A MONTH OF FISHING MADNESS

One of my first fish of the season...and it may be my biggest!

The first month of 2016 has had it's ups and downs, with unseasonably warm conditions, several single digit night time lows and a record setting blizzard...back to 60 degree days again. Crazy up and down stuff, but not so bad that a determined angler can't catch a fish or two. Here's how the past month of fishing has evolved in the Mason Dixon...

MUSKY ATTEMPTS...

Heavy gear for heavy muskies...one day.

One of my first trips of the year was at the Brunner Island Power Plant on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania in an attempt to hook and land a musky. Rumor has it that there are big, toothy critters to be had in the winter on the Susky so I thought I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, there was very little hot water coming from the plant into the river, which usually draws the muskies. However, a few hours of fish-less casting of a big bucktail made me think I was at least playing the role of a musky angler. Despite a skunking, I'll be back to try and get me one!

Creek mouths are prime locations for winter muskies.

I took a moment to admire God's handiwork.

OPEN WATER PANFISH...

After striking out on the musky effort, I fished a local public park lake that had some co-operative panfish and bass with cilly 39 degree water temps. Micro-gear, micro-jigs, and darn near micro fish as well! Still fun catch 20 to 30 fish a trip, to include bluegills, crappies, bass and hybrid sunfish. Lookie...

Dead calm on a early January evening.

Late evening was prime time for a variety of fish.

Decent bluegill from 39 degree water.

Nice hybrid joined the party...

And a crappie or two as well.

Yes, a couple afternoons of decent panfishing got the blood flowing for this winter angler. Nothing big, but big on fun...barely moving the bobber.

CARP CAPERS...

My good friend the Carp Whisperer had a few spots baited up at the local lake and put me on this giant...

As mentioned earlier...likely my biggest fish of the entire season.

Mr Bob, the Carp Whisperer, shows that January carping ain't all bad!

I like the body dynamics on this one.

This long female is developing eggs. She took corn.

The net is ready should the bite alarms scream.

MY FLING WITH ICE FISHING...

I had an ever-so-brief icefishing season that came to a screeching halt almost as soon as it started. Warm weather today and the rest of the week will put the kabobs on the minimal 4-5 inches of hard ice below the slushy snow. Still, a trio of afternoon trips resulted in 10 bass and 4 bluegills that came from amazingly shallow 3 to 5 foot depths on a gold Kast Master tipped with a meal worm. In the mix was my largest ice-caught bluegill to date. Let's look at the highlights...

Game-winner of my brief ice fishing season was this magnificent bluegill at 11 1/4 inches.Wow!

Another good 'un went almost 10.

Just a couple here and there.

Yes...the plastic glove keeps my hand warm.

Quite a few bass this size crashed the party. Fun!

Yes, January was an up and down month with both the weather and the fishing opportunities. Warm, then cold, good fishing, then bad. A few here and a few there. You take what you get in the world of fishing...and be happy with what you have.

And speaking of ups and downs, much of the same applies to life, and how you live it, and look at it. Some days it's hot, some days cold. Some times are tough and some are good. One day you're up, the next you're down. Some days you worry and some days you don't. Life can be a roller coaster.

So...what's the secret to smoothing all this out, making it bearable and surviving? My plan is simple...I trust that God, and my Lord Jesus Christ, has a perfect plan for my life, and for my eternity. And once I knew for sure that His plan was not only perfect, but that His divine plan for my life since the begining of time led to 'freedom', I was at peace...with all things. Doesn't mean there won't be trials, tragedies, sickness or death, for all of that is very, very real. Our family has had our fate tested, and we have cried. But we have overcome the darkness and enjoyed true freedom. Last year was difficult, as my wife Linda developed heart issues and struggled with another knee replacement surgery. I endured back surgery, lost some use of my left hand and had emergency heart surgery to repair a 95% blockage in a main coronary artery. I am lucky to be alive...and I know it! But God has answered many prayers. I have lost 34 pounds, lowered my blood pressure, dropped my cholesterol levels significantly and totally changed my lifestyle for the good. All of this is impossible without my Lord's help. His timing is perfect, His Blessings are great. I really dig what it says in Psalm 139, verse 16...

                   'your eyes saw my unformed body
                         All the days ordained for me
                               were written in your book
                                    before one of them came to be.'

Yes, knowing that gives me freedom, freedom to know that His Plan is the Perfect Plan for my life. If you want to smooth out the ups and downs and get true freedom in your life, to ditch guilt and cleanse your life, then embrace Jesus Christ and step out of death and enter life. It's not a 'religion' or a checklist of  'do's and don'ts with a angry, punishing God. It's a relationship, and Christ wanted that relationship with you so badly that He was willing to die to get it. And that, my friend, is real freedom, and true love.

Real freedom and true love goes far beyond the darkness of this world. Be Blessed.

 

Slabs or Bulls...Take Your Pick!

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

I have to admit...fall is my absolute favorite time on the water, mostly because the fishing is so good for so many species. Panfish are biting, as are pickerel, smallmouths and walleyes. It's just a great time to be out and to enjoy God's incredible creations and beauty.

As November moves along and the season winds down I find myself enjoying the bounty of both slab crappies and bull bluegills. We have been blessed to have quality public and private waters close to home that support these exceptional panfish. High numbers and big fish rule most of the days catch, despite shoter days and cooling water temperatures. Here's a look at some of our most recent success stories...

Matt shows a magnum weight female bluegill from a Mason Dixon pond.

Fishing was pretty quick at the 'hot corner'!

Here's one of several 10-inchers on the day!

We picked up a ton of big bluegills at the end of October and into the end of November as the fall progression was impeded by several warm fronts. Five different lakes and ponds kept us busy with quality fish. Here are a few more that fell to our simple bobber-jig-bait methods during the 11th month...

Robust male gills turn pale as the waters cool.

Matt with a handful!

The Berkley Gulp! Minnows are a great fall producer of larger class bluegills on a 1/32 oz head.

Pumpkinseeds and pumpkingills remain active in November...cool!

We also started picking up some impressive crappies in the 13 to 15 inch range...big fish for the Mason Dixon region. Best lures were tubetails, hairjigs and Gulp! minnows 5-7 ft below bobbers. Crappie Nibbles and meal worms also enticed fish. We didn't get high numbers of crappies, but some were large. I actually landed 7 catch-n-release citations for Pennsylvania in November so far. Here are a few...

Best crappie of 2015 so far is this 15 incher from last week...released!

A fine 13-incher on a cold, windy evening. Brrrrr!

Another plump slab on the Gulp! minnow.

Rainy day slab at 14.25 inches...nice!

November plus rain plus overcast...equals big crappies!

And along the way we picked up some more high-quality panfish...

November 21, 2015...one of three ten-inchers on a mealworm/jig combo.

Interesting hybrid, I think a pumpkinseed X green sunfish cross.

Some days the gills averaged a little smaller.

A really nice hen at 10.5 inches.

Sunset slab!

Another good option...1/64th oz jig with a Gulp! maggot.

As we approach Thanksgiving, I think we all need to reflect on what we have, rather than what we don't. My wife Linda and I have had yet another very trying and difficult year from a medical perspective, yet we remain thankful to an awesome God who was with us every step of the way during trials, operations and neccessary lifestyle changes to pro-long and improve our lives. And as we know, it was His love, power, wisdom and blessings that got us through this to begin with. Sure...the doctors hands skillfully replaced worn-out knees, fused spinal vetebraes and implanted life-saving stents in the heart. Yes...the physicians studied and learned all they could to improve our lives. But none of this would have ever been possible without the Great Over Seer, the God of the Universe, the Great Physician, the One Who Loves, the Great Comforter and Savior of the World allowing...yes, allowing...it all to happen in the first place. We have been blessed by His Hands far more so than those of any doctor.

You see, we now look at every day we breathe and walk as a gift from the Lord, because that's exactly what it is!  Every day we see and care for our grand children...a gift! Every day we wake up and go about our business...a gift! Every fish I catch and article I write..a gift! Every step...a gift! And indeed, every night or day that refreshes and inspires the soul, the beauty of His Creations and wondrous images or the tastes of food and drink...all gifts.As I have said many times before...I am a broken-down, train-wreak of a man who desperately needs a Savior who will forgive me, comfort me, nourish me and set my paths straight...just like you. And, I indeed deserve hell, just like you do. The only reason I am not going there is because I have turned my life over to Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and have pursued a relationship with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, not because of what I've done or how 'good' I am. Sin separates me from God and for that reason I need forgiveness. Yup, you and I have all those things in common, and we need a Savior! The older I get and the closer I get to God, the more I realize that the 'wisdom of the world' with all it's promises of contentment, are absolute rubbish and a lie straight from Satans hell.

I love what it says in Proverbs 16: 25...
                   
                         There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to his death.'

If you have a desire to start living, and stop dying, then I urge you to ask Christ to forgive you of your sins, come into your heart and life and to trust in His wisdom and teachings from the Holy Bible for the remainder of your life. No, you will not understand it all, as neither do I. But you will definitely become a 'new creation' in the presence of Jesus Christ. He willingly took on a horrible death so He could spend an eternity with you...yes, he loves you that much.  As it so truthfully says in 2 Corinthians 5:17...

                         'If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!'

The choice is yours...slabs or bulls...old or new...life or death. Choose wisely. Choose Christ!

Gods Beauty 

MULTI-SPECIES MADNESS

Autumn Glory

There is nothing quite like having a lot of different places to fish, and a lot of different species to select from which to target. We have been indeed blessed the past few months to fish new and exciting places and some familiar, close-to-home venues. From smallmouth bass to bluegills, yellow perch to catfish...it has all been great fun, with some opportunities for fillets and more. Check out a few of our highlights...

One of our 'new' venues that are under the radar.

One of six small lakes on the 'new' location...8 miles from home.

High-quality hybrids abound.

A couple of new ponds came our way this summer. Bass, gills, hybrid sunnies and carp. Variety is cool!

Then, we switched gears in September for some 0-dark-30 bassing with buzz baits at a southern PA lake. We were not disappointed...

Nothing huge, but decent, 17 to 19 inch bass on buzzes.

Matt went 1-for-1 in his only appearance in the wee hours...nice!

Yeah...I can dig this!

Three and two-veined buzz baits...I miss the Hi-Rider! Gary...please help!

We picked up a few oddballs here and there, and some decent bass in the first cool spells of Fall...

Phone selfie and crappie.

Decent bass after the rain.

Better bass after another storm.

And again.

Great looking p-seed during a heavy rain.

One of our best. recent trips was Matt's 35th birthday fishing bash in Garrett County, Maryland where we fished Deep Creek Lake and Broadford Lake for some quality fish of several species.Check these guys out...

Matt's near-citation pickerel was our best snake of the trip.

This 14.5 inch yellow perch whacked a#3 Mepps.

Spunky Broadford Lake Pickerel

Broadford bass.

Matt with a biggie from the 'secret spot'.

We found some hawgs from an overlooked, public venue...good for us!

And, of course, the usual array of bluegills, pumpkinseeds, pumpkingills and the like...Panfish Nation!

Big gills dig small worms.

It's the Great Pumpkingill ( 10.25 in), Charlie Brown!

Gary doin' what Gary does...smackin' 'em!

Carp Whisperer Mr Bob with a magnum 'seed!

Bouble-wide punkin makes me smile!

Ah, yeeeesss...a great few months of fishing...different species, different lakes and lots of fun, a few fillets and great times. God is good, all the time. And like the fishes of the waters, we, too are all different, but we have a few things in common. One, we are all created by God, two...He loves us all. That's why He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die a horrible death for us on the cross. I find it astonishing that he would love you and me...yes, the likes of me?...so much that he would sacrifice His only Son to even give me a shot at Eternity in Heaven. My friends, that is TRUE love...love that we can barely understand. But you have to accept this free gift of eternal life, and Jesus as your personal savior. It's not a given, just because you do good, don't do 'bad' things or even attend church. Accepting Christ is a condition of the heart and soul, not governed by duty or habit. I like what it says in Psalm 148:4-12...

Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him all you shining stars,...
Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths...
You mountains  and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars...
Young men and maidens, old men and children.

Let us Praise God for these beautiful creatures He created, fish, that bring so many of us so much joy. I praise Him for the beautiful places where they live, all waters and ocean depths. I praise Him for giving me new life, through Jesus Christ, and salvaging my eternal home. As beautiful as it all is, it is but a glimpse of Heaven.

'Let everything that has breath praise the Lord'   Psalm 150:6