Merry Christmas!

Hope you all get to relax with your families, have a good one.

Still Alive

Sorry for the lack of posting.  There's been a lack of fishing.

Had a hard time finishing up the semester and now that Finals are over, I'm sitting here wishing I was able to go out fishing with all the free time I have now.  Sadly, there is an abundance of snow on the ground, the temperature has been below freezing for the past couple weeks, and I'm too large of a man to comfortably go ice fishing.

So I'm counting down the days to spring.  Here's to a quick winter, hope you all have a good holiday season!

First trout on the fly!

First off, I want to apologize for the lack of posting lately. Full time work + full time school = not much time for fishing.

Fortunately, after stumbling across an event on Clif's blog,  I decided the drought needed to be over.  So after my test (yes, an algebra class on a Saturday morning. blech.) I headed over to Nate's Hooked on Fishing trout pond to get some instruction in the way of fly fishing.

Right after I walked into the complex, Jonn headed me off and started me off with some fly-less casting lessons.  Turns out my self-taught casting method was too long of a cast and didn't come to enough of an abrupt stop to shoot the line out.  After a few casts, Jonn realized that something was wrong with my line.  After some examination, he figured out that my fly line doesn't have a taper, which is not very conducive to beginning fly fishing.  He went to get one of his rods for me to use, and while he was over there, I helped Clif land a nice trout and snapped a pic for him, which will probably be up on Lunker Hunt later on I imagine.

After lunch (absolutely amazing fresh grilled trout and a burger), Clif and I headed to the other side of the pond where there was a little inlet streaming in.  After a bunch of casting and a couple missed hooksets, I hooked into this guy:

(Thanks to Clif for the net and camera work)

We continued to fish that section next to the inlet with good success.  I caught 5 more, roughly the same size or bigger than the one above.  I tried to get some good pictures but it was becoming apparent that I was putting too much stress on the fish so the only other good picture of a trout I have is of this one, which I think is my third or fourth of the day:

I think he was about the same length as the first one, just a bit skinnier.

Clif had to leave for a bit so I was on my own for awhile for netting fish.  Caught two while he was gone, of course, my largest of the day was one of them.  It was awesome to fight him out on the flyrod, let him tire himself out and then lead him into the net.  He was so big that I had a hard time with it.  It was very difficult to get him unhooked and I had to let him recuperate in the net for a bit before he swam off but off he went eventually.

A little bit later, Jonn let me try out his Sage Largemouth rod.  It has a really heavy line on it and shoots out line like a rocket.  It made me, a total novice, feel like I was casting like a pro.  While casting the Sage, I didn't have many bites but I did hook up one time.  When I was stripping it in, it wasn't fighting like the rest of the trout I'd caught all day.   Turns out it wasn't:

A bass!  Woo!  Great way to end the outing.  It started raining and the event was coming to a close.  I chatted with Jonn a bit about line and rod options, said thanks for the lessons and headed home.

Overall an awesome reinvigorating day on the fly.  Thanks to Clif for helping me land fish and snap pics, to Jonn for the lessons and letting me use his awesome equipment, and to Nate for putting on such a great get-together.

I would suggest my readers (all four of you) to follow Nate's blog (linked above) and support his Hooked on Fishing ponds in any possible.  From what I've read and heard, they do some great things for kids and handicapped individuals in the Peoria area.  I'll definitely be looking out for ways to help out.

UPDATE:  Nate has updated his blog with pics of the event here.  Most of them were taken before I got there.  You can see the inlet that Clif and I were fishing four pics from the bottom.

UPDATE DOS: Clif has his version of events along with a really cool video showing how good the fishing was here.

Charter Oak North - 8/15/10

After about a week of heat advisory inducing weather, it finally cooled off a bit.  I took advantage by heading out this morning to try to wet a line.  I got down to the lake to find a guy on one of the piers casting a fly rod with a popper.  I asked him if he was having any luck and he said that he hadn't but he sure was tearing up his poppers on the pier.  Been there, done that brother.  (Same pier even.)  
I headed down to another pier and tied on a 7" Powerworm in Blue Fleck.  (The second to last in a package that I bought back in March and have caught at least a dozen fish on.  Not bad for $3.50.)  Second cast, I hooked into a little 7-8 inch largemouth.  I would've taken a pic but I hooked him in the jaw and it took awhile to get him loose, didn't wanna keep him out of the water long.
It was a nice change of pace to catch a fish so easily/quickly, compared to my recent bass outings.  Got the monkey off my back early.
I cast a few more times on both sides of the pier and took a walk down one side of the water.  The lillypads that had taken over about half of the lake are now wilting and dying, leaving more patches of open water and making casting a little easier.
My uncle recently passed a bag full of older bass equipment to me so I decided to try out a red/purple 10" Bass Assassin worm for a bit.  Something was off while throwing it.  Probably just that I'm used to 7" worms.  I also don't think I had a big enough hook on to have hooked a fish (3/0).  I wasn't comfortable messing around with it so I switched to an older looking "Neonz" purple 7" Powerworm and went back to my original pier and quickly picked up fish #2:

Another 7-8" Largemouth.  (Note to self, don't take pics at this angle, makes fish look even smaller than he already is.)

Tossed a few more casts down the bank, working towards the exit.  No more bites.

The guy flycasting didn't catch anything while I was there (which makes me always feel proud, when I outfish someone around me.  It's probably wrong to think that way but I think its a Man instinct.), but there were 3 kids who came down the path loudly and started asking him questions about the fish and flyfishing. Although he could have been offended and given them the cold shoulder, he was explaining what he was doing and pointed out a big carp cruising along the shore.  (Oh wow! It's huuuuge!  Why don't you catch that one?!?)  I think that's one thing that makes angling/outdoor sports so awesome, there is so little elitism.   People just want to share their passion and get others involved.  (Although he did tell me one of the kids knocked over his flybox and he lost a bunch of his flies. After that he told them about another pond down a path that they should check out.)  :)

All in all, a good outing, especially for just an hour and fifteen minutes.  Got my fishing fix that's been missing for awhile.  Hopefully it keeps cooling down so I get out a little more often.

Alright, I'm off to go practice with my bow, hope you all had a good weekend.

My first firearm.

I find myself in a peculiar position.  I am still very interested in fishing, but my near-fanatical obsession of months passed has diminished slightly.  I mostly blame the sweltering heat.  I expect my obsession to pick back up once it cools off a bit and it's a little easier to fish from shore.

In the meantime, I've been doing some other outdoorsmanly things, mainly getting ready for hunting season by getting the bow my father passed on to me restrung and getting a FOID card so I can get a shotgun and do some hunting with that.   (BTW, if you're planning on buying a gun in Illinois anytime in the next six months or so, send in your FOID application now, you don't know how much you hate being restricted on buying a firearm until you're ready to buy one and can't.)

For my first firearm, to get some practice and shake off the rust, I picked up a Ruger 10/22.  Here's a pic:



I don't know why its showing as upside-down, I'll try to fix it when I have the time.

I got the chance to go out to the Chillicothe Sportsmen's Club to shoot it, and they have a nice lake on the property that they stock with bass, panfish and trout that I'd love to fish.  I'll be picking up an application as soon as I can afford the first year's fee's.  ($125 for the first year, not too bad for unlimited range/lake access.)

My current work schedule (11:30-8) isn't very conducive to fishing during the week.  My dream is to get everything organized to the point where I have work (and school starting in two weeks) through the week, a day just to spend with my wifey and a day just to spend with myself.  Right now, that isn't working out, and when I do get a day, the 90+ degree temps aren't making fishing a preferable option so there may be some more posts about the range and hunting preparations over the next couple months than fishing.  At least until it cools down a bit and I get the upcoming "Full-time employee, full time student, full time husband, part time angler, part time new hunter" schedule down pat.  Who knows, maybe I'll change the name of the blog to Intro to the Outdoors.  :)

As far as actual fishing, my dad and I are entered in a Carp tournament up on the Rock River the last weekend of this month.  Since my dad's nickname is King Carp, look forward to a recap and some pics of that.  (Hopefully it doesn't turn out like our father's day outing, with a big old skunk.)

Thats about it, hope you all have been able to get out a little more than I have.

Berkley 7" Powerworm Review

There is one lure that every beginning bass fisherman should become familiar with: the plastic worm.  The plastic worm is a very forgiving lure, one that is very hard to "mess up" or use incorrectly.  As long as you're casting it out and bringing it back along the bottom, you're doing it right.

That said, not all worms are created equal.  The plastic worm is my fallback or confidence lure.  I may try something else when I start out but 9 times out of time I end up with a plastic worm on my baitcaster when I leave the lake.  Because I use worms so often, I've bought and tried several different types of worms.  My preference is the Berkley 7" Powerworm.  The reason is simple:  It catches fish.  Even when nothing else will.  

Seven inches may seem really long and you may question if fish will be scared off by the worm or if smaller fish will even be able to get the whole worm in their mouth.  Let me assure you, the seven inch model of Powerworm is the perfect size.  The tail is curved and twisted to "swim" and create action when you move it through the water.  Most of the body of the worm is ribbed.  I believe this creates vibration when the worm is pulled/jerked through the water.  

I've only really use the Powerworm in two colors: Blue Fleck and Tequila Sunrise.  The bass around my area absolutely love the Blue Fleck, especially in the spring.  I don't know why but when I first started bass fishing this year I didn't have much more than a pack of Blue Fleck Powerworms, hooks and bullet sinkers.  The first couple times out I would honestly be getting hits on almost every cast dragged past a bed of weeds.  

As far as durability, I've had a day where I caught seven fish on one worm!  Five bass and two huge sunfish.  (Told you its not too big)  All on the one worm.  I haven't caught enough fish in one session with any other worm to compare but I've heard horror stories of some soft plastics breaking down after two or three decent fish.

Powerworms are part of a line called Powerbait which all share the Powerbait scent.  You'll know when you open a bag of Powerbait.  I don't know if the scent is the secret to it's success or if it is the action or what.  I just know that they work.  I can honestly say that I don't think there has been a time that I've fished a Powerworm and not had at least one knock or nibble on my line.

And before you think I'm just kissing Berkley's big-name butt or that they gave me the worms for free to talk up, let me add that I paid for every single pack of Powerworms I've used.  Just like I've paid for the several other brands that I've tried.  I may have originally bought them because I saw them on Hank Parker, but I continue to buy them because they catch me fish.  I highly recommend them to anyone either just starting out, wanting to change up their tactics, or get someone new into the sport.  They run about $4 for a pack of 10 and you can get them just about anywhere tackle is sold.

As far as fishing plastic worms, a majority of the time my worm is texas-rigged.  (For anyone who doesn't know how to texas-rig a worm, here you go.  If any of my blogger buddies have a post on it that explains it in a different way, feel free to link it in a comment, might help people put it in a different light.)   I'd say 95% of the bass I've caught on Powerworms have been texas-rigged with a loose weight.  The loose weight makes the worm sink fast enough to showcase it's action, but lets it go at it's own speed so it doesn't zoom past the fish.  The other 5% (one, maybe two fish) has been texas-rigged without a weight.  

Once you have it all rigged up, toss it out near some cover (weeds/fallen trees/lily pads) and let it sink.  Try to keep the line taut but don't move the bait for at least 20-30 seconds.  This is when I get most of my hits, after the initial fall.  After waiting a bit, start to bring in the worm by slightly jerking your rod, just a couple inches.  Reel up the slack, wait about 20 secs, repeat.  Eventually you'll feel a tick on your line and usually the line will start moving.  Drop your rod tip a bit, reel up the slack and yank straight up to set the hook.  You've got yourself a fish. :)

To sum it up, let me reiterate:  Powerworms catch fish.  They are one of the easiest lures out there if you're a beginner or just introducing someone to the sport.  They are well worth the $4 you'll spend on them.

Hope that helps a few beginners out.  If you guys have any questions on the Powerworm, feel free to ask.  I may not know the answer but I'll do my best to find it out for you.


Disclaimer: I am not associated with Berkley in any way and received nothing in way of compensation or equipment for this review.  I spent my own hard earned cash on these Powerworms and will continue to do so as long as they catch me fish.

Gnarly

Went out fishing with my buddy Matt this morning, trying to bring in some catfish to fry up for dinner.

Anticipation was in the air as we walked down the levee, rods in hand.  You could almost hear it buzzing.

Oh wait... That was the thousands of flies, feeding on the damp muck left behind after the lake dried up enough to let the levee emerge.  It was kind of unnerving, like the background noise in a horror flick, getting slowly louder as time passes and we get closer.

We went out to Anderson Lake, which is by Manito, IL.  We started out with Matt's homemade stink bait.  It sure stunk.  The problem was it was the first time he made it so it wasn't thick enough to stick well to the catfish worms.  We fished it for awhile with just a few disinterested bites.  While watching my pole, I rigged up the Firebird with a jighead and 3" Ripple Shad and tossed it around to no avail.

The whole time we were there, a group (pod?) of about 15-20 carp were cruising about 3 feet from shore.  I tied on a big bushy fly on my flyrod and tried to put it out a few feet in front of them.  I had one come up and "sniff" it but he turned around and booked it away.  I think I would like to get some weighted flies that would sink to the bottom and go out there again, I'm confident that with the correct bait, you could  clean up on carp on that levee.  Matt also gave me some advice on flycasting, so I don't look quite so developmentally disabled.

After about two hours with no fish, I rigged up my baitcaster with a hook and sinker and threaded a nightcrawler on.  A couple casts later, I finally had a hit and set the hook into my first fish in about a month.  Little did I know it'd be this little monster:

Yea, he had a bad day.  My first Bullhead ever.

All in all, he had is back fin missing, his front fin was messed up (Finding Nemo style), he was missing a whisker, that scarring on his side, and had deep gashes on the top of his head.  Matt reckons he had a run-in with a flathead.

I wasn't about to eat him in that condition so we let him go.  Sadly we saw him float up to the top about ten feet away a little bit later.  Luckily, something came up and snatched him so he didn't go to waste.

A little bit later, I got another bite and reeled in this:

I believe they're technically White Perch.  My dad always called them Sheephead.  Matt calls them bait.  He caught two more and kept all three to use for cutbait when he goes back tonight.

Matt also had a piece of nightcrawler under a bobber.  Something dragged it under super sloooowly.  Matt set the hook and the drag on his ultra-light went apesh*t.  I  moved his other rod out of way and watched him fight a fish up towards the bank.  It ended up being a 2 1/2 to 3 foot gar that snapped off the line right at shore.  Wish we could have landed it so I could get a pic for you guys.

All in all, not the day I hoped for but I still had a good time.  Matt swears the fishing is a hundred times better at night so I'll have to go out with him some night soon and hopefully pull in one of the 10-15 pound cats he raves about.  :)

I have a couple more pics of the shoreline to share with you, its a really beautiful lake.

Well thats it for now.  I have a Peoria Chiefs (Cubbies farm team) game to go to tonight and I need a nap beforehand. :)

I've been waiting on my FOID card for a month now.  Whenever the state police get it to me, I'll be following up with my experiences on getting licensed to own a firearm in IL and purchasing my first rifle and handgun.  I know this has nothing to do with fishing but I know alot of fisherman are also into hunting/shooting so I figure someone may enjoy reading it.

Hope you all have a good weekend.