&TabID=94 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2718/pennaz-post-background-on-national-saltwater-anglers-registry The 2006 Reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) included a provision establishing a federal registry of saltwater anglers in order to improve recreational saltwater fishing data collection. The registry’s predecessor, the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey, randomly sampled coastal residents about their saltwater fishing efforts. The new national angler registry is intended to target only those people that have identified themselves as saltwater anglers. This should result in more accurate harvest data which will help improve management of our marine resources. You are exempt from having to register if you, 1. Hold a saltwater from a state with a qualified registry program (all but Hawaii and U.S. Virgin Islands are included); 2. Fish for or are likely to catch fish that live in the ocean but spawn in fresh water; 3. Fish federal waters more than three miles from the ocean shore; 4. Only fish on licensed charter or guide boats; 5. Hold a Highly Migratory Species Angling Permit or 6. Fish under a subsistence fishing license or permit. To register go to www.countMyFish.noaa.gov or call 888-674-7411 between the hours of 4:00 am to midnight EST. Operators are standing by seven days a week for your convenience. You’ll be required to provide your name, date of birth, address and telephone number, after which you will receive a registration number that will allow you to begin fishing immediately.  Residents will pay as little as $0 for a qualified (New Jersey) to at least as high $43.46 (California), while nonresidents can get by with about as low $15 (Connecticut) to as high $116.90 (California) for an annual permit. The National Saltwater Angler Registry is one part of an overall program to better capture the total picture of U.S. recreational fishing. For that reason, I find it hard not to support. --Steve Pennaz, NAFC Executive Director NAFC Social Media Editor Fri, 04 Mar 2011 20:58:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2718 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2719/pennaz-post-color-doesnt-matter#Comments 2 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/RssComments.aspx?TabID=94&ModuleID=464&ArticleID=2719 http://www.fishingclub.com/DesktopModules/DnnForge%20-%20NewsArticles/Tracking/Trackback.aspx?ArticleID=2719&PortalID=0&TabID=94 http://www.fishingclub.com/features/blogs/articletype/articleview/articleid/2719/pennaz-post-color-doesnt-matter I stopped Kurt Beckstrom in the hallway the other day and uttered a single word as a question: “Color?.” Kurt looked me in the eye before answering: “There are other things to get right first.” Then the editor of North American Fisherman magazine disappeared into his office. His comment caught me as curious, especially since I knew his lead story for the March issue was a how to select the best color for crappie. Did he not believe what he was printing? Selecting bait color is an interesting exercise if only because color, at times, makes absolutely no difference in success rates … OR it can make all the difference in the world. So you can buy your favorite lure in a few colors and risk not having what’s needed for best success on any given day. Or you can get a second mortgage on your house and order three of every available color combination. Which leads me to a pop quiz. How many different color combinations are offered for the venerable Bomber Long A? Answer in a moment. The problem is there is no billboard on the way to the lake that says “Run a Rapala Clackin Crank in Clown over weed flats in 12-15 feet of water for bass today.” So the second you launch your boat you are immediately faced with three questions: 1. Where to start fishing?; 2. What lure to throw?, and; 3. What color should I use? Notice the order of the questions as they are sequenced in order of descending importance. Finding active fish is always the toughest challenge and must be your first priority, but once you do things typically get much easier. You base your lure selection on where the fish are. A crank that runs to 15 feet would be a poor choice is fish are holding tight to the bank in a foot of water. Finally, there is the selection of bait color. Black may be 20 times as good as chartreuse on the day you fish, and gold may out-fish blue three to one, but none of it matters if  you are not on fish or using the wrong bait to trigger strike anyway. So why does Bomber make no less than 55 color combinations on Long As? Because color can make all the difference! -- Steve Pennaz, NAFC Executive Director NAFC Social Media Editor Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:22:00 GMT f1397696-738c-4295-afcd-943feb885714:2719