L.D. Guide Service Newsletter
EVERYONE: You might want to look at 2012 booking to get a date for next year before the January shows start. March cold water dates open...April has 8 early days left, many evenings left... May day charters are full, only evenings left..June has 11 days left, July has 24 days left, August has 17 days left, Sept has 6 days left. Oct has only 4 days left.Nov has 19 days left.. and 2013 Open Dates calendar is now available for booking charters.Thank You!
November 20th is the start of my cold water special. Now until the ice stops me we can fish 6hrs in the warmest part of the day from 9:00AM until 3:00PM for $160.00 for up to 2 people.
Dec Totals: Smallies-10, White Sucker-2, Walleye-4, Quillback-1 Total Fish = 17
Dec 9th: River too high to fish when it's this cold. Went hunting a shot a big doe. Meat for awhile.
Dec 5th: Had a good film day filming today. Dave Pelachic of JJ's jigs filmed while I fished. Caught 7 bass, a sucker and a rare quillback on film. Water 38 degrees, dark stained
Dec. 4th: fished and filmed by myself. Set the camera up on a monopod in the back of the boat. I can fish or I can film, but it's hard to do a good job trying to do both. I caught 4 walleye, 3 bass, and a sucker. Camera work ....not good!
Dec 3rd: Went hunting, shot a 177 lb bear. Getting a full mount done.
Nov. Total: 802 smallies, 63 walleye, 6 white sucker/fallfish, 5 northern pike, 3 carp, 1 musky, 1 quillback, = 881 fish
Nov 29th: Studio time, worked on Videos
Nov 28th: First day of deer season, saw nothing legal to harvest......Might as well went fishing.
Nov 27th: Went fishing with Gary Conrad. The sky was cloudy and the water was high, dirty stained and 41 degrees. We caught 21 fish with 4 walleye, 1 carp,and a sucker in the mix. Gary also caught a bass on his fly rod. Fish were caught on JJ's Jigs hair jigs, the new Chilli Bou and woolybuggers.
Nov 26th: river too high to fish
Nov 25th: River too high to fish
Nov 24th: Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov 23rd: River went way up, can't fish
Nov 22nd: Rain, river going up, no charter anyway.
Nov 21st: Filmed a cold water hair jig video today with JJ"s Jigs. It went Great! We filmed for 3hrs, got some great footage, I caught a dozen smallies including some big ones on film.
Nov 20th: Edited customer video charters and got them ready for tomorrows mail.
Nov 19th: No charter, got my wife caught up with her woodworking at her shop.
Nov. 18th: Went fishing with Jamie Coyle and Chris Collins. Cold 25 degrees w/ice on the ramp! Had to thaw out throttle and steering in the river before we started. Sky came out sunny and the water a darker stain and 43 degrees.We caught 32 fish with 4 walleye and 1 northern pike.
Nov. 17th: Went fishing with John Clark and Jason Kuzms. The sky was mostly cloudy with a cold wind. The water was green stained and 45 degrees. We caught 60 fish with 2 walleyes including a 26" one in the mix.
Nov 16th: It was just me and David Cordier today. the sky was overcast with a clod rain in the afternoon. The water had come up a foot and was green stained and 45 degrees. We caught 53 bass and 6 walleyes.
Nov 15th: It was John Madden, Bob Kosheff, and John Burke fishing today. The sky was sunny and the water was clear and 44 degrees. The guys caught 15 fish with 1 walleye and 1 sucker in the mix.
Nov 14th: Filming day with JJ Jigs.
Nov 13th: Went fishing with new customers Alen,Clint, and Tyler Franks. The sky was semi cloudy and the water was clear and 44 degrees. Wind picked up again in the afternoon. We caught 21 fish with 9 walleyes in the mix.
Nov 12th: Went fishing with new customers Dave Wilson and his son Andrew. They came up from Virginia to charter with me. The sky was sunny and the water was clear and 44 degrees. There was a 15mph wind which made fishing difficult. I videoed their trip and once they got the hang of jig fishing they did great! We caught 22 fish.
Nov 11th:Went fishing with Paul Szyszko and Lou Quinn. The sky was cloudy with high winds/rain/sleet /and a little snow. Water was clear and 45 degrees. We caught 60 fish with 1 sucker, 5 walleye, and 2 northern pike.
Nov 10th: It was just me and Rich Myers today. The sky was overcast with a light rain all day. The water was clear and 47 degrees. A cold front came through and shut them down for a while however we caught 63 fish with 1 northern pike and 1 walleye in the mix. We caught almost all quality bass. Almost half were over 15".
Nov 9th: Went fishing with Russel Decker and Dick Kane. The sky was sunny and the water clear and 47 degrees. We caught 62 smallies today with some big quality fish.
Nov 8th: Went fishing for a half day with Dick Rivers. The sky was sunny the water was 45 degrees and clear making the fish skidish and aware of the boat. We caught 31 fish with 2 walleye in the mix. Water level is dropping to reg height. Look out for the rocks!
Nov 7th: Went fishing with first timers Mike O'Connel and Tom Sheffler. The sky was sunny, the water clear and 42 degree. This made the fish spooky. We caught 45 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix.
Nov 6th: Went fishing with Ed and Mike Bardzel. The sky was sunny and the water light stained and 43 degrees. We caught 85 fish with 5 walleyes and a northern pike in the mix. For November this is pretty good! PS It was 22 degrees when we started and the ramp was ICE.
Nov 5th: After a no show , no call new customer I called Jerry and Mary Abbott. Within 2hrs we were on the river for a short trip. With a sunny sky and water light stained and 43 degrees we caught 53 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix.
Nov 4th: Went fishing with Rick leibert and Tom Gillaspy. The sky came out sunny and the water was light green stained and 45 degrees. We caught 64 fish with 4 walleyes in the mix.
Nov. 3rd: Went fishing with Matt Saxinger and his cameraman. The sky was overcast with no wind, water was green stained and 45 degrees. We caught 65 smallies, 3 walleyes, a big carp along with a small muskie.
Nov. 2nd: After a 7:00AM appointment for the pimpmobile I went fishing with John Willard. The sky was cludy and the water was 44 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 3 walleye in the mix
Nov 1st: Went fishing with John Snyder and Jeff T. The sky turned sunny with a beautiful day. River is a little high, dk green stained and 44 degrees. We caught 40 fish with 3 walleyes, 1 big carp, and 1 sucker in the mix.
Oct Totals: Smallmouth Bass-1225, Walleye-32, Largemouth Bass-35, Perch-3, Northern Pike-3, Hog Nose sucker-1, Bluegill-1, Quillback-2, white sucker-1, Carp-3, Total Fish= 1306
Oct 31st: Customer cancelled, personal problems, river was in good shape. Could have fished.
Oct 30th: We only got about 3" of snow. Went fishing with Greg Benyo and his buddy__________. The sky was partly cloudy, the snow wasn't a factor, the ramp was clear. The water did come up a foot and was dark green stained. We caught 29 fish and lost a 40"+ musky.
Oct 29th: Customer cancelled because of snow storm. He is supposed to get 10" we will get maybe 4" . We ended up with 3" and nothing close to the river.
Oct 28th: Went fishing with Dick Rivers and his guest for 5hrs. 26 degrees in the air when we started, water ended up at 46 degrees. We caught 22 fish with 1 northern pike,1 walleye. and 1 carp in the mix
Oct 27th:Went fishing with Tim Miller and Dave Borkowski. It was a cold rain all day, the water was dark green stained and 51 degrees. We caught 72 fish with 2 big carp, 2 walleye, and a big sucker in the mix.
Oct 26th: Filmed a good show with Alan Probst of the "All Outdoors With Alan Probst" TV show. The rain stayed South of us and we did great with many quality bass being caught. We only used American Made Tackle on the show. The show is for next season and will most likely be shown in July. We filmed for just 4hrs and caught 43 smallies and 1 walleye.
Oct 25th: No show
Oct 24th: Took Bob Labonde,Rich Myers, and Drew Gregg fishing. The sky was cloudy and the water was dark stained and 51 degrees. They caught 50 fish mostly on jigs.
Oct 23rd: Went fishing with Shamus and John Smith. The sky was overcast and the water was dirty and 51 degrees. We caught 29 fish with 1 walleye and through a great team effort the guys boated a 40" musky on a tube jig.
Oct 22nd: Went fishing with Ed Nestor and Barry Buchecker today. The sky was overcast and the water, dark brown, high, fast, and 51 degrees. We did pretty good for the conditions with 53 smallies caught and many big quality smallies. Biggest being 20". Mostly on tubes today.
Oct 21st: No fishing today. River came up to 7ft and mud. River crested and was down to 6ft by bedtime.
Oct 20th: Fished again with Rick and Jay. The sky was overcast, the water came up 1 1/2ft while we were out and turned to mud.We caught 28 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.
Oct 19th: Fished again with Jay and Rick in another part of the river.. Sky was overcast with some rain, water was dark stained, high and fast. We caught 45 fish with 6 walleyes in the mix.Mostly on 3" Alluring Baits Trick Sticks and JJ's Jigs Pumokin Grubbers and woolybuggers.
Oct 18th: Went fishing with Jay Murphy and Rick Porter.The sky way overcast. The water was high, dirty brown and 54 degrees. We caught 38smallies. There were some very nice quality bass caught today. JJ's Jigs pumpkin grubbers,Alluring Baits 3" trick sticks, and cranks caught the fish.
Oct 17th: Went fishing with Barney Cook and Lonnie Shirk. The sky was sunny with 20mph winds. The water was dirty brown. We caught 39 fish with 2 walleye in the mix on heavy jigs to fight the wind and fast water.
Oct 16th: Fished with Steve Getsie and Jim Utley. Sky was overcast with light rain, river came down 6" and muddy at 54 degrees. We fished hard for the 9 fish we caught.Cold front, high muddy water, and 40mph winds!
Oct 15th: River up to 6ft and mud.....no fishing
Oct 14th: Fished with Kevin Readinger, river turned to mud and went up 2ft at 58 degrees. Caught fish easy in the AM and struggled in the PM. Caught 35 fish with Kevin catching 2 nice walleye. Very tough fishing.
Oct 13th Evening charter with Bill Whitson and Bob. It rained very hard but we still caught 25 fish. Rained all night again.
Oct 13th: Went fishing with Jeff and Kelley Williams: The sky was overcast with on and off light rain. The water was dirty and 58 degrees. We caught 88 fish with 1 quillback , 3 walleyes,1 bluegill,1 rock bass, and 1 sucker in the mix.
Oct 12th: Went fishing with Dan and Earl West.The sky was overcast with light rain all day. The water was green stained and 58 degrees. We caught 109 fish with 1 sucker, 3 walleye, and 1 bluegill in the mix.
Oct. 11th: Some days it just comes together. Went fishing with Val Larioni today. The sky was overcast and the water green stained. We caught 118smallies and 2 walleyes. 120 fish is the new all time record for me with just 1 client in an 8hr charter. Val caught a bunch of quality bass.
Oct 10th: Had a great day with Joe Stevko and Ken Fretz. The sky was fog in the AM, bright sun in the PM and we hit the shadows. Water was dark stained and 58 degrees. We caught 101 fish with 1 northern pike in the mix. Mostly on cranks but some on JJ's Pumpkin Buggers and Alluring Baits 3" LD Smallie Slammers.
Oct 9th: Evening 3hr trip with Bill Anderson with his grandson Nathan. We caught 25 fish on cranks.
Oct 9th: Went fishing with John Snyder and Ron Grambo. The sky was foggy in the early AM and bright sun in the PM. The river was dark stained and 57 degrees. We caught 95 fish with 1 hog nose sucker and 4 walleyes in the mix on cranks and jigs.
Oct 8th: Great 4hr evening trip with Tony and Amanda Slotter. We caught 65 fish with 2 walleye and 1 northern pike in the mix on crank baits.
Oct 8th: 6hr charter with Joe Hayes and his son Collin. The sky was sunny and the water was dark stained and 56 degrees. We caught 41 fish with 1 walleye in the mix on cranks and jigs.
Oct 7th: Evening charter with John Benniger. We boated 19 fish and that last hour was magic with many big quality bass and John boating a beautiful 20" trophy bass.
Oct 7th: Went on a very enjoyable fishing charter with Bill Sordoni and Roy Nun. I'm afraid we had more enjoyable conversation than fishing with 16 fish put in to the boat but we had a lot of fun.
Oct 6th: Evening trip with John Pekala and Tom Robinson. We had a late start but we managed 20 fish.
Oct 6th: Went fishing with Will Cressman and Bruce Christman.The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dark stained and 55 degrees. We caught 35 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.
Oct 5th Customer cancelled no fishing
Oct 4th: River too high and muddy.
Oct 3rd.Went fishing with Marion Nunan and Rich Beiler. Sky was overcast and windy. lake was 60 degrees. River too high so we went to a local lake for large mouth. We caught 35 large mouth and 3 perch . I used JJ's Jigs Pumpkin Grubber and cranks. River is going back down so we will try river tomorrow.
Oct 2nd: River went back up to 8ft , no fishing, worked on my shooting lanes at my tree stand.
Oct 1st: River down to 7.8ft, no fishing so I went archery hunting. Rain and wind ! Only saw 2 does out too far to shoot and in the brush. Got a call last night from Marion Nunan. He is scheduled to fish Monday and Tues. He said he is coming no matter what! He knows I love a challenge. River down to 7ft by bedtime. If it doesn't go back up over 7.5 ft we can safely try it. I'm excited! Got in anotherAmerican Made All Pro rod today. Spinning this time. Can't wait to try it.
Sept Totals: Smallies-888, Walleye-14, Rock Bass-2, Quillback-1, Channel Cat-1, White Sucker-4, Hog Nose Sucker 1, Total Fish = 911
Sept 30th: River down to 9ft no fishing, went to Snake Creek Marine and bought another on board battery charger. Shot the crossbow some today!
Sept 29th: River rose 10ft and muddy. No fishing today.
Sept 28th: Went fishing with Eric Jenson and Thom Specht. The sky was overcast with on and off light rain. The water turned muddy and rose 2 1/2ft while we were out! We caught 48 bass and a walleye. Very good for those conditions.
Sept 27th: Went fishing with Frank and Joe again for 6hrs. The sky was overcast and the water was dirty and 65 degrees with spotty light rain. When we finished and went to the access it rained hard! We caught 71 smallies and 5 walleye all on cranks.
Sept 26th: 3hr evening charter with Frank Corcione and Joe Lamarca. We caught 35 fish on cranks.
Sept 26th: Went fishing with Kevin Readinger. The sky was mostly cloudy and the water had come up another half foot and was dark stained and 66 degrees. We caught 82 fish with 1 walleye, 1 white sucker, and 1 hog nose sucker in the mix. Mostly on cranks and jigs.:
Sept 25th: Went fishing with Todd Fetterlof and Gary Sidler. The sky was overcast and the water had come up a foot , dark stained and 64 degrees. We caught 103 fish with 2 walleye in the mix. Cranks and jerk baits caught most of the fish.
Sept 24th: 3hr evening charter with Ted Stecker from Tenn. We caught 37 fish.
Sept 24th: Went fishing with Val Larioni today. The sky was overcast with a light rain in the morning. The water was green stained and 64 degrees. The two of us caught 105 smallies in just 6hrs. Val had a 8hr charter but instead of going for the 2 man record of 117fish that was easily obtainable, he said 105 was plenty and we called it a day. Jerk baits and cranks caught the fish. A great day!
Sept 23rd: Went fishing with Barry Buchecker and Joe Russin. The sky was overcast with rain in the PM. The water was stained and 63 degrees. We caught 87 fish with 2 suckers in the mix. Cranks, jigs, jerk baits.
Sept 22nd: Fishing again with Steve and Norbert in yet a different section. Sky was overcast and the water stained at 62 degrees. We caught 99 fish with 4 walleyes in the mix on cranks, jigs, and spinners. Steve C&R a nice 25" Walleye on a tube .
Sept21st: Went fishing in a different section of river with Steve and Norbert.Sky was overcast and water was stained and 61 degrees We caught 51 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.Jigs spinners, cranks.
Sept 20th: Went fishing with Steve Gehringer and his dad Norbert. The sky was overcast and the water was dark stained and 60 degrees. We caught 61 fish with 1 white sucker in the mix. Many quality bass being caught. Used jigs, spinners, and cranks. A good Day.
Sept 19th; Customer cancelled. Concerned with dirty water, didn't think he would catch enough fish. He should have come. Had a donated evening trip with boyscouts, transmission went on their car on the way here.
Sept 18th: Went fishing with John Snyder. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dirty brown and 60 degrees. We caught 31 fish with 1 channel cat in the mix on jigs.
Sept 17th: River down to 5ft! Went fishing with a buddy today for a half day. We went to five holes, caught 7 fish with a quillback in the mix. Water was still a little high , fast, and muddy at 60 degrees.You can always catch fish! The new Ardent Baitcaster reel and All Pro rod worked great! So sensitive I can jig with it!
Sept 16th: River down to 5.2ft. Took this time to work on my deer stand and cut a shooting path. Went over to check out the river. I'm ready!
Sept 15th: River is down to 6ft, will be fishing Saturday. Helped wife with her woodworking for her factory.
Sept 14th: Went to Alan Probs house for a meeting and to pick up my new Excaliber Equinox crossbow. Had a meeting with Alan. He's got some exciting stuff coming for 2012! I can't spill the beans, but very exciting. I'm a tiny part of it.
Sept 13th: Got in my American made Ardent reel and American Made All Pro Rod. What a great combination! Can't wait to use it!
Sept 12th: River dropping quickly, it's at 8ft now. I'll be fishing again by the weekend. Also called in my claim on the fish camp to my insurance co. Went to do some woodworking for the wife. Got my new Ardent XS1000 bait casting reel in, can't wait to use it. Made In America!
Sept 11th: Holy crap, everything is destroyed. The fish camp is no more! See photos on my web site photo page under FLOOD
Sept 10th. Water down to 18ft this morning. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to get to the fish camp.
Sept 8th and 9th. Catastrophic flooding. I could have run my jet boat down main street New Albany where I live yesterday. The river had to of gone at least 3ft into the top floor of my fish camp if it's still standing.
Sept 7th: Non stop heavy rain. Stayed away from the river! River went up to 30.5ft!!
Sept 6th: Rained last night again, river is rising quickly. Hydrolic river predictor says it's going up to 20ft! Rick MacNeal and his buddy Ron, both good jig fishermen and I went out in the all day rain. Water was high, muddy and 67 degrees. We caught 33 fish today and Rick caught a heavy 18" smallie. We used Black woolybuggers , pumpkin grubbers from JJ's Jigs and black tubes. The river was rising so fast that I called my second charter to reschedule. When we got back to shore the river had gone up another foot! We noticed that most of the campers were still there when we knew it was going to flood over the banks.
Sept 5th: Labor day. Traditionally too crazy to take out a client so I don't fish it. Have a good one.
Sept 4th: rained during the night but the day was mostly sunny. Went out with a buddy for 3hrs and I caught just 6 fish on a black woolybugger in the mud, my buddy was zip. Called it a day.
Sept 3rd: The river is starting to rise and it's already muddy. Fished with John and Shamus again in the rising mud. The fish seem to sence somethings up. I tried all my muddy water tricks and still after running over 25 miles on the jet boat we came up with 9 hard earned fish. They were quality photo smallies at least.
Sept 2nd: Evening trip with Shamus and John Smith. The fish wouldn't co-operate tonight with 7 smallies, But John caught a nice couple.
Sept 2nd: It was just me and TJ Giunta today: The sky was overcast and the water was muddy and 67 degrees. We caught 21 fish with 2 rockies in the mix on Pumpkin Grubbers and black tubes. TJ caught some really nice quality bass.
Sept 1st: Rescheduled the first charter but second charter with Max Albrite was on. Water still muddy and 66 degrees but safe. We caught 12 nice smallies on JJ's jigs Pumpkin Grubbers,his black woolybuggers, and black tubes.
Aug Totals: Smallies-1104, Walleye-34, Rockie-24, Musky-1, Channel Cat-3, White Sucker-2, Northern Pike-2, = 1170 fish
Aug 31st. Went to try the muddy river with Jamie Coyle. We had a good time but caught only 2 fish on Pumkin Grubbers from JJ's jigs. Will tell tomorrows clients maybe reschedule.
Aug 30th: Still High and muddy, will try tomorrow.
Aug 29th: The river crested and it's on the way back down. I'll try it out with a friend on Wed. I'm ready!
Aug 28th: Hurricane Irene came through today. River is supposed to go up 9ft. Back to spring high muddy water tactics!
Aug 27th: Evening trip. No show, no call. They missed some great fishing! However I met the great great great great grandaughter of Jim Terry. The founder of Terrytown back in the 1780's she was looking up her ancestors .
Aug 27th: Had a good trip with Rick MacNeal and his young son Stephen. The sky stayed mostly overcast and the water was dark stained and 74 degrees. We caught 47 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix on cranks and Alluring Baits 3" stick worms. Rick caught the most but Stephen caught the biggest smallie! The fish really turned on the last hour.
Aug 26th:Went for a 3hr evening charter with Marc Dobb and his two young sons. They were ready, they each showed up with their own tackle box. Everybody caught fish and we ended up with 25.
Aug 25th: Went fishing with Blake and Tyller Barth. The sky was overcast with rain at times. The water was dark stained and 72 degrees. We caught 67 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix on cranks and LD jig spinners.
Aug 24th: Afternoon charter with Dick Grayson. The sky was overcast and the water dirty brown. We caught 37 fish with 2 rockies and 1 walleye in the mix on LD spinners and jigs.
Aug 23rd: 3hr Evening trip with Lori McCoy. We caught 8 fish . The fish didn't co-operate but the conversation was great! Ever hear of the Hatfields and McCoy's?
Aug 23rd: Fished with Si Belden, his son Scott, and his grandson Parker came along to photo. We caught 45 fish on LD spinners.
Aug 22nd: Evening trip with Jeff Price. We caught 30 fish with 5 rockies in the mix on LD spinners and Alluring Baits Trick Sticks.
Aug 22nd: Went fishing with Frank Gillium and his sons Blake and David. We caught just about everything today. There were 33 fish with 1 angler award rocky,2 walleye,1 channel cat, and 1 northern pike. Blake also caught a fishing rod that still worked. Mostly on LD spinners.
Aug 21st: Evening trip with George and Jackie Carter. We caught 21 fish with 3 rockies and 1 walleye in the mix.
Aug 21st: Went fishing with John,Tom,and Paul Roemer. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dark brown and 75 degrees. We caught 22 fish with 1 walleye and 1 channel cat in the mix.
Aug 20th: Went fishing with John Snyder and Charlie Glasse. We caught 35 fish with 2 rockies and 1-24" Walleye that John caught and released.
Aug 19th: All day thunder storms kept us off the river
Aug 18th: Evening trip with Rick and Richard Reifsnyder again. We caught 22 nice smallies tonight.
Aug 18th:Went fishing with Brian and Mike Trombly. The sky was mostly sunny and the water dark brown and 74 degrees. These guys were a lot of fun. We caught 27 fish with 1 northern pike in the mix.
Aug 17th: Evening trip with Rick and Richard Reifsnyder. We caught 21 smallies on LD spinners and 3" Alluring Baits Trick Sticks.
Aug 17th: Went fishing with Rick and Ricky Liebert. The sky was partly cloudy and the water dark brown and 75 degrees. We caught 63 fish with 2 walleye in the mix. A nice 20" smallie was caught. Used cranks,LD spinners, and jigs.
Aug 16th: Went fishing with Tom Robins and Linwood Myers. Rained in the AM then partly cloudy. Water was dark brown and 73 degrees. We caught 58 fish with 2 walleyes and 1 sucker in the mix mostly on LD spinners.
Aug 15th:Went for a half charter with Keith Huffman, Chris Carskaddan, and Dave Low. The sky was overcast and the water was dirty brown and 72 degrees. We caught 75 fish with 1 sucker and 2 walleyes in the mix,mostly on LD worm spinners. We also saw a group of 4 buck deer along the river edge.We got off the river just before a rain storm came through.
Aug 14th: went fishing with Jake Able. The sky was overcast with heavy rain and the water was dirty brown and 73 degrees. We caught 67 fish with 4 walleyes and 2 rockies from that water while dodging storms. Spinnerbaits worked well in the rain.
Aug 13th: Went fishing with Wayne Edwards and Phil Kratowicz. The sky was overcast and the water dirty brown at 74 degrees. We caught 57 fish with 6 walleye, 5 rock bass, and 1 channel cat in the mix. Used about everything.
Aug 12th: Evening trip with Bob Greenley and his brothers Chuck and Bill. Kind of a reunion trip if you wil. We caught 20 fish with 1 rock bass and 1 walleye in the mix on Trick sticks and LD spinners.
Aug 12th: Went fishing with Carl Greako and his son Mark. The sky was partly cloudy and the water a dirty brown and 76 degrees. We caught 54 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix.
Aug 11th. Evening trip with Wayne Edwards and Tom Ball. We caught 20 fish and Toms first smallie ever was a big 18" trophy fish. Way to go!
Aug 11th: Went fishing with Paul Szyszko and his son Decota. The sky was sunny and the water was brown at 76 degrees. Tough bite today with only 30 fish caught but we had a great time.
Aug 10th: Did filming for video, got some good footage.
Aug 9th: Went fishing with John Robinson and Harry Birchard. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was brown and 75 degrees. We caught 62 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix. Got a few on buzzbaits and spinners but mostly on jigs.
Aug 8th Evening trip with Jess and Zach Oren. We caught 16 smallies on Alluring Baits Trick Sticks.
Aug 8th: Went fishing with Bill Anderson and Lew Bolinger. The sky was partly sunny and the water was dark stained and 75 degrees. We caught 40 fish with 2 rock bass and 1 walleye in the mix.
Aug 7th: Went for 3hours with the same crew. All on buzzbaits early AM when young Mike had a hit on his buzzbait from a 42" Musky! A great fight, and a bit chaotic when we netted it in the cradle net as big Mike worked the trolling motor, (sort of) LOL.
Aug 6th: Fished for a few hours in the morning with Mike O'Connel, his son Mike, and daughter in law Alysen. Had a great time with top water buzzbaits and caught some big bass before the rains chased us off and it rained hard all day. Caught 18 fish.
Aug 5th: Evening trip with Skip Conant, his daughter Christy Gross and grandson Jonnah. We caught 23 fish with 1 rockie in the mix.
Aug 5th: Went for a short trip with Dick Rivers, his sonMatt and grandson Amiri. The sky was sunny and the water Dk Green and 77 degrees. We caught 30 fish on trick sticks.
Aug 4th:Donated an evening trip with Scoutmaster Seth Hazen and two scouts from Athens Troop #1 working on their fishing merit badge. We had a successful and fun evening along with seeing a great horned owl along the river bank.
Aug 4th: Went fishing with Mike Yakubit. The sky was cloudy and the water was 76 degrees. It rained the first 4hrs and the fish turned on with spinner and chatter baits. We caught 69 fish
Aug 3rd. First charter cancelled had an evening charter with Cody Chapman and Craig Harkness.Their first time out on the river. We caught 18 fish.
Aug 2nd: Showed a couple of friends how to get through the shallows with their jet boat this morning. had lunch with them then went to Snake Creek Marine in Montrose to buy new trolling batteries and have my direction gate on the jet motor replaced.
Aug 1st: Scheduled day off . Put a new poly intake on my jet motor. I'll try it out tomorrow. Got caught up finally with my computer work and photo editing.
July totals: Bass 1485, Walleye 40. Rock Bass 52, White sucker 5, Channel Cat 4, Northern Pike 3, Musky 2, Carp 1, Quillback 1 = 1593 fish total. Only 1 walleye harvested, all the rest were released unharmed.
July 31st: Evening trip with Tom Robinson and John Pekala. We had a great time with buzz baits, spinners, and jigs. We caught 33 fish and just outran a storm back to the access.
July 30th: Evening trip with Jasson and Claudia Millhouse. We caught 17 fish with 1 carp and 2 rockies in the mix.
July 30th: Had a fun day with Doug Bachman and Fran Drexler. We started at 5:30 AM and the surface lures were hot! Then the sun came and the fishing got tough, but still fun. We ended up with67 fish and 2 rockies in the mix.
July 29th: Was supposed to film tonight but a storm came through and put a stop to it before we even got started.
July 29th: Went fishing with Lew Bolinger and Joe Jason. The sky came out clear and hot, the water was green algea stained and 79 degrees. We caught some nice fish early and ended up with 35 fish and 3 rockies.
July 28th: It came together today with Al Jankovich and Wayne Litchman. The sky was overcast with some light sprinkles. The water was green stained with algea, very low, and 77 degrees. We caught 100 fish today with 4 rockies in the mix! The guys were so good with their lures that I mainly played with top water baits and only caught 21 fish, the rest were those guys! Way to go!!
July 27th: Evening charter with Rick Stanford. We caught 32 fish with 1 walleye and 3 rock bass in the mix.
July 27th: Did some filming today, got some great smallmouth bass footage on 20 bass.
July 26th: Evening charter with Carl Bicter and Harry Gillmer. We caught 47 smallies on Alluring Baits Trick Stick worms
July 26th:Went fishing with Carl and Cherry Watkins. The sky was sunny and the water was low, green stained and 88 degrees! We caught 68 fish with 4 rockies in the mix.
July 25th: Scheduled day off to be with my son. Had a great time.
July 24th:Had an enjoyable and informative charter with John Levinski.The sky was sunny and the water was 87 degrees and green algea stained. We caught 36 fish with 1 walleye and 2 rock bass in the mix.
July 23rd: First charter rescheduled, evening charter with Todd Fetterlolf and his daughter Linzy. This evening Linzy caught her first smallmouth . As a matter of fact she caught several all by herself! Way to go! We ended up with 12 smallies on jigs.
July 22nd. Came back and did an evening charter with Howard Jacobs. We caught 37 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix.
July 22nd: Went fishing with Dick Rivers and Jack Connyham. The sky was sunny and hot. The water was green stained, low, and 87 degrees. We fished 4 hours and caught29 fish.
July 21st:Went out on an early morning 5hr charter with Mike Delp and Brandon Prosey. The sky was sunny and the water green stained and 85 degrees. This was Mikes free charter for catching the most fish last year in 1 day. We caught 37 fish with 1 rockie in the mix.
July 20th: Went fishing with Ed Bardzel and Joe Burridge. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was dark algea stained and 84 degrees. We caught 62 fish with 2 rockies and 1 walleye in the mix on buzzbaits,cranks, and jigs.
July 19th: Went fishing with Tom Davis and John Morris. The guys caught 20 smallies on LD smallie slammers.
July 19th: Went fishing with Leo Parker and Mark Walker. The sky was mostly sunny and hot. The water was dark stained green with algea and 81 degrees. We caught 82 fish with 2 walleye, 1 sucker, and 2 rock bass in the mix on buzzbaits, cranks, and jigs
July 18th: It was just me and Russel Edly today. The sky was partial cloudy and the water green stained and 81 degrees. We caught 59 fish with 1 rock bass, 1 northern pike, and 1 sucker in the mix. Russel did very good with his buzzbait today.
July 17th: It came together today: Went fishing with Greg Radosin and Ray. The sky was sunny and hot. The water was stained and 80 degrees. We caught 112 fish with 5 walleye and 3 rock bass in the mix. Most on LD smallie slammers, and some on lip-less cranks.
July 16th: First charter cancelled. Had an evening charter with Gary Groff and Dave Banzhof. We caught 22 fish with 1 sucker, 1 walleye, and 1 musky in the mix.
July 15th: had a 3hr instructional charter with Pete Wismer and his 10yr old son, Michael. Michael did great!, after some jigging instruction and a few tips on how to properly cast he caught 8 bass in a row! We caught 18 for the evening.
July 15th: Went fishing with Bob Headman and Bob Ward. The sky was sunny and the water dark stained and 79 degrees. We caught 49 fish with 1 sucker, 1 walleye, 1 northern pike, and 1 musky in the mix.
July 14th: Went fishing with Jim Kremer and Dick Opdyke. The sky was sunny and the water was dark stained and 77 degrees. We caught 55 fish with 5 walleye, 2 rock bass, 1 channel cat , and 1 quillback in the mix.
July 13th: Had a last minute cancellation so I went and bought my hunting licenses. General, archery, bear, muzzelloading. Sent in for Doe tag. I'm ready!
July 12th: Came back for an evening trip with Bill Torrington and Steve Bronner. We caught 35 fish with 1 walleye and 2 rockies in the mix.
July 12th: Went fishing with Earl Samuel and his 11yr old granddaughter Kaeli for about 5hrs.This time we started earlier (6:30) to avoid the heat. I set up 2 light rods for her and it wasn't long before she was catching fish with a crank bait and a good job she did. We caught 29 smallies.
July 11th: Came back in the evening with Jerry Drisco and Tom Wilson. We caught 36 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix.
July 11th: Went fishing with Earl Samuel and his 8yr old and 5yr old grandsons for about 3hrs. Today it was all about the kids as I worked with them . They caught 17 smallies and had a great time.
July 10th: Went fishing with Jerome Sulkoski and his dad Jerry. The sky was sunny and the water dark stained and 75 degrees. We caught 50 fish with 6 rockies in the mix. LD Smallie Slammers and cranks caught the fish.
July 9th: Evening charter with Al and Dan Bosc. We caught 32 fish with 4 rock bass, 2 walleye, and 1 sucker in the mix.
July 9th: Went fishing with Rod Baits and his dad Walt. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dark stained and 77 degrees. We caught 66 fish with 2 walleye,1 rockie, and 1 channelcat in the mix. Jigs and cranks caught the fish.
July 8th: Thunder storm chased us off the river.
July 8th: Went fishing for a short time with Dick Rivers. The sky was overcast with a few sprinkles. The water was dark stained and 75 degrees. We caught 32 fish with 3 rockies in the mix all on Alluring Baits Trick Sticks. 3" LD Smallie Slammers.
July 7th: Evening trip with doyle Rippetoe and Herb Jones. We caught 40 fish with 1 sucker and 2 walleye in the mix.
July 7th: Went fishing with Gail and Herb Flaxton. The river was dark stained and 77 degrees. Sky was semi cloudy. We caught 62 fish with 3 walleye and 1 northern pike in the mix.
July 6th: Went fishing with Harold Hoff,Jim Britton, and Martina Weiss. The sky was sunny and the water was dark stained and 74 degrees. We caught 40 fish with 3 rockies,2 walleyes,and 1 channel cat in the mix.
July 5th: Had an evening trip with Gary and Cindy Thompsom. We caught 34 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix. Jig fishing
July 5th: Went on a short instructional charter with Todd Turk and his 10yr old son Noah. The sky was sunny and the water dirty stain and 74 degrees. Noah had never been fishing before or even handled a spinning rod so we started at the beginning of how to cast. Soon Noah was doing fine and catching fish. We caught 15 fish with 1 channel cat in the mix. All on Alluring Baits 3" trick sticks. the LD smallie slammer to be exact.
July 4th: Took the day off. Happy 4th of July to everyone!
July 3rd: a short 3hr trip with Gerry Long, his daughter Kelly and her friend Carner. We caught 23 fish with 3 nice walleye in the mix. Fish were caught on LD Smallie Slammers from Alluring Baits. A fun evening.
July 2nd: Went fishing with Dan Hrabko and Scott Dunham. The sky was mostly cloudy and the water was dirty brown and 72 degrees. We caught 29 fish with 1 walleye and 2 rock bass in the mix.
July 1st. Evening trip with Jack and Betty Richardson. We caught 21 fish with 1 walleye and 2 rockies in the mix.
July 1st : Went fishing with Jeff Richards and Randy Myers. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dirty brown 72 degrees. We caught 34 fish with 2 walleye bin the mix
June Totals: Smallies-1254, walleye-39, Bullhead-1, Northern Pike-7, Channel Cat-6, White Sucker-4, Rockie-39, Bluegill-2, Carp-3, Musky-2, Total Fish = 1357 .
June 30th: Had a scheduled video shoot with professional cameraman Jerome S. sponsor Steve Monaduis from HC Bait co, Hubs Chubs came with us. We tried for a long time to get a top water bite going but never had a hit. This video should have been called "How to fish in the mud". We switched over to jigs and LD Thumpers and Steve caught some on a jerk bait. We managed to catch 25 fish for the day but nothing big for the camera. Jerome got some good footage of an eagle on a bare branch taking off in flight, also of a chopper spraying for black flies real close to us. A fun day with two great guys. Jerome will be back to film again in the future.
June 29th: Evening trip with Jack Livingston and Marchal Johnston. We caught 27 fish with 1 small muskie in the mix. Not bad for an evening charter in the mud.
June 29th: Got a cancellation by e-mail the night before, no time to find another client.
June 28th: Got a call and went back out for the evening with John and Mary Craig. We caught 18fish in the mud, with 1 walleye in the mix.
June 28th: Went fishing with Patrick Tuorto and his grandson Justin Slusser. The sky was cloudy and the water a little lighter mud, but still mud. We did better , we caught 28 fish with 2 rockies in the mix. Dark jigs and LD Thumper spinners did the trick.
June 27th: Went fishing with Leo Parker and Bob Kane. Again a partly cloudy sky and a muddy river at 67 degrees. Again we caught 10 fish on LD Thumper spinners.Also caught 2 walleye
June 26th:Went fishing with Earl and Patrick West. The sky was mostly cloudy and the water was muddy and 70 degrees. We caught only 10 fish with 1 northern pike and 1 channel cat in the mix. Patrick did catch a big bass.
June 25th: Holy Crap!!!! Water came up 3 1/2ft and solid mud! I mean MUD. Water let out of NY dams no doubt. Charters rescheduled.
June 24th. Evening trip with Mike and John Yakubic. Water getting more muddy. We caught 12 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.
June 24th Went fishing with Jerry Tanczos and his twin sons chris and Eric. The sky was mostly cloudy and the water was dark stained, rising and getting muddy. We caught 52 fish with 1 carp and 1 rockie in the mix. Mostly on LD spinners.
June 23rd: Customer cancelled, buddy was ill. second charter rescheduled because of lightning.
June 22nd: Went fishing with Ed Nestor and Barry Buchecker. We went after numbers of fish today. The sky was mostly overcast with rain. We were on the water by 6:00AM. We caught 110 fish with 1 walleye, 2 channel cats, and 1 rock bass in the mix. Used Alluring Baits LD Smallie Slammers on a jig, LD spinners, and some on small crank baits. A great day and we were off the water by 3:00PM.
June 21st: Did a short evening trip with Tom and Lili Mortimer and their grandson Dillon. They caught 15 fish on LD Spinners.
June 21st: Went fishing with Dale and Don again. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was dark stained and 76 degrees. We caught 49 fish with 3 walleye and 1 big carp in the mix. Caught on LD spinners and LD smallie slammers by Alluring Baits.
June 20th: Evening trip with Don Lechner and Dale Moyer. We caught 35 fish with 1 channel cat and 4 walleyes in the mix. all caught on LD Spinners.
June 20th: Went fishing with Nancy Epler and suede Reed. The sky was sunny and the water dark stained and 70 degrees. Nancy was new to fishing and the river so this was a learning trip. We ended up with 22 fish with 2 walleye and 2 rockies in the mix.
June 19th: Happy Fathers Day! Today was to be for the second cut of the tourney that we decided not to do. Wife made me one of my favorite meals and my son came over for a visit. A great day!!
June 18th:Stayed at Alans. We drove down to the tourney at 3:30AM to check in and get harassed by the local staff about where to park in the dark. Fished in the fog not knowing where to go because of no prefishing. Qualified to fish the next day but decided not to and I released my fish at the dock before weigh-in. Complete article sent to newspaper and magazine. I did not divulge name of tourney.An experience I care not to repeat. Just not for me.
June 17th: Picked up Alan Probst at his home and we drove another hour to fish in a tourney that Alan wanted to do last Jan. We drove all that way only to find out that we couldn't prefish out of the tourney access. Now that"s not right. Except for hanging out with Alan, it was a wasted day.
June 16th: It was raining hard when Mike and Elenor Kilcoyne got on the boat, but it turned out pleasant at the end. We caught 12 fish with Mike getting a big smallie.
June 16th: Had a fun day with Jack and Carol Eells. The sky was mostly cloudy with a few sprinkles during the day and a hard rain at the end. The water was 67 degrees and dark stained. Jack and Carol were introduced to the world of jigging and they did fine. We caught 47 fish with 1 northern Pike and 8 rock bass in the mix.
June 15th: Did a TV show with Delaware Valley Outdoors. The day was sunny and the water dark stained and 67 degrees. It was a fun day even though the biggest bass was only 15". However Bob had a northern Pike brought to the boat and while I was going for the net it just about jumped in the boat and broke off. All good stuff !
June 14th: Evening trip with Tom and Luke Granger. We caught 22 fish with 2 walleyes and 1 rockie in the mix. A good evening in the muddy water.
June 14th: Went fishing Jerry Zimmerman and Aaron Oberst. The sky was overcast and the water was muddy and 64 degrees. Jerry brought his ultra light rod with 6lb test and caught two huge trophy smallies. The one was just shy of 20". We caught 45 fish in that mud with 2 rockies in the mix.
June 13th: Went fishing with Dave and Holly again. The sky was overcast and the mud was worse than Yesterday at 67 degrees. We managed to catch 30 bass which was great in the mud. However I called to have the second charter reshedule.
June 12th:Evening trip in the muddy water with Tom Zablocki and his buddy Jim. We caught 11 fish and Tom caught his first Musky at 32". Congrats Tom.
June 12th: Went fishing with Dave Shimp and Holly Owens. Our nice river that was clearing up turned to mud again last night with a temp of 74 degrees.The sky was mostly cloudy. It was back to muddy water tactics. We caught 36 fish with 5 rockies and 3 walleye in the mix.
June 11th: Evening trip with Ken Newberry and his grandsons Mathew and Markus. Had a good time with the boys, we sat through a very hard rain and got chased off the river by a big rain storm so we cut the trip short. We caught 12 fish with 1 rockie and 1 walleye in the mix. The boys did well with the LD spinner baits.
June 11th: Went fishing with Tom and Mike Ellis. conditions are getting better, the sky was mostly overcast and the water was stained and 76 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 1 northern pike,1 channel cat, and 2 walleye in the mix.
June 10th: Evening charter with Bob Greenlee with friends Joe and Joey. These guys were a riot to be with. Fun was #1 on the agenda, way to go. We caught 21 smallies that night. Jigs and LD spinners caught the fish.
June 10th: Went fishing with Terisa Terwilliger and her son Mark.They came on an instructional charter and did very well. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was 77 degrees and dark stained. We caught 38 fish with 1 walleye and 1 rock bass in the mix. We saw an albino squirrel, pink eyes and all.
June 9th: Holy Crap!!! At 4:00PM we got a violent thunder/lightning and hail storm just as the evening trip was to begin. It was over in 20 min but it was a bad one. Bud Harris and his grandson Terry went on an evening trip with me. We caught 37 fish with 2 rockies and 1 walleye in the mix.
June 9th: Went fishing with Ed Bardzel and Joe Burridge. We started at 5:30AM to get in the Top water bite with the Hubs Chubs. The day turned out sunny and hot but we were off the water by 1:30PM and missed most of the hot weather. The water was dark stained and 74 degrees. We caught 43 bass and had a great time. We also used LD spinners and tubes.
June 8th: Evening trip with Gary and Rose Jackson. We caught 40 fish with 3 rockies and 1 Northern pike in the mix.
June 8th: Went fishing with Will Cressman and Andy Nicholson. The sky was sunny and hot. The water, dirty stain and 75 degrees! We caught 45 fish , all smallies.
June 7th: Evening trip with Jerry and Rob Werts. They turned on this evening with 45 fish caught with 2 walleye and 1 rockie in the mix.
June 7th: Went fishing with Tom and Jeff Staff. The sky was Hazy and then sunny. The water was dark stained and 68 degrees. We caught 35 fish with 3 rockies and 1 walleye in the mix. Started out with top water and the Hubs chubs lures then the guys used creature baits for the rest of the day.
June 6th: Went fishing with Steve Okula and John Yannatell. The sky was partly cloudy. The water was dark stained and 69 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 3 rockies and a blugill in the mix.
June 5th: Evening charter with Joe and Brady Galliger. We caught 19 fish with 2 walleye and 1 carp in the mix.
June 5th: Went fishing with Pete Giombetti and John Armezzani.The sky was overcast and the water was 66 degrees. We caught 54 fish with 1 rockie, 2 suckers, and 2 walleye in the mix.
June 4th: Evening trip with Chris Wagner and Nicole Groot. They were new to river fishing but caught on fast. It was ladys night as Nicole caught the 1st fish, the biggest, (a northern pike), and the most! with 10 fish. Chris and I tried to keep up.LOL. We caught 19 fish with 1 walleye and 1 Northern Pike in the mix.
June 4th: Went fishing with Tim and Bryan again. The sky was overcast in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. This time we started early and got the Top water bite going with the Hubs Chubs! The first 20 fish out of the 52 that we caught were on the Chubs. With some big smallies being caught. We also caught 2 walleye. Chubs, LD spinners, and tubes caught the fish. Always have fun with these guys!
June 3rd: Evening trip with Tim Fry and Bryan Eshenour. We caught 10 fish with 1 rockie,1 walleye, and 1 sunfish in the mix. LD Spinners caught the fish.
June 3rd: Went fishing with Larry and Carroll Snoke. The sky was sunny and windy. The water was dirty and 68 degrees. We caught 39 fish with 1 rockie, 2 walleye,2 suckers,a nd 1 channel cat in the mix. Crank baits,LD spinner baits, tubes, and JJ's jigs caught the fish.
June 2nd: Still windy! Evening trip with Ed Isenburg and Rob Reeves. We caught 10 fish with 1 northern pike and 1 bullhead in the mix.
June 2nd: Went fishing with Will Cressman and Bob Snyder. The sky was mostly cloudy with 30 to 40mph winds! The favorite saying of the day was HANG ON!. Water was high, dirty,and 69 degrees. We caught 46 fish with 2 walleye in the mix .
June 1st : Evening trip with Skip Hershey and Jack Nagle. Just showing fishing in the high mud . We caught 19 smallies on tubes.
June 1st: Went fishing with john Madden and his buddies Bob and John. The sky was sunny and the water was muddy and high. We caught 42 smallies mostly on tubes.
May totals: Smallies-602, walleye-11, channel cat-1, Musky-4, lg mouth bass-34, northern pike-2, rock bass-3, total fish = 657 fish
May 31st: Supposed to film today. Camera man hurt his leg so the wife and I went fishing for 3hrs in the mud and heat. I caught 20 smallies while she ran the camera.
May 29th & 30th: River too high and muddy
May 28th: river went up some more and really muddy. No fishing today. CRAP!
May 27th: Met the guys at the ramp. That big storm last night really messed up the river! It was high and so muddy that I told the guys that they would be wasting their money by fishing today. They appreciated the honesty and we went to breakfast.
May 26th: evening trip with new guys, Tim Kane and Dennis Mead. Showed the guys how I catch fish on a stick worm jig. We caught 19 smallies before a really wicked thunder storm chased us off the river. The guys will be staying at my fish camp for another two days. Good luck guys! The jig bite is picking up.
May 26th: It was just me and Doug Denure today in the high dirty water. We caught 16 smallies,1 24" walleye,1 rocky, and 1 northern pike.
May 25th: Evening trip with Gary Dutton and newcomer Matt Stron. Had a good time and caught 13 smallies.
May 25th: Went fishing with John Y and John J. The sky was mostly cloudy and the water was high and muddy as usual. We caught 35 smallies.
May 24th: Evening trip with Rick McNeal and Jeff Stewert. We caught 29 fish with 1 rocky in the mix.
May 24th: Went fishing with Ed Schanley and his buddy Tom. The sky was overcast and the water muddy, but it came down a foot. We caught 52 fish with 1, 27" musky that Tom caught.
May 23rd: Went fishing with Andy Snyder and Kevin Keeler. The sky was overcast with showers, the water high and muddy. We caught 23 fish with 1 rocky and 1 43" Musky that Kevin caught on a LD Muddy Water Thumper.
May 18th to 22nd: Water went way up with mud. Just couldn't fish.
May 17th:Went fishing with Kevin Readinger and New river angler Jeff Web. The water is still on the rise and muddy , the temp went down to 57 degrees. It rained all day! We caught 17 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. However Jeff caught his biggest smallie ever with a 18 1/2" beauty. Mostly big tubes in the high fast water today.
May 16th evening trip the water had risen another foot while we were out and turned to mud. I had fishing veteran Rick Leibert and new angler, Lance Robson. We caught 8 fish on cranks and tubes. A tough night.
May 16th: It was just me and Joe Stevko today and he always brings the fishing luck with him.The sky was overcast with hard rain. The water went from dirty to muddy at the end at 58 degrees. We caught 62 fish with 2 walleye and Joes last cast got him a 30" musky. Cranks and tubes caught the fish.
May 15th: Evening trip with Bob,Glenn, and Mark Gunther. We caught 19 fish
May 15th: Went fishing with Val and Dee Dee. The sky was overcast with light rain. The water was Dark stained and 60 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 1 walleye and 2 suckers in the mix. Tubes and cranks caught the fish.
May 14th: Evening trip with Scott Page. We caught 20 fish with 1 rockie in the mix.
May 14th: Went fishing with Paul,Ethan,and Dakota Szyszko. The sky was overcast with some rain. The water was Dark stained and 62 degrees. We caught 63 fish with 1 northern pike in the mix.
May 13th: Evening trip with Andy Snyder and his stepson Zack. We caught 37 small mouth bass on jigs and jerk baits.
May 13th: Went fishing with Doug DeNure and Jaban Cubides. The sky was overcast and the water dark stained and 60-62 degrees. We caught 61 fish with 1 northern pike, 1 channel cat, and 1 walleye in the mix.jigs, cranks, and jerk baits caught the fish.
May 12th: Went fishing with Will Cressman and Kenny Weidemoyer. The sky was sunny and the water was dark stained and 58 degrees. We caught 44 fish with 1 large mouth bass and 3 walleyes in the mix. Jigs and cranks caught the fish.
May 11th: Was supposed to do a TV show with a new guy that shoots carp with a bow, he just forgot and I even reminded him 10 days before shoot time. He never showed or called, no class! Never Again! So my wife started her second job as my camera man and we filmed for my video. I caught 32 fish on camera and she caught a few. Had a nice relaxing day.The sky was sunny and the water 57 degrees and dark stained.
May 10th: First charter canceled. For the evening charter, had a pleasant instructional charter with Mary and Diane Abington. After a short how to cast with a spinning rod and how to use jigs the ladies started catching bass left and right along with 2 walleye. We caught 24 fish total on jigs.
May 9th: Went fishing with Todd Fetterlof and Gary Sidwell today. The sky was sunny and the water was high/ dirty and 55 degrees. We caught 38 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. Todd caught his biggest bass so far and is having a reproduction done. Crank baits and jigs caught the fish.
May 8th: Went fishing with John Snyder and Ed Bardzel. Ed and I shoveled a track through the mud just to get the boat to the river. The sky was sunny in the AM and overcast in the PM.Water was 53 degrees, high, and dirty. We caught 30 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. We took the video camera with us and got some big smallies on film. I had a musky cut me off. Cranks and tubes caught the fish.
May 7th: River still too high , tomorrow for sure.
May 6th: Went to a local lake with Dave Pchola today. We caught 15 large mouth ans Dave had a huge crappie 15"+ at the boat. Weedless tubes today.
May 5th: River still too high to fish
May 4th: Was supposed to film a fishing show with Alan Probst today but the river came up yet again to flood stage. I called Alan last evening and told him not to bother coming up unless he wanted to do a river rescue show.
May 3rd: River got down to where I could just get on and I found 8" of mud on the ramp. Couldn't get through even with 4 wheel drive. Caught a 29" musky on the shore line then took Marion Nunan and Barry Stark to a small lake and caught 18 LM Bass on weedless tubes and Hubs Chubs surface lures. First LM bass I've caught in a very long time.
April totals: Sm Mouth Bass-249, carp-5, Walleye-5, Quillback-2, Channel Cat-1, musky-1, = total- 263 fish
April 24th to May 2nd: River still too flooded to fish with all the rain.
April 23rd: Rained hard in the morning when we got to the access. Talked for an hour and decided to go for it in the really high and now muddy water. Went fishing with John Snyder and Jeff Trauger. The sky was overcast with rain. The water was dirty to muddy and the temp came down again to 43 degrees. We caught 20 fish total with 1 carp, 1 walleye, and 1 monster 48", 32 lb musky with a 24" girth caught by Jeff on one of my boat rods with 10lb Stren Magnathin line. Jeff is getting a reproduction done at Just Fish Taxidermy. A tremendous fish, congrats to you Jeff.
April 22nd: Went fishing with Dave Pchola and his grandson Nathan. The sky was overcast and cold wind. Water was high, fast, and dirty at 44 degrees. I did some filming today of the guys catching 11 fish. Tubes was the lure of the day.
April 18th -21st: Water too high to fish
April 17th: Water came up 7ft literately overnight from yesterdays storm. No fishing today. But it did crest 2ft lower than they expected so I hope to be back soon.
April 16th: Met the guys at the ramp. The water came down a foot but the wind went up to a constant 23 to 27mph with 30 plus gusts. I told the guys that I'd take them out but I've had trees just miss me with high winds. They did the smart thing and recheduled for later in the year.
April 15th:I was going to fish today with or without a client. I was going to do a video on how to catch fish in high, muddy, cool water. However my client Dave Pchola decided if I could fish, so could he. Good Man! This was the deepest water I ever took a client out in. The sky was overcast and windy. The water was dirty brown, high, fast, and 46 degrees. The two of us caught 28 fish under those conditions which was great! Dave caught some big bass and one huge one. We also caught 1 walleye. All on jigs. Tubes, and black Susky Seducers from JJ's Jigs.
April 14th: water came up another foot overnight and trip was rescheduled. However I'm getting to practice my cold water/ high water presentations this spring. No skunk yet!
April 13th: Went fishing with Bob Virus and Leo Ruffling. The sky was overcast and rain all day long. The water was high, dirty, fast and 47 degrees. In fact it rose another foot while we were fishing. We caught 37 fish with a quillback in the mix. All on hairjigs.
April 12th: Went fishing with Skip Lenard and Howard Robinson. The sky was overcast and windy. The river was high, fast, and dirty. We caught 47 fish with 1 walleye and 1 carp in the mix on tubes and JJ's Jigs. Woolybugger and gruger.
April 11th: Went fishing with John Yaswinski and John James. The sky was overcast with 10-15mph winds. Water was high,fast,and dirty. We caught 41 fish with 1 channel cat in the mix on tubes and JJ's Jigs black Grubbers.
April 10th: Water was OK to fish. High but fishable, at 5:00AM found message on computer that customer canceled due to high water. Please call me first. We could have fished today.
April 7th,8th,9th: Water still too high to fish.
April 6th: Water too high to fish, went bird hunting with Alan Probst for a TV show.
April 5th: Water came up too high and we had to reschedule.
April 4th. Went fishing with Val Larioni. The sky was overcast with occasional cold showers and a 15mph wind. The river was indeed on the rise but still just dark stained. We caught 35 smallmouth bass in the 14" to 18" range. JJ's Jigs, Aluring Baits Trick Sticks, and good old tubes caught the fish.
April 3rd: Again the computer showed the river level going up to 7ft and I rescheduled. It was only 4.6ft so Ed Bartel and I met at the river to do some video work. We caught 14 fish with 1 walleye and 1 carp in the mix. I'm not calling off tomorrows charter! Don't give a crap what the computer shows.
April 2nd: Was supposed to go fishing but the advanced hydro predicter showed it was going to be 7ft, which is too high for decent fishing. So I called the customer and asked them to reschedule. The water only went up to 4.6ft. We could have fished! Darn Computer.
April 1st: Went fishing with Stan Sr and Jr again today. The sky was overcast with a cold rain all day. Water did get up to 39 degrees and dark stained and on the rise again. The morning was slow with the cold front that went through. We ended up with 30 fish total with 2 carp,1 walleye, and a quillback in the mix. JJ's Jigs Pumpkin Grubber, black Grubber and tubes caught the fish.
March Totals: Smallies- 87, Carp-2, Walleye-2, Quillback-2, Channel Cat-1, Musky-1, Total = 95 fish
March 31st: Went fishing with Stan Sr and Stan Jr Schubel today. The sky was overcast and drizzle. Water was 38 degrees and dark stained. We caught 40 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. Tubes and JJ's black Grubbers caught the fish.
March 30th. Went fishing with Fred Piper and Van Patton. The sky was sunny and the water was 37 degrees. We caught 19 fish with 1 quillback in the mix. JJ's Jigs black grubber and tubes caught the fish.
March 29th: Went fishing with Leo Parker and Tom Walters. The sky was sunny and cold 33 degrees. The water was Dark Stained high and 36 degrees. We caught 20 fish with 1 walleye,1 channel cat, 1 carp,1 quilback, and 1 musky in the mix. All fish were caught on jj's jigs hair jigs. The Black and also the pumpkin Grubber with and without rattles. A great day, see the photos on photo page.
March 28th: Finally!! On the water! Went fishing with my buddy Ed from 2:00PM to 5:30PM. The sky was sunny with wind. The air was 35 degrees. The river was 37 degrees with a brown/green dark stain. I caught 10 fish with 1 carp in the mix. Smallies ranged from 14" to 18". Caught them on a JJ's Black Grubber jig. Ed ran the video camera and also got a few bites. It was great to finally be back on the river.
March 26 & 27: At Snake Creek Marine for their "Open House" this weekend. The river is starting to look good!
March 22nd: Water at 10ft but on the drop. Had to reschedule this weeks charters. Hope to get back on the water next Monday.
March 21st.Filmed an hours worth of Jig tying with JJ's jigs for a project I'm doing. Since I can't get on the water!!!
March 19th: With the warm weather the snow pac in the mountains is melting. The river is on the rise again. It's supposed to crest at 13ft today. I can't believe the bad luck getting on the river this season! Been practicing my filming and editing skills.
March 15th: It's been flooded here since the 1st! I'm going nuts! Oh I've got plenty to do but none of it is happening on the water. Today the river is at 10 1/2 ft and to be safe and effective with paying clients it should be down to at least 5 1/2 ft. When it gets to 7 1/2 ft I plan to be on the river. This hasn't happened since 2006. I'm making a video to go along with my seminars showing what, how, and where to fish for each month of the year starting with this month. Looks like I'll start with how to fish in cold, high, muddy water. LOL
