Christmas Greretings

Thank God for the Holidays - without them I'd never have anything to post!

Actually, I have a pretty full slate of fishing planned for the coming year, so hang in there through these dry months. It will be worthwhile come spring (I hope)

A Merry Christmas to all my cyber-family friends and followers!

Joe

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . .

Our first snow of the year







And why is it the most Wonderful Time of the Year???

My son shoveled the driveway today - not me!!!

Thank God for stocked trout

Yesterday, Nov. 22, the temp in suburban Chicagoland topped out at 70 degrees. It poured in the morning on the way to work. But , rather than be dismayed by the crappy weather, my thoughts were "Hmm - this is a lot of 50-60 degree rain hitting the cold ponds. Ought to make the fish a little more active.

Luckily, around noon, the skies cleared up a little, and I made it out to the ponds for one last open water fling. Yes - the same ponds that kicked by butt the last 2 times I was on them. Driving out there, I felt like Charlie Brown, running up to kick the football.

I started out with - and kept on the whole time - a sz. 0 Mepps Aglia with a squirrel tail. The first 15-20 minutes were uneventful - no hits, no sightings. I was fishing the upper few feet in the water column over the deeper (10' - 15') parts of the pond. These areas have been good to me in the past.



First trout of the day






I moved around, and finally got a viscous strike in about 15" of water by the spillway. When the trout came in, it was being followed by another one. Hmmm. I landed the trout, took a picture on my phone (a first for me) and kept casting. then I decided to try another shallow area I had ignored earlier.

Well - the shallows were the key. I landed 3 trout, missed 3 others - including one BIG fish - and saw a few others. All were shallow, and related to wood / brush in the water. It was actually a springtime bass pattern. I have no idea why they were so shallow. Food? Warmth? No idea.



Another one comes in


This will probably be my last Illinois open water fishing of the year. And I really didn't want to end up the year with 3 skunks in row. I'm trying to get out to the Delta in CA or maybe FLA for a day, but we'll have to see how the cards fall.

Finally - please excuse the photo quality. It's a new phone that I am struggling to learn to use. I can barely make a call, let alone take pictures with it.

Finally - a Happy Thanksgiving to all. Enjoy your turkey day in whatever you manner you wish to celebrate.

A much needed, very overdue makeover to Flowing Waters

The look on my blog has been unchanged for the past 26 months. To be honest, I never really cared about the look. The blog was simply something I liked to do. But now that I've been exposed to a myriad of blog looks through the Outdoor Blogger Network, I realize how anemic mine really was. So, I decided to do a face lift. Nothing drastic - just the equivalent of a nose job and a tummy tuck. So far , I think it's OK. PLEASE let me know your thoughts, particularly if you think it sucks.

The other component to the makeover was a much needed re-creation of my Blog List. I broke down my one previous list into 4 lists - one for Fishing Blogs, one for Fly Fishing Blogs, one for General Outdoor Blogs, and one for Photo and Art Blogs. There are a lot more blogs listed than there used to be, and there are many more noteworthy ones who are not found here. Yet.

I discovered a new pattern today

My lunchtime fishing actually happened today. Jesse and I went to the pond for lunch and got in 40 minutes of fishing. The pond was recently stocked with trout, and has the usual assortment of 'gills, crappie, bass, walleye in it. The water was pretty clear and the sun cast its warming rays all over the surface.

And I discovered a new pattern. That pattern:

NEVER post that I'm going fishing with any expectation of success again!!! Every time I do that, I strike out miserably

I've done that twice, and twice I would have had better luck if I had stayed in our company parking lot. This time we could actually SEE trout - they just ignored, or ran from, our lures.

I HATE to end the year on such a lousy note. I may have to try it again tomorrow.

But I'll have NO expectations

Must... Go... Fishing!!!

Temperature is supposed to top out at 70 today, same tomorrow. Might rain tomorrow, though. Then - colder, wintry weather returns, and these unseasonably warm days will be distant memories.

I MUST get out to the ponds today and /or tomorrow over lunch. It will almost certainly be my last hurrah in Illinois for 2010.

(Interestingly enough, I posted a similar piece last November - November 13, to be exact. The weather had warmed up to 55, and I hit the same ponds over lunch. Got a few trout, 2 'gills, and a crappie. I at least know where to start now!)

Stay tuned for the "results" post - I hope they're better than the last post I did, where I built up my expectations, and got beat up by the fish.

Time for my Bucket List

Photo by Adrian Jones
http://ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/displayimage-1066.html



(For this post, I'm following the suggestion of the OBN prompt regarding Bucket Lists. Since I've spent all my free time doing OBN stuff anyway - and, consequently, not fishing - I have nothing else to write about!!)

Kari Murray, the author of I Don't Wear Pink Camo in the Woods, wrote up her Bucket List last winter and published it on her blog. I've been meaning to do the same, but it just never rose high enough in the mental "to-do" list. I would imagine that's what happens to a lot of Bucket Lists. But, I like the idea of publicly putting out the list of goals, and knocking them off as they occur. As an added plus, by writing them down and making them public, there amay be people out there who can help you facilitate those goals. Of course, this Bucket List will involve only outdoor-related stuff.

Let me begin by pointing out that I HAVE NOT been short-changed in any way, shape, or form with regard to opportunites to pursue my outdoor passions. Traveling for business has afforded me many opportunities others only dream about, and I don't lose sight of the fortunate hand I've been dealt. I also don't apologize for it. It simply is what it is. But I still have a mental list of things I want to do before my time is up. So, without further ado - my Bucket List

1) Visit / fish Alaska

2) See the Northern Lights

3) Catch a Golden Trout on a fly in a stream in California.

4) Catch a pike over 50"

5) Fish the Amazon for peacock bass.

5a) Catch Golden Dorado on the same trip

6) Do a productive fishing trip with my Dad and son.
(We've had one unproductive one so far)

7) Catch a fish in all 50 states - see the list at the right of this post.

8) Catch a good (> 40") musky, on purpose

9) Trek in Nepal

10) Flyfish for brook trout in Labrador

11) Fish the Seychelles

Some of these are never going to happen (unless the Lottery gods smile upon me), some are quite do-able. Of course , I'll take all the help I can get to accomplish these goals. So, if you have a condo in the Seychelles that you're not using for a few weeks and you need someone to look after it - let me know!!

A New Era, and more time in front of the screen of a computer

Today - Monday, October 18, 2010 - marks the official beginning of a project that I hope to someday be able to look back on and say "Geez - remember way back when the OBN started?"

I'm sure some of you have noticed the Outdoor Blogger Network buttons / logos that have been appearing on the sidebars of some blogs over the past few days. Well, today is the official launch of that website. What is the OBN? Why do we need another website? Who cares? Read on and I'll explain in my own simple way.

A few months back, Rebeca Garlock - The Outdooress - and I met to fish some of the fine waters she writes about. That was it - we were going fishing. If you read these pages (and I'm assuming you do, because you're reading this!) you know that we "clicked" from the moment we met. No weird awkward silences, nothing - just like we were old friends fishing together. And, as we found out throughout those couple of days, we shared a few visions of what we would like to see our respective blogs become, and, even more so, where we thought the whole Outdoor Blogging community was heading. Or where we thought it SHOULD BE heading. These conversations were much the same as many we've all had - "What would you do if you won a million dollars?", "What do you want to be when you grow up?", ... [BTW - I have NO intentions of ever growing up!] Just typical, pie-in-the-sky kind of conversations. Except that this one didn't just fade away, into the background, into the graveyard of "What if...". We kept talking about this. And we started laying the groundwork to actually DO the site.

Our vision, in a nutshell, was to develop a place for readers of Outdoor blogs to find the best material on the web, and for Outdoor bloggers to have a centralized "meeting place" - a cyber "neighborhood bar / cafe", if you will. We wanted the Outdoor Blogging community to have something to be a part of, and to be able to amass a common voice in the media if need be. We feel that if we can have a somewhat consolidated voice, that we can become a viable part of the media (strength in numbers, if you will) where, now, we are individual voices in the forest of the industry. Finally, we wanted to create a centralized point of contact for manufacturers of outdoor related products, so they can more easily facilitate product placement for reviews, and have an archived listing of past reviews.

It is a pretty ambitious plan and goal.

And, the one thing we don't ever want to lose sight of (because, if we do, it will be the death of the site) is that the OBN HAS TO be a place people want to log into, and want to be a part of. It has to be fun.

Because, in the end, if we're not having fun doing this stuff - why are we doing it?

If you're a fellow blogger, and want to become part of the Outdoor Blogger Network, click on the OBN button alongside this post and become a part of the network!

Finally, if you've already signed up for the OBN, make sure you return to the site to see how YOU can win some cool stuff in our Inaugural Giveaway!!

Some days you're the pigeon - today, I was the statue

Today was a beautiful Fall day. Actually, it was a little warm - almost 80 - but very little wind, and not a cloud in the sky. My plan actually came to fruition, and I carved out 2 whole hours to fish , from 1:15 to 3:15.




A beautiful Fall day on the pond


My mind raced - stick with the original plan of crankbait / swim jig? Spinnerbaits always do pretty well here - maybe I'll go with one of those. Based on previous Fall excursions here, I figured I'd fish faster rather than at a slow, deliberate pace. I lowered the trolling motor and started on my long awaited 2 hours of solitude and fish un-hooking.

Well, at least the solitude part held true.



A turtle sunning itself



Total tally - 3 hits, no fish hooked and, obviously, no fish landed. A total skunk. And I just don't get it. The first time around the pond - it takes about an hour - yielded nothing for the sunny half. I missed one hit on a 1/24 oz. jig w/ a white grub on the shaded half. I slowed down on the second go-around, and got 1 hit on a 5" Senko. Whiffed on the hit. Finished up by getting a half-assed hit on a Cubby just before I left. Only 2 days before, Jesse - a co-worker at work, and a really good fisherman - put his boat in the pond and fished for an hour. He got about 9-10 bass up to a pound and a half. And a nice walleye. He planned to come out this evening to use the boat for an hour or so. I really didn't feel like calling him with such a pathetic report, but I did. I knew the beating I'd take at work for getting blanked, while he would put a bunch of fish in the boat, would be relentless. He was stunned that it was that bad for me. [I texted him at dark and asked how he did - 2 hits, 1 - 5" bass! It stayed bad] At least I can show my face tomorrow at work.

I just don't know why there was such a marked difference over the past 2 days. Weather conditions have been stable and warming - usually good in the Fall. I threw: crankbaits, spinnerbaits, Chatterbaits, Senkos, grubs - both 3" and 2", Cubbies, buzzbait, swim jig, Sammy. Nothing.

Thank God I wasn't being relied upon to provide for the family, or we would have eating Stone Soup.

"Pre" fishing, sort of

Tomorrow afternoon, I'm going to get a chance to get out on the ponds for a few hours and sample a little Fall largemouth bass fishing. (Barring some unforeseen work crisis)

My "pre-fishing" consists of thinking about what I will use for the bass tomorrow. I figured I would share those thoughts, then post tomorrow nite with photos of my successful, or unsuccessful, outing.

The day was chosen because it was the only one I had that I could possibly get out, and I think it will end up being a good one. We had frost over the weekend, with highs in the 50's. It is now gradually getting warmer, and will be sunny tomorrow. I've had fairly good success on days like this in the past.

My plan going in is to do what I've done with some success in the past - square-lipped crankbaits on the main body of water, and spinnerbaits and swim jigs along the wood. The pond doesn't have much weed to speak of. I'll take one baitcast and one spinning outfit along.

I expect it to be pretty good, and will be a little disappointed if I don't bring a few bass over 2 pounds to hand. But - we'll see.

I'll let you know tomorrow what actually happens!

Three for three - batting 1.000!!

As I'm sure many of you already know, I met up with Kari Murray last week. I got late notice that I had to drive from Chicago to St. Paul to hand carry a sample for a meeting. I didn't feel like staying in the Twin Cities metro area on Thursday nite, so I got out my maps (Actually, I pulled up Map Quest). I realized that Kari lived about an hour outside the cities, so I emailed her.

Many of you know, or have surmised, that I travel extensively for work. That's how I get to fit a day in here, and a day in there, all across the country. It's part of the reason that the blog-sphere family has meant so much to me - I know I'll actually get to meet some of these people who share like interests. Granted, I'm usually tied up in the evenings with customers and/or reps, but every once in a while, a day or two free up, and I know I can find a fellow blogger somewhere to share a drink or a bite with. Or, ideally, wet a line.

Since I follow Kari's blog, I knew about her Bucket List. In the e-mail, I asked her if she was available to knock off 2 Bucket List items - the Leinie tour, and meet a blogger. She was available, and we met at the brewery.

It's funny how you have a pre-determined idea about someone before you meet face-to-face. Kari is exactly as I thought she would be, which means she represents herself on her blog very well. She's smart, witty, and brutally honest. I really enjoyed our time spent talking about life, hunting , fishing, families, blogging, ... I did get soaked walking between buildings on the Leinie tour. My fault - didn't bring an umbrella. Unlike Kari, I like at least one of the Leinie beers - the Creamy Dark. By pure coincidence, it is the beer that Casey at Fungal Threads (see My Blog List at the side of the post) did a review on!



Kari at the Leinie Brewery. One stricken from the Bucket List!

The Leinie brewery tour was pretty cool. I don't think I've ever been on a brewery tour before - I have been to the Jack Daniels distillery, but not to a brewery. Our tour guide was great, and it was Kari, me, and one other guy, so you didn't miss anything. And, even though they were "small sipping glasses", the 3 free samples were nice.

Like I mentioned above, dinner with Kari was really just a continuation of talking about everything! It was one of those times when you lose track of time and the conversation just keeps going on and on. I can promise you that, if I don't see Kari again for 4 years, we would pick up just where we left off, and wouldn't miss a beat.

Like the rest of the blog world, I'll continue to follow Kari's adventures (and occasional mis-adventures) on "I Don't Wear Pink Camo". She has - rightfully so - developed a huge following on her blog and will undoubtedly continue to do so. And, if you're one of the lucky few who get to meet her - you'll be better off for having done so.



Number 2 off the List!

So, what is the title of this blog referring to? I've always said that I wanted to meet some of the people I've come to "know" via their blogs. In 2010, I've met with 3 of them, and all the meetings have been better than could be expected. I've met with Kari, mike from Troutrageous, and met (and fished) with Rebecca - the Outdooress. So - I'm 3 for 3, batting 1.000! I look forward to continuing this trend - it makes the time on the road a lot more bearable when you're talking to new friends about fishing!

A quick walk around my ponds

On Saturday, we finished up the list of things to do around 3 pm. the day was markedly cooler than any other recent days - high was only 61. Heavy overcast clouds, and a persistent slight drizzle. A perfect day to stay inside. But...

I had not been on the ponds across the street since I fished during the high water period of August 8th. In fact, I haven't even picked up anything but a fly rod since then. So I figured I'd walk across the street and see what I could find.

My lure selection consisted of: 2 - 1/4 oz. swim jigs, a bag of trailers, 1 buzzbait, 2 small (3/16 oz.) spinnerbaits, 1 2/0 worm hook, and a bag of Strike King Ochos. I started out in the pond I fished during the high water . Nothing. I expected to get some action on the swim jig, or the worm, but struck out on both. I decided to try to lower pond.

Now, this may seem absurd, since I fish all over the country, but in the 7 years I have lived in this house, I have never fished this pond further than 1/4 of the way down the north bank, and not at all on the south side. I don't really know why, but I haven't. I worked this pond down along the north bank, still getting no response to my worm. tried the buzzbait - nada. Finally put on the spinnerbait. Got a short hit casting tight to the bank and parallel to shore. there was not much of a drop off, and the weeds were scattered, so the spinnerbait seemed like a logical search bait. Over the next 45 minutes, I got 6 hits and landed 4 more small largemouth. Nothing over 12". I guess you can't always catch big fish. It seemed like it should be a good day, with the lack of clouds and the drizzle, but it was sporadic at best. i saw what appeared to be a few swirls from (possibly) big bass chasing something, but they showed no interest in anything I had.












It seems like my Fall bass fishing goes like that most of the time. I've had some stellar big fish days, but a lot of skunks, too. Do you find any consistency in Fall bass fishing, particularly in ponds??