Just in time for the Big Game…
February 4, 2007
You know it had to happen…
NFL licensing has found its way into the tackle stores and you can now be the very proud owner of team lures such as this fine 3/8-ounce Chicago Bears spinnerbait — perfect for largemouth bass and coastal reds (ebay item number: 120082647121) or, if you’re a Colts fan, check out the Indy Spinner, which should work well for lakers (the fish, not the basketball team), pike and steelies (ebay item number: 120082967799).
What’s that you say…your team didn’t make it to the Super Bowl? No worries, mate!
The Huge Kokanee of Lake Clementine
April 1, 2006
I received a very interesting call the other day from Abril Tolo, a buddy of mine who works for Game and Fish. He asked if I could help him out with a research project he’s been overseeing for the past several years. Tolo (or “Island” as we call him, which morphed from when we used to call him “A-Tol” but I digress) said all I needed to do was tow my boat down to Lake Clementine where we were going to do a little “hook & line” sampling. He said to bring some light-action steelhead rods and he’d have everything else.
It sounded cool to me and I was particularly intrigued by the fact that he made a specific point to have me bring steelhead rods. I didn’t have the foggiest notion what we’d need them for at Clementine, considering the largest fish I’d ever caught there was a 2-pound smallie. So, it was with great eagerness that I met him at Raley’s in Train Village last Tuesday. As we slowly crept down the winding road to the launch, he gave me the full scoop.
Taking Aim at a World Record Bass
April 1, 2005
In the world of angling, no fish is as highly coveted as George W. Perry’s all-tackle world record 22-pound, 4-ounce largemouth bass.
Perry’s record catch took place way back on June 2, 1932 at obscure little Montgomery Lake in Telfair County, Georgia. Since then, legions of anglers have dedicated their lives solely to the pursuit of besting that catch.
Why all the fuss? First of all, a new world record largemouth is said to be worth millions of dollars in endorsements to whoever catches it.
Fishermen Say the Darndest Things!
October 7, 2004
Remember that show Bill Cosby used to have called “Kids say the darndest things” If you’ll recall, ol’ Bill used to just ask kids a bunch of questions…and what the little rug rats had to say was always entertaining. Well, if there are any TV execs out there right now, I propose to you a new variation on that same basic theme — only instead of kids, I want to use fishermen. Being out on the river every day, I hear some fisher folk say some pretty funny stuff.
Johnson’s Magic Potion
April 1, 2004
You’re welcome.
For what, you ask? Well, only for doing the leg work to get you all in on one of the most incredible advancements in fishing I’ve ever seen… way before the rest of angling world finds out, that’s what.
Actually, I just kinda stumbled into this one. Last November, I was in the tiny speck-on-the-map town of Moses Lake, Wash., on a solo fishing/road trip. After two unsuccessful days of trying for big bass and rainbows on nearby Potholes Reservoir, I stopped in at an old, run-down tackle shop/liquor store called Deke’s Bait and Booze.
Tales from The River
March 11, 2002
If you spend enough time on the river, you’re going to see some strange things out there. Oh yes, I know of what I speak — you name it and I’ve run across it. It seems that rivers and their banks are magnets for interesting characters, bizarre situations and, sometimes, a person or event that inspires a new name for a particular part of the river. Now, here are some of the stories behind the names…
Chasing Steelhead on the Los Angeles River
April 1, 2001
Well, I just got back last night from a pretty cool fishing vacation. It was nice to get away and do a little fishing for myself — especially since I have not wet a line in several months. A good friend of mine who guides the Mad River told me before I ever started that the last thing in the world I’d get to do as a guide is go fishing. Man, was he correct!
A Quick Round of Golf
March 15, 2001
Well, I finally had a day off recently and decided that I was going to blow off all responsibility and do something fun. A little fishing perhaps? Nah - I’d been working on the river a lot lately, so I figured it was time to give that sport a little break. And if you’re not going to go wet a line on a warm, early spring day, what’s the next best thing? A trip around the ol’ links, of course!
Angler’s Dictionary
June 8, 2000
I often receive letters and e-mails from readers out there who don’t fish but read this column anyway. Occasionally, somebody will ask me to define some of the fishing terms that I rattle off here — they say that it sounds to them like I’m speaking a foreign language. So, I figured it was time for a little Angler Vocab 101. Okay, kiddies, in your seats, please. Here we go…there will be a quiz at the end of the semester.
Turds With Fins
June 4, 2000
A while back, I received a letter from a carp fishing group that wanted me to go fishing with them and do a story. I resisted at first, but was finally convinced to go out fishing for, er, carp. Very interesting…
The chap who invited me was a transplanted Englishman who was a carp fishing fanatic. Wait a second, a carp fishing fanatic? Well, let me back up here. In Great Britain, most salmon and trout fishing takes place on private waters and is reserved for the upper crust. Over there, if you’re not in with Prince Chuck, and can’t afford $3,000 per day to fish, forget it. By the way, if you can afford that much to fish, I’m currently booking guided trips for anything you want to catch, baby! Anyhow, back to my story.
