Originally posted by: Merlin on 9/20/2004 6:59:32 AM

<!--graemlin::cool:--> everybody went to look for a good camera, and downloading spell check. Will send in some stories and pictures soon as i can.

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 9/20/2004 4:52:05 AM

I'm surprised someone from the BB hasn't responded to this topic yet <!--graemlin::confused:--> We've been asking for something like this and now it appears we are either too shy, or don't think our stories warrant sending in. I'm gonna give this some serious thought and send something in soon.......

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/20/2004 4:53:09 PM

this is the FIRST time that I have seen this thread... now I gotta go read it again!

I guess I can nominate myself! <!--graemlin::D-->

is that tacky? lol!
Hey, I sent them stories already actually..

I think I will try again now that they are looking and asking!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/20/2004 6:03:08 PM

Ya don't have to do that Susan cause we will do that for ya <!--graemlin::D--> and they like ya already. <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/20/2004 7:34:21 PM

Thanks LIPPY!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/20/2004 8:05:58 PM

Don't mention it Susan cause you have a way with words and have some very good stories to boot and I just love a good story <!--graemlin::D-->
I'm keeping my EYES open for the TIE <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/20/2004 8:34:56 PM

it's still sitting here Lip... I wont get it mailed tomorrow. I have to work on a friend's computer, and she owns a pond... so... <!--graemlin::)--> Maybe I can "Tie on a few more"!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/20/2004 8:48:32 PM

Say no more <!--graemlin::D--> Susan fish away <!--graemlin:;)--> but don't forget to get all the loose ends TIED up real soon <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/20/2004 8:53:03 PM

Don't worry...I'll send it in due TIE-m

oooo.... that was reaching! hahaha!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/20/2004 9:16:07 PM

Good enough for me <!--graemlin::D--> hehehehe <!--graemlin:;)-->
So in that case
TIE-m is of the essance <!--graemlin::D--> <!--graemlin::D--> <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 9/21/2004 4:46:14 AM

There is nothing tacky about nominating yourself Susan, or anybody else. I think the "regifter tie history" would be a great story to begin with and since you've started it Susan, I think you should send something into the NAFC for follow-up. If Lipripper hasn't already, I heretofor nominate "I Should Be Fishing" aka Susan for a "Member Written Story" inclusion in a future publication of the NAFC Magazine.

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/21/2004 5:33:18 AM

Thanks! oh and Wayne...
I sent them the snapping turtle-tie story right after I wrote it! TIE-m will tell!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/21/2004 5:59:51 AM

EYE second what Wayne just said Susan cause ya have a way with words <!--graemlin::D--> Like I said TIE-m and TIE-m <!--graemlin::D--> again.

Originally posted by: WALLEYE KING #1 on 9/21/2004 12:15:43 PM

LIP NOW YA GOT SUSAN HOOKED. TIE-M <!--graemlin::eek:--> YOUR JOKESTER LIST IS GETTING LONG. <!--graemlin::D-->

SUSAN LIKE THEY SAID YOU HAVE A WAY WITH WORDS. SO GO GETM GIRL. EYE'LL BE WAITING TO READ YOUR ARTICLE IN THE MAGAZINE.

Originally posted by: PAPPADIDDY on 9/21/2004 4:38:45 PM

HEY LIP; I (EYE) GOT A STORY. I'LL TITLE IT "WHAT I DID ON MY SUMMER VACATION"... WHAT DO YOU THINK, WORTH A TRY? I MEAN LIKE; HOW MANY PEOPLE DO YOU KNOW WHO SPENT THEIR ENTIRE SUMMER ON THE NAFC BB? WELL IT'S ALMOST TRUE... <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/21/2004 4:51:32 PM

Go for it PAPPA anything wort a try <!--graemlin::D--> Nothing ventured nothing gained <!--graemlin::D--> Never know might be a best seller <!--graemlin::eek:-->

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/21/2004 5:00:50 PM

Pappadiddy and FisherMOM.... works for me!

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 9/22/2004 4:38:14 AM

Pappa, just be sure to include some of that raw humor you are becoming infamous for <!--graemlin::D--> <!--graemlin::D-->.

Originally posted by: sqrlb82001 on 9/22/2004 6:41:01 AM

<!--graemlin::D--> A few years ago I sent in a story to The NAFC and they published it in that Book "The Meaning Of Fishing" Member Stories & Tips... It was Named "A Monster Catch" it was on page 32, Maybe some of you have read it... anyway I am thinking of sending some more although most would fall into the members bloopers catagory lol but hey even a bloopy has it's merits could be a good "don't try this at home thingy" lol anyways hope to see ya all in the fishermans hall of fame..
Buddy aka: sqrlb82001

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 9/23/2004 4:49:29 AM

I don't think I've read it (only been a member since 2001) but I'll look back on the issues I've kept. Congrats on being published, Buddy, and keep sending them in.

Originally posted by: sqrlb82001 on 9/23/2004 1:04:13 PM

<!--graemlin::)--> Well Thank you WalleyeWayne the book was published I belive in 2002 it has many great stories and memeber tips lol it wasn't deadicated to me lol i do have some poetry published have one being published in a collection that will be released in November writeing is just one of my favorite stress relivers fishing is the other lol...
<!--graemlin::D-->
Buddy aka:sqrlb82001

quote:

---

Originally posted by WalleyeWayne:
I don't think I've read it (only been a member since 2001) but I'll look back on the issues I've kept. Congrats on being published, Buddy, and keep sending them in.

---

Originally posted by: bassinredneckgirl on 9/29/2004 8:21:18 PM

That is cool that we can send in stories. I already sent one in today. It's nice to see a fishin magazine where the readers can become the writers. I enjoy fishin and writing, so thank ya'll for givin us an opportunity to share our stories! ~*~ <!--graemlin::cool:--> ~*~

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 9/29/2004 8:26:49 PM

Welcome to the site bassinredneckgirl!

have a look around in here and just jump in on any topic!

Originally posted by: PAPPADIDDY on 9/30/2004 2:23:07 AM

HI ALL; I JUST SENT IN A STORY TO THE EDITORS. WE HAVE A CONTEST GOING ON HERE IN MUSKEGON CONCERNING THE DREADED GOBY. I THOUGHT IT WOULD DO GREAT JUSTICE FOR THE NAFC MAG.

Originally posted by: The Rod Tosser on 9/30/2004 6:20:51 PM

SQRLB82001

oh now there's a thought an nafc members blooper book and perhaps some one can add some cartoons to reflect the blooper stories.

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 10/1/2004 5:02:17 AM

I finally got around to sending in a story yesterday. I'm looking forward to reading what the members have been writing. Just as enjoyable as looking at pictures <!--graemlin::)-->.

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 10/1/2004 8:25:50 AM

glad to hear I'm not the only one sending stuff.

The club has contacted me many times this week.
They are interested in hearing more about the tie. I sent them in the Turtle-tie story and have to send pictures still.... we'll see!

I also sent them 2 of my carp stories combines into one!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 10/1/2004 9:27:53 AM

I'm not much of a story teller <!--graemlin::rolleyes:--> so I wouldn't know what to send in to them. I'm glad that those who can tell stories are sending their stuff in. <!--graemlin::cool:-->
Susan the TIE will be a great story and it's going to start the next leg of it's adventure this weekend <!--graemlin::D--> I've been trying to hold off on posting alot to save my #2,000 Post for the TIE pictures but EYE just can't do it any longer <!--graemlin::D--> cause EYE like Susan have Jabber Fingers <!--graemlin::eek:--> <!--graemlin::D--> so sorry Susan if the TIE Pictures are after my #2,000 Postbut EYE just can't controll these ol Jabber fingers <!--graemlin::D--> The TIE pictures will show up though so don't worry ya going to see them before to long <!--graemlin::D-->
And that's my story and I'm sticking to it <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: WALLEYE KING #1 on 10/1/2004 3:54:05 PM

HEY LIP EYE SEE HERE THAT YOU SAY YOU'RE NOT MUCH OF A STORY TELLER BUT EYE NEED TO KNOW ONE THING THOUGH AND IT IS THATS MY STORY AND EYE'M STICKING TO IT. WHATS THAT ALL ABOUT. <!--graemlin::p--> <!--graemlin::confused:-->

Originally posted by: PAPPADIDDY on 10/1/2004 6:06:56 PM

HEY LIP; YOU SURE DO HAVE A WAY WITH WORDS. I'M SURE YOU CAN COME UP WITH A STORY OF SOME KIND. HOW ABOUT THE KITTY KATT THAT COULD? OR: ONE CAT- TALE IS AS GOOD AS ANOTHER? OR: BIG FAT FISH CAN'T JUMP? OR: FISH FRIES IS A GOOD THING? OR: CAN FLYING FISH REALLY FLY? SEE, THE THINGS ARE ENDLESS. THE ONLY THING IE YOU MAY HAVE TO TELL A FISHING STORYNOW AND AGAIN!!! <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 10/1/2004 9:32:13 PM

KINGER now EYE nose that you nose <!--graemlin::D--> what that mean up there so quit trying to <!--graemlin::p--> me <!--graemlin:;)--> <!--graemlin::D--> snicker...snicker... <!--graemlin::p-->
PAPPA your are right I could make up a story and it would be a Whopper of a story and it would even sound true but it would just be a FISHEY TALE <!--graemlin:;)--> and EYE don't think that's the kind of stories the staff is a looking for <!--graemlin::D-->
joda ifn ya see this go back and check the PM ya sent me and also the one in the MISCelenious section. <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 10/4/2004 2:29:38 PM

I'm in!

Not sure when, but they accepted the snapping turtle/tie story! woo hoo!!

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 10/4/2004 3:42:10 PM

Way to go Susan <!--graemlin::D--> glad they are going to use your story <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 10/5/2004 4:22:53 AM

Good on you, Susan. I'm looking forward to reading the article.

Originally posted by: Greymist on 10/14/2004 12:58:39 PM

Radio celebrity...
Front cover of the website...
First pike ever...
Now a publisher <!--graemlin::D-->
Is there anything this woman can't do??!!

We are humbled by your greatness Susan <!--graemlin::)-->
Keep reaching for the stars!!

Originally posted by: sqrlb82001 on 10/18/2004 8:48:49 AM

<!--graemlin::D--> Your right Greymist a book like that would be fun and I do some drawing myself who knows maybe together all of us can get'er done lol
<!--graemlin:;)-->
Buddy aka:sqrlb82001

Originally posted by: phantom on 10/26/2004 11:19:13 PM

quote:

---

Originally posted by NAF Editors:
To All NAFC members:

Here's your chance to contribute to your Club publication, North American Fisherman. We're looking for member-written stories and other material for upcoming editions of Fishing Club Journal.
Hi folks:
a few years ago my son Kyle had a problem with school work , he wasn't getting things done in class time that he was supposed to.
One wed. he came home and said he had gotten his class work done all week.
having the next weekend off i told him that if he got it all done for the rest of the week nwe'd go out fishing saturday for as long as he wanted to stay out.
My dad, his brother and i all went fishing with Kyle,m We went to a farm pond where I knew that the sunfish were as big as my hand ( I span almost 13 inches and whear a size 13 ring)and I figured that the odds were pretty good that Kyle would catch something big enought to bring home.
I should mention that Kyle was about nine years old at the time.
Well he had some sort of crawda representation on his hook from the last time we had gone out.
the rest of us were still gearing up....putting worms on hooks etc. when Kyle made his first cast.
He was perhaps 6 feet from shore on his retrieve when something just grabbed and growled on his lure.....took a bunch of line..
But Kyle fought it right, kept his rod pointed up, let the fish tire, and landed it by himself....
We put it in a basket and it was the only fish we caught all day.
We stopped at the local grocery store and I asked If I could have a couple of plastic bags to put the fish in and wiegh it on one of the produce scales.
When I put the fish in the bags and carried it back ito the store, the manager said "no, lets take this to the maet scale"
The fish wieghed 5.92 lbs. (after a drive of 20 miles to the grocery store.)
All things considered, I have to believe that someone "upstairs" figured Kyle had earned that fish.
It is of note that this is the only time before or since that we have come away with only one fish from that farm pond.
We want to showcase Club members from around North America, but we need YOUR HELP to do it.

Member Notebook
In this section, we want to highlight a Club member who has a meaningful story, in or outside the world of fishing. Do you know another Club member who is a respected community leader, long-time civic volunteer, or somehow made a positive difference in the lives of others? Let us know about them. And don't be shy about noninating yourself.

This section is not restricted just to heros and humanitarians. We want to hear about any and all Club members with an interesting tale. Maybe they had a harrowing experience or a narrow escape on the water, are an exciting adventure on a recent fishing trip.

Or, let us know about a member who caught a record fish, or is a champion on the local tournament circuit. We will consider each and every story for publication, whatever it is. All you have to do is send it to us. We'll also need your Member Number and a phone number where you can be reached.

In addition, we'll need a crisp, clear, well-lit photo of you or the member you nominate. Sorry, electronic images from most personal digital cameras don't have high enough resolution and won't reproduce on a magazine page. Same with electronic images printed on a home PC. They are too blurry. We need a good color print, or a high-resolution electronic image taken on a professional quality digital camera.

Send your story by replying to this post, or better still, by emailing it to: editors@fishingclub.com. Or, you can send it via U.S. Mail to: NAFC Fishing Club Journal, P.O. Box 3403, Minnetonka, MN 55343-2103.

---

Originally posted by: Drake Stefani on 11/13/2004 2:09:16 PM

One day in August 2003 me and my family went for a trip to Bass Lake, I thought it would be a real treat, but then my aunt told us about a place called Minklers. Then we went all the way to Minklers instead of Bass Lake, but when we got there they were closed. So we went to Avacodo Lake, I got there and was ready to fish, then we moved to another spot. Then when I got comforable we moved again. Then we when to the Dam over by the Lake instead of Avacodo, I got a few nibles but no fish, we went home but not empty handed, I caught some minno's to fish with next time I go Fishing. I never wanted to go there again, because the water was murky, and not clear and there were not very many fish, I would rather go to Bass Lake any day.

Drake@randomchicken.net <!--graemlin::)--> <!--graemlin::eek:-->

Originally posted by: HeavyMetalFisher on 12/11/2004 12:14:37 AM

OK, this is my story and I got proof.Of my Tiger Muskie out of a Canoe. It was our 10th Ann. she hates lil'boats.
K, The story goes, I was testin the depth by droppin a spinner bait an countin my cranks up, that with the math, told me 17 feet, oops a log or tire or somethin. Damn , sht snag
OH no the snag is runnin, long story short 15LB tiger Muskie.

Originally posted by: HeavyMetalFisher on 12/11/2004 12:17:33 AM

15LB muskie, link,
www.geocities.com/vrcoons/index.htm

Originally posted by: nick barr on 12/11/2004 9:54:11 AM

i need an appraisial for 21 vintage luhr jensen spoons. they are tom mack, manistee, gold star
canadian wonder and one wierd one with rubbed o letters "P25 PAL (sooke or cooke) pc." email me at daddiocoolcat@hotmail.com if you have any info thanx

Originally posted by: zpyles_00 on 12/17/2004 9:58:08 AM

I have had numerous request from fellow members to post this story in this section so here it is. This is a true story.

Ok folks, put your imagination hats on. I'm goin to try an paint this scenario for you as best as I can.

It's saturday morning, about 30 degrees, overcast skies and a beautifull light snow falling. My father and I are heading out onto the ice just as we do religously every weekend during the heat of the action early ice season here in Ohio. You can hear every sound nature has to offer, between the ducks anxsiously awaiting deployment to their feeding grounds, the overwhelming ammount of black birds flying and the local dogs barking, the only foreign noises to be heard is the snow packing beneath our boots and the distant growling of fellow ice anglers augers chewing through the ice.

My father and I head straight to the spot where just the morning before we had filled a 5 gallon bucket half full with 8-9" gills, a bakers dozen of 9-13" yellow perch and just a few crappies. We pop a few holes in and immidiately were on fish! My father being the stubborn person he is, chooses not to sit in the shanty ( as usual ) so I quickly set it up for myself. ( I enjoy the privacy of others not being able to see if your onto fish or not )

About a half an hour goes by and I can hear one of those big air pockets that often gets trapped under the working its way towards my holes. No bother of course, the air pocket comes up through my ice holes & gurgles a bit.

Everything to this point is perfectly normal, but for some reason unknowst to me till this day, out of pure curiosity I lean way forward down towards the ice holes for a closer inspection.

The next thing I know, within a split second, water is being splashed in my face and i'm staring Face-to-Face to the biggest, fattest, meanest muskrat i've ever encountered !!!! This thing didnt have teeth ooohh no, he had FANGS!

Immidiately I jump back, almost falling off my bucket, slamming into the back wall of my shanty, I probally screamed like a girl LOL. In the proccess of all this ruckuss, I managed to kick the access doors to the ice holes shut so im trapped in my shanty with this saber-toothed muskrat. Now I learned a few things about muskrats in the proccess..... They BARK.... They HISS.... They GROWL...... and worst of all, they can JUMP about 3 FEET HIGH.

By this time from my fathers line of view and hearing of this situation only being a few yards away, he is hollaring " What in the hell is goin on.... What are you doing !!!! " ? It's looking like WWF inside of my 2 man shanty from his line of sight. Every time I would start to reach down to open the access lids or the doors to the shanty, that lil monster would start barking and hissing at me. If I would use my foot to try to fudge it open he would lunge at me ! I'm bout ready to gaff this thing by now.

By this time i'm feeling like a little kid being forced to watch a horror flick then being locked in a dark room with the boogie monster!

After a few minutes of WWII inside of my shanty, my father finally come over and opens the shanty door from the outside. My father said he's not sure who came busting out of that shanty faster, me or the muskrat ! Once he had realized what it was that was causing all the comotion, i'm not sure that I have ever seen him laugh soo hard before or since !

Of course now everytime we go ice fishing, he never ever ever lets a moment go by where he can razz or crack a joke about me and that muskrat. Looking back, I now to think that it may be the funniest thing that has ever happened to me and I normally do not pass up an oppritunity to joke about the incident either, but rest assured, it sure as hell wasn't funny at the time!

The best thing about the whole situation is that I got to experience that then "nightmarely" now "hillarious" experience with my best friend, my father, and I know that that is a moment that will never be forgotten and will be able to share together for all time.

Well, hope you enjoy !
zpyles_00

Originally posted by: Orion on 12/23/2004 11:55:46 AM

I was fishing a on post eight acre lake/pond with eight pound spiderwire. I was casting out a night crawler on a size 6 hook. My bober whent down i jerked up i had a 4-5 inch bluegill then as i was reeling in the fish was ramed out of the water my drag started cliking. i started reeling and fighting my adrenaline was pumping the fish was threshing on the surface i had know idea what it was i yelled to the man next me "can you get my net" thankfuly he did the scooped up the fish it turned out to be a largemouth it was huge or at least it looked like it was biggest fish of my life seemed like it was five or six pounds. I couldn't stop shaking i called my dad told him to bring the camera he did i asked how much do you the he weighs he answered around three pounds i was shocked only three but i was still happy and still shaking

Originally posted by: OUTLAW 2 on 12/26/2004 6:40:08 AM

Yesterday, Christmas Day, I decided was a good day to put my shack on the ice. Backed the truck down the hill and up to the shack. Missed the brake and backed into it. Spent most of the afternoon repairing it. The bad part was I not only broke the shack but put a rather large crease in the tailgate of my truck. Do you think someone was trying to tell me NOT to go fishing on HIS birthday?
OUTLAW 2

Originally posted by: I should be fishin' on 1/5/2005 8:55:38 PM

I just sent in another article... we'll see.

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 1/25/2005 5:12:38 AM

Editors;
What are the possibilities of having NAF Magazine articles, from years past, being posted on the NAF web site? You could feature one article a month, as requested by NAF BB Members, and link it to the site Home Page. Many of us "younger" members are very interested in reading the articles that were written before we got here. Please advise.
Thanks,

Originally posted by: davesett2000 on 1/25/2005 11:57:25 AM

quote:

---

Originally posted by WalleyeWayne:
_Editors;_
What are the possibilities of having NAF Magazine articles, from years past, being posted on the NAF web site? You could feature one article a month, as requested by NAF BB Members, and link it to the site Home Page. Many of us "younger" members are very interested in reading the articles that were written before we got here. Please advise.
Thanks,

---

Originally posted by: BowfinBoy95 on 1/26/2005 10:37:13 AM

One of the best fighting but most underappreciated sportfish in North American waters is the bowfin. It may not be the best eatin' fish(hey neither are tarpon!),but the stories that are told about bowfin catches are always riveting. i have caught only one and it was a long time ago, but i want this fish to be recognized by anglers as a sportfish and not a pest. It is a prehistoric relic of a fish, with the ability to breathe air, and is known for its toughness, resilliance and challenge to anglers. To hook and land a big bowfin without ending up with a snapped line, straightened snap swivel,bent hook, mangled spinner or chewed up fingers is not easy. the only people who fish bowfin exclusively are the bowfin anglers group(www.bowfinanglers.com). I'm sure they could offer some fantastic stories for NAFC. I'll write them and email and see if any of them are members and if they have any stories to share.My story isnt lengthy enough to stay interesting for long but if you guys wanna hear it just let me know!

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 1/31/2005 4:29:08 AM

IS ANYBODY MINDING THE STORE HERE...???

Originally posted by: Danarchy on 2/4/2005 10:52:35 AM

Exhausted and wet, we dragged our vessel on to shore. We layed on the beach, laughing and panting, trying to catch our breath. "We need a real boat", Chris said to me. He was right, I didn't want to experience what had just happened to us ever again. It was one of my worst fishing days ever, even though we caught our limit in big bass.

The day started out pretty good. I had just purchased an inflatable raft for $50 at a local Wal Mart store. It was a four person raft, but comfortably seated two. After about 20 minutes of pumping and a six pack of Bud, we were ready to go. We put all of our gear in the vessel, and launched.

We were fishing a small lake in Polk county, Wisconsin. The lake saw very little fishing pressure, and is home to some nice sized largemouths. The landing is located on a small sheltered bay, loaded with lilly pads and bucketmouths. The spot we planned to fish was located inside this bay, near the mouth by the main lake.

We got to the spot pretty quick and began casting or pre-rigged "Bill's Worms". We were targeting a patch of lilly pads close to shore, where the flooded lake submerged some tree roots. We were catching bass like pros, culling our bundle on a classic stringer. This was heaven; beer, bass, and a stealthy raft.

As the beer supply dwindled, and our intoxication peaked, I noticed a bubbling sound. I paid no mind to it and kept fishing. About ten minutes later, I noticed that Chris was slouching. It turned out that he wasn't slouching, the raft was. We struggled in a drunken stooper, trying to find the leak. When I moved around, the air would move Chris around on his side of the raft, challenging his balance, something that seemed to amuse him. And when he moved, I also flopped to and fro, only I was getting a bit aggitated. We couldn't find the leak, and the air was escaping fast. I remember pulling up our fish stringer that was tied to the oar ring, which held more than 20 pounds of bass. I admired our catch, and began to lower them back into the water when I saw the bubbles. It was obvious that our bundle of fish was the cause of our troubles. The bass's fins had punctured the raft from below. I streched the rafts bottom to the surface, and saw numerous holes where the fish had rubbed against it. I knew then and there that the raft would not be afloat for long. Since we were drunk, sinking, and possesed no PFDs, we set a course for shore and began paddling back.

Our stroking of the oars was not getting us anywhere, since there was not enough air in the raft to support our combined weight. Chris decided to jump out and swim, pulling the raft with the rope handle that circled the raft. I continued to paddle, while Chris towed through the lake. We were only about 100 yards away from the landing, so we figured it was no problem. After about ten minutes of swimming, paddling, and cursing, we realized that we weren't getting anywhere. I decided to jump out and swim the boat along too. When I got into the water, I was greeted by the nasty feeling of submerged vegitaion. This stuff is good for fishing in, but lousy for swimming through. The small bay was so choked up with weeds that it was almost impossible to swim in. It would instantly tangle around your legs, arms and torso, so getting through the stuff was quite a challenge. I think we made it about half way when we couldn't go any further. We were exhausted, dehydrated from an 18 pack of beer, and very sick of that weedy feeling. We rested a bit, and resumed. When we tried to swim the boat for the final stretch, we couldn't go any further. Something was holding us back. We tried lifting the raft to see what was wrong, and almost ended up losing all of our gear. Frustrated, I swam to the back of the raft, and found our problem. The stringer containing ten 2lb plus bass was so entangled with weeds, that it was acting as an anchor. It took me at least 5 minutes to remove all of the weeds from the bundle of fish. I threw the fish on the nearly airless raft, and we began swimming for shore.

When we finally made it to the landing, it was like those guys in the movies who kiss the ground in relief to be on safe land. We laid there resting from our 100 yard, 45 minute struggle against our own demise. I folded up the raft which by this time was completely deflated. "It's a good thing we didn't go out to the main lake", I said to Chris as I closed the trunk of my car. And it was. Had we gone out to the other side of the lake like we normally did before, we may not have been fortunate enough to make it back. This excursion taught me to always carry PFDs and to drink responsibly when on the water. Many others before us weren't as lucky as we were. That night at the fish fry, we ate those bass with a new found respect, and I haven't used the raft since.

Daniel Dillon

Originally posted by: thefishinggod on 2/7/2005 9:37:41 PM

More than a few summers ago when I first started fishing for steelhead, I wasn't having any luck fishing the low clear water of the Upper Clackamas River so I decided to try fishing with 6lb line. I thought maybe the 8lb line I was using might be spooking the fish. And since I wasnt having much success anyway I figured there was nothing to lose. I was fishing a special little rig I had devised where I could fish using nymphs without using a flyrod. The nymphs were tied on like you would tie a corky and a swivel on for drift fishing. It was about an hour before dark when I finally hooked a nice chrome steelie. Since I was using light line I had to keep the drag fairly loose to keep from breaking my line. Of course there was no one around to help me land the fish and the closest I could get to it was about 50 feet. Everytime I got any closer it would tear off again. After about 45 minutes of playing this fighter, my line broke where I tied the flies on. I was disappointed and elated at the same time. As I stood there cursing my luck, with my knees shaking and my heart pounding, I started to laugh. It was a good day fishing.
Three days later, I managed to sneak out of work early and hit the river again. I was still pumped up after losing that fish a few days before. When I got to the hole, I walked along the bank to see if I could see any steelhead laying in the hole and sure enough I spotted two fish. I got my "fly rig" out and started fishing. After a couple of casts I got one on. This time I had my 8lb line on and figured this fish was in the bag. It made three good runs and jumped twice. After 15 minutes of playing the fish I had it up to the bank and I was ready to pounce on it. I grabbed it by the tail when I noticed that this fish didnt have just my two flies in it, it had two flies in the other side of its mouth also. They were the same flies as I was using. Since Im the only person that ties those flies, I can only assume that this was the same fish I had caught three days before. With an even bigger grin on my face, I removed all four hooks and gently revived this fish and watched it swim away. It was one of the first ten steelhead I ever caught, but I figured any fish that would bite and fight me twice like that deserved to live to spawn, hatchery fish or not.
Ok thats my fishing story, if you folks at the magazine like it I got a picture to go with it. If you dont like, Then I will have to try again. Brian

Oh yeah, check out my website at: www.thefishinggod.com

Originally posted by: J the Fisher on 2/8/2005 10:10:25 PM

2-6-05
This day will never be forgotten in my life. I reached the lake in the morning about 8:00am did a 30 min hike with two poles a huge tackle box and some extra stuff that I had(phew!!) very tiring. But I finally reached the end of a cove. I had been studying the lake map for 2 weeks just to see which coves were accessible by foot. I get there and about 2 hours later I took a nasty fall on a small ledge while holding on to my pole. <ouch!!> trust me it was a nasty fall I sat in pain for a good 2 min or so. As soon as I got up I felt resistance in my pole and a fight was on!!! There he was MY FIRST LARGEMOUTH!!!! I said to my self out loud "I will fall 15 times more just to get another catch like this one <!--graemlin::)-->" It was my only catch but one of the most memorable. I am 27 years old a little old for a first time largemouth catch, but I felt like a 13 year old with my dad. I wish my dad was here to see this <!--graemlin::)--> on my way back I got to see a turtle sun bathing on a rock What a great day. Good fishing!!
<!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: J the Fisher on 2/8/2005 10:10:59 PM

2-6-05
This day will never be forgotten in my life. I reached the lake in the morning about 8:00am did a 30 min hike with two poles a huge tackle box and some extra stuff that I had(phew!!) very tiring. But I finally reached the end of a cove. I had been studying the lake map for 2 weeks just to see which coves were accessible by foot. I get there and about 2 hours later I took a nasty fall on a small ledge while holding on to my pole. <ouch!!> trust me it was a nasty fall I sat in pain for a good 2 min or so. As soon as I got up I felt resistance in my pole and a fight was on!!! There he was MY FIRST LARGEMOUTH!!!! I said to my self out loud "I will fall 15 times more just to get another catch like this one <!--graemlin::)-->" It was my only catch but one of the most memorable. I am 27 years old a little old for a first time largemouth catch, but I felt like a 13 year old with my dad. I wish my dad was here to see this <!--graemlin::)--> on my way back I got to see a turtle sun bathing on a rock What a great day. Good fishing!!

Originally posted by: SmallWater on 2/17/2005 4:22:46 PM

Where should members send article submissions for publication consideration? Also what format does NAFC prefer pictures (to accompany article) to be in? I've written a few articles for a local outdoors magazine and they prefer photo's in a slide (processed color positive) format. Thanks for your help.

Originally posted by: ole1kanobe on 3/19/2005 1:22:50 PM

A couple of years ago me and a buddy were fishing up around Detroit Lakes. Our mission was northern so we were trolling around the lake, slowly making our path into deeper and deeper water. We were almost in the center of one of the bays when my buddy (who was driving the boat) had a strike when he wasn't paying attention. It happened so fast that neither of us had time to react, and his pole broke off right at the end where the reel mounts into the handle. (ghetto-fabulous Zebco equipment is his tackle of choice) He just looks at me with this dumb-founded look and holds up the small piece of handle, all that is left of his rod and reel set.
After everything clicked and we realized that he probably just lost a monster fish, he stops the boat and we sit there a second just looking at each other and start to half-heartedly laugh about what just happened. Out of the corner of my eye I see something floating on the surface of the water about 30 yards behind us. So he fires up the motor and we head in that direction. When we get closer to the object, we are floored to see that it is his pole floating on the surface of the water. We oar closer to the pole and I grab it out of the water, amazingly the line was still strung through the eyelets. I start taking up the line to see if the reel was still attached, it was! So I give what's left of the rod and reel back to my buddy and he slides the reel into the front slot of the rod to start reeling in his line. He was reeling in for only a few seconds when we realized that there was still something on the other end.
By this time I can not believe what all has just happened inside the past 10 minutes or so, and the fish is still on to boot. After a few more minutes the fish (what we expect to be one of the biggest fish either of us have ever caught) is just about at the surface of the water next to the boat. There wasn't much fight in the fish and we figured that it had gotten tired out trying to drag a rod and reel through whatever kind of terrain was at the bottom of that bay.
The fish finally surfaces, low and behold it is a northern, all of 15 inches long. When I saw how small this fish was, I immediately started laughing uncontrollably while my buddy reached into the water to claim his catch. He pulls the hook and tosses the fish back and then he starts laughing as well.
We couldn't figure out how that small little fish was able to break that pole, we just chalked it up to the pole having some sort of small break or fracture in the handle from a prior fishing trip.
The moral of this story? ALWAYS check your gear before heading out away from home to fish.

Originally posted by: Disabledfisherman on 3/19/2005 3:41:00 PM

My name is Nick Ojeda and I am in a wheelchair. I had an ATV accident four years ago. The other day I was driving down the road and noticed all these billboard advertisment that are put up on the sides of the highways. I began to think that the back of my wheelchair is pretty bare. It hit me suddenly to use the back of my seat for advertisment space considering it would be good instead of you seeing them on the sides of the road it would be more like a moving advertisment. If you or anyone you might now would be interested please email me at nickojeda733@hotmail.com.

Originally posted by: Gary P. on 3/23/2005 8:14:07 PM

This is my fishing biography for Monday September 13, 2004. We got to the fishing spot at about 2:30pm today.

Ok for about an hour myself nor the wife didn't get a bite. Then the wife had to go use the restroom, When she left I gave Poseidon a little sacrifice. I didn't get a pic of my first fish, Poseidon didn't give me a big fish but it was a first. The wife was still gone. <muhaha> Little did she know of my sacrificial shiner. about 20 min later she came back and no other fish from Poseidon.

Then at about 3:45 maybe 4:00pm I got my second fish.


at about 4:20 I got fish Number three... I guess Poseidon was pleased.



At about 5:30 they started to hit like crazy. Here is Posieden's Gift.



And at 5:55 Poseidon strikes again. Teaches the wife to rub it in this time. <muhaha>



Ahh, Now Poseidon decided to give my wife a break. Here is her fish. The only one she got a pic of. <muhaha> Well kinda. The others she let go before i could get a picture. they were all about the same size as my 5th one.



And Just when I thought Poseidon was going to stab me in the back, He gave my wife a line break on her big fish. lol.... <muhaha> Boy was it a wopper too. it bent her pole in half almost. I want to say it was about 4lbs maybe 5. Yet it didn't count since she didn't land it. I think Zues was medaling again, Yet Poseidon prevailed. <muhaha> :lmao

Oh almost forgot my wifes favorite friend and my problem child when fishing. Heck doesn't this bird ever leave. Isn't migration coming soon?



I think next time I will talk to Poseidon about this.

I got the last shiner because the wife dropped hers. <muhaha>

On my last shiner Poseidon came through for me. Next time I owe him two shiner sacrifices. :bow



Another one closer up.



Over all Poseidon proved to be a good fishing god. The wife can't rub this in this time. I guess it is my turn now. <muhaha> <muhaha>

Originally posted by: twin2 on 4/11/2005 4:49:20 PM

Was red fish fishing with live three inch mullet when I hooked a big one. As I was only using 8lb test line I didn't fight it hard. All of a sudden there was a big swirl nest to the boat and the fish made a big run. Another swirl and he threw the hook. When I reeled in to my suprise; on my hook was a fourteen inch mullet that was hooked through the head just over the eyes. The real suprise was that it was half digested. I figure that the big fish swallowed my bait and in the process the hook became lodged in the larger mullet in its stomach and when he threw the hook the large mullet went with it(lucky that I had a witness in the boat with me when I arrived back at camp)

Originally posted by: davesett2000 on 4/13/2005 1:13:21 PM

Hi NAFC staff...back in January I sent the below following e-mail to you guys.

To this date, I have NOT received a reply. <!--graemlin::(-->

Is there ANYONE there that could give me a reason WHY?


From: David <davesett2000@yahoo.com
To: editors@fishingclub.com
cc: smithw@bowater.com
Subject: Magazine Story Submission
01/12/2005 02:06 PM

Hi all...I am David, aka Life Member davesett2000 on the Club Bulletin Board.

During the month of December, we held a "BB Personality of the Year" contest, and would like you to consider the following write-up for the magazine.

I have also attached a Word document of the same thing, in case that is easier for you to use.

Thank you for your time, and have a great weekend!

"1st ANNUAL NAFC BB PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR CONTEST"

During the month of December, the members of the club Member-to-Member Forum Bulletin Board held the "1st ANNUAL BB PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR" Contest. Although no prizes were to be awarded, everyone that contributed to the topic thought it was a great idea, and were eager to vote for their favorite member. Four members (Davesett2000, WalleyeWayne, WalleyeKing #1, and Rod Tender) took it upon themselves to organize the procedures and set up a list of rules to assure members that it would be a fair contest. The vote took place the last two weeks in December, with the winner being announced on Jan 1st / 2005.
Once the voting started, there was a flurry of activity throughout the BB as contestants went out of their way to solicit votes from members. One member even posted “swimsuit pictures” of rival candidates, and some candidates tried to “bribe” the panel members with offers of smoked fish (a joke of course). But under the watchful eye of the panel, the rules were followed. Voting was slow during the first few days do to the “Christmas rush”, and it looked like it was going to be a close race. However, once the banter settled down and more votes came in, one name kept showing up more then the others, making it easy for the panel members to determine the winner.
The 2004 B&B Personality of the Year goes to LIPRIPPER, for his outstanding contributions to help and greet other members. When asked by the panel why each member voted for a particular candidate, they commented on how Lipripper always takes time out to greet new members and get them involved by directing them to a number of topics throughout the BB. His funny jokes and sense of humor make us laugh, and his signature “Eye” (for “I”) and multitude of funny graemlins all contributed to his win. Congratulations Lipripper!

On behalf of the members that utilize the NAFC club web site, we would like to thank the Editors and Staff of the North American Fishing Club for giving us this Great Club, Magazine and Web Site. Without their continued efforts none of this would be possible.
We would also like to extend an invitation to all club members reading this magazine to join us at www.fishingclub.com. Stop on down and check it out. On the home page you can find out about Club benefits, new products, upcoming stories, and keep up to date on fishing news & events within the Club. You can also test your fishing knowledge on the Weekly Web Quiz and enter the monthly Click & Win contest. Then there’s the personal side of the web site, with a Member-to-Member Forum Bulletin Board and chat-room, where you can share your fishing stories, pictures, ask questions or get answers to help you become a better fisherperson.
During the past year on the BB, members discussed a multitude of topics, such as what rods and reels work the best, best baits, best boats, rigs & jigs how / when / where to fish them. Some members started get-togethers where they meet up and share fishing time on the water together. No matter what the question is, there's always someone there willing to help find an answer for you.

Originally posted by: timster1174 on 4/14/2005 12:10:23 PM

My friend Rich and I were fishing in Sebastian, FL for, I don't know about him, but it was my first time. It was sunny, then cloudy, then sunny again off and on all day. We went on the south side of the boat launch to catch our bait fish, then go around to the inlet that leads out to the ocean. I'll tell you what, the fish never stopped hitting. We were hooking Yellow Jacks, and the smallest we brought in was 17lbs. The thing about it, is that it was non-stop. We dropped the baitfish in the water, and the current would take it, and within 15-20 seconds were fighting with a fish. He pulled in the biggest one that day at a whopping 33lbs. It was so much fun. I recommend that spot to anyone who comes to FL. The Sebastian Inlet.

Originally posted by: Craig V on 4/15/2005 7:47:28 PM

Are you interested in technique/species specific topics? Or is this primarily regarding member stories?

Originally posted by: BIGmike1 on 4/24/2005 12:43:27 PM

I have a free website (no ads or popups either) that explains how to tie crawler harnesses, how to fish Lower Lake Huron/St. Clair River with them, and even has videos!
You can also see how we clean fish with an electric knife.
http://dns.advnet.net/mkg/index.htm
Good luck out there all this new year,
Mike

Originally posted by: william jarrett on 5/1/2005 5:32:05 PM

i went fishing in georgia at a river and i had a spincaster rod and reel i used a regular hook and a worm i casted out i waited about 5 minutes and i got a nibble i pulled it in and it was a 6 inch 4lbs black perch

Originally posted by: toaopb on 5/2/2005 12:31:09 PM

ok i sould tell you to look in the muskie topics but here it is... long but good.

it all started 2 months ago. i bought rapala for the x box. i learned a few things about rods. about 1 month ago my girlfriend broke my fishing rod. see felt bad and since it was my only one she bought me a new one. from that point on for this season said i would never use live bait this year and only lures. best test of it was when we went up to my parents home. i pulled out a white spinner bait that i bought last year and was tossing it out. took 1/2 hour and finaly got a bass to hit it. well about 2 weeks ago my girlfriend and i were going to go fishing at my parents home. there is a hill somewhat steep and my father "with all good intention" had used astro turf" to help, so you don't slip...well i slipped and broke my right hand " the one i reel with". needless to say i have not fished since then but i the bug was calling and yesterday we went up to see them again and i just could not resist i had to go. with rod and same white spinner in hand "good hand" we headed down to the lake. to make this long story short we got to the dock and started casting out hoping for another bass. i would have to cast with my left hand "right one broke" and turn the rod over to reel in with the left something i can't do to well to start with. i was using some tips i picked up from here..keeping the spinner in sight, slow retreave and so on. after about 4 casts i saw a monster swim out from the dock and WHAM...FISH ON. thought i had landed the grandfather of all bass..sad part is its only catch and release. which i do always but if the bass is this big as i think my mantle needs something over it. well after a few min. of fighting the fish i realized its not a bass its a muskie. then i also realized my net was in the boat house and the keys were in the house..hmmm what to do... there were some fishermen in a little john boat going by and my girlfriend started jumping up and down...."WE NEED A NET!". they were helpfull and came in with net in hand. they could not beleave i could catch something like that off the dock. well after we got it on the land and removed the hook my girlfriend took my pic and we let it go..as for the fishermen who came to help they got a fish story out of the deal and hope to see them again soon. oh and the fish was 38" 12lbs...and yes the biggest fish i ever got. <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: Mac Daddy on 5/10/2005 12:17:04 PM

I am not sure if this qualifies or not and I don't nomimate myself, but the young heroes that worked tiresly to save my life the year before last. I started out at ice off early season midweek up at Lake Erie. I had my boat Mac Daddy a 26 foot Thompson Santa Cruz 2600 commissioned and tied up at her slip. All that was needed for me to send some time with her alone before the wife Jerry and kids came up for the weekend. Maybe a little cleaning and maintaince, nothing spectacular. In twenty-two years of operating heavy equiptment out of local 18 I am a very safety oriented boater. I had just talked to my wife on the cell phone, when I'm thinking what the heck this is a vacation, go back to sleep. So I wrap back up in my blanket and bunk/sleeping bag in the forward berth to crash for a while. Did I mention I have Sleep Apnea and Diabetes? Well I guess it turns out that its not too cool a combination, certianly if you don't take you shot or eat something, because the next thing I know my 500 lb. self knows is I am wedged mind you on the floor, beside my bunk. Still wrapped up nice and tightly in my blanket and bag , unable to extract myself. Now I'm not a guy without a sense of humor and at any other time this would have been the source of some side spiltting laughter, but right now I knew I might have some problems, I just didn't imagine how many. After several failed attemtps to extract myself, which left me weaker and weaker. I tried to reach my cell phone and hand held VHF radio on the table above me, to no avail. At the times I heard people outside and tried yelling no one could hear me from below decks. Sometime into the first night I could see the light from my cell phone as it rang, but I could not reach it. I started to lose track of time and reality and fought hard to maintain the will to keep going. My body was going into shock and all I could think of was those I was leaving behind. My younger brother had just been killed in the line of duty in Beaufort S.C. on a domestic violence call and now my mother would have to face this... God it seems more than one mother can bear. How could I be so stupid? Then on what I was to find out later was the third day a employee of the marina knocks on the side of the boat and ask if i'm alright. I replied no, I think, he said my wife called the office and asked someone to check on me. By this time I had urinated on myself, several times and was horrified anyone find me that way. Still not fully realizing how critical my situation. My wife was enroute from Columbus a family friend of my Dad who also fishes in the area convinced me to let her call a emergency squad, who then called in the Port Clinton Coast Guard. It was these young people who I don't know the names of and wish that I did, because they laboured in shifts in the heat and rain at times to extract me from the boat, witout damage to her even though I was too weak to help myself. They would not give up even when I might have been ready to, had it not been for their example, like those of those heroes of 9/11, they inspire me to keep going on through my darkest days. To this generation my hat comes off.

Steven Anthony Tate
65071978

Originally posted by: rachael on 5/13/2005 11:51:11 AM

Hi everyone! My name is rachael and i'm a new memeber of NAFC. I just wanted to tell everyone of a trip I went on with 50 or so other kids from my highschool. Every year my highschool, Fairfield Senior High, and the Fairfield Optimist Club sponsors a trip called MH Fishing trip. Its a fishing trip for kids with multiple handicaps to go spend a day with highschool seniors, I one myself, and do whatever they please. On May 10, 2005 we went fishing for catfish and bass in the Optimist Club pond. Not only was there plenty of fishing going on, 150 poles constantly in use, but there was also many other activities for the kids, such as: dancing, soccer, parachute, tag, volleyball, and so much other stuff. It was set up so there were 50 highschool seniors to about 250 MH kids, k-12. There were also aids and teachers there. I have to say, it was one of the funnest times I've had in my life. I was so lucky to have been picked to go on this field trip (about 200 kids signed up to go, only 50 were picked). It was so incredible to know that for that one day, which those kids will probably remember forever, I was there to help them enjoy themselves to the fullest and that I helped them to feel like an equal. It was us students that would make or break the whole trip. I think it was an awesome time. It was really great to see so many of my fellow students, teachers, and elders step outside themselves for a day and treat those kids as equals with respect. The day was a huge success. Some of those kids were catching fish they could barely hold themselves. It was so great to see them light up. These fish weren't just teeny fish either. As the day ended we students and the kids alike were sad to see each other go. It was very emotional, even for the guys. It was a really cool thing and I just thought some of you might like to hear it.

Originally posted by: Mountain Mike on 5/14/2005 10:50:50 AM

On a recent fishing trip to The Columbia River below the McNary dam, 1/4 mile or so west of the Umatilla River on the Oregon side. I got a snag and lost my new NAFC Fishing Club spinning rod & reel that I recieved with my Life Membership!
If anyone finds it, it won't be hard to recognize it because it has my name written on the butt end: MICHAEL CHARBONNEAU.
I am offering a $100 Reward for anyone who can find it. Please notify me at the E-Mail address listed here!
Thanks,
mountain mike
[EMAIL]mjcharby100@silverstar.com

Originally posted by: saugeye on 5/16/2005 9:17:58 PM

I would like to nominate myself, I have been fishing since I was five years old.I have caught three state records in tennessee in the last thirteen years. My first was in 1993 when I caught a 82lb blue cat, My second fish was a saugeye I caught in july 1998 it weighed 10.12lbs it still is the record! My third was a skip jack herring it was caught in feb,2004 it weighed 4lbs it is also a world record by what the tennessee wildlife resource office in nashville has said.I think I'm the only one to ever catch three state records of three species of fish. I'm after a forth!! sincerly,chris vittetoe knoxville,tn

Originally posted by: Shawn Kopinski on 5/20/2005 1:25:25 PM

How about when your old man Hooks you three times in the same day?
Or you run out of gas in your boat 15 miles from the lodge?

Originally posted by: jamie on 5/24/2005 12:21:36 PM

hey you guys i got a tip for you for cats and carp its kinda like a recipe
first you take molassas and breadcrumbs mixed with sugar and cherryjuice make a ball out of the molasses and roll it into the mix. make the ball the size of the hook you want to put it on. but before you go on your fishing trip put them in the freezer the night before so the molassas doesnt ooze everywhere. when youre about to cast out put a weight on your line and let it sink to the bottom THE CATS WILL COME RUNNIN! i cought a 18 pound cat in a little bass pond in shippensburg pa its definetly a great mix <!--graemlin::)-->if you want to know more tips just email me gojumpoffacliff5@yahoo.com

Originally posted by: aubrey on 6/7/2005 8:55:08 PM

While fishing on the holiday at a private pond I was using a topwater lure with the help of my grandsons we brought in 4 largemouth bass with the total weight of 20#'s when we got ready to leave the man who owns the pond told us to take the bass with us he didn't want them in their so we took them next door to my sons property & released them into my sons pond it was a great day for all of the people involed after fishing we had a old fashion cook out serving hamburgers & hotfogs & topping it off with homemade ice cream

Originally posted by: papa_d on 6/8/2005 2:32:07 AM

YUM, YUMMM!

Originally posted by: smallmouthexpert on 6/9/2005 9:39:09 PM

I like to call this story
"The Come Back for More Fish"

Well it all started when my dad and I went fishing with a couple buddies. It was the first day and we just arived at our cabin on the Missouri River near Niobrara, Nebraska. We were going to head out to some farm ponds to try and catch some largemouths, but I, never leaving our cabin without a couple casts, had to go out on our dock and cast a couple of times for some smallmouth bass. I just got down on the dock and i noticed a big pile of trees sitting in the water near the bank. So, knowing that it might hold a fish, I casted into the brush. First cast and nothing. I casted a second time and pow a monster smallie attacks my STORM RATTLIN HOLO GRUB!!! My fishin buddy Justin was also on the dock and he starts yellin "Jesse's got a fish, He's got a monster on!!!!!" So while hes yellin at the top of his lungs I'm realling away at this big smallmouth. I fought him for about a minute and finally got him to the dock. I bent down to grab the monster and he gos wild when I grab his mouth. My fingers slip and he start jumping everywhere, and finally the hook comes out of his mouth. O man was I shaking and I was asking myself why I could land the darn thing. Then finally the other guys come down to the dock and ask whats all the comotion. And we tell them that I had a monster smallie on. But do you think they would believe me. NO! So they started callin me the story teller of the trip and we went fishing the farm ponds.
That night my cousin asked me if there really were smallmouth bass on these banks. I told him yes and we went walkin the banks for a while before dark. I pulled one out right in front of him. About a 15 incher. He said "wow thats awsome now I got to get me one." Eventually he does pull out two small smallies and a crappie.
The next day, convinced that there were smallmouths in this river, my cousin Damon and the rest of us went out on the boat and caught about ten 17-18 inch smallmouth bass and a couple of small ones. We came back about 7 hours later and I casted off of the dock again a couple times. On about the fifth cast I sent that senko into that bruch pile again, and pow that same smallie hits that lure and about ten feet from the dock he spits out the lure. This time the guys saw him and now they believed me. I tried some more for the monster but gave up after about 10 minutes. Later we grilled out.
The next day the rest of the guys left and it was just me and my dad. We went out to the ponds and fished the river and caught some nice ones. When we got back to the cabin I tried for the monster but couldn't find him, and that was the end of the day for me. The next day I woke up before my dad and went out fishin by myself. I came back at about noon. Some of my cousins stopped by and we went out fishing on the ponds again. We caught alot of bluegill and thats about it. So when we got back from the ponds I decided to go out fishing the river again. I tried a GULP! SINKING MINNOW and soon found out that it was a hot lure. I caught a few 14-15 inchers and one 18 inch smallmouth. I also caught a rock bass. When I got back to the cabin I tried for the monster again and sure as heck the first cast he attacked it once again. I let him hold the lure for some time before I set the hook to make sure I would actually get him this time. Finally I set the hook but the hook came out and he took my worm so I quick rigged up another and he hit it again. but no fish. So I decided to switch rods and try the one with a Rapala Skitter Pop on it. The first cast with it he jumped at it and missed. On the second cast he did the same thing. But on the third cast he swallowed it and I realed him in. Man I was proud. I finally caught the 19 inch smallmouth now known as the "Come back for more fish." I got a quick picture with him and now I have proof that I actually caught the monster. I released him and know that someday I may have another great encounter with him....

Originally posted by: kenray on 6/12/2005 8:00:02 AM

I recently discovered a tick in a *sensitive* and hard to reach place on my person, requiring me to seek assistance from my "bug-a-phobic" wife in order to remove it.

Fortunately, I have a neat little gadget called "The Tick Remover" that really helped. The gadget is like a "self-locking tweezer" that allowed my wife to get the little beastie without coming anywhere near touching it, and the gadget also locked the tick in place, so that the Missus could just hand me the gadget with tick in it.

I don't know how uncomfortable this situation would have been without the gadget - don't even want to think about it. I'm glad I had it handy.

The gadget is available over the internet - http://www.thetickremover.com

Originally posted by: catfishbrad on 6/14/2005 2:06:48 PM

Me and my dad were out fishing on norris lake in tennessee we were crusing around looking for some new places to fish because we always fish the same coves. The water was down about 20 ft from what it normaly was and we found a nice looking cove we were both throwing crankbaits he was throwng a rapala (deep diver) and i was throwing a bomber(medium diver) I made a couple cast and then I hooked a 5-pound smallmouth it was not only the first fish of the day but my first smallmouth as we went a little farther back we caught about 8 smallies the smallest was about 2.5 pounds and that is still the best day of fishing me and him ever had.

Originally posted by: mnfisherman1589 on 6/15/2005 3:35:09 PM

I was carp fishing of a dock wih my fluger trion baitcaster and a new $100 rod. I cast out a dough ball and set my rod down. I was looking through my tackle box when I heard my rod scrap across the dock and fly into the water. I quick tied on a daredevil with my other rod and cast i out to try and snag the line. I did this for 15 minutes, then I finally caught my line and pulled up my rod. Then I started to reel in the line and felt a big tug. I reeled in a 20 lbs. carp!

Originally posted by: Mistireo on 6/15/2005 10:44:29 PM

sup
well my story go'ss like this.
I was fishing do at 6mile dam (carlsbad,NM) I had just put chicken liver on my hook and casted it out into the water.when i axadently spilt the chickenlivers all over the place!!! so i had bent over to clean up the chicken livers when my poll slides off the tackel box and almost near into the water!!!!!! so i crab the pole!!!!I set the hook and start reeling it in while trying not to lose the fish!!! And this fish was Fighting like hell!!!!!!It took me a couple minites to get it in!!! Acording to my moms boyfriend!!!! And when I got it in I tryed to lift if out of the water when the line snaped!!! but the fish go caught in the moss!!! and i quickly jumped in the water and grabed the fish !!!! AND TO MY SHOCK IT WAS ONLY A 5 POUND CARP!!!! I WAS USING A DURANGO POLE AND SPIDER LINE!!!!! <!--graemlin::o-->

Originally posted by: okuma500 on 6/27/2005 11:03:52 PM

While fishing in a tournament last month (iwas invited) as the non-boater co-anchor i was paired with a man I'll name jethro. He seemed as though he knew how to fish and things so i thought things were going to go good for the day. Low and behold to my surprise was I wrong............First as i tried to place my diet pepsi in the cooler on the boat I was told no, I don't use the cooler. As he was the starter and was calling boats out to leave i went stern side a lit a cig., he immediately stopped doing his thing and stated NO SMOKING on MY Boat. I put it out immediately. Well after the others had left the starting area we headed out, i opened a pack of crackers, when he slows down and says NO eating on My Boat. I stopped,put them in my pocket, and smiled. We reached his first area of fishing, he went for and I aft. I turned around and upon looking at the consul notice the Lowrance was turned off. I asked if the electronics were working, he replied yeah but that one distracts me with its beeps so I turned it off. On my second cast I landed a 2 1/2 lb largemouth, and placed him in the live well(Thank the Lord he allowed water in there) and returned to fishing. I landed 2 more keepers and placed them in the well also, while my Partner landed his first after 2-3 hrs of fishing--14 in largemouth about a pound. I knew we needed one more for the limit before culling so I broke for lunch. He looked at me as though I was crazy eating on his boat (1995 Ranger) that had seen beter days. I guess he tolerated this cause I had in fact caught over 6 lbs. of our catch. After lunch he piloted over to another area, but kept the bow toward the shore and the stern hung out to dry. About 15 min. into this action I spoted a large tree stump that would only appear when the water would roll over it as the tide came in. It was a long cast but i finally made it real close and allowed the bait to set for about a minute, then I felt the drag, tug and heavy pull only a nice fish could make and I set the hook good. The fish worked me good for 3-4 min. then I took over and brought him close, MY PARTNER grabbed his net a screamed "Bring that Monster over here",. I looked at him, then the lateral line of at least a 20 in Large Mouth. I told Jethro, "You Know;I cant eat, drink use the cooler, or smoke around this boat: so I don't think MY fish could come on board and with that I flicked the pole high, the Bass came out of the water, looked straight at Jethro and spit out that Edge Lure and 4/0 hook right at him............We lost the tournament by 1 lb&9 oz. and I was never any Happier. This really happened on May 1st, 2005 on the Sassafras River in a Bass Federation Tournament

Originally posted by: Anglersradio on 7/1/2005 8:47:04 PM

"You Don't Always Get What You Want"
By Steve vonBrandt





You don't always get what you want, but do you get what you need?

While pre-fishing for a tournament at Bull Shoals Lake in Missouri, we had some of the strangest things happen to us in three days there, than at any other lake we had ever been to then or since.

Now don't get me wrong, we love Missouri, but this tournament and the things that happened were a nightmare. We started our drive from Delaware in 1998, (we decided to go in March to pre-fish), and we stopped at a gas station in Ohio, and not having that much experience with our trailer and new truck yet, and the excitement of the Big Bass World Championship coming up soon, momentarily clouded my perception, and we clipped the side of the pumps and took out the wheel and the whole fender had to be taken off. We arrived at some cabins near Bull Shoals, and low and behold the water was down, I mean REALLY DOWN! We checked in and launched the boat. The mud was so soft that we got stuck while it started to snow. It was freezing the whole time but we made the best of it. The following morning, at 36 degrees, and a good wind, we left the lodge at 8 am. The motor ran for about 45 seconds and quit! We started it up again, several times in the next 2 hours, but finally 100 spouts and spurts later, it quit altogether.

We decided right then and there that we would catch fish before we would leave! We used the new MinnKota trolling motor, that we just got a week before, and slowly maneuvered to the closest point. We started catching some real nice hybrids, and some largemouth, and really starting to develop a pattern for that area, and the trolling motor short circuited, and smoke came out! It was completely broken.

We paddled the bass boat back to the marina where we were staying and told him what happened. The local tournament was out, and so was going more than 100 yards now, but he said, I'll give you my trolling motor so you can still go." We thanked him, and went to the dock where he said it was. It was a transom mount motor with about 28 pounds of thrust! Not exactly standard fare on Table Rock or Bull Shoals in March, with a Nitro. But we were determined. We went out to the point where we were the day before, started catching some more fish, and the trolling motor he lent us broke. Not only did it break, but it actually broke at the shaft, it was a mess! We paid for the trolling motor, checked out of the cabin, (as it started to snow again), and started the 15 hour drive back home. We had fished for about 4 hours, in 7 days! We stopped at a motel on the way back, and my brother said, "I'll bet there's somebody in there that can fix a motor" "look at all the boats in the lot." We pulled in and in the lot after we registered, two older gentlemen were standing out by their rooms talking and my brother say "Do you guys know anything about boat motors?'. The guy says " DO I!", I've fixed motors my whole life" Hey Joe, he says to his friend, "I'll bet I can fix this guys motor faster than you!", his friend and he came over, took off the motor cover, and had it running in less than 10 minutes. We were dumbfounded and overjoyed at the same time. We couldn't thank them enough, and you could tell they were enjoying doing it. I was so excited, I jumped off the bow to the concrete, and broke my ankle.

Many hours later, after the hospital, we went out again, determined to fish somewhere and catch something at this point. We put in the boat, and started flipping the docks with a jig. I hooked into what felt like the World Record Bass on the second flip. It pulled so hard, I was shaking, a few minutes later I landed my 20 pound carp!

After a few choice words, I started to laugh and so did my brother Kurt. We composed ourselves and started casting around the docks again. A few minutes later, he set the hook on a monster. A beautiful 25 pound Carp! We loaded the boat, and headed back home. Sometimes it's just time to quit. We went to these lakes again, and had many great experiences in the Midwest. My brother even won a tournament or two, and he was the Big Bass World Champ/De, in 1999 and 2001, but that one week in March of 1998, was one of those ones that you never forget.

Originally posted by: Anglersradio on 7/10/2005 2:15:07 PM

Winning Tournament Tactics
By Steve vonBrandt




There are certain tactics that give a tournament fisherman an edge over the other competitors, and produce a win. Sometimes just doing a little extra homework and preparation is all it takes. Planning, practice, and confidence are the keys factors that helped us win local, state, club, and regional tournaments consistently while working our way up the ranks of competitive bass fishing. Here are some of the most important things to do to prepare yourself mentally and physically for the challenge.
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL PREPARATION

Before you even can consider embarking on a tournament trail, or even local, and club events, you must be in good physical condition. This involves being able to lift, bend, twist, and move in a variety of positions, without getting injured. Many people think that fishing is a leisurely sport, but in order to be in top shape for winning tournaments, you must prepare ahead of time. We not only eat and sleep properly, but do regular physical workouts, to get in good shape to lift equipment, jump from the front and back of boats, maintain good balance, have quick reflexes, and be able to go long periods of time, without wasting time eating and drinking. Being able to jump down to your knees quickly, and maneuvering many directions efficiently can mean the difference in winning or losing. One lost fish can mean the difference in first place and last place many times. Not only do we work out physically to prepare, but we practice our techniques in the off season as well. In the winter, and all times of the year in between tournaments, we practice our flipping, pitching, and casting techniques. In the colder months we set up boxes, simulate docks to practice pitching and flipping, and cast to targets in the yard. Knowing your equipment like the back of your hand, and being able to quickly execute a maneuver is critical in a tournament. Practicing all techniques constantly is vital in giving you the confidence that you need to win when you get to the tournament. Being able to control your emotions, and relax in the prior days and nights can give you an edge over the more inexperienced anglers. Most tournament pros even at intermediate levels are at the top of their game, and take it very seriously, so a slight edge can mean a great deal. The people who can maintain their composure and confidence, and can stick to their game plans under pressure, are the ones that consistently place in the rankings.

STUDYING THE COMPETITION SITE

Before we even start to prefish the lakes or rivers, we obtain all the information we can in the way of lake maps, topographical maps, baitfish, and lake conditions from a variety of sources. Talking to anglers at the lake and local tackle shops can sometimes reveal some interesting information. By no means, do what they say dictate what our plans will be, but it is another tool to use in planning a strategy for the lake. Knowing the lake age, composition of the bottom, structure, both natural and manmade, along with water quality, fertility, and oxygen levels, all come into play when deciding how to start pre-fishing the lake. Contacting local guides, and having some experience on the body of water all help, although sometimes this isn't always possible.

When we start to prefish the lake before a tournament, we break the lake down into sections. We eliminate the unproductive water for that time of year, and then section it off on maps. We pick the most likely locations where the fish should be holding for the water temperature and lake conditions, and then make a complete run around the lake to view it physically before fishing.

We start by looking for sandbars, points, humps, structure, laydowns, grass beds, etc., all the time watching the shoreline in the area for contours to indicate dropoffs and other structure. After surveying the lake, we then section off several of the best possible locations, and start fishing there. First starting with a search bait, such as a spinnerbait, buzzbait, and a crankbait for active fish. We mark the locations of where the active fish are on the GPS, and move on to the next spot. We never stick more than two fish in an area. Sometimes we fish the baits without any hooks in them, and when they hit you just pull it away from them. Try to find three good sections of the lake with decent fish first, before exploring further for the kicker fish. You can go back to these areas later the next day, and slow down to find the fish that you need to win. Sometimes early in the year bass will stage on a single piece of cover as small as a stick or blade of grass. It doesn't even have to be real structure sometimes, they just hold next to it. Most of the time, the larger bass, five pounds and up, are alone. They occupy the structure in the area by themselves, rarely schooling with fish of the same size.

UNCONVENTIONAL BAITS

Most pros won't reveal what they really catch the larger fish on. Most of the fish in lakes that are highly pressured by recreational and tournament anglers for years and years, become conditioned to certain baits. There are always fish that can be caught on conventional baits such as spinnerbaits, worms, and jerkbaits, but these generally are the fish that don't win tournaments. You can come in with a decent bag of five fish weighing ten to thirteen pounds, but it generally doesn't get you a check except in some local and club tournaments. The larger fish, the fourm five, and six pound bass, and up, are usually caught on baits such as frogs, prop baits, walking baits, and other types of new freak baits. Jigs will always take some of the better fish, but will not always win. Old style topwaters, such as a Devils Horse, Dying flutters, Nip-A-Dee-Dee's, and others, take many large bass. Let me emphasize though, that i like to get a limit in the boat first before pursuing that big "kicker" fish!

Creek Chubs, Zara Spooks, Jitterbugs, and others, take more quality fish than you can imagine, due to the fact that they are fooled by the baits they just don't see. Of course, there are specific ways to work these baits, that will produce the better fish, even if you are using the same baits as another angler, and that is the trick.

When casting to structure with a topwater bait like this, dead sticking, and casting directly to the target, and not past it, can be critical. Patience and steady nerves are required to do this properly. Deadsticking a bait is an extremely effective way to win a tournament on highly pressured waters such as Table Rock Lake. In colder water, this is extremely important also. You should let a Senko or other bait such as a fluke or "Sizmic Flugo" fall weightless for a long time by the structure, without giving it any movement at all. Suspending jerk baits worked in this manner also produce the bigger bass in pressured waters. Don't give the bait to much action, and let it sit for a long time in between movements. This is the key.

TIME MANAGEMENT

You must learn how to manage your time properly also, as you have to be thorough with the baits, but know when to switch and when to move. Plan this out in advance and be able to adjust to the water conditions and mood of the fish that day, as things can change rapidly from one day to the next on a body of water, especially when a clod front moves through. Practice at all times of the year, when the weather is bad, and cold, odds are, that many tournament days will be in the rain and wind. You need to know how to catch these fish under adverse conditions, not just fair weather. Plan your trips when the weather is poor. It's the only way the learn what to do. You must get practice in real tournament conditions. Make sure you time your run to the spots, and spend your time wisely there. Make as many casts as you can until the very last minute, and then open it up and get back as quickly as you can. You need to practice driving your boat in bad weather, under rough conditions, at high speeds, if you really want to win.

PRACTICE LANDING BIG FISH

You should try to join a private lake and a club, or make trips to Mexico, Texas, Florida, and wherever else you can experience fighting and landing a lot of larger fish. Confidence is the key to success in this business. You must have the confidence in your ability to land big fish without getting overly excited. This is hard to do, so as much practice as you can get doing this before entering major tournaments is a definite plus! A big part of this game is mental. You must learn how to to maintain a high level of concentration also. Don't pay attention to other things other than your line, the lure, and the fish. Ignore other anglers and spectators that are close by. Keep your focus, and stick to your game plan. Don't try to show off. That comes later at the weigh in with a twenty pound bag! Maintain and use the best quality equipment that you can get. This plays a big part in confidence also. It doesn't always have to be the very highest quality equipment, but you must have confidence in it, and in your own ability to use it properly. Sometimes I go through thirty crankbaits and jerkbaits before I find the best ones. Don't neglect the basics either. Learn how to tie all the proper knots for the baits you are using, and use the highest quality hooks available. I can't stress this enough. Follow these guidelines, and get out and practice as much as you can, and your recreational fishing as well as tournament fishing will improve drastically.

member # 90054616 Life NAFC Hall Of Fame

Originally posted by: Tiny Fisher on 7/13/2005 3:44:57 PM

Have you ever caught so much fish it almost felt boring?

My buddy from California (also a NAFC member) came to visit me in Iowa. We decided to go camping at Lake Redrock and take in some fishing. We ended up near the spillway and started fishing. As soon as we casted out, nibble, bite, FISH ON!!. Some pretty decent size Bass. We thought that was lucky to catch a fish so fast, but this went on for hours. We were catching and releasing every 5 minutes pretty much. After about an hour, I turned to my buddy and said "Man, I need to take a break."

Within a 2 hour period we must have each caught about 50 Bass each. Even with me taking a break. Fun experience......

Tiny

Originally posted by: JESSE on 7/13/2005 6:18:40 PM

HI THERE I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THE FIRST TIME I TOOK MY GRANDAUTHER FISHING SHE LOVED IT SHES ALWAYS ASKING WHEN ARE WE GOING AGAIN SHE 6 YRS. ALSO SHE DOES NOT LET ME PUT STINKBAITS ON HER HOOK SHE SAYS ITS NASTY SMELLING SHE MAKES ME PUT GUMMIE BEARS ON HER HOOK. SHE SAYS THAT TASTE GOOD. HAS NOT CAUGHT A FISH YET BUT SHE WONT PUT STINKBAIT ON HOOK OR WORMS. SHES MY FISHING BUDDY.

Originally posted by: dawsonb on 7/14/2005 9:59:21 AM

You might have her put that gummy on a very small treble hook and put it to the bottom. I suspect that carp might like them, but not for sure. She would be hooked for life if she caught a carp on a gummy worm. Thats a story I hope to hear soon! LOL

Originally posted by: Bassmaster624 on 7/15/2005 11:37:17 AM

is it me or in the packet that was givin to us before we were members say that if our story was published we would be givin $100.

Originally posted by: blank on 7/29/2005 7:01:36 PM

umm well i do most of my fishing on resivors,and lakes and the hudson river well i was on the hudson on my uncles boat and we were havng not good luck all day as a matter of fact the day before we got stuck two miles from our boat launch because our battery had been stored in a basement all winter and well i thought i got my line stuck in the leaves so i pulled and then out of the leaves comes a big pickeral biting on my line and it took me a while to get it in but i eventually got it in and as i went to unhook it it wiggled off and bounced back into the hudson and took my hook but ill never forget my fishing trip

Originally posted by: outfishin on 8/5/2005 12:46:46 PM

All week my fishing partner Paul and myself were plotting our fishng tacktics for a great pre-spawn lake. It's May of 2005 about 20min to 6:00am. The sun is just creeping up over the trees, the morning fog blankets the 3 miles of shore line. The sky is gray and the air is crisp. Jackpot - top water for smallies is my favorite technique for those little monsters. As we put the boat in the water our rods engaged with our favorite top water lures, I drop the trolling motor and we make our way to our favorite staritng spot. We let sail our first casts on our 7' shimano rods into the dense fog and begin poping in a cadence that we have done l000 times before. POP-POP then a large swoosh and splash. We knew right away its a large fish for this lake. Its a large smallie about 5-6lbs. It has my lure perfectly engaged in the corner of the mouth, it fights all the way to the boat. I finally get it to the boat, I reach out with excitment to lip the fish, and my index finges brushes her lip and she gives one last thrash, snapping my monofiliment and takes my favorite lure (and most expensive lure). Paul precedes to say that was a nice fish to bad, and all I can think about is that she took my best lure. Well we continue to fish our usual spots and had a great day with some large fish but none as big as the one that got away. I know, I know, so what we all lose fish and lures. But here's where it gets really good. On our way back I we couldn't pass by without trying to throw one last cast in the spot of the crime. By that time it was late morning the sun was high and after about 4 casts Paul turns to me and says "Hey isn't that your lure in the water over their". It sure was, and it was swimming right toward the bank. Sure enough, Paul with his lucky Senko makes a long cast and get's railed. All's well that ends well, she was ever bit of 5lbs and my lure was perfectly positioned in the corner of her mouth.

Originally posted by: militaryman on 8/9/2005 7:00:03 PM

I decided that a trip down the clarion river was a great way to pass some time so i borrow a friends canoe and head out.I guess it's about 20 minutes into my trip and i get this big hit so i set the hook my rod tip is almost touching my hand i look down and find out i have just landed a coleman cooler.I've never laughed so hard in my life.

Originally posted by: BigJoeyV on 8/10/2005 5:06:03 AM

Excalibur

As a thirteen year old boy, I still had the luxury of having summers off from school and all the time in the world to fish. There was a pond a short fifteen minute bike ride from our house and most summers 4 out of five days were spent dragging lures or worms through it's water. This particular summer, just a few days after school let out, I was on the pond, bottom fishing nightcrawlers for stocked channel cat. It had been a slow day so I decided to hop on my bike and head home to the pool. As I reeled in for the last time, the hook got hung up on the bottom. I tugged left and right, mumbling about my misfortune until the snag gave way and the reel began to turn again. However, there was something coming in with it. When I pulled the line in, I found my hook imbedded in the cork handle of a fishing rod and reel combo. Thrilled I rushed home and cleaned the pond scum off of it. When the garden hose had done it's trick I began to study my surprise treasure. It was a black 5'6" two piece rod with no make or manufacturer listed. The reel was also black and again void of any information. I removed the old line and replaced it with new 8lb test. From that day forward, that rod went everywhere I did if fishing was a possibility. I caught more fish that summer than I ever had in my young life. The list included a 23" largemouth, a 27" channel cat, and too many smaller fish to mention. I even took it on vmy family vacation and pulled a 20" seatrout out of the Atlantic on it. For whatever reason, fish came fast and furious to any hook or lure attached to that combo. My friends and I began to call the unmarked rod Excalibur because it came from a lake and seemed to contain fish catching magic.
Every fishing trip with that rod yielded positive results and brought a smile to my face. Until that Labor day. I knew that my summer vaction was down to hours so I went back to my trusty pond for a few more casts before the dark cloud of a school year came over me. The fishing was excellent, so good in fact that my dozen nightcrawlers were nearly gone within a half hour. So I threaded my last worm on to the hook, sat the rod down and slipped up the bank to start turning over rocks for some more bait. That's when it happened. I hear a rustling near the water and glanced up from the worm hunt. Excalibur was get hit and being dragged quickly toward the water. I leapt toward the rod and reached out only to see the cork handle slip below the surface and out of view. Excalibur had gone home. I spent a lot of evenings that fall dragging treble hooks along the bottom of that pond, but never managed to hook back on to the magical rod. Sometimes when I go back to my home town to visit my folks I still think about trying one more time to catch it. I've not since caught fish like I did that summer and I doubt I ever will, but I'll always have the memories and my firends and I will alawys have our own Legend of Excaliber.

Originally posted by: fish_the_miss on 8/10/2005 6:50:04 AM

What a great story BigJoey. Everyone goes on a treasure hunt when they're a kid and it sounds like you actually found your treasure one summer. Good luck.

quote:

Originally posted by BigJoeyV:
Excalibur

As a thirteen year old boy, I still had the luxury of having summers off from school and all the time in the world to fish. There was a pond a short fifteen minute bike ride from our house and most summers 4 out of five days were spent dragging lures or worms through it's water. This particular summer, just a few days after school let out, I was on the pond, bottom fishing nightcrawlers for stocked channel cat. It had been a slow day so I decided to hop on my bike and head home to the pool. As I reeled in for the last time, the hook got hung up on the bottom. I tugged left and right, mumbling about my misfortune until the snag gave way and the reel began to turn again. However, there was something coming in with it. When I pulled the line in, I found my hook imbedded in the cork handle of a fishing rod and reel combo. Thrilled I rushed home and cleaned the pond scum off of it. When the garden hose had done it's trick I began to study my surprise treasure. It was a black 5'6" two piece rod with no make or manufacturer listed. The reel was also black and again void of any information. I removed the old line and replaced it with new 8lb test. From that day forward, that rod went everywhere I did if fishing was a possibility. I caught more fish that summer than I ever had in my young life. The list included a 23" largemouth, a 27" channel cat, and too many smaller fish to mention. I even took it on vmy family vacation and pulled a 20" seatrout out of the Atlantic on it. For whatever reason, fish came fast and furious to any hook or lure attached to that combo. My friends and I began to call the unmarked rod Excalibur because it came from a lake and seemed to contain fish catching magic.
Every fishing trip with that rod yielded positive results and brought a smile to my face. Until that Labor day. I knew that my summer vaction was down to hours so I went back to my trusty pond for a few more casts before the dark cloud of a school year came over me. The fishing was excellent, so good in fact that my dozen nightcrawlers were nearly gone within a half hour. So I threaded my last worm on to the hook, sat the rod down and slipped up the bank to start turning over rocks for some more bait. That's when it happened. I hear a rustling near the water and glanced up from the worm hunt. Excalibur was get hit and being dragged quickly toward the water. I leapt toward the rod and reached out only to see the cork handle slip below the surface and out of view. Excalibur had gone home. I spent a lot of evenings that fall dragging treble hooks along the bottom of that pond, but never managed to hook back on to the magical rod. Sometimes when I go back to my home town to visit my folks I still think about trying one more time to catch it. I've not since caught fish like I did that summer and I doubt I ever will, but I'll always have the memories and my firends and I will alawys have our own Legend of Excaliber.

Originally posted by: little basser on 8/16/2005 9:41:55 AM

This weekend I went to a friends cabin in Dassel, MN. His cabin is on Lake Washington, where there are supposedly no fish. I had to test the lake anyways, being the die- hard fisherman that I am. The first day on the lake, we took the canoe out into a quiet bay and I caught about a 5 inch bluegill. sadly, that was at 10:00 a.m and we had no more action that day. The next morning we caught a few bass, (the largest weighing in at 3 1/2 lbs), and decided to go out in the canoe again. We were working a shoreline consisting of several overhanging trees when a huge bass suddenly ripped through the water and slammed my Mepps Aglia. as soon as it felt the pressure of my rod, it took off into the trees, and I thought that i had no chance of landing it. I tried to force it back out of the trees and my drag was screaming like crazy. I yelled to my friend to get the net, but he couldn't see the fish. The monster took off to the front of the canoe, where he was sitting, and shot under it. My friend then saw the line and grabbed it. He tossed it in the net , and his eyes got huge. The bass ended up being 24 1/2 inches, my biggest largemouth!!!

Originally posted by: natey on 8/16/2005 7:34:19 PM

One day i went to bass pro shops (first time) and i got my first baitcasting reel. as i was getting my 59 dollar daiwa procaster reel a fisherman comes up to the desk asks to see this reel that costs 400$ and asked for 2. and bought 10 bass pro shop graphite rod at 55$ each
my jaw dropped
byeii!!!

Originally posted by: The Salmon Slayer on 8/30/2005 5:57:39 PM

Hello

I finally got around to exploring the NAFC message boards. I just returned from a trip fishing for Atlantic Salmon in New Brunswick Canada. I submitted one of the Atlantic salmon I caught and released in this years NAFC "Catch and Release" contest. This was the last salmon I needed to catch for the IGFA "Royal Salmon Slam Club". I have recently submitted the entry with my documentation to the IGFA. I would like to share my story with other members.

I am in the U.S. Army currently stationed at Fort Campbell, KY with the 101st Screaming Eagles. I will be retiring this December with 22 years of active duty service. My wonderful wife and two daughters moved back to North Pole, Alaska in May to purchase a house, start a new a job, and begin school. I will be catching up with them in mid October in conjunction with my authorized transition leave.

Salmon and trout fishing is a fairly new sport for me. I began what is now my passion only a short 5 years ago. I first arrived to Alaska in 1987 due to orders for the Army assigning me to Fort Richardson, located just outside of Anchorage. Never had a second thought about fishing, I was more worried about soldiering and girls. I soon met a beautiful Alaskan girl, married, and left the "Great Land" for a Drill Sergeant duty in South Carolina in 1992. Never thinking of returning except to visit her family.

As fate would have it, in 2000 I recieved orders to return to Alaska, this time Fort Wainwright, adjacent to Fairbanks. I can still remeber telling my wife "maybe I could catch one of those big salmon fish this time". Boy, was that an understatement.

Between having family events, military deployments, field exercises, and more Army training. I finally purchased a salmon rod, reel, and terminal tackle for chinooks and decided to take a weekend to try my luck at a big king. I was a little older now, and chasing girls was out of the question.

I pounded the water for three days with no salmon on my line. I returned to work after the weekend to tell my war stories about fishing for salmon with no success. I finally consulted a co-worker for help, he had previously showed me his great success of fishing from his kodak memories. He eagerly took me down to the sporting goods store to selected proper lures and went over techniques of targeting the kings. Armed with my new ammunition I set out to try again the next weekend.

Montana Creek is about 100 miles north of Anchorage. This tributary of the Susitna River has a good run of spawning chinooks every summer. Wading at the mouth and casting my new found plan of attack, I can still feel the unmistakable hit on my lure, and after setting the hook, feeling the power of the salmon vibrate and bow all 8 1/2 feet of my fishing pole. I can still hear the line screaming off the reel as my first chinook took off. Although it wasnt the fifty pounder I was after, it was still a trophy to me. The feeling of anticipating every cast and landing the salmon myself started what my wife now calls an obsession, and I call a passion.

When I returned from the weekend and tell of my great success to the man that helped me out he said to me, "pass it along" help others share in the enjoyment. He also told me about being a good steward of the sport, "don't harvest what you won't eat" stressing the importance of individual conservation efforts. "I want my kids, and their kids to have the same rivers to fish later on". Then he asked me about getting my Alaskan Salmon Grand Slam. "You have to catch all 5 species in 5 seperate waters, all in one summer". Thats all it took for me to get started. I knew being a novice angler, and without the aid of a professional guide, catching each one of the Alaskan salmon (chinook, pink, chum, sockeye, and coho)on five different rivers would not be easy.

Amazingly, I achieved the Grand Slam the first year I tried it in 2002. Between all the events going on that year I look back and still can't believe I did it. The sockeye almost got away, but that's another story. Army life is demanding enough with seperations for deployments and training exercises. Add in all the other activities of having to daughters and a wife and volunteer stuff it was not an easy accomplishment. I matched it in 2003 also.

I eventually recieved orders to leave Alaska in 2003 for Fort Campbell. I ran into an old buddy and was sharing my new found love of salmon fishing in Alaska. Like in most assignments you end up running into someome you crossed paths with previously eventually. He asked me if I qualified for the International Game Fish Asssociation (IGFA) Royal Salmon Slam Club. He is a big Bass fishing guru and was already a memebr of the IGFA Royal Bass Slam Club. I did some research and found out I still needed one more species, the Atlantic salmon.

Having plenty of days of leave, I sat down and made plans to go to New Brunswick, Canada to complete the Royal Salmon Slam. I decided on going to the Mirimachi River, after looking over the internet for months. The down side was that there is no self guided fishing and I could only afford about five days if I tent camped and maintained a diet of pop-tarts and water (thank goodness for all the Army training). I submitted my leave for August and it was approved. My family had already departed in May for Alaska to prepare for our upcoming transition to civilian life (where else does a salmon fishing dude retire?). I figured with my family gone, and being a devoted husband and father, that girl chasing is out of the question, I packed my jeep and set off 1600 miles to New Brunswick, Canada.

I could not have picked a worse time to go. I arrived to find the heat was up and the salmon were not active. I was In between the spring run going out to the salt water, and the fall run returning to spawn. Two days of fishing left me with a doughnut. On the evening of the second night, just after I zipped the door on the tent and began wondering if I was going to catch the elusive Atlantic salmon, it started to storm. Thunder, lighting, wind and heavy drops of rain pounded and shooked my little tent for what seemed like 7 hours. When I finally unzipped and arose to the morning the storm had passed. My guide looked at me with high hopes the third morning, letting me know rain was good thing because it had cooled down the river and would get the fish moving in.

We actually saw salmon the third day, but no takers for our wet flies. Not until that evening while fishing at the famous Ted Williams Pool on the Mirimachi I felt the take of my fly from the tip of my rod and heard the line burning of my reel. Much like that first king I caught a short 4 years prior. It was my first Atlantic salmon. She put on a great show, tail dancing on the river, a fat hen that measured 36 inches.

I did it! Royal Salmon Slam accomplished, take the picture. I gently removed the hook and released her back to the river. I went on to catch two more salmon in the next two days of fishing, getting one each day. It was a long drive and many hours of fishing for only three salmon but the memories of NB, Canada will last forever!

Hope you enjoy my take. If you would like pictures, email me.

I do not consider myself an expert in anyway, just very lucky. If anyone needs help on fishing for Alaska salmon let me know, so I can pass it along. Check out our salmon fishing club WEB Site at http://www.salmonslayers.com

God bless all the service members and their families serving overseas, Godspeed, see you on the river. Fish On!!

SFC Dennis Musgraves
1931 Christine Drive
North Pole, Alaska 99705

Originally posted by: LIPRIPPER on 9/2/2005 2:20:02 PM

Great story Dennis and it makes me want to go up there too. Alaska is just about the only State I havn't been to yet but I am saving my pennies to make a trip up there next year to visit Silver Salmon so maybe we can all get to get together then sinc ya'll both live in North Pole Alaska <!--graemlin::cool:-->

Originally posted by: chaka bake on 9/11/2005 5:48:59 AM

out on ft smallwood park in maryland i was fishin my homemade bait for cats suddenly i got a bite it bent my rod about 30-40 degrees i reeled in a monster 45lbs blue catfish i took my breath clear out to see that beast bu when i was unhooking it i discoverd that the big blue had eaten a smaller bull cat that weighed less than a pound.

Originally posted by: twofinns on 9/11/2005 3:52:14 PM

small mouth bass fish at its best in north part of arizona
My brother and I took a trip up to the north part of arizona to a river (Black river) where a friend had told me you could catch 100 + fish a day. Well it takes a 4x4 to get there but, let me tell u, what a blast.We caught 100 plus a day. Fish size from small to 4 to 5 lbs. what a fight these fish are and the fun we had there. Sorry no pictures where taken (next time)
Short story
Twofinns

Originally posted by: Frogman2 on 9/18/2005 3:56:21 AM

It may be a year later, but I'm going for it!! Don't miss an issue for upcoming exciting and true stories!!

Originally posted by: Ohio93 on 9/20/2005 12:56:22 AM

I have a story needs some follow up here!! I alone have no clue where to start on this subject, but to tell what little facts I do know, to people that I hope will care enough to help resolve this issue. I'd love to see 1 of the "field" columnists dig into this i'm sure there's a very in-depth story to cover here.
I'll have to make a long "story" short here... cause it dates back all the way to 1932!!
Myself born 1971 <!--graemlin::)-->
Growning up my aunt and uncle lived across the road from a Lake aprox. 18 acres named Decker lake. Across the road was a small gravel area to pull off side of the road to park and a lane that you could walk/drive back down to the lake, this being the ONLY point of entry around the whole lake. I learned some of my first fishing basics out here on the bank with my uncle and my father mostly remember catching stringers of bluegills and bass on worms and minnows.
As I got a little older wasn't much into fishing as a teen/young-adult, so trips back to the lake were few and far between...eventualy being maybe 13-14 yrs old not even going to it period. Along with a growing community property is sold, and houses are buildt across the road from my uncle's next to the woods where you enter to get back to the lake.
So now 20 years later I'm like a fishing machine!! Always on the eternal search for a new "fishing hole". How about an "OLD fishing hole".... got me wondering how this old lake my uncle use to take me back to would be now-a-days?? Haven't heard of people fishing this lake for YEARS <!--graemlin::)--> !! Wondering how I can get back in there now <!--graemlin::)-->... last I remember The once gravel lot off the road was now pristine grass and FENCED IN!! The LANE back to the lake was a DRIVEWAY(??!!!??) to a house. NO TRESPASSING sign posted as well!
So I call my uncle up to see whats the deal how I can get back there maybe he knows a neighbor won't care if we cross their property to get back in there, since it APPEARS to be PRIVATE (???) now!! I always thought it was a STATE LAKE!!!
He tells me that "Decker's IS a STATE LAKE and pay NO attention to the NO TRESPASSING signs and walk on back there...walk through the garden he planted in the middle of the causeway if ya have to." "If he comes out harassing you, saying we're trespassing and he's gonna call the law...tell him go ahead and call!" "Before you go over there stop here first and I'll give you a COPY of the agreement FROM the dept. of natural resources! TO: the local sheriff's Dept. <!--graemlin::)-->
Sounds like alot of trouble to go thru for a trip to a PUBLIC lake???!!!
So it's ON now... I get the copy from my uncle, parked in his driveway. Myself and a buddy cross the road into this fellas lane back to his house fishing poles in hand <!--graemlin::)--> tappy tap tap on the door ... no answer... I didn't just want to dis-regard this guys rights as the property owner and take it on myself to cross on through even though i'm holding a paper from DNR says i'm knocking on a door that shouldn't even be here <!--graemlin::)--> so we retreat <!--graemlin::mad:--> ... disgruntled and SO ready to fish, as I've set eyes on the lake for the first time in maybe 25 years when I went back his lane. I thought i'm gonna visit the neighbor next to him see what they think about this situation...doors open cars in driveway....tappy tap tap.. lady comes to the door... we ask politely "whats the deal with the lake back here?? I use to fish here long ago but now there is no way to get back to it? we were wondering ... she cuts me short to say everythings fine stay in her driveway all day if we like cut thru the sideyard there and enjoy the lake... so we do <!--graemlin::eek:-->
Not much luck fishing ...however we were just out on recon mission here to gain some knowledge on the lake. what did we find out? You can't get around to far on foot cause the banks so overgrown alot of the trails to old clearings were just gone dense woods now. With only 1 causeway to the lake.... your not fishing here unless you have a boat ... OH WAIT the causeways tresspassing so unless you know someone with property around the lake you can cross to get a boat in your screwed!!
That was all on saturday late afternoon early evening....came back up from fishing for hour or so tops (my buddy got 1 small Largemouth Bass) and the guys out mowing grass there by my truck we are very thankful to him for his wife letting us cross and he asks how the fishin was so we talk of the bank overgrown no room yadda yadda.. we got a boat but your neighbor ...yadda yada... he says no problem i'm more than welcome to CARRY my boat down there anytime I want heck even offered me to tie it up down there or leave it up behind his barn if i needed to... a genuine nice fellow here.... we get to talking about this problem here and the land... he originally owned both lots... he bought as 1 lot ... turns out he sold part of it to a friend of his to build on... well sum more yadda yadda... this guy had to sell the property ... so the current owner bought the property WAS aware of the easement to the lake, the state has NEVER canceled the easement to the lake therefore the easement remains valid!!
History lesson??... 1932 "The easement provides for public use of a 20 foot strip of land along the banks for fishing only." original land owner Mr. William J. Decker. the lake itself i think it said was called trotters creek and was to be damed off for all the field runoff?? was interesting working on getting a copy of the actual easement agreement we seen/read. like to have it to go along with the DNR letter to the sherriffs office!!
My beef here is seems we have 1 guy trying to STEAL A STATE LAKE!!! My uncle says the dam needs work/repairs because its damaged. Supposedly the lake has been offered by the state, to the people owning property around the lake?? and no takers, i'm geussing they don't want the responsibility of the lake.... or pay to repairs of the dam that need done! but yet don't want the public roaming around the lake?? Changes need to be made here and soon!! this has been an issue and brought to state levels copy I have dates july 3rd 2003! Seen 1 legal paper from starting around 1997!! still nothings been done... I'm going to try everything in my power to see this body of water is returned to its rightful owners...THE PUBLIC!! Please NAFC... i'd like the full story..... <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: Ohio93 on 9/21/2005 11:02:18 AM

geez figured if ya looking for answers this be the board to post on... maybe i was wrong...no replys in 2-3 days... maybe i posted in the wrong spot?

Originally posted by: PiscMonkey on 9/21/2005 5:52:11 PM

Ohio93! This story should be sent to MUCC and NAFC, it all sounded fine to me. <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: Ohio93 on 9/21/2005 8:34:44 PM

Thanks monkey... alot easier to tell the story then write it lol ..wasn't sure how it would sound. Can i ask what is MUCC?? ... this really does have to be stopped... a true travesty to a nice lake I can't take it anymore figured i'd take a long shot and post here in hopes 1 of the higher ups would read it and get us the right people to contact to make some changes here!! no luck yet.. but I won't give up...

Originally posted by: Frogman2 on 9/25/2005 4:34:14 AM

Ohio"

MUCC: Michigan United Conservation Club.

Also great story!! <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: BeginnerFisherman on 10/16/2005 4:07:47 PM

this happened to me yesterday, no lie.


i was supposed to go fishing with my father on a saturday morning, well friday night i had a football game and felt sick at 7 in the morning so i kept sleeping and woke up about 2 and decided we should still try and fish, we got the truck loaded up and went to a local lake, we had no luck there so we went to a buddy of mines lake. i say lake only because its the biggest pond i've ever seen. we took out his little v-hull boat and decided to toss some jigs. my dad wasnt fishing due to an arm surgery recently so i was the lone ranger of fishing that day. we caught 1 crappie right off over by some cover and threw him back then about 5 casts later i tossed my green jig in by a submerged brush pile that my friend had dropped in there to hold some bass/crappie. in mid retrive i got a monster hit, it felt like something had punched my jig real hard and it had kinda gotten confused. so i start reeling to make sure i hadnt hit a snag and all of a sudden this monster bass leap out of the water and shake his head trying to spit the hook. then i let it take some line out but then it darted under the boat. and got tangled around the anchor line.we finally got the bass, it weighed 4 pounds even and was about 21 inches long.

Originally posted by: papa_d on 10/28/2005 11:54:36 AM

HEY THERE EDITORS... I AM PRESENTLY WORKING ON A STORY FOR YOU FELLOWS. IS THERE A SIZE LIMIT YOU WANT ME TO STICK TO; OR DO YOU WANT A MINI NOVEL?

Originally posted by: papa_d on 10/30/2005 12:16:52 PM

JUST FINISHED A 5 PAGER... LETS WAIT AN SEE IF THE CLUB DOES ANYTHING WITH IT. THIS WAS DEFINETLY A CONDENCED VERSION. I COULD HAVE ACTUALLY MADE A NOVEL OUTTA IT INSTEAD. GOING OUT IN TOMARROWS MAIL. <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: scotteph on 11/4/2005 6:58:43 AM

Papa, ya hear anythig yet? Boy I would sure like to read it.

Originally posted by: chris5 on 11/10/2005 7:54:50 AM

i love to fish how about u guys

Originally posted by: scotteph on 11/10/2005 7:58:18 AM

Chris5, go out of this tread and scrool down. <!--graemlin:;)--> <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: papa_d on 11/12/2005 5:03:40 PM

HEY THERE SCOTT; STILL HAVENT HEARD A THING. THEY PROBABLY DON'T ANSWER CORRISPONDANCE FROM US MEMBERS... <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: scotteph on 11/12/2005 6:05:45 PM

Yep, it makes ya wander? <!--graemlin::rolleyes:-->

Originally posted by: Steve300 on 11/16/2005 2:38:52 PM

As an avid, but average fisherman, I have enjoyed fishing in many parts of the US. Indiana, Florida, Pennsylvania,Georgia, New York,and Ohio. I have also fished in Scotland and Ireland. This tale of fishing is true, as far as most fishing stories go. I have not changed the names, but have left off the last names for obvious reasons.

Originally posted by: Steve300 on 11/16/2005 3:10:55 PM

I hate this computer.
Ray caught nine decent sized bass that day and won the tournament. ( I didn't catch a fish) The prize money was divided evenly and handed to each of us. This really set him into orbit. The president, Pete,congradulated both of us, shook our hands and was happy to see us win. Pete always did this every tournament.
The next tournament, I was paired with Pete. We won, by a couple of ounces, over Ray and his son. Ray got in his rig and left without a word. At the next meeting there was a discussion about sportsmanship. It turned out quite loud, with some very interesting combinations of swear words and discriptions of personalities and parentage. Ray explained what we all could with sportsmanship,(physically impossible), and stormed out of the club meeting, quitting on the way.
At the annual banquet later that year, I was suprised to recieve the winners plaque for the tournament I had fished with Ray. I also recieved the Sportsman of the Year Award. I was asked to pull the winning ticket for the custom made rod and reel combination the club had sold tickets for all year.
I have on the wall in my office the trophy plaques for the Clear Fork Resivor and the Sportsman of the Year, 1992. I have had a lot of fun telling this story over the last few years. The winning ticket belonged to Ray.

Originally posted by: desert rat on 12/8/2005 5:10:13 PM

Many years ago, not long after I became a shellback, th CO of our ship decided to have a fishing contest.
We were well out to sea and one of my guys decided to have some fun.How he conned the cook out of a roast no one knows. He put it on a grappling hook and tied it off to a cleat. When the contest was over he couldn't pull in his line, so we took it to the capstan and brought in a very angry 12 foot mako. I don't think he ever got the grappling hook back. but that was the first time i heard of catch and release.

Keep smiling

Originally posted by: Albert Bond on 1/4/2006 4:36:56 PM

Over the 78 years of existance I have been able to fish in many parts of the world, starting in the place of birth . Baildon in The west riding of Yorkshire in England and then joining the Royal Navy at the end of WW2, have fished in Portsmouth, Plymouth Gibralter, Cape Town,Durban SA, and Antigua Where we caught a 17 Shark,and ST kits in the BWI. and also many parts of this United States, of all the times that a fish was on the hook it was exiting and so much pleasure, I do feel sorry for the folks that do not know what it is like to fish, they are missing a chance of a lifetime.
The NAFC is one club That I did not hesitate to join as life member when I found out about it. there is a comerardary to it that beats any other one I have joined, the members are in my view GREAT.

Originally posted by: KYfisher on 1/5/2006 2:53:45 PM

I will be moving myself and my family to the Northern Kentucky area and would like to know about any good or even reasonably good fishing spots besides the Ohio River

Originally posted by: KYfisher on 1/5/2006 3:35:35 PM

Ok back in June of 2005 I went on my yearly visit to see my Uncle and fishing trip to Virginia from New York, we were out on the Mataponi River, I caught a small white perch and my uncle suggested I use it for cut bait, with any luck (and thats a rare thing) maybe I would catch a catfish, no such luck on the catfish but I did land a 21 inch bowfin, put up a good fight too.

Originally posted by: Carter Northcutt on 1/7/2006 6:34:26 PM

Hey man, come on down to the KY site and we'll get some info for ya there. <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: panfisherteen on 1/8/2006 8:51:20 AM

KYfisher, ive caught a bowfin 2, 8 lbs my parents estimated

Originally posted by: panfisherteen on 1/8/2006 9:11:08 AM

heres 1
On May 30, 2004, my dad took me fishing at the spot we usually fish, except we went 2 the "hole in the wall". We started catching yellow perch with the good old nightcrawler, around 4-6 inches long, and we were having fun.My dad then caught 2 white bass around 8 inches long. We caught some more perch and then I caught an 8 inch white bass. As i was walking along the pier, I seen fishing line tied 2 a bolt and I looked were the line went, and at the end was a channel catfish, about 10 inches in length. I hooked the line and with the help of another kid, I pulled up the line, and cut it since I couldnt get the hook out. I threw the catfish back and I went back 2 where my dad was fishing. A couple perch later, we were almost out of worms, and i lost my last 1. My dad gave me his rod and said"finish off my worm". I reeled the line in and gave a short little pitch off the pier, and I let it sink 2 the bottom, where we were catching fish. I lifted the rod and felt a bite, so i hooked. At 1st, i thought I hooked a smallie, but when i seen a big silvery flash, I knew it wasn't a smallie. It was a 1 lb white bass, which i was surprised. We left and i teased my dad about him giving me his rod and me catching the big white bass (the Ontario record is almost 3 lbs).
It was a fun day, since it was the 1st day of that year that we had caught a fish. I will always remember that day.

Originally posted by: Eric Staggs on 1/11/2006 10:03:59 AM

Is there a limit on content size ? How many words does this have to be?

Originally posted by: panfisherteen on 1/11/2006 1:07:15 PM

unlimited i think

Originally posted by: catfishbrad on 1/14/2006 9:19:10 AM

quote:

Originally posted by Eric Staggs:
Is there a limit on content size ? How many words does this have to be?

Originally posted by: fish-wva on 1/15/2006 7:47:58 PM

in may of 2005 i while fishing the csx bass tournament i had hooked a really big fish on a carolina rigged lizard in 15 ft of water. i know it was a big fish ( the biggest fish i have ever had on a hook) because i had it at the boat. my fishing partner tried to net the fish and it took a dive breaking the line and breaking my heart. the lesson here to learn is dont ever forget to re-tie your line. i never realized but i had fished with that carolina rig for three days without a re-tie. lesson i will never forget hope you will not forget. good luck

Originally posted by: SKEETERMAN on 2/6/2006 8:31:56 AM

My camera is at the bottom of the lake.I have to bring fish home to get pictures taken. Soon as I get latest pic's developed of the hybrids we caught this year,will send them along.

Originally posted by: papa_d on 2/6/2006 8:53:08 AM

Ya forgot to tie a string to it; didn't ya??? <!--graemlin::eek:-->

Originally posted by: potbellyperch on 2/9/2006 11:55:47 PM

I got so many storys to tell but my spelling is no good so I realy donnt have a chance @ it

like how I got my nick

my big muskie & my 1st with my mom in the boat

my biggest northern pike on oneida lake

& many ice fishing storys

Steve

Originally posted by: BROOKLYN FISHERMAN on 2/17/2006 12:16:55 PM

MY FIRST FISHING TRIP.
MY FIRST FISHING TRIP WAS ON A FLUKE BOAT.
ON THAT TRIP I CAUGHT MY FIRST FISH A SEA ROBIN.THE WAS NOT THAT GREAT.WE DIDN'T CATCH ON FLUKE THAT WAS THE RIGHT SIZE NOR DID WE CATCH AND FISH BESIDES SEA ROBIN. I WENT FOR HALF A DAY FISHING BUT ONLY CAUGHT FIVE FISH. IT WAS MY FIRST TIME ON A BOAT SO I REALLY DIDN'T KNOW WHICH ON TO PICK. THAT BOAT WAS THE ONLY HALF DAY.THAT WAS WHY I PICKES THAT BOAT. BUT I WILL NOT GO THAT BOAT AGAIN.al.linea@verizon.net

Originally posted by: BROOKLYN FISHERMAN on 2/17/2006 12:23:59 PM

MY BEST FISHING TRIP WAS THE NAVIGATOR.
I CAUGHT 15- 20 PORGIES. THEY WERE A LITTLE SMALL BUT THEY WERE GOT FOR ME.
ONE STRATEGY THAT IS GREAT AND WORKED FOR ME IS THIS, WHEN YOU START FEALING SICK THINK ABOUT FISHING AND CATCHING A BIG FISH. SO TRY THIS ON YOUR NEXT TRIP.

Originally posted by: potbellyperch on 2/18/2006 3:19:37 AM

for many years I would drive my truck to wisconsin from near Utica New york . it would be my yearly 2 weeks
to spend @ a new resort & fish with my mom in the boat she would bring along her fishing rod & little tackle box & she would bring her books with her on the boat & I would bring along all my fishing tackle my rods&reels
and many times she was @ the resort while i was fishing & we would allways rent the same fishing boat&have it brought to us by the local boat dealer in town .
Monday mom & I were fishing in the morning then came lunch time we went back in had lunch then my mom stayed back @ the resort & reading her books & such I went back ok fishing & had any luck or strikes & came in for dinner & went back out by myself& nite fished came back @ midnite no bites only bug bites i did have on me .
Tuesday morning real early we got out on lake alice in Tomahawk wisconsin did manage to get a small northern
pike & caught & release it then came back to the resort then got in the van & headed for town had lunch got back to the resort my mon stayed back & I went back to the boat & went fishin again didnt get a strike
but what i did was I met Mr. Muskie He is a guide for muskies in the area I looked @ my watch it was about 2.30pm in the afternoon & he said Steve I cant guide you tomarrow because I have some other things to attend to
but I can guide you on thursday Ok I thought pretty kool to do this for free.!!!!! then i fished som more didnt get any strikes & was back @ the resort it was getting pretty close to being over for us ...
Wednesday We Woke up early & My mom & I were back out in the boat& decided to venshere more out into the main lake we were in somo river till we got out to the mail lake part of lake alice then I took us to a bridge <rail-road> got a nice pike there but thats all I got then looked around the lake & we fished some more & after awhileit was getting latter about 11.30am to be exact & many times my mom said to me steve if you
ever get a muskie I will have it stuffed for you she said that trip after trip.. & we talk what has gone bye the year before just a good fishing buddy to have along with you shes not care about getting her hands dirty & allit was now getting along like 12.15pm & I drove the boat a little way to shore I say to her this spot looks good & by now My arm is ready to fall off I put down my muskie outfit..
I look in my tacklebox & I find a mepps#5 WITHOUT a TAIL pick up my ulgly stick spooled with 17# test stren line & casted it to within 2 feet to the shore & wammer jammer I seen her slap my lure & the fight was on ...
I landed her within 8 minn or so as you know we had 2 nets in the boat so my mom wasnt fishing she was reading her book & she picks up the SMALL NET & I Saw Her Slam My lure<mepps#5> I then told Her BEEP BEEP bleep bleep !!! The big net MOM so we got it in the net & I had to muscle it in the boat & we stay @ the spot for awhile till it died I never got one before so I think then it was ileagl to club them over the head with a club so were stitting there in the boat My mom moves to the back of the boat & my legg is going up&down by itself trying to keep the muskie subdude & she says to me before they die they make one last big attemp to get away & thrash so my legs are realy jerking up 7 down LOl <nervs>
So we rore back to the resort full speed ahead & the man& his wifecomes running up to us & then has his wife call the tomahawk leader newspaper & wamer-jammer the press comes out & snaps a few pics. of the fish & I & then we take it to chucks sport shop in town & I get 1st place for that week & ..
Thursday We wake up early & go fishing & dont get any fish or strikes but we did meet Mr. Muskie on the lake & he said Steve I cant help you catch muskie I can only catch them to 39 inches & you come here & get a 45/1/2 inchs muskie!!!
So now we fish for a few hours more & then call it a fishing trip we will never forget & my good ole Mom
did get that muskie stuffed for me & its on my wall as i write this out .


Steve potbellyperch@yahoo.com

Originally posted by: BROOKLYN FISHERMAN on 2/18/2006 7:57:25 AM

NORTH AMERICAN FISHING CLUB
I WAS NEVER REALLY INTERESTED IN FISHING UNTILL I JOINED THIS CLUB. THIS CLUB IS THE BEST WITH ITS DEALS ON MAGAZINES, CONTESTS, GEAR GIVE AWAY, AND MEMBER TO MEMBER. THIS IS YTHE BEST CLUB.

Originally posted by: potbellyperch on 2/24/2006 11:25:40 AM

How many NAFC LIFEers out there While Fishing
A lake with your Son in a sweetwater pontoon boat ever had a UFO Over you

I will tell this TRUE STORY if you & NAFC Ed.. Want to hear it

This Story is !00% TRUE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask Me & My SON

Sorry no photos of the ufo if I did take One you might never have heard this STORY!!

Steve

potbellyperch@yahoo.compotbellyperch@yahoo.com

Originally posted by: getdanet1 on 2/26/2006 6:25:23 PM

Warming up a cold day on the St.Joe river.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Myself and three other members spent the day on the St. Joe with Capt. Gary Gamble of Sundowner charters.
It was my first winter fishing trip and a real first for me as I am getting very close to logging in my 60th year on Earth.

Mother nature greeted us with a chilly reception. She threw low 20's and cold wind at us all day.
The Steelhead didn't think much of our presence either.

One of our crew, Life member Joe C....JODA 911 brought along his "Lucky" NAFC fishing towel.
It did him some good as he was the only one to boat Steel Head this day. Two hefty Salmon came over the side for Joda after some hard fights.

Capt. Gary plumbed all the spots on the river and even threw in a little overtime trying to get us on some fish. The total result for the rest of the day was a few pecks at the Spawn baits and one hefty Sucker brought in by
Life member WaltM.

Our other Life member, Jerry I... LIPRIPPER, and myself got in a lot of bait walking practice.
With no co-operation from Mom Nature and very little from the Steel Head. Capt.Gary reluctantly got our little party of Boyz from Illinoiz safely back to the Shamrock Park landing.

Here's where things start to warm up.
While unloading our gear we noticed a "Hummer" with The NAFC logo displayed on the rear window.
We walked over and introduced ourselves to the owner.
It turned out that he was a Life member from around South Bend In. Don K.

We exchanged stories of the day. It turned out that he and his friend and Butch B. ( Capt. of the Sea King charter boat ) had a banner day.
They had a heavy cooler and stories of some good ones that got away as well.

Don remarked that he fishes the St. Joe often. He then asked if we would like to have some of the extra fish they had as he already had plenty.

What a great, WARM good will gesture between club members who had just met! How could we not accept?

With a round of handshakes and exchange of E mails etc. we all headed out for home. We were all the better for sharing a warm experience on a cold day on the St. Joe.

John M.DeCillo Life member getdanet1.

Originally posted by: fish_the_miss on 2/27/2006 8:36:03 AM

Great story and comraderie. What could be better!

Originally posted by: getdanet1 on 2/27/2006 5:14:28 PM

Thanks FTM. <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: dawsonb on 2/27/2006 6:50:53 PM

Good job fello BBB!!! <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: PiscMonkey on 3/1/2006 1:59:33 PM

quote:

Originally posted by BowfinBoy95:
One of the best fighting but most underappreciated sportfish in North American waters is the bowfin. It may not be the best eatin' fish(hey neither are tarpon!),but the stories that are told about bowfin catches are always riveting. i have caught only one and it was a long time ago, but i want this fish to be recognized by anglers as a sportfish and not a pest. It is a prehistoric relic of a fish, with the ability to breathe air, and is known for its toughness, resilliance and challenge to anglers. To hook and land a big bowfin without ending up with a snapped line, straightened snap swivel,bent hook, mangled spinner or chewed up fingers is not easy. the only people who fish bowfin exclusively are the bowfin anglers group(www.bowfinanglers.com). I'm sure they could offer some fantastic stories for NAFC. I'll write them and email and see if any of them are members and if they have any stories to share.My story isnt lengthy enough to stay interesting for long but if you guys wanna hear it just let me know!

Originally posted by: PiscMonkey on 3/1/2006 2:03:47 PM

Bowfin is another I's like to fish 4's <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: PiscMonkey on 3/1/2006 2:09:25 PM

quote:

Originally posted by potbellyperch:
How many NAFC LIFEers out there While Fishing
A lake with your Son in a sweetwater pontoon boat ever had a UFO Over you

I will tell this TRUE STORY if you & NAFC Ed.. Want to hear it

This Story is !00% TRUE !!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask Me & My SON

Sorry no photos of the ufo if I did take One you might never have heard this STORY!!

Steve

potbellyperch@yahoo.compotbellyperch@yahoo.com

Originally posted by: WalleyeWayne on 3/1/2006 6:14:31 PM

Great story der GDN1 and what an excellent way to finish up a day on the water. Doing some fishing, sharing a few laughs and meeting fellow members is a recipe for a succesful day anywhere, anytime <!--graemlin::cool:-->. Thanks for sharing some of your moments and good on Don K. & Butch B for being good sports and offering to share their catch <!--graemlin::)-->.

Originally posted by: getdanet1 on 3/2/2006 3:42:40 AM

<!--graemlin:;)-->You betcha Walleye Wayne.

Originally posted by: MarkRassel on 3/2/2006 5:43:37 PM

This is not a great fishing story but I was fishing two poles my wife said your bobber went down so i get and said it probaly one of those tiny bull heads.It was so i rebaited and threw it back when my wife said your other pole was moving i said it can't be i only had a white powerbait tail hanging in 3 feet of water next to the dock.it was moving o man this is it i let him go for 10 foot set the hook and he took off.This thing is huge.I finally landed him 28 inch northern.

Originally posted by: getdanet1 on 3/2/2006 7:15:43 PM

whatta ya mean...dat's a great story!! <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: Bill Domowicz on 3/3/2006 9:30:02 AM

Well Let me give this a shot!!!!!

When my wife & I were "dating" we would go to her parents sumer cabin in Isabella, Michigan, on the shores of Big Bay DeNoc. I had just returned from SEA and was not really "into fishing". My father-in-law, was and so was my future wife. (When my FIL was alive). So I had a choice: Get back into fishing or stay on shore and talk to the MIL. Well after a couple of week-end visits., it did not take me long to ask "Dad" about going out with him! He really got me back into the sport! One Sunday we were out fishing for whatever would bite. I was using frozen smelt hoping to get a northern to hit. Cast the smelt out., before it hits the water, a seagull swoops down, grabs the smelt and starts to fly off. I see the line going up rather than down, give it a good yank and pull it away from the gull. Smelt line hits the water, starts to sink and then the line starts to move away from the boat and down. I wait until the slack is out of the line, set the hook! Bring the line end., and me and my FIL pull in a 42" Northern Pike. Most memorable day I had on the water with my late Father In Law! Thanks "Dad"

Originally posted by: walleyemen on 3/3/2006 6:54:46 PM

Really nice story Doc, got too luv those memories!!!! <!--graemlin::D-->

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Domowicz:
Well Let me give this a shot!!!!!

When my wife & I were "dating" we would go to her parents sumer cabin in Isabella, Michigan, on the shores of Big Bay DeNoc. I had just returned from SEA and was not really "into fishing". My father-in-law, was and so was my future wife. (When my FIL was alive). So I had a choice: Get back into fishing or stay on shore and talk to the MIL. Well after a couple of week-end visits., it did not take me long to ask "Dad" about going out with him! He really got me back into the sport! One Sunday we were out fishing for whatever would bite. I was using frozen smelt hoping to get a northern to hit. Cast the smelt out., before it hits the water, a seagull swoops down, grabs the smelt and starts to fly off. I see the line going up rather than down, give it a good yank and pull it away from the gull. Smelt line hits the water, starts to sink and then the line starts to move away from the boat and down. I wait until the slack is out of the line, set the hook! Bring the line end., and me and my FIL pull in a 42" Northern Pike. Most memorable day I had on the water with my late Father In Law! Thanks "Dad"

Originally posted by: Crawdaddy on 3/5/2006 4:56:03 AM

I don't know if you guys are still looking for recipes, but I've got an old family recipe I'd like to share. This recipe is for catfish stew and started with my Great-uncle Cliff.

It's simple and doesn't even need to be measured accurately which makes it great for a campfire.

CATFISH STEW

Boil fish with 1 pod of red pepper until well done

Remove bones and save the broth, throw the pepper away

Cook potatoes and onions while the fish cools

Once the potatoes have cooked up add more and cook until tender

Add tomatoes and catsup

When cooking this recipe you use the same amount of potatoes as fish each time and only half as much onions and tomatoes. Catsup is used to taste (I usually use about a cup in a potful).

Once it's all done add the fish back, salt and pepper to taste, and heat through.

Enjoy it I know I do.

Originally posted by: Crawdaddy on 3/9/2006 6:04:16 AM

I learned a very important lesson a few years ago. I decided one day about six years ago that I was going to take my new wife fishing for the first time. I was living in Columbia, SC at the time attending college. That area is known for the quality fisheries close by. Most people head up to lake Murray to fish, but being that it was the weekend and wanting a little more privacy than the lake could offer I decided to take her to the Saluda River. That's the river below the dam at lake Murray. I had seen great luck with catfish, stripers, and perch, so I figured it would be an easy trip and we would enjoy ourselves. On this particular river there are giant boulders at one point that reach almost across the entire river. You can walk and hop across them as far out as you wish. My wife and I worked our way out to the middle of the river and set up our poles. Lucky me, my wife isn't afraid to bait her own hook. After about an hour with no bites I told her to wait there while I tried to find my way all the way across the river. That way we could work the bank on the less pressured side. I found my way easy enough, but on my way back to get her tragedy struck. I stepped on what looked like a dry stone, but that stone ended up being slick with algae. When my foot plunged into the water it struck something hard. I thought it had hit a sharp rock or maybe a knife. When I lifted my foot up I saw a hole in the bottom of my foot that was about an inch long and deep enough to show bone. I knew I needed a doctor, but I couldn't even see my wife and there was no way to get to her except by walking across the rocks or swimming in the 60 degree water. I opted for the water. I made it to where I could see her, but no matter how hard I called she couldn't here me. After a few minutes I made my way towards my car where I knew that if I laid on the horn she would come to find out what was wrong. Thank God for small miracles. When I got to my car there was a family there. A husband and wife with there three year old son. When I hobbled up to the car and laid on the ground the man came running to see what was wrong. I showed him my foot and told him my wife was on the rocks and I have no way to get to her. That man said "Hey bud don't worry. I'll take care of everything." With that he left in the direction of my wife. Meanwhile the woman gave me the shirt off her son's back to wrap my foot in so that I could at least try to stop the bleeding. When I saw my wife a few minutes later I couldn't help but notice that she wasn't carrying any of the gear we had brought with us. About a minute later came that nice man carrying all of our stuff (and there was a lot of it) by himself. They got me loaded in the car and off to the hospital I went. Once I got there they soaked my foot and stitched me up. After about three months of excruciating pain I went to my personal doctor. HMOs be damned. He did a thorough examination and pulled a chunk of driftwood from behind my ankle bone that was the size of my little finger. I learned a few very important lessons on that trip. First, help those who need it- you never know when you'll need help in the future. Second, if you're hurt make sure the doctor does the right thing the first time. Lastly and most importantly, if you go fishing WEAR SHOES.

Originally posted by: 24dakota24 on 3/11/2006 10:32:49 AM

Last year I took my 3 year old daughter and my oldest daughter out fishing. My other children have fished since they were three so I thought it would be a good time for my youngest to learn. My older daughter had caught a few bluegills in the 5 to 8 inch range but Cyann hadnt caught anything. I put a new grub on her line and handed her Barbie pole to her. She dangled the line right next to the dock and before I could react a slab came out from under the dock and sucked up the grub. It almost pulled the pole out of her hand. When she finally got it in(with a little of my help.) she had landed her first Bluegill. 12 3/4" It was great. I couldnt have been happier. I have never even caught a 'gill that big. We took pictures and released the monster back into the lake. That is one of three times I have never enjoyed fishing more. The other two are when my other two kids caught there first fish. Hope you enjoy fishing as much as I do. Fisher4Life

Originally posted by: Sir Winston on 3/14/2006 9:31:43 PM

The Joker:
In Auguest of 2003, myself and 11 other hardy fisherman headed off to Canada for another week of fishing and adventure, most members of the group had nick names that suited their personalities, I was called "The Captain" because I often took charge and made sure we ended up at the correct lodge and lake, my partner who is Scottish born was given the nick name of " Sir Winston" even though the Scottish often were at odds with the Brittish, the big eater of the group was "The Hog Head " as he could eat more than anyone we knew, his specialty was olives, he would bring at least 6-7 large jars of olives, each a different variety, and would eat them by the handful, finishing off the jar by drinking the juice. There was " Cuda " , " Cork" or " Big Mac", "Wild Bill" was the cook, Scotty was the young pup of the gang, "Butch" was the quiet one, who often got up at 4 am in order to fry 6 pounds of bacon for the morning meal..the remainer of the guys had yet to earn a nick name of their own..This trip was to Cedar Lake, approximately 200 miles north of International Falls Mn...Although it wasn't our first time there, we had hopes that this year would be the year that everyone caught a trophy fish. I was excited as at last I might just catch my very first Muskie after 30 plus years of trying..The trip was uneventful, a long 24 hrs. from Ohio, we always drove straight thru, only stopping to eat and refuel the rented vans...The only mishap was when we stopped at the Canadian customs at the border and found out that we were not allowed to bring potatos into Canda, so we had to dig through a mountain of gear in the back of one of the vans, pull out the bags of potatos and then throw them into the dumpster..all 50 lbs. of them...So once we completed this chore we were off to Cedar Lake...after unloading the vans and setting up the cabin for the weeks stay my partner "Sir Winston" and myself set off to find the sometimes elusive wolf of the north...We spent several days searching the different bays and waterways in hopes that a muskie was there waiting for us. I had yet to catch one, and it was "Sir Winstons" first trip to the north country...Finally after what seemed an eternity we stopped our boat in the area of several huge underwater boulders, and becan casting huge lures of all different types and sizes. Then sudddenly with the help of polaroid glasses the image of a huge muskie appeared...We tried every lure in our tackle boxes, we tried different methods, a figure 8, a slow retrieve, a fast retrieve, to no avail, several times this large beast opened it's mouth as if to laugh at us, just before turning and swimming away to deeper water. Thus we named our fish
"The Joker " for the remainder of our stay at Cedar Lake we made daily trips to our secret location in an attempt to catch our laughing fish..We packed up our vans a couple days later and headed back home knowing that "The Joker " was still there, probably spreading the word to other monsters of the deep that once again it had defeated the best efforts of the visitors from the south...But the story doesn't end there, the following year we returned, but that is for another day...did we or didn't we catch "The Joker" ?

Originally posted by: Sir Winston on 3/15/2006 8:17:41 AM

The Joker saga continues:

As previously stated "The Joker" was still swimming about in Cedar Lake as myself and "Sir Winston" left camp in 2003, only to return in 2004..This time I was even more determined to finally hook and land my first muskie..Not much was said about "The Joker" as we were traveling to Cedar Lake in August of 2004, but we all knew that my goal was to find "The Joker" catch him and then put him or her back into the brackish water for someone else to capture.
Our trip was uneventful, but the excitement grew as we got closer to our wilderness destination.."Sir Winston" as he had done before, made his way down to the dock to prepare our boat for another week of flogging the water in hopes of landing a trophy fish.
As we made our way out onto the lake I told "Sir Winston" "let's go and try our secret spot before heading down the channel for another bay in the lake" . As we approached the boulder ridden spot in the lake I put on my polaroid glasses and began looking down in the water to try and locate my elusive friend. This time I put on a dual bladed black spinner bait that I had bought a a local tackle store and began casting into the darkness. Almost immediately I spotted a huge muskie swimming under our boat....My first cast produced nothing, several more casts produced the same result, then on my next cast I saw "The Joker" dive deep into the water in the same area I had thrown my lure, the all of a sudden I felt a teriffic tug on my lure, I reached back with all of my strength and set the hook on what I hoped was finally my very first muskie, The fish did it's best to throw the hook, doing what fish do in order to get rid of the foreign object now buried in it's mouth.. My only fear was that the fish would somehow tangle me up in the rocks and debris and either cut the line or spit out the needle like edge of a single bladed
spinner bait..After what seemed like an eternity the fish was brought up to the side of the boat and "Sir Winston" scooped him up with the net and together we managed to get the netted fish into the boat..I was thrilled, excited, and I probably yelled out words that only a fisherman would appreciate...."Sir Winston" told me to just sit down, relax and take it easy for about 5 minutes before attempting to remove the fish from the net and rid it of the now engaged hook..so after about 5 minues we removed the fish, cut off the hook and with a great big smile and super grin on my face I lifted up "The Joker" and prepared to have a picture taken with my very first trophy muskie...It didn't matter how big, or how much it weighed, I was extremely satisfied. "The Joker" was 46 inches long and weighed 26 pounds...now that the pictures had been taken it was time to return "The Joker" to it's watery home amoung the rocks and boulders...After a very short time holding the fish over the side of the boat and making sure that it was strong enough to swim off to it's other friends "The Joker" gave a strong jerk of it's tail and swam off to deep water...Mission accomplished.....Now it was "Sir Winston's" turn to try and capture his first muskie...and just before we motored off to another location we spotted another huge figure swimming under our boat...The story continues the very next day....when we attempt to catch "The Riddler",

Originally posted by: Sir Winston on 3/15/2006 8:36:13 PM

The story will continue shortly

Originally posted by: Sir Winston on 3/16/2006 12:40:23 PM

"The Riddler"
Since the previous day had produced my first muskie "Sir Winston" and I set out on another mission, this mission was for "Sir Winston" to try and catch his first ever trophy fish since coming to America from Scotland, as in Scotland a majority of his fishing was with a fly rod or sometimes in a small dingy out on the North Sea for deep water cod. As we approached the shallow boulder ridden area we discussed the different types of lures we were going to try that day, I once again put on my dual bladed black spinner bait and "Sir Winston" chose a top water lure known as the sledge. It is a short stubby floating lure with a notch cut out on the front..We began flogging the water and it wasn't long before we once again spotted a huge figure swimming under our boat. Naturally I was excited and both "Sir Winston' and I were convinced that with a little patience and perserverance we would be able to catch this fish that we now named "The Riddler". One of the large rocks in this area protruded slightly above the surface of the water and my Scottish friend began casting his lure in this area in hopes that "The Riddler" would see it and come up from the deep water and seize the opportunity for an apparent free lunch. After just a few casts there was a sudden explosion on the surface of the water and it was apparent that "The Riddler" had taken the bait..and the fight was on...We had come prepared for such a fight by spooling our reels with 65 pound test braided line on heavy duty quick retrieve Shimano reels, and stiff action Ugly Stick rods..As "Sir Winston" or as I know him, James, was fighting the fish I scrambled about the boat clearing away anything that might get in the way of landing his prize...Although "The Riddler" put up an amazing battle, James was finally able to guide it to the side of the boat and I was then able to put the oversize net into the water and togerther we lifted it up into the boat...As he had done for me I in return told James to just sit down and relax a couple of minutes as an event like this will cause even the strongest of individuals to become a little unsteady or nervous..Now that "The Riddler" was in the boat it was obvious that it was larger than the one I caught the day before and an extremely happy "Sir Winston" had just experienced the a thrill of a life time.."The Riddler" measured 53 inches in length and weighed approximately 30 pounds..The normal trophy pictures were taken and then it was time to release the prize back into the sanctuary of Cedar Lake..After releasing the fish both James and I gave each other a high 5 and before we left the area, guess what ? your right, we observed another huge fish swimming beneath our boat. But that is a story for another day..

Originally posted by: Sir Winston on 3/16/2006 4:13:51 PM

Like all good times, there has to be an end to an adventure. Myself and my fishing partner James, also known as "Sir Winston", experienced the thrill of catching "The Joker" and "The Riddler" and we observed other muskie swimming around the boulders and rocks adjacent to "Nun" island in Cedar Lake, The last large fish we saw we named "The Penquin" but your luck has to finally run out, and we were never able to catch this fish...We even told other fisherman in hopes that someone would be able to experience the thrill of a lifetime...I would highly recommend Cedar Lake to anyone interested in a great time, with the possibility of catching a trophy muskie or northern pike, the lake also has an ample supply of walleye and jumbo perch. The lake is located approximately 200 miles north of International Falls MN.,north of Vermillion Bay and Dryden..it is not a huge lake, and a channel connects it to Perrault Lake to the north..easy to navigate, almost impossible to get lost, and there are numerous cabins and lodges on the lake. So to those of you looking for a new lake to try, check out Cedar Lake, and just maybe you will be able locate "The Joker', "The Riddler", and perhaps catch "The Penquin".

Originally posted by: Yellow Bear on 3/18/2006 4:44:03 PM

One day my wife and I went over to the lake for a day of fishing.Now my wife and I fish every weekend and we have a system.As I am driving out,she gets the rods out.Deb has everything ready to start as soon as we stop,most of the time.On this day as we drove across the lake,she just sat there.Looking at the birds and Rocks and flowers and such.So I asked her when she was going to get us set up.She looked at me as if I had slapped her with a fish and jumped to the rod locker.As she lifted on the lid she turned snow white.She says Its locked.Now this is bad because we don't have the key.My mind went blank,here we are at the lake.a dozen rods and reels in the locker and we can't get to them.Well okay,we will just run around the lake and mark some fish for tomorrow.As we boated around I thought this is nuts.We have all of our tackle so lets fish.I found a school of fish in around 9 feet of water and we anchored up on them.Now my little wife looks at me and thinks I am off my rocker.I got into the tackle box and gave Deb some line and a jig.I put on a bit of a crawler on and told her to drop it over the side.It did not take long and we had a nice Bluegill in the boat.We sat in that one spot for several hours and caught fish.We caught Bluegill,Crappie and Perch.We had some guys watching us,after a while they came up and asked us what we where catching as they were not catching anything.I told them what had happend and what we where doing and they just shook there heads and motored off.By the end of the day we had a nice mess of fish for dinner.

Originally posted by: papa_d on 3/18/2006 6:43:17 PM

Hey there Bear! Good write up; but, you should put this down on paper and send in to our club editors. There it may be selected for print in the mag. You got a gift and should build on it. Papa d

Originally posted by: Scott Randall on 3/28/2006 1:24:34 AM

The Greatest Fisherman I Know...

It was August and my dad had made this trip to Canada several times in the past. He would accompany his brother and friends on the drive from Iowa for a week of fishing at some remote lake in the Canadian wilderness. They would all share a lodge and spend every day in rental boats fishing for trophy northern pike and walleyes, with an occasional muskie. But this trip would be different. My 14 year old nephew, Tyler, would be joining his grandfather and friends for the week. Tyler was growing into the fisherman any father, or grandfather would be proud of.

My dad was born and raised in a small town in northeast Iowa, right on the Mississippi River. Fishing was his passion. It could be bass, crappie, catfish, bluegills, it didn't matter. If anyone could catch fish, it was him. And he was always happy to tell everyone how, when and where he caught them. Every summer was the same thing. Put some fillets in the freezer and invite the neighbors for the end of the summer fish fry. My dad retired just 6 months earlier from John Deere, a place he worked hard at for the past 25 years. He said he would spend his retirement years fishing. We all knew that to be true.

The fishing trip was probably the best time my dad had ever had. The fishing was non-stop action. True trophies were the norm, as proved. Tyler was having the best time of his young life, being with his grandfather on this phenominal trip. But, soon it was time to pack up for the long drive home.

Undoubtedly, some planning was already being made in the back of the van between my dad and Tyler on when their next trip to Canada would occur. That day would never come. You see, as my uncle was driving across Minnesota, ironically, the state of 10,000 lakes, my dad passed away quietly in his sleep. He was 59 years old. The greatest fisherman I had ever known has been gone for almost three years now.

I miss you, dad.

Originally posted by: Frogman2 on 3/29/2006 10:58:41 AM

My 10 year old granddaughter came up to visit last fall, and wanted to go fishing with grandpa. She had fished with her dad for brookies, but said she knew grandpa always caught bigger fish, so she wanted to go.

On that Friday evening, we sort of got a late start, pushed down our dinner, and headed for the mouth of the river, where I fish for 'eyes. We parked the car and got everything unloaded, and walked to the top of the bridge, where I explained where we could fish, and out of the four choices she had, she picked the spot where she wanted to go.

I got the poles put together, and set her up with a crawler, tipped with a single egg, and on a slip sinker set-up. She made her cast, and set her pole down, as I just waited for a few minutes to see if she would get a hit right away....nothing. I set up two poles for myself, one with the same set-up as hers, and one with a jumbo leech. Still nothing, and about 20 minutes had passed. I told her "remember Mariah, you picked the spot". Just then I got a hit, and pulled in a 19" 'eye.

With still nothing happening on the crawlers, I put a leech on her line and put it back out for her. About 5 minutes later, we both had one on, and landed each of them...18" for me and a 22" for her. Needless to say, she was pretty excited, with her first catch. I baited her up again, and she cast it out one more time. Richt off the bat, another hit!! She landed a 20", and others in ;the area were applauding her!

Just as I had her fish in my hand, and she was getting the stringer, I had another hit. I set the hook with one hand, had her fish in the other, and put my foot on the stringer. She started to bring the fish in while I put the last one on the stringer. I could tell she had a nice one on, and told her to keep the tip up, and not to fight it, just to tire it out. It ended up that the last 'eye tired her out, and she asked me to land it for her, as she got the net. A nice 25", 5 1/4# 'eye was added to our stringer, and only 45 minutes had passed since our first one was landed.

She was ready to head home for some pictures, and fish cleaning, but she reminded me of one thing..."remember grandpa...I picked the spot!"

Her dad was a little embarassed, but they did taste great!!

pictures will be posted when ;I figure out how to do it! Rich

Originally posted by: pillman on 3/30/2006 7:34:31 PM

Nice story! hopefully we'll make some stories at the meet in June.

Originally posted by: Pierced Fish on 3/31/2006 3:13:07 PM

Any one who has ever caught a fish has a story to tell, so most of us could probably write a book. A story that will always stick out in my mind for quite a while happened just last night.
I had been having a really rotten day. A close loved-one of mine is in the hospital and is doing very poorly. Being the power of attourney, I was being asked to make a lot of decisions I hope no one here ever has to make.
On my way home, I called a close friend of mine and we talked for a while, and I told him I was going to fishing for a little while so I could get out of the house and get thing off my mind for a little bit, and that he was welcome to meet me at our favorite catfish hole. Now this spot is just the right size for two people. The bank slopes down to the river at about a 45 degree angle, but ther are a lot of tree roots for footing and a place to sit.
My friend was sitting just to the left and about three feet below me when I hooked into my third nice little kitty of the night. When I lifted him from the water and went to grab my line to swing him back to me, a rather entertaining chain of events took place. First, I lost my footing for a second causing me so sit down rather quickly. This caused the catfish to slap down on the ground unceremoniously directly behind my buddy. The catfish, already unhappy about finding itself on the end of my line, began to thrash wildly. Before I could get up and retrieve my fish, I hear a sharp yelp of pain, followed by "That @*&$%?!# fish just horned me in the a$$!"
Aparently, the fish decided to take out his anger on the closest thing to it, wich, unfortunately, was my buddy's backside. All I could do was laugh, and after the day I'd had, that was just what I needed. Even my friend saw the humor in this, well, after the pain subsided anyway.

Originally posted by: g-man on 4/5/2006 4:55:55 PM

LOST FOR EVER! I was fishing with a buddy and his son on my boat at a local lake,we were just sitting with are polls in the water,my buddys son said to me ,you better pay attention to your poll or your gonna lose it.i said dont wory i'm watching it. next thing you know there goes my pole right in the lake.i said no that poll had a reel my father gave me before he passed away an old mitchel 300 i was very upset i said oh great it's lost for ever.
we sat in that spot for awhile and finaly i said i cant take it anymore lets move pull up the ancor rope in front i said to my buddy i"ll
get the back one.next thing i know i see fishing line across my ancor line,i said everybody got there lines in ,they said yes so i started to pull up that fishing line and there it was my poll and my fathers reel what a big weight lifted off me i looked in the sky and gave thanks to the lord,and my father.wow-
oh by the way the fish was still on the line
a big old 15lb CARP!

Originally posted by: JESSE on 4/15/2006 12:59:55 PM

i sent them a story with picturs and they never published it.they told me it takes sometimes up to a yr. to do that. <!--graemlin::mad:-->

quote:

Originally posted by Bassmaster624:
is it me or in the packet that was givin to us before we were members say that if our story was published we would be givin $100.

Originally posted by: loki1106 on 4/25/2006 6:19:25 PM

well its not that that great but

one time i had gone fishing and i saw thas HUGE BULLHEAD surfing she top of the water <!--graemlin::eek:--> and so i casted for it and i got it on the line so i got the hook out it i was gonna take a pic and BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its bottem fin hits me in the head and i fall hit my head on a rock and i woke up in the hospital my head covered in blood ow i still have the scar to proove it oh yeah and that bullhead was 20lbs and 48 inches after i measured it and weighed it

Originally posted by: hoochfishr on 5/10/2006 1:43:32 AM

<!--graemlin::D--> Two weeks ago, I was fishing my favorite catfish pay-lake. I was entered in the big fish side-pot, which was up to $240. After a few hours of no action, I went to corner of the lake with my favorite ultra-light outfit and a few chunks of liver , where there is great little bream honey hole, for some fresh bait. After ten minutes, I had caught four half-palm sized bream from just a rod length away, needing one more, I applied a new peice of liver, casted out about twelve feet, and in two minutes, I was in for the ride of my fishing life thus far...

I had hooked into something that felt like mack truck on my ultra-light, Thanking the lord that my best freinds son had been playing with my rod, and leaving the drag way to loose for my application, which happened to be spooled with only two pound test.

After one hour, and a lot of shouting across the lake for a net, I had landed a very nice blue cat, which weighed in at 14.7 lbs. It turns out that my own personal miracle fish would be the only one caught for the night, scoring me 240 bucks, and my freinds son(my new fishing partner for life!) a brand new ultra-light combo, just like mine!!!

I guess what I'm trying to say is I did not need my twelve foot rods, as much as I thought I did, just a good drag system and whole lot of patience.

However the best Lesson of the night, was that there are a number of un-foreseen accidents that can happen on any outing, and sometimes they are the best memories you and the little ones you take on your outings, will have for the rest of your life.

Originally posted by: kenzoni on 5/21/2006 1:55:09 PM

<!--graemlin::cool:--> About a year ago, I had some rare time off from work, and decided--as I usually do when this happens--to go fishing. My target was Pyramid Lake in northern Los Angeles County, a deep canyon lake in the local mountains fed by the California Aqueduct system. When I arrived at the lake, I stepped out of the car and the cold air put my teeth on permanent chatter mode. Luckily, I came prepared--warm stocking cap, thermal gloves, and foul weather jacket. Then I began the long descent from the parking lot to the shoreline. I finally reached the bottom and set up near the empty boat rental dock.(The concessionaire had gone out of business and no one had stepped up to fill the void). Here in California, you are allowed to fish with two rods if you purchase a two-rod stamp for your license. I decided to set up one rod with an inflated nightcrawler, with an XA Slammer threaded in-line ahead of the hook. I discovered the XA Slammers during one of my many hours spent web surfing fishing sites. According to the advertising, it has a time-released formula(30 minutes or more)that continuosly streams supercharged feeding stimulant and blood red trail. It looks like a red bead with a hole in it. It also said you can use it with any live bait or lure--freshwater or saltwater. I'm a sucker for new fish scents and attractants, so, of course, I bought it. Today was the first chance I had to use it. After casting the rod with the nightcrawler, I set up another rod with an in-line spinner, a silver Mepps with a red-and-black feathered treble hook. I also added an XA Slammer just ahead of the line tie. My target fish was planted trout, even though this lake is mainly known for its striper, bass, and catfish. I figured it was too cold for anything but put-and-take rainbows. As I started casting the spinner, I noticed that the lake--usually gin clear--was green and murky, most likely roiled from an earlier rainstorm. It was also getting colder, and I was thinking that snow was a distinct possibility at this elevation. After about fifteen minutes of casting, I decided to move down the shoreline and fancast the area thoroughly. Then--out of the corner of my eye--I saw movement. My bait rod was pumping up and down in the rod holder. I sprinted down the shore and grabbed the rod. I started to reel, but the fish was still taking drag. I finally managed to gain some line and guided him into the net--it was a striper! With shoulders! Nine pounds on my hand-held scale! Not exactly the target species, but I wasn't complaining. So I baited up again, and went back to throwing the spinner. After about 45 minutes, my arm was getting tired, and I decided to change lures. Then, as I was reeling in, I got hit hard--it felt like a freight train on steroids! Keep in mind that I was using lightweight gear--trout rods with 4lb. test. After a few drag-ripping runs, I brought the fish to the net. A huge largemouth bass that looked like it had swallowed a basketball. A real butterball--not that long but seven pounds and change on the hand-held. On the trout spinner! In freezing conditions! Well, I thought, if there's bass out there, I'll switch over to a crankbait--a clown color Rapala--dressed up with an XA Slammer. On the very first cast, I got a hit, and after a short fight, brought the fish to the net. It was a trout--a big hold-over about four pounds on the scale--caught on a bass bait. I knew it was a hold-over because the planted trout rarely weigh over a pound. I went back to tossing the crankbait, but no more bites. Time to switch lures. I rummaged around in my tacklebox, then decided on a prismatic Krocodile spoon in the hopes of catching another trout. Also, with an XA Slammer. After a half hour--with no bites--I reeled in fast intending to change lures again. Then, less than ten feet from shore, I was hit and my light trout stick went super-bendo. I thought I might have a big trout--or maybe another striper--but when I netted the fish, it was another hefty largemouth--eight pounds on the scale. On the trout lure. 28 pounds of fish in less than three hours--and except for a bassboat working the points in the marina--I was the only other fisherman on the lake. By this time, it was starting to snow, and I decided it was time to head home. On the way home I was shaking my head in disbelief. Freezing cold weather plus off color water equaled one my best fishing days ever! And all the fish--except for the striper--bit on the so-called wrong baits. Was it the XA Slammers with the blood red scent trail? Did I stumble on a "honey hole" by blind luck? Or did the Fish Gods smile upon me that day? One thing though, whenever I have a tough fishing day--or just a bad day at work-- I let my mind wander back to that glorious day and it never fails to put a smile on my face.

Originally posted by: SmallieLove on 5/23/2006 2:54:17 PM

May 14 2006

My family had came into town to do alittle camping and fishing. So I decided to take them all down to the Buckhannon River (about 1 mile from my home) in Northern West Virginia. To catch some of the Rock Bass that over run the place. They put up a good right on ultra lite gear and are easy for first time fisherman to catch. So here we are 5 wide on the bank in a bend of the river catching one after another on crawlers. And having your mother smoke ya 3 to 1 on your home river the first time she has had a fishing rod in her hands can leave you with mixed feelings. But you just cant help but smile every time you see her set the hook. We are having a great time when around 2PM I set the hook on what I think is gonna be just another Rock Bass. Not paying much attention to the fish while I real it in. I hear my brother Justin say "Dude theres a Muskie following your fish." I turn to look and sure enough 4 feet behind my 7" bass follows an interested muskie. So I speed up my reel with hopes that he would commit. Then it came. The lunge of a lifetime. This fish closed a 5ft gap in less time than it takes to blink. I saw him inhale my fish. In a time like this its hard to keep your calm and do what needs to be done rather than what your body wants you to do. So I give him 10 good feet to run knowing I only had 50ft of line on my reel and he was 25ft out it was gonna be close. I grab my spool with both hands to ensure my drag didnt slip on the jerk and gave it everything I had. Might I say that there is nothing like feeling the pressure of a hook set on a nice muskie with a 5'6" light rod. Some how I do what I think cant be done. I manage to pull the hook out of the bass and set it firmly in the corner on his mouth. With luck when he felt the hook he turned toward me so I was able to take in about 20ft of line before he started his fight. All that I could think about were those teeth and my 6lb test. But theres little you can do from the bank but go with it and let him run that drag. Each time he slashed the top of the water chills crawled up my back. Praying that he didnt throw my hook or snap my line. Again and again he broke the surface each time followed by a run up river. Time and time again he came close to stripping off all my line and I prepared my self to take a cold plunge in the river to follow him. This was just one fish I couldnt bare to let go with out knowing I did everything in my power to land. After about 6 mins of this I got him with in 7ft of the bank and saw him spit out the bass. Which at the time not knowing if I had him hooked or he just didnt want to give up his meal can put a split second of heart break through ya. But seconds after he spit out his lunch he rolled over. The sign that every fisherman loves to see when hes got that big fish on. The sign that he had been beaten. Gave up the ghost. Seeing that couldnt have eased me more. I had landed my first muskie after days of casting for this fish with out anything to show for it other than better casting accuracy and precision. It came to me like this and I couldnt have been happier. I imagine it would have been nice on a heavier set up than I had and maybe it would have amazing to see him bust a Jitterbug. But nothing would have topped this. Seeing all of it come together with out warning and with out knowing if every power filled slash at the top of the water was gonna be the last. Seeing that 40" 14lb muskie in my hands was something Ill never forget. But watching him swim away after a little video and a few camera flashes is something Ill always be proud of.

Here's a list of my gear just for those curious.

Micro Graphite 5'6" Light rod by Shakespeare
Quantum XToo EXTRALITE reel
1/8oz Jighead with 1" Live Crawler
50ft of 6lb Berkley FireLine Smoke
And ofcourse 7" Rock Bass...

Would have posted some pics but my mother dropped her camera into the river and the film has been sent off to try and get recovered. So I hope to post some for ya soon.

And one more thing. To the people at Quantum..... you're gonna sponsor me one day.

Originally posted by: capt55 on 5/25/2006 3:28:42 PM

Hot Pink Lures. a short but enlightening story. I own and operate Rising Sun Charters on Lake Erie, a licensed sport fishing charter guide service.
I have been a licensed Ohio fishing guide for about 24 years and thought I had seen and heard about everything you could possible see and hear on a boat. I have taken several hooks from people and from several different parts of the human body. Some we can’t or won’t mention hear, but that may be another story.
On Saturday May 20th, 2006, I had a group of jolly people from the great State of Illinois aboard my boat for a day of guided fishing. We were catching some nice walleye, but they were coming pretty slow. Based on our catch rate, we would have had to spend about 10 to 12 hours on the water. I usually limit our fishing days to 8 hours. That's usually enough for most people. Well one of my guest decided he had the magic lure to help speed up the catch ratio. Now as a licensed guide, I had already thrown about every lure on the boat and every time I caught a fish, someone on the boat would get that lure to use. Anyway, this fisherman goes to his tackle box and produces a very bright
Hot pink work harness. Now to say everyone on the boat was cracking up laughing would be an understatement. I heard everything from questions about his masculinity to his sexual preference. He took it in stride and kept tying on this hot pink lure. He asked me if I thought this might be the ticket. I answered “you never know what will catch walleye, until you try it, but to be honest with you, I have never seen any kind of bait in Lake Erie that was hot pink.
Now I was trying hard not to join in on this poor guy’s misery and the other fishermen’s fun, so I didn’t say anything else. I was doing all I could do to not laugh with them, but I wasn’t having much luck. Now I am a firm believer that most exotic colors are to catch fishermen and not fish, they don’t see color the same as we do. A dark color on a cloudy day and a bright color on a bright day, now that will work. Well, getting back to my story, this jolly fisherman finished attaching this hot pink lure to his line, worked a nice fat juicy night crawler to the hook and proceeded to drop it over the side of the boat using a 1 once in line weight. He let the out several yards of line in what we call long lining.
Well, it took about three minutes before he hollered “Fish On” needless to say everyone thought he was pulling our legs, so I didn’t go for the net too quick. I just kind of watched him for a minute. Then I realized he really did have something. I took the net and hurried to the back of the boat to net a nice 3-pound walleye. You could have heard a pin drop on the boat if it weren’t for the screaming seagulls and water lapping on the sides of the boat. But the very next thing I heard was “you got any more of them lures?” This brought another round of laughs, but we soon realized this was a serious question. Our fellow fisherman said “yes I do happen to have another one”. Well needless to say, the second fisherman proceeded to catch fish too, but our jolly fisherman only had the two hot pink lures. We ended up getting our limit for the day, thanks to this special lure.
This just proves a point, which is, you never know what you might learn from your fellow fishermen when it comes to catching fish. I guess I hadn’t see it all after all.
PS, I did go to the local bait shop that evening and I’ll give you one guess as to what I bought and I bought seven of them. Look out for my next trip, you can guess who will be the object of the laughs and questioning looks when I bring out My Hot Pink Lures.

Originally posted by: papa_d on 6/3/2006 10:28:27 AM

quote:

Originally posted by PiscMonkey:
Bowfin is another I's like to fish 4's <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: Ultra Rodworks on 6/9/2006 10:11:33 PM

Hey,
My name is Jeff Harding and I am a past member who recently rejoined. This time it will be for good...lol. I founded a project called Veterans Outdoors. It is a project that matches recently injured soldiers with fishing opportunities accross the US as part of their rehab. We recently launched a new website. This project started as a project that built custom rods for vets. Myself being a Custom rod Builder joined about 25 of the best rod builders in the country to build rods for vets that would tribute their service by being decorated with thread weaves that showed off their unit logos, purple hearts, etc. It evolved into something much bigger. We have guides from all over the US who have entered our database to be matched with injured vets in their areas to host them for a day or two on their home waters. Check out the site to learn more. www.veteransoutdoors.org If your interested in learning more, feel free to email me at jharding@veteransoutdoors.org I now serve on the board of directors and run the day to day operations of the project.

Jeff Harding
Veterans Outdoors

Originally posted by: aubrey on 6/25/2006 1:08:40 PM

I just returned from a weekend of camping & fishing with 2 of my grandsons They had a great time walking a nature trail & canoeing the creeks with the park officials

The real reason I am writing this memo is that while we was fishing which we did from the bank we was close to a couple that was also fishing but they was breaking the law of the state & the state park we was camping a Their are signs all over the place stating ALL BASS ARE CATCH & RELEASE ONLY & this couple was putting bass on their stringer I really didn't like that & it made me very angry after we left to return to camp I went to the park host & informed on the people you may think I wasn't be nice & no I didn't turn the other cheek let me tell you their are some BIG bass in the lake their & the lake is part of the State Fisheries

Other than that we did have a wonderful time ,Me being with the grandkids & watching them trying to control that canoe was a big laugh The kids saw A lot of the critters in the wild & didn't really want to come home Thanks for letting me get the madness off my chest people like that ruin it for other grandkids not only mine but yours & others too.........

Originally posted by: fishmanspk on 6/26/2006 10:35:38 AM

well i was on the susquehanna this morning here in pa and i was fishing for musky off of the shore.I had my 7ft heavy shakespeare rod with a saltwater shakespeare reel and 25lb trilene ironsilk line using a 7 inch creek chub about 30 ft out in the river.On the other pole a 6ft 6 shakespeare medium rod with 6lb test cortland camo line and a medium shiner out about 4 ft off the shore fishing for smallmouths..Can you guess which pole the musky hit.If you guessed the small one you were right this fish was in the 45 inch range and i fought him for about 15 minutes got him right up to the shore and had hime brake the line.Ive been fishing for musky for over 3 years in lakes and rivers around here and have yet to land one, ive had s0me snap 50lb wire leader in half and everything i guess im just not supposed to land one.but maybe someday ill get lucky enough.

Originally posted by: fishmanspk on 6/26/2006 10:51:23 AM

last month when i was fishing at lackawanna state park about 30 miles from my home with my father.we were trout fishing but i brought my musky rod just in case we saw something so we caught about 6 trout and then i saw a huge swirl down stream i told him it had to be a musky but he didnt believe me so we kept on fishing abot a half hour later a guy came down to us and said they had just ran out of bait they caught some many fish and that he had a musky on using a fathead minnow but it breoke the line because he had on 6lb test line.So after i heard that i had to go down so we went.And we caught a few more trout catching and releasing as always but the next trout i caught as i was reeling it it i could see a huge shadow coming behind it so when it got close to the shore i got a look at it it was a nice musky around 48inches so i opened my bail and let the trout run hoping for the musky to eat it but it only chased the trout up onto the shore so i had my musky pole there i hooked the trout back in the mouth with the musky pole and open up the bail the musky swam away for some reason but all os a sudden i seen something big with my trout sticking out of its mouth so i let him suck it in for almost two minutes and then i set the hook(which was a red gomakatsu circle octupus hook) i hooked it right in the corner of the mouth when it got it i good see that it was a huge bass espiecially for pennsylvania i weighed it on my hand held to be eight pounds 8 ouces and the trout that it ate was 14 inches so after i took a few pics i released the monster as i do with everthing it was also out of season so i had no choice but would have released it anywasy it was a great end to another great day of fishing in northeast pennsylvania.

Originally posted by: JESSE on 7/3/2006 11:06:22 AM

I SENT A STORY TO THE CLUB AND IT NEVER GOT PUBLISHED GUESS YOU HAVE TO BE ANGLO CAUSE THOSE ARE THE ONLY ONES I SEE PUBLISHED HWO DO I KNOW THIS LOOK AT THE LAST NAME OF THE ONES THAT MAKE IT I SENT MINE 2 YRS. AGO THE EDITOR KEEPS GIVING ME EXCUSES.

Originally posted by: capt55 on 7/4/2006 7:33:53 AM

Jesse, type your story and post it on this page of the site. You can do that yourself and not go through the magazine, unless you are trying to get paid for a publication, then best wishes.

Rising Sun Charters

Lifer from Ohio and full time lake Erie Fisherman

Originally posted by: JESSE on 7/4/2006 7:41:10 PM

I JUST WAS HOPING THEY PUT MY STORIE IN MAGAZINE NOT LOOKING TO GET PAID FOR IT I EVEN TALED TO AN EDITOR WHO SAID HE WOULD FIND IT AND E-MAIL ME BACK THAT WAS 2 MONTHS AGO.

Originally posted by: muskygirl on 8/1/2006 12:25:28 PM

Our Fellow Man


When I think about what the last 18 months have been like, I think about the kindness shared with me through the fellow men and women who belong to the North American Fishing Club. This kindness was given to a person they have never met before nor even talked to much before aside from some posts.

Jumping back to March of 2005, I was in my glory. I had just agreed to buy a house and some land along the Mississippi River in Crawford County of Wisconsin. It had been my dream for 5 years to live, work, and breathe the air of this beautiful river that I had grown to love. Once the move was made, things just went down hill – and fast. I had high hopes of running my own preschool from my home to better find time for my love of fishing the River. But after a month of having just 2 children – whose mother was not paying me, I learned that there just not enough young children in the area to make this possible (lesson one – check the censes before making a career choice). No biggie, I have enough education to get a job at any of the preschools. The same day I gave notice to the children I was caring for – I had two jobs promised me to choose from. The down side was that either of the two jobs would require me to drive a total of 50 plus miles a day. Ok, so lesson two was – living in the middle of no where was not going to be so easy.

Along comes July. This is where I now get into why I am writing this story. There was to be many more “bumps” in the road from March to July. July is when I learned lesson three. Strangers indeed can be very kind to their fellow man. July brought two events, one being the Meet in Lacrosse for the North American Fishing Club and two, a charity event I was helping to run where the group I belong to was to hold a Big Brother/Big Sister fishing day. Now the two events were to be held on the same weekend and money being tight as it was – there was no way that I could afford to do both. But a fellow NAFC member was very persisted on getting me to come to the Meet, even if it could only be for a few hours. I still had to decline saying that I could just not afford to make the extra trip and explain why. Between all the “bumps” in the road I had to deal with, I was also diagnose with ovarian cancer the month before which had required some emergency surgery and a hospital stay. And because I didn’t have insurance at the time, I was paying for it out of pocket, so that and making a house payment and other bills just didn’t allow me an extra trip. The next thing I knew, this NAFC member sent me a very nice letter and some money to make the extra trip – all just so they could meet me and I could meet them. To give someone this gift – just so everyone could meet a new friend is just truly amazing. The other thing that amazed me was the number of members willing to donate used fishing items to my Big Brother/Big Sister event. I had plenty of poles, reel, and tackle to take along for the kids.

As the months moved on, I got sicker and sicker, requiring me to give up my house this last December and move back to Waukesha County. I also have had to have three more surgeries and three rounds of chemo since moving back as well. But during these last eight months, I have also learned that the members of NAFC have very big and kind hearts. Many of you have touched me very deeply and I am unable to express my gratitude as much as you deserve. During my sickest days, you cheered me and showed me that friends come when needed. You made sure I got cards and letters of well wishes, money, treats, and bandanas in every color of the rainbow – I still even wear my bandanas (because I always have, even before getting sick) and like wearing my “special” one the most. You made sure that when it was time for the Big Brother/Big Sister event again this year, that there was enough stuff for every child. And for this year’s member Meet, again, there was kindness shown not only to me but to others as well when it came to camp sites, food, drinks, fun and boat sharing. Of all the fishing clubs and groups I belong to and all the friends I have, the members and friends I have made through NAFC have shined the brightest and have really shown me that people STILL DO CARE for their fellow man.

Originally posted by: Fisherman Joe on 8/8/2006 3:11:02 PM

Dear Muskygirl:

What a heart warming story! You must be a very strong person for going thru the past year and a half. I hope I am just as strong,for I was told yesterday I have Prostate Cancer that has spread to the outside area. I know I have a long road ahead,but people like you will keep me going.
Next month I was going to have a knee replacement, but now I'm not sure. I will know more tomarrow when I go to the Univ. of Washington Cancer Center and fine out what plan the doctors have. I really don't know how far it has spread,nevertheless I shall know in less then 24 hours.
I want to thank you once again for the story you told. I hope you are Cancer free,and things are going better for you.I'm sorry you lost every thing you worked so hard for.Keep the faith,and may many years of sunshine fall your way.Best of luck
Fisherman Joe,
Life Member

Originally posted by: muskygirl on 8/8/2006 8:25:49 PM

Well, Thanks Joe, and my thoughts and prayers are with you as well. I can't say it was or will be easy and I am not done yet - long road ahead - but it is the road I am on and so I plug along. Need an ear or a shoulder, PM me and can share what I went through the best I can.

Cheri

Originally posted by: ColoradoFJ60 on 8/17/2006 2:55:31 PM

I'm not sure if you guys know but I am one of the founders of a fishing club here in my neck of the woods. We are called Western Slope Anglers. We started out as a bunch of yokels with a fishing forum and have evolved into an organization that strives to protect our valuable fishing resources in Colorado.

We recently were contacted by one of our local newspapers to write a weekly column about all things fishing and hunting.

Here is our most recent column that I wrote in regards to the USFWS and the CDOW eliminating one of our finest trophy fisheries in the state at the expense of some endagered fish. We were able to send quite a few of our members to the Wildlife Commission meeting as we were very lucky to get onto their agenda. We spoke out about considering other options besides haphazard shocking and killing of 40+" northern pike and 5lb plus smallmouth bass.

There is a section where you can leave comments. I would appreciate it if you would read it and leave some kind of comment. I know you all may not live in my neck of the woods but we want to show them that there is support for our agenda and that taxation without representation shouldn't be tolerated anywhere. If possible also, please make a note of where you are from.

http://www.gjfreepress.com/article/...S/60816016

What was really amazing is that we got coverage not only in our local paper but also in the Denver Post. Here are links to other newspapers that covered our activities.

Denver Post - http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_4174390" TARGET=_blank>Click Here
Grand Junction Sentinel - http://www.gjsentinel.com/sports/co...y_WWW.html" TARGET=_blank>Click Here

Again, this is a topic that we feel very strongly about here on the Western Slope of Colorado. Many things just aren't done correctly here and we have virtually no fisheries management. People go to Utah and Wyoming to fish.

Thanks guys.

Originally posted by: muskygirl on 9/19/2006 9:53:56 AM

Cameron’s Story

Concentrated eyes watch for a bobber to go down.
She remains silent – even though the world around her goes rushing by.
Hands of quickness as she sets the hook and reels in a fish.
But, above all, PATIENCE, patience for the strike (more then I have sometimes).
These are all good qualities for a woman who has been fishing for many years, but she is no woman. These are qualities I have taught a 5 year old child. A little girl who has learned to love fishing as much as I do, and at such a young age. Her name is Cameron and she just gets so excited reeling in a fish whether it is 2 inches or 18 inches. Her excitement and the smile on her face are the reason I help children get into fishing. Cameron is one of many children who I have taken fishing on a one-on-one basis to the local lakes in the area. These children have been students in my preschool classroom where I teach children who have mental and physical handicaps as well as other learning and behavior disabilities. During two different parts of the school year, I have Fishing as a theme. We spend a couple weeks learning the different types of fish, how to fish for them and with what, as well as a chance to go fishing. The parents of the children are informed that if they wish for their child to have a chance to go fishing, all they need to do is ask. My free time on weekends is then theirs for a fishing adventure.

When it came to Cameron, she said she wanted to be like Ms. Cheri. She wanted to have the chance to get a big musky like I had. And, with each new picture of me holding a musky hung in the classroom, she got more and more interested. So as part of her reward system in the fall of 2004, she said she wanted to earn a fishing pole – a spider-man one at that. So, off I went to find such a pole, and for a month, Cameron had to make sure she was getting her school work done as well as work on some behavior issues we were addressing. Like no other prize or treat she wanted in the past, she worked hardest for the fishing pole, and got it in a month’s time.

In March of 2005, I was to move away and no longer be her teacher – this made her very sad because she had yet to go fishing with me. Cameron’s mother had made a promise that they would come out to visit me in my new home that was along the Mississippi River (4 hours away) and in July, they came out to spend a weekend. Cameron could not believe how long the River was and had many questions about what kind of fish were in the River and above all, when would I take her fishing? My answer to her was, “as soon as we could get the poles in the car”. And off we went to buy some worms at the local bait shop and find a good spot for some fishing.

Her first lesson was about being safe while fishing. Things like not playing with the hooks and some water rules. And as soon as I had a line out for her, she was reeling in a nice fat Mississippi River bluegill. That first fish of her young life brought the biggest smile I HAD EVER seen this child give. She had a blast reeling in bluegill after bluegill that sunny Saturday afternoon and was ready to go again at six o’clock the next morning. We fished most of the morning and then after lunch, it was time to say our goodbyes and see them off. It was heart breaking watching them leave because Cameron could be heard from down the road, screaming that she didn’t want to leave – she wanted to stay and fish with Ms. Cheri forever.

My life has now cross paths with Cameron’s once again. Due to some hardships and misfortunes, I had to move back to where I was living before and have now become apart of Cameron’s life again. This gave us the chance to become the best of fishing partners and once again allow me more of a chance to instill my knowledge of fishing into her. For Christmas last year, a friend of mine who is an area guide for muskies and walleyes gave the two of us a great gift – a guided trip for walleyes in the spring. This was to be Cameron’s first guided trip and I was just as excited for her as she was. I made sure when spring came, that she would get lots of time out on the water and fishing, to get her ready for the trip, seeing as she had yet to get any fish bigger then a bluegill. She was also given a new reward system so she could earn a new “big girls” fishing pole as well as a new tackle box filled with tackle she could use for walleye fishing. She got her pole in no time but the tackle box would prove almost impossible. But after a couple more months, she had it earned and was very proud of it, making sure she showed everyone her new tackle box as well as explaining to everyone what each piece of tackle was used for. It even made it to school for “Show and Tell” many times.

The day of the trip meant that we would have to get up at 4am – no easy task for a 5 year old. But once the alarm went off, she was up out of bed faster then any other day where she gets to sleep until her normal time. In a half hour we were dressed and packed and off to the lake. Cameron even made sure she loaded her own gear into the car very carefully – without any help. The sky was still dark and some stars were still visible. She had asked what the pink line was that was forming along the horizon and I answered her by saying “that is the start of your very first sunrise”. She was totally amazed that we were up before the sun and couldn’t believe she would get to watch it come up.

That day was loaded with lots of firsts for Cameron. One of them was to watch a doe swim from one end of the lake to the other, but the best one for her was her very first walleye. It came in just over 18inches. She reeled that fish in like a pro even though she had never had a fish that big. Once netted, again, I saw that never before big smile come across her face. Her question to me was “Did I do good, are you proud of me”? “Yes honey, I am very proud of you” I answered her as tears welled in my eyes. The day would net her 12 walleyes, a “fun” boat ride, and a chance to out fish me for I only got 4 fish (her first being the biggest). At the end of the trip, and hugs were given, she loaded up her gear back into the car, buckled herself into her car seat and before I could even got out of the parking lot, she was fast asleep.

We still go fishing as much as we can for bluegills and other pan fish, but her walleye trip is still all she talks about, oh, and the question “now when can I go musky fishing”?

Originally posted by: davesett2000 on 9/20/2006 8:25:47 PM

Great rendition Cheri <!--graemlin:;)-->

Originally posted by: muskygirl on 9/21/2006 1:17:47 PM

Thank you Dave

Originally posted by: Mike Larsen on 10/23/2006 12:32:19 PM

here's a story i wrote one son that wasn't with me & my other son on a job on the trinity river, ca. i don't know if it is properly edited or not. let me know.

TUG of WAR on the TRINITY RIVER 10-8-06


NICK,
Fished for a cup hrs. W/Jake. he came over started talking all the fish jumping & he was collecting moss. he was reeling in to fast not to get the moss thing. he wanted to watch me on how i was fishing, so i started to explain on where to throw to get a good drift then feel the bottom & watch your line, it will hit off rocks & blah, blah. then i explained that if you see the line stop or pulll!! oh ****T!! just like that!!! Just like the tv shows i hooked into a nice fish! FIRST Mistake!!! "Jake, get your phone out, i want a picture for Nick" what did i just say?, as Jake says, "Soon as u land it". Well CURSE MY ASSSSS!!!!, as it fought for a few seconds, rod BENT drag pulling out. then stopped! Oh Crap he's big and wants to sit on the bottom, tighten drag, shakes head. Nope doesn't want to move. Ok, move left, pull, not budging. Move right, shakes head, nope staying on bottom. Jake,"Dad?". Uh, he's big & doesn"t want to move? Really big? Repeat left,right. Nothing again, afew head shakes. Pole still bent in half. "Jake, that was a fish right? I'm not STUCK???" Jake, "Yeah, that was a strike on your pole, i saw it" WEEOW, not that felt like a hit, rip rod catch branch thing. OK, lets give it some slack? Left, right. head shake, tighten line. Feels there, NOT moving."Should i walk in after him? (jokingly)". Jake, "Well Dad, How bad do yuo really want that fish?". AH? Take shoes & socks off. Water COLD! Get closer to fish,Slipping on rocks! Jake (laughing) "Oh, forgot to tell you the rocks are slippery, almost fell on my butt, that's why i came over here!". "YOu little asss--", oops, slippery rock, almost on my ***! OK, fish, closer but nothing happening. "Jake, go in after him, u could get closer!" Jake, "YEAH, Right". Worth a try. Well, he's got to move? Yanking hard, again & again. Nope. Jake's talking on phone now. Repeat ALL procedures. Not feeling head shakes? Jake on phone. Is fish there or my imaganation? Put rod down by my other rod,(Can't break the line yet). I'll fish with my other rod. u figure the sense in that move. Toss lure out. "DAD!!, your rod!", as it's moving towards shore. Reel in, drop other rod, I knew there's a fish still on, pick up the pull, tension not moving??? ****, what is this tug of war? Is he under or around a rock or branch? Yank, Yank? line pops free,see something move in water. SON OF A BIT__!! I guess he tugged better!
Jake, "Bummer Dad" as he's throwing in his lure!?
Jake, "Dad, show me how did that again maybe you'll catch another---" "U smartass son of a bit---" "No really you caught one be fore u finished showing me the whole thing" (sincerly). OK, yeah, (?i can catch another one?) ther's that mind thing again. NOPE, cast, start the routine again, YANK! STUCK! BREAK LINE!!!!
!@@##$$%%%^^&*--- "WE'RE OUT of here SON!!!
Let's start over tommorrow.
to be continued..... outlawml@pacbell.net

Originally posted by: Denny C. on 10/23/2006 12:42:09 PM

quote:

Originally posted by NAF Editors:
To All NAFC members:

Here's your chance to contribute to your Club publication, North American Fisherman. We're looking for member-written stories and other material for upcoming editions of Fishing Club Journal.

We want to showcase Club members from around North America, but we need YOUR HELP to do it.

Member Notebook
In this section, we want to highlight a Club member who has a meaningful story, in or outside the world of fishing. Do you know another Club member who is a respected community leader, long-time civic volunteer, or somehow made a positive difference in the lives of others? Let us know about them. And don't be shy about noninating yourself.

This section is not restricted just to heros and humanitarians. We want to hear about any and all Club members with an interesting tale. Maybe they had a harrowing experience or a narrow escape on the water, are an exciting adventure on a recent fishing trip.

Or, let us know about a member who caught a record fish, or is a champion on the local tournament circuit. We will consider each and every story for publication, whatever it is. All you have to do is send it to us. We'll also need your Member Number and a phone number where you can be reached.

In addition, we'll need a crisp, clear, well-lit photo of you or the member you nominate. Sorry, electronic images from most personal digital cameras don't have high enough resolution and won't reproduce on a magazine page. Same with electronic images printed on a home PC. They are too blurry. We need a good color print, or a high-resolution electronic image taken on a professional quality digital camera.

Send your story by replying to this post, or better still, by emailing it to: editors@fishingclub.com. Or, you can send it via U.S. Mail to: NAFC Fishing Club Journal, P.O. Box 3403, Minnetonka, MN 55343-2103.

Originally posted by: JESSE on 11/15/2006 6:56:14 PM

<!--graemlin::(--> THE PATCHES I HAVE GOTTEN WILL NOT STICK WHEN I IRON THEM ON THERE NO GOOD THERE IRON ONS THAT DONT STAY AT ALL.

Originally posted by: PlayinCop on 11/24/2006 8:53:02 PM

Mike,

I don't know much bout editing, but I hope that wasn't the finished draft goin to NAFC. I haven't read any of the others so I don't know what the short hand is like.
As for the thing you tried to catch, I think it was a turtle. They are the only ones that I know that will stay in the same place after they bite something. I lost 4 lures to a snapping turtle thinking it was a cat before the little SOB stuck his head out of the water. That is the last time I fish under a malberry tree.

Originally posted by: JESSE on 1/15/2007 11:25:10 AM

i have ordered the nafc patches but they wont iron on or stay on cheapies they need to order good iron on patches for there mem, are we not worth it or what <!--graemlin::eek:-->

Originally posted by: BigDog68 on 2/15/2007 8:15:01 PM

We the members & life members of this club would like to have the "old style" patches back. If you cannot bring them back, please give us written / printable permission to have them made on our own, so that we do not get sued for copy right infringement. The new patches just are not the ticket for us. Please print an article in the magazine regarding this topic. OLD PATCHES VERSUS NEW PATCHES. Thank you and have a great day from BigDog... <!--graemlin::cool:-->

Originally posted by: Kory on 3/1/2007 8:45:16 PM

I have a pretty good story for ya. Happened in June of '06.

"Improvised retrieve"
I was trolling a rapala with a little split shot in front along a rock pile one afternoon. I started turning to go back over a productive patch of rock when my line got wrapped around the prop shaft. I killed the motor and went to untangle it. It was so bad I decided to just cut the line and pull the rapala back in by hand. I did, and about the third pull, it pulled back. I was smart and had a few feet of monofiliment wrapped around my hand. Then I got even smarter and really pulled on it, thinking it was a snag. Well, it wasn't. The line cut into my hand and the fight was on. I pulled in line (but not wrapping it around my bleeding hand). I would gain a few feet, then have it quickly taken away because I really didn't want to slice my other hand. I fought the fish for 10 minutes, because, after all, thats my lucky rapala at the end of the line! The fish finally got up to the boat and we got a good look at each other. At that moment, Mr. Walleye decided, "He hasn't suffered as much as I have yet." He flapped a few times and headed for the bottom. I was grabbing for the net and holding the line in my good hand. The string dug down and then slid. I excercised my French as I got the net ready and pulled the line up one more time. I had had enough of this. Light headed and determined to get my lucky rapala back, I netted the stubborn brute. I quickly measured it and put it in the livewell. A nice 18 1/2" 'eye. I wrapped my hand in my shirt and headed home. As I was taping up my hand I just thought of how much fun I would have retelling this one.

Originally posted by: JESSE on 3/4/2007 3:44:36 PM

TELL STEVE PANNEZ TO PUT OUR STUFF IN THE MAGAZINE TO IT SEAMS HES THE ONLY ONE THAT COMES OUT ON EVER MAGAZINE I SENT A LETTER WITH PICS.2 YRS AGO AND NOTHING YOU ALL DID"NT EVEN SEND PICS BACK PROBABLY TRASH THEM. <!--graemlin::mad:--> SOME ONE HERE IN TX. EVEN ASKED FOR A CLUB FLAG TO PUT UP AT UOR MEETS AND NOT EVEN A RETURN CALL.OR E-MAIL

Originally posted by: Kory on 3/5/2007 8:12:05 PM

Well, in stark contrast to JESSE, I have had nothing but great service with the club. When I send e-mails or letters/dues in, I am always contacted soon after. I sent for stickers once and recieved them 3 days later.

Originally posted by: bassman3 on 3/24/2007 8:35:07 PM

Sometimes, I think it is who you are, and not that you are a good paid up member, whether or not you get things done, with the club. When I send in a question, I usually get back a reply, but sometimes the reply they send back, is not all that good, for the question that I sent in.
In some ways, I'm really disappointed in the services of the club.

Originally posted by: Bob La Londe on 4/16/2007 7:57:42 PM

Dave and I were fishing Yuma Bassmasters yesterday out on the river. We had two fish in the well and we were getting bit when I nailed a short fish that wrapped me up. Dave managed to grab the fish and then while I was trying to work the snag loose he pushed me. Splash!!! Then feeling guilty about it he walked right in behind me. BIGGER SPLASH!!! My first thought was, "Shoot! THere goes my cell phone."

Of course we were in the current and the boat was drifting away. I looked to see where Dave was and when I saw he had a hand on the boat I proceeded to try and get my rod out of the brush.

Never did get the line untangled and the boat was getting further away so I hit the thumb button and started releasing line. When I caught the boat most of my braided over wrap line was gone. Finally had a smart thought, whipped out my knife and cut the line. Then I tossed the rod up on deck as we were dangling off the back. Bounce! Bounce! Splash! It skittered across the deck and went right off the other side of the boat.

Dave pulled himself up by stepping on the cavitation plate and as I was getting myself in position to do the same I saw him reach over the side and grab my rod. Hey! Bonus! We saved the rod afterall.

We did ok for the day considering we tried to fish soaking wet in the wind for the next two hours. Finally I got too cold to take it and insisted we head in to have a cup of coffee and spend 20 minutes at Fisher drinking coffee. Dave took the cold stiocally like the determined pro that he is and kept fishing inspite of the cold and wind and shivering. I had to push hiim (not that way) pretty hard to get him to head in and take a break from fishing to warm up.

We did not finish in the top of the pack, but we did ok. Dave finished up the day with two keepers back to back in the last hour to fill out our limit. His big fish was a really solid 3.9. When we netted it I guessed it at 3.5 to 4.

With a 9.41 total weight. We didn't rock anybody's world, but considering the adversity of the day I have to say we did pretty good.
_________________
Bob La Londe
http://www.yumabassman.com

Tournament Director
http://www.YumaProAm.com

Originally posted by: The Boston StRiPeR on 5/7/2007 5:09:42 AM

HERES A STORY FOR YOU. As we all know its early in the season here in Massachusetts, and the hearing are starting to run the rivers pretty strong. I was fishing Saturday night on the one of my local rivers just off the Boston harbor. I pull my 17.5 foot Lund fisherman up to a dam where they have to locks open to flush the freshwater out because it was low tide at the time. SO i pull up cut the engine, drop my trolling motor in and start to cast for the mouth of the dam. After a few minutes a hook a few schoolie stripers. Next thing I know, My buddy says I think your fishfinder stopped working. I say No man don't tell me that I can't afford a new one right now. I go to look at the screen is showing almost a full black screen. I think WHAT IS THIS, at the very moment Hearing start banging off my hull and a few jumping into transom area. HOLLY COW MAN i say. We are floating were floating over a massive school/pod of them that where being chased by some striped bass. Next thing I know I hear and feel a couple of big bumps off the transom. I look at my buddy and say, yeash that sounded like a slaughtering. As the bubbling with life water past by us I look at my fishfinder to get a depth because we had just drifted while the fish went under. Thinking I don't want to hit and with my prop. Anyhow I look at he screen and theres nothing on the fishfinder, no depth no image no nothing. It starting to get dark so a lean over the back to stick my hand in the water to feel if my transducer is still sitting in the right position. Low and behold. ITS GONE. <!--graemlin::(--> My first thought. something ATE IT. lol but after a minute I realized it must have been knocked off and turn off the wire by of fish. Now I have no fishfinder but a pretty good story.

I cant get a new transducer either. My fishfinder is to old. <!--graemlin::(-->
I got ganged up on by those little fish. <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: turnip on 5/23/2007 6:08:20 AM

This is the first time that I have attempted to write down my experience while fishing, or for anything as far as that goes. Each fishing trip I take, every Member Meet I attend will be recorded here, along with pics. I do encourage comment but mostly I hope that this will encourage others, that will probably do a better job, to do the same. Often, we attend member meets or hook up with others members for a day or three for fishing, fun and fellowship, but seldom does this ever get recorded for others to enjoy. This is my attempt!

4 - 22 - 2007
This afternoon I loaded up the truck and headed for the Kinger's home. It was a day earlier but at Kinger's insistence, I went earlier and arrived about 6:00 pm.
After unloading, hugs all around, and while waiting for dinner to get done (steaks on the grill, fried mushrooms with onions and frenchfries) we talked about tight schedules and "honey do lists"! Queenie (Nancy) took special pride in her new frying pans which looked like they would fit Kinger's (Howard) head pretty good...
With full bellies from a great supper, we settled into a session of tying jigs. Howard gave me first hand instruction on tying the small jigs using Marabou (sp). A quick look at the BB and it be time for bed since we would be up before 5:00 am. With all the excitemnet of catching my first brownie of the year, I found sleep to be elusive...

4 - 23 - 2007
And Howard says, "rise and shine!" Coffee and Nancy's banana rasin nut bread made for a great breakfast, yum!
By 6:00 am we were off to Harvey's lake. It is a short ride to this lake, and in no time the boat was launched and the trolling rigs were wet. Howard and I soon settled into our routine. Very few boats in the water today and it gave me a chance to reflect on how the shore line has changed over the years. I guess ya just can't stop progress...


The water is flat so far and then I notice there are a lot of bugs in the air and on the surface of the water. Strange, no fish rising to take advantage of the bounty. Howard takes note of the fact that we're not marking any fish so far. Water temp is 42* and cloudy, some junk floating around.
9:00 am - first hit and starting to mark fish but they are on the bottom. We started out trolling at 5 - 8 feet. By adding weight we switch one rig to run at 15 feet and mine to run at 10 feet, right now we are in 28 foot of water so Howard puts out the planer board and sets the rig to run at the 5 - 8 foot depth.
9:30 am - water temp at 48* and 40 foot deep.
9:45 am - Fish on! I hook up with the rig that was set at 10 feet. Howard reminds me not to set the hook as these log and flexable rods do that for us. I reel in slow while Howard gets the net ready (the right size holes!). We landed our first brownie of the season, a three pounder which is my personal best for a brown trout. The rig I was using was a "christmas tree" with 2 inch Cyclops spoon for a trailer. When the fish was unhooked and placed in the livewell, it upchucked a small elway that was about the same size as the spoon.

11:20 am - No bites so it was snack time. The wind has picked up and decided to bring in the planer board. Three rods out, straight line trolling. Not tracking any fish. We think the weather has slowed things up some as compared to last year.
Noon - No bites! Several of the other boats are heading in. We yell at some of the other boats, asking about the bite. Nobody is catching anything.
This slow period gives me a chance to work on my journal.



The countryside is beautiful. The buds on the hardwoods are swollen, giving the hillside a redish hew. Scattered throughout are colorful clumps of pine. Light clouds and a bright sun make for a beaut of a day!
1:30 pm - 30 mph wind gusts, time to pull out! As we head into the dock we are greeted by several other boats. All ready to call it a day. One of the other fishermen wanted to see the brownie we had and also to get a look at the forage that it upchucked. They had been using 5 inch minnies, which normally would have been right-on for bait. But we all figured it was to cold yet and the lake hadn't flipped yet.
When we got home we were greeted by Nancy with a good hot meal, topped with apple pie and ice cream! I sure am glad to be on a diet!!

4 - 24 -2007
Up and at'um! At 6:00 am we load the truck, have some coffee and some of Nancy's bread! Today we will go to Edward's pond for some hot panfishing. The first stop is at "Lifer Jim's" to pick up the 12 foot boat, trailer and electric trolling motor. By 9:10 am we have the boat in the water and by 9:15 am we have the first fish on!

For about the first hour or so we catch several "dinks" and Howard wants pics for Ed to show that I can catch them anywhere!


Even ole Howard caught a couple of them "dinks", but I took his pic to show Ed that there are several with Howard's name on them also!

At this location we didn't use a water temp. gauge or fish finder. This location becomes weed infested by mid May. But I guess the deph runs to 7 or 8 feet, and is fed by two small creeks.
We fished all day, catching approximatly 200 assorted panfish including perch, blue gill and calico (crappie).

We even managed to catch a few of these "pond shiners"!

There was a time, in mid afternoon, when the bite was very slow. So Howard and I set back and looked over the scenery. It was a very bright day with a little wind. The sun glistened off the water...Beautiful!

At 4:30 pm we decided to call it a day. So we loaded up the boat, dropped it off at Jim's place and headed to howe for a nice hot shower and a hot cup of coffee. After a great supper of spaghetti with fresh sausage and fresh Italian bread we settled out on the front porch, doing it the "other way" and looking back at how the day went. The beautiful scenery and memories of the previous year led Howard and I to agree that this would always be our season opener! As I write this I feel as tho I'm still in the boat. Rocking back and forth, pole in hand and fishies in the basket! It is times like this that I really enjoy Howard and Nancy. Light conversation, meal preperation and just plain old fashion fellowship...

4 - 25 - 2007
4:45 am - rise and shine! Hot coffee and Nancy's bread puts us in the mood for another try at Harvey's Lake.for brownies. Today we can only be out for a half day because we have fish to clean and I need to be on the road for home by 3:00 pm.
6:25 am - Three lines in! We stayed shallow to start because we see fish rising. So we set the deph at 5 - 8 feet for all rigs. We trolled around a while with no success. So we added weight that would take the rigs to 10 feet. Almost imediatly we had a hit, but that would turn out to be the only one! The water surface was completely flat. The water temp. was 48* and we fished thru 20 - 50 feet deep water. The air temp. was 40*, partly cloudy and a new weather front was moving thru.
It was very peaceful on the lake, only three other boats out. After a couple of hours the wind picked up and dark clouds moved in. So we pulled in the lines and headed for shore.


Back at Howard's house, we decided to make a fresh pot of coffee and have a sandwich before we started to clean fish.

After cleaning up and packing the truck, we said our good bye's and I headed out the road. While driving down the road, I found myself reflecting on on the great time I had with Howard and Nancy...I would never have met them if it wasn't for this club. So this is my first entry and there will be more to follow. See ya'll at the fishin' hole! <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: turnip on 5/23/2007 6:21:05 AM

THE OHIO INAUGURAL MEMBER MEET

May 1
All morning long I be pulling my bags together, trying to make some final decisions on the fishing gear I would take before Ed arrives. I take the truck to the bottom of the hill and gas up, pick up a few goodies at the store and head for home to hook up the "Bushwacker."
Noon: Ed arrives full of piss and vinegar. After greetings, we unload his truck and load my truck and yes, BS a lot!
6:00 pm: Ribs for dinner on the back porch and light conversation. The excitment is building so we head to bed early, 4 am wake up call!

May 2
4:00 am: Rise and shine! We finish packing last minute items while the coffee is brewing. Remember how good fresh brewed coffee smells that early in the morning? We sip down two cups and fill our travel mugs.
5:00 am: On the road and the BS is a flowin'!! Six hours later we pull into West Branch State Park.


We found our campsite and proceeded to set up. It is a very large group site and it is situated on top of a hill that overlooks the West Branch Reservoir.
While taking a break Arv1 pulled in, and we gave him a hand setting up.

5:30 pm: Soup's on! Ed made a great supper for Arv and I. Grilled chicken breast, potatoe salad and hot coffee! Yumm! Oh, did I mention homemade potatoe salad??? Also ice cream for dessert! So after a hardy meal - did I mention homemade potatoe salad??, we sat back and watched the sun set behind the hills. It was beautiful...Yellow streaks cutting across the sky, fringed in red. Arv, Ed and I decide to take a walk around the campground, trying to walk off all that potatoe salad, the BS was really flying! We make a fire before it gets to dark, just in time to watch the full moon come up over the trees. This brought on memories of meets that I attended last year, leaving me with a very warm feeling. Before bed we talk of when the other folks will arrive, munch on some horseradish cheese and some great beef sticks! Ed and I decide to go fishing / exploring the next morning.

May 3
4:45 am: I'm up and at it early as I miss read the clock! Ed and Arv are slow to rise (that's because they be older than dirt!). Put the coffee on, again with the great aroma and rekindle the fire. It is dark but the full moon is still out, casting erie shadows all the while it glistens off the water's surface. The wind is picking up and I hope the fishing won't suffer for it!
5:30 am: Ed and Arv are up and lookin' for some of that hot coffee they been smelling!
8:30 am: Ed, Arv and I put up the meet banner...Man that Arv is a pushy one! Shortly after that River arrives. We all help him carry his gear to a spot that he indicated was where his tent would be. Ed and I decide we better get going before Arv finds sumptin else for us to do!
9:30 am: The Bushwacker is in the water! We decide to head out in an Easterly direction, which is into the main body of the lake and also directly into the wind. We start on a panfish hunt, noting that I wasn't tracking any fish. We worked up the Northern shore, nadda! Water temp was 53* right behind our campsite. The air temp was in the 50's, the sun was bright and the wind was out of the East creating a chop. The water was very stained with lots of junk floating around. Around the shore line it was actually muddy! So far we have been into 20' - 35' of water, and decide to move out to the dam and check it out. The water levels near the dam are at 48' and the temp rose to 58*. We tracked a few fish while exploring and decided to troll. We started out with straightlining, with both of us using jointed Rapalas. I was rigged with the "christmas tree" and flashers that I use for brownies and Ed used just the jointed Rapala. We added extra weight to get them down to about 10' of water. Nothing...No hits and not tracking any fish! Started having problems with the motor, kept shutting off. If I let it sit for a while it would start up and go for a while, shutting down again! All this ONLY when trolling (this is at idle for me so that I can maintain 1.5mph). We get the Bushwacker to start one more time and decide to head in for the day.
2:30 pm: The Bushwacker is out of the water <!--graemlin::(--> We head back to camp and immediatly notice that many folks have arrived!

[IMG]
6:30 pm: Arv says, "fire up the grills"! Within a few minutes ole Ed and I had burgers sizzling, plump hot dogs, smoked ham and lakers for folks to eat. There was some fantastic pasta salad and I heard that there was good potato salad but it was gone by the time I got to eat...All is quiet now, full bellies dictate a little laid - back activity!
7:30 pm: Aaron and Rt8 bring out 8 beautiful home made pies! Pecan, two apples, two cherry, buttermilk, blueberry and raisin!
Yum, yum!! While stuffing my face (who me?), I drift into a dejevue (sp) mood. I remember the great pie eating times at other meets, and how much I miss those folks...The sun is setting behind the hills and in the process, casting a golden hue across the water! Does it get much better than this?
8:30 pm: There is a hub of fisher persons at one of the tables, reviewing maps and discussing conversations that were made with some of the local fishermen. Time to plan the hunt!

Everyone is eargerly anticipating a great fishing day! <!--graemlin:;)-->

May 4
6<!--graemlin::o-->o am: The geese honking as they flew overhead, served as an alarm clock. A fire was blazing in the pit and a few of the guys were sittin' around waiting on the aroma of fresh brewed coffee to flow thru the air!
9:00 am: The Bushwacker is in the water. This time Ed and I head West to the backwater, where the feeder stream is located. Water temp here is 63* and tracking many fish. We work various crankbaits around various points on the N.W. side, nothing! We move to the S.W. shore and work it for the remainder of the day. Many crankbaits were used, especially when we located pockets of fish. We decided to switch over to panfishing, using our own hand painted and tied jigs. I had one hit that bit me off. Ed used his favoriate crappie jig and managed to get a "hit" also. By this time we have worked ourselves to what we thought was near the the mouth of the feeder stream. We would find out later that the real action was farther back, in one foot of water!
1:30 pm: Ed suggests that we allow the wind to push us into the shore, again it is out of the East. There, we tossed our jigs on the edge of the chocolate streaks that surrounded us. A sandwich, cold drink and a whole bunch a BS helped with the boredom generated by the lack of fishie action. I should note here, the carp were jumping out of the water, all around us, doing the spawning thing...Ed just had a "hit", or so he thinks. But I know in my heart it to be a "stick fish"! The crabapple is in bloom, green and yellow shoots speckle the woods. The sun is bright and warm...Ya just gotta love "mother nature". <!--graemlin::)--> We decide to go back in as the thought of all that pie back at camp is working on us, better go get a piece! <!--graemlin::rolleyes:-->
4:00 pm: Ed decides to make meat head rigs (capt. John King). This gives me a chance to reflect on the atmosphere of this meet. There are lots of children and the families are young.

It is nice to see how the next generation chooses to relax.
6:30 pm: Dinner's on! Fried chicken - crispy and hot, grilled chicken - finger lickin' good! Venison chili and all the fixins for a great meal!
7:45 pm: Group pic!! <!--graemlin::cool:-->

Ed, Aaron and I left right after the group pic to salvage what was left of the daylight. The Bushwacker was shored right next to the campsite so it was only a minuite before we were out in the thick of it. The wind had died some and the sun was going over the hills. We tracked fish everywhere we went but nothing would bite...Mental note; troll when I have similar conditions. Water temp on the N.W. shore was at 58*. We used the trolling motor to work around the the underwater humps. Many fishies on both sides of the humps; Relationship to similar conditions in Canada...Took the Bushwacker to the launch, took her out of water and headed back to camp. No luck! Back at camp the BS was hot and heavy! It was a great evening and again I flashed back to similar campfires at past member meets, remembering how much I have missed those from last year!
11:00 pm: Time for bed as I would like for an early start tomorrow.

May 5
6:00 am: Rise and shine! There are several members sitting around the campfire...The smell of fresh brewed coffee in the air! The BS was hot and heavy this morning as we talked about yesterdays catch - several folks caught fish from shore, around the brush. A coupla of the guys went out that night, over the underwater humps and caught a few crappie and one guy trolled half the night lookin' for the big musky. We discussed our plans for the day, which for Ed and I meant trolling with the rigs he tied.
8:30 am: The Bushwacker is in the water! We move to the East of the docks so as not to get in the way. We set out at 1.5 mph, Ed used special jigs and tied the new rigs to them. Lines down to 15' starboard and 20' port side and 30' back, we troll to the East, towards the island & the two underwater humps. I make a slow turn to the North, just nipping the Western most hump at the 14' depth, on to 15' then 18' and finally 24' of water. BAM, the starboard rod takes a dive for the water. Ed jumps on it, letting the drag do all the work, and hollers at me, "fish on, fish on!" "Ya right" I say as I look over my right shoulder. About that time Ed rolls the fish and I about soil my britches! It's big and Ed hollars, "getdanet!" So I grab the net, making sure I have the one with the right size holes, and prepare myself for a landing. Ed and I look at the net and then back at the fish, Ed shakes his head and says, "man I don't think it will fit in the net!" So Ed tired the fish out and guided it into the net, which was just barely large enough. Both of us just looked at it, breathing heavely due to the excitment. Ed managed to lay the fish on my measureing board, smiled and said, "not only is this fish my first ever musky but a 35"er ta boot! We quickly put the fish in the live well, turned the boat back to the East for another run. We made that run three more times and got hit twice but never hooked up. So we decided to follow our plan for stripers, zigzaging across the main channel in an Easterly direction. We had no other hook-ups that day. Infact we had to cut the day short because of engine problems <!--graemlin::(--> This time it will ground us...When we got back into shore we posed for pics

I cleaned the fish and put it on ice for the trip home. Actually, I shared the clean-up area with River, as he had just returned from crappie fishing at another lake. I think the take was 45 crappie! <!--graemlin::cool:-->
6:00 pm: Supper's on! Our very own fishie fry with Capt. George doing the cooking. Walleye and perch that he brought from home, yumm, yumm! There was a ton of food as this was a pot luck dinner! As we finish up dinner the blue grass band is setting up for some musical entertainment. The music is great and there is a posting in the Ohio thread giving thanks!

When the band took a break, Arv and the boys conducted the MuskyGirl drawing and the other raffel drawings.




After the drawings are complete, Arv informs me that the official head count is 58! So many wonderful folks, so much fun, all this and a magnificent sunset to boot...Warm fire, good music and great conversation all serve to remind me of last years adventures. I wish I could find a way to get everyone together at the same time! <!--graemlin:;)-->

May 6
BigDog led us in a morning service. He spoke of love for one another and recited scripture to support it. I have become a little melancholic as I watch everyone take down their camp. Huggs all around, saying goodby, exclaiming the great time that was had. For many the understanding of what a group meet is has sunk in. I will miss these great folks & their families...Shades of last year!
Ed and I were the first here and will be the last to leave...Quietly reflecting on an outstanding member meet. We keep ourselves busy with policing the area, cleaning our equipment and some early packing. While straightening up the Bushwacker, we discover a very bad and loose fuel line connection. This could be the problem! I will explore this when I get home. We sat around the campfire until 11:00 pm, talking about the meet.

What a time we had!

May 7
6:00 am: Up early, tear down the tent and finish packing. By 8:00 am we were on the road lookin' for our first cup of coffee.
This is my second attempt at journaling, and I hope you enjoy the read as much as I rememberd all that took place! Until next time, I'll see ya around the fishin' hole! <!--graemlin::D-->

Originally posted by: Basserwannabe on 5/25/2007 7:04:32 PM

Fine job on the journal Pete. I didn't get to fish much but I did enjoy the fellowship of like minded individuals and the time spent in the evening around the campfire. You just can't beat it anywhere! No, phones no television, just good freinds and great conversation. It was a pleasure for me to meet you and I look forward to spending time around the campfire with you and Ed again in the future. Until then may your days on the water be many and the times you spend on the water fruitful. <!--graemlin::)-->

Originally posted by: turnip on 5/26/2007 7:28:16 PM

THE N.E. LAKE GEORGE MEMBER MEET
MAY, 2007

May 16
4:00 am: Up early today so that my body will start to get adjusted. I turn on the coffee pot and while waiting for that hot elixer, I clean my Cpap and pack my personal gear. The smell of fresh brewed coffee interupts my thought process to the point I must go and enduldge myself! I decide to wait until later to pack my fishing gear and camping equipment. I hope to hear from the boat shop today (the "Bushwacker" is in the shop with electrical problems)...Excitement level is high!
10:15 am: I finally received a phone call from the boat shop. They found the problem and the "Bushwacker" is ready to go...Woo Wee!! So I race to the other side of the county, pick her up and head home where I'll get into some serious packin'. The wind has picked up big time, I guess the storm that the weatherman was talking about is almost here.
6:00 pm: Not finished packing yet due to the storm. I'll have some supper and return afterword.

May 17
4:00 am: Up with the mocking birds! A hot shower, pack my Cpap and the cooler.

I sit down to a hot cup of coffee and write this entry!
5:30 am: A little behind schedule but on my way. Already the sun is trying to peek over the hill tops!
1:30 pm: I arrived safe and sound (8 hours later) at Roger's Rock Campground on Lake George.

About an hour later I managed to get the tent up (without any redo's) and my kitchen area set up.

Ed and Carol are camped across the street from me and offer encouragement!

This is a beautiful campground, with hardwoods and evergreens mixed together, surrounding Lake George.

6:00 pm: Time for a head count - Karl, Pete, Ed, Carol, Gracie, Patrick & and his son Eric, PaJohn. We had a great supper of hamburg soup, made by chief Ed! Yumm, yumm! I must say, the BS was really flying...All the excitment of everyone getting together! Tonight, Karl and I get our heads together for a perch and pike hunt tomorrow.
8:30 pm: Ed, Carol, Gracie and I enjoy the warmth of a glowing campfire. Ed and I speak of the good time we had at the Ohio meet and eagerly awaite for the rest of the folks to arrive, tomorrow. This is my last entry for today, as the sun is setting behind the mountains, turning the sky a beautiful torquoise with green accents from the reaching pines...
May 18
Sleep came in spells last night. My Cpap wouldn't work. I would discover later that I'd blown a fuse.
6:30 am: Making coffee, putting my battery on charge...Karl stops in and invites me to breakfast! Scrambled eggs, maple sausage, garlic toast and steaming hot coffee, yumm...Does it get any better than this?
7:00 am: Ed, Carol, Gracie and Pajohn have decided to head for lake George, Patrick, Eric, Karl and I are heading to lake Champlain.
9:00 am: Patrick & Erick have their boat in the water and are off! Karl and I would have gotten off sooner but we had to drain the boat...Ya gotta remember to put the plug in, Karl! We finally head out of the docking area, into open water. This is my first time on Champlain and I am a little suprised to find it cloudy, not at all like lake George.


Karl has a few years experience with this lake and he makes a recommendation for a section to troll. He is aware that I am looking for a 20 pounder, and he feels this is a good place to start. We set up for trolling, I am using a Blue Fox #6 "super vibrax" about 100' back and about 10' down. Karl is using a Rapala, about 50' back. We are trolling along the edge of a channel, about 18' - 20' of water. We're tracking fish here at all depths but no interest. It is basically a cloudy day, water clarity is anything but clear, but not bad. The surface water temp is 57* and the surface is flat. We make two passes, vairying the speed from 1.5 - 2.2 mph...Nothing so far! The breeze is out of the North East carring with it the smell of pine. The sun tries to poke it's self from behind the clouds...The countryside is beautiful and I pause to reflect on all the beautiful areas that I've been to this last year and a half...So far, no luck trolling.
11:30 am: Karl and I bring the lines in. It's time to find a cove where the perch are. Karl suggests an area that was hot last year. So we power over to the otherside of the lake. I switch over to a mediun light action rod with 6# test line on the reel. I decide to use a 1/16, chartruse with red eye jig, and a chartruse with sparkles creature. The area that we are fishing in is high water, much higher than last year at this time. The depth is 4' - 10' with a surface temp of 58*. I alternate between this creature and a single tailed chartruse twistie...Nada! Not knowing what exactly what to do next, I decide on a twin-tailed, 2" white twisty with the same chartruse jig head.
Noon: Fish on! A 10" LMB! The jinx is off! Fish on! A 22" pike! Fish on! Another LMB! Woo wee! Karl decides to switch to the jig also!
2:00 pm: We continue to pick up pike, 21" - 27" along the eastern shore.


For the first time today, Karl and I are wearing great big grins! Although nothing is big enough to put in the livewell yet, the action is hot! We decide to move across the cove to an area with a shear rock wall. We see Patrick and Eric busy working the shore line in their quest for smallie action. We ask how the bite was and they stated it was good, catching several bronzbacks in the 1# - 5# range! The water depth here is 20' and the temp is 59*. The air temp is in the high 50's. We fish this area for an hour or so, not catching anything, and decided to try the cove again. Fish on! We have started fishing a small underwater hump at the begining of the cove, and Karl lands a nice LMB!

Fish on! I am also catching nice LMB using the same jig set-up as earlier. Karl gets a strong hit and brings home a nice 1 1/2# crappie!

We continue fishing around the cove, catching assorted panfish and LMB until the toothie fish come back which slows the bite...We head across the lake, the wind is up slightly but the chop is managable, and take the boat out of the water. We head for home, picking up firewood and assorted supplies. When we pull into camp we are greated by the rest of the group that didn't arrive until today! Bill Denny and his wife Sally, Dennis Baldwin, Robbie and his son gave us a hearty greeting and led us to a bowel of hot homemade veggie soup and grilled cheese, yumm...And then there was pie and cake! The pies were very good but this cake beat all!

Lots of BS this evening and there were various campfires during the evening hours. I cleaned up and hit the hay early this night...
May 19
7:30 am: I sleep late today, crawl out of the tent, stretch and imediatly I smell fresh coffee! I see Dennis and he waives me over for a cup, which I eagerly accept! We talk a little about ouselves, various fishing experiences and acknowledge the fact that we are both "newbees" to this meet. I head back to my site and start a fresh pot of my own. Shortly, I have my second cup of coffee and continue with my journal entries. I reflect on the kind of people I have met here. If there is a common thread to all these member meets, it is the wonderful folks...Dennis is the first one out as he heads for lake George. The boat launch is easy to see from our particular area of the campground and we watch as Dennis expertly backs his boat down the nice sandy beach...Well the thought was good! Dennis has mistaken the canoe launch area for the boat ramp! When he realizes his mistake, he attempts to pull out and burries his rear tires to the hub! Ed grabs John, his truck a set of chains and heads to the launch area. Later this day the group will officially deem that launch area as "Dennis's Launch"!
10:30 am: Pajohn and I load the "Bushwacker" for a trip to lake George. The day is cloudy with light sprinkles. The air temp is in the very low 50's.
10:45 am: The "Bushwacker" is in the water and we head out after panfish. The air temp is 52* and will turn out to be the high for the day. We pass by Patrick and Eric, they're focused on smallies and they found a deep hole near a rock ledge...They were into them! We go into a sheltered cove and I start throwing my jig that worked so well yesterday. The fishing was tough going. I picked up a few red eye bass and a perch. John had yet to have a strike. The rain was coming down hard and the wind was blowing. We could see the outline of Patrick & Eric on the outside bend, where they have been all morning! We fished in this weather for about four hours. With cold hands, we decide to head in and grab a snack, get warmed up. We sat in the truck (heater on) for about an hour and decided to pull the "Bushwacker" out. It seemed a shame since she was running so good. We pulled out just as Ed, Carol, Gracie and Karl were coming in. They had been out laker fishing and did well. They caught four and kept one beaut!

For the record, Carol caught the big ones today! One at 27", 6.12# and one at 23 1/2"!
6:00 pm: I was sitting around the camp with Ed and Carol when Patrick and Eric return. We ask how the day went, they responded with, "we caught about 50 smallies, many in the 1# - 2# range and a few that went 5, 6 and 7#." "But best of all was a 25" laker, all from the same hole!" Now that made some eyes roll I'll tell ya! Part of the group cleaned up and went into town for their traditional "out meal" and Carol, Ed, Karl and I stayed back for our own steak dinner, and yes there was potato salad!
8:00 pm: We finished the nite with great conversation and a nicely warm fire...It's hard to beat times like this, something never forgotten.
May 20
5:00 am: Rise and shine! The coffee is hot and the aroma fills the site area. Bill Denny is already up and helps me with my Cpap as I am still having problems with the battery.
8:00 am: Time for the group picture!

8:15 am: This morning I prepare a hearty breakfast for Carol and Ed. Scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and smoked ham, skillet fried, yumm! As we sit and enjoy our meal we take time to notice our surroundings. The sun is shining, the evergreens are swaying to a very gental breeze...The promise of a beautiful day!
10:00 am: Ed, John, Dennis and I head for lake George to try our hand with the lakers. In no time Ed's boat is in the water and we head out across the lake! The lake is beautiful today...

At this time the lake is almost flat.


Ed drops the riggers, the lines are in and away we go! The water temp at the rigger depth is 43*, the air temp is in the low 60's and the sun is shining brightly.
11:45 am: Fish on! Dennis is up and he grabs the port side rod and hangs on! Ed clears the deck and directs John on how to turn the boat. This fish is giving a good battle! I hand Ed the net (with the correct size holes) and he gracefully nets the fish.

We continue to troll without much luck. We experienced a rare atmospheric occurance known as"the fire in the sky".

The clouds start rolling in and the wind pickes up, making it difficult to stear the boat. A bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder is all it takes for us to get the lines in and head for shore!
2:30 pm: We arrive back at camp to find Karl, Robbie and his son Wayne have left for home, work schedules are the priority and they have a long drive home...And so it starts. The overwhelming feeling of loss as I realize that tomorrow John, Ed, Carol, Gracie, Dennis, Patrick and his son Eric and I will be heading out on the long drive for home. Bill and Sally will stay for a coupla more days. I hope they have good weather!
5:30 pm: Those of us that remaine, pull our our resources for a group covered dish. Steak, burgers, hot dogs, Sally's homemade chilli...Ah the aroma!
6:00 pm: We shot the mule (steaks were great) and had a wonderful time! With dinner complete, campfires were blazing and da BS was a flowing! As I walk from camp to camp I get the feeling that everyone is a little moved by the moment. Another memorable meeting has past. A part of NAFC history that can never be taken away. A breeze is blowing thru the evergreens, the sounds of nature...
May 21
4:30 am: I am up early to take a long hot shower. There is no electric at the sites but the facilities are very nice. It rained all night but stopped at dawn. The lake is flat today, it's starting to be a re-occuring theme...The loss I feel is greater than ever. I wonder, does this feeling increase with each meet I attend? I am saddened by this thought, but I am glad to be getting home to my baby! See ya at the fishing hole!

Originally posted by: danny aloise on 6/2/2007 9:16:52 AM

ok i have a story for you guys... my dad tells this story over and over to everyone he knows.


Birds of Prey- happened somethime when i was about 12

I went to work with my dad one day. he is a painter and he is painting a house on the saint johns river in florida. i work for a few hours and then eat lunch. i decide to try my luck fishing so i go to his van get some string, bend a saftey pin, and get a big stick. i use the rest of my burger and fries as bait. my dad says to me " oh you wont ever catch anything with that. BOY WAS HE WRONG! after i ran out of bait im walking back to the van and as i pass his employees car and eagle flys by overhead and drops a fish. it bounces off the car and i literally caught it in my arms. so im stunned and i stand there for a few seconds until i realize what happened. so i run screaming into the house "DADDY I CAUGHT A FISH!" i show him the fish its got cuts all over it and its bloody. he says to me "daniel whered you get that fish?" i say i caught it. he says "show me where you caught it" we walk outside and the guys who lay down the sod say to him "we wouldnt hav believed it if we didnt see it" my dad says " why what happened?" they say " a bird dropped a fish and it bounced off that car over there and your boy caught it." my dad looks at the blood spot on the car and says to himself "ill be damned".

true story no lies

Originally posted by: davew on 6/10/2007 6:20:15 AM

Finesse Jig Tips
By Dave White

Some have you may have read this on other sites But i figured I would post it here as well..
Hope you learn something and enjoy.






I get hundreds of emails weekly asking what my favorite all time producer for bass is, and if I have any little secret baits that I consistently use as "go to" baits.
Well I have to say there is only ONE that I use on a constant basis and always land fish on, it is the shrunken million dollar bait.

The Finesse Jig
Jigs are called the million dollar bait for a reason they have made many pros millions..
I downsize my presentation when needed, and have one of these Finesse Jigs tied on 1 pole at all times.

The Jigs:
The Jigs I use are made locally and are only sold in 2 shops
They are constructed of living rubber; wire and a light wire hook
the perfect combo for a finesse jig.
They come in brown, black, brown/black, avocado, blue, black/blue, brown/orange, white, black/yellow.

The trailers I use are Zoom swimming chunks and bearpaws hand poured baits finesse trailers the bearpaws, are fortified with megastrike.

I try to match the jig color to the trailer.

The wire that holds the skirt onto the hook is in my opinion far superior to the "rubber band" as it holds up many times longer and you really don't have to worry about the skirt coming loose.

They have helped me weigh fish in on MANY tournaments and on many lakes

I will cover how I use these finesse jigs around docks to land fish in this article





Let me explain the target areas on where to fish the jigs
Rocky shoreline represented by the arrows is a great place to work the jigs.
Cast to shore let set for about 20 seconds then slowly drag the jig about 5 feet, stop for about 30 seconds and repeat.

Edges of weeds and in the weeds are always good
I know there are weeds and grass in this area of the lake
and I fish them heavy, do not be afraid to get a few weeds and some grass on your jig.
Target areas and key areas by the back of boats, and the edges of the weeds should be hit heavy and more then one cast per spot use the same retrieve as above
Cast let sit for 20 seconds move about 5 feet and let the jig rest for 30 seconds.
Docks

Docks and boats hold many fish but a lot of anglers do not hit docks with jigs properly.
Sometimes you have to get right in there by the boat or dock to produce fish,
Over the ropes and all.
This also calls for setting your drag lightly so a fish wont
break you off when they do bite,
as you are going to be in for a tangled mess and must work the fish out slowly and with skill to land them.





The target areas are where you will most likely find the bass.
On the docks I just open the bail and let the jig fall straight down until the line stops,
then close the bail and let the jig rest for about 15 seconds.

Jig it off the bottom with a slight "pop" of the rod tip, and let sit for 30 seconds
Repeat this technique 3 times in each location before moving onto another spot.






Do not forget to also hit the dock intersects; these are a key to dock fishing and an often overlooked spot


Between the boats
This is where the mess and tangles can come into play keep your drag set light
And ease the fish out.












As you can see this is a very effective way to land bass.
When? Anytime of year
Where? Anywhere
I always have a finesse jig and trailer tied on, and fish it from 8 inches of water to 80 feet of water
So now you know my secret bait and some tips on how to fish them.

A few pics of other bass taken on the finesse Jig



My son, David with a huge bass on the same jig

Originally posted by: pooh on 6/28/2007 7:44:54 AM

My most memerable and most exciting time on the water was back in the summer of 95. Are whole family went out fishing that evening to one of our favorite lakes. Before we got their I already had in mind where I wanted to fish. (At this particular lake we always shore fished.) When we arrived I went to the location I thought about on the way their. The temperture was around the 70 to 80 degree mark. I readied my pole with a favorite lure of mine, A mister twister tail grub in the white color. I tossed it along side a large group of lilly pads and immeditaly hooked a fish about a fourteen inch largemouth. I then trough back to the lilly pads, but at a different angle. As I started reeling, It felt like I was snagged. I started to tighten up the live when all of a sudden my line took off. My drag was set to light at first, but my father came running over and tightened my drag, then the fight was on. At this time I had no idea what I had hooked. I thought maybe a carp because of the way it was running. The fish never jumped out of the water, just stayed deep and ran numerous times. After about the fifth run my arms were getting tired. I continued fighting, and after about fifteen minutes of fighting the fish started wearing out and the reeling became a little easier. At about that time my father stepped down in the water because we had no net and grabbed the fish out of the water and threw it on the beach. When I turned around and looked I could not believe my eyes. It was the largest largemouth bass I have ever seen. A 23" 7lbs. Bass. I was so excited that I could not fish any more.
As I look back to that day, I remember every detail, emotion, excitement that went trough me at that particular day.
Like my father has always told me patience pays off. Well it did that day. Thanks dad for a great landing job.

Eric

Originally posted by: turnip on 7/10/2007 8:23:50 PM

THE 2007 GWINN MEET

June 6
I wake up today at 4:00 am, in preperation for what my body will encounter this next week. As I sit in my kitchen, sipping on a very hot cup of coffee, I contemplate what this trip will be like. Little did I know that I would turn into a crispy kritter while fishing the many lakes of the UP!
7:00 am - With sunglasses in hand, I head out for a strawberry farm down the road. In a little over an hour I have managed to pick six heaping quarts for the guys at the cottage. I return home and pack my bags and gear for the long trip. It is a plesant day so I don't over heat.
3:00 pm - I pull into my youngest daughter's house and pick up my grandson, Jason (jbass). He became a member this year and to say he is excited about this trip is an understatement! We finish packing the truck and hook-up to the "Bushwacker", pausing long enough for a pic!

9:00 pm and time for bed. The excitment level is high!

June 7
4:00 am - While Jason nurses some breakfast and I wait for some fresh brewed coffee, I load the coolers and the remainder of our personal gear. The sky is clear for now, the half moon doing a fair job of lighting the sky...The smell of fresh coffee takes my attention and I head in for a few cups. Jason is a little sluggish this morning, I guess he's not used to this sort of schedule!
5:00 am - It's time to roll! We head out the driveway, on schedule for now. The traffic is light and we travel around Harrisburg and thru the turnpike construction without a problem...I have a flash back to last year, heading for Wisconsin.
1:30 pm - We have reached the half way point (493 mi) and grab a lunch we can eat on the road. The trip is easier this year, I have someone to talk with and share the emotions of the minute.
5:00 pm - We finally call it quits for the day, not wanting to dive into Gwinn in the dark. Little did I know that it would still be light up there! I decide to take a motel in Pinconning, MI and hunt down a resturant near by. It has been very windy today, 25 - 30 mph continuous. It was 91* when we went thru Saginaw and it feels pretty close to that now...Sleep becomes a welcome friend as Jason and I call it a day! Tomorrow we can get an hour of extra sleep.

June 8
5:00 am - The wake up call is rude this morning. We're a little slow to start but hit the road by 6 am. We discover that folks don't get up around here befor 7, so we push on for about an hour then head for a hearty breakfast of steak, eggs and homefries!
9:00 am - If someone had been in the truck with a camera, they could have taken a picture of Jason and I with gaping mouths as we approach the Mackanaw bridge! What a sight...It was very windy this morning but they were allowing trafic to cross. The speed limit was 20 mph the entire way across. At one point the trafic was at a standstill. A work crew was painting the bridge! While we waited for traffice to resume, Bernie and Pisc monkey pull up beside us! What a surprise!
1:50 pm - Jason and I finaly arrive at the cottage after getting lost for an hour and a half! I sure hope Bill doesn't find out! Jaso and I quickly unpack and then sit back to enjoy an ice cold drink! It is hot again today...Shades of things to come! We spend the next hour or so cleaning the berries I brought, yumm! We meet Bernie in front of his cottage. A new face to put with a BB name!
5:00 pm - Bernie has headed over to Geno's cottage and we follow. A beautiful location for a meet! Chuck is the grill master for this wonderful grilled to order steak dinner, and Doc is right by his side.

We all sit around feeding our faces and indulging in light conversation! But before any of use has a chance to eat, Walleyemen's youngest son catches a beauty!

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Thanks, Doc and Chuck! One thing I have noticed about this area, it is a lot like where the N.E. meet is held. Beautiful countryside, clean lakes (lots of them too) and the people...Good, fun loving folks that like to fish. That is the common thread for all these meets, good, fun loving folks! About 7 pm Riley and his "gang" come rollin' in. Now the party begins!
8:30 pm - Canepole and davesett2001 finally show up! There is a lot of laughter as these two try to explaine how they got lost! And leave it to Doc to give them directions!
10:00 pm - We all head back to our cottages and start putting together a plan for tomorrows fishing adventure...

Caterach basin for sure!

June 9
5:00 am - The sound of my alarm rattles the walls of the cottage, and everyone in it! While everyone is dressing, Tom make a pot of coffee...Oh the aroma!
6:30 am - Jason and I pack our gear and hook up the "Bushwacker". Tom and Dave are doing much the same. We decide to fish for a half day so that we will be back at the cottage when the others arrive. As we head down the road, the sun is coming up over the tree tops, the promise of a beautiful day! In no time both boats are in the water. It is a little shallow for about the first 100 feet but drops off as soon as we meet the main body of water. Both boats start to work that drop-off first.


We work around the drop-off with no luck. I was using my jig & pig, Jason was using a crank bait, I think Dave was using a spinner bait as He and Tom moved farther out and down the shore line. Jason and I moved to a rock wall, allowing our bait to hit the wall and then retrieve out into deep water, nada!
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"Fish on" I hear Dave yell from across the lake! I look over and sure enough he has his hand wrapped around a toothy fish...I think that is where his spinner bait fell apart! During the next half hour or so, we watched Tom pull in several pike...

It's just gotta be our turn soon! As Jason and I work ouselves around the rock face, I spy weeds sticking up uot of the water. I manuver the boat so that we both have a good shot at the weed line. Jason switched to a spinner bait and I stayed with the jig. After my third cast, Fish on! I pull in a 17 inch pike. Well that kicked the skunk outta the boat! At this point I decided to check the water temp, it was 70*. I was a little surprised considering we were in the main channel. We continued working around the corner on the same bank, nada. I see a tree trunk from the opposite shore, lying into the water about 10', and on the bottom. The water was very clear so I stayed on the very edge of casting distance. My jig hit the water right above the log (very lucky cast on my part) and came to rest on that very log. I took out the slack, the jig dropped over the edge and Wam. I couldn't believe it! The first time I have ever witnesed this sort of thing...I reeled in a 15 inch pike. Jason and I continue to work both shore lines around this island (didn't know that it was before) without a bite. Jason was starting to get a little down...Ya gotta understand, whenever Jason and I would go fishing the skunk always went with! So I was starting to feel for him...Tom and Dave work past us. We tell each other of our successes and what baits we were using. At this point, Tom had caught several pike. He was using a Mepps bucktail spinner (red). I decided to switch over to that but I only had the chatruse. I worked that bait all the way across the lake toward the dam. I moved over to my left to where there was brush in the water. I positioned the boat so that I could present the bait in front of the brush...Bam, the first cast and I catch a 19 incher! Jason and I continued working that lake until it started to get hot.
11:00 am - After some difficulty trailering our boats, we leave this beautiful lake, with the sound of the wind blowing thru the trees and the knowledge that we picked up several "toothy fishies", and head for the cottage.
Noon - It is with great pleasure when we sit down to some lunch. Papa-d & mama-d, swanee Paul & Pam arrive within minutes of each other!

Riley noticed all the commotion and came over to introduce himself...It doesn't take long to realize that these folks are "top shelf"! Many folks stop by to visit. Frogman2, Walleyemen and Sasquatch all stopped in to say "howdy!" Later that afternoon we take a siesta...The air temp is in the low 90's again!
7:30 pm - Fresh apple sausage, smuthered in green peppers and sweet onion is supper for those not going to Geneo's. Pillman, Art and Kevin arrive, the cottage is complete! The remainder of the evening was spent planning for tomorrow, tackle swapping and of course, story tellin' (fishermen tales)! Near dusk, several folks could be seen throwing a line from the dock and beach. Every evening and morning this occured, along with a nice bonfire! Some days yielded better fishing than others, but the fun...Priceless!


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Late evening creeps in and we check out the beautiful pink sky. If you look closely, you'll see the stars trying to peek out! It is a special moment as we all stand in the yard listening to the wind making a gentle whistling sound as it passes thru the evergreens...Reminding us all of this great experience...New friends and best of times!

June 10
5:00 am - Tom and I are up early to prepare breakfast for everyone. The smell of fresh brewed coffee and sizzling bacon seems to have a waking effect on everyone in the cottage! Papa and Deb head out the door for the resteraunt where folks from Geno's are gathering for breakfast.
7:30 am - Dave, Tom, Jason and I went to Sporley lake.


Both boats are in the water quickly and start working the shore line. Once out of the four to six foot of water, Jason and I decide to troll since this lake has splake and brown trout in it. We changed over quickly and dropped both lines out to 100' back and about 5' - 8' down. We trolled the shore line, which was 20' - 30' deep, the entire way around the lake, nada. I added 1 oz weight to the starboard line, taking it down to 8' - 10'. I did a grid work the entire length of the lake, nobody home! I added two oz to the port side line taking it to 15' and did a reverse grid work across the lake...This time we had one hit but still no takers. We tracked many fish at all depths and I thought we had the range covered pretty good. I was using mepps flashers and jointed J-9 Rapala's fitted with a single siwash hook. I think perhaps I should have gone to a smaller bait. The water temp was 708 which I thought was a little warm for a trout lake...I take a zig zag path around the permiter, in and out of the shallows-across the drop-off...Nada! Dave and Tom have been working the shoreline the entire time, nothing. We meet at the rear of the lake, Tom decides to try trolling and Jason and I switch back to working the shore and drop-offs. The water is beautiful, clear. I have tracked many fish all morning.
Noon - Back to the cottage for some lunch and develop plans for the afternoon bite. The air temp is getting near 90* again!
1:30 pm - It's decided, Sporley lake is our target for this afternoon!

Tom and I have our boats in the water, quickly. We head out to the main body of water, looking for the entrance to a smaller and shallower cove. I notice a lot of boat traffic on this lake and I wonder if this will affect the bite. Tom finds the entrance to the cove, a very shallow channel which leads us into a very shallow cove. The water depth is mostly at 3' and lots of weed below the surface. I guid the "Bushwacker" away from Tom and thru the weeds and head for a point. The water depth goes from 1' to 8'. Jason and I put the anchor down and try to hold bottom...The wind is quite strong here, big puffy clouds fill the sky and there is a good deal of boat traffic. Jason and I have the "Bushwacker" positioned so that we both have a clear cast to the shallow water and are able to retrieve into the deeper water. On my third cast (jig & pig) I hook into my first LMB! I caught several of these along with some pike and nice gills. But Jason wasn't having any luck. So far this trip, the skunk was hitching a ride in Jason's pocket...My heart went out to him. I rigged him the same as me and still no luck. I started to feel guilty and didn't know how to turn this around for him! After about an hour of this we head back out the cove, thru the channel and into the main body of water. I turn the "Bushwacker" away from the direction of the dock and start to work the shore line. Jason and I worked that shore for about four hours. I caught over 25 pike about 15" in length, along with some nice gills. They chewed up all my 2" twin tailed twisters! And Jason continued to fight with the skunk...
7:30 pm - Supper tonight was BLT's and a wonderful meatloaf that was prepared by Rod Tender! After the dishes are done we get a visit from Sasquatch and his wife. I learn of all the new faces at Gene's cottage and decide to go over tomorrow to "meet and greet!"
9:00 pm - Canepole and Riley decide to put in at the lake here. There is a nice large camp fire here at the beach and many folks are fishing. As you could imagine, there is plenty of chatter as fishies are brought in and just general hi jinks! The sun is beginning to fall behind the trees, giving way to a beautiful pink streaked sky...This is definatly "big sky" country!

June 11
5:00 am - Rise and shine! I get up early to put the coffee on. The aroma will soon fill the cottage. I prepare to start the S.O.S for breakfast as bodies start falling out of their rooms! As I drink my first cup of coffee, my eyes drift to the open window and to where the sun is attempting to rise...A beautiful torquoise sky with streaks of pink and yellow. This has caused me to reflect on all that has happened since Friday. Another wonderful member meet, attended by even more great folks! From CA, PA, WI, MI, Kansas and Canada. Today I must make sure I get Papa's wedding card out to everyone to sign...An NAFC wedding, officiated by an NAFC member (a first as far as I know)! Our plan for today was to spend the morning looking for other lakes to fish. But ya know how those plans go sometimes! We did manage to get out for a couple of hours after a short nap, before supper, and found that we needed some local help...The maps were not cutting it!
5:00 pm - Dinner tonight was at Geno's cottage, where everybody gathered for food, fun and fellowship!




Bernie and Riley spent the entire day slow cooking ribs and proudly shared them with everybody...

...Yum, yum, yum! And just when you thought that you couldn't eat any more, ole Doc brings out the pies...Apple, cherry, blueberry...Shortly after this wonderful meal, we all gather around the banner for a group pic!


9:00 pm - I found myself sitting on a bench, with a very full belly (so much for the diet), at the end of Gene's dock. My glazed over eyes were trying to focus on the lake, how quiet...Peaceful...Pink hues streak the sky as the sun is setting to the West. Dragonflies zipping through the air; oops, one of the dragonflies has crashed into the water, on it's back. It is stuck there, fluttering at regular intervels. It doesn't take long, there is a sudden swril as the dragonfly is sucked under by some, happy and well fed fish!
10:00 pm - We arrive at our cottage to find many folks fishing at the dock and off the beach. There was a bon fire, and the sound of laughter flowed across the resort area. I walk down to join in the commotion, reflecting, with each step, on past meets...The sound of laughter, folks having fun and enjoying each other! The catch is small tonight but I know some of those panfish will end up in the frying pan for breakfast! A little later, Rod Tender's son, John, stops in to see us.

He brings his guitar along and we spend some time listening to him...A trip down memory lane! We turn in about midnight, early rise for morning fishing!

June 12
5:00 am - The alarm screams an unwelcomed "good morning"! The aroma of fresh brewed coffee soon fills the cottage, a very friendly way to start our day!
7:00 am - While the others are crawling out of the sack, I take a walk over to the lake, coffee mug in hand. The sun peeks over the tree tops, casting golden streaks across a silverish looking lake. The steam is rising from the still waters, and rings on the waters surface signifing the presence of hungry fish...
7:30 am - Both boats are in the water at Little Lake.

It takes longer because it is very shallow (1' - 3'). The entire first part of this lake is shallow, causing us to motor slowly. As we head out ascroos this first part, we fish the occasional deep hole (5' - 8'). When we reach the main body of water, the depths range from 8" - 45' deep. Jason and I head to the left and Tom and Dave to the right. I am using a white 4" twin tailed twisty and Jason is using a spinnerbait. We work the drop-off half way around the lake, receiving one "hit" each. We see Dave and Tom on the other side of the lake, so we decide to motor over. After a brief conversation (they're having the same kinda luck) we move over and continue to work our baits as we drift across the lake, pushed by the wind. The water temp here is also 70*. It apears that the boat is in both boats this morning...
11:00 am - Both boats are out of the water and we head back to the cottage for some lunch and to prepare for Papa and Deb's wedding.
2) pm - After a nice hot shower, I start to make up some 40# florocarbon leaders for the baits Jason and I will use on the Little Bay de Noc tomorrow. My hope is to target pike and walleye. I choose Rebel and Rapala spoonbill minows and a Blue Fox inline spinner (#6).
3:00 pm - Dennis and Deb were married in a simple cermony, officiated by Frogman2, along the edge of the lake.

It was a wonderful ceremony, and there were many wiping tears of joy from their eyes...Papa has come a long way and it hasn't been easy for him...Love is wonderful! After the final "I do's" there is instant celebration including the traditional cutting of the cake...

Thanks to Doc, there was a beautiful cake for the couple!
7:00 pm - Sizzling steak, hot off the grill and steaming corn on the cob made for a memorable supper. Oh, lets not forget about the sauted onions and mushrooms! The rest of the evening was spent preping our gear for tomorrow. The boat captains, Pillman, Bernie, Tom and I decide on a plan of attcak for the Little Bay de Noc. Jason and I would troll the East sside of the bay, along the weed edge and first major drop-off. Pillman would work the west side to the first major sandbar and drop-off, spending most of his time there. Canepole and Dave were "wild cards", working anything the looked good to them towards the South, to the Gladstone point. Bernie would stay to the North, working the Rapid River, Garth Point and Strawberry Island area. We all agreed to meet back at the Rapid River launch by noon to review our day and plan for the afternoon bite! Little did we know that the heat would take it's toll and some of us would lose our way...
11:00 pm - Time for bed, as we have an early wake-up!

June 13
4:00 am - The sound of the alarms going off jolt Pillman, Canepole and I into reality...Did we really want to get up this early? The smell of freshly brewed coffee soon fills the air while we prepare for our trip to Little Bay de Noc.

Not everyone welcomed the day with a smile!
5:30 am - On the road, three boats in convoy! As we travel along the countryside, the sun starts to peek over the cedar trees, casting a pink hue across the Eastern sky...
6:30 am - All boats are in the water and we head out the channel. The water is extremly shallow. It takes better than half an hour to get into 8' of water! I shoot off to the East, following my map, marking my way points as I go. There are lots of boats in this area, all working the begining of the channel that I want to work. So I manuver around them and get set to drop the lines...That's when it happens. My GPS goes blank, no pic, no anything! I push the power button and it lights up. I check my path and way points. They are gone! So I look around for land marks, reset my GPS and drop my lines. Jason and I have put the lines down to 5' to 8' and 100' back. Trolling speed is 1.5 mph and I vary the speed to 2.3 mph, back and forth. The water temp is 70* and it is almost flat.

The bait I chose to start out with is two spoonbill Rebels about 7" long. There are billions of bugs on the water. It must be a hatch. The "Bushwacker" weaves back and forth from the shallows across the drop-off. We do this for about the next 6 miles, to Gladstone. Nobody is home so I turn the "Bushwacker" around and change my baits, I replace the Rebels with a spoonbill Rapala, about 7" long, gold with trout spots, on the starboard side. The port side I put a Blue Fox Vib Rex and dropped both baits to the same depth as before. Did I mention it was getting hot? Well, it's getting hot and the water is still flat! We troll back the same way we trolled out, following my GPS path. We get to where the adventure started and Jason jumps up, FISH ON! Jason starts to reel like crazy. Crank, crank and the line doesn't move! I show him how to adjust the star drag by the handle. I wish I could explain the look on Jason's face! I cut the engine and reeled my line in so that it's out of the way. By this time Jason has the fish to the boat. He lifts the walleye into the boat. He removes the hook and checks the length against the ruler. It's a keeper! 16 1/2 inches...That's when I told him to hold the fish for a pic...

We put the "eye" in the live well, put the gear away and attempted to make it back to the ramp. It was noon when we started for the ramp. Already late, I decided to follow the bouys, and that was a mistake. The bouys in the water (their markings) didn't match the map! The next two hours were spent on the walkie-talkie and using the compas...It was slow going! I finally was able to find another fisherman, just ouside the channel I was looking for, and he led me back in...I would still be looking for the ramp!
2:30 pm - I pull the "Bushwacker" out of the water and begin to tye her down. Pillman tells me that his boat caught a perch and a few other fish, and that's it! Tom caught a small "eye" early but I think that was it. No one else in the group caught a fish...Wow! It is a very hot day. The heat just sapping the strength right out a ya. When we get back to the cottage we clean the fish (I show Jason how to fillet) and try to find a cool spot to hang out...
8:00 pm - Supper tonight is BLT's. The air temp is still high. Tom, Dave, Jason and I discuss plans for the remainder of the week...It is going so fast...We'll sleep in tomorrow, have Piscmonkey and Walleyemen's wife for breakfast. Perhaps go fishing. Friday is back to the Little Bay de Noc for sure! We'll invite RT's son and WEM's son along with us. Hopefully to catch more walleye!
Midnite - Time for bed!!

June 14
5:00 am - The alarm goes off and I promptly turn it off!
6:30 am - The aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the cottage! Pillman will leave for home today, about 9:00 am...And so it starts. New folks and faces I've met will start departing for home...Hopefully I will have an opportunity to meet these good folks again. The sun is already bright, the promise of another hot day! Perhaps today I'll sit down with Tom and tye some jigs...
9:00 am - Piscmonkey, Mel and her oldest son joined us for breakfat today...


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This was a good time. It gave us an opportunity to get to know each other a little better as well as break some bread! By 10:00 everyone was full. Mel, her son and Piscmonkey headed for some shopping. I stayed back at the cottage with the rest to finish the dishes. Tom, Jason and I set up our tying gear and start to work on some jigs! The day is very hot, we stay inside to remain cool (fans running). It was great to watch Jason learn to tye from Tom...Those two bonded!
2:30 pm - Clean-up and eat some lunch before we head over to Gene's cottage, to help make spaghetti for everyone. It is so nice here at the cottage...The air is blowing gently and there is plenty of shade!
6:30 pm - Dinner is served! Spaghetti, meatballs, sauce and garlic bread, yum, yum! All the guys were hungry after being out on charter all day. It sure was tuff wrestling with those big salmon, and they caught some nice ones!

Everone ate in silence. Hungry, tired and reflective. After dinner, there was conversation concerning next years meet, how the fishing went today and just general laid back conversation...At various times during this evening of leasure, I gave notice to what nature was providing as a back drop...The setting sun glistened off the water, provudung a beautiful view of the lake behind Gene's cottage.
9:00 pm - We arrived back at camp and spent the evening preping our boats for one more shot at the Little Bay de Noc. We'll be up early, hoping to be on the water by 6:00 am. Sleep will come easy tonight. But first, it's time for pie!

June 15
4:00 am - The alarm screams a "good morning!" The coffee is started and it's aroma soon fills the cottage. We'll head for the Little Bay de Noc again, only a half day this time. We also will try a different ram, hopefully it won't be so shallow. The rest of the day will be devoted to cleaning and packing equipment for the long ride home.


6:30 am - Both boats are easily launched. The water is deeper here, infact it was at 3' for only about 100' before droping off to 8'. Jason and I head out thru the channel, past the bouy and into 15' - 18' of water. The water temp is 70* and the surface is flat.

There is also an abundance of bugs on the surface. Steam is rising off the surface, air temp is 60* right now but the weatherman is calling for 90* again! Jason and I drop both lines for trolling. I'm using a J-13 jointed Rapala, perch pattern and Jason is using the J-13 Rapala that gave him success the other day. I attach a one ounce weight to each line so that they will be down abvout 10' - 12', 100' back. We troll out across the bay, skirting the weed edge, one hit here, and worked to the drop-off on the East side. We worked the entire 7 miles (one way), varying our speed from 1.8 mph to 2.3 mph, weaving in and out of the channel, bouncing occasionally in shallower water. NADA!
11:00 am - Jason reeles in the lines and we store the equipment and head back to the ramp...Tom managed to catch a pike shortly after they left the ramp but I think that was all. After some lunch, the entire afternoon is devoted to laundry and packing our gear and personal items...Man, I never get used to this...When walking back from the laundry Jason says, "grandpa, when I try to find words to discribe this meet, I can't"...I know what you mean, son!
6:00 pm - Papa, Deb, Dave, Tom, Jason and I decide to go out for dinner. Pizza and air conditioning sound good to everyone! Afterward, we drive to Gene's cottage to say our good-byes...Long standing friendships for some, others are just begining a relationship that may last a life time! Back at the cottage, we were all alone. Everyone else had gone back to their respective homes...I asked Tom what was his "high point" of this meet? He answered, "meeting your grandson." Bed time comes early and is quite welcome! Tomorrow will be early to rise for the long trip home. See ya around the fishin' hole!

Xtra Thoughts
Leaving this morning was a tearful experience...I have grown very close to Tom and Dave...The drive along Lake Michigan was breath taking. The sun coming up over the tree tops looked like a big orange ball! The promise of another hot day. I made the Macinaw Bridge in 2 1/2 hours...No traffic at this hour! My mind continued to reflect on this week, all the way home. So I asked myself the same question that I asked Tom last night...My answer was the time spent with friends, old and new. And especially with my grandson...Priceless!

Originally posted by: Gary P. on 7/26/2007 1:03:46 AM

On July 25, 2007 began 2 firsts for me. But more about that later. The day started as such.
4:40am Wake up and get dressed
4:50am start to load the truck. Roll the back window down and open the tailgate. The tailgate won’t open.
5:00am continue to try to open the tailgate of my Bronco, and hit it some more. Wake up my sleeping wife to have her start to get ready.
5:10am spray wd-40 on the tailgate latches, Kick the tailgate.
5:15am Start the Bronco and roll up the window all the way and roll it back down and Wow the tailgate opens. Oh god I am late.
5:16am Rush around the house and grab cooler, Load with burgers, mayo, Catsup, mustard, and don’t forget horseradish sauce. Place ice Chest in truck.
5:20am make baby formula and make premade bottles of formula.
5:22am Make more baby formula Just incase we need it. Put it in Ice chest.
5:25am Wake up sleeping baby and change diaper and put him in his car seat. Place child in truck. Along with the diaper bag and portable crib.
5:30am Crap forgot to load the most important stuff. My fishing gear. Jump out of truck with cranky wife saying wasn’t that supposed to be first.
5:45am Forgot boots so I have to jump out of truck again and load my boots.
5:46am Get on the road and head to fishing spot.
6:00am Wife is hungry and wants to stop to get food. Oh god I am really late. Fishing buddy calls and says where are you. I am going to be at the meeting point in 20 min. I am 2 hours away. (I am soooo late)
6:02am Convince wife that we can stop for food in Madera. (50 miles away)
6:40am All exits in Madera going south are closed due to construction. Oh darn… I am making up time. Kind of.
6:50am Take exit to fishing spot. Highway 180E in Fresno.
7:15am Wife is still hungry and gripping at me. I am so late. Friend calls and says he is at waiting point waiting for me. I tell him I am close. (I lied Trying to save face.)
7:25am I am low on gas so I stop at some gas station that is 3.07 a gallon. Wife says it is cheaper up the road. I say it isn’t going to get any cheaper around here.
7:35am Wife is hungry so we stop to get some food. Which is right next to the gas station.
7:45am on the way again and pass gas station where gas is 2.89 a gallon. Wife says I told you so. (I grumble to myself and have a selected hearing moment. Pretend I didn’t hear her. )
8:15am Call friend on cell phone and no answer. Driving slower than normal looking for Squaw Valley Market since I have never been there. (You can’t miss it he says. It is right on the left.) (Think to my self. He is so full of it. Of course you can miss it there is nothing out here except fruit trees.)
8:20am see sign for Squaw Valley. First sign I have seen in a long time. 12 miles to Squaw Valley. Darn I missed the morning hatch. I am still so very late.
8:30am In Squaw Valley. (Wow he was right only market there on the left. Don’t blink you might miss the town.)
8:45am He tells me we missed the morning hatch and that I am late. I tell him I am never late I am just punctually early. He loads all his gear in my truck and we are off.
9:15am We arrive at park entrance. Whoopee we made it. We get map and start to drive. Run’s stop sign. Didn’t see it I swear. It just popped up out of nowhere. 20 miles to go.
9: 25am Run another stop sign thingy. I am starting to hate these turns. No warning that a big red octagon sign is going to be around the corner. I must be going blind. I am not seeing a 3ft sign. I missed the morning rise.
10:00am Arrive and Base camp. Grizzly Falls. I unload truck and start to set up base camp.
10:10am Base camp set up. Time to go fishing.

Ok now that was my morning up to this point. Pretty exciting if you don’t mind me saying. On to the rest of the story. Our first spot we decided to fish was right in front of Grizzly Falls day use area. (Base Camp) We gear up and head out to the water to fish. The water was crystal clear. Like some place out of some fishing magazine that you say I would kill to fish a place like this. We both tie on nymphs since we missed the morning hatch. I tie on a #12 beaded PT. I love this fly (I tied it is why) Fish for one hour… We both catch 0. I decide to try a smaller size. I tie on one of my two #14 bead pt nymphs and we fish for another 30 minutes. We are not catching anything. We fished a good ½ mile stretch. Bah.. Time for lunch. We walk back to base camp and I cook us all hamburgers. Yummy. Just what we needed. Rob (fishing buddy) says lets go to Roads End. Why is it called Roads end. Well the road stops there so I found out. We head to roads end.

Well we decided to walk up stream for a while. Rob decides to try his new self studied skill of Entomology. He picks up some rocks and sees small cadis larva and ties on a size 16 Pt nymph. I stay with my 14. We decide to fish for a while and notice a lot of people moving in around us. So we decide to move way up river. We walk about 1 mile up river and as we are walking at around 1 mile up we notice a big tree hanging low over the water. Rob says to me throw your nymph up above that tree and drift under the tree. So I do and nothing happens. He says do it again and this time stop your drift half way under the tree. So I do and I hook up. I am so excited. I hooked something on a fly that I have tied. I forgot I debarbed the hook and let the tension go slack and the fish spit the hook. I am bummed. We decide to split up farther apart and start to fish. I walk another ¼ mile up and start to fish and we will meet in the middle. I work down and he will work up. I start to cast in some rapids and as I lift my line as it goes taunt I realize I hooked a fish. I am excited. I bring the fish in and land the fish. I take picture of it while it is in the water with the hook in its mouth. Then I take the fish out of the water and un hook it. Go to take picture and I drop fish. OOPS…. I cast again and get hooked up on some rocks and lose my fly. That’s ok I have another one. I tie on my last 14 nymph. I start working down stream and I see a flash just beyond some rapids. I tell my self that one is mine. I then cast and cast and cast and I get nothing. I tell my self last cast then I am moving so I cast again and I get fish #2. I am really excited at this point. I work down stream some more and see a log in the middle of the stream. I figure I can drift right past that on the face of that log. So I cast and start to drift in the rapids right in front of the log. Guess what the line snapped. I say Wow I have a big one. I go to set the hook and my line rises and I pulled hard. I caught the Log. Yes you guessed it. You also guessed since I pulled hard the line broke. Stupid me. That was my last #14. All I have left is size 12 pt nymph. Ahh but I have a #16 prince nymph. So I tie that on. All of a sudden the thunder starts to roar. I meet up with Rob and he said the weatherman said it is just going to thunder and there is no rain. 20 min later it starts to rain. I guess weatherman was wrong as usual. I tell him I need to get back to my wife and son since they don’t have the car and can’t get out of the rain. He is disappointed because he is catching fish (the bite is on he says) and he reluctantly sees what I am thinking and leaves the fish to go back with me. When we get to the car he asks are we going to come back. I tell him I don’t know. We get back to my wife and there is no rain. Only sunshine. I guess I worried for nothing. Rob goes off to fish after resting up and I play with my son and spend time with my wife for a bit of fun at the base of the waterfall. After a while the fishing gods are calling me and I go fishing. I couldn’t find my fishing buddy on the river so I find a big deep hole and start to look at it. I see several flashes so I decide this is the spot for me. I make it down to the water and start to fish. I don’t like the area I am fishing in so I cross the river at a shallow spot and come back to the hole to fish it. I was casting up stream in to the rapids and I wasn’t getting anything. I then decide to walk up to the rapids and cast into them and let my line drift down stream. I tie on my #12 PT nymph (I tied it) I cast in to the rapids numerous times and get nothing. So I cast again and just as I was about to quite I get a decent sized fish this time. About a 10 inch Rainbow. Darn forgot camera. I cast again after landing the fish and lose fly in the rapids. Ok on with my #12 PT Beads head. My last nymph that I have that I have tied. I cast it a few times and get nothing. Well my last cast of the day I say. I cast and it is one of those picture perfect casts and it lands perfectly up stream and gets carried down the stream. And all of a sudden my rod gets hit hard. I mean hard. My rod bends and I start to fight. I let out line and pull line in, let out line; pull line in. then the fish does the run of its life. And my line goes limp. I pull my line in and my hook is bent almost straight. I reluctantly bend it back and notice that my fly is torn to smithereens. Well that is one for the storybooks I tell myself. Off to go home now. So I caught 4 fish total and had a blast at the Kings River.

Oh yea my 2 first I forgot to tell you. Or did I? I will tell you anyway. I fished the upper Kings River for my first time, and I caught fish on flies that I have tied for my first time. I am so excited. I have to tie up some more now to replace the ones that I have lost. Off to my next adventure.

Originally posted by: turnip on 9/3/2007 5:08:17 AM

THE GREAT SALMON ADVENTURE

August 21
I am up at 6:00 am, normal for me, and attempt to put the finishing touches to my packing for a week with Ed, Stan and the grand nephew Patrick. Last year I had my first taste of salmon fishing with Larry Nelson, so you can imagine that the excitment level is high! I feel real fortunate to be invited on this trip...Woo wee! Last year my experience with Larry was limited to a charter. This time I will learn the art of trolling for salmon. I am taking some samples of salmon gear along, hopefully after we catch our quota, Ed will let me give my gear a try. I need help to discern which is the good equipment! It is windy, rainy and about 65* here. Unusual for this time of year. I hope the weather holds for the trip...
8:00 am - On the road! Rain and extreme fog kept me company on my way to Howards home. I'll pick him up and we'll hook up with Ed for a hearty meal.
Noon - The three "musketeers" sit down to what would eventually turn out to be a three hour meal / gab session! This was the first time this year that we were together at one time. It remindes me of when I make return visits to member meets. Catching up on our personal lives and fishing adventures. We finally realized how long we were there when the waitress asked us if we wanted to see the dinner menu! So we said our good byes outside the restraunt with Howard wishing us much luck! I followed Ed to his home and we unpacked my truck and packed it into Ed's truck. While Ed was making adjustments to his boat, Carol arrive from work. We soon decided to go out for a light dinner, after which we finished getting Ed's gear and food supplies ready for tomorrow. At this point the excitment level is very high. As I write this entry I pause to remember the places I've fished this year and last. The smiling faces, back slapping and just plain fun. I remember the the excitment of the very first time I went salmon fishing, with Larry Nelson. That was my first introduction to a species that I never thought I would fish...And now, here I am, about to embark on another salmon adventure with a good friend. This time with our own gear...Woo wee!

August 22
6:30 am - A good nights sleep, hot shower and fresh coffee start our day. Ed and I finish loading the boat and truck, hook up and head for the restraunt for breakfast where Stan and Patrick wait patiently for us. The sky is cloudy and the air temp will be in the mid 60's today...
2:00 pm - We arrive at our destination, pumped and ready for a fishie fight!

We check in, hurredly unload the trucks and boat, launch the boat and put her in a slip which will be her home for the next six days. While the rest of us are changing into our fishing clothes, Ed prepares the herring which we will use for bait.
4:15 pm - We're in the water and looking for 90' of water and ended up putting the lines in at 110'. The sky was overcast and the air temp was 66*. The surface water temp was 71* and 64* at 55' of water. Then the sub troll took a crap. This would make it difficult to find optimum water temp. After some adjustment, Ed was able to get the sub troll to function properly, and it worked well the remainder of this trip. We trolled for three hours and had four hits, which we lost! The fifth hit came on the back end of the fourth. Two lines were on the deck, tangled, and Ed was trying to straighten them out! Ed jumped over to set the hit for Patrick as he was first up. FISH ON! Patrick played the fish for 20 minutes. To get a proper picture, you need to realize Patrick is eleven years old. It was all this young fella could do to bring in this fish! Ed and Stan netted the King salmon and lifted it into the boat. Patrick was exhausted but there was a great big smile on his face! This was his very first salmon and it weighed in at 21#. We trolled some more and as the sun started setting, we decided to call it a day.

We stowed the gear and headed back into the dock where we took an additional picture of Patrick's catch!

We cleaned the fish and then made a great ham steak dinner. We were hungry and ole Patrick was losing ground fast...Sleep would be a welcomed friend!
We were located on Catfish Creek which feeds Mexico Bay on lake Ontario. About three miles West of the Salmon River.

Catfish Creek / Mexico Bay on Lake Ontario

August 23
4:30 am - The blast of the alarm was rude this morning. I got the coffee going, got dressed and ready to do battle. By the time the aroma of fresh brewed coffee filled the cottage, everyone was up. There is a storm brewing so Ed went out to the dock to talk with the other captains. There is concern for high winds but we decided to go out and give it a try.


5:45 am - At the 100' mark Ed starts putting the lines in. The water temp is 50* and the air temp is 60*. The first line is in and before Ed can get the second one in, FISH ON! I am up and Ed hands me the rod. It didn't take long for me to settle into a tug a war! The reel screamed, I pumped and reeled down only to have what I gained ripped out again! But in the end, the 18# King salmon found it's self into Ed's net. We continued to troll until about 9:30 am and then the wind picked up.


It looked like a storm was brewing so we came in.
10:00 am - After the fish was cleaned we settled into a hot bowl of home made chilli, a short nap and then into town to see the sights. It had been awhile since I rode in Ed's truck, so I was a little suprised when it turned sharply into an ice cream parlor. Ed held up his hands and said it was out of his control...So we went along for the ride and hey, while we were there we got us some ice cream too!
5:00 pm - The weather cleared and we hurried to get the evening bite. FISH ON! Stan hooks a beauty! It rips of 180' of line before he can turn it. After about 15 minutes Stan lands a 19#er.

We finish the night with only two lines down, calling it quits about 7:40 pm.
8:45 pm - The fish is cleaned and I give Ed a hand tying up a couple of meat rigs for tomorrows battle. We snack and reflect on this days adventure...Looking out over the lake tonight, reminded me of the many sun sets I've seen from a boat this year...


August 24
4:30 am - The alarm screams a good morning! I rush to the kitchen to start the coffe...It won't be long for the aroma of freshly brewed coffee to wake the others. By the time I am dressed, the coffee is ready and so are the others. Biskets and sausage make for a hardy breakfast.
5:30 am - We're heading out the channel, the excitment level is high as we anticipate a good mornings fishing. Once out of the channel, Ed gives full throttle about the next two miles to our starting spot. Three lines are down and we troll for about an hour when Ed hollars, FISH ON! Ed battled his fish for about twenty minutes - a very nice 24# King.

We seem to have found the right area, 95' of water, water temp at bait level is 55*. We continued fishing for another four hours, getting four "hits" but not hooking up. FISH ON! Until now, all the fish have been Kings. Patrick has now hooked a 7# Coho! What a treat! We trolled for a couple of hours more and decided to bring in the lines and head in for our big meal.
1:00 pm - We're back at the dock unloading our mornings catch. The fish were cleaned while Ed grilled a great meal of steak, Caroles potatoe salad & beans and cucumber salad. Yumm, yumm! We decide to give our bodies a rest while we wait for the evening bite. So far today we have been blessed with a beautiful sunrise and clear skies. This remindes me of the beautiful sunrises at Gwinn...
5:00 pm - Back out for the evening bite. Ed had five lines out and we were three miles out. The lines were down 70' and 85'. Water temp at that depth was 54* - sweet! We had a hit early and lost it. Trolled some more and then, FISH ON! I brought in an 18# King. I must say, Ed was rather spectacular with the net. Not one fish slipped through the net! The evening skies are beautiful here...


It remindes me of the evenings at Seneca, Ohio, LaCrosse and Gwinn...Priceless!

August 25
4:30 am - Time to get up ya sleepy heads! The sound of the coffee maker and the aroma of susage gravy is enouth to motivate this boy! Last night there were severe thunder boomers, so we'll have to pay extra attention to the weather before we head out...
7:30 am - FISH ON! Stanly boats a nice 18# King. We are out three miles and our troll is about two miles long, North East to South West. Water depth is 105' and we're down about 50". We troll for a couple more hours and, FISH ON! Ed lands a nice 10# Steelhead. Woo wee!

We now have two fish on the boat and the goal is four. We fish around for a couple of more hours with no luck. It is getting hot and the wind has laid down. So, for the morning we are two for four...
1:00 pm - We tie the boat off, refuel the boat, clean the fish and have a hearty meal. Ed grill some beautiful burgers, and we added Carol's potatoe salad and beans. This caused a major kickback...
3:00 pm - We go into town to fill the two five gallon gas cans and then the truck spied an ice cream shop. Ed tried to hold the truck back, but in the end the truck won...Sooo, we all had ice cream!
5:00 pm - The wind is up quite a bit, so we decide to go out front of the nuke plant and troll the 75' ledge. We worked that ledge until 8:00 and then headed in. And that's when I saw it. The sky was on fire like I have never seen it before! And this is the night I didn't bring my camera...It is difficult for me to explain the feeling that comes over me while I'm out on the water...We are truly blessed!

August 26
4:30 am - Everyone is a little stiff and sore this morning. I guess fighting those waves last night was harder on us than we thought. While I sip my coffee I study the weather. This morning is overcast, misty and windy. The waves are reported to be 3' - 4', which means they actually are 6' - 8'...And so we sit, waiting for the waves to flatten. We might just have to go do some shopping today! Darn, I hate when that happens...This morning Stan will take Patrick home. Time to prepare for school. It was my first encounter with those two and it has been a pleasure fishing with them. This is Patricks first time salmon fishing. Ed and I will stay for a couple more days.
1:30 pm - By this time the wind had laid down some, so we decided to give it a try. It was a bumpy ride but once we got out far enough we were able to get our lines out and start our troll.
7:00 pm - FISH ON! We landed a nice 20# King. The waves have laid down pretty good now, so we decided to give it pur all. We lost three more before the moon came out. Nearly full, the moon smiled on us as we headed in. The remainder of the night was spent cleaning fish and retying riggs for tomorrow.

August 27
4:30 am - We are slow to rise this morning. The schedule we have followed has been grueling. The goal today is to limit out. We think, pray actually, that we have found the "honey hole". The coffee is hot and welcomed. The sandwiches and repaired gear is packed. We're ready to go...My thoughts this morning have been "last day out". I never thought I would find myself saying it in that tone. I have learned a lot from Ed this week. Ed is a good teacher and friend. I spoke with Ed about how Larry Nelson and I are trying to learn the "art" of salmon fishing. We have a strong desire to hook up together for Lake Michigan salmon. So much to learn and so little time...
5:30 am - Ed guides us out of the inlet and we are on our way for a three mile ride. We soon reach our destination and drop our lines, two to start with, and begin our troll. FISH ON! FISH ON! FISH ON!...Oops, equipment failure made us lose one. A 26# King and a 10# Coho!


[IMG]
A great start for the day! We fished until about 11:00 am and decided to head in.
1:00 pm - The fish are cleaned and put away. Ed puts steaks on the grill. Yumm, yumm! Next comes a short nap and then out again for our last run...The sunrise this morning was beautiful. Humidity was low and no wind!

4:30 mp - After retying some tackle and a short "power nap", we head out for our last hunt of Ontario salmon.
8:00 pm - Back at the dock, exhausted after a six day hunt. The skunk was in the boat tonight. Only the second time the entire trip. The sun going down the same time the full moon was coming up!


August 28
Ed and I sleep in this morning, 5:30 am! I turn on the coffee maker and it soon fills the cottage with it's magical aroma. Soon we'll pull the boat out and pack. The trip back will give us time to reflect on this trip. Remembering the catches and the laughs. Of how an eleven year old boy did some growing up...Priceless! See ya around the fishing hole!

Originally posted by: turnip on 9/26/2007 12:23:56 PM

THE 3RD ANNUAL FINGER LAKES MEMBER MEET

September 10
3:30 am - The alarm screams a good morning and I jump out of bed, ready for action. I must say, the excitment level is very high! I have been on a pike hunt all year and this is my best chance to reach my goal of a 20 pounder. In a few short minutes the aroma of freshly brewed coffee fills the house...I hope this doesn't wake the wife! I load the cooler and a few last minute personal items, then sit down to a cup of that golden elixier. My mind jumps around as I take time to write this...Reflecting on how many times this year I have done this. This is new terretory for me, emotion wise. This is my first repeat visit to a member meet and Ed has been on an emotional rollercoaster the last month. I hope this meet will be a comfort for him...
5:00 am - I pull out the driveway, on schedule and just a little nervous, I hate to drive around Harrisburg. Traffic is light and moving smoothly. I just love the drive up rout 15 North. Through the mountains and into New York. Once I'm on rout 414 my excitment increases. The sunrise has been beautiful this morning. Clear sky, a beautiful blue...Before long I am through Watkins Glenn and heading North, along the East side of lake Seneca. If you've never been there, the drive through wine country and the views of Seneca are breath taking...Not to mention the waterfalls!
10:30 am - I arrived at "Sunset on Seneca Campsites"...Finally!



While checking in, the owner stated that the weather for the week didn't look good...We'll see! As I was setting my tent up, Ed arrived. Huggs all around. He helped me set up my tent, just like last year.

This time it was easier, and after Ed and I got my site set up we headed to Lodi Point to check the water condition. We noticed a slight chop coming out of the North West, but nothing that would keep us on shore!
Noon - Ed fired up the grill and made some great burgers for lunch. After filling our bellies we loaded up Ed's boat and prepared to go out laker hunting! We put the boat in and Ed expertly guided it out of the small inlet. We went straight across to the West side of Seneca...It was nice to feel the air in my face as we scooted across the water. I haven't been up here since last year, so the excitment level was high! Ed and I jigged for an hour or so. We've been trying to get a handle on this technique but I have not had much success. Enough of this! Ed got the down riggers ready while I continued to jig. We started our troll with three lines in the water. FISH ON! Five minutes later I had my first "dink" laker! Wow, that really felt good...Some things never seem to change! I enjoy fishing with Ed. He is good friend and we always have a good time, whether we put fish in the boat or not. About ten minutes later I had another "dink" - Howard would be proud of me! We continued trolling in a North direction, boating six, releasing two and losing one.


7:30 pm - We headed back to the dock and up to Ed's cottage. I cleaned fish while Ed made a fresh pot of hot coffee. We sat on the porch, overlooking Seneca, chatting away and sipping hot coffee...What a great start for the meet!

September 11
6:30 am - Ed and I get together over steaming hot cups of coffee. We sit in comfortable chairs enjoying each others company while we wait for Frank to arrive. Right now it is very windy with some white caps on the lake, threatening rain...Humm!
8:30 am - Frank arrives, checkes in and parks his camper. A warm welcome leads us to loading the boat and heading to Lodi Point!


9:30 am - FISH ON! Frank has his first ever laker hooked! I am the "net boy" on this trip so I expertly grab the CORRECT net and help him land his fish. The fish is in the box and as I steady the boat, Ed drops the line. FISH ON! That quick Frank has his hands full with another laker! And so it went all morning. By noon, Frank had caught eight, put seven in the box and returned one to grow up for next year...WooHoo!


1:00 pm - While Frank and I clean fish, Ed gets ready for his trip home. He will be back Wednesday nite or Thursday morning...Our prayers are for him and his family.
2:30 pm - Frank and I chow down on a freshly grilled venison sandwich, set up his camp site and then just sit back to chit chat the day away while the storms come and go. The rest of the day was spent preping our gear for the morning pike hunt, supper and plain ole BS'ing! The weatherman is promising 20 mph winds this evening, so we're hoping for a good bite in the morning.

September 12
4:30 am - Oh the kidneys! I was hoping to sleep in but when mother nature calls...Soo, instead of going back to bed, I made a pot of coffee and watched a beautiful star filled sky...I really love to do this. It gives me time alone to reflect on my life and for prayer.
5:30 am - Frank wakes and we share coffee and wonder about the weather. The weatherman is promising 20 mph winds today! So Frank and I walk down to Lodi Point to check out the water. We find that the chop is not to bad but the surface winds are strong...
8:30 am - Weldon and Evelen arrive, very tired from an overnite trip. They have driven all the way from Indiana and as far as I know, never miss this meet. Frank and I help to set up camp. Afterwards, Weldon, Frank and I walk, that's right walk, to Lodi Point to check the water...Wind out of the North West, white caps for sure! Back at camp, while Evelen naps, we sit around the fire ring catching up on what's been going on in our lives. We tell stories and discuss who is going out (in a boat) with who.
1:00 pm - Weldon, Frank and I decide to go back to Lodi Point and toss a few lures in the lake from the shore. My pike hunt will have to wait for a day when I can get the "Bushwacker" in the water...So we tossed and tossed. Weldon managed to land a redeye. Frank and I battled weed fish. The wind was out of the North West, and with it came all the weed fishies we could handle! At least Weldon chased the skunk away.
2:30 pm - Ah, the joys of nature. The birds singing their song, the sounds of the cicadas in the background...While Weldon catches up on some badly need rest, Frank and I sit around the fire ring enjoying some light conversation. Ed returns in the early evening, wondering why we're not out fishing! After supper we make a fire using, what else, "frankwood!"

September 13
7:30 am - After several cups of of coffee, we head for the water. Ed and Weldon pair off as do Frank and I. This will be the first time in Seneca for the "Bushwacker" and the level of excitment is at an all time , to say the least!
7:45 am - Both boats are in the water and heading out the small inlet. There is a slight chop but my confidence level is high. Ed heads straight across to the West side of the lake, and Frank and I take the "Bushwacker" out around Lodi Point. Once around the point, I explore the East shore looking for the weed edge and the 30' ledge. By the map, the weed edge should be at the 16' ledge. As it turned out, I found it at 12' of water. According to the locals, pike have been taken not only off the shore but in 30' to 25' of water. I decide to troll in a North direction, weaving between 30' - 18' range. Frank and I used a variety of lure patterns and also varing depths.


9:00 am - Frank changes to a DT16 and puts it 100' back. It doesn't take long...FISH ON! Frank brings in a nicely shouldered 26" pike...

The skunk is out of the boat! We have trolled 1.5 miles and continue for another 1.5 miles before turning back for the reverse troll. We both change lures. Frank to his "never let me down" bait and I go to a Rebel spoonbill minnow. We get about half way back when we have to swerve out because another boat sits where I wanted to go. FISH ON! Right along side of the other boat, think I didn't have a smile on my face! At the same time the wind came out of no where. All of a sudden we were in white caps, and I couldn't let go of the tiller to fight the fish for fear of being pushed into the other boat. Now mind you, I wasn't that close so as to interfear with their fishing. The weather just all of a sudden "blew up"! So Frank brought in the pike a 25" that weighed a pound more than the first one. Frank reeled in both lines, stowed the gear and prepared to head back in. I couldn't hold a troll any more...It got rough!
11:30 am - Out across the lake we go. I decide that the "Bushwacker" and I could handle the water and wind so I throttle up, cutting across the lake to the West end Of Lodi Point. We were in 250' of water and I had to keep the throttle opened up to stay on top of the waves...The wind was blowing pretty good. We did real good until we rounded Lodi Point, and then it happened! The engine siezed to a stop. Dead silence...My heart is starting to head for my throat. I reach for the fuel tank, praying that is the problem. Wrong...I hand Frank the oar and ask him to keep us out of trouble while I work to try and start the engine. No luck. It won't even turn over. Lodi Point is not where you would ideally like to break down! But Frank was able to keep us out of trouble, taking us to the North East side of the point (the wrong side) where we were able to beach and tye off to a big tree. We could see the parking lot from where we were and noticed that Ed was already in and back to camp. Frank went for help and I stayed with the "Bushwacke", as my electric trolling motor was not powerful enough to take us around the point. So there I sit, a little down in the dumps, as Ed and Weldon get back in the water. In just a short minute they power around Lodi Point. Frank helps me manuver the "Bushwacker" so that we can toss a line to Weldon.


As Frank tosses the line I notice Weldon has a smerk on his face and ole pie breath has a big grin on his face...Do ya see where this is going? While we are still in calm water Ed takes a picture...You can only guess where that's going to show up! From there it was a simple tow to the dock.
1:00 pm - Back at camp we get some lunch. Ed, Weldon and Frank pull the plugs on my engine and load it up with WD40. In a couple of hours Ed will put a wrench to the crank only to discover there is loose metal in the cylinder...I do believe the engine is toast!
2:30 pm - Dave and his wife Nancy arrive. Alot of hugs and hand shaking all around. We help them set up and then head to the lake with Ed and Daves boat in tow. Ed, Frank and Weldon team up for some laker hunting and Dave, Nancy and I go pike hunting. Nancy loves to bass and pike fish! Ed's bunch boated three lakers. Two nice ones and Ed caught a "dink"

...Now, that's what I was told mind yas!
7:30 pm - We have dinner at our own camps but return to the central campfire ring...Shades of the Ohio meet! The great times around the campfire are memorable. The laughing, the story telling...By 10:00 pm everyone was exhausted, so we returned to our tents.
11:00 pm - After writing these entries, it's lights out for this boy!

September 14
5:00 am - Up at first light! While I poor my first cup of coffee, Frank wakes and invites me to join him for breakfast. Scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon and more coffee! Yumm! This morning, first thing, I have fish to clean. Frank, Ed and I will go laker hunting if the weather holds.
6:15 am - Frank and I are still the only ones up, very unusual! So we take advantage, engaging in some great conversation...Reflecting on the wonderful time we've had so far!
6:30 am - The rest of the sleepy heads are up, and on the sassy side already! Ed comes down the hill and heads for Lodi Point to check on the condition of the water. Where the encampment is, we are sheltered from most of the winds. But Ed reports that it is very windy and and lots of white caps on the lake.

Geez, the 16 mph winds didn't even get here yet! So the boats will stay on their trailers for now. This year I brought some salmon from my salmon trip for Ed to smoke. I added some fresh laker that Frank caught and Ed and I went to work on the smoker. While Ed was away the other day, I placed the fish in a brine so that they would be ready for today. I plan on suprising the gang with a nice sampling today!
10:30 am - Susan arrives and we give her a hearty Finger Lakes welcome! Everyone pitches in, helps set up her equipment. But mostly I think everyone is looking for where she hid the pies!

All we need is Chuck...
2:30 pm - While everyone is busy with their sites I decide to take a walk down to Lodi Point. I guess I was looking for a little solitude...I sat on a picnic table, facing the South West, and felt the wind blowing on my face

...I find myself thinking how truly blessed we are, even if it is to rough to put the boats in.

As I am walking out of the park Ed, Carol and Dave pull in and offer a ride. They were on their way to check out the conditions.
3:00 pm - Chuck has arrived! The meet is now complete. We all pitch in to help set up his site. After Chuck has settled in, we all gather together with our chairs and have a long gab session. I walk up the hill to Ed's camp and pick up the fish that Ed has smoked. I take the laker and some of the salmon to the group gathering for a treat. Wow! Don't get in there way...Before long all kinds of snackes come out. Ed and Carol join us just as some of the pies come out! Yumm, yumm! Chocolate, blue berry cheese, and grape! Susan brought out a real good dip...wish I could remember the name! But it was very tasty!

Soon it will be time to light the main campfire...Anyone want a hot dog and a slice of pie?
6:15 pm - Frank starts the fire but everyone is still hanging around the pies...Life is wonderful!
8:15 pm - And then there was rain! It came down light but steady at first. Most everyone split to their own camps. A few of us hung out at Franks because he had a big awning. The fire kept going, and it had a hypnotic effect on us. It's only supposed to rain over night and then be nice for tomorrow. I hope so, we want to fish!
September 15
4:30 am - Weldon and I are first up. Weldon has fresh coffee and it hits the spot. It rained all night and it still is! Soon the entire camp is up, trying to warm up and wake up!
7:00 am - Ed comes down the hill, ready to fish! The rain has stopped for now. Better take the rain gear. Ed is taking Susan and Chuck to hunt for lakers and he asked me to help out. What ever you say captain!
7:45 am - Dave's and Ed's boats are heading out the inlet. Ed takes his boat to the South West side of the lake. A few minutes and a couple of miles later we are ready to drop lines for jigging. After an hour of this, with no action, we decide to drop the riggers and set a troll. The storm from yesturday has messed up the thermelcline. The surface water temp was 68* and 70* at 50' down!
10:00 am - FISH ON! Susan hooks and lands her first ever laker!

Oh, the smiles, the laughing...It is neat when someone does something special, for the first time. The fish is in the box and Ed puts the line back in the water, ready for action. The wind has picked up considerable which makes it difficult for the troll.
11:30 am - Two of the lines are in and we make our last turn before we head in. FISH ON! Chuck hooks and lands his first ever laker!

And the excitement starts all over again...I never tire of this. With the fish in the box, and all lines in and secure,turns the boat towards Lodi Point. The waves aren't bad but the surface wind blows the spray into the boat and on to anyone in it's way. Ed and I get a soaking! When we pull into the dock we discover Dave has just trailered his boat. And they all come over to give us a hand. There is much back slapping and name calling, what you would expect from friends that just come in from a successful hunt! We head back to camp and up the hill to Ed's camp. He has a cleaning station and I take time to show Chuck and Susan how to fillet their fish. While doing this, Ed and Carol prepare things for our big group meal. Woohoo!
2:30 pm - The steaks are on! Everyone sits down to a wonderful steak dinner with potatoe salad, Carols beans and corn on the cob that Chuck brought. Yumm, yumm! It was a really neat thing for Ed and Carol to do

...Like many other meets, the generosity is unsurpassed! Afterward, Frank presents Ed with a birthday ice cream cake along with a couple of small gifts.


He is all smiles but we caught him off guard! After the traditional happy birthday sing, Carol loads the table with pies! I think this puts an even bigger smile on ole pie face!
6:00 pm - After the group picture,

(that was a trip) everyone heads back to their own camp site. It doesn't take long before Frank has what will be our last campfire of this member meet...Glowing embers out shined only by the smiling faces that comes from heart felt comments. This has been great fellowship...As I write this, I reflect on the fact that this is the only repeat meet for me. This saddins me some what. So mant other folks I would like to see again. I wish there was a way for us to get together at the same time and place...

September 16
5:00 am - Everyone kinda gets up at the same time. You can see in everyones eyes that the day we dreaded has arrived...
7:00 am - Ed come down the hill, seeking those that want one last hunt. Weldon declines, they must leave very soon. Chuck also declines because he wishes to get home soon. Huggs and hand shakes all around...There are a few tears, we will miss each other! Frank decides to go out with Dave and Nancy so Susan and I will go with Ed. It doesn't take long and both boats are heading out the inlet, the last time for this great meet. The lake is flat, the sun is shining

and it doesn't take long for me to limit out. Susan and Ed are close by! What a week!


12:30 pm - Back at the dock ole Dave, Nancy and Frank were trying to tell us that the pike have dissappeared...We dropped Susan at her campsite and Ed and I went up the hill to clean fish. When we finished, we headed back down the hill to say our good bye...For Susan, Frank and Chuck it was the end of a great member meet. And the making of many new friends! Finally, able to put faces to BB personalities. For the rest of us it was good bye for now good friends. We agree that to much time elapses between meets. We all agree to write, Email and call each other more often. At this point I can hardly talk

...These wonderful folks and the memories of many others over take my heart...As I write this now, tears form...I will be a mess at other return meets! We have truly been blessed!
3:00 pm - Everyone is gone. Ed and Carol invite me up for a great meal. We talk of the many fun things that took place this week. I think about the new relationships that I have entered into...As we sit in Ed and Carols cottage, I sence a loss that is felt by us all...It is hard for me to write this. I will miss everyone greatly. I truly hope that we all keep our health so that we may meet again...See ya around the fishing hole!

Originally posted by: turnip on 10/5/2007 6:57:40 AM

The Pa Inaugural Raystown Member Meet

September 27
5:00 am - I am awakened by a gentle breeze coming in my bedroom window. I am a little uneasy, I've never planed a member meet before...Woowee! My wife gets up with me this time and it doesn't take long for the smell of freshly brewed coffee to reach my nose! Karen speaks gently to me as I finish packing. This schedule has been a little tough on her...
9:15 am - I am a little late getting away but there isn't a schedule to maintain. So I take my time, staying within the speed limits (Ed wouldn't believe this). The traffic moves smoothly for a change. I can actually enjoy the drive...
Noon - I arrive at Raystown Lake Seven Points Campground. At check in, I am supprised at how crowded it is. There are only two sites along the lake that are open! The weather has been so warm that many folks are still camping. I wound up with site #154, on the waters edge. It is hotter than a cat on a tin roof! Putting the tent up and fixing up the site was not as much fun as it could have been!


The water looks great, real clear with a weedline about 25' from shore. By the map there is a 25' to 100' drop on the other side! Lots of rock and small stones on the bottom. Looks good for fishing right here!
4:00 pm - As I wait for a fresh cup of coffee to perk, clouds start to blow in. Is that thunder I hear in the distance? I don't detect any lightning yet...Si I hook up a "super fluke" and start tossing! I make several casts to the weed edge, bouncing it off the bottom. FISH ON! I reel in a 10" largemouth bass! Now this is a good start since I am still learning how to use these baits...I continue to toss the bait in between sips of coffee. The wind is starting to pick up along with the volume of the thunder! FISH ON! I pick another small largemouth bass. I can't get over how good the water looks. From shoreline to weed edge is 25' of open water, small stones for the bottom. A 20' wide weed edge and then the deep drop-off...I see a point just up from me and decide to check it out tomorrow!


I would like to try surface baits tonight. The fish are jumping all over. Still, the distant thunder...
5:00 pm - And then it rained! Thunder, lightning, high winds that flattened my tent, hail and more rain! I waited the storm out in my truck. I watched as my neighbors awning went sailing away...They are still looking for all the pieces. I would learn tomorrow that several awnings were lost in this storm.
7:00 pm - It is a very light rain for now. If I would have had an easy up table cover it would have blown away! So I guess I'll have supper tomorrow! I managed to get the tent back up, after the wind stopped. Lucky for me there was no rain in the tent! I do believe next time I'll find a more sheltered area to pitch my tent...
10:30 pm - My neighbors attempt to start a campfire but they had no dry kindling or paper to start one. So I took some of each from my truck and gave it to them. Once the fire was going, we talked for a couple of hours. Now it's bed time for this boy!

September 28
7:15 am - I wake to the sound of a boat motor right outside my tent flap. A fisherman in a boat working the outside weed edge. Good morning! He is suprised by this greeting but responds with a weak, "hi"...The wind is blowing strong and I find myself having difficullty lighting my camp stove. So I jump in the truck, in search of a hot cup of coffee. When I return I walk to the shore line, hypnotized by the sound of the waves and the shear beauty...I remember how my grand father used to do this. And as a child I never understood why, totally lost in thought and not aware of others that may be around him. I think I do now! The lake is full of white caps, surrounded by beautiful green mountains. This campground is beautiful but I think next time I will pick a site that is more protected from the winds. I realize that I would not have been able to hold a troll.
9:30 am - The sun finally makes it over the top of the mountains. I pray that the wind drops off now...I start to wonder when Baldy will arrive!
10:30 am - My prayers have been answered for now. The winds have dropped off considerably. I grab my my fishing gear and start to work the weed edge. I am using a jitterbug and I can't imagine a fish not wanting to take a bite of this seductive bait! But as time passes, my arm grows weary, and so I decided I would have better luck trying to make a pot of coffee! It's not long before the aroma of freshly brewed coffee reaches my nose...
11:45 am - Well, I guess I spoke to soon. 30 mph winds again! The tent is flattened on one side as gusts of 40 to 50 mph make it impossable for me to keep the tent up.

If I would have been out on the water with the "Bushwacker" I would have had to look for a sheltered cove, like at lake Champlain or lake George.
6:00 pm - I make a campfire so that I can have supper. It is to windy to use the camp stove!
7:30 pm - Baldy and his friend George are here. Their site is just above mine. As they prepare their meal, we jabber away...Getting to know one another. I leave them and return to my site. Strong winds prevale...Not sure how I will sleep tonight! It will be midnight before I can righten the tent and hit the sack.

September 29
7:15 am - Ran into Ken at the men's shower house. He said that Art (Pa walleye hunter) and his brother in-law, Kevin, are also here! Because the campground is so crowded, we are spread out some. But I know we'll get together for pictures and laughs. When I get back to camp, it doesn't take lone for me to get a pot of coffee brewing. While I am waiting a pair of Osprey start working the water in front of me! The leafs have just started to change from their summer colors, to what will be fall splendor...
8:30 am - Art stops in for a cup of coffee! This is just great, club members getting together. We talk and talk, getting to know each other. We watch as Tony (Baldy) and George take their boat out for a little fishin' fun! Ken and Kevin were out fishing as well! Art and I talked about the problems we had with our boats...Both of us wanted to troll while we were here. But hey, we were here and having fun! By the time Art and I finish gabbin it is 11:00 am! I am actually ready to cook my own lunch.
6:00 pm - I started a nice fire for cooking. The guys all showed up and we did the group picture!

Shortly after the group picture, Tony and George took off for some night time cat fishing! Ken, Art, Kevin and I sat around the fire talking about what we can do to improve this member meet. We talk of other meets and how well this park fits our needs. We laugh and gab until after nine sometime...
9:30 pm - Alone, I kept the fire going into the wee hours. I reflect on how we agreed to keeping in touch on the B.B., posting suggestions and encouraging others to attend. This is yet another good example of the kind of folks that make this club so great! There is no doubt in my mind that this will be another great meet. Like the others, it will take time!

September 30
7:00 am - I wake to find the lake is "socked in" with fog!


And of course Ken is out there giving it one last try! Offering a hearty good morning as he releases a fiesty bluegill back into the lake...What a way to greet the day!

It reminds me of some prehistoric movie I watched...The boat traffic picks up, lots of fishermen out there! It is difficult for me to shift my thoughts from previous events of this year. I have been fortunate to be able to attend so many member meets and enjoy special side trips as well. I have made many new friends and I miss them greatly. I will have a tough decision to make next year as I try to plan around a budget crunch that was caused by a major engine break down...Art and Kevin stop in to say their good byes.

One by one we pack up and head for home. It has been fun and I look forward to being here again next year...See ya around the fishing hole!

Originally posted by: JESSE on 10/7/2007 4:00:13 PM

thanks for sharing these great pics. glad you all had a great time. at our tx. meet an hour after we left inks lake it got hammered with thunder storms. i saw it coming and i told everyone lets get out of here its coming we all left

Originally posted by: pillman on 10/9/2007 4:52:17 PM

for all of you out there that don't get the Gwinn Quarterly, here is the story i submitted after the meet in June.

We began converging on the Gwinn area on Friday, June 8th. Distance was no deterrent, as we came from near and far. California, Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and a bunch of people from under the Bridge. One dedicated angler rode his motorcycle from Kansas, with his young son on the back. Friends from Canada made this an international affair. We all heard rumors of this 6th Annual Fishing Meet. Members of the North American Fishing Club started this in the not-too-distant past as a way of getting together with friends from the bulletin board of out club. it started out slowly, but slowly gathered momentum and grew into an event of Biblical proportions. I never did get a chance to count everyone this year, but I think it would be safe to say we had between 40 and 50 attendees.
On Friday night, there was a steak dinner for the early arrivals. I've heard it was a great meal, but unfortunately, the people i work for expect me to be at work on the day before my vacation starts. On Saturday morning, the fishing starts in earnest. No lake was safe from the onslaught of these hungry fishermen. Big Shag, East Bass, the Cataract Basin, Little Lake, Mehl Lake and Johnson Lake were some of the lakes on our lists. It was like Christmas morning for fishermen. Just open this box and you can go fishing on any of the lakes you find in it. Even Little Bay de Noc and Lake Superior received the treatment.
Unfortunately, our host had problems with his well and water pump, but with fishermen being the resourceful individuals we are, we bent our wills and muscles to correcting the problems. Maybe a real plumber would have done the job for free, given all the free fishing advice he could have gotten from the members. If anyone was having a problem, there were probably a couple of guys there to show them how to correct it or do it better or easier.
This meet was more special than most, in that one of our members decided to "tie the knot" with the lady of his dreams. And the minister that performed the ceremony just happened to be a member who worked at the bait shop. Maybe we should have had our equipment blessed for a more productive outing. Some of us caught fish and some of us couldn't catch cold, but like my friend Art told me, "at an event like this, catching fish is just a bonus".
Did I mention the food? On Monday, we had a Battle of the Baby-back Ribs, with 2 of our members filling our tummies with their labor of love. The ribs will defy comparison, at least until next year. Grilled pork chops, lasagna, barbequed chicken, spaghetti and a fish fry on Friday before we left. Tuesday will go down in history as Cake Day. What else can you call it when you get cake four times in one day?
Gwinn may be a small town in the middle of the Upper Peninsula, but with hosts likeGeno, Doc and Chuck, it will always be a great destination for the members of the NAFC. If you don't believe me, ask guys with names like Canepole, Bluegill Master, the Great Fisherman, Davesett 2000, Mike B, Rod Tender, Turnip, Jbass, JCTaylor, Walleyemen, Art, Kevin McPike, Redone, Papa D, Sasquatch and Suwanee Paul.

Originally posted by: Colt the Fisherman on 10/15/2007 4:45:19 PM

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Originally posted by: bayliner on 10/24/2007 8:15:13 AM

Great pictures. Sounds like everyone has a great time at the NAFC getogethers. I've never heard of any around here in NM. Maybe there aren't enough members out here. "Now I'm a new Life Member."

Originally posted by: NAF Editors on 9/17/2004 1:25:43 PM

To All NAFC members:

Here's your chance to contribute to your Club publication, North American Fisherman. We're looking for member-written stories and other material for upcoming editions of Fishing Club Journal.

We want to showcase Club members from around North America, but we need YOUR HELP to do it.

Member Notebook
In this section, we want to highlight a Club member who has a meaningful story, in or outside the world of fishing. Do you know another Club member who is a respected community leader, long-time civic volunteer, or somehow made a positive difference in the lives of others? Let us know about them. And don't be shy about noninating yourself.

This section is not restricted just to heros and humanitarians. We want to hear about any and all Club members with an interesting tale. Maybe they had a harrowing experience or a narrow escape on the water, are an exciting adventure on a recent fishing trip.

Or, let us know about a member who caught a record fish, or is a champion on the local tournament circuit. We will consider each and every story for publication, whatever it is. All you have to do is send it to us. We'll also need your Member Number and a phone number where you can be reached.

In addition, we'll need a crisp, clear, well-lit photo of you or the member you nominate. Sorry, electronic images from most personal digital cameras don't have high enough resolution and won't reproduce on a magazine page. Same with electronic images printed on a home PC. They are too blurry. We need a good color print, or a high-resolution electronic image taken on a professional quality digital camera.

Send your story by replying to this post, or better still, by emailing it to: editors@fishingclub.com. Or, you can send it via U.S. Mail to: NAFC Fishing Club Journal, P.O. Box 3403, Minnetonka, MN 55343-2103.

I just wanted to say GOD Bless you Turnip and thank you for the stories, as I read,  it brought back a lot of little memories of outings w/ friends over the years. I can hear the heartfelt words you speak of your trips and friends.I hope our paths cross one day and to share space with you round the fishing hole, this is what makes the Club special. Thanks Darrell

How Night I hit my Sister in the Nose with a Catfish:

In late June 2007, my sister and I decided to go fishing. As usual, we fish at night at Grande Lake St. Mary's in Celina, Ohio. On this particular night, we had a great night of catfishing and caught about 26 catfish. But that isn't the funny part of the story. My sister Amy couldn't figure out how to use the net to help bring in the fish. The rip rap along the shore line can often make it difficult to pull the fish up over the rocks. It was pretty dark out and every time I asked my sister to grab the net, she tried to use it much like a butterfly net. She would show up about the time I was trying to heft the fish up over the rocks and then catch the fish in the net rather than scoop it up at the waters edge. I had already caught one 4 lb catfish and had trouble getting it over the rocks. Next thing I know, she and I both are catching fish like crazy. Suddenly, I knew I had a fighter on my hands and called for Amy to bring the net. Her reply, "I can't, I have one on my line." Not knowing if I had another 4 pounder on my line, I gave a huge tug when I got it close to the rocky shore. I didn't know that in the dark my sister was coming up behind me to help with the net (by this time, I had showed her how to properly use it). When the catfish broke through the water, it flew over my left shoulder (obviously Not another 4 pounder) and suddenly I heard a loud crack. The moaning sounds I heard next told me something wasn't right. I turned my head in time to see my sister bent over the rocks holding her nose. Her glasses were pushed half way up her face. As she pulled her hand away from her face, I could see she wasn't bleeding. The catfish had struck her in the nose as it flew over my shoulder. I tried to apologize but could only manage to laugh. The harder I tried to apologize, the more I laughed. Hey, at least it wasn't one of the 4 pounders I caught that night:) Believe it or not, my sister still fishes with me but often jokes that she needs a hockey mask and a catcher's mitt.

True Story by: Kathi J Duncan

That was a great one Kathi.  I'll bet your sisters nose swelled up like a baseball. That's one heck of a nice mess of cats also. Way to go gal.

Thanks for the reply. Yep, her nose looked pretty funny and she had a nasty headache for a few days. But she never turns me down when I ask if she wants to go fishing.

We're planning a fishing trip down to Kentucky Lake in March or April 08. Our brother is taking us crappie fishing. Not to worry, she warns everyone to be careful around me while fishing.

BTW--Are you from Alb., N.M? I was looking at the signature line of your post:) Any places out that way to go fishing?

Fishing with Dad:

A couple of years ago, my best friend and I went fishing with her Dad at Indian Lake in Ohio. We got there early so we could set up on chairs on the shore and of course get the best fishing spot. It is a popular lake so we were waiting for the boat traffic and jet skis to slow down so we could fish at night. I had just bought a brand new lighted bobber although I had a couple in my tackle box. My friend was fully engrossed with watching the jet skis and I was trying to at least pretend to fish before the lake traffic calmed down. Next thing I know, I got my line caught on the rip rap close to the shore. After a few pulls on the rod, the line breaks loose and off floats my bobber. My friends Dad grabs the fishing net and reaches out to grab the bobber. I tell him to let it go since I have other bobbers but he thinks one more stretch ought to do it and next thing I know Gary is in the lake. I try to help him out of the lake, but the rocky shore is slippery and he falls in twice more before managing to climb out. As he practically "waddles" with wet shorts towards his truck to empty the contents of his pockets, my friend turns to me and says, "Did Dad fall in the Lake?" I wonder what her first clue was?

True Story by:  Kathi J Duncan NAFC Member

I'm originally from the Kentucky Lake area. Funny thing, growing up there I never went fishing in Lake Barkley or Ky Lake. My Mom usually took me fishing at some of the streams located on the family property. Now that I have moved away (Air Force), I can't wait to get back down there and go fishing again.

I get out to Alb. about every 3 months but couldn't think of a place to go fishing. Most of the guys I work with at the Air Force Base don't fish so they don't know where to go. Not that it matters much since I'm usually too busy working. But I'd like to tack on some time to one of my business trips so I could check out local fishing spots.

For now, I'm just dying to go fishing since its been too cold here in Ohio. But, spring is just around the corner:)

Hello All,

My name is Mark "Chief" Torrez and I have been home a couple of months now but it seems like it was only yesterday. I was lucky to represent California in the B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Championship in the great state of Florida at Lake Toho this past November 2007. I got to met some great bass anglers from all around the U.S. and other countries as well. We were all fishing for a chance to fish with the Pros in the Bassmasters Classic in 2008. It was 2 days of pre-fishing and 3 days for the tournament. I did not do so well, but others did and I wish them good luck in the big one. But I got to met and eat dinner with Ray Scott, got a few photos, and have a ton of memories. The event was done very well and I was treated as a pro. They supplied us all with a boat to use, they put us up in very nice rooms and even feed us. But what made the whole trip was when two boys came up and asked if the could take a picture with the " CHIEF ". The boys parents came up and asked if it was okay and I realized it was the winner of the tournament Jeff Freeman and his wife. I then said I should be asking to take a picture with you. So after some talking I took a picture with Jeff and his boys. My thanks to all those folks in Florida you did your state proud. Mark "Chief " Torrez