CHRISTMAS WITH THE SLABS

Carp Mafia honcho Bob shows off a last-minute slab from a recent trip. the 13 incher was released to get bigger.

Once again it is Christmas time in the world of panfishing! Ahhh....yeeesss! Cold, harsh winds that burn the eyes and sting the face! Numb fingers that can barely operate a spinning reel or put a wax worm on a jig. Back in the truck it is warm and cozy. Out on the lake it is raw and rough. Are fillets worth it? Is the lure of trophy crappies and bluegills enough to put us through all this? Do we really love this sport that much? Do our wives think we're all crazy? You betcha'! Consider the following...

Whoa! Windy and cold! Do I really want to do this today?

Five of the better black crappies I got from a recent catch.

Everybody in favor say 'Can I have some?'

The general scheme of things goes something like this...Check the weather forecast, and determine the degree of accuracy for the day. 50% chance of snow or cold rain means a 90% chance you won't see me on the water. But we have been spared from really cold stuff so far this year Back East in the Mid Atlantic. Another mild winter? Last years winter was the warmest since 1932, which means it is the warmest winter most of us will ever remember or experience in our lifetime. Mild winters allow for open-water panfish opts all winter long. Here are a few recent catches we have made for December...

Ten-inch class crappies are the heart and soul of the next fish fry.

Winter bruiser fell for a tipped micro.

Here are a few 8.5 to almost 10 inch gills...a December treat!

More winter bulls!

Although worms work in a pinch, I like waxies and mealworms better for winter gilling.

Many chilly gills will be modest sized fish. Yeah...it's cold!

We have been fishing the local Bluegill and Crappie Marts all this month with good results, and have managed to freeze up a few fillets along the way. Traditionally, we keep 7 to 9 inch gills and release any gill over 10 inches during this time of the year. Same with crappies...keep a few 10 to 12 inch slabs and toss back the big girls. By releasing the majority of the bigger panfish in any system or water body, quality panfishing can be sustained for a long time. Sure...keep a trophy if you are so lucky to catch one, but most top-end panfish should go back. It's called 'conservation', 'selective harvest', and 'smart'.
Our best baits for crappie have been Berkly 1 inch Gulp Alive minnows on a 1/32 oz jighead fished 3 to 4 feet below a bobber in and around dead or dying vegetation. The 1 inch Stank X chartreuse Polywogs got a bunch of fish the other day when other baits would not.
For bluegills, we like warmed up shallows with some weeds where either warmer surface water 'stacks up' along a wind blown bank or is heated a few degrees by the afternoon sun. Two pound test, 1/100th oz jigs tipped with wax worms or mealworms get the gills attention. With both species, the bobbers barely move, often trailing off opposite the wind direction. set the hook and enjoy!

But there's enough quality fish to make it worth the trip.

As Christmas approaches, let's keep in mind what it is really all about. It is about the most amazing and true love story that ever was told in the history of mankind. About the Christ Child, who grew up to be Emmanuel, and became the conduit for salvation and eternal life for any and all tribes and nations. He has redeemed us and saved us from sin. He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Almighty One, the Great I Am. I don't just say 'Happy Holidays',...I say Merry Christmas! Yes, I celebrate Christmas for the sake of Christ! I do not flaunt it, brag on it or force it on anyone. My God is an Awesome God! I feel blessed and honored to even be allowed to tune the strings of His instruments. There is no reason for Him to permit a sinner like me to praise His Holy name, yet He let's me do it anyway. Be thankful this Christmas, no matter what your circumstances or condition, that you have recieved the truth through His word...I love what Psalm 69:34 says...
                            ' LET HEAVEN AND EARTH PRAISE HIM

                                       THE SEAS AND ALL THAT MOVE IN THEM'

            MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!

BOBBERS DOWN IN DIXIE...Return to Richmond Mill

Richmond Mill Lake...a place seemingly back in time.

There are few places I have ever fished that are as attractive, as surreal, or as enchanting as Richmond Mill Lake near Laurel Hill, North Carolina. This 120-acre Dixie powerhouse of a lake was impounded in the 1830's, is rich in Civil War history and just so happens to be one of the top freshwater fishing destinations on the planet. Bass fishing is great, but the bluegill fishing is beyond belief, with trophy fish exceeding the two-pound mark almost daily for clients on the lake. Known as the King Fisher Society, the small  but superbly furnished lodge and incredible hospitality of the owners make a visit here truely a 'bucket list' adventure.

Just yards away from the lodge is this boat dock which tethers several completely equipped bass rigs with powerful Ray Electric motors to cover the lake. Walk out, get in the boat, go fishin'!

Fall colors on pond cypress...a few hundred years old.

November can be a great month to fish Richmond Mill, but be alerted that cold fronts and weather changes can put the bass, and bluegill bite down. We had to deal with a 30 degree temperature drop and wind and rain on our trip...made it tough. But we hung in there and caught some great bluegills Here are a few of the trophies caught in less than ideal conditions...

Not quite 12 inches long! Wow!

11.3/4 inches

Female coppernose...11 3/8 and 14 1/2 inches around...over two pounds.

Another bluegill just shy of the 12 inch mark.

These were all sensational fish, running from 11.25 to 12 inches and weighing 1.5 to 2 pounds plus...just astonishing bluegills, by any ones measure. As the day worn on and the temps dropped, I picked up a hot bite right at sunset, nabbing 13 magnum gills. I achieved my new PR with a tremendous 12.75 incher...

My new PR...male coppernose bluegill at 12 3/4 inches and over 2 pounds

Then, some more monsters came to hand...

Another 12 inch gill!

All fish were released.

The 'Big Girl" with the 14.5 inch girdle...over 2 pounds.

Clearly, these are spectacular fish. I was fortunate enough to figure out how to catch them in deteriorating conditions. Basically, we used a 1/64th oz grass shrimp pattern jig that I tie with rubber legs, suspended it about 5 ft below a bobber, and allowed the wind to drift it along. Tipping the jig with a small chunk of nightcrawler was also part of the game. All the bluegill I caught were coppernose bluegill...a southern specie that exhibits quick growth rates and is a favorite in the blackwaters of many southern rivers, swamps and lakes. These fish were all taken on 2 pound test SOS clear mono and the fights were absolutely nuts! Until you catch a bluegill of this size, you will have no idea how hard they fight.
Here is the rig I used...

Small bobber, 1/64th oz. jig/worm combo

One of my Gronaw Grass Shrimp patterns...the only one they would take this trip.

Altogether, I picked up 27 bluegills and 2 crappie. Of the bluegills, 21 were over the 10 inch mark, 13 were over 11 inches and three exceeded 12. Foot-long bluegills are hard to come by, let alone catching three that size in a single day!. But it speaks volumns for the management of this sensational fishery. This is, by any and all standards, the premier private lake in North America to catch bluegills that exceed 2 pounds, and several three pound gills...that's right...three pounds!....have been taken each of the last two seasons at Richmond Mill. For the fly rodder, or spin fisherman, this is the place for fish of a life time. For more on this amazing sanctuary check them out on the web at kingfishersociety.com. They have been featured on numerous TV shows...Bass Pro Shops Next Generation, Allan Warren Outdoors ( with yours truely ), Hank Parker Outdoors and Mark Zona's Fishing Show. Lot of stuff on Youtube about this place as well.

I must thanks the folks, especially Jim Morgan and Dave Buhler, at King Fisher Society for providing me with the greatest bluegill fishing I have ever experienced.

But I must also thank God, for giving me the chance to enjoy it. And the chance at eternal life, by accepting His Son Jesus, who died on a cross that I might spend eternity with Him.

IN HIS HEART A MAN PLANS HIS COURSE....

                                                ...BUT THE LORD DETERMINES HIS STEPS.

                                                           Proverbs 16: 9

                                                   Have a blessed day!

11 th Hour Panfish

Well, I'm waiting on Hurricane Sandy to wallop the Mid Atlantic here in the next 24 hours. Hopefully, she won't be near as bad as predicted. When things settle down by the end of the week, we should get back on the fish...mainly bluegills and crappies from the Mason Dixon area lakes and ponds. Here are some recent catches...

Decent crappies for the skillet!

Nice gills and pumpkinseeds on worms.

Solid 9.5 inch bluegill on a hair jig.

Best crappie so far this fall went 13 inches.

Chubber gill on tipped 1/80th oz jighead.

The crappie really went for this 1/32 oz hairjig I tied!

I always look forward to the late fall period when the panfish really turn on. It's a great time of year to put a bunch of fillets in the freezer, if you're not out hunting! Also, it is a great time to catch some of the biggest fish of the year, or a lifetime, during the colder days. But take advantage of those occasional warm spells, too. I recently had a great catch of a trophy hybrid sunfish at a local pond on a balmy 70 degree day. Check out the pics of this magnificent fish...

Personal best hybrid sunfish!

Twelve inches long and not a scale missing...wow!

Incredible fish...caught on 2 pound test and a small garden worm I scrounged for when I ran out of bait at the pond site. Used a 'drop-shot' rig and cast way out to the middle of the pond...massive strike and a long, powerful fight on the ultra light. When I saw the size of this fish, I started saying little prayers to the Lord about how I had been a good boy lately and please... PLEASE...let me land this fish! The bluegill/ green sunfish cross measured a full 12 inches long and is now the largest of any sunfish specie I have ever caught in Maryland waters. Yaahoo! Oh yeah, got this one, too...

Normally, fish of the day would be this 10.5 inch hybrid.

Just last week, I was hoping for enough for a meal, and was rewarded with exactly that...four crappies big enough to fillet, including a fine 13 incher...

Just enough for a meal.

I was reminded once again of how grateful we should all be when we are blessed with not just a trophy fish, that we can release for someone else to enjoy, but for enough fish for our 'daily bread'. As Agur said in Proverbs 30:8   'give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread'.

It doesn't take much to satisfy what we truely need.

                                                        BE THANKFUL!

OCTOBER GIANTS

It comes as no surprise to me that my friend Bob and I are catching some of our biggest carp of the year as the weather cools and the thermals come out from the dresser. Bob has graciously allowed me to fish with him, as he is a serious carp angler who has banked over 270 fish this year. Our results from this year and last fall/early winter bear this out. Big fish in cold weather...nothing new.

Nice looking thick carp took tutti-frutti corn.

Bob and I have been chumming a particular area that is a little tough to get to...hence...not much fishing pressure there either. Bob's best effort is 19 carp in one 4 hour session, with fish topping out at 21 pounds.

Bob hangs on as the rain sets in.

Bob likes to use lighter line than most carpers...10 pound test in most cases, and as a result, I have scaled back as well to 12 pound test to capture the spooky carp. You just have to be patient and play fish out on the lighter gear.

Our fish are running bigger now!

Most guys are scaling back, while we hope to ramp it up in the carp department. November was a 'big fish' month last year. Check some of these guys out...

Back-to-back 35 inchers! Cool!

My PR from last October at 37.5 inches...about 25 lbs.

Twenty plus...

And another on right behind it.

This one could eat a golf ball...easily!

Bob's 22 pounder in the cold.

Modest sized carp on method feeder and corn.

Carp fishing actually held up well all last fall until the water temps got down to the mid to low fortys. Then, it was maybe 1 or 2 runs in a 4-5 hour session. On a nice day that's doable, but if snow and rain come, we might sit home and watch sports. It's still worth a shot at a big fish while most everybody else is sitting home getting fat. Bob catches a lot of carp because he works at it, and puts in the time to chum, scout new spots and make adjustments when the fish don't seem to cooperate. For the time he is on the water, he catches a tremendous amount of fish. It's his reward.

In much the same sense, our reward from God, if we accept His free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, is to spend an eternity with the King. But unlike carp fishing, or anything else, we do not have to, and cannot, work for it to 'deserve it'. Our debt is already paid in full from the moment we turn our lives over to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Grace, forgiveness and love are the strongholds of Christ. No one ever has, or ever will, 'earn' an eternity in heaven...it is a gift!

John 3:16 says this...'For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, so that whosoever would believe in Him would not perish, but have life everlasting."
                                         
NOT THAT IS A GIFT!

Fishn' Close to Home

Woody cover looks inviting!

I must say, just the other night I figured out that I have about 2 dozen private lakes and ponds to fish within a 30 minute drive of my home...what a blessing! I'm gonna' post a few of them I enjoyed this year, along with some decent fish we got from them. The scene above is another 'new' pond from the summer...bass, gills and pumpkinseeds...

Big and beautiful pimpkinseed sunfish from one of the 'new' ponds.

A great spot for kids of all ages. We caught big seeds up to 9.5 inches, along with some near ten-inch bluegills and some bass to 1.5 pounds. Gotta' hit this place in the spring when the panfish are spawning!

This gem was reclaimed about 8 years ago...nice!

We fished this secluded pond in southern Pennsylvania three times this season, catching bass, gills, channel cats and redear sunfish. Pond was reclaimed and dug out and stocked about 8 years ago. The fishing is good here...

My friend Loren with a fine channel cat!

One of the bigger bass I caught this year!

At yet another small lake, we encountered a lot of quality largemouth bass on plastic worms and surface frogs. No surprise here...we had fished this gem for almost a decade and had always caught and released big bass during the summer. And big gills to boot! Here's the lake and a few bigguns'...

Our old standby pond has produced many big bass over the years. Cool!

Jake shows his beautifully marked 5 pounder!

This one's about four...nice fish!

From an earlier post, Linda with our 'his-and-her' near five pounders!

Then we hit a 'far away' lake...a good 8 miles from the house, for massive bluegills and redbreast sunnies...

10.25 inches.

My best gill so far in 2012...11.25 inches!

Most recently, I got an in to a pair of lakes less than a mile from the house. Variety was the word here, with crappie, channel cats, bass, bullheads , sunfish and more. I even caught my first ever black-nosed crappie! Plus, I managed some excellent bass up to nearly 5 pounds on, of all things, frozen shrimp intended for catfish! Go figure! Oh, we caught some nice channels, too...

Crowded parking lot at the local fishing hole.

My first ever black-nosed crappie!

A big bass on frozen shrimp...are you kidding me?

Lean cattie could have used another meal or two.

Yes...small ponds and lakes, all close to home, all providing excellent fishing for a variety of species. No parking or boating hassles, no entry fees and no really sophisticated equipment needs to have fun and catch fish. Real close to home, blue collar enjoyable fishing.

Way too often, I have been guilty of persuing more than I actually needed, thinking it would make me happy and prosperous. But God always provided me with plenty, and in every way and need. I don't need the big boats, the expensive electronics or the fancy stuff. And in all other aspects of life, He has provided me ...'all that I needed, His hand has provided'. Check out Psalm 128: 1-2...

'Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in His ways.
You will eat the fruit of your labor:, blessings and prosperity will be yours.'

Thank you Lord! As I get older I hope to embrace this truth all the more!