Monday, June 24, 2013

Take me Fishin Channel 12 News Excerpt!

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Evening Sun: Take me fishin preview!


Free fishing seminar for kids this month in Greene


By: Josh Sheldon, Outdoors Columnist

Published: June 13th, 2013











As we age, we tend to forget the awe inspired by experiences we had as kids. Fishing is the type of high intensity sport that upon the first catch hooks most kids for life. Outdoor seminars are becoming the most effective way to get new sportsmen afield, but don’t leave it all up to big programs. Take the time to give whenever the opportunity presents itself.


Fishing can be quite complicated if you don’t have the proper information on how to do so. Most fishermen aren’t too worried how many fish are caught daily, while tournament fishermen are searching for the five biggest fish they can catch. The odds of catching a five-fish limit are greatly decreased by tournament fishermen having to fish unfamiliar waters. Having to figure out where the fish are on the lake or river, coupled with the lack of knowledge on what they are feeding on, will test the skills of the most seasoned angler.






By constantly trying new things, the tournament angler tends to learn quite a few more tricks that will help put fish in the boat. For this reason, what better fishing instructors could be found rather than the pros? The years of compiled fishing knowledge, along with the patience needed to help educate kids, are the tools put to use by the tournament angler. Like any other professional sport, the anglers involved in tournament fishing must dedicate their lives to the sport to be successful.


Jim Root, a professional fisherman heading up youth instructional program, stated the hardest obstacle to overcome was the time spent away from his family. Tournament fishermen must travel all over the country to qualify and compete on the tournament trail, much like other professional sports. Fortunately, Jim has a very supportive wife who is happy to see him pursue his dreams. He made the statement, “Becoming a pro was equally split between hard work and the help offered by others.”





View the whole article by clicking here.

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Fishing Report: Oneida Lake 5/30


Oneida Lake report for 5/30



I fished Oneida last Thursday with my good friend Bridget Allen (some of you know her). We got on the water around 10 am, and spent a lot of time really just looking at different areas and their bottom compositions and didn't really spend much time fishing until around 1:30. For two hours we did fish (1:30-3:30) and for the conditions (hot, bluebird skies, no real wind to speak of) we actually did very well. Here are some pics from that day. We caught our fish between 7-10 feet of water, flipping grass. I think she caught one smallie in like 2 feet of water. I can't recall exactly how many fish we caught, but we both had limits and I think I might have caught a couple more fish than she did.

None of our fish were on beds. And they didn't want anything aggressive.

We were using almost two completely different setups. I can't tell you exactly what her's was, but I can tell you she was using Fluoro, texas rigged senko, no weight. I was using 65# braid, and two baits 1) 1/2oz sinker, texas rigged bass pro shops magnum flipping tube on a Trokar hook, 2) blue and black Bass Attacker 1/2oz football jig with a blue and black craw trailer, Quantum Smoke 151HPT reel, Dobyns Champion 766FLIP Heavy Flipping fast action casting rod.


It was probably the best two hours I've ever had on that lake. I know there a lot of people who are on the fence about Trokar hooks. I started out the day using a Gamakatsu wide-gap hook, and after I lost my fourth or fifth fish I decided it was because the weeds we were fishing were surprisingly thick for this time of year, and I just didn't feel like that hook was penetrating deep enough for me. I cut it off, put on the Trokar, and I maybe lost one other fish the rest of the day. My theory on the Trokar, is that under normal circumstances you can't try to cross their eyes when you set the hook. But when I was fishing these deep weed beds, I really felt more comfortable with the Trokar's ability to penetrate through the tube (just the very tip of the hook was exposed to reduce snagging) through the weeds, through the mouth. I think if you try it, you'll see it actually works very well and you don't have to gently set the hook.