Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
Win Some... Lose Some!
Greg Hill and I set out
for a great day of fishin' one of my favorite lakes this morning amid pouring
rain and cold temps. And things only got worse.
There was guite a Wave action going on when we got to the lake, due to a 15mph
southeast wind. The fog was fairly heavy and intermitten rain showers plagued
us all morning. At one point the fog rolled down off of the mountain, and it
got almost as black as night. The fog got so heavy that I could barely see Greg
on the back deck of my boat. Then everything got eeriely calm. "I think
the devil has come to town" Gregg remarked, and I was beginning to believe
him. Then... Just as suddenly as the fog appeared, it disappeared, followed by
flat calm water.
The calmness lasted for about 5 minutes, then the wind started again and the
rain came down in buckets... Thanks for Gore-Tex!
Around noon, the sky cleared, the sun came
out and the wind laid down. Ten minutes later, it was dark again and the wind
was up to 20mph plus.
I had all of the FUN I could stand for one day, and Gregg didn't argue with me.
We pulled the boat out and came home around 3pm. The temp meter in the Blazer read 47 degrees.
OHH.... Did I mention that I DID manage to catch ONE LM Bass on a 5 inch Cabin
Creek, Green Pumpkin tube. AND... Did I mention before that I think GREGG is a
JINX??
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by Dean on 2002 PM:
Isn't it amazing the FUN you can have on a day like this! LOL. Thanks for the report, too bad you guys didn't get a couple more.
Posted by Pete L on 2002 PM:
Sounds like a hell of a
lot more fun than i had today.
Wish i could have been there .
Pete
__________________
Pete LaFemina
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and
"mental illness."
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
Susky Trippin'
It felt more like winter
than late April this morning, as I pointed the 1760 Triton upriver and came
down on the throttle of those 90 Johnson horses. I couldn't help think of last
Tuesday, when my ears were so sunburned, that from the back I looked like a Kenworth
with the brake lights on. Today... The tears rolling from my eyes were freezing
in my ears.
It didn't take me long to find a good spot... Just so I could shut down. The
river wasn't in the best of color phases, a little on the "Heavy
Murky" side, but I decided to make the best of the day. Tubes worked OK,
if you could find a patch of clearer water and spinnerbaits just weren't doing
the trick either. I decided to give "rippin' a Rogue" a try. One of
my favorite ways to catch Smallies, but HARD on these ole worn out shoulders. I
don't believe God had fishing 200 days a year in mind when he designed the
human body. Anyway, I dug out one of the "smaller" 4 inch models that
aren't so hard on the wrists and shoulders.
I only had ONE of the new "Purple Darter" colors and wouldn't you
know THAT was the one they wanted the most. After several nice fish... you
guessed it... SNAP went the line on a "brush bass hook set". I dug
around and located a silver/black back/black bars/orange belly model and
proceeded to catch a few more spry bronzebacks. Water temp hovered in the mid
50s to low 60s and the wind picked up in the afternoon, which is ALWAYS a JOY!
I couldn't decide which was worse... Fishin' a spinnin' outfit with the right
hand and trying to reel with a left hand that had the first two fingers taped
together, or fishin' a baitcaster and tryin' to hold the reel in a sore hand.
BOTH systems proved to be just about equal on the "Pain in the Butt"
meter.
All in all it was a pretty good day and I managed to boat 33 typical Susky size
smallies and 3 fish in the 20 plus inch range. I believe some of the bass have
already started spawning though. I boated a couple of females that looked
awfully skinny for this time of year. The spawn usually doesn't happen until
the full moon of May, but I'm told the water temp hit the mid 60s over the
weekend. Could be!!
I have an outdoor writer coming down from Philly on Thursday. I hope the water
clears up some and the level drops about 2 feet. That should put the bass back
in the same areas they were in last Tuesday... when you could do no wrong. I'll
have to get on the horn to Smithwick in the morning and see if they can't
"overnight" me some of the "Purple Darter" colors and a
couple more of the "Black Bar" models too. With my luck... They won't
touch them on Thursday!!!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by Scully on 2002 PM:
Gypsy Man
Catchin fish like that is worth ALL the pain God sees fit to bestow on us old
men. Makes us appreciate it so much more...lol
Wish I could get out your way to swap some tales, but If I had five minutes,
I'd think I missed something.
Smallies as far north as lower Massachusets were on beds this past weekend, so
its a real possibility they are "squatin" out your way as well.
Take care
Scully
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
What A Difference A Day Makes!!
Greg arrived at the house
right on time and we were off to the Susky, a short one hour and so away. After
a great breakfast the the Summerland Diner, we swung by Hall's Marine to pick up
my buddies new Triton 1760 center console with an 80/60 Johnson jet hanging on
the back. Nice of him to let us use it!!
It was the height of the morning rush hour and we had one heck of a time
getting out of Hall's parking lot and onto US 15. We stopped at the local gas
and go to fuel up the boat and the blazer, and when we went to pull back out on
15... there wasn't a car in sight! Greg thought this was a good omen for a
great day... When actually it must have been the "Kiss of Death".
Two miles up I-81, on the way to the boat ramp, a very nice PA State Trooper in
a big shinny white car, pulled me over. Seems that my inspection sticker
expired......... IN SEPTEMBER of 2001! NOW.... I KNOW I had my vehicle
inspected in September, but he didn't want to hear that. TICKET... $95.00!!
We proceeded to the launch ramp at the mouth of the Swatara Creek, to discover
the creek the color of last months chocolate milk. We launched the boat and ran
up the river to the "eddy" hole that Max and I had hammered them on Monday.
I knew right away that we were in trouble. The river had risen about 1 1/2 to 2
feet and was the color of a Green Pumpkin tube! We anchored and fished the hole
for about 20 minutes, with only one missed nibble to show for our efforts. "Kiss
of Death"??
Moving to plan "B", we motored down to one of my best
"points" at the foot of the big island, only to find it occupied by
another boat. Knowing the guy in the other boat, I didn't hesitate to move
right in on him...LOL! My first cast, with my brand new Shimano "Calcutta" resulted in a nasty bac....
"Professional Over-run", and when I tried to pick it out, the line
broke. Greg starts hand-over-handing the line in for me, and there is a 2 lb Smallie
attached to the other end. I retie my spinnerbait, and on the next cast, the
line breaks again, and my brand new bait sails half-way across the river. "KOD"???
We ran to one of my "back-up" locations and on both of our first
casts, were hooked up with nice bronzebacks... Mine about 3 lbs. We no sooner
drop them back in the water and make another cast, then one of my rivals pulls
up. I'm sitting there, trying to look non-chelant whit another 3 lb Smallie on
the end of my line. "You have ANOTHER one??" he exclaims! This secret
spot is SHOT! "KOD??"
The guy leaves and we anchor the boat and proceed to take fish out of this
hole. I was throwing a 5 inch "Jumbo" Cabin Creek Tube in Green
Pumpkin and Greg was tossin' an Avacado/Black and Red Flake CC tube. It didn't
take him long to switch over to the 5 inch tube, as I boated another 3 lb
"Bronze". After about 10 fish the bite stopped. We took a break, had
a tall cold drink and some fishin' conversation, and waited for the hole to
calm down. Then proceeded to catch a few more nice fish. Most of them being the
typical Susky "football" 2-2 1/2 pounders. This process was repeated
several times, until we took 34 bass out of the hole. Things are lookin'
better!
We left the area and fished a couple of other spots, catching a few nice fish,
and a real beauty 3 pounder to Greg's credit, on the big Green Pumpkin tube.
We returned to the "hole" and inticed a few more fish before they
shut down on us. We broke for lunch and then caught a couple more fish from the
spot.
After lunch, we motored back down the river, in the direction of the launch
ramp, picking up a nice fish here and there on the same jumbo tube and the spinnerbait.
We finished up the day at about 3pm
and returned the boat to Hall's. Not a bad day, with 57 bass total and 8 we
took photos of in the 3 to 3 1/2 lb. range. NO "KOD"!!
My buddy, who's boat we borrowed, does NOT believe in SEATS. So I had taken two
of the seats out of my boat, with power poles on them, along. We were just
about HOME, when I remembered that "GREG" had left the seats in the
boat. "KOD"??? NAH.... Personally.... I think GREG is just a JINX!!
PS: I KNOW I get into a lot of detail with these fishing reports, and if you
would prefer the "SHORT" version, I will be happy to oblige!!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by mikeD in NYC on 2002 PM:
gypsy...nice
report!...not too detailed at all...but where are the pictures of those
beauties??... i need to live vicariously through nybass members these days
since i can't get ot on the water
Posted by Gregg on 2002 PM:
Great report, don't change anything I appreciate your humor. And Damm got to get down and fish this river someday.
__________________
Gregg
Posted by ADKBass on 2002 AM:
good reading, ohh, and by the way, if you DID get your car inspected in Sept. then go back and have the station check the logs. Somehow they may have used an old sticker. Then present with your ticket and your all set!
__________________
"Time spent fishing does not count against our allotted time on this
earth." Joe V. - The Troll
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
Suffering From "susky Shoulder"
It was more like summer
today, than the 15th of April... "TAX DAY"! And we waited at the
local diner for two hours, for an outdoor writer that never showed. Sooo... my
buddy and I hit the river at about 9:30am.
We motored to our first spot and set the anchor at the head of one of our
favorite eddy holes. Water temp 59 degrees and the river was a little on the
cloudy side and on the rise, what with all of the much needed rain we received
over the weekend. It was 9:55am and the air was already heavy ladden
and warm. At 11am we had boated 37 Smallies, all on
Cabin Creek tubes of Green Pumpkin; Smoke Purple Hologram and Smoke/Purple
Flake. We then began a contest to see who could hook, and land the most fish
with 20 casts. I stand before you humbled... As my buddy boated 19 and I only 17.
We boated a total of 77 fish from that first hole, by 1pm. We photographed 8 of these, which all ran 3lbs or over.
Most of the fish were the typical Susky 2-2 1/2 pounders.
We pulled the anchor and went island hopping, hitting our favorite haunts of eddy
pockets, ditches and bars. Again... Cabin Creek tubes proved to be the ticket,
although I switched to the 5 inch "Jumbo" tube in Green Pumpkin,
looking for a couple of real hawgs. And my theory proved correct, as I boated
the top 6 fish of the day on the big tube, and had the biggest fish of the day,
about 5 lbs., come unbuttoned right at the boat. I am buying Max a landing net
for Christmas!! Max threw a spinnerbait for a little while, but we had talked
to two other boats that had surprisingly not done much on the blade baits. He
couldn't stand it for very long though, and went back to the tube.
He had to pick up his kids from school, so we had to call it a day at about 3pm. I was exhausted by this time, the hurt hand was
throbbing and the right shoulder and wrist were starting to give me a fit.
Total fish for the day... BOATED.... 103!
I had an hour and a half drive home, a long cold shower and a good dinner. Then
I spent an hour getting my gear ready for tomorrow. I am going to make a
believer out of Greg Hill!!
I know SOME of you will consider this a "Fish Story"... BUT... this
is NOT an uncommon day on the Susky at this time of year. I have had LOTS of
150 to 200 fish days there in April and May. It is an UNBELIEVEABLE fishery and
I will SURELY miss it!!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by Northbass on 2002 PM:
Cold shower??? I will leave that alone.
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
You had to BE there!!!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
"fishin' Gypsy" Looses Cherry!
The new boat was launched
today... For the first time! Greg Hill and I decided to try some early season
luck on one of my favorite local lakes. Everything work fine and the ole girl
is a dream to fish out of... Wide, roomy, comfortable and stable.
It didn't take us long to find a pattern and to get in the groove... Rippin'
Silver/BlueBack/Orange belly 5.5" suspending Rogue minnows.
Greg drew "first blood" with one of the prettiest, fattest and most
healthy lookin 17.5 inch Smallies I have seen for awhile. I connected next with
a 21 inch Largemouth. Then I slipped and fell down in the boat, and IT drew
first blood. We fished the rest of the day and caught all of our fish by the
same method.
I wound up in the emergency room that evening, after my wife saw my hand, and 8
stitches later, I am trying to type with one hand!
This day was WELL WORTH the pain and agrivation though. Good weather, good
friend and GOOD fishin' adventure!!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by bobn on 2002 PM:
how did you get cut that bad? wow--bobn
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 AM:
Basically... By being
stupid!
I haven't put the flooring down yet, and after we landed Greg's hawg, the floor
was a little wet. As I fell, my hand slid along the gunnel of the boat and the
forward, port side line cleat went between my first and second finger on my
left hand, ripping that web of skin between your fingers off... to the bone.
Quite a nice hole actually. You could look in there and see the bottom side of
the knuckle. Should have gone to the Dr right then... BUT THE FISH WERE BITING!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by Pete L on 2002 AM:
Gypsy - The mark of a
true fisherman. Can`t let a little pain, blood and suffering interfere with a
day of fishing.
Pete
__________________
Pete LaFemina
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and
"mental illness."
Posted by Frank J on 2002 AM:
Fish biting and you bleeding. Good trade off.
__________________
Frank Jovine
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Posted by mikeD in NYC on 2002 AM:
what did you wrap your hand in while you were fishing?
Posted by bobn on 2002 AM:
i hope all you guys carry a first aid kit of some sort--a roll of paper towels covers a lot of ground--napkins--toilet paper in an emergency and a makeshift bandage--keep in a plastic bag--bobn
Posted by Greg Hill on 2002 PM:
Will did a great job
rigging this boat.It is very nice and comfortable to fish out of even on that whitecapped
lake we were fishing yesterday.
I cant get over the diffrence between river and lake smallmouths.That fish was
as heavy as a GOOD 19" river smallie.I also could hardly believe the size
of the shad in the gullet of the LM Will caught.I remember Will pointing out a
big school of these baitfish twinkling near the surface last year before we
launched one morning,but I didnt know they attained that size.
Posted by FISHIN' GYPSY on 2002 PM:
When you've been at this
game for as long as I have... ESPECIALLY when you are the CLUTZ that I am...
You learn to have everything on hand. YES... I have a large, complete and well
used first aid kit in my boat, that even contains needles and novacaine. I
dunked some peroxide on it, slapped a qauze pad on it, a little adhesive tape
and I was back in action.
Other important items...
Wire or side cutters... Ever try to cut a hook off a lure that is imbedded in
your body... with a pair of needle nose?
Toilet Paper... I a waterproof container
Large plastic whistle attached to life jacket... It can be heard from a lot
greater distance than a yell, and doesn't expend as much energy when you are
fighting to stay afloat or alive... or BOTH!
Boga Grip... Great for handling unexpected toothy critters.
Square, half-gallon jug with the bottom cut off, or a large, heavy duty horse
feed scoop... Comes in handy, in an emergency, when the bilge pump quits, or if
you don't even have one. Can also be used as a urinal, in a populated area,
while kneeling in the bottom of the boat.
Duck Tape... The "Poor Man's Tool Box" and a NECESSARY item!
The list goes on... But you get the picture! BE PREPARED!!
__________________
Safe boatin', good fishin', keep your net wet and...
"Tight Lines"
Posted by JOHN G on 2002 AM:
Will, I could just see you with your hand all bloody rippin' those jerks because the fishing was too good to stop!! reminds me of a day, I continued to fish after I had fallen in the water!! JOHN G
__________________
"and a new Commandment I shall give you.....that you shall love one
another"
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