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From the monthly archives:
February 2008
A couple days back, I established myself as the King of Smokers, but thanks to a couple strong entries, we’ve got a new up-and-comer on our hands here…Jerry Lampkin of TNG Motorsports Guide Service seems to have a real way with big, salty bucks (some would say it takes one to know one!).
He nailed this bruiser on the Sacramento River just downstream of downtown Sacramento — back when we used to have salmon in this part of the world (just two years ago!).
Lampkin said that he used his excellent cedar plank recipe with this fish.
It goes like this:
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While you’ll never mistake Idaho’s Lake MacKay for Key West in the dead of winter, the locals do know how to have fun. Apparently, there’s a great kokanee jig bite under the 30 inches of ice…
Is it really just kokanee fishing going on? My guess is there’s all sorts of debauchery taking place in those ice shacks, but kokanee guide Rick Kennedy, who snapped the photo, declined to comment and suggested that if I pursued my line of questioning, his lawyers would soon be in touch…
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My ol pal T-Man, who despite the fact he lives in Florida, still has an excellent eye for sad-looking salmonid mounts, sent in this dandy to be added to our ever-growing collection of Taxidermy Gone Bad.
He says the fish is a rare Christmas King of the Northeast, known not necessarily for the time of year in which they run, but instead for their tendency to bite anything that looks remotely like a Christmas ornament (I hear white is a hot color!).
This actually could be a historical moment here at fishwithjd.com. This fish may just be the first-ever Taxidermy Gone Bad/Smoker of the Year Contest entry!
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Apparently, they fish with a little more style in Turkey…check out this dude fishing the Istanbul waterfront in a suit. My mom snapped this pic on a recent trip and I thought it was cool — kinda reminds me of some of the classy fellows that often fish the Feather River’s Thermalito Afterbay Outlet Hole!!
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Just a quick update on Bassin’ Big Fred Contaoi…(shown here singing a cover of Jimmy Buffet’s Fins…”Everybody — fins to the left, fins to the right…”)
Our man is off to The Sunshine State for the first Wal-Mart FLW Tour event of the season at Lake Toho Feb. 28- March 2.
The tournament will feature anglers from 35 states, Mexico, Italy, Spain, Australia and Japan and a top prize in the pro division of $125,000.
I’ll, of course, keep you posted on how he does but you can also watch Big Fred weigh in live at:
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This is one of the best questions ever sent in by a reader, so without further adieu, a very special edition of Ask JD…
Question: JD, As the all-Big Enchilada and host of the Smoker of the Year Contest, I was recently wondering if you know of what you speak. After all, all I see you holding in pictures on this site and in the various magazines I see you in are chrome fish. I mean, what gives, dude? What are your qualifications? — Tom H., Redding, CA
Answer: Well I’m glad you asked, Tommy Boy! I probably should have posted my resume a long time ago when I first started the Smoker of the Year thing, but better late than never.
Well, here’s the deal. Though I have long since been reformed, I was quite the accomplished bead fisherman in my youth. Back then, my home away from home was the infamous “Wall” in the Nimbus Basin of the American River. That place was the epicenter of Smokers — it was to dark fish what Greenwich Village was to folk music. In the mid 80’s I was an unstoppable force in the field of catching dark fish…sort of the Joe Montana of sore tails.
Need some proof? I offer you this, a trip through my “dark” history…
Our trip down memory lane begins with this nearly 30-pound slab of “the other white meat” from 1987 (which I’ll add to the 2008 contest entries). This black buck was typical of the quality of fish I used to bring home. In those days, I made my fish even more “flavorful” by never bleeding them, keeping them (dead) on a stringer all day, throwing them in the back of my truck in 80- to 95-degree weather for the 45-minute drive home and then freezing them in tinfoil wrappers! YUM!!
But wait, there’s more…a lot more. I have quite a body of work from my days at the Wall. Read on!!
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I’m headed back north in April to my favorite steelhead stream on the planet, B.C.’s “Enchanted River,” where magical stuff happens…here’s Rancid getting a little dose of enchantment on our last mission…
I can’t wait!
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