Here is more "stuff" from my old guiding website. I made a running page from April through November of 2001. As I read them, I was flooded with memories of those trips and some of the neat stuff that took place nine years ago.
If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you'll find my first post for the year.
I hope you enjoy the read!
Dad
| 11/23/01 Accomac. What a beautiful day for fishing! The temperature was in the mid-fifties with an up river breeze b/w 5 - 10 mph. I took my 12 year old son, Zach, with me. We launched from Marietta at 1:00 p.m. and fished until 3:00 p.m. Water temperature ranged from 44 degrees at the ramp to 55.7 degrees up above Wildcat Falls. Brunner Island definitely had an effect on the water temperature today. We caught 4 smallies on 1/8th oz. black/blue hair jigs fished slowly on the bottom. Our largest fish was a 16 1/2" smallie caught in 46 degree water. In fact, we caught three of our smallies at that same spot. Tomorrow should provide similar conditions with a cold front moving in. They're calling for rain Saturday night through Sunday morning. Lord knows we need the moisture. 9/28 and 9/29/01 Sayers Reservoir. I traveled with five members of the Manor Middle School Junior Bassmasters and their parents to Sayers Reservoir. We were preparing to fish the Pa. B.A.S.S. Federation's Junior B.A.S.S. State The Junior State Three members from my club placed on the eight man roster for the Pa. State Junior It was a great weekend of fishing. All the kids were treated to free lures and a Pa. B.A.S.S. Federation cap. They all went home winners! 8/23/01 and 8/24/01 Long Level and Pequea. The Hawg Hunters' Lunker Tournament had 19 boats in attendance. The winning fish only weighed in at 1.82 lbs. This was the only legal size fish brought to the scales. Most anglers reported catching small fish but the legal ones eluded them. Tubes seemed to be widely used. Pequea... I fished alone out of the Pequea ramp. I launched at 9:30 a.m. and fished until 1:00 p.m. I first went to the Safe Harbor Dam and fished along the Lancaster County shoreline. I caught 5 small smallmouth on green pumpkin and salt and pepper with purple flake tubes. I missed one fish on a Big O crankbait. As the morning progressed, I ran over to the York County shoreline and fished among the rocks. I was only able to catch one small fish on a tube. The fishing was slow. Air temperature was 79 degrees and water temperature was 78 degrees. There was a slight breeze and it was partly cloudy. It seemed like an ideal fishing situation but the day didn't pan out. 8/4 & 5/01 Marsh Creek. Fished a twelve hour (7:00 p.m. - 7:00 a.m.) night tourney with the Hawg Hunters. My boat rider was Don Breneman. We fished a Whacky Worm during the last hours of daylight. I had two keepers in the boat before dark. After dark set in, I switched to Carolina Rigging. I threw a lizard, grub, and worm without success. I later turned the boat over to Don (9:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.). Don was able to put a limit of six fish (on paper) together during his front end experience. I caught only dinks throughout the night. Don was catching them on a Texas Rigged Tube. Being quick to respond to a successful technique, I started throwing a tube. However, I didn't catch my next two keepers until daylight. It was funny. I caught the two fish back to back and right near the ramp! The winning weight was just below 11 lbs. Tim Martin put that limit together. Don and Jeff Keener tied for 2nd with 10 lbs. 7 oz. I was lucky enough to have lunker with a 2 lb. 12 oz. greenie. 7/17/01 Lake Aldred. My middle son, Tom, Jr. , asked me last night to take him fishing today. We got on the water around 7:00 a.m. and fished until 11:30 a.m. We headed to the mouth of the Conestoga and fished the rocky shoal just south of it. The water was on the rise because Safe Harbor was dumping. I caught 2 smallies off the rocky shoal using a crankbait. We worked our way upriver until we got to the rip rap wall at Safe Harbor. Both Tom and I caught two more smallmouths by using tubes in salt and pepper with purple flake. Tom asked me to run him to another location. So we headed for the Otter Creek area. We had no luck fishing around the several small islands that sit in front of the creek. We then headed back to the ramp. The water continues to be stained and in the mid 80's. It was a hazy, humid morning. Forecast for today is 90 degrees with afternoon thunderstorms. This unsettling weather is suppose to continue through Thursday. 7/13 &14/01 Montgomery Ferry and the RiverSmallies.com Rodeo. I spent the weekend fishing with my son, Zach. We made reservations at the Riverfront Campground which was the central gathering point for the RiverSmallies.com crew. This rodeo was in memory of Galen "Skip" Walters who lost his life this past winter on the Susquehanna. Zach and I arrived at the campgrounds around 11:00 a.m. and meet several of the crew. We pitched our tent and headed for the Montgomery Ferry access. The river was low and we were limited to where we could run. We caught 8 fish in the three hours we were out. We were throwing Cabin Creek Tubes with 1/4 oz. tube heads. The second day we did much better. We arrived at the launch at 7:00 a.m. and fished until 11:30 a.m. Together we caught 25 smallies. We came off the water early , ate lunch, and then headed back to the campsite. Back at the campground, Zach picked up his rod which was rigged with a spinnerbait and headed for the water. I followed and watched as he fished along the rocky shoal. We caught two more smallies on that spinnerbait. I would like to thank the RiverSmallies.com crew for giving my son and me a great weekend. The pig roast was fantastic and the fellowship was even better. Special thanks go to Al Pugh, Kevin Hoover and Tim Freese for the fishing tackle they gave each and every one if us. The Yamamoto Baits will be put to good use. My son looked like a kid in a 7/6/01 Gifford Pinchot (7/3/01) and Long Level (7/5/01). I have two Lunker Tournaments to report on. The first was Tuesday Night at Gifford Pinchot. I fished with Mike Burton from his Mr. Bass boat. We got to the ramp early in order to get a good beaching spot. We took off at 5:30 p.m. and headed towards the shallow, grassier end of the lake. I fished a Carolina Rig, Wacky Worm, and a Drop Shot. I caught fish on all three rigs but nothing with size. The biggest was a 13 1/2" largemouth. Mike threw crankbait and a Texas Rig. He caught one largemouth. The winning weight went over 5 lbs. The second lunker was a good 3 lber. Long Level. I fished with my son, Zach. It was the first time I launched the G3 without another adult assisting. It went smoothly, which pleased me. Zach and I launched from the upper ramp and ran to the lower ramp. We assisted in the livewell check until the start of the tournament. Zach and I ran up to the Columbia side of the river and fished among the rocks. As soon as we got to our site, the wind began to howl! It blew for over 20 minutes. Dark menacing clouds accompany the wind. This past and moved to our south. After it passed, the thunder began. The lower pool got nailed. Zach fished mostly tubes and I threw a crankbait. We both caught small bass. We even caught 6 walleye. I hooked into one walleye that was around 20". We didn't stay around for the weigh-in. Zach and I headed to the upper ramp and trailered the boat. We finished the night off by stopping at The Burger King in Columbia for a Whopper, fries, and a drink. It was a good way to end the fishing trip with Zach. Boy, the mayflies were hoovering around the parking lot lights. We even managed to transport several back to Willow Street...lol. 6/28/01 Long Level. This was the second night for the Lancaster County Hawg Hunters "Thursday Night Lunker Tournament." We had 26 boats entered in the tourney. The payout was $329 for lunker. It was a very hot and humid night. There was a slight breeze but nothing major. Anglers began showing up at 4:30 p.m. The water was very warm (80's) and the Safe Harbor Dam was dumping a lot of water. In fact, the water level dropped a good foot or more during the tournament. The winning weight was a 4.52 lb. largemouth caught by the Chris Greist boat. Not bad for a Long Level fish. Anglers were throwing tubes, jig and pig, and crankbaits. I am sure someone tried a spinnerbait or two. Because of the large number of boats, we are considering a "trickle" start to insure safety. We know that many of the anglers cannot get there early. We will possibly be looking at a drawing at registration for boat positions. This may give each and every boat the opportunity to blast off first. 6/10/01, 6/15/01 and 6/17/01 Goldsboro/Middletown. You might be wondering why I haven't written for two previous trips. Well, I have been preparing for the Bassin' Buddies tournament at Goldsboro. I didn't want to give away any of my secrets...ha ha. First of all, it has been tough fishing, period. I fished on the 10th with Dave Brown and on the 15th with Mike Phillips. My goal on each trip was to figure out a pattern for catching fish. Dave and I had very little success. We eliminated water and narrowed the selection of lures. But Mike and I came upon a location and pattern that worked. We found a spot just below the pipeline at Steelton that seemed to be holding fish. I threw my favorite crankbait and caught two nice keeper size fish. We then left the spot rest for the next day before the tourney. On Saturday, before the tournament, rain and thunderstorms moved through the region. We actually had very little rain, not enough to effect the river much. The river was at 3.5 feet at Harrisburg and the temp was around 80 - 82 degrees. Sunday started out overcast and breezy. The wind continued throughout the entire tournament. Mike and I were boat #17 and headed out in the first flight. We headed to the Canal Lock and through the slot. But before we headed through the shoot, BAM! I hit a rock and took a nice chunk out of my "boot." My motor let up and I lost power. Something was stuck in the intake. I tilted my motor up and then lowered her into the water. Now she worked just fine. We continued our trek to Steelton. When we got to our site, we were the only boat. We began our float and within a few minutes, I had our first keeper in the boat. A few minutes later, I had a second one in the boat. Things were going great. My third fish was just short of 15" and my fourth fish was another keeper. I hooked into another keeper fish that ran and jumped about 15 yards from the boat. Mike thought she was bigger than any of the ones we already had...lost! The next fish I hooked into came to the side of the boat. Mike had the net ready to grab her and BING! She broke the line about two feet up from the lure...GONE! There went two keeper fish and my favorite crankbait in less than 20 minutes. Mike was now throwing one of my extra crankbaits. He lost a good fish shortly after tying it on. I asked Mike to come up to the front deck and take control of the Minn Kota. I needed a break for a soda and to tie on another lure. During that drift, Mike landed a 2.81 lb. bass. Now we had four keepers. We would have had our 6 fish limit but it wasn't meant to be. On our way back through the slot, I scraped over a rock in front of the slot and then one further down below the channel markers. This day wasn't going right! To top things off, as I was trailering my boat, the hitch let loose and the trailer came off. The only thing holding my trailer to the Expedition were the safety chains. Thank God for the safety chains. Several guys at the ramp helped me lift the trailer and boat onto the hitch ball. Thanks guys! We ended up with 8.48 lbs and took 7th place among 73 boats. So I cashed a check but had a $350 dollar bill to pay... Thank God for insurance. 6/2/01. Goldsboro/Middletown. I fished today with Kevin Geesey. Kevin is the tournament director for the Lancaster County Hawg Hunters. I called Kevin around 10:00 a.m. and asked him if he wanted to fish with me at Goldsboro in my new boat. He jumped at the opportunity. I know Kevin loves to fish any chance he can get. We met at the Canal Lock ramp around 10:40 a.m. and launched the G3. I have a tournament at Goldsboro (Bassin' Buddies) in two weeks and wanted to get reacquainted with the channel and the shot by the pilot/guide rock. I was also still in the break-in period for my motor. We had her on plane several times today and running at full throttle. We headed north past the Turnpike Bridge and fished above the power lines. We only caught 4 fish on tubes. We hit the grassbeds at the power line and I was able to land a 14 incher on a white/chart spinnerbait. I then took some time to tie on a crankbait. It was a good choice. Within two casts, I had a 17" smallie staring at me. I caught a couple smaller fish on the crankbait before we left and ran down to the ledges. At the ledges, we only pulled one fish in. Before heading to the ramp, we fished along the airport runway. Kevin caught 2 more fish and I also caught 2. These fish all came on tubes. I started up the Yammie and headed back to the ramp. All in all, we had a decent day. I have had tremendous days up at Middletown and look forward to them. The water was stained to dirty. The temperature was 69 degrees. It was slightly overcast with the sun appearing about half way through our trip. 5/27/01 Conowingo Pond. Took the new boat out for it's maiden voyage. Put two break-in hours on her. My wife and youngest son accompanied me. It was a little breezy and in the mid 60's. The water temperature was 69 degrees and it was stained. My son and I both caught smallies. I was throwing a 3/8th oz. spinnerbait and he had on a tube (salt and pepper with purple flake) with a 1/8th oz. tubehead. The boat ran great. I will take her out tomorrow to put more time on the motor. 5/19/01 We held our annual Youth Derby today. Seven boys from the Manor Middle School Junior Bassmasters participated. We met in the KMart Shopping Center on Prospect Road and Columbia Avenue at 5:30 a.m. For most of the boys, this was quite early. We paired the boys up with several of the volunteer boat owners from the Lancaster County Hawg Hunters. By 5:45 a.m. we set out for Long Level's lower ramp. We launched by 6:15 a.m. Each boy was provided with a tub of worms from Phillip's Bait and Tackle. During the time the boys were on the water, several of the club members prepared a picnic lunch for the boys and the boaters. There were also piles of prizes made for each boy. Kinnsey's, Phillip's Bait and Tackle and several club members donated tackle and clothing for each of the boys. When the boys came off the water, everything was set up and waiting for them. We ate hamburgers, hot dogs, macaroni salad, and chips. There were plenty of soda to quench their thirst. The boys had a wonderful time. I would like to thank the boaters - Mr. Altland, Mike Burton, Tim Martin, Sam Sellard, and Ray Caldwell. I would also like to recognize Kevin Geesey and Dave Brown for their on shore preparation of the food and prizes. Kevin did all the shopping for the food and also approached Kinnsey's for some of the great prizes awarded to the boys. Thanks Guys!
5/6/01 The Hawg Hunters held a club event on the Susquehanna. We launched from Havre de Grace, Maryland. My boat owner was Tim Martin. We were fishing off a full moon and were expecting a good day of fishing. A front had passed through on Saturday and Sunday was clear but breezy. Tim and I headed out of the Marina and fished the west shoreline along a wooden wall. We tried several areas without success. We then moved to the Port Deposit area where I landed a 3lb 15 oz. largemouth (lunker). I used a green pumpkin tube with a 1/8th oz. tube head. We later ran up into the river. Tim caught one smallie and that was it. About one hour before we ended, Tim and I returned to Tyding's Marina and fished the docks across from the ramp. We met Don Brenneman and John Kopp. Don had three fish in the boat and was leading. While we fished this area, Tim caught another keeper and so did Don. Both were throwing green pumpkin tubes. The day ended with Don in first , me in second, and Les Becker in third. The fishing wasn't too great but it was a beautiful day. 4/27, 28, 29/01 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) The Lancaster County Hawg Hunters held a two day club event on the Potomac River. My first day's partner was John Kopp. John and I left early Friday morning and spent the day exploring the Mattewoman Creek and the Potomac River. It was a beautiful day with the water temperatures in the mid to upper 60's. John and I fished five different locations and caught fish at four of them. After we would catch a fish, we would mark that spot and then leave. Thus saving those spots for Saturday's fishing. Saturday was all together a different story. A front came through during the night. The temperature dropped into the 50's and the wind was blowing 10 to 15 mph with gust of over 20 mph. It was a very difficult day for the owners to handle their boats. John and I fished several of the spots we had marked on Friday. I was able to catch 4 keeper fish on green pumpkin tubes and John caught 1. My catch placed me in second place after the first day. Sam Sellard was in first and had lunker. The second day found me paired with Sam Sellard. Sam was in first place after the first day. The weather was a lot nicer today. However, the cold front had brought blue bird skies. We started our day by fishing a marina on the Virginia side of the river where Sam had caught four fish on Saturday. We did not catch a single fish. So we moved to the power plant and had no success there. We decided to run back across to the Naval Pier. I caught one keeper and now was leading Sam by one ounce. After fishing that spot for about an hour without another bite, we ran back across the river and fished some lay downs without success. We came across some new rip rap that was recently placed near a marina. Sam caught two keeper fish and I caught one, the lunker. We ended our day with Sam in first, me in second and Jeff Keener in third. Our weight wasn't anything to brag about but it made no difference. I just love fishing the Potomac River. Hello and welcome to my report page. I will be giving continuous fishing reports as I fish the Susquehanna River and other bodies of water.
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