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The 2006 Season is Officially CLOSED!
See You Next Year!
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Early October Largemouths
Highland Lake, Bridgton October 7
Pleasant Pond, Litchfield October 8
Took the top of my head off!
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Pretty Nice Fish
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First One (today)
on Ninja Spinner
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Fingers show who's
number 2
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More counting
on fingers
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October in Maine is one of my favorite times on the water. The leaves from the water side are so much more spectacular
that you wonder why there isn't a whole industry dedicated to taking all those leaf peepers out in boats to really
"get it" when they are searching for color.
The bass seem to get it! They are cooperating by coming out of the water to see the leaves. I just wanted to post some
pictures from Highland Lake and Pleasant Pond up they'ah in Litchfield, ME. The mid part of the state around Augusta-way
really has some fine bass waters. I caught the last three all on the Ninja Spinnerbait with gold blades and a black, brown, and white
skirt. The first two were caught on the white Ninja Spinnerbait, but the last fish fought so hard that the white skirt came off and I was
left with (shield the little one's eyes) a naked spinnerbait!!! I have to find some white skirts to put back on that baby. I think I will
tie the skirt with fishing line instead of the rubber band that comes with the baits. I have noticed that over time and exposure to plastic worms
in my tackle boxes that the elastic band tends to weaken and stretch which is why I think the skirt came off.
Oh well, enough about spinnerbaits. The boat is giving me a little battery problem at the moment so I need to get out on the
water for a shakedown test to see if it is just an old and tired battery or something wrong with the charging system. I'm betting it is the
battery. Next year, repowering all of the batteries with fresh ones for the trolling motor and starting motor. It's time
and I've gotten my money's worth out of the current set.
If the shakedown cruise shows a problem with the charging system, then its goodbye time for this year. If not, I still
have an old stand-by battery left over from the old boat that might get me through the month. With fingers and toes crossed...
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"Uh, why is the voltage meter reading 6.9 VDC?"
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Picture Catch-up
Three Cornered Pond, Augusta
Little Sebago Lake
August 12 & 17, 2006
Andy Flewelling at TCP
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3lbs 15oz
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Man, I've been so busy, I haven't had time to update the fishing pages. Here are a couple of pictures from
some of our recent adventures. Andy Flewelling came along when we went out on the water at Ann's camp on Three Cornered Pond in Augusta.
He caught this nice bass on an "Elizabeth's Finger" which is what we are calling the pumpkinseed Stick-O from Bass Pro Shops.
I got this nice 4 lb'r (well almost) a few days later on Little Sebago, also on the Elizabeth's Finger. This seems to be the
"go to" bait for 2006. Wacky Style, of course.
Well, I've got to go get ready for a fishing marathon to Cape Cod. We're staying in a $20MM Mansion on the water. Here's a link to a picture if you want to
see how the other half of the other half lives. Wait 'til you see the pictures from this one!!!
Click Here to Take Your Breath Away!!!
It's the one in the bottom middle with the cabana on the beach.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"Andy, I meant fishing license, not driver's license!"
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Long Pond 2006 Slideshow!!!
Click on Picture!!!
Long Pond
Belgrade Lakes, ME
July 22 - 29, 2006
See the whole show
by clicking here!!!
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Every summer we rent Tim Reilley's parent's camp on Long Pond in Belgrade Lakes, Maine. It is the highlight of
our entire year. This year we had some terrific fishing and caught everything there is to catch. I got two Northern
Pike right off of the dock (the kids were pretty scared about that one). Elizabeth pulled in some MONSTER bass both
largemouth and smallmouth. The best part of the week was seeing Zack, Trey, and Nick really "catch" the fishing bug. At
the end of the week, they went from being afraid to touch the worms and fish to baiting their own hooks and releasing their own
fish. It was pretty gratifying I'll tell you. I hope that they continue to push ahead in their love for fishing and
will soon be taking on bigger challenges. Good work guys! I'm proud of you.
We had some other visitors along for the ride also and you can see all of the fun by clicking on the picture above and
heading over to the Pelagic Zone Slideshow page.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"I got a fish!!!"
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High & Dry
Camp Ellis Jetty
Saco, ME
July 16, 2006
It started out nice
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Got a 15" on a black Rapala
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Are those old guys
in trouble?
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Uh, that's light
UNDER the boat!
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Better don the
life jacket
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Some guy called the
Saco Rescue
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It's lonely
at the top
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Let's fish while
we wait for the cops
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Saco Rescue "5"
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Do you want to
abandon ship?
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How long until
high tide?
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Saco Rescue "5"
clears the scene
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We might as
well fish!
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On Saturday night, Mary told me she wanted to get up early and go striper fishing!!! This never happens. She said
she wanted to see the seals in the morning and also see the river when the sun was just coming up. We left the driveway
at 0500 and headed down to the Marblehead ramp on the Saco. There was plenty of room in the parking lot and we launched and
were on our way in no time.
We trolled some tube rigs and caught a 19" short which we threw back. While we were making our circles inside the jetties, we noticed these
two old guys who had been fly fishing over on the Saco Jetty side from a 17' Bass Tracker aluminum boat. They were pretty successful with the fly rods and forgot the first rule of fishing from a boat, "Steer the BOAT!!!"
I asked Mary if they looked like they were in trouble and she thought we
should go over and check on them. We pulled in the tubes and motored over at a leisurely pace.
Sure enough, when we got close to them, they started waving to us. We got close enough to talk to them and noticed that the
current had carried them up on the rocks. At this point, they were still in the water, but were firmly on the rocks.
I decided to go to the down current side in case something bad was to happen to my boat and then try to pull them off the rocks. I motored out to the end of the jetty and around and then had to come all the way back to where
they were stranded. It was about a half-mile round-trip. We attached a line they
threw to the bow cleat and tried to pull them off with the reverse gear. No luck. The line eventually snapped and we
abandoned the idea of towing them off. Some guy in another boat called the Saco FD and they dispacted their "Rescue 5" rigid inflatable.
It took them about 20 minutes to show up and by then these guys were "above sea level." Mary suggested we fish while we waited and I got a 15" striper on
the black broken back Rapala. Fish were "boiling" (more like simmering) around the stranded vessel, so it was convenient to cast and wait.
Saco FD was unable to tow them off or convince them to leave the boat. One of the old guys must have been about 80 so he wasn't too nimble. Eventually they opted
to stay on the boat until the tide floated them off. We headed up river to try casting some sandworms in the mud but didn't see another fish all day.
When we hauled out about 0945, everyone at the launch was talking about how high out of the water those old-timers were. We shared some laughs about the number of
pictures they were the subject of and headed on back home.
It was great to have Mary onboard for a really beautiful morning cruise. We should do it again soon (hopefully when there are some fish around).
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"That's light UNDER the boat!!!"
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Yankee Striper
Meigs Point, Hammonassett
Madison, CT
June 22, 2006
Illegal in Maine!!!
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In Maine, we have what is called, "the slot." The law says that you can keep one striper per day per angler as long as it is
between 20" and 26" or over 40." This causes a lot of frustration when you get a nice fish on the line. Here is a picture
sent in from our Southern New Enland, Long Island Sound, bureau. This fish was caught on Major Chris Egan's Grady
White in Long Island Sound off of Meigs Point, Hammonassett. It was 38” long and weighed 21 Lbs. The guy who caught it was Captain
Steve Combs. They were live-lining eels on a three way rig. Anyway, I'm glad to see that the fish are somewhere if they can't be up here
in Maine. Chris tells me that the regs in CT are two fish per angler, minimum 28."
Maybe it is time to head South and let Chris show us how it is done Yankee style. Nice fish Cap'n!!!
BC-out.
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First Keeper 2006
Higgins Beach
Scarborough, ME
July 8, 2006
One if by land
Two if by lips
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22" (23" if you
count the clam)
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BC, That fish just
sneezed on your hand!
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The Leprechaun
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This WAS going to be the year for stripers, until we had all the rain this spring. I had such high hopes for
a truly stellar season, but it has been pretty slow. Tim Peters and I have been out three times now, trollin' tube and worm
rigs and we've been shut out. John Rousselle managed to get a few tinkers on the fly rod a few weeks back, but all in all, it has been
pretty disappointing. Even the fishing reports which always say the fishing is at least "good" have been
less than enthusiastic lately.
UNTIL===>>>Mike Bunting came along with us and he really turned into the lucky
charm.<<<===
Mike reminds me of a leprechaun with mischevious twinkle in his eyes behind those shades. He was the one that suggested
that we leave the damn tubes, head for Higgins and cast in the mouth of the river. Well, if you say so Mike. The
last thing you want onboard (aside from a banana) is a PO'd leprechaun.
I pulled out some surf clams I've had in my fridge for a couple of weeks and I guess I should have frozen them rather than
just let them sit in there. When I opened the container, the whiff that came off those giant snots was enough to bring
even the toughest bugger to his knees. Just touching them to put them on the hook left you wondering if that stench would ever
come off your hands later. Anyway, we rigged the clams (which were like trying to put jello on the hook) and flung them
over the side. Within minutes I had some rod tip action. Using circle hooks I just reeled until the hook set itself in the
side of the fish's mouth. I horsed the fish on board. I didn't want to take a chance in missing him. It wasn't much of a fight on the big rod, but
I was out for a keeper! I saw that he was well hooked so I lipped him into the boat and up against the ruler. TWENTY-TWO!!!
This was by no means a large fish, but in Maine, it is a Keepah!!!
After some excellent pictures from Tim, our PelagicZone staff photographer, I put him (the fish, not Tim) in the ice chest and we
cast for about another hour. It started to get dark, so we motored back to the launch, past Winslow Homer's house on Prout's Neck,
drooling at all of the fine seaside shingle-stye homes. You really need to see Maine from the water side to get an appreciation
of all of the beauty there is here. As we were driving by the day marker at Ferry Beach, John and Jack were there waving to us
and I held up my hands to signal that we had one in the box and how big it was.
Later, I cleaned the striper and put the skinned fillets in a bag. On Monday, Mary made up a tin foil pan with
butter, dill, salt and pepper, and we put it on the gas grille to bake. It was so good, we took the plate around to Tim's house and
gave a bite to Karl Suchecki who was driving by at the time. It really is probably the best fish in the sea. If you
ever see it on a menu, get it. I'm sure you will think it is the best tasting fish you ever had.
Well, believe it or not, it is POURING RAIN again while I write this. Will this stuff ever calm down? Oh well, this is
one way to wash the salt off of the boat. Until our next keeper.... Y'all be cool.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"Oh Man, Those clams STINK!!!"
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So Nice, You Have To Look Twice
Little Sebago Lake
Windham, ME
July 5, 2006
2lbs 14oz
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Same Fish, Different Smile
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Evening fishing on Little Sebago is usually pretty productive. John and Jack met me at the boat launch after work
and we went in to the lower bay to try some skinny water fishing. Jack scored three or four fish and John had a couple. BC was left out of
the action this outting. Jack's best fish was the one in the pictures and it gave him a pretty good battle. He
fought it well, John landed it in the net, and then Jack took it off the hook, held it while we weighed and photographed it, and then released it like
Jimmy Houston (with a proper kiss good-bye). I don't know why LSL was so slow this evening. We checked for
bananas onboard and didn't find any!!! Since this was the only picture worthy fish of the day, we decided to put it up twice.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"So Nice, You Have To Look Twice!"
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Thompson Lake Evening
Thompson Lake
Casco, ME
July 3, 2006
Clear Water Smallie
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Tropical Sunfish
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Not much to report about this trip. Tim and I went out on Thompson Lake one evening. The water was its typical
crystal clarity and the fishing was a little slow. I caught a few fish. The wind came up and we decided to head for shore.
On the way in, we found these folks pushing their boat back to their dock. They had two people in the water swimming the boat
back and refused our offer of a tow. Oh well, some folks just need their exercise. I think I'll have a beer.
One thing I have to say about Thompson Lake is that it is probably one of the most UNFRIENDLY lakes in all of Maine. They have more signs
up telling folks where they can't swim, etc. than anyplace else I have ever seen. When we got back to the launch at the marina
I went to go get the trailer. While Tim was waiting with the boat, some other neighborly types were quick to tell him
that we were on a private dock. We were only there for about 5 minutes and were loaded and out of there. I'll tell you
as pretty a lake as Thompson is, I would have to think twice about getting a place there to buy or rent. The folks just
bring the whole place down. It's the only place in Maine that I have been where I get this kind of reaction. Maybe the water
is TOO clear.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"This is a PRIVATE dock!!!"
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Three Good Ones
Little Sebago Lake
Windham, ME
June 25, 2006
3lbs 4oz
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4lbs 5oz
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4lbs 14oz (Almost 5!!!)
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Adoring Fans
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Would you be upset if you fished for three hours and only caught three fish? I usually am, except today
was glorious by the sheer fact that IT WASN'T RAINING!!! Lately you can't plan anything outdoors unless you
have a backup plan. Today was perfect. It was about 78 outside, no wind, and "indirect" sun. I put in at
Little Sebago about 1330 which was the height of the day there. The parking lot at LS is now guarded by
a security guard who is charged with checking milfoil stickers and acting as the "ranger" similar to a golf starter
on the local golf course. He's a good guy and even went in with his bathing suit to push my boat off of the guide-on
trailer lights when it drifted back after a very weak push-off by me. It really is time to either improve the parking
at LS or open another boat launch to take some of the pressure off this ramp that gets heavy use on the weekends.
I fished the western side of the main lake since I have had luck on that side before. I basically drifted in and out of
sheltered coves where there was sufficient cover to provide some shade over the water for the fish to hide. Today I was using
some Bass Pro Shops "Stick-o's" which are Senko / Dinger knock-offs seasoned with salt and Yum sauce. It wasn't too long
before I caught my first nice bass on the wacky worm. It was pumpkin on the back with an orange belly. It kind of
looks like a sunfish coloration stretched into a soft stick bait. I got the first fish from under a dock, so I kind of knew that
shade was the pattern this afternoon. Later, I caught another nice fish on the old stand-by, "The White Ninja." If you
have been reading the Fish Stories for awhile, you know that this is one of my favorite lures. They are hard to find, but
I did notice that some guy one a Bassmaster's tournament using them last year which made me feel good. Anyway, number two was caught on the
Ninja without too much fanfare. Speaking of fans, I drifted by a dock of guys and little kids and had a few nice words with them
about the weather and the fishing. It wasn't two casts later that I hooked into a MONSTER bass. This bass gave me quite
a battle and it was all seen within 20 feet of the dock were all the people were sitting. They stood up and were cheering me on
like I was Denny Brauer or something. I kept saying, "Oh, this is going to be a good one!" over and over. Sure enough, when I put him
on the electronic scale, he went 4lbs 14oz! Just shy of 5lbs. I took a picture of the fish and the fans and then let him
slide back to the bottom. I have this new method of laying the fish by the ruler so that you can get an idea of how big
the fish are. Let me tell you, three fish for the whole day isn't much but when you keep getting bigger and bigger ones as you progress through
the day, it takes the sting out of it a little.
I ran out of juice in my trolling motor batteries about 1545 so I decided to head back to the ramp. When I got there, there were about ten
bass boats all pulled up to the shore while they were weighing their catch from the days tournament. I decided to cruise around the lake
for awhile so they could clear the ramp. I went over to Jim and Mel's house in the lower bay and said hello. When I got
back to the ramp, half the boats were out and my friend the ranger let me jump ahead of the others so I could get out of there.
All in all, it wasn't the worst day of fishing. I'm not greedy. I'll take three fish for a total of 12lbs 7ozs.
BTW, the biggest fish caught by the guys in the bass tournament was only 5lbs. So I could have been a contender!!!
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"Oh, this is going to be a good one!!!"
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A Maine Dream Day
Hancock Pond
AND...
Pine Point
Denmark and Scarborough, ME
June 13, 2006
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Living in Scarborough, we are truly fortunate to have so many good fishing opportunities close by. Today was one of
those days that I dream about during the long winter season while the boat is away. I got up and called around to see who
was available but had no takers. There were threats of thundershowers but the skies were clear so I hitched up the boat and
made my way North to Hancock Pond in Denmark. If you are a regular reader of the Fish Stories, you know that we used to
rent a camp on Hancock every summer so I know the pond very well. When I got to the boat launch, the skies just opened up, and
as usual around here these days, the deluge began. I noticed that on the South end of the lake, the sun was still shining so I
put the hammer down and made my way to where it wasn't pouring rain. The rain pounding me in the face at 45MPH was kind of
"annoying" so I ducked down behind the windshield on the center console and got there as quickly as the boat would take me.
I first fished the islands off the camp we rented and got a few nice smallies on the wacky worm. After that, I went South again to where
the dam spills the lake and fished the shoreline. I got a really nice 3.5# largemouth in the shadows and then got this
nice 3# smallie from under a dock. The smallie was all soft in the belly and probably was a female who had recently let go her eggs.
I bet she was a lot heavier with her roe. She gave me a good battle and did a little dance for me on the top of the water
before I was able to lip her. As I worked my way down the shoreline, fishing the shadows, I came into an area where it was just CRAZY with bass.
I caught a smallmouth bass on practically every cast and really enjoyed watching them through the crystal clear water. I had talked to John Rousselle earlier in
the day about going striper fishing, so I made my way back to boat launch around 1630 just as the skies opened up again!!! I put the boat on the trailer and stowed the
gear in the rain and beat a retreat South back to Scarborough. I stopped off briefly at Sam's Club where I gassed up the boat and truck
using two pumps simultaneously. It was like doing your laundry at the laundrymat, parallel processing.
The low tide at Pine Point was at 1900. I went home just long enough to switch out the freshwater gear for the saltwater stuff and let the dog out.
I picked up John and his fly rod and we made our way over to the Pine Point launch. There were only about three trailers in the lot which was unusual for such a popular
launch site. We motored out to Prout's Neck and trolled a sabiki rig for mackerel but were unsuccessful. Once we pulled in the leadcore and were ready to head back to drift along the sandbar, the macs showed up. I cast a
diamond jig at them while John worked a fly. He was feeling very secretive this evening and asked me not to mention which one he was using in the Fish Story. True to my
word, I won't disclose it here, but you can e-mail and I'll tell you for a minimal fee. He managed to hook a mac, but lost it. That would have been the first saltwater fish for 2006 on the boat, but we had to try a little
harder for that reward. As we drifted along the beach near the wading fly fishers, John managed to hook the first striper of 2006. He was embarrassed about how small it was and asked that
I not show the picture. Again, true to my word, I have not shown a picture of the fish, but since John was the first to catch a saltwater fish this year, he must be
recognized with a photo (see above). I'm sure we'll have more pictures to show soon, but this one was historic.
While we were out there, a soft rain started to fall on us and we didn't feel the need to go in. It wasn't cold, and the fish were biting. John hooked five and landed three really small stripers. After the rain,
the mosquitos came out of the marsh and just attacked us. John had his hip wader boots on so he didn't notice the
scourge as much as I did. I hate to wear any bug dope, but tonight I could have been converted.
So, just where else in the country can you fish excellent freshwater bass and excellent saltwater bass all in the same day? I don't know, but if you close your eyes and
dream, you will probably see what we see here everyday! Maine, the way life should be (if it didn't rain so much!!!).
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"I got rained on three times today and I'm still out here!"
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Three Miles of Bass
Three Mile Pond
Vassalboro, ME
June 12, 2006
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I had briefly stopped off at Three Mile Pond on the way back from Long Pond two summers ago to adjust the boat
which was not on the trailer correctly. It had a beautiful double-wide launch and I was able to simply back her in,
let her float onto the trailer again and pull out. It was a driving rain storm and since we were coming back from a
week of vacation at the lake, the boat was full of golf clubs, coolers, folding chairs, etc. I knew I would return.
After some research on the net, I found out that this pond is one of the best bass fisheries in Maine, but was a sleeper
and not one of the signature lakes. It therefore didn't get much pressure.
When I pulled into the parking lot, there were three trucks and trailers there with New Jersey license plates. They
must have been having a mini-tournament. I met one of the guys when he was pulling his boat out and he said he had a great
day fishing senkos in bubblegum color (pink). Three Mile Pond has a lot of weedy shoreline and much of it was flooded
due to all of the rain we have been having. While I was fishing many of the banks, I could hear splashing coming from deep
in the flooded weeds. The Bassmasters on TV would have thrown 3/4 ounce jigs into the trees with 50# braided line to haul those fish out.
I opted to just cruise the shoreline and leave the "tree huggers" alone. I still had plenty of action and caught a variety of LM and SM bass and
even caught a few sunnies on the wacky worm. The wacky and the Mepps spinner were the choice of the day. One interesting thing
that I would like to check out more is a river on the south end of the lake that is navigable, similar to the river that dumps into Long Pond in
Belgrade Lakes. I have found that these rivers hold a pretty good concentration of bass and pickerel but I didn't actually
get any in there today. I did manage about 30 fish overall with a couple of 3.5# largemouths and a really nice 3# smallie. These fish might look
smaller in the pictures, but that is because I provide a "larger than life" scale when held up against me. I like to call 3#'rs, "1%" fish because they are basically
1 per cent of me! You get the idea.
The bottom line here is that Three Mile Pond holds a lot of quality fish, they're realtively easy to spot and catch, and because of those two criteria,
"I'll be back."
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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"Tough guys from Jersey use pink lures!"
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Swinging For The Trees
Great East Lake
Acton, ME
May 30, 2006
Number 2
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Great East Lake has always held some fascination for me. It is a border lake with New Hampshire
and I've had some really interesting outdoor experiences there. One time I was in the middle of a
trout feeding frenzy and had nothing small enough to throw at them. The water was boiling with fish and I was boiling mad.
This time, the unique experience was catching a fish in a tree! What he was doing in that tree, I'll never know.
Anyway, I was using Mary's favorite lure, the broken-back Rapala, and I made an extra-long cast. It went over a branch and then
slid down into the water. Most of the lure was above the water except for the last inch or so which dangled the
treble hook in the water. Before I could extract the line from the branch, a very small bass bit the lure. If I was a sicko,
I could have pulled the fish up and over the branch to free the line, lure and fish, but I couldn't do that to a baby fish.
I crept up to the fish (now dangling in the air), released him and got the lure back. It was funny for me, but probably not
for the fish.
I caught five smallies that day, the one in the picture wasn't the biggest, but being alone in the boat makes
for difficult picture taking. It was pretty windy out there, so I had to decide between taking a picture of the best fish
or smashing onto the shoreline rocks. Sorry folks.
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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This gives a whole new meaning to "Wood Bass"
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Opening Day!
Willowdale Golf Course
Scarborough, ME
April 1, 2006
"Mr. Wizard
Get Me Home!"
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First Bass of 2006
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The Girls'
First Bass!
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Ice on the Boat Cover
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When I pulled up to Willowdale Golf Course for the ceremonial first fish of Opening Day, I was
greeted by Tooter the Turtle. He was right by the side of the road on the causeway and I
thought he would get run over. I snapped this picture of him and then said the magic words,
"Mr. Wizard, I don't want to be here anymore!" and at that point, Mr. Wizard gave his regular
incantation, "Drizzle, drazzle, dradle, drone, time for this one to come home." If you were a kid
in the sixties, you know what I'm talking about.
A short while after, I caught the first bass of 2006 on the bumblebee swirl Yum dinger. I had it rigged
wacky style and just let it sink to the bottom and then I slowly dragged it back to me when whammo! Fish ON!!!
You can see that he wasn't much of a battle, but at this time of the year, with the water as cold as it is,
it is just enough to get something on the other end of the line. No shut out today.
I was over by the middle pond, by the 18th green when I noticed what looked like a good-sized bass in the water.
I carefully walked over to it and sure enough, it was about a 2lb largemouth just laying in the mud with
his dorsal fin completely out of the water (insert Jaws theme music here). I cast my worm in front of him,
over his back, and literally bounced it right on his lips and he didn't move. At that point I thought he was dead.
I gently took my rod tip and rolled him on his back and he continued to play dead. I then poked him in the ribs
and he WOKE UP and swam off in a flourish! It was like he was sleeping in the sunny mud. I have never seen
anything like this before. It was kind of weird. It makes for a good fishing story though.
Later that day, the next door neighbors wanted to go have a try at the golf course after hearing that there were some
active fish there. They followed me over in their car and we set the girls up with their own rods rigged with
some crappie (not crappy) bait and bobbers. They both learned how to cast spinning reels that day and did a
pretty fair job of it. I switched to a Bass Pro Shops stick-o worm, pumpkin color, and caught another bass. This one
was bigger than the one earlier in the day. Before I could reel it in, I asked the littlest one, Elizabeth, if she wanted to
reel in the fish. She did a great job of landing it on the beach. I then sent the fish back out into the pond so
Elena could feel what it was like to reel in a bass. She did a great job too and I then had the whole family pose for
a picture with their first fish! They are a great family and have become our best friends on the street.
As usual, opening day in Maine can be a little, shall we say, "cool." Many times, if you go and research the past years'
Fishing Stories, you'll see that we are literally standing in the snow while casting to our first fish. This year, the
cold weather didn't come until the middle of the week when (as you can see from the boat cover), we had a little ice on
the Alaskan. Fitting!!! I miss my fishing buddy Moe Hesseltine not being there for opening day, but he was busy going to
The Masters golf practice round in Augusta, Georgia and thought that was more important than casting for largemouths at
Willowdale!
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
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Do bass actually sleep???
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Redfishing in
Florida
Sam's Creek,
Indian River, FL
February 20, 2006
Getting the
Fly Rod "Red"y
|
Mr. Pelican
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BC With a Small
Redfish
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Pin Fish Close Up
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NASA Vehicle Assembly
Building
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Moe with Sea Trout
|
BC Catches a Lady
on the Fly
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Moe Hangin' With a Lady
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Capt. Jim Ross
Fineline Charters
|
Since this is my first story of 2006, it will probably be a little wordy, so bear with me while I shake out the old writing muscles.
It's been a long winter at work and we missed our best friends Moe and Ida since they moved to Florida last summer.
When we had the opportunity to visit them in Florida over the February school
break, we planned far ahead to get our flights and have been looking forward to
it since Thanksgiving.
The time finally arrived and we flew to Orlando (first class!).
Moe had arranged for an afternoon of redfishing with Captain Jim Ross of
Fineline Fishing Charters. We hoped to get an introduction to something us Yankees
knew nothing about. It turned out to be quite an education in both technique and
terrain. We put in at the power plant in Port St. John and made our way across
the Indian River to Sam's Creek just south of the Kennedy Space Center. You could
see the massive Vehicle Assembly Building miles away where NASA mates the shuttle to the fuel tank and
booster rockets. It was a clear day, and the sun was out. You could see for miles.
John Rousselle tied some pink deceivers to imitate shrimp and gave me some before I left for Florida.
I tied one on and Captain Ross asked to borrow the rod for a try. On his second cast, he was into a
sea trout. We knew we were in for a good day. He handed the rod back to me and I took up a
position on the foredeck where I could cast unobstructed.
I wasn't as lucky as Captain Ross, so I switched to a spinning rod with a live shrimp. The rig was a circle hook
about 8 inches below a 1/4 ounce split shot sinker. The technique reminded me of smallmouth fishing up North in the height of summer.
We cast the bait into the shadows and let it sit there until we had some action. Pin fish, which look like big sunfish, nipped
at the shrimp and methodically removed the swimmerettes, eyes, legs, and head of the shrimp leaving just the tail.
We managed to catch a few pins and then I finally was into a redfish. The circle hook did all the work and
it wasn't much of a battle to get it into the boat. I managed a couple more in the creek, just enough to keep us busy.
Captain Ross was instructional the whole day and I think the three of us enjoyed the company.
On our way back to the ramp, we stopped off in an area near the power plant outflows. I went back to the flyrod and
caught some lady fish which look like miniature tarpons. They were fun on the fly rod. Moe had been having a rough day
up until this point, but was finally into some lady fish and some sea trout. We saw some
dophin in the area which signals that the fish will be someplace else. We didn't expect much more that day.
Time was up and we had to head back to the ramp. We talked with Captain Ross about other
spots that might be productive and thanked him for providing us with a great experience. Both Moe and I
heartily endorse Captain Jim Ross as a great guide and well worth spending the time to get to know him better.
Now it was our turn to try to convert what we learned into a productive experience...
BC-out.
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Memorable Quote of the Day
|
Whitefish Can't Jump!
|
Redfishing on
Moe's New Boat!!!
Sam's Creek,
Indian River, FL
February 22, 2006
First Fish on the
NEW BOAT!!!
|
Pelican in
a Tree!
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BC With a Small
Redfish
|
Now that we were seasoned professional redfishermen, it was time to take the
chicks out to impress them with our prowess. We knew the spot, we knew the bait, and
most importantly, we had Moe's new boat!!! It is a really nice
Sundance 17 foot Bay Boat center console with a 90 E-Tec Evinrude on the back. Really nice package!
We got some shrimp up the road from the same launch we put in the other day and were back to meet Mary and Ida who were waiting there for us.
We loaded the boat with gear and sand chairs for the ladies and made a bee-line for the
same creek we had luck in the other day. The conditions were a little more choppy than
Monday, but the creek was calm and we were treated to a microcosm of Florida wildlife. In a stretch that could be no more than
300 yards long, we saw pelicans, dolphins!!!, manatees!!!, and the famous and ferocious ALLIGATOR!
For some mysterious reason, we didn't manage any pictures of the girls or the beasties that we encountered (except the pelican in the tree!).
We tried to get some pictures of the manatees, which were basking in the sun next to us, but they didn't come out with the glare on the water so you'll have to trust us.
Back to fishing stories... The biggest news of the day was Moe catching his first fish on his new boat! That's almost as exciting as
the first day you get a new boat, only now the spell is broken! Moe caught a really pretty (in a manly fishing kind of way) pin fish
that looked like it had zebra stripes on it. Perfect for hiding amongst the mangrove roots and shoots that protruded down into the shadows on the water.
I caught a couple of redfish and some pin fish and we were generally less productive than when
we were out with Captain Ross. We covered more area as part of our sightseeing on the
creek, but obviously the area wasn't the fish holding kind of places that Captain Ross took us to.
All in all, it was a great day and it is always extra special to catch fish with the ladies along so that
they can see that we're not just out there drinking beer.
As a celebration of our success and to make it more festive, we stopped off at Grills Tiki Bar in Port Canaveral and
watched REALLY expensive boats being recovered onto their REALLY large trailers. How those things make it down the road is a
mystery. It was fun to see that no matter how big the boats are, the problems of getting
them back on the trailer is universal.
We headed back to Moe and Ida's beautiful home and had crab legs and steaks on the grill to end a perfect day.
BC-out.
|
Memorable Quote
of the Day
|
Look! Manatees, right next to the boat!
|
BC manages one
for the team!
|
|
No fishing trip to Florida would be complete without a chance at some
Florida-strain Largemouth Bass! It's where largemouths were invented! Still covered in
salt spray from our redfishing adventure, we put the boat into the Conway Lakes ramp
and took a short cruise around to get the know the area. Like most Florida urban lakes, it
is "heavily settled" with lots of boat houses and refined shorelines. The lakes are
generally shallow, but Conway had some sections that were 20 feet deep. Structure is
hard to judge since the lakes tend to be bowls of sand with lots and lots of vegetation
making choices for lures restricted to plastics and shallow running spinnerbaits.
Moe struck first blood (which was a good omen for the new boat) on the famous Yum Dinger
Bumblebee Swirl rigged wacky style. The famous pattern that worked so well for us
up in Maine was now producing down here in the South. We worked the edges of the lake
pretty hard and then moved back out onto the main part of the lake. It was quite windy that day
and Moe got a chance to see what it is like to manage the boat in the wind while trying to fish. I'd say he
did an excellent job of it since he managed to catch two more nice bass on the wacky
and made it look effortless. BC stuggled to catch one fish that day, but at least
he wasn't blanked. The amount of vegetation in the water in Florida is radically
different from Maine where most waters are sterile and rocky.
The Pelagic Zone editorial board hopes that Moe will continue to explore the lakes
in the Orlando area and send back some pictures and stories about how he is doing. We all
miss taking fishing trips with Moe and now that he has a boat and can catch fish in both
salt and fresh water, I guess he doesn't need us anymore (sniff, sniff).
Good luck in the new boat Moe, you're living in a great spot to get a lot of year-round
use out of it. Keep us in stories through our long Northern Winter months!
Most of all, thank you very much for taking me out in the new boat and showing me a great
time fishing on waters I've only dreamed about!
BC-out.
|
Memorable Quote
of the Day
|
I'm a stranger in a strange land!
|
2006 Bassmasters Championship Expo!!!
Orange County Convention Center, Orlando Florida
February 23, 2006
At the Expo!
|
Inflatable Fish, Truck,
and Billy!!!
|
Accepting the
"Smallest Fish in Florida Award"
|
Mary with a palm tree hat!
|
Mary and her pet Eagle!
|
|
Anybody who knows me knows that I am kind of a quiet and reserved individual, not one to be confrontational.
I generally try to blend into the background. There I was, at the podium, accepting my trophy for the 2006 Bass Anglers Sportsman Society's championship when ...
Bill, Bill, wake up. It's time to come back to reality.
What? What!?!
When I heard that the 2006 Bassmasters Championship was going to be held the weekend following our visit
to Florida, I just knew that I had to go to the Expo before the contest. It is a fisherman's dream
to be amongst all of the latest and greatest equipment, vendors, and professionals. As usual, I had
an agenda that I wanted to accomplish while I was there.
If anyone has been paying attention to the fishing stories over the past couple of years, you know that we are absolutely DEVOTED to the Yum Dinger
Bumblebee Swirl (BS) plastic worm rigged wacky style. It is the definitive pattern for the type of fishing we do
and yet it seems to be disappearing from store shelves due to Yum not giving it enough attention.
While I was at the expo, I stopped by the Yum booth (hoping to get some free stuff) and
got into it with one of their reps on the floor. Before I even looked at the selection of what they had
on display, I bet him that he didn't have the Bumblebee Swirl (BS) pattern Dinger on display. He searched and searched
and could only produce a Bumblebee Swirl (BS) flat tailed worm.
Now if anyone knows BS it's me. I love BS, I use BS,
heck, I'm an expert in BS!!! The guy got a little scared when I started ranting about how difficult it is to find BS
up North and he immediately turned me over to the product manager who had been watching this whole BS episode from a distance.
She was a nice young lady and assured me that they were still going to produce BS, I backed off a bit. A bit. I was still upset
that Yum might discontinue BS and I just can't live without a healthy amount of BS. I guess I'll have to trust them, but they've
discontinued other colors in the past, so I guess I'll have to stock up on BS as much as I can. I guess this is enough about BS for now.
Mary was able to see some cool stuff at the expo. There was an exhibit of
Georgia wildlife (why it was in Florida, I don't know) and she even got to SMELL an American
Bald Eagle. I guess it smells like rich soil. The guy holding the bird said each one has its own unique smell. Heck! So do I! What's the big deal?
We managed to see most of the booths. I could have stayed longer, but we had to get out and get some dinner and drinks. With a tear in my eye,
I bid farewell to the Orange County Convention Center with my bag of FREE STUFF!
BC-out.
|
Memorable Quote
of the Day
|
Where's the Bumblebee Swirl???
|
|
