Spring Is Right Around The Corner (03/02/12)

Hello Folks,

I am sorry for taking so long to write another blog entry. However, Julie and I have had eight doctor appointments in the past ten days. We have driven all the way to Baltimore, Md. and back, as well as, driven many miles in and around Lancaster County. From specialists to the family physician, we've seen them all.

I also visited my orthopedic surgeon for my left knee yesterday and we have once again scheduled a "manipulation" for March 13, 2012. That's right, we are going to try once more to bend this frozen knee of mine. The "Frequency Specific Microcurrent" (FSM) treatment failed to loosen my knee. Yes, I was disappointed. But I went into the FSM treatment with "guarded optimism". I must say, though I told myself not to get my hopes up too high, I was more depressed about it's failure than I thought I would be.

I have also been dealing with a serious sinus infection which I now have a Z-pack for... Ugh!.

Tomorrow morning, I'll be attending a free coaches' clinic (7:00 am to 12:00 noon) offered by Lancaster General Health (LGH). I noticed this free clinic was being offered to area coaches about a month ago and decided to register. I'm not sure if any other Penn Manor School District coaches will be in attendance. Butch Hobson, ex-professional baseball player and local "Barnstormers" baseball team coach, will be the keynote speaker... Pretty cool, huh.

So, as you can see, I haven't had too much time to write any new fishing entries. But that doesn't mean I don't have any material... On the contrary, I have some pretty fish to share...

I have been so lucky to have friends who like to fish just as much as I do. Jeff and Penny were once again out on the water this past Sunday and nailed a bunch of beautiful fish. In fact, Penny, "The Queen Of The Susquehanna", put a C-class Smallmouth in the boat!! "Good job, Penny!"

The water that is usually influenced by a local power plant has cooled down quite a bit since the power plant has been off line for the past week or so. The water temp checked in at 42 degrees and the air temperature was in the upper 40s.

The water clarity was clear on Sunday, but we have had rain since and currently, the water has muddied.

Jeff said that he tried to catch the smallmouth on artificial lures in the cooled waters, but had no luck. So, he switch to live minnows along with Penny and caught some very nice smallies.

Penny's five largest fish measured in at 20 1/8", a 18 1/2", a 17 3/4", 17", and 16". There were three more that never made it into the boat. Jeff added four more bass on live minnies... 18" down to about 16" with one lost smallmouth.

Not bad for a few hours of fishing on a Sunday. Check out these smallies, folks...



What beautiful fish, Penny!






Another beauty!




A Real Fatty, Jeff.


It looks like we're going to be getting even more rain tomorrow since the drizzle has already begun tonight. The air temperature will be rising to 60 degrees by tomorrow afternoon with the potential of a thunderstorm. By Monday night, the temperature is suppose to drop to 18 degrees... What strange weather we've been having this "Winter of 2011-2012"!

The river level at the Harrisburg, Pa. gauge is currently showing 5.29'. A rise is expected to 6.7' by Sunday morning. That will mean that even more muddy water is expected to dump into the main stem through it's tributaries. This is a typical springtime weather pattern. However, we have had very little snow up north of us and the typical springtime thaw will not bring much in the way of additional water to the river.

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad

A Beautiful Winter Day On The Susquehanna River (02/23/12)

Hello Folks,

I received a text on Tuesday evening from my Wednesdays fishing partner, Josh Kreider, asking me if I wanted to go fishing yesterday. I would have loved to have gone fishing with him, but my wife had a surgeon's follow-up appointment and a PCP appointment on Wednesday that took precedence over anything else.

Josh then contacted Steve Halbleib (Steveinpa) who was free to go. This was both of theirs first fishing trip of 2012.

Although I couldn't join Josh and Steve, I did, however, follow their progress throughout the day with text messaging.

Steve let me know that they both caught a 2012 smallie using jerkbaits and tubes. Check out these two beauties...

 



...and I don't mean Josh and Steve! :)

Another good buddy of mine to hit the water on Wednesday was Jeff (CHRGD). Jeff made a rare solo fishing trip on the Lower Susquehanna River.

Once he caught his first smallie, he was presented with a new challenge... Figuring out how to use the "Self-Timer" on his camera.

I know that when I'm fishing solo, I always need to figure and re-figure the distance I need to be from the camera to get a decent shot of the fish I catch. I think Jeff did a great job on this outing...







Thumbs up on such a gorgeous day!

The air temperature reached 60 degrees yesterday with a warm SW breeze blowing across the cold water. Josh had text me early and let me know that he had a water temperature reading of 41 degrees on the main stem. Although cold, this river water temperature is warmer than normal winters.

Today's wind is blowing in from WNW and there is a chance of showers tonight and rain tomorrow. We are most likely going to see a drop in temperatures to the 40's with a smattering of 50s over the next week. We have had an extremely warm winter this year... But I'm not complaining one bit!

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad

Susquehanna River On A Saturday Afternoon (02/19/12)

Hello Folks,

This coming week will be a very busy week for my Julie and me. We will be traveling to Baltimore, Maryland tomorrow morning for my bi-yearly appointment with my liver specialist, Dr. Anurug Maheshwari, M.D. At Mercy Hospital.

Mercy Hospital Physician Directory: Gastroenterology

On Wednesday, my wife will have a post-operative visit with her wrist surgeon, R. Peart at Lancaster Orthopedic Group (LOG). This is actually her fifth visit since the surgery. She is still attending PT twice a week with slow progress.

Dr. Peart was the same surgeon who repaired my right elbow . He operated on me twice in a matter of six months to remove bone spurs and cartilage. He also had to re-attach a torn tendon by anchoring it to my forearm. I have high respect for his work and my arm has been doing well. I was so concerned before going into these surgeries because this is my casting and shooting arm. But things have turned out rather well.

I am looking forward to Thursday and have been for about two months. This is the day I will be treated with the "Frequency Specific Microcurrents" (FSM) by Dr. West., D.O.   Dr. William West practices anesthesiology and pain management at Heart Of Lancaster Regional Medical Center in Lititz Pa.

Frequency Specific Microcurrents

And finally, a good ole' fashion Family Physician appointment on Friday. I visit my PCP once every three months due to my health issues. These check-in appointments have been crucial for my continued good health during these past six years since I was diagnosed with cirrhosis from N.A.S.H.

N.A.S.H.

I was actually diagnosed with N.A.S.H. when I was in my later 20's. I was told that everyone has some fatty infiltration into their organs and not to worry too much about it. Once I was diagnosed with the cirrhosis, I did a little research and found that only 3% of those with N.A.S.H. move into cirrhosis. Wow! Why can't I be that lucky when I play the Powerball!?

Now, on to fishing...

My good friends, Jeff and Penny, hit the Susquehanna River once again on Saturday (02/18/12). They were able to land twelve bass, including one healthy 12" smallie. Seven smallmouth came on "The Queen's" live minnows and the remaining five were caught on jerkbait, crankbait (2), and tubes thrown by Jeff... Good job, guys!

Update (02/20/12)  - Jeff wrote to me and said he got into two fish, back-to-back, on a crankbait. He thought he was onto something, but they were the only two that he caught on the crankbait. This is very typical of winter fishing.

"Mini-Smallie"
 
 

The largest bass measure in at 18 7/8th inch on the board. This one came on an artificial yesterday!


The water has been very clear and holding along the west bank at 42+ degrees F, influenced from Brunner Island which is several miles upriver. The air temperature hit near 50 degrees and the skies were partly cloudy with a wind blowing from 15 -20  mph. Jeff sent me some updated data regarding the winds and said that the wind was suppose to be from the Northeast, but was blowing upriver from the South... Go figure! (Updated 02/20/12)

The fish have been holding in water depths b/w 8' and 12'. We would consider this "deeper" water relative to the water levels surrounding this particular area. The bottom is hard rock with an occasional lay down that will eat a jig head or grab onto a treble hook or two... Prime wintering location for smallmouth bass.

Smile, Penny! I know your bass wasn't as big as Jeff's, but that's no reason not to show us those dimples.


Much Better!








This bass' tail fin looks like it was clipped. Damage from a past spawn?









Another great outing by the "Dynamic Duo"! I remember a time when Jeff told me that he and Penny were having a hard time catching quality bass on a consistent basis. I think you two have figured out the "Secret Code"... LOL!

I believe that the more time spent on the water by an individual gives him the knowledge needed to stay in touch with smallmouth seasonal patterns. For example, I just read a report from a smallmouth angler I know from Indiana. He mentioned that the smallmouth were on the move and the reason he knew this was his past experience and current time on the water.

Once one has this knowledge, he needs to use it to figure out what will attract a smallmouth into taking a lure. Sounds easy, but as we all know, this is far from the truth. Small nuances may be the difference between catching bass and going home "skunked".

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad

Back On The Water With Jeff (02/16/12)

Hello Folks,

What a busy morning for my wife and me. I had a hard time getting myself out of bed this morning. The skies were overcast and there was a threat of rain in the air. I've been fighting a terrible cold and cough for the past few days and I think it simply whipped my butt last night... I was sweating all night long. I thought that maybe I had a fever, but my temperature this morning only read 97.7 degrees which tends to be the norm for me... Oh, well.

I noticed that when I got up and started moving, my sinuses weren't as congested and I wasn't coughing as much. Maybe I'm beginning to lick this thing!

Julie told me that she had a few errands for us to run this morning. So, I grabbed a quick banana and headed out the door.

We stopped at the local corner store for a morning newspaper and a soft drink. Then we headed down the street to the Willow Street post office to drop off a letter with a money order in it. Since Julie has been off work, we've had to pay our credit union with a money order since it doesn't come out of her weekly work checks right now. Just one more thing to remember while she's recovering from her wrist surgery.

Julie mentioned to me before we left the house that it was time to change the air filter in the furnace. So, one of our morning errands was to go to our plumbing and heating specialist to pick up two new replacement filters... $80.00

The next run we made was the AAA. Our membership expired way back in September. So, it paid us to just start a new membership for a year's time... Three of us cost... $125. We may "up it" to the "Plus" program later, but for now, we stayed at the normal membership. I definitely could use that 100 mile towing program when I'm out with my boat and fishing upriver.

After lunch, we stopped at Lowe's and purchased a small refrigerator for my middle son's bedroom. He still lives with us and buys his own food and drinks. The refrigerator can help him keep his food nearby without using up much of our refrigerator space.

Now, I'm finally home and ready to write up my first of 2012 fishing trip blog entry. Jeff had texted me on Tuesday evening asking what I was doing on Wednesday. I wrote back... "Nothing. What's up?" and he immediately called me... "Want to get out tomorrow?"  Let me think about this for a second... "Yepper!" :)

We made plans to meet at the boat launch around 10:30 am. Jeff said the weatherman was calling for good weather between two frnts... Hmmmmm.

We met at the ramp at our appointed time and the wind was, of course, blowing a good 15 mph and the skies were overcast. There was a few showers the night before and north of us, but there was no rain in the forecast... But we were wondering "Where was this good weather!"

We hit the water... reading at Harrisburg, Pa. gauge said 4.5'... and headed south to our first fishing hole. Air temperature was 33 degrees and rose to 40 by the end of the trip. Jeff was all decked out in his new "Save Phace" face protector... I was looking around for Nicolas Cage in "Ghost Rider"... Cool Beans!  I nicknamed his face protector... "Hell2O" ;)





It took less than 15 minutes before I hooked up with a nice 15.5" smallie on a Bill Dance Fat Free Shad... Tennessee Shad. This lure is quite old and has been a very successful crankbait for me for both largemouth and smallmouth bass.



Jeff took this video while I was "attempting" to free the treble hooks (surgery) from my initial catch... I am so sore (leg and back) and loaded down with warm layered gear that my statement said it all... "I'm so limited..."  LOL!



We tossed crankbaits, jerkbaits, Winco CW Delight, grubs, tubes, and LIVE MINNOWS!

That's right... "The Queen Of The Susquehanna River" (Penny) taught Jeff a severe lesson when she whipped his butt last week while using the minnies... Jeff is a quick learner (... and so am I) and he brought a few dozen along to "play" with.

Jeff's first live minnow fish was a great 19" smallie... "Nice catch, Jeff!"





We played around with the different lures throughout our fishing trip, but the live minnows, by far, were the best of the best...









Jeff even caught a toothy critter... Nice walleye... caught and released!




Guess who gave us a call while on the water... Al Winco! I hadn't spoken to Al in several weeks and I have a firm belief that he could sense that we were out on the water and was checking up on us... "Hello, Can You Hear Me Now!?" LOL!



Can you hear that the wind howling on the river while listening to these videos!?

The next picture I entitled "Winter Resuscitation"! This was our live minnie bucket with portable aerator. It is the lifeline to winter fishing. :)

 

The river temperature was influenced by Brunner's Island. We had a reading of 42.5+ degrees on the console depth finder. The river temperature was around 38 degrees... It's amazing what that 4+ degrees difference will make in the dead of winter.

A big thanks to my fishing buddy, Jeff,  for lugging this poor soul around in his boat all day long. We had such a great time and once again solved numerous world, national, and local problems. We attacked the U.S. Penal System, the Pa. Budget, and many, many more issues.

I did learn four major lessons yesterday from Jeff. He had a passed plumber friend who taught him these necessary life lessons a few years back...
1. Shit flows downhill, 2. Pay is always on Friday, 3. The boss is a jerk, and 4. Don't chew your finger nails.

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad

The Susuqehanna River Smallies... Tough Little Buggers! (02/14/12)

Hello Folks,

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our fishing buddy, Joe Raymond, caught some pretty nasty looking smallies a few weeks ago while out wade fishing. He shared the pics on several bass fishing sites and sent the pictures into Dr. Bob Bachman of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC). Dr. Bob turned this pics over to their biologist .

Ad Crable, our local outdoor writer for the Lancaster New Era/Intelligencer Journal Newspaper, wrote a great article covering the sick fish that Joe caught.

Take a moment and read what Ad had to say...

A Sicker Susquehanna

Take Care and Be Safe,
Dad

Penny... "The Queen Of The Susquehanna River" Dominates (02/11/12)

Hello Folks,

It's good to have friends who like to fish just as much as I do, especially during the colder winter months. Having such good friends offers all of us a look at "how the river's fishing" during some of the coldest months of the year.

Each Friday, Penny and Jeff have a date on the water. They usually end up going in the early afternoon once Penny arrives home from a morning of work. This past Friday was no different and we have the pictures to here at "Fishing With Dad" to prove it.

Now, have I mentioned before that Penny is "The Queen Of The Susquehanna River"? She just loves to fish for Susquehanna River Smallies and I have seen some of her personal lure collection when fishing with Jeff. I definitely believe that Cotton Cordell or Berkley should hire her on the spot in their research and development department. Right, Jeff?

She also likes her "minnies". Penny has spent years perfecting her live minnow presentation and has caught some outstanding fish with it over the years.

The following pictures were taken while Jeff and Penny were fishing Lake Clarke this past Friday. Penny simply dominated with her live minnie presentation. All bass caught this past Friday were caught by "The Queen"!

After viewing these pictures, I am totally convinced that Penny is simply a hardcore winter angler and can keep up with the best of the best.... Some of the following pics show her deeply focused and unwavering she is. But I must say, "Penny, SMILE!" :)




I'm liking this picture!










Check out this rare catch by Jeff on the Susquehanna River!


That's right, folks. Jeff caught a 16.5" Rainbow Trout. Maybe I should be calling Jeff "The Slime-Rocket Man"? (Song to the Elton John tune of "Rocket Man") Good job, buddy. It's hard to believe that such a "tasty morsel" would still be swimming in the land of toothy critters.

Take Care and Be Safe!
Dad

Winter Fishing On Lake Clarke, Susquehanna River (02/10/12)

Hell Folks,

I spent two days at the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show and let me tell you... I'm bushed! I received my third spinal epidural injection in the series of three yesterday. Standing on a hard concrete floor for close to six hours each day just about did me in. I was planning on doing four days, but I just might bypas the last two days until I feel better... Hopefully by next February's ESOS!

On the second day at the ESOS, I left at my usual time, 4:00 pm, to catch the courtesy bus ride back to the Harrisburg, Pa. Bass Pro Shop. It was snowing outside most the day and I'm sure that the traffic had been slowed due to it. We actually waited well over 40 minutes for a bus to arrive to drive us back to the Bass Pro Shop... Simply put, I was a hurting puppy!

My replaced knee, left ankle, and right foot were all aching terribly so. I saw one lone chair in the far corner of the lobby where they had us all standing and waiting in three separate lines. I was going to walk over and grab that chair, drag it back to the line, and seat on it. But instead, I "manned-up" and stayed in line with the rest of the suffering. :)... p.s. I survived.

During the past week, my good friend Jeff B. (CHRGD) has been out fishing with his wife, Penny, and also with my good fishing buddy, John Williams (Re: See Reel Repair and Service blog entries). Jeff sent me some really neat pics from both of those trips and I will share them here with you...

Jeff and Penny Fishing Lake Clarke, Susquehanna River












Jeff wrote to me saying that Penny was using live minnows and he was using a soft plastic grub. The largest smallmouth was an 18" that came off the brown grub slowly jigged on the bottom.

John and Jeff Fishing Lake Clarke, Susquehanna River




What beautiful winter smallies! Look how "thick" some of them look. I guess the winter cuisine of bait fish is rather filling in their slowed metabolic, "cold-water" state.

You can just imagine how cold it was on Jeff, Penny, and John. In fact, Wednesday (February 7, 2012), when John and Jeff were fishing, a rare "Winter of 2011-2012" snow began to fall and we all ended up with about 1.5" of snowfall. I asked Jeff if he had taken any photos while out in the snow storm and he said that he didn't... "Ahhhh, shucks!" What a great pic that would have made... Maybe next time, Jeff!

Here's a pic of Penny holding a 21 inch smallie she caught back in 2011. Jeff had entered this picture in the PFBC "Angler& Boater" magazine picture contest. Well, while fishing with Penny this past Monday, they received a phone call telling them that Penny's picture took "2nd Place" in the statewide picture contest... Cool beans and congratulations to both Penny and Jeff! Keep your eyes peeled for Penny's pic in an upcoming 2012 issue of  "Angler & Boater".



In two weeks, I will be having the "Frequency Specific Microcurrent" (FSM) technique used on my scar riddled left knee by Dr. West (anesthesiologist). In fact, Dr. West is heading to Las Vegas next week for a four day seminar on FSM. He told me yesterday that he has a procedure written up on my knee's FSM and knows the frequencies required for the treatment. I asked him to check in and around around the Vegas seminar with those who practice this treatment as to their success with working with scar tissue and knees.

Dr. West also told me that he'll be attending a seminar session covering patients with high pain due to injuries, surgeries, etc. He would fit me into that category and will be listening rather intently to see what is available for patients like experiencing constant pain... I am certainly looking forward to his return and February 23rd when I get my first FSM treatment... More to come on this topic!

Take Care and Be Careful!
Dad