When God Paints a Picture...

When God paints a picture, He doesn't mess around!

Female bluegill, gravid. Beautiful!

Double wide hen gill, another beauty!

Big male bluegill in splendid spawning colors.

Male red-eared sunfish...a beauty!

Hybrid sunfish, bluegill X red ear cross, male spawning colors. Gorgeous!

More red ear beauty!

Male spawning pumpkinseed with half it's tail missing. Still stunning!

Adult male bluegill in spawning suit. Best Sunday attire!

Even this old and battered male is a fish of beauty. Great body dynamics!

Another gill/red ear hybrid..."gillcracker".

Classic spawning colors on this robust male bluegill.

Beautiful pumpkinseed male at 9.5 inches

As simple and ordinary as the common sunfish species appear to be, they are indeed things of beauty, formed by the very hands of a Creator God who gave us our form and soul as well. We, too, all of us, are beautiful. May we slow down, take time and observe the beauty that is in so many things that we take for granted every day. Enjoy the blessing!

WINTER FISHING REVIVES THE SOUL

Fisher of Men Frank Morrison with a bull bluegill from a 100-fish day outing in January.

This has been, without a doubt, the most amazing winter of freshwater fishing I have ever experienced in the Mason Dixon area...in my lifetime! Plus, I have received countless reports, from anglers far and near, that this mild winter has catches of all species almost in the stratosphere! Both air and water temperatures have fluctuated wildly over the past month, but regardless of the "ups and downs", the fishing for bass, pickerel, bluegills, crappies, yellow perch, blue cats and many other species has been phenomenal. Here are a few choice pics of our panfish trips so far...

Late evening recently produced a bunch of big girls!

Officer Shifflett with a pair of "eater-sized" slabs.

Record warm temps in the 70's made panfish active and spunky!

Many of our fish came on hairjigs with or without bait.

On one trip, we had many doubles of crappies this size.

This "bull-dozer" male bluegill went just shy of 11 inches, quite a fish for February!

On one jaw-dropping trip, Maryland DNR Officer Andrew Shifflett and I caught and released 300 fish during a 4-hour beatdown where bass, crappies and bluegills just wore us out as fish just took any jig or lure we could throw at them. It was an epic day at a central Maryland pond as we kept just a handful of crappies apiece. We should have been locked up for the joy we experienced that day! Revival of the soul!

Plus...bass fishing has been quite good. Here are a few recent shots from small public lakes above and below the Mason Dixon Line...

Mid winter bass on a Rat-L-Trap.

Andrew with a nice one that took a small swim bait.

This lean 18-incher could use a few meals.

Better body dynamics here.

First fish on February 27 pushed three pounds...cool!

Not a giant, but fun! and we caught them all day long like this along with the panfish!

Yes, it has been a "crazy good" winter of fishing...and...it's not even March yet! Of course, we could have a big snow and some late winter cold snaps that turn the fish off. But in the past three weeks, I have taken local water temperatures anywhere from 42 degrees to as high as 58 degrees F. Today, I fished a lake that had dropped back down to 48. Last weeks weather features three days of 70 plus temps, then a cold front with marble-sized hail, air temps down to 25 and then back up to 70 for this Wednesday a comin'...whew! What a roller coaster!

With weather so sporadic, and fishing better than it ususally is during even the spring and summer time frames, it makes me wonder about the seasons not only of fishing, but of our own seasons of life. Me...I'm old, approaching 65, and tend to hang out with young bucks, like Andrew, in his twenties. Chronologically, we are very far apart, but very much on the same playing field when it comes to enjoying fishing and what God has created for us all to enjoy. My new and good friend in the Lord, Frank Morrison, shared an amazing day on the water with me, catching and releasing over 100 bluegills, and we hit it off immediately with stories shared about how God has changed our lives and what He has meant to us in times  that were both good and bad. Yes, the brotherhood of anglers runs deep, and stretches far.

In much the same way, God's love runs deep, and stretches far, and is very, very wide. But the coolest thing about God's love, and His son dying on a cross so we can all spend an eternity with Him, is the simple fact that we do not have to "earn" this love. We can't anyway, because we become children of God by His unfathomable grace...undeserved favor...it is a gift that comes with accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Too many people have bought into the wrong teaching that you have to work to earn God's acceptance, when in the book of Isiah it points out that "your good deeds will be as filthy rags". Wow..tough medicine! And although God does not need the likes of me, or you, to make Him complete, He loved us so much that He had His one and only Son die on a cross so we could, upon acceptance of that free gift, become "children of God". My friends, that is a great "season of life" to be in, no matter what your age.

'The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul" Psalm 19:7

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Horizons for 2017

Tickled with my first book!

I'd like to just say that this was a great year in 2016 and I am looking forward to what 2017 has in store! Besides catching a bunch of new 'personal bests' I finally was able to release my first book effort...THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO BLUEGILLS. It is a collection of 40 short stories about fishing, fun, friends, family and faith. The book covers good and bad times and many fishing stories along the East Coast and in the Mid Atlantic region. Here are a few choice morsels...

Ken Smith knows his crap about crappie!

My good friend and crappie guru Ken Smith, of Sharon, PA. is part of the chapter...TRAVELING FOR SLABS. Ken knows his crappie and sure did put me on the fish in May of 2014 and again in 2016. Great guy, great friend and a great inspiration.

Bob Elias...the Carpfather.

Carp Whisperer Bob Elias gives sharp wit and funny applications to modern day carp fishing in southern Pennsylvania waters. He jokes, pokes fun, and even lets me reel a fish in now and again. He is the Carpfather of the local Carp Mafia clan, so not all secrets are revealed!

Stipple pen & ink drawing of the big one!

Additionally, besides the stories of some local and national 'heavy hitters' like Dr. Bruce Condello, Jeffrey Abney and Shad guru Ron Munshower, I threw in a couple of my most recent pen and ink drawings just to prove I could do more than fish or play a guitar.

Much credit goes to many people for this project, but know that this is a book, first and foremost, about my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the impact His relationship has had on my life. There are chapters about catfish, bass, crappies, shad and a little about striped bass. Throw in a couple funny moments and some great family fun...that is the Gospel...According to Bluegills! They are $14.95 each and ordering info can be obtained by emailing me at jimgronaw@gmail.com.

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And on the fishing front this past fall and early winter, I must say that we had a great series of trips catching monster rainbow trout at a small Pennsylvania lake. My man Hunter and I used small hairjigs to coral several hatchery giants in the 6 to 10 pound class...great fish on UL tackle. Here are a few pics...

Hunter with one of our several trophy 'bows. Wow!

Is that net big enough?

Another 2-footer!

Some way cool palomino trout were in the mix as well.

My 1st PR of the day at 24 inches.

My 2nd PR rainbow was this rogue male at almost 28 inches.

And this 26.75 inch female was easily over 8 pounds.

In one day, I caught and released my personal best rainbow trout, upping it three times, with fish over 24 inches. Two big hook-jawed males...one going nine pounds and a stunning heavyweight female over 8 pounds. Incredible fish! And on 4 pound  test! Wow! A trip, and fish, of a lifetime!

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I managed some nice crappies and bluegills with my son on a few local trips as well. Here are some highlights...

This 15.5 inch crappie was my best in 2016, released.

We kept a few for the pan.

Vacuum sealed and ready for the freezer, then hot-oil bath!

Matt with a good 'un!

A late December bull gill!

Can't you just smell em?   

 

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Yes...a great fall and early winter. Me and Alvie picked up some nice Potomac blue cats along the way. Nothing huge, but check em out...

A lot of big bottom feeders in the Washington DC area..Ha Ha!

Big cats...twist and shout!

Best fish of the trip was this 33-pounder that was long enough to be a 50!

And finally, I ended the year with a few more bluegills for the pan...they taste so good coming out of that cold 38 degree water!

Keeper gills from late December.

These will do me and Linda for two meals...plus!

Yeah baby!

Yes, it has been a great year on many fronts. Got to take a long overdue family vacation to Deep Creek Lake, nobody had to spend a lot of time in the hospital for any length of time and my precious wife Linda has lost 32 pounds and is walking better than she has for the past 20 years! Praise God for His provisions and blessings.

As I write this, it is my hope and prayer that at least one person, and maybe many more, would come to the saving grace from my Lord Jesus Christ as a result of my book or any of my blogs. It is not about me, about fish, about any of that. Rather, fishing is now my outreach tool and I hope the Lord allows me to land a few. As the scripture says...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding" ..."for He will make your path straight".

Yes...God is so very good, all the time!