White River Reflections

Rule #8:  Always clean your guns after shooting.

June 5   This year's inventory:

Rods: 

7.5 ft.          BPS                          Micro-Lite / Fiberglass             Power: UL      Action: Slow
7.0 ft.          BPS                           Micro-Lite / Graphite              Power: ML      Action: Fast
5.0  ft.         BPS                          Micro-Lite / Fiberglass             Power: UL      Action: Slow
6.5 ft.          Daiawa                    "COSMOACE" / Carbon          Power: MH     Action: Medium
7.0 ft.          Quantum                  KVD HSX6(8?)2 / Graphite     Power: M         Action: Fast
5.5 ft.          Shakespeare             Ugly Stik / Graphite                  Power: L         Action: Fast
5.5ft.           Shimano                   FX255OA                                 Power: M         Action: Fast

---> Also, two very old fiberglass casting rods, given to me by a good friend from his late father's fishing collection.
---> A "Rummage Sale Fly Rod," 8 ft.

Reels:

Daiwa         Model Unknown       Medium              Rear Drag
Okuma        Stratus V  25             Light                  Front Drag
Pflueger      President  20             Light                   Front Drag
Pflueger      President 20              Light                   Front Drag
Quantum    XS                             Medium              Rear Drag
Shimano     Model Unknown       Medium             Rear Drag

----> Shakespeare automatic fly reel attached to "Rummage Sale Fly Rod."

Last year, I found a satchel to use as a "soft" tackle box.  It is just the right size to hold the medium size tackle trays, and I can fitin  at least four of them--with some extra stuff on top and in the side, front and rear pockets.

Earlier this season, I found a similar bag for Small Fry and got her a couple of the appropriately sized trays.

White River Reflections

Rule #5:  Never wear your pants inside your boots, unless they're rubber (your boots, that is . . . if your pants are rubber, well, there just isn't a rule that covers that!).

Wednesday, May 9 

Small Fry and I started the season today by fishing the "Fisher Ponds."  As I've explained earlier, these ponds were at one time small and very deep gravel pits--probably spring fed--maintained by my uncle.  He and his wife also built a wonderful home on the banks of these pits.

I remember learning to fish "Indiana-style" here at these ponds when we came from Montana for vacation in the summer.  When we moved back here, I fished these two connected ponds for years until my uncle died and my aunt finally sold the place and I lost my best fishing hole.  As luck would have it, the folks who bought the property from my aunt are members at my church and one day, out of the blue, they told me I could fish there again!

It's very different now.  The current owners have changed its appearance greatly.  My uncle had a kennel for bird dogs built into the entire length of one side of the pond.  He--like my grandpa and the other brothers--was a barely civilized hillbilly from southern Indiana.  To get from one side of the pond to the other, he simply stretched the longest 2 X 12 boards he could find and called it a "bridge."

To knock back the surface weeds, they invested in a "herd" of grass carp, and have applied a pretty serious dark dye [I have found out it's called "Aqua-Shade"] to keep the sun from penetrating too deeply into the water.  Also, where there once was a small john boat I used to fish from, I now need to stick to the shore--and because I appreciate the opportunity to fish these wonderful ponds, Small Fry, The Boy, and I have set boundaries--we don't walk anywhere close to their house.  We've all agreed that we should keep from intruding on their lives as much as possible.  To that end also, we only fish there during the weekdays.

We brought a couple of rods each, a couple of tackle boxes, and--of course--a folding chair for me!  My first cast was  a green and white Wacky-Worm.  Before casting, of course, I said a prayer for Doc's Grandpa.  Grandpa was one of my very favorite fishing partners--but above that, he was a treasured friend.  "Pete" and I fished together even when his grandson, Doc, wasn't available to go.  He was truly an exceptional man.  I try to start every season with a cast dedicated to him. People who knew him would probably say it would be more appropriate if I threw a lure that could and/or would never catch a fish.  Grandpa owned some of the most bizarre-looking lures I have ever seen.  Also, we spent an inordinate amount of time pulling those weird-looking lures out of the tops of bank-side trees!

This was one of the most remarkable days I've had fishing with the Fry!  On her second cast of a bronze Rapala Floating minnow, she caught a large,  I think 3 year-old, bass.  I caught my first on the next cast, but then got a tangle on my reel.  By the time I got untangled--in about 10 minutes--Small Fry had caught 6 more bass!  After that, I was catching fish about one every 5 or 6 casts, but she kept up her "every other cast" pace!  In just about 25 minutes, we had 11 fish--all great eating size.  So, we stopped.  We didn't have enough ice or a cooler to keep things fresh, so that was all we could do.

We filleted and cooked all of them that night and they were just delicious!!  I am, once again, extremely pleased to be married to a woman who will let me clean fish in the kitchen.  In fact, I was going to pan fry them on the gas grill on the deck, but couldn't get the oil up to temperature and so had to even cook them in the kitchen!

All but one of the fish was female, with roe.  None of them had ANY food in their stomachs.  I think there is no doubt that the strikes were hunger-inspired.  Neither of us saw any nests, so, though it's odd, I don't think the fish have spawned yet.

Some things we are going to consider for the future:

1.  We're going to choose one of our many coolers to designate as a fish cooler.  The folks who own the Fisher Ponds want every fish caught to come out of the water--either to be eaten or thrown away.  If, though, we happen to catch a truly large bass, we'll throw that back.
2.  We need to keep on the pond at least once a week so we can better ascertain its rhythms.  To figure this out, I need to start my season earlier--even in late winter, as soon as the ice is gone.

November 15, 2017


Yeah, you know that when you have to include the YEAR in the date of a new post, you've neglected your writing!

To be fair, though, this blog has been largely a site based on outdoor observations and activities--and this past year or so has been a strangely interior time.  No qualification there; it's not good or bad, it just is.  Physically and otherwise, I have been inside until just recently.

And, as is usually the case now, it's my kids that have dragged my aging ass back into the woods and along the river.  Adam has continued his interest in shooting, and though he has moved a little over an hour away, we have been out several times.  In fact, just two weeks ago, we hunted my ex-wife's uncle's wood lot (only in Muncie is such a thing possible!).  Getting to the lot was challenging.  Normally, I can just drive my truck out to the site, about half a mile from the road.  But the field surrounding the lot, this year in soy beans, hadn't been harvested yet, so we parked between a derelict combine and the shell of the house trailer my ex's grandmother used to live in.  We soon found out that a field of beans is like a lot of things, very different when you're in the middle.  From the road, a field of beans looks like a mist rising from the dirt, almost fragile, and the stalks appear to be . . . oh, maybe a foot, foot and a half tall.

No.

In fact, soy beans are bristly.  They hold on to your pants like they NEED them, and they're about waist high and tightly spaced.  Fortunately,  we were not the first explorers to encounter this jungle.  Deer, and maybe people, but judging from the pointy halves of the tracks, certainly deer--had carved out a relatively easier way to pass through the field.

We didn't have any luck, but it was certainly fun getting out in the woods with Adam.  I wish so much that I had access to better hunting area to share with him.  This coming season (2018--2019) I'm going to make a concerted effort to expand our possible areas.  So far, we have:

1.  The aformentioned ex-in-law woods--although, this is a much bigger woods than the small part we have hunted so far.

2.  Sue Fisher's "ravine" area.  The only way to make this a reasonable place to hunt would be for Adam and I to work on the lot with some machetes or some similar "instrument of destruction."  As it is, there is almost NO way for a man to be quiet making his way through the tangles, and when you add another person, and it's amazing we saw anything living!

3.  Though I have not hunted it, Adam and I can shoot squirrels at the Monroe Township Conservation Club.  Last year, I saw a guy parked close to the rifle range and as I was driving by his truck, he came out of the woods with a handful of squirrels.  He explained to me where the majority of the squirrels were to be found (frighteningly near the target area of the rifle range).

And, that's pretty much it.  I don't own a shotgun with which I could take rabbits--or even deer--so right now, squirrels are about all that's on the menu.  I think I could kill a deer with my .357, but if you ask anyone who has ever seen me shoot a handgun, the overwhelming consensus would be that I'd need to sneak up to about ten feet away, and even then--it'd be sketchy!!  So, to use the .357, I'd have to mount a handgun scope on it--and I don't have the money to do that any time soon.

5/4/16

Rule #30:  Pay for good luggage, good shoes/boots, and a good watch.

Week of 5/1:  Plans, Prepping, and Possible Conditions

Thursday:  "Fisher Ponds"

*folding chair

*NET!

*"Big Yellow," 7' 6" BPS Micro-Light, ultra-light rod:

• Set up for a drop-shot wacky rig with either a 4" Dark Watermelon with Red Flakes, or 5" Baby Bass Senko-like worm.

*"Bank Pole," MH, 7 foot, line weight 10-25 lb., lure weight 1/4 -- 1 1/2 oz.:

• Set up with heaviest available line to fish deeper water with:
• jig/pig
• Rat-L-Trap
• Medium--Large Crankbaits, sinking or deep diving
• "drop-shot" Senko-like worms, largest
• white, 4" swim baits

*"Big Bronze," light weight pole, 4 lb. flourocarbon to fish shallow flats and shorelines with:

• Baby Bass Senko-like worm, wacky-rigged
• Darker, Watermelon/Red Flake Senko-like worm, wacky-rigged
• Smaller Spinner-bait

I know I'm breaking my two pole rule, but I'm trying to do a couple of things that I don't usually attempt.  First, I want to try to catch some bigger bass than I have been catching.  There's nothing wrong with 1-2 pound fish, but I know there are some much larger bass in there, and I suspect they're in deeper water.  Thus, the addition of the heavier "Bank Pole" to reach those fish.  I'm sticking with "Big Bronze," rigged the same way I had it last time I was there and had such success.  Also, I'm taking the "Galati" rig off of Big Yellow because I really don't see myself regularly bait fishing for the rest of the season.  I just prefer lure fishing.  Also, it's hard to dedicate one of my best outfits for a system of fishing that doesn't really require great equipment.  

Also, I'm bringing a net so that I can land any Channel Cat that I hook--for a change!

5/4/16


Rule #56:  If someone sticks a needle in your boob, you have unlimited permission to whine.

"Old Fishing 'Haunts'":  Lutheran Hills

I'm trying to remember how long ago this would have been--the rule of thumb anymore, when I try to figure out how many years ago something happened is to add ten years to my best guess!  So, when I first started going to Lutheran Hills Campground with Jeff and sometimes Jeff's family, would have been about 30 years ago.  I know I was still in graduate school.  I was writing my dissertation, because I remember combining a trip to IU's library in Bloomington with a visit to Jeff's family staying at the campground down in the Bicknell, Bean Blossom area.  The closest "town" to the campground is, if I recall correctly, Helmsburg.  Getting back to Lutheran Hills meant driving down miles of honest-to-God dirt/gravel roads.  One of the ways I have to date my experiences there is by recalling that the first time Sue, Jeff, Susan, and I went there, we did so after picking up Jeff from one of his first Mini-Marathons in Indianapolis--in Elroy, my first pickup truck!

[To give you an idea of how things have changed, after picking up Jeff, driving between Indy and the campground, we played a drinking game--whoever spotted water, on either side of the road first got to make everyone else drink!  The driver, as I remember, had a waiver--but I'll bet he didn't pass up too many drinks!]

Jeff's family had always gone to Lutheran Hills for vacations.  I think the campground was associated with the church they attended in Muncie.  We always stayed in the same hillside cabin that had several rooms, one with a few sets of bunk beds.  That first time was, I think, the only time just the four of us attended one of these trips.  After that, it was the usual Cheers crew, with Billy Burk thrown in for good measure now and then.   

The manmade lake itself was very large--probably twice the size of Windigo, so I'm going to estimate it at minimum 10 acres.  The deepest water was down by the dam/spillway.  One year, we knocked them dead using Rapala Shad Raps along the damn, initially cranking hard to get them down to 8 or 10 feet before making a steady retrieval.  They were stacked up along a point that jutted out from the left side as you faced the dam.   But most years, Jeff and I plied the cattail-lined shallows with Kelly's Pier-Boys, drinking Bud (me) and Bud Light (Jeff) until it was too dark to tell where to cast.  The fish were large for as numerous as they were--1.5--2.5 pounds, usually--bigger when you caught them deeper.

Of course, as the size of the group grew, and the level of power-drinking--if possible--along with it, we were eventually asked not to return.  It was, after all, a Christian campground, with everything that entailed.  I sure hope we didn't ruin that place for Jeff's family.

A couple of memories:

1.  The day I almost drowned!  I was fishing with Kirk Mace, a man who admittedly was NOT a fisherman.  He and I were in one of the flat-bottomed, V-prow 12-14 foot boats, and as I usually did when fishing with Jeff, when we got close to the area I wanted to cast to, I stood up.  Well, I suppose he was thinking that's what everyone did, so when I turned to look at Kirk, he was also standing, except instead of balancing his feet, one on either side of the center of the boat, he was perched almost all the way to one side.  Naturally, my instinct was to move to the other side to balance us out.  However, in moving from one side to the other, there is an initial moment when you have to increase your weight on the side you're leaving--you know, the side where Kirk was at the moment resting his not inconsiderable weight!  The boat flipped instantly.  I grabbed my tackle box in one hand and had my pole in the other.  Out of sheer laziness, I had not tied my high top tennis shoes, so they slid off, freeing my feet to paddle me to the surface.  [Yes, this is the origin of Rule #57.]  Kirk, who as a policeman, was trained in rescue asked me if I needed help to which I replied politely, that no, I didn't need ANY MORE of his help!

2.  I went down to Bloomington to research for my dissertation at the IU Library and then met up with Jeff's family.  I was, however, early by about two hours, so I stopped along the gravel road where there was an old cattle crossing bridge spanning a clear creek, 10--15 feet wide and anywhere from 1 to 2 feet deep.  It was lousy with Sunfish and Rock Bass!  I had to stoop over to get under the overhanging brush which sometimes cleared the surface of the creek by only 4 or 5 feet.   By the time the Birds saw my truck, honked, and I crawled out of the brush, I had a stringer of about 20 keeper-sized fish!  I think that sealed my reputation with Grandpa, who always bragged about my fishing skills--blowing them way out of proportion--but who am I to tell my elders that they're wrong?!!

4/29/16


Rule # Anything worth doing, is worth doing right.



Fishing:  White River



Prepping, Thursday PM

Weather

Temperature:  High, 66 degrees
Precipitation:  Very little chance.
Cloud Cover:  89%
Barometer:      30.03, flat-lined
Wind MPH:    7 MPH, from the NW

Solunar

The "Major" periods are both outside my comfort zone: the first begins at 6 AM, and the second at 7 PM.  The best "Minor" period is 12:05 PM -- 1:05 PM.  That'll have to do.

Lures, etc.

So, I packed up my highly embarrassing "Dork Bag," or fanny pack, with a small utility box and several pouches of soft lures.  I'm going to bring the shortest of my rods, the 5' ultra-light BPS Micro-Light rod, or "Little Yellow," and my bronze 6' 6" light-weight BPS Micro-Light.  My goal, then was to limit myself to four lures, two per pole--but, of course, I ended up with more!

For the bronze light-weight, I brought:

. . . not my hand.

. . . and though I didn't ever use it, I packed this Strike King Bitsy Jig and planned on pairing it with the Netbait Tiny Paca Craw.  I still think this combo will catch fish in the White River, but every time I plan on using it, when I get there, it just seems so huge--even in this diminutive sizes!












For "Little Yellow," I packed:

the ultra-light Panther-Martin inline spinner, size "0."  Even with the lightest weight pole I have, it's tough to get ten yards out of this little lure.  I got a couple of hits on this, but nothing that amounted to a hook-up.

. . . and, finally, I picked this Rapala, 1.5" floating ultra-light minnow.  On the first cast, I threw it upstream and let it sit until the waves faded away.  With my first twitch, I caught a small Rock Bass, or "Goggle-Eye."  I got it almost all the way in, but it shook off just before I would have pulled it out of the water!  I repeated that pattern and it resulted in a tiny (about 4"!) Smallmouth, a beautiful male Sunfish, and four more Rock Bass.  I quit for the day when a fish finally bit the lure off of the line.

This was the best day on the river I've had this year.  I wish I could get more Smallmouth to bite--at least bigger than 4"!, but I'll always "settle" for Rock Bass and Sunfish.


TALLY

Outings:  8 trips
Fish:     22.3 caught

4/24/16


Rule #47:  If at some point in your life you decide that the Beatles weren't really that good, you need to go back and listen to all of their songs again.


5 days out of the hospital, 16 days sober


Today was the best day of fishing I've had this year--for a number of reasons . . . back to that in a minute.

First, the conditions, setting, etc.

Location:  "Fisher Ponds"  

Time:  3:45--5:00, approximately

Solunar:  Average; Major II:  3:43--5:43 PM; Moon--89% Waning Gibbous (Isn't that a monkey?)

Waning Gibbon

Weather:

• 80 degrees
• Precipitation:  Report--"Trace," but on site it varied from sprinkle to steady; thunder.
• Cloud Cover:  It was cloudy throughout time period.
• Barometric Pressure: falling, 29.76
• Wind:  11 MPH, SW, gusts up to 18 MPH

Spawn Stage:  I didn't take the time to check more of the pond than I fished, but I fished along the bank from the jetty, around the cove to the south, and just beyond the big stump that sticks out from the southern-most shore, and saw clear evidence of nests all along that stretch.  I watched a pretty big Channel Cat defending his nest in the cove, but he was the only fish I saw actually guarding any nest.

I fished for about an hour; I didn't have as much stamina as I'd have liked.  I didn't keep count--'cause even MY "OCD" has its limits!--but I think I averaged a hit about every other cast.

I brought two rigs, my "Big Yellow," set up in a Galati Bait Rig, and my bronze light-weight 6' 6" rod with a 4" dark green Yum Senko-like worm with red sparkles.  Bass Pro Shops calls it "Watermelon Red Flake."  I'm pretty sure I got this package at Wal-Mart, however.  I'm also fairly confident that any plastic worm rigged as I had this one would have produced good results--the fish were just that active.  (Interestingly, when I cleaned the fish later, I inspected their stomach contents and without exception, NONE of them had eaten anything recently.  Also, there were about an even number of males to females.)

In rigging the worm "Wacky-Style," I buried the tip just inside the worm, with maybe 1/8" sticking out the other side.  The hits were all pretty violent and each of the ten fish I caught managed to pull the hook completely through the body of the worm, thus widening the original hole and making it worthless.  Because I then had to find another place to thread the hook through, I eventually had to discard the worm.  I went through 4 of these, counting the one I lost in the end.

All told, I caught ten bass.  Remember, the owners of "Fisher Ponds" wisely require that I keep everything I catch.  I don't know how many people fish the ponds, though I have never seen another person fishing when I've been there.  Also, though I have seen some very large bass cruising the shallows (3-6 pounds, certainly), the vast majority I've caught lie between .5 to 1.5 pounds.  They appear pretty healthy, if a little stunted, and so I think keeping everything is wise policy.  I can't get very good filets out of some of the smaller fish, but I've started scaling and gutting those so I don't waste so much meat.

I set up my chair at the usual spot, between "Ground-Hog Hill" and the shore, south of the little stone jetty on the eastern shore of the middle pond.  My first cast was parallel to the shore of that small cove, just to the south of where I set up.  The fish followed the worm, finally biting when it was only about ten feet from me, so I got to watch the strike.  In a pattern that repeated itself several times that day, another bass followed the hooked one as I reeled it in, trying, apparently, to steal the worm from the hooked fish!  This, along with their empty stomachs, would seem to suggest that appetite was triggering the strike.

I could clearly hear thunder in the distance, but there was no lightning, so I fished through it.  After I think about an hour and a half, I hooked a 3-5 pound Channel Catfish.  He was just about too much for the 4-pound test I was using on that lightweight rod.  The shoreline where I hooked him is made up of pretty steep banks, dropping straight down at least a foot and a half everywhere, so I couldn't just drag him ashore.  I decided to try to wear him down before I reached for him.  After "wrestling" with him for about ten minutes, I took a stab at grabbing the line a couple of feet from him in order to lift him to shore--he took one look at me approaching and shook his head, snapping my line right at the hook!

I know that fishing with light to ultra-light equipment means I'm going to lose the occasional fish, but I hate losing one with the hook and lure in its mouth.  Catfish, more than other species, can maybe survive those conditions, but I doubt he'll make it.

A "Good Day"

Though I always enjoy fishing, even when I don't catch anything, I won't ever deny that catching a lot of fish is a lot of fun!  Beyond that, I get immense satisfaction out of being outside in weird weather--blowing snow, thunderstorms, etc.  But in addition to these factors, on Tuesday, I was fishing during the 16th day since I'd had a drink.  I haven't really "imbibed" since the days when the Doc and I always brought a large cooler of "structure" with us when we fished.  But, still, it was good getting a good night's sleep the night before.

As Arlo Guthrie might say: "I'm not proud . . . or drunk!"

As soon as I got home, I cleaned my catch--scaling and gutting them instead of filleting--and cleaned up everything before getting into a hot shower and then my pajamas.  I was exhausted.  Five days out from a twelve-day stint in the hospital (the first ten of which I couldn't eat) may have been pushing it. But after dinner and a good night's sleep, I felt fine--and that's what I'm shooting for these days: fine.

TALLY:

Outings:  7 trips
Fish:      17 caught

4/20/2016


Rule #55:  Find something you love to do that requires you to be outdoors.  You're only half a person if you spend all your time inside.


So, I did some "hard time" in the hospital for the last couple of weeks--hence the lack of fishing posts.  Be assured, though, that one of the first things I did when I got out was text the owner of "Fisher Ponds" for permission to fish on Monday.

I've lost a lot of weight, and I'm pretty weak, so I plan on doing a lot of fishing from my folding chair and just tossing a Wacky Worm around a little.  I won't fish for too long, but I am very anxious to see where the fish are.

In the weeks I was in the hospital, the temperature started climbing and a few days the temperature was well over 80 degrees.  The redbuds, the flowering apple, and the dogwoods bloomed.  The tulips ran their whole course, and almost all of the trees have budded.  When I got out, I felt like I'd entered a time warp.

I know it rained a few times, but since I escaped, I haven't been close enough to the river to see where it is in its banks.  It'll be a while, though, before I'm up to walking the banks of the White. Today, I walked to the point in my front yard and back--that was enough for a while--it about knocked me out.

Being in the hospital always sucks, but I'm blessed with the ability to close my mind away from the most unpleasant things that happen there almost as soon as they're over.  I find I can even ignore the "ugly" parts of being hospitalized that are constant: not being able to sleep for more than an hour or two at a time, hospital gowns, no food (or terrible food), lack of privacy.  As Bill Murray said, "So, I got that going for me . . . which is nice."

Of course, I would have been completely miserable without my wife and my mom who were with me whenever they could be.  Mom and I watched a lot of NBA, which even under those circumstances, I enjoyed a lot.  Peggy was still feeling the chemotherapy that remained in her system, and the various aches, pains, and random "ickiness" that didn't just cease as soon as she finished the last bag of chemicals!  If only!! However, like a trooper, she stayed by my side as much as she could before she had to leave for a conference.

The Doc stopped by at least twice that I remember, and so did the doctor who owns "Keep Out Ponds"!  He loaned me a book, The Battle of the Atlantic, which I tried to read when I wasn't too high.  My family doctor stopped by every day.  It was always good to see him--especially when he gave me "popsicle clearance"--for which I will be forever grateful!

The nurses and techs that took care of me were simply incredible.  I know they'll never read this--I mean, what are the odds?--but for prosperity:  Teena, Ron, Charles--great RNs.  The techs kind of came and went without my getting to know most of them, but Meghan was one that would be hard to forget.  She was so helpful and along with the nurses, made me as comfortable as I could be.  Teena figured out my pain med level quickly.  Ron actually got the NG tube into me after it had fallen out because the first team that inserted it didn't anchor it well enough.  He then made damned sure that it wasn't going to fall out again!  Charles took the time to stop by and just talk now and then.

During the trip home, I was already planning my first fishing trip!  Laying in a hospital is no way to spend two weeks of springtime!

4/7/2016

Rule #38:  Having a hero is a great responsibility.  Others will always try to recall the negative sides of your hero's character.  Your job is to recall those accurately, but to focus always on your hero's greatness.  Remember stories about him and tell them often.



I know that when I was a kid, or maybe some time in college, fishing with the Doc, that I have fished under worse weather conditions--but I can't remember when.

It was about 33 degrees, with winds gusting up to 30 mph when I first got out to the Fisher Ponds.   I had my Notre Dame hoodie, and the lined rain jacket Todd gave me.  I thought that bringing both was overkill, but, thank goodness I did, because I needed them both!  I even had toe warmers stuck to the inside of the left pocket of my rain jacket.  I needed those as well!

From 1-2:00, I thought I would stay warmest by baitfishing a nightcrawler on a "Galati Rig," where I could cast out and just huddle down into my jacket with my hands in my pockets.  I positioned my chair so that I could reach what seems like cover between the shore by "Groundhog Hill" and "Goose Shit Point."  It had been sprinkling while I ran errands in the morning, but about 15 minutes into soaking that 'crawler, the snow and sleet started coming in HARD.  At one point I turned to look at my truck which was about 15-20 yards away, and could only see its vague outline through the snow!  Again, I was so happy to have that rain jacket Todd gave me--the hood, layered over the hood from my ND sweatshirt--saved me today!  After getting no hits for about 40 minutes, I moved my chair so that I was pointed straight across the mouth of that little cove to the left of Groundhog Hill.  I thought that would give me access to the deep water I imagined the fish were in given how cold it was.  Twenty minutes later, I realized I was wrong, and frozen.

I left my bait rod and virtually ran to my truck where I fumbled frozen fingers to get the keys out of my pocket, actually get one into the ignition, and turn the engine on.  Blessed, blessed hot air started blowing out of the vents by the time I got my gloves off!  Fifteen minutes later, I was ready to try again.  While I was thawing, I entertained the thought that I would be better off casting a lure and walking around the pond--partly because it was beginning to appear that the fish had not read the "Solunar Tables" which indicated they should be active by now, and partly because I thought the walking and casting might keep my blood circulating better!

I put on a 5 inch, wacky-rigged Yum! "senko-type" plastic worm in Watermelon Pearl because I thought it looked like a Bass fingerling that might provoke an aggression strike, especially this time of year when it looked like some of the younger bass were starting to stake out their nesting sites.

I started at the cove I had left off right by Groundhog Hill, and right away started getting hit in the shallower parts of the cove.  I caught 2 out of that cove--and honestly, probably missed at least 2 more.  Unusual for this time of year, the retrieve that worked best was a relatively fast twitch, which is lucky, because the typical slow finesse retrieve that depends so much on watching my line for tell-tale twitches was NOT going to work in this kind of wind!  After I caught those two, things went cold in the cove--like they often do once you stir things up on a small body of water, so rather than fight it, I moved to the furthest east of the pits.  I saw at least ten huge Channel Cats in the shallowest (eastern) shore of this pit.  I caught my third bass here.  He hit the worm before I'd retrieved it 5 feet, really quickly.  This was the biggest of my day, probably 14 inches or so.  I added him to the stringer and then walked toward the furthest western pit.  There are 3 areas on Fisher Ponds where the water is shallow, at least 3 that I feel comfortable fishing.  (There are a few places closer to our friends' house, but I don't feel like I should "invade" their space by fishing too close to their home.)  So on the furthest eastern pit, I don't go beyond where the diving board once was, and on the northwestern corner, I fish "Goose Shit" point, but don't turn there where my great Uncle once had his kennels.

I had just untangled my line, and was getting a little frustrated, so I said to myself, "One last cast."  I tossed the worm toward the northern end of that cove, and got a nice strike about halfway through my retrieve.  So, when you catch a fish on the "last cast," you have to quit--if you don't, you can truly jinx your next trip.  Didn't you know that?  Oh, yeah.  It's very reliable--at least as much so as the freekin' Solunar Tables!!

Four bass, from 11"-14".   I'm going to fillet them tonight and put them in the freezer for the upcoming days when Peg is at her conferences, and I can cook fish in the house!!

TALLY:

Outings:  I've been fishing six times this season.
Fish:  So far, I've caught ten Largemouth Bass.

4/6/2016

Rule #57:  Always unlace your shoes/boots when fishing from a boat. 
Rule #57A:  . . . and, no, being barefoot while fishing from a boat is never a good idea.


So, to remind you of what the wizards in charge of the Solunar Tables and our weather forecasting had to say about Wednesday:

WEDNESDAY PROJECTIONS--Either White River or Bird Pond.

Solunar  107P--307P, "Major," "Better" Period

Weather  During Major Period

Air Temperature:  55 -- 57 degrees
Wind:  27 MPH from S -- 30 MPH from SSW
Air Pressure:  29.68--29.62, falling
Cloud Cover:  88% -- 100%

Other Observations:  

• There's a row of large forsythia at the top of the hill before turning left off of 700 that were in FULL bloom.
• There were no clear signs of nesting, nor did I see any fish . . . at all!
• I fished from 1:30--3:15, basically covering the Solunar "best" period, and kept my a line in the whole time--but aside from one 'gill bite, nothing.   I wonder if this means that local weather trumps solar and lunar positioning?  Sure felt like it.

Admittedly, I checked the "projections" only 10 hours before going fishing, so things could have changed (!!!!)  I got out to Bird's Pond, and the wind was blowing so much harder than 30 MPH, that it almost--literally--knocked me from my feet twice.  Trying to cast into the wind was almost impossible; at best I could get 15-20 feet out.  Now, with the wind behind me, I could cast the lightest lure nearly across the pond.

I screwed up and didn't bring my water thermometer today.  I did walk into the water, wearing my rubber boots and waders (which fit better than I could have expected!), and my boots got immediately cold, through boot, wader, and insulated sock.  That and the absence of visible nesting activity leads me to think that the water temperature hasn't gone much above 60 degrees, if that high.  Certainly, the Fisher Ponds--which are much more sheltered--are warmer, and the fish are more active.  

The Bird Pond is just SO exposed.  There aren't any trees south, east, or west of the pond.  The only cover is 1/4 mile away in the form of a border of woods along the White River north of the site.  There are low hills on the NW and ESE sides of the pond, but walking around the pond several times today, I can't attest for their ability to break anything LIKE a wind or even a slight breeze!

Because the wind was so steadily from the south, I tried to focus on the northern banks against which, baitfish, etc. should have been driven.  And the only bite I got was on a Kelley's Pier Boy, Purple Fire-Tail.  The bite was about 10 feet from the bank, and felt like a blue-gill.

The pond is flooded, so there's about 1-2 feet of standing water BEHIND the cattails.  The muddy condition of the water kept me from wading out more that a couple of feet, I just couldn't see where the drop-offs were.  I'll try this again sometime when I'm not there alone. The bottom in the shallow ends, by the cattails, appears to be largely clay/mud, which makes me wonder where the fish will spawn.

Tomorrow, I'll try the Fisher Ponds.

4/5/2016

Rule #301:  Every man has "enthusiasms," hobbies, or interests that he follows for a time before moving on to the next one.  Never apologize for these, just enjoy them as much as possible for as long as they last.  Chances are, each will come up again.

The last three days have been miserable, weather-wise.  The day before yesterday, in fact, we had gusts up to 40-45 mph, blowing snow and SLEET!!  That night, we lost power for several hours; then again in the middle of the night.

I thought about going fishing today, but the high was only 47 degrees and it was humid and overcast.
I don't know how long I would have made it!

Tomorrow might be a good day to check out the Bird Pond.  Solunar tables show it as a "Better" day, but it's just going to be to damned cold.  During the "Major Period," the temperature will not exceed 40 degrees--and I'M OLD!!   According to the Solunar tables, Friday is supposed to be one of the best days of the SEASON!, and yet, during the "Better ++" Minor Period, it's probably going to be snowing!

So, this time of year, I just have to make sure I have my ND hoodie, my gloves, and my hand warmers with me.  I have to remember that the weather conditions I'm suffering through, the fish just aren't.  This time of the year, so much is determined by the amount of sun the water receives, the direction of the wind, etc.

Yes.  I'll go.

I want to try out my waders--basically, to see where the inevitable leaks are!--and can just wear them on the inside of my big rubber boots.  Eventually, I want to turn a pair of high-top tennis shoes into wading "boots" by coating the permeable parts with that red rubber paint stuff I have.

So, my next outing will be 4/6/2016.

I just texted the owner of "Fisher Ponds," asking permission to fish Thursday.  Of course, she said yes.  She and her husband have been so welcoming to me--and later in the year, to Adam and Carly as well!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here, then, are my plans for the rest of the week:

WEDNESDAY PROJECTIONS--Either White River or Bird Pond.

Solunar  107P--307P, "Major," "Better" Period

Weather  During Major Period

Air Temperature:  55 -- 57 degrees
Wind:  27 MPH from S -- 30 MPH from SSW
Air Pressure:  29.68--29.62, falling
Cloud Cover:  88% -- 100%

THURSDAY PROJECTIONS--Fisher Ponds

Solunar  203P -- 403P, "Major," "Best" -- New Moon!

Weather  During Major Period

Air Temperature:  43 -- 45 degrees
Wind:  15 MPH from NW -- 14 MPH from NW
Air Pressure:  29.69 --  29.79, rising
Cloud Cover:  99% -- 98%


FRIDAY PROJECTIONS--Either White River or Bird Pond.

Solunar  812A -- 912A, "Minor," "Better++"* -- 2% Waxing Crescent

Weather  

Air Temperature:   32 -- 35 degrees, or "AYFKM?"
Wind:  5 MPH from NW -- 7 MPH from NW
Air Pressure:  29.86 -- 29.86, steady
Cloud Cover:  55% -- 55%


* Because this minor period occurs within 30 min's to 1 hr. of a sunrise and the moon is also rising during this time which actually gives this day a heightened peak time rating of "Better ++" and should give you great . . .  fishing action . . . "

4/1/16

Rule # 122:  Though your wife--or husband--may sometimes be wrong, she/he is nearly ALWAYS right.

So, today, I have learned the power of "Blogger's" delete button--it's irreversible, irretrievable.  DO NOT SCREW WITH BLOGGER'S DELETE CAPABILITY!  SHOULD YOU UNINTENTIONALLY ASK YOUR CUTE, LITTLE, BENIGN SITE TO "SET SOMETHING ASIDE," MAKE SURE THAT YOU DON'T MEAN FOR-FRIGGIN'-EVER!!   You will never again see those little quips you worked so hard on, for an audience of zero. . . wait, why am I doing this?

Well, let's start by recreating what I know was on the page and might be helpful to me next year at this time:

• I went fishing on the Fisher Ponds for the second time this year.
• Though I saw some of those roving "teenager" gangs of 1--1.5 pound bass cruising through the water 3-4 feet off the bank and about 2 feet deep on the southern side of the furthest east "pit," there wasn't a substantial increase in bite from last week's expedition.
• There was very little sign of new nesting, although it looked as if some of the older sites have been worked over.
• The two I caught today were on "Galati Rigs," with a small hunk of nightcrawler.
• WATER TEMPERATURE:  60 degrees even.

Even though today's catch was encouraging, I think if I had planned for the day by looking at the Solunar Tables, the Weatherunderground.com page, I'd have done better.

As usual, however, at this time of year, I just fish as often as i can, whenever I can!

4/23/16


Rule #8:  Always clean your guns each time they're fired.


Today was my first trip of the year to "Fisher Pond."  That's not what it's officially known as, the Family doesn't even own the place anymore, but let's just say that this pond and I go WAY back, even before the Doc and I started to fish together, when it was Dave showing me what he knew about fishing.

CONDITIONS:  Today was almost as cold as yesterday, the difference is that today I was ready for the weather.  I wore my thick Notre Dame hoodie, fingerless gloves (DIY, of course!), and even remembered my polarized sunglasses because I wanted to see if the fish were nesting in the shallows or not.   The temperature was probably close to 50 degrees, but the wind was gusting up into the high 20's, low 30's.  The water temperature was 55 degrees on the eastern shore.  When I first got there, the wind was blowing consistently against the eastern bank, so I started there, but after an hour or so, it began to whirl around indiscriminately.  I began fishing south of the little square "jetty," where there are some big boulders close to the bank and a groundhog hole amidst the smaller stones.   The small cove to the left of that bank is a really good looking area, and I expect to see some nesting sites there in the next few weeks.  I only saw one certainly new nest--on the northern side of Goose Shit point--that green finger that sticks out from the far bank in the picture.  If I had to guess, I would say that the fish are beginning to move shallower with an eye toward picking out areas for spawning.

This is the first fish I caught today, and I was proud because I got him on a "Galati" bait rig!  I finally got the damned thing tied last night and it cast very well.  The only difficulty I had with it is that it was so windy today, I really needed to fish that rig exclusively.  I'm not skilled enough with it to leave it for any length of time.  As it was, I had to just bite the line off, as it had swallowed the hook completely before I could get to it.

It wasn't the biggest bass I've ever caught, but I got him on my UL 7 1/2 foot pole, so he felt like a "lunker."


I caught three more, but all were in shallower water, maybe two to four feet.  I caught the remaining three fish (no pics, 'cause my phone went out, so you'll just have to trust me!) on a small lipless crankbait, all white body, with an orange belly.  All three of those fish were caught on the other rod I brought with me, the 7 foot, bronze BPS Micro-Lite, Light, with 6 pound mono on a Pfleuger, Presidential reel.  They gave me good fights!

The only thing that went wrong, is that I should have brought a cooler or stringer or something to take my catch home.  Two of the fish might not make it, and that just makes me sick--I hate wasting fish!

4/22/16

Rule #13:  Always stand when an older person enters the room.


Tomorrow when I fish the "Old Fisher Pond," one of the rigs I will be using will be one that I learned from watching videos on Youtube.com produced by Tim Galati.  The basic premise behind his rig is to get the bait as far out from the bank as you need it to be.  Also, Tim's rigss are intended to lose the drop weights before losing the hooks, swivels, leader material.

I'll try first to explain the rig using words.  Then, tomorrow I will take pictures of it on the ground to give you a better view.  I'll describe this by explaining how I have put together the rig -- now twice.

1.  Trip the bail of the reel.
2.  String line through each eye.
3.  Set (loosely) the smaller barrel swivel on the line.
4.  Tie to the end of the line, a larger barrel swivel.
5.  Tie a 2-3 foot piece of flourocarbon to the other end of barrel swivel (#4).

6.  Tie, loosely, with 12"--18" of monofilament, a weight that will go
 to the bottom of the river/pond.

7.  Watch line as it is picked up by fish and goes through the large barrel-swivel hole.


I will cast this out and prop it up so I can keep an eye on it; then, to cast, I'll use small to medium crankbaits, "jig-n-pigs," lipless crankbaits, maybe some Kelley's, in-line spinners.



The temperature tomorrow will be 55 to 59 degrees, but remember, the temperature will be much lower, given the wind--which should gust up to 30 mph.

1.  Identify which shore is being blown against.
2.  Identify the NW shore--which will be warmer.
3.  Look for nests or signs of beginning.

Bring warm drink.
Also:

Long yellow pole.
Short yellow pole.
Bronze pole.
Nightcrawlers
Bass spray.
Folding chair.
Knife.
Stringer/cooler.

4/21/16    


Rule #75:  Always unlace your shoes before you get into a boat or canoe.  If the "ship"should go under, you want your feet free!! [See Lutheran Hills Campground "I almost drowned" story for background on this rule.]

Second day of fishing this year.  White River, just upstream of the Jackson Street Bridge.

CONDITIONS:  I fished about 200 yards upstream from the Jackson St. Bridge.  The wind was blowing almost exactly upstream.  The sky was partly cloudy.  Though the temperature was in the high 40's, the wind was brutal, and I lost feeling in my hands after 90 minutes.  I was going to wear my rubber boots, but they still have water in them from doing "hard time" in the back of the truck.  The barometer was falling, but not much, from 30.18 to 30.14.  I took a reading of the water temperature before I left.  Unfortunately, I couldn't trust my fingers enough to string the thermometer on with the bobber set I was using, so I had to just kneel down and set it in the water next to the bank.  The reading I got was 48 degrees.  I'm assuming that out further in the current, away from the warmth of the shallows, it would be even colder.  According to the Solunar charts, I was fishing in the middle of the best time of the month--someone should have told the fish.

Today was cold.  Period.

Before I left, at about noon, I looked outside and by all appearances, it was T-shirt weather.

I was wrong.

I fished the White River for about 10 minutes before I trekked back up the hill to my truck to see if I had an extra shirt or jacket laying around behind the front seat.  Of course, I didn't.  What I did have was the Army blanket I always keep back there and a large bath towel I'd used to soak up some water from the last time I'd let it rain on the passenger seat.

I thought for awhile about cutting a hole in the Army blanket with my belt knife and wearing it like a poncho, but I just couldn't mess that blanket up!  So, I took the towel and wrapped it around the back of my neck and let the ends rest over my chest.  It kept me reasonably warm.

However, I could tell by the wind, that my time on the river today would be limited--as the tips of my fingers had lost feeling by the time I got my first line tied!

I've been trying to set up a "Tim Galati" (from Youtube.com) drop-shot for bait fishing.  Last night, I tried to set everything up, but it's complicated for a guy who can't see to tie knots nearly as well as he once could!  Is it some kind of sign if you have to put a pair of "cheater" eyeglasses in your tacklebox?

When I got to the river and set my gear up on a fallen sycamore, things started going "Monday" on me.  We've talked about this before; it's when all of the little things go wrong at every turn, leaving you with a negative thought about what you're trying to accomplish.  Sometimes, like I've said before, I've been able to take a breath and a sip of coffee and "re-set" myself.  But this morning, it was too cold to do so.  The longer I was exposed to the wind, the worse things were going to get, so I plugged along--screwing up everything at least twice before finally getting it right--and eventually, I was able to fish a small section of the river.

I started with a small white and chartreuse crankbait.  It was one of the best small crankbaits I've used.  The action on it was just incredible.  I know that when the water warms up, this will be a very good bait.  It has two treble hooks, but over about an hour only got hung on itself once, and it has a square bill that really DOES make it bounce off of rocks in its path!

The lure only got hung up once and I was able to free it by going upstream and giving it an extra pull.  I think I had one or even two small nibbles on the bait, but it was hard to tell, because both of my hands were beginning to freeze.

After about an hour, I knew that I didn't have long before I wouldn't be able to feel my fingers, so I rigged up my 7 1/2 foot pole with a maribou jig and a bit of night crawler on the hook.  I set these below a stick bobber, one that wasn't quite up to the task of keeping the jig and worm above the bottom.  I spent a lot of time freeing the rig from whatever it was grabbing on the bottom.

Eventually, I gave myself one more cast . . . then one more, etc.  Finally, after I'd fished for about 90 minutes, I gave up.

RESULTS:  No serious bites that I could discern; maybe one or two nibbles.  Really cold, but fun!  Also, as soon as I got home, I put an extra sweatshirt and a pair of gloves in the back seat of my truck.  I went to Walmart later for groceries and stopped at the Sporting Goods area long enough to pick up some of their hand-warmers.  I have an old pair of warm gloves that I'll cut halfway through the fingertips.  That way, I can keep my fingers totally covered when I want to, and expose the skin when I need to.  I plan on putting a hand warmer inside each glove, maybe in the palm and on the back of my  hand.

We learn, we learn.

No pic's today, because no fish.  As soon as I start catching anything, I'll have pictures--I promise!

3/28/16

Rule #16.  Admit when you're wrong.

SEASONAL INVENTORY/"WISH LIST"

At the beginning of each season, I try to compose a post that's a kind of "wish list" of equipment and things I will need for the coming season.  It's also an opportunity for me to take inventory of the things I have already.

I start the season with:

Rods & Reels:

1) a VERY good, Bass Pro Shops "Micro-Lite," 7 1/2 foot, yellow UL pole, with an EXCELLENT   UL Pfleuger "President" spinning reel, with 4 pound Stren monofilament.

2) another VERY good Bass Pro Shops "Micro-Lite," 7 foot, fast action, bronze, L pole, with an EXCELLENT L Pfleuger "President" spinning reel, with 6 pound Stren monofilament.

3) another VERY good Bass Pro Shops "Micro-Lite," 5 foot, yellow UL pole, with a decent (but OLD) Shimano reel, loaded with 4 pound Stren.

-----

4)  a decent Shimano rod, 5 1/2 foot, black, UL pole, with an OK Diawa reel (New Castle flea market, $5!),  monofilament backing under 4 pound Spider Wire braided line.

------

Then, I have individual parts that I can switch around as necessary until I find a "suitable" rod or reel to complete the outfit.

1)  a VERY GOOD Quantam KVD Series, gray, MH Graphite Spinning Rod (my wonderful wife chose this for me in a bank account give-away promotional series!), 7 foot, 9 eyes, line weight 10-25 lb., lure weight 1/4 -- 1 1/2 oz.

2)  an old large "EXPRESS" spinning reel with several unnecessary parts missing; it's loaded with an unknown, but heavier monofilament (looks like Stren); I'm pretty sure the bail has to be manually switched.

3)  a "Mr. Rowland," Mitchell, fiberglass, 6 foot, ML spinning rod; it's almost certainly an antique, but it casts well and is a really fine plastic worm rod.

4)  a crappy Mitchell "Advanta" reel:  too much plastic, too few bearings, you name it.  I'd much rather throw this in my recycling bin, but I have too few reels.

5) an ancient Wright & McGill, 8 foot, dull yellow, fiberglass fly rod, 2 piece, "mini-ferrule," 6 eyes;  I have an "automatic" self-winding fly reel for this rod that I bought thinking I might give fly fishing a try.  I'm much more likely to duct tape a spinning reel to it for bluegill fishing!


Needed Equipment for This Season:

• One GOOD medium-heavy weight spinning reel, Daiwa or Shimano, with 6 or more bearings to pair with the Quantam MH rod--this will probably have to be new.  I'll look for sales at Meijer and Walmart--wink, wink!
• Two decent ultra-light or light weight spinning reels, to pair with the Mitchell 6 foot, and the fly rod, respectively.  There's no sense in spending more than a few dolllars ($20 at most) on these, because the rods they'll be matched with just don't merit that kind of quality.  Flea markets and rummage sales!

When I complete this part of my "wish list," I will have four really good rigs, matched reel to rod, and two decent back-up outfits--but still, matched reel to rod.


Also needed:

• Good, polarized sunglasses, with a case to leave in the glove box of my truck and only used when fishing.
• Repair kit for waders.
• Lightweight, "invisible," flourocarbon for leader material.
• Cast-a-Bubble--I already have the solid, clear, teardrop-shaped one, I also need a few of the clear, hollow ones that you can fill, or partially fill with water to give them weight.
• Fishing, "Kiss My Ass," hat.  Bucket, Pork-Pie, light blue--just like Grandpa B's, the only hat I've ever worn that was actually too big for me!
• Wader socks.
• Dunham's football cleats for wader shoes.
• Treble hook "bonnets."
• Triple Swivel rigs for bait fishing.
• Cheap hand warmers.
• Huge cotton socks to put over shoes and up over the bottoms of waders.
• Seine net--if you can find one.
• Spray bottle and Isopropyl Alcohol for wader repair.
• [Always looking for used jon boats, float tubes.]

4/12/16

Rule #5:  NEVER wear your pants inside your boots, unless they're rubber--I mean the boots.  If your pants are rubber, a whole different set of rules applies to you.

Mansfield Park Pond

Well, the 2016 season is off and running!  Last Saturday, March 13th, I went fishing.  I headed down to the river, but as I crossed the Wheeling Avenue Bridge, I could see that there weren't going to be fish taken out of that particular body of water on that particular day.  We've been having rain, but the Water Company must have also let water out of Prairie Creek Reservoir in the days leading up to the weekend--it was running the color of a Burger King Chocolate Shake and the waterfall below the bridge was just a "speed bump"!  So, where could I go without having to drive to the Reservoir, and without prior permission?  I settled on driving down to Mansfield Park.

But even when you CAN catch fish at Mansfield, it's kind of a boring, desperate place to fish.

The pond has primarily stunted bluegill and mud cats.  At least, that's all I have ever caught from it. Since I was rigged to fish the river, I had a small tackle box with an assortment of little crankbaits, a Panther Martin spinner, two Beetle Spins, and a black and blue "jig-n-pig."

I said my annual prayer for Grandpa Bird--which must be done before the first cast of each season--and started in.

The jig was on the bronze ML pole with 6 pound monofilament on the light Pflueger President reel.
 I had previously modified the 1/8 oz. blue glittery jig by cutting back some of the fiber weed guards; the "pig" part was a Tiny Paca Craw in black.  I was very encouraged by the way the rig slid through the rocks and slimy weeds--until after about an hour, I got it stuck on something that did NOT want to give it up.  Had it been warmer, I'd have gone in after it, but that would have been a cold and miserable drive home.  I'm going to wear my waders next time I go out there.

I had one of my new tiny Bass Pro Shops crankbaits on the long yellow UL pole with the ultra-light Pflueger President reel with 4 pound test.  I was pleased with the distance I could get out of the outfit, but the action of the crankbait was way too exaggerated.  The "wobble" didn't look like anything I'd seen in any water, and  apparently the fish were repulsed as well.

CONDITIONS:  It was about 50 degrees out; it rained later that evening, so it was overcast and the air was damp.  There wasn't enough wind to hamper tossing small crankbaits into the wind, and there was minimum chop on the water, so I could watch for those small "ticks" in the line, indicating a nibble when casting that "jig-n-pig."

I didn't get so much as a nibble in the hour and a half of fishing, but did make some observations:

Even though Mansfield is a very shallow body of water and should warm up quickly, there weren't any signs of the panfish moving in to start to build their nests.

There are signs of crawdad activity in the form of those little mud towers they build on the shore, so I think when I return, I'll try to match the pattern of whatever color those 'dads are.  Maybe I'll even poke around with a stick under some rocks to see if I can spook one out of its hiding place.  Ideally, I could catch one, but at any rate, I should be able to see what color they are.  Depending on the water and the composition of the bottom they crawl around on, I've seen them from bright orange to a green so dark it's almost black.

No pictures from the day's activities.  It was cold, humid, and there was litter everywhere--and, of course, Canada Goose shit.

Ideas for the next time I visit Mansfield Park:

1)  As per above--wear waders.  If I go back soon, I should definitely wear some sweats under the waders.
2)  Bring some bait.  When they're in season, the bait store on Memorial west of the park, sells soft-craws, or used to.  It's also one of the last places to get Kelly's Pier-Boys.
3)  The water here is murky, stained to say the least.  I need to use brighter colors--perhaps the small, brighter orange and white crawdad-imitating crankbaits (I also have one in a silver finish that may additionally, look like a small shad if there are any in the pond.)
4)  The two poles I brought are fine.  Until I hook something large enough to warrant it, I'm not going to use anything above 6 lb. monofilament.
5)  There's a fountain out in the middle of the pond, and I've heard that the majority of the fish hang out near there, probably for the oxygen.  It's a long cast at best!  I might consider a weighted bait rig, either a 3-way swivel with a hardware nut for bottom fishing, or a "Gescheidler"-rig with one of those lead-weighted bobbers to fish just off the bottom.
6)  If I bait fish, I'd bring another long rod, instead of the 6 foot ML pole.  Crickets, worms, leeches, crawdads, maybe some shrimp left out to spoil for some bull-heads!  Also, that place gets so  fishing pressure, I think I'll go with a flourocarbon leader.

If I can get permission, I'm going to try to go fishing Tuesday or Wednesday of next week at the Fisher Ponds.  Those mark the first days when it should be warm enough to fish and when my wife won't need me at home.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Rule #11:  Never promise something you even suspect you might not be able to do.  Keeping promises is keeping your word--as such it is a key quality of a person's character.  Save promises for important things; don't promise to take out the trash, just say you will.  

When writing about my Bass Tournament experience, January 15, I referred to that feeling fishermen always get now and then wherein something goes wrong at the beginning of your outing and from that point on, everything just continues to spin out of control.  Today, as I was setting out:

I thought I'd get a coke at the Marathon, but of course, had no money or the Marathon card in my wallet.  I had to drive back to the house and start over.

When I got to the spillway by the Treatment Center, and parked the truck, it started to rain.

The first cast I took snagged a "Wacky Worm" rim I was fishing, and I had to break the line.  Though I'd stuffed the pack of worms in my front pocket, I had forgotten to bring anymore hooks, so that made that rod pretty much ineffective.

Ignoring the rain, I fished on and caught a smallmouth--only about a pound--but unfortunately, he swallowed the Panther Martin 1/16 oz spinner I was using, and to get it out, I had to kill the fish. Great.

After I caught a couple more very small bass, all on the Panther Martin, the rain began to come down in earnest, and so I called it a day.

That being said . . .

CONDITIONS

Temperature:  I mowed the yard yesterday and the sky was high and blue.  A storm cell moved through to our north last night, and this morning it was again looking clear and warm.  About 1:00, however, clouds moved in and it became more humid, and hotter, about 85 degrees.

Water Clarity:  I fished just above the "dam" across the river from the Treatment Center, because John Craddock told me that the smallmouth were thick there when the water officials had electro-shocked the White while making a species count.  The water today was that dark green color we get sometimes when the river is going down from being high and brown.   When I was retrieving the spinner, I could see it ten feet out at about 6" below the surface (the water is very shallow at this place on the river.)

Depth and Flow:  Just above 5', and flow rate, just above 0.4.   (I found a National Weather Service web-page that keeps record of this data.  It's measured close to the Elm Street Bridge, but still, this could be profitable information to keep an eye on!)

Bottom/Vegetation: Vegetation was marginal, really.   (Just "vegetation" isn't as big a category in the river, at least at this time of year.    So, I'll expand this to include "bottom," which is more important.)
The bottom in this area is very rocky, with even some gravel bottom closer to shore.  The river runs hard here, it's shallow, with some large stones beneath the surface that create eddies.  Those eddie areas were where I received the majority of my bites.  Snags too!

Cloud Cover:  Cloudy, rainy.

Wind Speed: 2 MPH, Maximum 12.

Pressure:  30.13


LURES/METHODS

Because I lost that Wacky Worm on my first cast, I used the other outfit I brought, which was my new ultralight reel on an old floppy fiberglass rod, designed for 6-10 pound test.  I used the Panther Martin 1/16th oz. spinner in bronze with a black body with little yellow dots on it.

I always take a pair of needle-nosed pliers to the treble hook on these lures to open the curve of each of the hooks just a bit, and I think it makes a huge difference.

I switched to a chartreuse Road Runner late in the outing, made maybe 12 casts with it, got one hit, though it's hard to tell with that fiberglass rod whether it was a hit or a snag.


I only fished about an hour today.  I think I'll start making my way down the river, starting where I ended up last year.  So, I'll begin at the lone sycamore tree upstream from the large concrete pad on the shore.  I might return to this spot, however, for a while, the bite was pretty heavy.

Rule #37:  Don't try to kick your attacker in the balls, he is hard-wired to defend against that.  Instead, fake that move and then punch or elbow him as hard as you can in the throat.  If he can't breathe, he can't fight.

CHANGES:  This week has been a week of dramatic changes around our house.  The Young Lady is moving to Bowling Green to enter a Master's Program for a year and a half.  The Boy has decided to join the Navy after he graduates in a year.  Girl 1 is, thank God, living with us again, working, and soon will take on another summer job in addition to her summer college courses.  Girl 2 is taking a math class at the local Junior College in preparation for classes at the university in the fall.

The 1st Girl is coordinating all of these changes while working hard for summer money from the university.

Me?  Cooking mostly.  And fishing.  And foot modeling, of course.

Rule #29:  You don't get to choose your own nickname.



FISH AND ANTS AND CATS, OH MY!

Girl 2 and I went fishing at the old Fisher Pond Saturday.  It was an odd day, a day brought to you by the makers of Slim Jim, makers of fine grease- and spice-laden meat products.

We got there about noon and fished for a couple of hours.  We looked all over for a styrofoam cooler to put ice in, because Carly wants badly to eat some of the fish we catch.  After 45 minutes, it became obvious that we weren't going to exactly slay them, so it wasn't an issue after all.  I've decided, though to start keeping all fish I catch in that pond, and maybe the Keep-Out Lake, cleaning them, and freezing them until we gather enough for a meal.




Anyway, the CONDITIONS:

Temperature:  We'd had a few hot days, higher humidity, and Saturday was a break from the heat. The high was probably 70 degrees, but while we were fishing, it was mid-60's.  I didn't take temperature readings of the water, but the bluegills and bass were largely in post-spawn pattern, so it's not as warm as it will be in the summer, but still, pretty warm.

Water Clarity:  The current owners of the pond dyed the water sometime in the last two months--as they do every spring.  The water, therefore, was that artificial-looking blue-green color.  Most of the water drops off steeply, so you can see maybe 3' of bottom, on average.

Vegetation:  Between the dye and the MANY grass carp, there is no vegetation to speak of--on top or on bottom.  The first lure I used was a Bitsy Jig with a salt-infused Tiny Paca Craw plastic grub.

Dragging and twitching it across the bottom, I snagged two small sticks, but never had to clean vegetation from my lure.

Cloud Cover:  It "felt" fishy--cool, with some humidity, and constant cloud cover, a grayish sky all day.

Wind:  Wind speed, 10 MPH, (ENE); max wind speed, 16 MPH; max gust speed, 20MPH.  Casting wasn't difficult, but then I wasn't using anything too light.  The only problem posed by the wind was that it was hard to "line watch" for strikes.  This is the first time I've tried to teach Girl 2 how to fish a plastic worm--by the end, we were both using a salt-infused, light brown, two-toned YUM 4" worm, wacky-rigged.  When the wind picks up and creates turbulence on the surface, it's more difficult to detect strikes, especially light ones.

[The worm I was fishing looked a lot like the brown and yellow one second from the bottom, "salt-infused and covered with it too.]

Pressure:  The whole time we fished, we were under a rapidly falling barometer.  On Saturday, the pressure fell from 30.2 to 29.6.


LURES/METHODS:

We forgot to get worms, so Carly started bobber/bait fishing with a hunk of Slim Jim she bought at the gas station!  It didn't work, but she stuck with it a while.  Sometimes that's a good thing, sometimes not.  I think there's a lot to be said for getting some bites immediately, it boosts the confidence--especially of a young person.  Next, I let her use my outfit with the Bitsy Jig and Tiny Paca.  Again, this dragging and twitching method is new to her.  Then, she tried a 1/4 oz. white Mister Twister jig and she got a couple of nibbles there.

Finally, she switched to the YUM rig I mentioned above, and I told her this time, to simply reel it in slowly and steadily.  This got her away from trying to keep the slack out of her line and at the same time, hopefully, kept the lure down low.
And, she finally hooked one well.

             [That's her fish below the catfish.  I had a good hold on my fish, so,              though it would've made a better picture if my big ugly hand
             weren't in it, I wasn't about to risk getting "barbed" by getting                        another hold on it!]













I only used three different lures:

• the Bitsy-Jig/Tiny Paca package
• a Kelly's fire-tail.
• and the YUM worm set-up

I caught one bass on the jig and grub, about a 1.5 --2.5 pound largemouth--nothing on the Kelly's, but I had some good bites.  Then on the YUM wacky-worm, I caught three very small bass, maybe .5--1 pounds.

Then, as Carly was reeling in her fish, I cast the wacky-worm and the instant it hit the water, the lure was snatched up and driven to the bottom of the pond.  I couldn't believe the fight!   Carly got her fish in, and then I handed the pole to her to fight mine in the rest of the way.  I was using the Pfleuger/Micro-Lite combination, and it worked great.  Carly and I both pointed the pole straight up to let the rod do the work, but still, the fish was stripping line off the Pflueger, the drag operating extremely smoothly!

We finally got it close enough to the bank to see that it was a large Channel Catfish: 16" long and somewhere between 2.5--3.5 pounds.  A beautiful fish.

EPILOGUE:  As I was re-rigging our poles over on the pier, I heard Carly yell ad saw her running towards me.  Somehow, during our battle with the two fish, we had stirred up some seriously pissed-off biting ants.   Shedding her shoes as she ran, Carly got to me and I used our bottled water to rinse them off of her legs.  Frantic patting ensued. Finally, we got them controlled and we decided that that moment would be a good time to end our day.

Lots of emotional content--Channel Cat and biting ants!  Top that!