WVU-SCPA

1. Purchase house within reasonable distance of the lake that has a proper boat garage. 2. Add boat 2 with high end graphs and trolling motor capabilities. ipilot and spot lock is wanted. 3. Learn to use those capabilities. 4. Convert Dad and brother from only fly fishing streams to joining me on the water. 5. If those 4 happen, I will be thankful and content as it has been years of planning and saving to get here.

I've been fighting off a job transfer that would put me within 20 miles of Pickwick. Pros- Better fishing People are nice Cons- Too much of a Yankee Middle of nowhere

I also was an 18 year old kid that saw the Wildlife and Fisheries Management major and was sold. Ended up picking WVU over PSU as the costs were cheaper even though I was a resident of PA. I have no regrets as it was a great four years and a study that perked my interest, however 9 years later and I am not using the degree in every day life. I struggled with the job field out of college (location, pay, and job security). I passed up fisheries jobs in Louisiana and Alaska and entered into the world of lean manufacturing which has been an amazing career start. As for lady friends, I found one that enjoys to fish herself. She understands it is a driving force behind many life decisions. While she isn't always pleased, she understands enough to have a conversation to resolve any issue.

My teeth. A seriously bad habit I was taught as a kid and struggle to break. 50 lb braid can take some chompin. Thanks for the reminder to pick up something.

I drove over on 30 yesterday and boy was it rocking. Hopefully it will be fishable a good portion, last year was the first time in a decade I didn't have at least one outing.

In 2018 many bass fell to the Rage Craw in Bama craw. In reality, I believe the color rarely was the reason any of those fish bit. Location, presentation, and location were the main factors. Did I mention location?

I get more joy watching fish on a bed and how they react to things then actually catching it. A cast or two and then its time to move on. PA law prevents harvest and tournaments during the typical spawning season, it also states it is unlawful to make repeated cast into a visible nest. I have never heard of it being enforced but I appreciate that it is on the books.

I did a lake check each day this week after being in the 50's here in central PA. Monday-Locked up. 0% open water. 3-4" on the edge and only a few probe holes in the ice that people thought better of. Tuesday-Locked up. 0% open water but water pooling on top of the ice. Wednesday- 15% open water. Main lake opened up around bridges where current and wind impacted the ice. Ramps and coves still locked up. Thursday-35% open water. Could launch a boat and cast from shore in some areas. It felt good to make some cast. Friday- 25 mph winds and rain should make things better. Tomorrow- Back to a low of 17.....yuck.

After being impressed with the items DSG had I took a trip to Field and Stream Saturday hoping they even had a better selection. Yep, buy 4 get 1 free and almost zero name brand items included.

Hopefully it be arriving here in PA. High of 48 yesterday and highs of 57,45,60,58 the next 4 days after a low of -2 last week. A couple days below freezing this weekend and back up to the low 40's. Drove by the biggest local lake at lunch and no open water to be seen, but the rain and temperature should change that. 54 days till the first scheduled tournament, fingers crossed for 0 more days of complete ice coverage.

Magnum Baits Mauler is 6.25" and carries some mass to it.

I told myself the local DSG won't have any items I want on for 5 for 5 deal. Stopped in last night and regret not going sooner. There were 10+ empty hooks for SK RES and KVD 1.5 square bills. They did have Yamamoto baits, vmc terminal tackle, Zman original chatterbaits, SK rage craws, and 4 display shelves of other items included in the sale. Was just late to the party as it had been picked over.

Most likely the pond has a population of red spotted newts. Bass will not target them as they are toxic. A pond with a newt hatch is a neat thing to see, there can be 1000's of them cruising around.

I have a bags full of chigger craws that haven't hit the water in awhile. They caught plenty of fish until Rage craws became part of the arsenal.

Not a lot of hope for catching as bass on these, but I would love to see one try. A local fishing legend passed away in 2018, his estate sale was a few weeks ago. The amount of gear he collected over the years was truly unbelievable. His primary target was large muskie and he was very skilled at catching them.

For 2018 it was the scrounger head with various trailers. Every time one runs beside the boat I utter the words " I would eat that". The amount of wobble with that a super fluke jr. creates as a trailer has to elicit some strikes even when its not deflecting off things. It did catch a decent fish the first time I threw one, which led to 100's of fishless casts the rest of the year. They have to work, just haven't put them in the right conditions.

Some will eat minutes after they are stocked. They have basically been programmed to eat in the hatchery so when they are put in new habitat it doesn't take long if they weren't over stressed. Float stocked 1/2 mile section of stream with 250 fish in ideal trout feeding conditions. Decided to fish it as soon as we were done and ended up catch and releasing almost half that number. Didn't feel very sporting.

I would eat them.

I also plan on taking advantage of the high of 51 to do some bank fishing this afternoon. The next 5 days might bring the ice. The first week of the year has been a struggle, with all the rain the lake level is up 10' compared to the last 3 winters. Access, daylight, and finding fish without the boat have been bigger issues then the temperature. Spent 2 hours Sunday rock climbing a bluff wall in 20 mph winds to miss the only bite. Not ready to move on to trout yet, there is bass eating somewhere.

The only thing to limit tackle selection is space in the boat/bag. The garage/attic still has plenty of room to fill. However, give me the complete line of of Berkley MaxScent and Z-man products and I would be content.

I removed the butt seat and back chair mid way through 2018 and really liked not having them in the way. If there is a need to sit down there is still the console seats. The first couple trips without the seats had their moments, subconsciously going to lean on something and nothing being there. The seats will probably go back in for the first full day trips in 2019, until the sea legs come back and standing all day isn't an issue.

Current generation 7' MH HMG paired with a Revo MGX. Always the first rod to be picked up unless there is something particular I want to throw. The setup is very light and sensitive. Current generation 6'9" ML HMG spinning rod with a Pfluegar President XT. 1/10 oz ned rig gets the majority of use, but it is great for the majority of finesse presentation. A previous generation 7' MH HMG was a great rod until it met the bottom of a shoe during the excitement of landing a fish. I plan on adding more Fenwick rods in the coming years as I start replacing some older rods. Get one and try it out, I don't think you will be disappointed.

If you go and put up a goose egg its not a bad thing, there's no harm in it as you will caught the experience. I had full confidence in winning the first local tournament. Caught a 3lb 6oz fish the 2nd cast on a swim jig and was feeling good. Total weight for the day was 3lb 6oz, but it was a great learning experience and met a bunch of other great fisherman that have become friends.

I was around 10 years old or 21 years ago was the only time purposely harvested a bass. A white mister twister grub would put the beat down on the bass in a neighbors farm pond. A few hooks and a pack of grubs was all that was needed to consistently catch fish. For some reason my brother and I were told we could harvest what we caught one day. Not grasping the amount of fish we were keeping we soon had a bucket full of bass between 15" and 22" for a fish fry (17 total fish if I recall). That harvest and a drought having the pond level lowered the next two years made that 3 acre pond never fish the same again. It also help direct me down the fisheries carrier path later in life. I don't particularly enjoy the taste of any species of fish, a steak is much tastier. So for myself...fish are friends, not food.

One summer when I was around 11 or 12 I decided a good projects was to setup a 70 gallon aquarium for smallies. Built a big rock formation, filled it up with many trips up and down stairs with pots, and headed down to the creek with a rod, spinner, and milk jug with the top cut off. I was able to admire those 3 5-8" smallmouth bass for about 2 hours until my mother came home. Then it was back down to the creek with the fish and many trips up and down the stairs with water filled pots again. In reality, I broke 3 PA laws that day and there was a good chance those bass wouldn't have survived very long. I would recommend starting a tank with an established pet trade species to learns the ins and outs of fish keeping. The saltwater species legally available are much better then a 12" bass IMO.