New Life

Budding willows means new life...always a welcome!

There's a lot going on right now...baseball season is upon us, the trees are budding and Easter flowers are literally in full bloom throughout the Mid Atlantic. Water temperatures are warming up and the fish are biting long before they normally do after ice out. Fishing is good, life is good and God is good!

Robust bluegills in the shallows...yeah man!

Put and take trout options at the local lakes.

Aggressive largemouths in the ponds.

Lots of different species are chewin' right now...stocker rainbow trout, bass in local lakes and the always fun bluegill gig that is my personal favorite. My friend Bob, the Carp Whisperer and I recently spent a few days on the Eastern Shore and caught a mess of panfish at a variety of small public mill ponds...check it out...

Wye Mills Lake was calm, with smallish panfish.

Smithville Lake was serene and peaceful.

Mr Bob scored numerous fine red eared sunfish at Smithville...cool!

Marshyhope Creek yielded big tidal gills...nice!

And after we came back home, we jumped head first into some first class bass and panfishing in our local Mason Dixon waters. Lookie here...

Lean bass went 19.5 inches, my best so far in 2016.

I never met a 10-inch bluegill I didn't like!

First big crappie of the year was this big male suiting up for the spawn.

And check out this crazy big pumpkingill at 10 7/8 inches.

Another serious hen at 10 3/4 inches!

Yes, numbers and quality of a variety of species this year...and it's not even April yet! Most years, we're mired in a pit of chilly temperatures, frosty nights and struggling flower buds that get burnt by the chill of a mid-20 degree night. Still, I'm walking around with gloves on and long johns...old, and cold!

But the coolest thing I like about spring is not the warmth or the sunlight  or the emerging plants or even the great fishing that comes with all that. The greatest parrallel I can see from the emergence of spring is how my life emerged from a winter-like cold and darkness to burst into an episode of 'new life'. When I was a young man, I thought I knew exactly what I needed to make me happy. I chased a bunch of silly dreams thinking it would satisfy me and make me 'whole'. Most folks would have written it off as 'running with the wrong crowd' or being 'easily influenced' by 'bad people' BULL CRAP! I WAS the wrong crowd! I didn't need any help from anybody...I could sin just fine on my own. Because that is the nature of man from the day he emerges from the womb...to be sinful, self-centered and seeking our will, not God's.

Had it not been for a series of addictions, heartbreaks and encounters with one Christian believer after another, I would likely have continued on and forced my 'happyness' with continued sinful, rotten behavior. Today, too many millions of people place their faith and future in things like sports, money, presteige, possessions, position and self-image. Their homes, autos and lawns become their gods...They worship the almighty dollar and teach their children a heritage of stealing and lying and cheating on school work, taxes and job sites. As long as lying and cheating benefits you financially, and no one challenges you to be accountable, everything is just fine. Sadly, relationships mean little to them, especially a relationship with a gracious and loving God who can change their lives fore ever, for the good, and for eternity.

My defining moment, of my entire life , occured on August 14, 1975 in the basement of a small church in Westminster , MD. when the preacher led me through the sinners prayer and I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. Some things changed immediately, and some others took a while, and, to this day, some sin issues are still wrestling with me. But there was no doubt...change had indeed come! New Life was emerging in me and continues to sprout each and every day, in some form, from this transformation from death into life. My priorities changed, my Lord blessed me in ways I can not explain, and I knew...I KNEW that my life would never, ever be the same. Hallelujah to the Lamb!

I really dig what it says in Philippians 3:13 where Paul explains...
'Brothers, I do not consider myself to have yet taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.'

Praise God for New Life!

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