Shedd Aquarium

I just heard on the news that there is now snow on the ground in 49 states. We're all sick of it, as has been well documented in many blogs. So - what do you do when you want to fish, but winter won't let you? You go to LOOK AT fish! So we went to John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago on Thursday.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Shedd, it is a very large Aquarium located right along Lake Michigan, on Museum Campus in Chicago. Museum Campus consists of Shedd, the Field Museum of Natural History, and Adler Planetarium. Right next door is Soldier Field.

We really enjoy going to the Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, and Brookfield Zoo when we get a chance. We ended up picking the nicest day in the last couple of weeks and I hope some of the pictures convey that. I took my new camera along to try to figure it out. So far, I like it. The issues I had were inherent to taking any pictures at the Shedd. You are asked to not use flash, so you are reliant on low light, have to shoot the pictures through glass and water, and deal with slow shutter speeds. Not a winning combination. But I tried!

A lot of the fish are reef fish whose name I didn't get, but they are intriguing. The Aquarium was not full on Thursday, and we could stay at the tanks as long as we wanted without getting jostled and pushed along. You can really observe the fishes habits this way.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.




Exterior of Shedd Aquarium, with the Chicago skyline behind.




Entrance to Shedd Aquarium




A school of little catfish




Jellyfish under a blue light




Stonefish




A neat little fish




Japanese spider crab




I think these are called Garden Eels




Seahorses




Green Iguana - much nicer photo quality when you don't have to shoot through glass




Even the light fixtures are aquatic themed!

Thanksgiving, Life list

This fish is commonly called a Lion Fish, but is also known as a TURKEY Fish. I figured it was appropriate as a lead-in for a Thanksgiving post.

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. It's snowing outside right now in northern Illinois. My late season pond fishing was thwarted this year by ice - we've had thin ice on the ponds for the past week and a half. A few years ago, on the day before Thanksgiving, I caught 6 nice largemouth in the pond across the street with 1/8 oz. Strike King Bitsy Jig and Craws. This year, those jigs wouldn't have made it through the ice. I still have one fishing opportunity this year to look forward to - I'm planning on fishing a day on the Sacramento River Delta a week before Christmas. The plan is to be there when the big stripers come in, but the fish don't always listen. Even if they're scarce, there are always stripers and largemouth willing to bite a swimbait.

I have a lot to be thankful for, even in these trying economic times. I have a job that I love, it's in the Fishing/ Outdoor Industry, a terrific family, I get to watch my 11 year old son grow up, - not bad at all.

My son, Joey, with a nice smallmouth from Shoal Lake , ONT, this past summer

Anyway, I've had a nagging urge to come up with a LIFE LIST of species caught. I just read Ben's list on his blog ( http://www.benfishinglog.blogspot.com/ ) and it motivated me to try to put mine together. A couple of issues arose for me: 1) I don't know that much about species of panfish, so I only put down the ones I know for sure, and 2) one of the things I really like to do is fish off the bridges in the Keys when the winds blow too hard to get out on a boat or wade for bonefish. I fish light, and have caught a myriad of "aquarium fish". Don't know what 90% of them were from a technical standpoint, but they were neat. So - they weren't counted.

The recalling of the list is fun, and now that its been done, I can add to it when I catch something new. Also - I counted 99 species, so 100 will be a milestone. I think 100 is pretty attainable if you fish primarily SW, but I am primarily a FW guy with occasional forays into the brine.

FRESHWATER (58) :Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, West Slope Cutthroat, Greenback Cutthroat, Bonneville Cutthroat, Yellowstone Cutthroat, Coastal Cutthroat, Dolly Varden, Grayling, Landlocked Salmon, Atlantic Salmon, King Salmon, Steelhead, Inconnu, Lake Whitefish, Mountain Whitefish, Coho Salmon, Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Wiper, Bluegill, Redear Sunfish, Brim, Pumpkinseed, Black Crappie, White Crappie, Yellow Perch, White Perch, White Bass, Yellow Bass, Rock Bass, Fallfish, Musky, Northern Pike, Tiger Musky, Chain Pickeral, Burbot, American Eel, American Shad, Hickory Shad, White Sturgeon, Channel Cat, Flathead Cat, Blue Cat, Yellow Bullhead, Brown Bullhead, Walleye, Sauger, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Sucker, Quillback Carpsucker, Bowfin, Gar, Sheepshead (Freshwater Drum)

SALTWATER (41): Striped Bass, Sea trout, Sea Bass, Sea Robin, Oystercracker, Stingray, Flounder, Tarpon, Bonefish, Grunt, Barracuda, Rainbow Runner, Lane Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Cero Mackerel, Black Grouper, Redfish, Sheepshead, Snook, Spanish Mackerel, Ladyfish, Bluefish, Pacific Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi Mahi, Roosterfish, Broomtail Grouper, Cubera Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Amberjack, Lemon Shark, Blacktip Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Sand Tiger Shark, Tautog, Bonito, Skipjack Tuna, Ballyhoo, Spiny Dogfish, Pinfish

99 total, at least that I can recall. Chime in - rack your brain to come up with your personal list. It was fun recalling. Especially on a snowy November afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

My Favorite Things

I admit it - I have a LOT of stuff. Working in the fishing and hunting industries for nearly 20 years, and being a compulsive packrat, I have STUFF - lots of it. Rods, reels, lures, flies, boots, ... really, too much of it. The good thing is, when someone at work is going to the Keys for a weekend in Feb., for example, they know they can borrow a fly reel loaded with a bonefish line, and a box of flies appropriate for the destination! Still, with all the stuff, I have my favorite things. I define my favorite things as follows: regardless of the price, or how I came to obtain them (gift, bought them myself), I will NEVER be without them. These are the things that, if I was to wear them out, lose them, break them - I would replace them without a second thought. The following are my Favorite Things. Feel free to comment on yours as well as your thoughts on mine. They are in no particular order.














Muck Boots/ shoes. These are the most recent acquisition that I will never be without. I have both shoes and boots, and they are , without a doubt, the most comfortable footwear I've ever worn. Being neoprene, they are too warm for the summer, but that's the only drawback I can see. I wear the shoes for fishing from a boat - they're waterproof - and the boots for pheasant hunting. The shoes when its cold outside. I also happen to be afflicted with gout about once a year, making walking nearly unbearable. The shoes are the only things I can function with when gout flares up. These shoes/ boots are awesome!








Fenwick HMG UL spin road, circa 1985. This is one of the first "good" rods I ever bought, and I still use it as much as nearly any rod I own. I love to fish for panfish, so it is usually along with me on my walks around the local ponds. It's too short (4-1/2'), too light and whippy, and the cork handle is so dirty its hard to see the cork anymore. But - it works. This would be hard - to - impossible to replace, because the rod isn't made the same way it used to be.








Weighted bobbers and Cubby Mini-Mites. I found weighted bobbers about 6 years ago, and my panfishing has expanded tremendously because of it. These bobbers let you cast a mile, and the weight renders them close to neutrally buoyant, easily detecting the most subtle strikes. Paired with a Cubby Mini Mite, they create a perfect panfish combo. I don't know what it is about the Mini Mite that makes them work so well, but they just flat-out catch fish. I've tried the knock-offs, and I fish a lot of grubs (see below), but Mini Mites are my go-to baits when UL fishing.









Jig and Grub / Twister. The classic "nickle crankbait" - just cast them out and reel them in. At times they're almost too easy. At other times they're the only way to find and catch fish. Size of the grub and weight of the jig vary depending on the target species. And these are not just for freshwater - they 'll catch fish everywhere. Over the past year I've fished them from 1" long for panfish to pulling a gang of 9" 'ers on a dredge to attract blue marlin. It doesn't get anymore versatile than that. And I literally never go fishing without having some along. I'm not quite as fanatical about them as an old friend from PA who, to the best of my knowledge, never used anything in his life other than a chartreuse or motor oil "twister" - right Ken?? - but I do use them a lot, and catch a lot of fish with them.










F9 Floating Rapala. The old standby - the original floating balsa crankbait. Years ago, these were the most expensive lures you could buy, but everyone had some. Now they have been overshadowed in some circles by the Japanese baits (Lucky Craft, Daiwa, ....) but they still work. Very well. It's probably out of a sense of nostalgia, but I always have some of these with me. HINT - if you break off the lip of one of these baits, don't throw it away. Turn it into a good topwater - the bait will dance and dart erratically when twitched and ripped.

Barbour Border waxed cotton coat. My Border is now 15 years old, and is starting to really feel like it's getting broken in. It was worn everywhere for about 8 years, and has been relegated to hunting and fishing in cold, windy, rainy weather for the last 7 years. It has frayed sleeves, a few patches on the back and elbows. In short - it's almost perfect. I send it back to get re-waxed every 2 years (it's due right now). When I'm going pheasant hunting in a rain/ snow mix, with a stiff wind - the Barbour Border is the perfect coat to keep you warm and in the field. This jacket, with its liner, were my primary means of warmth in Norway at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994, when the temp. rarely got north of 20 degrees.

Those who have read this blog know I love to flyfish for trout. I have a ridiculous amount of trout flies, but a few always go with me. West, East - doesn't matter. Brook trout, cutthroat, browns, 'bows, grayling - this trio has caught them all. The elk hair caddis is a terrific fly in and of itself, and also serves double duty as a high floating indicator. The cone head Wooly Bugger just plain catches fish, especially in black or olive. And the bright pink San Juan worm is flat out deadly everywhere I've fished it, including the famed technical waters of flyfishing lore. A day on the West Branch Delaware River about 10 years ago illustrates this perfectly. Dave Colley and I were fishing with a guide (I've forgotten his name) and he showed us a deep run that held some nice fish. He suggested bh caddis pupa or gold ribbed hares ear, but Dave put on the worm. "They don't work here - these aren't those stupid fish from out west" was his reply. 15 minutes later, after a 18" and 16" brown brought to hand, he was a believer.

Let me know your favorite things - just the ones you can't live without.

Wolfy

Everything old is new again - plastic swimbaits now and then

Old School swimbaits from 80's and 90's

Soft plastic swimbaits have been gaining in popularity for a number of years. On many waters, they are THE way to catch the resident populations. And, by and large, they work. I've been fairly astonished at some of the prices these baits command, but as long as they work, they're worth buying and trying.

Over the weekend I was going through some of the scads of tackle I have in my garage (I'm a self admitted gear and tackle junkie) when I came across some of the following, and it got me thinking - is there anything really new about this trend? Bottom line - I think not.

Some of the current crop of swimbaits

I remember back in the 80's when I fished Sassy Shad, and really got behind Twisters Sassy Grubs. I thought they were a step ahead of using Mr. Twisters, which many of us derogatorily referred to as " nickle crankbaits". Anyone could cast them out and retrieve, and catch fish. Gene Larew Long Johns were pure poison on the Susquehanna River smallmouths in the early 90's. As you can see from the pictures, the early swimbaits look eerily similar to the modern ones. They have something else in common - they work just as well now as they did 20 years ago. Another revelation - so do Twisters / grubs.

One thing that is new to the scene is the Cotee Cracker Shad. It is a fine swimbait in its own right, but it has a rattle embedded in it near the base of the tail. It adds a previously missing element to the game. And - it works! Bass attack these baits, and pike wouldn't leave them alone in Canada this past summer. Since Cotee is primarily a Saltwater bait company, you may need to search online for them if you don't live in a coastal area. I know that Cabelas carries them - not sure who else.

Don't take this observation as being disparaging - I don't dislike these baits at all - on the contrary, I have them along on nearly every trip to the water, regardless of the target species. As a matter of fact, I rely on them, and on the previously mentioned grubs, more now than I ever have. I realize that you don't get "more points" based on degrees of difficulty associated with your method of fishing, and don't really care if you did. They work. Period. Both types of baits should have a space of prominence in your tackle box. They do in mine.

About me, and why I want to do this

On some levels, I can't believe I'm writing a blog. I don't really follow many blogs, and most of the ones I have looked at weren't worth looking at a second time. Maybe that's exactly why I want to do this!



I've been fishing, with varying degrees of intensity, since I was a young boy. My first recollection of fishing is, hard to believe, with a cane pole on my Grandpa's pond. Since then, fishing has played many roles in my life, from fishing for food as a hungry college student, to fishing local club tournaments, to guiding, to being the focal point of my career as a sales rep and sales manager. It's almost a prerequisite that there be some kind of water involved in the family vacations. My first date with my wife of 18 years was a canoe / fishing trip on the Susquehanna River.



Rivers and streams - all water, actually - captivate me even if I don't have a fishing rod in my hands. I've spent afternoons on trout streams watching cased caddis crawl across the stream floor, and watched as trout intercepted March Brown nymphs on their way to the surface. I always look into a stream, river , or pond as I drive across a bridge. My wife asks "What do you expect to see?", and I'm not really sure, but I know if I don't look, I'll miss something good.



I don't really know what to expect from writing the blog, but I find the uncertainty of it sort of exciting. I've written fishing articles for a few websites, and will put them here as well, hopefully for your reading enjoyment. I plan to put up a lot of pictures. Many will be fish, some will be trophy fish. Some will be small. ALL will be another piece of the puzzle that is my fishing life.



I've been fortunate enough to fish in many waters around the world, and have caught a myriad of species. Maybe I'll try to figure out all the ones I've caught - a life-list, so to speak. One of my personal, odd goals involves catching a fish (of any kind, in any legal manner ) in all 50 states. I've got 39 down. Maybe you'll enjoy the ride with me trying to fill in the last 11. At one point in my life, I wanted to catch as many sub-species of trout as I could. That task became almost overwhelming - how do you decide which sub-species count? I still love to pursue various trout, though, and have caught: greenback cutthroat, Bonneville cuts, Rio Grande cuts, coastal cuts, and Yellowstone cuts. I plan to try for redbands in the Steen Escarpment in Oregon when time permits, and goldens in the Sierras are always on my lists.



While fishing , and fish, are certainly the focal point of this blog, I plan to interject some photography, philosophy, maybe some hunting into the mix as well. My master plan is to update the blog at least weekly, but hopefully much more frequently, as thoughts, ideas, reports, ... present themselves.



I'll end this intro entry with a few fish pics, and the following: I don't know where this blog will lead, but I'm excited about the journey. Come along and see where we end up!







Alabama brim





My first billfish - Pacific sailfish



Striper and largemouth from the Sacramento River Delta





Rocky Mountain National Park brown trout