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Newsletter 2004 Letter April 22nd: My good buddy Sam Wylie went fishing with me today. The day was overcast with rain late in the day. Water temp was 54 degrees dark stained and the river was up about 2ft and swift. We caught 26 fish with 2 walleye, a channel cat , and a white sucker in the mix.It was Sam's first walleye. Sam took the catfish home to eat. We also saw one eagle.It was good to get out on the water again after the long winter. April 27th: Went fishing with Dave Rossman and Heather Henry.The water came up again,and it was fast and dark stained. The water cooled down to 49 degrees and the skies were partly cloudy. The wind picked up in the afternoon, not the best of fishing conditions. We caught 22 fish and lost 10 more. Six were nice trophy bass 17" being the largest. Dave and Heather both caught their first walleyes ever. We boated three. The eagles were at their nest and that is always good to see. A good day with fun people. Tube baits worked the best with dark colors. April 28th: A cold front came through last night and I mean freezing cold. There was ice in the boat in the mornning.Paul Szyszko and his brother Ed came fishing on a very rough day. The wind was constant all day out of the northwest and you just couldn't seem to get enough cloths on to get comfortable. The water temp droped to 48 degrees and dark stained. The sky was clear and sunny. We only caught 10 fish today with three trophy bass the biggest being a beautiful 19"er caught on a black tube. We also got two walleye and a northern pike in the mix. A bright spot was that Ed caught his first smallmouth bass today on a reble crayfish crankbait. Congradulations! May 1st: Dave Borkowski and Tim Miller came fishing with me today. Water temp came up to 57 degrees and light stained. The river level also droped 18" since last trip. The skies were partly sunny to overcast in the afternoon. We boated 59 fish and lost another 15. All Bass except a 28" 13lb carp that Tim caught. Tube baits of various colors were the bait of the day. May 5th:Walt Schaedler and John Lamarca came fishing. Last Sunday we got a heavy rain which raised the water level over 2 ft and muddy. Today it was just getting fishable again. We had overcast skies with ocasional rain in the afternoon. The water was 54 degrees and stained with a fast current. We didn't get many fish today but we got quality. We caught 26 fish with 5 trophy bass, 17" being the biggest. In the mix were 5 walleye, a channel cat, and a northern pike. Three of the walleye were very nice, 1 at 21", and 2 at 24"! John was the hot fisherman today with his tube baits.He put a 1/4 oz weight in them and jigged constantly. May 6th: Its Walt and John again today. The skies were partly cloudy, the water stained and 54 degrees with a fast current. We got 41 fish today in the boat and missed 19 more. There were 5 trophy bass, 17" was the biggest. Both fishermen lost much bigger bass. There were 4 walleye, two suckers, and 2 Northern Pike in the mix. May 7th: Last night a violent thunderstorm came through and filled the creeks with high muddy water. We couldn't fish where we wanted on the river because of the mud streaks comming out of the creeks. Bruce Christman and Marty Smith came fishing today.The skies were partly sunny and the water temp was 56 degrees, dark stained with mud strips. Right off the get go, Bruce caught a nice 19" Walleye. We caught 30 fish today with 4 trophy bass, 17" being the biggest, a yellow belly bulhead, and a small northern pike. The river is comming alive with nesting birds. The eagles have a young one in their nest, canada geese have their young ones with them now, and there seems to be Baltimore Orrios by the score. May 8th: Damion Frigamo and John Bracy came fishing. The skies were overcast in the mornning and partly sunny in the afternoon. Water temp was 56 degrees, stained and fast. We caught 46 fish today with three trophy bass, 17 1/2" being the biggest. We also caught seven walleye and three rock bass. Those walleye really liked the junebug color tube jigs. They were the first walleyes the guys have ever caught, good job! May 10th: Last Saturday we had a big thunderstorm in the night and today we were paying the price. The river came up 2 ft. and it was from dark stained to muddy. Joe Albertson and his dad Joe, came to give it a try. The water was 58 degrees with a fast current. The skies partly sunny. It was a dark tube day, black, dark brown and junebug worked the best. Joe did get one big bass on a white spinner bait. While we got only 28 fish in the boat, we got a lot of quality fish. We got 9 trophy bass, mostly hugging the shore grass, 2 walleye, 1 rockie and one big old carp, 34" and 32lbs! Joe the third had the touch today, flipping the jigs just right by the shore. An excellent day under tough conditions. May 14th: Ed Nestor and Barry came up fishing on a dirty river. The day was partly sunny and the water was dark stain to muddy streaks and 64 degrees. We did pretty darn good for the conditions we had. There was 56 fish boated with 4 walleye,13 rock bass, and one 30" Muskie in the mix. Ed hooked the muskie, and Barry got a 9 1/4" rock bass to add to his catch and release angler award collection. Three trophy bass were caught, with a pair of 18" smallies being the biggest. All caught on tube jigs of various colors and sizes. May 15th: Tom and JoAnn Hardhouse came up fishing today. The skies were partly cloudy and the water high, swift, and dirty at 63 degrees. JoAnn's first smallie ever was a beautiful 18"er, and like the true angler, she gave it a kiss and sent it on it's way. Photo is on our photo page. We caught 21 fish total with 2 walleye and 3 rock bass in the mix. A pleasent day on the river. May 16th: More flash heavy rains north of us made the water even more dirty than yesterday, but Dan West and his dad Earl said " we fish the conditions we're faced with". The skies were overcast, the water 64 degrees and swift. We boated 15 fish today with 1 walleye, 6 rockies, and 1 sucker in the mix. It was tough fishing, but we had fun anyway. May 18th: John Snyder and Charlie Grasse came up fishing with me in the dirty water today which was 64 degrees, high and fast. We ended up with 25 fish today, a 16 1/2" smallmouth was the biggest. There was also two walleye and four rock bass in the mix. May 19th: Today Joe Albertson and Mike Kemmerer came up fishing.Mike looks just like the country singer Brad Paisley. All he needs is a cowboy hat. The skies were overcast, the water 64 degrees and dirty. We caught 35 fish with two tropy smallmouths, 18" being the biggest. We also caught 2 walleye, 5 rockies, and 3 suckers all on tubes and Case 3" plastic helgramites. Joe also got himself a 9 1/2" rockbass for a catch and release award from the Pa. Fish Commission. May 20th: Hughie and Tim Black came up fishing. The water was dirty and fast with a temp of 64 degrees. We caught 20 fish with a 18" smallmouth being the biggest.There were also two walleye and one sucker in the mix. Tube baits caught the fish today. May 21st: Mark Hollopeter and his buddy Chris came up to fish in the rain today. The river came up 3" while we were on it. The water was dirty and 65 degrees. We caught 25 fish today with a 19 1/4" smallie being the biggest caught by Mark on a Senko worm. There were also one walleye, one sucker, and one perch in the mix.And it rained some more! May 22nd: Today we showed you can catch fish even in the Mud! Tim and Tom Miller came up today to show us how its done. It was a partly cloudy day, the river was up, fast and MUDDY! We managed to catch 11 fish today with one walleye, one carp, and two channel catfish in the mix, along with two trophy smallmouth bass.This May had more rain than last year! June 2nd: Mike Novis and his dad Mike, came up fishing today. The skies were overcast, the water dirty and 64 degrees.We caught 25 fish today with two trophy bass, one walleye, and five rockies in the mix. At the end of the day a strong thunder/lightning storm came with just pooring rain.(so what's new right) June 3rd: John Kauffman and Bob Brown came fishing today to find the water came up a foot overnight with muddy water yet again! With the sudden increase in water depth I knew the fish would seek relief out of the heavy current so we concentrated on any slack water we could find. We started out behind an island with the slack water. We were useing Junebug colored tubes in the muddy water. John throws out his first cast and WHAM, a 20" smallmouth bass! That was the big bass of the day. We caught 24 fish today with four more trophy bass, four rockies, one catfish, and a carp in the mix. We lost a few more trophy bass before we got them to the boat. John got a catch and release award for the big smallmouth. A good day with good guys on a bad river day. June 4th: Todd Turk and his buddy Richard came fishing in the muddy water today. The skies were partly sunny and the water, dark/dirty and 62 degrees.We caught 15 fish today with two walleye, three rock bass, and one channel cat in the mix. June 5th: Jim Schweitzer and Jeff Blimline was fishing with me today. The sky was overcast and the water dark stained and 63 degrees. We boated 20 fish today with one rockie, 1 walleye, and one sucker in the mix. June 7th: The team of Paul Szyszko and his brother Allen came fishing today. The sky was partly sunny and the water a medium stain and 64 degrees. Things are looking up today.We boated 38 fish with 3 trophy smallmouth, 17" being the biggest. Allen caught his first Walleye today. We also got three walleye, 4 rockies, and a channel catfish in the mix. A nice day. Junebug tube jigs were the best bait today. June 8th: Joe Getz and his son Joe were fishing with me today. The sky was partly sunny. The river was stained and 65 degrees. We caught 25 fish today and missed another 15 with one walleye and a sucker in the mix. There were 6 trophy bass boated, 18" being the biggest. A good day. June 10th: Jerry Premuto and his buddy Tom came up today. We had a light rain all day, the water was 68 degrees and dark stained. We caught 42 fish today and missed 12 more with 2 walleye, 4 rockies, and 1 sucker in the mix.We caught 3 trophy smallmouth, an 18" was the biggest. Case tubes and magic sticks did the trick today. June 11th: It was just me and Dick Rivers today. The sky was partly sunny, air temp was 68 degrees, and the water medium stained and 68 degrees also. Dick gave me a Pa. bird ID book so I can be a little more informed about all the birds we encounter durring the day. We lost a nice big walleye first thing in the mornning, it cut the line. We did boat 25 fish with 4 rockies in the mix. A pleasent day with a fine gentleman. June 12th: It was just me and Matt Blackton today, Bruce Robson was also schedualed to come ,but he passed away the month before from cancer. Bruce had fished with me for at least three years and he will be dearly missed.It was a clear, blue bird day today, the water was stained and 68 degrees. We boated 25 fish today and lost another 10. There were 2 walleye, 1 channel cat, and a sucker in the mix. Also 2 trophy bass, the biggest being 17". Most all were caught on a Case tube in natual color. We also saw a bald eagle and a red fox hunting the shore line. June 15th: Tim and Hughie Black were back fishing today with me. The skies were sunny in the mornning and partly sunny in the afternoon. The water was stained and 70 degrees. We boated 42 fish today and lost 15 more which was a surprise to us since I put 3/0 hooks in the tube jigs I make. Only one trophy bass at 17" with 3 walleyes,and 2 rockies in the mix. Tube jigs and Case magic sticks worked today. June 16th: It was John Yaswinski and John Jason today fishing. The sky is partly cloudy, the water stained and 71 degrees.We caught 36 fish today, the biggest smallmouth was 16" with 1 walleye, 1 rockie, 1 sucker and a small muskie that John Yaswinski caught on a Manns baby -1 crankbait. Just a note, the Pa. Fish Commission has a new speed boat on the river now, a welcomed site for me because I see anglers keeping small bass and walleye every day which robs fish that we could be catch and releasing. June 22nd: It was just John Yaswinski and myself today. The sky was overcast with a little rain, the water was 71 degrees and stained.The fish were turned on as we each caught 20 fish or 40 total. There was also 4 walleye and a rock bass in the mix. John used a manns Baby-1 in crayfish pattern and I used Case tube jigs in green pumpkin. We also saw an immature eagle today. John is letting me borrow his microscope to age fish with. I took one scale off 3 bass and a 18" walleye today and can't wait to count the growth rings. June 23rd: Mark Bachtle and his daughters Stephanie and Allison came fishing today on a bright sunny day. We caught 44 fish, all smallmouth except 2 rockies. The water was 71 degrees and stained. Allison got the big fish of the day with a 15" smallmouth.We used all tubes today. June 24th: Today the bigger fish woke up. Sam Wylie and Bob Kappe came up.Again the sky was sunny so we concentrated on a little deeper water which was stained and 72 degrees. Green Pumpkin and rootbeer Case tubes worked quite well. We boated 46 fish with 6 trophy bass, 17" was the biggest. We also got 4 walleye, a sucker, and Bob got 2 nice channel cats. To top it off as we were going by Standing Stone, there was an inmature bald eagle sitting on it. Later in the day, we saw two more eagles. A good time for a sunny June day .June 25th: Some super nice people, Gary and Linda Neiley came fishing today. The sky was overcast, the water was 71 degrees and stained. Linda wasn't too familiar with a spinning rod so after about five minites of instruction she caught a 15" smallmouth which was the big fish of the day. We went on to catch 34 fish with 1 walleye and 2 rockies in the mix. The bait of the day was tube jigs. June 29th: Ron Bartholomew and Leroy Weidner came fishing today. The skies were sunny in the mornning and partly cloudy in the afternoon. The water was 72 degrees and stained. The guys weren't used to fishing with tube baits but they soon caught on. We boated 41 fish today with 2 trophy smallmouth and 1 walleye and 1 small northern pike in the mix. The eagles were out in full force, we saw at least 5 today. Leroy caught a few fish on a reble crayfish but decided to master the tube in the afternoon. His last fish of the day was a nice 16" smallmouth which gave a very good fight.I aged this fish at aprox 7 years old. June 30th: It was just me and Harold Hoff today. The sky was sunny and hot. The water stained and 72 degrees. We caught 30 fish today with 1 walleye, 2 rockies and 2 trophy smalmouth in the mix. Used all tubes today. July 2nd: Ron Bartholomew was back today and brought John Kraft with him. We had some fog and sparse clouds in the morning and the water was stained which gave us some time to do some top water fishing. We all caught some fish on the surface, this was the first time this year that we had this chance. John caught a Northern Pike on a jig which gave us some additional excitement. There were also 3 walleyes caught today on tube jigs which made the total of 32 fish. We saw three eagles today and watched one come down and snatch a fish off the surface of the river.The big bass of the day was caught by Ron on a tube jig. It was a heavy 18" beauty.I aged this fish at aprox 9 years old. July 3rd: John and Andy Snyder came fishing today. The sky was sunny and the water stained and 73 degrees. We caught 30 fish today with three walleye, one rockie, and a sucker in the mix. Two trophy bass were caught, 16 1/2" was the biggest. Andy had the hot stick today and caught the most fish. July 4th: It was Dave Kowalewski and myself today. The sky was overcast and the water dark stained and 73 degrees. We caught 33 fish today with 1 sucker in the mix. July 6th: Rick DeRenzis and Larry Regina came fishing today. The sky was overcast and the water was dark stained and 72 degrees. We caught 45 fish today with 2 walleyes and 1 Channel Cat in the mix along with 1 trophy bass. July 7th: Bob Hunt and Jim Ash came fishing today. The sky was partly cloudy, the water dark stained and 73 degrees. We caught 35 fish today with 1 Northern Pike in the mix. Two trophy bass were caught, 17" being the biggest. July 8th: Dick Rivers and his friend Charlie came fishing today. The sky was partly cloudy and the water stained and 74 degrees. We caught 40 fish today and missed 8 more with one walleye in the mix. We got 4 trophy bass today, 18" being the biggest. July 12th: Kevin and Amanda Redinger came fishing. The sky was partly cloudy and the water dark stained and 69 degrees. We caught 40 fish today with one walleye, two rockies, and a sucker in the mix. July 30th: It was just Dick Rivers and myself today just trying to see what we could get in the high dirty water. The sky was overcast and the water dirty and 68 degrees. We caught 22 fish today with 1 walleye and 2 trophy bass in the mix. a 18" bass was the biggest. Aug.7th: Paul and Nancy Szyszko came fishing. The sky was partly sunny and the water Dark stain and 68 degrees. We caught 22 fish today with two rockies and two trophy bass in the mix. Aug.9th: Jim and Justin Brown came fishing today. The sky was clear and sunny, the water dark stain and 68 degrees. We caught 40 fish today with two walleye and one sucker in the mix. Three trophy bass were also caught, a 17" being the biggest. Aug.10th: Bill Kurtz and Dave Weiss came fishing today. The sky was partly cloudy and the water stained and 69 degrees. We caught 50 fish today with 3 walleye and a northern pike in the mix. The pike was caught on a top water chug bug first thing in the mornning, that will get you woke up! Aug.12th: Rick Leibert and his son Rickie came fishing today. The sky was overcast and the water 72 degrees and stained.We caught 72 fish today with four walleye and one northern pike in the mix.Rick got a very heavy 19 1/2" smallmouth bass which earned him a catch and release award from the fish commission. I aged that big fish at 13 years old! A great day on the river Aug. 13th: Dick Rivers and his friend came fishing or at least we tried. We got another hard flash rain last night and when we went to put in there was muddy water. We raced down river 15 miles and put in where the mud hadn't reached yet. We got in about 2 hours of fishing before the muddy water got to us and that was all she wrote. We caught 15 fish with one walleye and a 18" bass in the mix. Aug.17th:It was just myself and Mark Bachtle today. The sky was partly sunny and the water dark stained and 66 degrees. We caught 43 fish today with one walleye in the mix. The biggest bass was 16". Aug.18th: Gary and Kim Carpenter came fishing today. The sky was partly sunny and the water dark stain to dirty. We caught 26 fish today with one walleye and two trophy bass in the mix. Aug.19th: Today Kevin Redinger and his daughter Amanda came fishing. The sky was overcast and the water dark stained and 68 degrees. Kevin brought his leaches and circle hooks with him. Amanda and I used Case tubes and magic sticks. We caught 60 fish today with two suckers in the mix. The trophy bass were biteing and we landed six today. The biggest being 17" which I aged at 8 years old. A good day on the river with two fun people. Aug 20th: Dick Rivers and his friend Tom came fishing. The sky was partly sunny and the water dark stain and 68 degrees. We caught 41 fish today with three trophy bass, a 17" was the biggest. There were also 2 walleye and a rock bass in the mix. Case tubes were the bait in rootbeer color. Aug 21st to 25th: Had flash rain again, river came up 4 ft and muddy, had to reshedual trips. Aug.26th: Mark Hollopeter and his buddy Chris came to fish. The sky was overcast and the water dark stain to light mud and 68 degrees. First cast of the day and Mark catches a turtle. We caught 34 fish today and a catfish. Three trophy bass were caught 16" being the biggest. Aug.27th: Dick Rivers and myself went fishing today.The sky was partly cloudy, the water dark stained and 68 degrees. The two of us caught 41 fish today with 1 walleye, and 1-27" 10lb catfish in the mix.We got three trophy bass today, 17" being the biggest. Aug.28th: Today Chris and Josh Moyer came fishing, a present from their granddad Bob Moyer.The sky was sunny and the water dark stained and 67 degrees. We caught 46 fish with 4 trophy bass today. Case tube jigs were the bait used. Aug. 29th: Jeff Koller and Jay Miller came fishing today. The sky was overcast, the water dark stained and 67 degrees.We caught 57 fish today with 1 walleye and 1 Northern Pike in the mix. We caught 4 trophy bass today with a 18" being the biggest. Sept 7th: Mark Bachtle and Tim Elonis came fishing big time today.The sky was overcast and windy, the water stained and 67 degrees.We caught 73 fish today with 1 channelcat and one sucker in the mix. There were 9 trophy bass caught today ,19" being the biggest. A good day with good guys. Sept. 8th: John Kauffman and Bill Meiris came fishing today. The sky was overcast, the water dark stain and 67 degrees. We caught 48 fish today with 1 rock bass in the mix. The largest bass was 18". Sept. 9th to Sept.14th: Had a heavy flash rain the night of the 8th, water came up 6 ft.and muddy. No fishing again! Sept 15th: Rick Porter and Joe Chendorain came fishing today. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dark stained and 66 degrees. We caught 40 bass today with the largest being 17 1/2" Sept 16th: It was Rick Porter and Joe Chendorain again today.The sky was partly sunny, the water dark stained and 66 degrees. We caught 41 fish today. There was 1 channelcat and two suckers in the mix. Joe got our big fish of the day, a nice 17" bass. Sept 17th: Bob Moyer and his nephew came fishing with me in the rain for six hours. The water was 62 degrees and dark stained. We caught 47 fish with three trophy bass. And it rained all night long. Sept.18th-24th: Damn flood, water up 24ft. Came within 8" of going into the top floor of my fish camp. Sept.27th: John Snyder and his buddy, Charlie went with me today.The sky was sunny, the water 62 degrees and dark stained. We boated 51 fish, all bass, with two trophy bass Sept.28th: Rained hard durring the night but not above us so it didn't affect the river. However, my dear neighbor came down to the river and told my customer that there was a flash flood coming so when I got there, my customer was packing his gear back in his car, thinking he was in for trouble, he cancelled and left. I went fishing by myself today for three hours in the rain, boated 25 fish with three trophy bass, the biggest being 19". The river only came up 6"! Thanks neighbor!> Oct.1st: Finally! Fishing like it's supposed to be! Marion Nunan and Rich Beal came up fishing. The water was 60 degrees and light stained, the skies bright and sunny. We caught 125 fish today with four walleys and one northern pike in the mix.The biggest bass was 17 1/2". A great day! Oct 2nd: It was Marion and Rich again today and another great day on another part of the river.The water was light stained and 60 degrees, the skies overcast and a light rain at the end of the day. We caught 141 fish today with seven walleyes, one northern pike, a white sucker, and a sunfish. Three trophy bass, 18 1/2" being the biggest. The last fish of the day caught by Rich just before going in to the access was 17 1/2". Some days it just comes together. Oct 3rd: Had two young men with me today, Steve Wilcheck and Rob Moyer. The water was 60 degrees and light stained. The sky was clear and sunny. We caught 76 fish today, 75 bass and a carp., all on case tubes in green pumpkin color.A 17" bass was the big fish of the day. Oct 4th: Had the reverend Lew Bolinger and Joe James fishing with me today. The sky was sunny, the water light stained and 60 degrees.We caught 101 fish today all on tube jigs.There was 100 bass,19" was the bigest and one walleye. Another great day. Oct 5th: Jim Reynolds and Hugh Black came fishing. We caught 124 fish with 2 walleyes and a channel cat in the mix. Three times durring the day we each had on a fish at the same time. There were two trophy bass caught.(Jim said "John, where the hell are my 5 free trips"), this has nothing to do with me. Oct 6th: Walt Shadler and Dave Fennel came fishing today. The sky was sunny and the water light stained to clear and 56 degrees. We caught 108 fish today all on tubes. There were 1 walleye, 1 sucker, and 5 trophy bass in the mix. The biggest being 17 1/2" Oct. 7th: Ed Nestor and Barry(The Prankster)Buchdcker came fishing today.The sky was clear and sunny and the water was light stained to clear and 56 degrees. Just about any plastic jig would work today. I used Case Tubes, Barry used Venom "New Do's and Ed used an assortment of plastics and all worked. We caught 156 fish today with two Northern pike caught by Barry in the mix. Ed also had a Northern Pike on but it bit through the line just as we were going to net it. Ed also caught a one of my tube jigs which I had lost the previous day! What are the odds of that! We got 6 trophy bass, 17 1/2" was the bigest. A great day with a couple of good guys. Oct 8th: Dick Rivers and Don Vest from Kentucky came up to fish. The sky was sunny and the water light stained to clear and 57 degrees. We caught 112 fish today with one walleye and 5 trophy bass. The biggest being 18". We used Case tubes, paddle worms, and magic sticks all in green pumpkinseed color. Oct 9th: The fishing has been so good lately it's scarry. Today Dan and Earl West was up from Delaware to fish with me. The sky was overcast, little wind, and the water was light stained to clear and 58 degrees. We caught 124 fish today with 2 walleys, 1 sucker and a muskie in the mix. Top water lures started to work today, the chug bug being the weapon of choise. We got three trophy bass today, two out of the three came on top water lures and the biggest was 18 1/2" again on top water. Another great day. Oct.10th: Dennis Nyce and his 14 year old buddy,Andy Nungesser, came to fish. The Sky was overcast and windy up to 14mph, the water light stain to clear and 58 degrees. We caught 102 fish today with 5 walleyes and a rockbass in the mix.Andy got the only trophy , a 18 1/2" beauty about 4lbs.This was his first river trip and he did very well Oct.11th: Mark Koch and Ralph Rupert came up fishing today.The sky was partly cloudy and the water clear and 55 degrees.The wind was 10 to 15mph all day which made the fishing difficult. We caught 87 fish today with 1 walleye, 1 carp, 2 suckers and 4 trophy bass, the biggest being 18 1/2". Ralph caught the carp which was 34" long and 27lbs. Oct.12th: It was Mark and Ralph again today. The sky was partly cloudy in the AM, sunny in the PM with winds up to 10mph. The water was 55 degrees and clear. We caught 105 fish today with 4 walleye and 2 Northern Pike in the mix. Case tubes and jacks worms were the main bait. We got a few on topwater baits. Oct.13th: Bob Herzog and his buddy Bill came fishing today. The sky was fog and sunny in the AM and overcast in the PM. The water was clear and 55 degrees. We caught most of our fish in the afternoon today when the cloud cover came. We caught 91 fish today with 2 walleye, 1 sucker and a Muskie in the mix. We got 5 trophy bass , a 19" beauty was the biggest. Some topwater action in the afternoon was enjoyed. But the excitement of the day came from the Muskie. Bob caught it on a 1/8th oz jig just in the corner of the mouth, it was 38" long. He did a great job of fighting it for quite a while and when we got it in the boat it floped out of the net, causing even more excitement.When we were ready to fish again, Bob says "Where's my rod!" We sermized that he must have kicked it in to the water when we were trying to get some photos. Everyone was so focused on the fish that non of us saw it go in! Oct.14th: Jerry Premuto and Tom Baldini came fishing today. Rained for an hour in the mornning, then overcast for the rest of the day. The water was clear and 55 degrees. We caught 88 fish today with one walleye and a sucker in the mix. Three trophy bass were caught, 17" being the biggest.Most fish were caught on a tube jig, had some topwater action useing a chug bug.We saw several osprey today. Oct.15th: It was Dick Rivers and myself today. A cold front came through with cold rain and 15mph winds. That makes for some tough fishing. The water was clear and 54 degrees. The morning was slow but we managed to catch 68 fish with three walleyes and two suckers in the mix. Couldn't do much with topwater action because of the wind but caught a couple that way. Most were caught on tubes and Case Magic sticks. We saw a mature eagle today, first one since the last flood came through. Oct.17th: Today Dave Borkowski and Tim Miller came fishing. It was tough, the sky was overcast with wind 12 to 17MPH all day long! The water was clear and 49 degrees. We caught 50 bass and one walleye with three trophy bass in the mix. Both Dave and Tim caught big heavy 18" Smallmouth.About the only way we could fish was to jig straight down from the boat to help eliminate the bow in the line. Played with the underwater TV camera today and saw many bass and walleye right on the bottom of the river but the high wind wouldn't let us present the bait correctly. Oct.18th: Well, you can't hit a home run every time at bat and today was just one of those days. Don Leckner and Dale Moyer came up to fish. The sky was overcast and the water clear and 47 degrees. The fishing was slow. We caught 30 fish today with 1 walleye in the mix. I saw many fish on the TV screen including many walleyes but they were slow to bite. The cold water possibly being the problem. Oct 19th: Rained hard all last night and lightly all day. The creeks are flowing with mud into the river. Mark Bachtle and Ted Elonis came fishing today. The water was light stained until we got to the first creek, then it was muddy on one side, the temp was 50 degrees. We caught 44 fish today with six walleyes and one trophy bass in the mix. Oct.20th: It was supposed to be Mark and Ted again today. We met again at the access. It was raining and the water looked dark stained. Mark asked how many fish we were going to catch today, I gave my useual " We will catch fish, how many, I don't know. They decided not to fish, but paid me for the day anyway, a class act! They instead went up to my farm to put up Teds deer stand because they both also hunt on my 250 acre farm. Now I was dressed up with no place to go , so I went fishing! The sky was overcast with on and off rain and the water, dark stain and 50 degrees. I took my underwater TV camera and just watched the screen in the deep water until I saw some walleyes. Then I would go back up river with the electric trolling moter and jig down through the walleyes with a dark tube jig. In about three hours I had caught 20 fish including 8 walleyes, 3 which I kept for supper. I motored the rest of the way to the access stopping only to look at the TV camera at some places that I thought would hold walleyes. At one deep hole I even saw a Northern Pike on the bottom. I noticed nearly all the fish were at the bottom and that the water temp didn't vary more than 1 degree from top to bottom. An interesting day. Oct.21st: Jerry Premuto and Bill Reilly came fishing today. The sky was overcast with a light drizzle. The water dark stained and 50 degrees. The water had also come up about a foot and was a little fast. We caught 40 fish today with three walleyes and a sucker in the mix. Also saw an inmature bald eagle in the mornning. Oct.22nd: Water came up 2ft. durring the night, no mud, just fast. It was just Dick Rivers and myself today. The sky was partly cloudy and the water stained and 49 degrees. It was very tough fishing today. We got 29 fish with two walleyes in the mix and two trophy bass. Black neon Case tubes were the bait that worked today. Oct 25th: Frank Stocker and his son Josh came up fishing today. The sky was overcast with hardly no wind, the water light stained and 46 degrees. We caught 45 fish today with 5 walleye, 1 carp, 1 sucker, and 1 northern pike. Josh got his first walleye today and Frank got a 36" Northern Pike. We also got a beautiful 20" Smallmouth . Most fish were caught on tube jigs and 5" Senkos. A good day in cold water. Oct.26th: Scott Goodenow and his buddy Tom came fishing today. The sky was overcast, wind 3 to 5 mph, water 46 degrees and light stained.It was a walleye day for we caught 10 walleye and 41 bass today, one fish was a lagemouth. Most fish were caught on tubes and a couple of walleye were caught on a minnow crank bait. Two trophy bass were caught and Scott caught a 20" Walleye. Oct.27th: Rick Porter and Steve Gehringer came fishing today. The sky was overcast in the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon.Wind 3 to 5mph. The water was clear to light stained and 47 degrees. We caught 60 bass, 4 suckers and 1 walleye. It was Steves first trip on the river and he caught on very quickly and did very well. He caught his first walleye a 20"er. Most fish were caught on tubes and I caught a few also on Jacks worms and Magic Sticks by Case. A great fall day. Steve lost a very nice Muskie early in the day.Must have been about 3ft long, right Steve. Oct.28th: It was Rick and Steve again today. The sky was partly cloudy and the wind 1 to 3mph. The water was clear to light stained. Man what a good day! We ended up catching 82 fish with 12 Walleyes,2 Northern Pike, and a monster Carp. Steve started out slow today but came on BIG TIME about 11:00AM. He got a carp 33" long and 27 lbs. He caught both Northern Pike, the biggest being 30", and he caught the most Walleyes. We caught 8 trophy bass the biggest just shy of 18". A great fall day with a couple of good guys. Oct.29th: It was just me and Dick Rivers today for a six hour trip. The sky was overcast, wind 3-4mph. Water was clear to light stain and 47 degrees. We caught 42 fish today with 2 walleyes in the mix. Tube jigs were the bait used. We also saw a mink and an osprey today. Oct.30th: John Bracy and Damion Frigano came up fishing on this nice fall day. The sky was overcast to partly sunny. Wind 3 to 10mph. Water clear to light stained and 50 degrees. We caught 68 fish today with 2 Northern Pike, the biggest was 28", 10 Walleye, and a sucker in the mix. We also got 4 trophy bass, 18" being the biggest.Everything was caught on tubes today.Also saw one mink and one mature bald eagle. Oct.31st: Ed Nestor and Barry Buchdcker came up fishing today. The sky was overcast to partly cloudy and the wind 5 to 10mph. The water was light stained to clear on the edges and 50 degrees. We caught 73 fish today with 5 Walleyes and a sucker in the mix. We caught 4 trophy bass today with a 19 1/2" being the biggest. A little story about the bass. We stopped at a deep hole area for some Walleye and Ed gets ahold of a bass that was so wide you could have put an advertisement sign on it's side like the blimp. The water was clear and I could see it was about 22" long and a 5 pounder. There was a second bass with it, slightly shorter and thinner. The fish got close to the boat, Ed was playing it out when all the sudden it gets a burst of speed and goes out around the boat spitting out the jig.Ed did everything right, but that's fishing. The bass that was with it turns and goes back to the hole. I throw my tube back to the hole and the smaller bass grabs it. The small bass turns out to be 19 1/2" and about 4lbs. The one that got away was one of the biggest I've seen in a long time and I see thousands of bass each year. A great day on the river with great company. Nov.1st: Duane Noal and Joe S came fishing. The sky was overcast in the AM and partly sunny in the PM. The water was clear to light stain and 49 degrees. We caught 60 fish today with 5 walleyes and a sucker in the mix. Tube jigs did the best today. Duane got a hold of a muskie in the 40" class, but when it got close to the boat it bit off his 6lb. line. Nov.2nd: It was just Dick Rivers and myself today. The sky was partly cloudy with winds up to 7mph. The water, clear to light stain and 49 degrees. We caught 43 fish today with 8 walleyes in the mix. I could see some nice walleye on the underwater camera. November is walleye month! Everything was taken on tube jigs. When I get someone who wants only walleye, I'll get out the walleye jigs and head to the walleye holes. We also saw two mature eagles today. Nov. 3rd: Had Walt and Tom Shaedler fishing with me today. The sky was partly cloudy, wind up to 10mph. Water was clear to light stained and 48 degrees. Had a cold front go through last night so I was concerned how the fish would bite. We caught 47 fish today with 8 walleyes and a sucker in the mix. The biggest bass was 17 1/4" caught by Tom and that was before we got in the boat. When we got in deep water I put the underwater camera down and could see bass, walleye, channel cat, and carp.All the fish now are on the bottom except for the carp who would swim about 2 or 3ft up. Nov.4th: It was just myself and Walt Harvey today. We sat in a cold rain all day with winds up to 8mph. A typical walleye day. The water was clear to light stained and 47 degrees. We caught 30 fish with 10 walleye and a sucker in the mix. We got 4 trophy bass, 18" being the biggest. I got one big bass in the mornning on a topwater chug bug. Walt got all his fish on a tube jig and I used mostly a bright jig head with a 4" chartruse slider worm on it. I was looking for walleyes. Nov.9th:Holy Crap did it turn cold all the sudden. Scott Goodenou and Matt came fishing today. A cold front came through, it snowed about an inch last night and the boat was covered. An icy road made for delays getting started and we both had to take detours to the access because of accidents. The sky was partly cloudy to snow flurries. Air temp never got above 36 degrees with 5 to 10mph winds. The water was clear to light stained and 43 degrees. We caught 8 walleyes, 5 bass,a sucker with a 17 1/2" bass being the biggest. Nov.11th: It was Paul Szyszko and Lew Quinn today. The sky was partly cloudy with a light wind most of the day. The water was clear and 38 degrees(very cold).We caught 4 Walleye , 8 bass, and 1 sucker today. Mostly on a brown pumpkin tube. Lew had a Northern Pike on for awhile but lost it. I saw several walleye and bass on the underwater camera and one Muskie which we couldn't get to bite. This was my last scheduled trip of the season, but I will go out by myself for walleye until ice keeps me off. For those hearty anglers that just don't want to put the pole away or need to pick it up early I'm offering a reduced price trip of $100.00 for any trip now until we can't get on the river. Also in the spring from April 1st to April 16th the same deal goes. No deposit is needed, just your word that you'll show up. I pretty much booked up solid in 2004, however with the flooding and high muddy water I had to cancel 30 charters, ouch! If there is anyone out there that had a charter with me and we have not made arrangements on what to do with your deposit, please contact me. I think I have addressed everyone but you never know. This year I started a contest if you will. The charter with the most fish caught in a single day no matter what the lenght of day we fished got a free 8hr. charter from me to be taken next April or November 2005.Use it or loose it, it can't be taken any other time of year. This years winners are Ed Nestor and Barry Buchdcker who on Oct 7th caught 156 fish total for the day! Congratulations guys! Totals for the year are as follows: Out of the above total, only 15 Smallmouth bass between 12" and 14" were harvested, 29 walleye,and 1 channel cat which represents a little less than 1% of the total catch. I will have a booth next year at the Wyoming Valley Boat And Fishing Expo on March 18-19-20, 2005. Get off at exit 46 on I-81 and follow the signs. It's at the Coal St. Icearama in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Booth # 12 right in the front lobby. Most of the dates are usually filled by then, however I will also have my 2006 book with me. Thank you everyone for fishing with me this year and I hope to see you next year. Remember, get your dates and deposits in early. |
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