When Good Gills Go Bad...

Once again, we are hanging out at the local pond scene in the Mason-Dixon region in search of big, bull bluegills that can challenge our microlight outfits. We fished during the 'Super Moon' phase the first week end of May, and the air temps jumped up to almost 90 degrees! As a result, water temps got to the magic 70 mark and we found some big gills spawning in some of our favorite ponds. I consider all ten-inch class bluegills as 'bad' fish, which really, is good! Check out some of the headliners...

Shown here is my bro-in-law, Paul, with a superfine male spawner...went back, too!

My boy Matt with real nice hen gill of 10.25 inches...his first fish of the day...cool!

Here's Matt with a matched pair of 10.25's, great fish just about any where!

                                         The fight is on! One of 146 we caught & released over the weekend.

                                          Another great hen!

                                                   And a 10.5 inch male.

                                                      Even I got some big gills gone bad!

                                         Check this out...redbreast X bluegill hybrid, a rare fish!

                                         This ultimate fighter refused to 'tap out'. What a warrior!

                                                   And a spawning female redbreast sunfish.

You know, not many people are fortunate enough to have some many good fishing places, so close to home, as I do. Some may laugh and make fun of the pond gig, thinking it kids stuff. But I truely enjoy the small water venues as much as just about anything out there right now. Close to home, tons of fish, beautiful settings, and the chance to fish uncrowded waters with family. What's there to 'not' like about that?

I love Psalms! Psalm 84: 3 states...'Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young...a place near your alter' Yes, bluegills, bass, swallows geese and swans, and all the creatures of the earth, were created by His divine hand. How cool it is that He let's us enjoy them, literally on a daily basis.

                                      
                                         LET US NOT TAKE THIS FOR GRANTED...

The Secret to Being Content

Let's face it...I am not a tournament bass angler, world traveled fly-fisher, or even a guy who would take a couple out-of-state trips a year. Most of my fishing this spring has been spur-of-the-moment, close to home fishing for bass and bluegills in local ponds. I did a little trout scouting and some cat fish chunkin'. But it has been a long time since I fished more than 25 miles from home. With this bluecollar concept, God has rewarded me with some very nice fish...like this massive 11.25 inch bluegill I caught and released on April 27th. In a cold and windy day, I had one of my all-time best trips for 'big' bluegill, catching and releasing ten fish over 10 inches.Check out a couple of these bad boys, and girls...

Here's a closeup of a 10.25 inch male prespawner, caught on a worm on the bottom. The 25 to 35 mph winds made it tough to feel jigs and detect strikes.

Here's a 10.5 inch female. Lighter coloration and shorter eartab helps designate the gender. This was one of a total of 18 I got on this day.

This colorful male went 10.75 inches. Allof these fish fought like freight trains on 2 pound test and micro-light spinning gear. The last time I fished this pond, we caught alot of gills just shy of the 10 inch mark, but no legitimate 'tens'. Today the big boys came out to play!

Here's a 10-plus male headed back where he belongs...to spawn and protect it's young in a few weeks. Releasing big panfish is an absolute neccessity in maintaining top-notch bluegill and crappie fisheries.

Here's another big girl...action was not fast and furious...had to work live nightcrawler chunks through the weeds to get these cold front fish to bite.

Here's the rig...1/16th ounce bullet sinker, 16 inches of 4 pound mono with a #6 baitholder hook, and bait up with 1/3 of a live nightcrawler. I did catch 2 fish on the firetiger jig, including the days best ay 11.25 inches. All others took the worms. Simple.

I don't know the exact due date, but I'm thinking she's gonna pop pretty soon. Weather folks are calling for several 80 degree days this week, so gills could push shallow and spawn.

In another pond, on another day, we enjoyed variety and some 'keepers' for the pan...

Here's a bag of gills and redear sunfish that ran 7.5 to 8.5 inches...these are the kind of fish you want to keep and eat, especially if they are in abundance in a small pond.

 Along the way we picked up a few bass, like this nice 19 incher on 2 pound test line. Cool!

And my buddy Loren collared this big channel cat on light gear as well...what a fight! Loren is 6-foot-6, making the catfish...BIG!

And, at yet another pond, on yet another day, my young friend Jake had a great day of fishing as we targeted gills, but instead got...

...fish like this large, bluegill management device, AKA the largemouth bass. This was a 20-inch, 5 pounder that Jake caught and released on a 1/64th ounce  jig with a piece of worm. Just a great fish on 2 pound test line. WTG Jake!

We also got more gills...

...and more bass...

...and more gills.

Yes, it's hard to complain about not being able to travel to the far-away waters when you can catch fish like this right at home, practically in your backyard. I have my eye on two more new bodies of water where word is that the gills are big and the bass are bad! Can't wait to try them out!

I like what Paul said in Phil. 4: 10-13, when he said 'I have found the secret to being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me'. Think about that, the next time you feel you didn't 'get your due', or 'a fair shake' or 'what you really deserve'. If I got what I really, really deserve, I'd get hell. Instead, I get grace, love, forgiveness and heaven. I get the Savior, and He gets me. What a gift!

                                THE SECRET TO BEING CONTENT

BASS FROM THE PAST

My wife Linda with a Piney Run Giant...nearly 7 pounds and 22.5 inches. She got this outstanding fish on a live shiner in May a few seasons ago. Great fish!

 Here's one I got on a home made spinnerbait at a local pond not 5 minutes from the house...2 feet off the shore on a warm July evening. 23 inches! Cool!

Another big Piney Run fish. This one hit a live bluegill I was trolling for striped bass with the planer boards. Fish measured 22 inches, and was a great October catch in 2009.

And Linda with another big farmpond bass she got on a Senko in April on 4 pound test. Heavy fish!

And then she turns around and gets this 7 pounder on a Mepps #3 white spinner on a chilly, overcast day. I tell ya', it's tough livin' with this woman! Enough to make a man sick!

But then, I have to calm her down a bit, and show her how it's done...this is a 23.5 inch  eight pounder I got in early March in 2008...another close to home farmpond bass! Wow!

And here's my buddy Loren with an excellent 5 pounder on a 4 inch Senko. Very nice!

Here, my son Matt shows an excellent 4 pound largemouth from the PA portion of the Susquehanna River on one of our hot-water trips to Brunner Island. Unusual catch! The fish on the bottom is a fine 19 inch 4 pound smallmouth that he got in the same area, different trip. Both fish took a Zoom Fat Albert on a 1/8 th ounce jig head fished close to the shore.

One of the greatest things about fishing, besides the big ones that DON'T get away, are the simple views that we all take for granted so much in this world that God created. I am sure that I have missed way too many gorgeous photo opts in the past that it's just plain ridiculous. I should always be on the look out for the beauty of the Creator, rather than trying to pursue fish, the created things, from our God.

There's a lot of cool stuff in Psalms...check out Psalm 104: 24,25, it says...
'How many are your works, Oh Lord!
In wisdom you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures,
teeming with creatures beyond number, living things both large and small'

Think about that, if you can, the next time you catch a big bass! or even, a small one...

Micro Gear...Magnum Bluegills...Big Fun!

It has been reported that this past winter was the warmest in the eastern half of the nation since 1932. Most of us were not alive to remember that time, and this is clearly the warmest winter, and the earliest spring, that I can ever recall in my lifetime. Last week we had temperatures in the 70's all week, and the call is for another week of 70 to 80 degree temps in the mid Atlantic area. Traditionally, we don't see these kinds of temperatures until mid to late April. Water temps are in the low 50's, and we are seeing all kinds of insect hatches with big bluegills feeding off the surface. Kids and dogs are already playing in the water. Here my neighbors son, Cole, plays with his retriever, Dodge, in the shallows of their pond...and this was on March 12 th!
My good friend Patrick and I had the chance to fish another local pond this past Friday. We knew there were big catfish in the lake, so we set up several rods baited with chicken liver in hopes of getting a few, The lake owners wanted to have some of them removed, as the 30 inch plus cats are eating smaller bass and they think it would be wise to get them out. While we waited for the bite alarms to go off, we tossed small 1/64 and 1/32 ounce jigs tipped with various plastics for some of the ponds bruiser bluegills. We were not disappointed...

Custom 'firetiger' jighead w/nondescript plastic trailer coaxed many bull gills including this big male.

This nice looking hen couldn't resist the firetiger.

This seriously big male went for the jig. Check out those sideburns! Also, notice the lack of barring on these larger male bluegills...neat coloration, no less.

Here's another plump male. Most of our fish ran very close to the 10 inch mark, with weights from 10 to 14 ounces. They were powerhouse fighters on the micro rods and 2 pound test mono.

Patrick is all smiles with this bonafide trophy bluegill. Notice again the blended coloration of these fish...real beauts!

Another beautiful male with a huge ear tab. Fishing was almost non-stop when it was cloudy and breezy, as fish were taking baits within the top two feet of the water column. By actual count, we totaled 48 gills, most from 9 1/2 to 10 inches and 8 bass.The bass were punks...like this show-off that actually thought he could take on a #5 Mepps spinner...

 As you can see, this young upstart must think he's tough...guess that'll teach him!
So...it's a good thing we brought the micro gear and mopped up on magnum bluegills. So what happened with the catfish efforts? As luck would have it, Patrick hooked a large fish on the micro gear that we almost immediately labled one of the ponds out-sized whiskerfish. Patrick played the fish like a champ on thread-like 2 pound test, and 20 minutes later. I slid the net under an impressive channel cat...

Yes, all those prime catfish baits out there, and chumming efforts and all. And the only cattie of the day thought he was a bluegill, going for the small stuff. An impressive fish for such tiny gear...26 inches and an estimated 8 pounds. Healthy lookin', too! We put her back, as we did with all our fish this day.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Patrick has caught a lot of catfish over the past several years, with a few nice blues to 15 pounds or so. But he was proud of this hard earned 'beauty'.

I can't help but reflect on the words of Agur, in Proverbs 30, where he points out that ' Two things I ask of you Oh Lord; ...Keep falsehood and lies far from me and give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread." Well, if I were to go by todays' catch, I would say we were more than blessed with 'daily bread'. Agur was a simple man, by his own admission...'the most ignorant of men'..., yet he 'got it', that is, the secret of contentment. A simple man, a simple prayer, with a heart of thanksgiving. Satisfied.

IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE BEAUTIFUL OR BIG TO BE WORTHY. JUST SATISFYING!

March Madness...What to Fish For?

Back here in the Mid-Atlantic east, the weather has been very mild, with record temperatures still on the way for the second week of March. It's just mad, I tell you, mad! Fishing has exploded, and it wasn't at all bad all through the winter. I have abandoned, at least temporarily, my carp fishing effort in an attempt to put some panfish fillets in the freezer. And...life is good...

Here's a close up of a pond gill on a 1/64 oz chub head microjig and worm chunk. Nice fish!

Another excellent bluegill from the local panfish factory. Purdy....!

Dinky bass show up now and then as well. Don't tell anybody I caught this, please?

Kept a dozen for the pan...yummy!

And I like this way-cool pic of a big bluegill with the sunset reflecting in it's eye...somethin', huh?

But bluegills weren't the only thing that was biting lately...check out these critters...

My fishing buddy, Norm , with an outstanding slab crappie that took a jig below a bobber at Piney Run Lake, in central Maryland. Nice fish, we also got gills. trout and small bass on that windy, warm day.

Here's one of 114 crappie I got at Piney Run recently. Kept 11 for the Friday Night Gronaw Fish Fry put on by me and my wife, Linda.

Dink bass seem to be everywhere this year...cute little guy.

But now and again you get a bigger bass. This fine 19 incher hit a Rat-L-Trap with force when I gave up on cold-front gills and tossed lures for bass. It was my first 'decent' bass of the season. Released her.

Let's face it...fishing is a great, great sport that not only puts us in contact with God's Creation, but enables us to enjoy his handiwork in all the mountains, streams, lakes, fields and the rain, wind and sky. You just can't look out there and not see God in all the things that are of natural beauty. Birds, animals, flowers, fish...they are all His, and they are ours to enjoy, not abuse or annihlate. He created them for us to enjoy, and to make good use of. Everything we need has been provided for us. Despite the incredible wealth of knowledge on the internet and in millions of volumes of texts, none, no none, surpass the knowledge of the Bible as He accurately gave it to many men through His visions to them. In 2 Timothy 3:16, it says. " All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God can may be thoroughly equipped for every good work'.

I have tons of fishing tackle, but I'd rather be equipped by God.