Fishing Rhino

Right place, right time, right conditions. Truer words were never spoken. I cannot tell you how many times I thought I had discovered the "secret weapon", only to have it fail to produce on the next trip. I went out one evening and could not miss with a black Heddon Zara Super Spook Junior. The next time, I had to work (several casts) for each strike. My first two casts with a buzzbait produced two fish. Here we go, I said to myself. And, there it went. Not another strike after that. There are days when an old soda or beer can with a trailer hook would work.

Chatterfrogs, the new #1 on my list. Strike King spinnerbaits (Premier Bleeding Bait, Red Eye special (smaller size), Mr. Money (I've only seen it at WalMart) My progression of trailers on the spinnerbaits. 3" Mister Twister curly tail grub, 5" MT curly tail grub, and now, the Chompers Twin Tail Grub. All doused liberally with Yum LPT Crawfish scented attractant. Mepps Black Fury with chartreuse or flourescent red/orange spots sizes 3 and 4. Sencos, 4 and 5 inches (4" currently in favor), Zoom U Tail, motoroil/chartreuse, creature baits. Heddon Super Zara Spook Junior Owner Sled Heads, Luck "E" Strike perfect finesse worm and perfect worm jig heads. Assorted weights and hook sizes for both makes.

I have read that the Large Mouth bass changes its colors according to the clarity and color of the water they inhabit. All summer I caught some nice Large Mouths, but they seemed like they had been bleached. They were fat and healthy, but their color was washed out. The water had very poor visibility (to me) due to a major algae bloom, and was greenish in color. At the peak, my eyes could see no more than a couple of inches below the surface. In September, the water began to gradually clear. Now, the bottom is visible in three feet of water, maybe more. Funny thing, there is still a considerable bloom of the green algae in process on the surface, and it gets very thick when the wind blows it to shore. But below it, the water continues to improve in visibility. Now, the once bland colored bass have become vibrantly colored with deep greens and the blotchy stripe along the lateral line vivid and distinct. They look like those seen in the lure ads. They don't fight any harder, but it sure is nice to see them look the way they do now. I'm still fishing, but admit to looking forward to next spring, when they should still be displaying those brilliant colors. It will be interesting to follow their chameleon change through the entire season.

Back in July, I happened to be in the BPS in Foxborough when a fellow brought in two Johnny Morris signature spinning rod combos. He claimed his rod broke while he was fighting a fish. To top it off, it broke near the handle. I happened to be in line behind him, and he proceeded to tell me that he was not about to lose a five plus pound bass, so he handlined it in. The line he was using was braid. Pardon me if I'm skeptical, but, imo, there is no way you could handline a bass that size with braid. Your hands would be sliced raw. Let's just say I took his yarn with a very large grain of salt. What puzzled me was turning in both combos for new, even though he only broke one. Go figure.

I've been using a Booh Yah with counter rotating blades, and it does track straight. The Cavitron can definitely be retrieved slower, and still stay on the surface, or just below it, and create turbulence. I haven't used it enough to make a fair assessment of its fish catching ability. Been having too much success with a Chatterfrog to experiment with different lures. I have been prospecting areas of the pond that have not produced as well as others for me, and today one of those areas really delivered. I fish a small pond, half mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, at its widest point. The north end, and the east shore have consistently produced the best fishing for me. Lately, the north end has slowed considerably, so yesterday, with the wind out of the South, I worked the neglected (by me) southern end, and it paid off handsomely. The geese and the ducks are heading south. Maybe the bass decided to follow, even if it was only for a half mile or so. One, just a tad over ten pounds, with several in the two pound range, all on the Chatterfrog, spritzed liberally with Yum, crawfish flavored or scented attractant. The once chartreuse frog leg trailers are now orange, dyed by the red Yum. It did not change the color of the chartreuse skirt by much, if at all. Also caught four pickerel, two of them around 30 inches. I'd forgotten how hard a large pickerel can fight. Both stripped ten to fifteen feet from the reel several times before I managed to boat them. When I caught the ten pound bass, I thought I had another huge pickerel, since it never jumped.

Great story. Sounds more like you were on the ocean. Hope you're back to fishin' again. Your story is one of life's important lessons. It is important to make memories. For each of us, there will come a time when we will no longer be able to pursue those things we enjoy. The more time we spend doing those things today, the more memories we will have to sustain us near the end of our lives. It's much better to remember what was, than to dream about what might have been.

For future reference and to all who want to plug a hole in a transom or deck. If the hole is perfectly round, and for the sake of discussion, the transom thickness, not counting the fiberglass is an inch and a half thick, enlarge the holes to a depth of 1/2 inch on each side. Again, for the sake of illustration, make the outer holes larger by at least one inch in diameter. This will provide a step on each side. Make three 1/2 inch plywood discs, one the size of the small hole, and two the size of the larger holes. Then you can epoxy and clamp the assembly together. It will then be structurally sound. Bevel the glass around the edges of the patch for a couple of inches. Clean with acetone, then apply glass to the original thickness or slightly thicker. When it sets up, level the patch with a belt sander, then smooth with a sanding block or a hand sander and 120 grit paper. Any small voids or low areas can be filled with bondo, followed by sanding. Prime, paint, and forget about it.

The name sounds like a machine you'd find in a dentist's office. With that comment out of the way, I bought a couple of Cavitrons based on some unsolicited testimonials that were posted here. I rigged a pole with a Cavitron to see what the fuss was about. Caught nothing. But that is not the issue, nor have I concluded they cannot catch fish. What does puzzle me is that on the retrieve, the lure pulls to the left from my view. Were I to cast against vegetation on my left it would run into the stuff, unless I held the pole off to the right. The other buzzbaits I have used will come toward the rod tip on the retrieve. I examined the lure, and the wire trailing parts were parallel. I tried a slight bend one way, and then the other. The result was the same. The lure ran off to the left. To bring the lure straight toward me on the retrieve, the pole has to be somewhere near 45 degrees to the right of a line between me and the lure. Is this typical of the lure?

The limb pole saw is a great idea. Get one with the lopper on the side opposite the saw blade. Put the hook over the branch and pull it down or just lop it off. This looks like a lot of work to get a lure. http://www.aps.com/images/trees/treeTrimmer.jpg

Here's a place to start. http://www.takemefishing.org/fishing/select-a-state/places/state/IL/flags/outfitter,urban_fishing,fish

Here's another good option. http://www.eaglenav.com/en/Products/Fishfinders/CUDA-168-Portable/ I've been using mine for several days, about three hours per day, and it's still operating on the same 8 AA batteries. I carry 8 fresh batteries in a watertight rubbermaid container, just in case. Batteries have a way of dying just when you really need them. I've easily used it 12 - 15 times, maybe more. The suction cup might not work if your jon boat has a textured finish. You can easily fabricate a bracket which will allow you to swing it up and out of the way. The trolling motor mount is the best way to go.

Here's my report. First what happened surprised me because, I could detect no difference in the feel and visible action of the lure, and there seemed to be no difference in its appeal to the fish. Yesterday, the line was tied to the snap on the concave side of the lure. Today, on the convex side. The only difference was that today, the lure fished cleaner. It gathered less vegetation. I suspect that is due entirely to the shape. The concave side has four protuding corners to snag stuff, whereas when tied on the other side, the corners will be more apt to shed the grasses and other growth. Both felt the same when sliding over rocks. I cannot tell which, if either ran deeper. Yesterday, the lure seemed to have a stronger throb or chatter, but I suspect it seemed that way because it was my first experience. Kinda like riding a roller coaster. The first ride is always the most exciting. The more you ride it, the tamer it seems. All in all, it has become another must have lure for me. Oh, one other thing. I used super glue to hold the trailer in place. It stayed there for the duration of today's trip, about three hours. Again, I found it important that the trailer be pushed right up to the jig head, and in line with the shank or axis of the lure. When it is snug to the jig head, the skirt "fingers" cannot get caught up between the head and the trailer.

Yesterday, I tried a Chatterfrog for the first time and was very impressed. Three nice bass from places in my favorite pond that are not the preferred places. The wind kept me from my favorite haunts. I learned one thing, and have a question about another. The lure has tremendous action which can be felt as a strong vibration or throb, depending on the speed of the retrieve. After several casts, the lure seemed to lose its chatter. I looked for the usual culprits, such as a bent plate, a bit of grass or weed in a critical area, or, a fouled line, but, none of those were the case. Further careful inspection revealed that the frog leg trailer had slid down the shank of the hook and onto the bend a bit, thus the legs were not in line with the shank and the axis of the lure. When I slid the trailer back up the shank the chatter returned. Apparently the positioning of the trailer is of critical importance. The positioning of the trailer is not readily apparent because of the full skirt. Now for the question. The lure comes with a fast lock (BPS name) /double lock snap. See accompanying photo. http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SceneSevenDisplay?catalogId=10001&storeId=10151&langId=-1&productId=-92025&scene7Path=BassPro%2f15122&sourceName=images2%2f15000%2f15122.jpg&type=1&linkEnabled=false I tied it to the snap on the end which is up in the photo. Normally, that would be the end that goes to the lure. The other end, where the line would normally be tied is down. This kept the concave side of the lure forward. Conversely, if one ties to the snap in the usual place, the convex side of the plate would face forward. I've retied it to the other end of the snap, and will test it when I get out today. Will provide an update with the results. If anyone has experience or input into the proper end of the snap to tie the line to the lure, let us know.

It's not this article that carrys all the info. The prior articles printed over the last several years are the ones that have the issues. Courts are considering allowing the private companies to actually fence off the water and use it for their private use. Way too much to discuss on this site. Research it and try to find the earlier articles. If you need help let me know and I will try to locate them. The cliff notes have been printed in Bass Times and they did a great job listing the issues. I completely agree that a high water issue does not give anyone access to anothers property. I just think it may lead to a lot of accessability issues that could have reaching effects on the water everyone is allowed to fish. One senario that was discussed was that noone would be allowed to exit the main water of a river via a creek due to the fact that they would in reality be tresspassing. Many are concerned that everyone may be restricted to just the river itself. I guess we will just have to wait and hope for the best, what ever that may be. I understand it's sketchy, but for those of us who know nothing about it, it's all we have. Here's my point. Fishermen, like golfers, bowlers, etc., come in all stripes. There is a popular pond (Sawdy Pond) only minutes from our house. It is on the MA, RI border in the towns of Westport and Tiverton. Maybe a tiny sliver in Fall River. The only public access is a dirt ramp along side Rte. 177. It's dirt, rocky, and in serious need of grading. Nonetheless, it is what it is, and it is used by fishermen from alongshore fishermen to kayakers, canoers, jon boaters, and even full fledged bass boats are launched there. It is two lanes wide leading to the single lane ramp. The higher lane is usually used by guys with trailers. It is lined to the south with heavy woods. Some fisherman or fishermen, pulled an aluminum framed windshield off their boat, stripped it of its carpeting and other miscellaneous parts and dumped the mess in the woods. In another place another fisherman disposed of some boat and trailer parts. Animals like that can ruin it for everyone. I'm sure you've seen it, because I have at every ramp. There are receptacles at the top of the ramp for trash. Yet, at the water's edge is discarded fishing line, blister packs from lures and other trash. When I see it, I gather it up and deposit it where it belongs. Which reminds me of a similar incident. When I was lobstering, some person from Somerset left a couple of bags of their trash on the dock beside my boat. I went through it, and found some mail with their address on it. PERFECT. I hauled it to the state highway that runs through Westport, near the docks, and left it on the ground by a traffic light. At that time, I plowed snow for the state. I asked the shop foreman if he found some trash by a traffic light on Rte 88 during the past summer. He proceeded to tell me he did. The state cops were summoned, and they went to Somerset to call on the perpetrators with their garbage and a summons in hand. When I told him the story, he laughed like a son of a gun and said, "Good, they deserved it."

I wonder how this brouhaha got started. Was the landowner just being ornery, or did the fishermen extend the owner the courtesy of a visit, asking to use his drainage ditch, or whatever it was to access the lake. There's a whole lot we don't know, and the article as posted doesn't give us a clue. Since the article is from BASS, I gives me pause as to why. BASS, just like the AARP, the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, the NRA, exists to benefit its members. It may propose legislation to enact or change laws. It may lobby legislators. In short, it's main job is to promote the pros of any issue for its members, while ignoring, or minimizing the cons. All are political in nature. So, like any editorial or commentary, I will take the source into account. BASS is not a disinterested party, hence there will be some subjectivity in their position. Please, do not take this to be a condemnation of BASS. It is not. Fortunately, I was a commercial lobsterman, and there was no recreational fishery for lobsters to the degree there was for other species, such as Stripers, Tautog, Cod Fish, Scup, etc. There was a time when a gang could go out on a boat for a day off Gay Head (Martha's Vineyard) and catch a few hundred dollars worth of scup. When they could not, the stuff hit the fan. All in all, their goal was the same as the draggermen. Catch as many fish as you can. They were only interested in "conservation", not for the species sake, but for their wallets. The recreational fishery had/has much more political clout than the commercial fisheries when it came to regulations. And many regulations placed on commercial fisheries had their origin with the recreational organizations. I'll say one thing in that regard. It is my observation that when a fishery declines to the point where it is no longer profitable, commercial fishing ceases. But, recreational fishermen will spend a day on the water whether they catch one fish or one hundred. The commercial fishery can deplete a stock more quickly, but economics force them to abandon that fishery, where a sportsman can try to catch the last fish of a species. His finances are not dependent on it. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes, the eye is jaundiced.

I really do not see where there is a problem. Nothing I read in the article talks about an individual owning the land to the middle of the channel. It deals with flood waters which encroach onto normally dry land. Every river has its "mean water level". It may be lower in times of drought, and higher during periods of heavy rain. Why should the occasional flood waters give anyone access to another's property? There is much the same situation on tidal waters, and it varies from state to state. In some states, the landowner has deeded rights to the mean low water mark. In other states, it's the mean high water mark. This means in some states, beachgoers can set up their beach gear in front of homeowners when the tide is out, and in other states, they cannot. In some states, where the owner has title out to the mean low water mark, there are provisions where others can walk the beach, but they cannot set out their blankets, beach umbrellas, etc. Perhaps the Supreme Court declined to hear it because it is a state's right issue, not subject to their ruling. Their declining to hear it indicates they view that to be the case. Personally, I do not believe that we have the right to access private property just because a river or pond has flooded onto it.

The concoction might have another use as well. Keep it handy in an open container and dip your lure/bait in it prior to every cast. It might be better than any of the commercially available sauces. If it works, and you turn it into a profitable venture, I expect a commission for the idea.

Canoes can have plenty of room. I've posted pics of my fishing machine before, but here are a couple again. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q155/HomarusAmericanus/Picture021jpgedit1.jpg http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q155/HomarusAmericanus/Picture022jpgedit.jpg I carry three tackle boxes, carry five rods rigged and ready to go (can carry up to eight as currently configured with the ability to add two more below the rails), fish finder, rain gear in a watertight bag, three additional containers, A five gallon wind anchor, a ten pound mushroom anchor, landing net, and the necessary paddle, all within the confines of the canoe. Nothing protruding into the air, which gives me 360 degrees of casting, and fish fighting without obstructions. None of the gear can be snagged by tree branches or shoreline vegetation. There is still room left for a large cooler, and a few other things. Everything is stowed, and set up for easy access without having to leave my seat. I absolutely love it on small ponds/lakes, and non windy days. A breeze is ok. I can work with that. When it blows more than 15 knots, is when it becomes a pain. It has its place, like any other piece of equipment. I don't use it in large bodies where you have to hunt the fish, because it's not practical for that. It can all be done from the command seat, casting, fighting, landing. No guiding or attempting to guide the fish around lower units. No getting down on your knees to land the fish. The low profile, especially on clear sunny days casts less of a shadow to spook fish. In its niche, it cannot be beat.

Here's the day one report. I went with the King Kong, for no logical reason other than it looked more natural to me. LOL Today was windy with occasional rain squalls accompanied by strong gusty winds, so I could not fish where I would have preferred. When I got my canoe to the water, I made a few "learning casts" from a dock, with the King Kong, to get a feel for how it casts and how it responds to varying retrieves. It definitely has a seductive action. Retrieved slowly on the top it gurgled like a jitterbug. It's wake consisted of a V wake which trailed off to the sides. It also created a turbulence in the water behind it. Attention getter for sure. Retrieving it just below the surface eliminated the gurgle, and produced a different wake as the water bulged up and over it. While not as attention getting as the first, the plug definitely undulates in a good imitation of live bait. Casting it is a whole 'nother story. It felt like a sash weight hanging off the end of the rod. I made a few tentative casts, trying to get a feel, then made a couple of longer casts. Working out at a gym might be in order. Because of the weather, and my inexperience with such lures, I did not try it from the canoe until the last. It's one thing to cast standing and another to cast sitting. I set the canoe in the water hyacinths so the wind couldn't spin me around, and made a cast. First cast, pretty good distance, maybe a hundred feet or so. Can probably up it to 150 once I get confidence in handling such a thing. Slow, topwater retrieve. Expecting nothing, just getting a feel. Lo and behold, something rose to the lure and tapped it, leaving a good size boil on the surface of the water. Made a couple of more casts to the spot, but no more interest. With the wind blowing me back toward the landing, I made some more casts, and then got a wicked backlash. I figure Murphy's law would take over and a monster would engulf the lure, part the line and make off with it. I handlined it into the boat, cleared the backlash, and called it a day. Tomorrow's another day. I'm psyched.

I want to go retro, to something that produced fish like nothing else for me years ago. You could find these things in just about every tackle shop, but I cannot find them in the online catalogs for BPS or Cabelas. It was a simple rig which could be cast or trolled, and it was deadly. An old gent showed me how to rig it. The rig came as pictured, pardon my drawing. All you needed to do was put a treble hook on the bottom, pinch the bottom loop closed and slide the spring over it. The old gent took a piece of belly flap from a pickerel, the soft flexible part, and with a pair of scissors snipped out a tear drop shaped piece about an inch and a half long, and a quarter inch wide. Put the wide end onto one of the hooks and that's it. Does anyone know where to obtain these gizmos? Keeping my fingers crossed hoping the photo shows. http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q155/HomarusAmericanus/spinnerrig.jpg

Regarding the slime. One of the first things I learned when I started fishing was to dip my hand in the water to get it wet before handling a fish. You'll remove a lot less slime, and end up with a not so slimy hand. Before I knew that trick, I used to grab eels with my dry hand. Talk about slime. My hand could have had a cameo role in Ghostbusters when they got slimed. It was darn near impossible to remove. Had to wear away.

I tried googling as you suggested. Plenty of videos for "Tomb Raider", and the Oakland Raiders. One reference for Bass Pro Shops, but it was just the online catalog page with the product. I went through three pages. Will peruse it when I have the patience.

Strike King King Kong and Top Raider. Top Raider? You mean the Top Raider from Joe Bucher???? Thats what I was thinking when I read this. You fishing for toothies? I know a bass will hit these baits, but they are actually a musky bait. Bass. I'm probably out of my mind, but I've been using much larger baits than I used forty years ago. The only small baits I currently use, which work really well, are the Mepps #3 and #4 black fury with chartreuse polka dots and the same size mepps with the flourescent green and orange spinner and a yellow tail with a red center which is a bit longer than the yellow. I finally realized something when my line was twisting, and I don't like to use swivels. When a fish is caught, some of the bucktail gets out of place, and sticks out like a rudder of sorts. This makes the lure spin and twist the line. I sort out the hairs after each catch, and it has minimized the problem.

Strike King King Kong and Top Raider. Top Raider? You mean the Top Raider from Joe Bucher???? Yes. It's a funky looking thing. I don't know if the vertical flap at the back is for action or to prevent a big fish from getting the hook deep in its gullet.

Two different kinds. Strike King King Kong and Top Raider. The Strike King are the darkest shad colors, and the Top Raider is black. I ordered another color, but it's back ordered. I don't know the first thing about them, but that's never stopped me from trying something new before. I have one heavy action, seven foot rod with thirty pound test braid. If that's not heavy enough, I have some friends with salt water gear. I'll keep you informed.