Category Archives: Fishing Ramblings – My Fishing Blog

Random thoughts and musings about fishing

I Will Never Forget the First Bass I Caught

I will never forget the first bass I caught. My mother and I were fishing the creek just below the Usury’s pond dam, catching bream and small cats on earthworms. When my cork went under I expected a fight from a fish that stayed underwater and pulled in small circles. Instead, when I raised my cane pole the fish took off sideways then jumped out of the water! The eleven inch bass hooked me on more exciting fishing.

I soon graduated to a Zebco spin cast reel on a limber rod. I used it to cast plugs like Lazy Ikes, Hula Poppers and Rapala minnows to try to catch bass. I also used Mepps spinners and the new fangled rubber worms from Creme. Fishing in ponds around my house, I learned to cast to stumps and other cover where they lived.

Fishing ponds was always a quiet, contemplative activity. There were few unnatural sounds. In fact, back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were so few cars on nearby roads we usually looked to see who was going by – we always knew them. And if an airplane went overhead, we would stop and watch it until it was out of sight they were so rare.

Although I usually fished from the bank or waded the shallows while fishing, sometimes I got the chance to fish from a wooden jon boat. We sculled the boat with a paddle, easing silently around the pond looking for places I could never reach from the bank. One of my uncles got an electric motor, a huge, heavy thing that was fairly quiet but made moving around on the water much easier. We kept it turned off most of the time to stay quiet.

We also sometimes used a small gas motor to push us around. They were loud, smoky things that we seldom cranked since they were often hard to start with the pull rope and we just knew the noise and commotion they caused scared the bass.

I got to go to Clark’s Hill, the new reservoir about 20 miles from my house, a few times a year. It was huge but my fishing was usually limited to casting from the bank or wading the shallows, just like in ponds. My bus driver had a moving around on the water much easier. We kept it turned off most of the time to stay quiet.

We also sometimes used a small gas motor to push us around. They were loud, smoky things that we seldom cranked since they were often hard to start with the pull rope and we just knew the noise and commotion they caused scared the bass.

I got to go to Clark’s Hill, the new reservoir about 20 miles from my house, a few times a year. It was huge but my fishing was usually limited to casting from the bank or wading the shallows, just like in ponds. My bus driver had a slightly larger boat with a bigger motor and he took me to the lake a few times. It was thrilling to putter along at about five miles per hour, slow, but it opened up a lot of new fishing water. We still sculled it around to fish.

On the big lake we saw few other boats and they were like ours. It was normally very quiet even there.

By the time I got out of college and moved to Griffin in 1972 bass fishing had changed. Bass boats were getting popular and I bought my first in 1974, a 16 foot boat with a huge, for the time, 70 horsepower motor. When I joined the Spalding County Sportsman Club that year I had the second biggest motor in the club!

Bass fishing had gotten nosier, with bigger motors on fishing and pleasure boats. And more and more people were on the bigger lakes since they were

On the big lake we saw few other boats and they were like ours. It was normally very quiet even there.

By the time I got out of college and moved to Griffin in 1972 bass fishing had changed. Bass boats were getting popular and I bought my first in 1974, a 16 foot boat with a huge, for the time, 70 horsepower motor. When I joined the Spalding County Sportsman Club that year I had the second biggest motor in the club!

Bass fishing had gotten nosier, with bigger motors on fishing and pleasure boats. And more and more people were on the bigger lakes since they were accessible to all. Much of the peace and quiet disappeared.

Tournaments got bigger and bigger, too. The first Bassmasters Classic was a fairly small affair where the qualifying fishermen were flown to a mystery lake. Now tournament sites are announced months in advance and hyped by the tournament organization and local businesses.

Weigh-ins have become a circus, with blasting music, flashing lights and fireworks. Competitors are encouraged to put on a show, yelling and dancing. Some have even done break dances on the stage and in their boats. All if filmed for TV and draws millions of viewers.

Bass boats now look like NASCAR racers, wrapped with advertisements and costing more than many houses. They have huge motors with 250 horsepower being standard. Electronics will show you exactly where you are with the GPS and every detail under, and even out to the sides of the boat, with the “fishfinder.” Many even incorporate radar so you can run in the fog and see other boats.

Competitors blast off from the starting point and race at 70 plus miles per hour to fishing holes. It is not unusual, in a seven hour tournament, for anglers to use five or six of the hours running to a place far away where they think they can win. Running 150 miles each way to fish one spot for an hour sometimes pays off with winning stringers.

I love tournaments, but will never give up the peace, quiet and joy of fishing smaller waters, without all the hype!

Why Are Fires Good For Warming Yourself?

Warming Yourself with A Fire

There is nothing quite like warming yourself with a wood fire. I have spent many hours standing or sitting around a campfire outside and have an insert in my house that does a good job keeping the whole house warm. Both require work, but some of that is fun, too.
An open fire in camp this time of year is a mixed blessing. The smell of wood burning always warms me, even when I am far from the fire. Often when fishing I will smell a fire at a cabin and the smoky smell gives me a good feeling no matter how cold I am.
Gathering sticks and bigger wood for a camp fire is a pain but not too bad. Most fuel can be easily found in the woods and dragged or carried to the fire pit. Breaking up small limbs by hand and chopping bigger stuff with an ax is more pleasing, but not nearly as fast, as with a chain saw. But I hate to disturb the peace and quiet in the woods with my saw.
When the fire is going good on a really cold day you can stand or sit by it and get nice and toasty – on one side. The side away from the fire will still be freezing cold. That is why rotating the side of your body facing the fire ever few minutes is standard.
I really enjoy cutting wood, at least parts of it. I like using my chain saw to cut down trees and then cut them up into useable lengths, but picking up big pieces, loading them on the truck and then unloading them is back-breaking work.
It is said firewood will warm you seven times. When you cut it, load it, unload it, split it, stack it, carry it to the fire and while burning. In fact I am often sweating on freezing cold days while loading the truck. That is the hardest part of it all to me.
I have some great memories of fires but my favorite is a fire I never saw. One cold December morning just after daylight while fishing a tournament at Jackson I was in a small cove. It was foggy with wisps of gray tentacles curling around the cabins and trees on the bank. The only sound at first was the gentle lapping of water against my boat.
About the time I smelled wood smoke and felt the warm glow from it someone on the bank started playing a haunting, slow blues song. It was soft and gentle. I have tried to find that song but never knew the name or artists. I still get a flood of warm feelings from the memories of the sound, smell and sights of that morning.
The big fire at deer camp always brings back great memories. For years we kept a big cast iron caldron hanging over the fire, keeping water hot for dish washing and other chores. That fire burned from the beginning of camp until the end. We never let it go out.
The stories told around that fire at night and the anticipation felt around it as we prepared to go to our deer stands in the dark of early morning added to the mystic of the fire. And the boiled peanuts that simmered in the big pot and were always great.
Campfires were a staple of backyard camping and camps in the woods when I was growing up. We were good boy scouts and always tried to start the fire with flint and steel or rubbing sticks together, but never went without matches as a backup. And we always had to use them.
Cooking food on an open fire is always an interesting experience. From bacon burned on one end and almost raw on the other to scrambled eggs that are full of ashes, nothing tastes so good. And a bird or squirrel roasted over the fire is a delicacy even if tough and chewy!
Another great fire memory was with my mother. We put a trotline across a cove at Clarks Hill then, just as it got dark, started a small campfire on a sandbar near it. After baiting our rod and reels with chicken liver and setting them up in forked sticks, we sat on the ground by that fire and talked for hours.
I was a freshman in college at the time and it was one of the first times my mother had talked to me like I was a man rather than her kid. I don’t remember catching any fish but I do remember sitting there with her and talking.
This is a great time to have a campfire or to keep your house warm with a fire. The work can be hard but well worth it. And both will make great memories.

What Is the Story of A Drift Bottle Found On Martha’s Vineyard?

Drift Bottle Found on Martha’s Vineyard Has Quite a Story to Tell

Keith Moreis likes to walk the beaches of Martha’s Vineyard, often finding pieces of sea glass. Occasionally he finds other treasures. On December 22, 2013, during a routine walk on Long Point Reservation in West Tisbury, he found a glass bottle resting in the sand next to some seagrass. After brushing aside the sand, he was surprised to see that the bottle was intact.

Drift bottle found on Martha's Vineyard

Drift bottle found on Martha’s Vineyard

The drift bottle found on Martha’s Vineyard in December 2013. Photo credit: Shelley Dawicki, NEFSC/NOAA.

The clear glass soda bottle, about 8 inches tall, had a black stopper on top and contained some papers. Inside the bottle, a pink sheet printed with the words “Break This Bottle” caught his attention. He took the bottle home.

Intrigued by the message and not wanting to break the bottle, Moreis managed to get the black top off with a corkscrew. It was not easy. With a wire, he pulled out the pink sheet and a postcard with printing on both sides. One side of the postcard had an address; the other side had instructions to the finder and some stamped and handwritten information.

Moreis, who was born and raised on Martha’s Vineyard, remained curious about the bottle and its contents and showed it to friends, who suggested he bring it to Woods Hole to see if anyone knew about it. On February 20 he went to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), which had reported finding another drift bottle a few weeks earlier. Since the postcard had Coast and Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce in the return address, WHOI staff suggested that Moreis contact oceanographer Jim Manning at the Woods Hole Laboratory of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC). He did, and brought the bottle to the Center later that day.

Both sides of a sample postcard placed inside Coast and Geodetic Survey drift bottles. When released, the ship’s name, location and date of release, and the bottle number were stamped or handwritten on the card. Photo credit: NOAA.
The postcard had both stamped and handwritten information on the top: U.S.C.&G.S. HYDROGRAPHER was stamped on the left corner, and Sep 19, 1959 on the right corner, with the day handwritten. In the middle, just above the printed words “FINDER OF THIS BOTTLE” and instructions below, was the handwritten number 279B, written twice.

USCGS refers to the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. The U.S. Coast Survey, created by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807 as the Survey of the Coast, expanded as the nation grew westward to include surveys of the interior of the country. The agency was renamed the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878. Today it is known as the National Geodetic Survey and has been part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) since NOAA was created in 1970 in the Department of Commerce.

Manning reviewed copies of drift bottle records through 1958 published by the Fish and Wildlife Service and compiled by Dean Bumpus of WHOI. However, the release date for this bottle was 1959 and therefore was not in these records. A trip by Manning to the WHOI Data Library and Archive a few days later uncovered more information about drift bottles released by the ship Hydrographer during Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC&GS) surveys. Bumpus had asked other agencies, including the Coast and Geodetic Survey in late 1959, to provide him with copies of their drift bottle data.

This sheet was also inside the drift bottles. A faded sheet is visible in the bottle pictured above found in December 2013. Photo credit: NOAA.
In February 2014, Albert “Skip” Theberge at the NOAA Central Library had also contacted the NEFSC regarding another drift bottle story. After sharing news of this latest bottle find with him, the NEFSC asked Theberge about drift bottle releases by USC&GS ships. Drift bottles had been in use by the Coast and Geodetic Survey to track ocean currents since 1846. The last drift bottles used by the survey were released between 1958 and 1966.

It did not take long to locate information from the Coast and Geodetic Ship Explorer in the Pacific Ocean in the 1950s, and about Explorer cruises in the Atlantic Ocean. However, there were no images related to drift bottles releases from the Hydrographer. But there was something else of interest: An image of a postcard from drift bottle 17465, found 25 miles south of Nelson Lagoon in southwest Alaska on February 8, 2011.

The image caption read: “Perhaps the last drift bottle that will ever be found. All drift bottle records have been closed for years so the exact location and even ship that launched Drift Bottle 17465 is unknown. It is probable that it was launched from either the EXPLORER or PATHFINDER in the 1950’s or 1960’s. It is remarkable that the bottle survived for close to fifty years.”

As for the last drift bottle from Coast and Geodetic Surveys to be found, the bottle found by Keith Moreis on Martha’s Vineyard may now hold the record.

In the meantime, archive documents revealed that in September and October of 1959 the USC&GS Ship Hydrographer conducted environmental studies in three areas off the New England Coast: 16 miles northeast of Cape Cod Light, just south of Nomans Land, and 36 miles south of Gay Head on Martha’s Vineyard.

A detailed hydrographic survey had been conducted in each area. In addition to collecting bottom sediment samples and biological dredge hauls, the Hydrographer had obtained 100 hours of current meter measurements made at the surface, mid-depth and near the bottom with current meters suspended from anchored buoys. Drift bottles were released at each buoy station at the rate of six per hour, all six with the same bottle number, for the 100 hours of current measurements.

The bottle releases were part of a study of ocean currents and the drift of floating objects off the New England coast. They were also part of a study to determine currents in the vicinity of proposed offshore atomic waste dumping sites.

As of February 8, 1960, only two drift bottle cards had been returned from the area 36 miles south of Gay Head (now known as Aquinnah), but nearly 60 percent from the area just south of Nomans Land. Approximately 5 percent of bottle card returns came from the area 16 miles northeast of Cape Cod Light, now known as Highland Light, in Truro.

Records as of March 1960 indicate that four of the six bottles numbered 279B released south of Nomans Land were recovered within two months of their September 19, 1959 release: one after 2 days, another after 4 days, and a third after 7 days. All three were found on Martha’s Vineyard. The fourth was found after 55 days on Nantucket.

The December 2013 bottle is one of the last two bottles released in that group. Like the others, it was recovered just miles away from where it began its journey, but in this case more than 54 years later.

For Keith Moreis, that December beach walk on a cold winter day yielded a treasure indeed.

“Finding the bottle was exciting,” said Moreis. “Learning more about it and its history has been a rewarding experience, to say the least. I never expected to find something like this, but then again, you never know what you will find on the beach.”

What Can I Learn From A Fishing Guide?

You Can Learn A Lot From A Fishing Guide
from The Fishing Wire

You can learn a whole lot from a professional fishing guide…some of it applies to fishing. Most of it, however, applies to life and fishing.

Each March for the past few years, I’ve quietly cleared a space on my calendar for an event called the “Gaston’s Gathering”. It’s a two-day retreat where outdoor writers, editors and photographers fortunate enough to be included on the guest list have the opportunity to come together at Gaston’s White River Resort in Lakeview, Arkansas.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the area, Gaston’s bills itself as the country’s finest fishing resort. It’s located down the White River from the Bull Shoals dam, on what is, arguably, some of the most productive trout water in America. I’ve caught rainbow, cutthroat and brown trout there, and have been fortunate enough that some of them have been the kind of trout many of us fish a lifetime without catching.

Gaston’s is a family-owned and operated business, and has for the past half-century or so been managed by Jim Gaston. He’s a gracious host, fellow photography enthusiast and collector of all manner of cool stuff. Gaston’s great restaurant-literally built out over the water- boasts great food, along with a ceiling full of some of the most interesting gear you’ll ever sea. The collection includes vintage fishing motors, bicycles, signs and about anything else that’s caught Jim’s interest over the years. Cases inside the restaurant, hotel office and gift shop are full of other interesting collections, from old safety razors to watches and some amazing fountain pens.

It’s the kind of place where you can bring your spouse, children and even the family dog and be assured of being treated like family. If you’d like to know more about Gaston’s, you can visit www.gastons.com and check it out for yourself. And before you ask, yes most of the cabins and lodges are pink. There’s a story there, but no space for it here.

Gaston and his guides. At the annual “Shore Lunch” Gaston’s owner Jim Gaston (with camera on left), poses for a photo with the group of guides who regularly wrangle a gaggle of outdoor media types like the professionals they are. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.
Gaston’s also has a collection of fishing guides that are, in every sense, pretty unique characters. They include lifelong natives, “transplanted yankees” and others who don’t really talk about where they’re from. I’ve been fortunate enough to fish with a cross-section of them over the years, and their personalities are about as different as people who enjoy common activities can be.

But they all share short snippets of wisdom about fishing- and life- in their own unique ways. And you can learn- a lot- about your fishing and life if you’re paying attention.

On Tuesday, I asked guide Chuck Meyer what the single most common fishing mistake he saw on a recurring basis. What I expected was the usual rote answer about fishing too-fast or not giving the fish the opportunity to take the bait.

What I got was a two pronged explanation about why we weren’t having particularly good luck Tuesday morning-and why many of us seem at times to be playing life in the catch-up mode.

“Well, pal,” he said, “I’d have to say the biggest problem I see- and one I can’t really help with a lot of the time: lack of preparation.”

Boom. Right there he explained why the “hello, I’m here to fish” approach to the White River- and life- frequently doesn’t work. He quietly chastened both anglers in the boat with him at the time.

I, for example, arrived with a pair of ultralight rigs I’d had good luck with in the past at Gastons. One had been purchased in their shop and the only change was what I’d considered an “upgrade” over the original line.

On a river where there are lots of anglers -and guides- it’s tough to be successful if your customer doesn’t do their part. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.

What I’d thought too-light for the job was, in fact, exactly what I should have been using on Tuesday. It was a four-pound test light-green monofilament. I’d replaced it with a six- pound, high-tech line that I’d used successfully on some pie-plate sized panfish last summer.

But line that’s too-heavy – and visible to the fish- doesn’t have much of a chance to work in a fishery that gets pressure every day. Consequently, I wasn’t catching a lot of fish although I was getting the bites. Heavier line also disguises light bites in fast-moving water.

Without saying anything, I nodded my head with what I’d hoped was an appropriate amount of contrition. The guide may be working for you, but you have to give him the chance to give you the benefit of his experience.

My unnamed fishing partner had brought along a rig that was capable of yanking great big fish through heavy brush. It was also rigged with line that could have been used for a tow truck more effectively than trout.

We weren’t catching fish- but it had absolutely nothing to do with the guide. Unfortunately, many of us are inclined to blame the gear, the boat, the current or the guide when the culprit is sitting inside our own lucky fishing shirt.

And it’s not like being prepared would have taken that much work. The guide inside every room at Gaston’s says very clearly that they suggest “4 lb. green Trilene or green Maxima line, not fluorescent.” We’d also ignored the part that said “you can always catch trout on works, Nitro Eggs, Powerbait and corn. Lures that work consistently are spinners, Little Cleo spoons… and certain fly patterns.”

We had exactly none of those with us.

Sound familiar?

If it does, you might find it time to take a mental inventory of problem areas in other parts of your life. You might find that your career-equivalent of a professional fisherman’s tackle box is lacking some basic gear as well.

A fishing guide’s income is not really based on his daily rate, although that rate is set where if covers his basic expenses. Guides make a significant portion of their income from gratuities after they’ve shared their expertise. If you’re not adequately prepared to take advantage of that expertise and experience, it’s not the guide’s fault, but in many cases he’ll see that reflected in the gratuity. Sometimes, they’ll quietly admit, they’ve done some of their best work on some of the least productive days.

“Sometimes,” another guide confided on the dock as I was gathering my gear to leave, “even our best work can’t fix problems the fishermen bring with them.”

We didn’t catch a whole bunch of lunker-sized trout on Tuesday, but the gratuity I left reflected the even more valuable lessons I’d gotten from the guides. That’s because I didn’t give them a chance to show how good they were.

But there’s still one question I’ve asked every professional instructor and guide I’ve ever met that they can’t- or won’t- answer: “why don’t you laugh out loud at us?”

–Jim Shepherd

Global Warming As A Diversion

I am always amazed at the lengths the Obama administration will go to in order to divert attention from the problems with the economy, Obamacare, their stance on gun control and other things that make them look bad to most voters. Right now is not a good time to be focusing on “global warming” with the weather we have had.

Oh, I forget, it is “global climate change” since there is no evidence of actual global warming.

Last weekend, Secretary of State John Kerry said global climate change was the biggest weapon of mass destruction we have to worry about. I think nuclear weapons, poison gas and contagious disease weapons are a little bigger threat.

President Obama went to California last week to propose a one billion dollar fund, from money you and I pay in taxes, to fight global climate change because of the drought there. There have always been droughts there. But farmers had no problem watering their crops until the EPA put restrictions on taking water from rivers for irrigation. Why the restrictions? Some kind of small fish living in the rivers is on the endangered species list.

That is typical of our government. Look for or create a problem then try to solve it by spending tax money you and I pay, and in the meantime try to create votes for your party.

Global warming was changed to global climate change since the evidence for warming is very iffy. And by calling it climate change you can claim any weather event is caused by it. Its kind of pathetic that any weather event, like the recent ice storm and the snow storms this winter, are blamed on it. The Atlanta papers ran some pictures of past ice storms in Atlanta. The first they had pictures from was in the late 1800s.

Remember “Snowjam” from the 1970s? There have been dozens of storms like we had a couple of weeks ago, most before climate change became a buzzword to raise money and spend tax money, and many were when Times magazine was running a cover story in the 1970s about the coming Ice Age. I guess that is climate change, too, but different from now, just the opposite of what is being claimed.

After Hurricane Katrina several years ago the global climate change alarmists were proclaiming more and bigger hurricanes every year. We have not had a major hurricane since then.

Anyone spending a lifetime outdoors sees weather extremes. Some winters are very cold, some pretty warm. Some summers are miserably hot while others are nice. Weather changes.

Animals and humans adapt to weather changes. The claims of species die off due to a one tenth of a degree change in climate is ridiculous since all animals and fish survive changes of temperature of several degrees every day. And fears of sea level rise are strange. Anyone hear the Great Lakes are almost completely frozen over this year and the polar ice cap is larger than it has been in a long time?

While in Alaska a few years ago I visited Glacier National Park. We sailed up a bay and the guide showed us where the glacier used to end. It has retreated over 100 miles – starting almost 200 years ago. And the biggest recorded retreat, over 10 miles between 1860 and 1870, must have been the pollution from all those Civil War SUVs!

We can all remember extremes in weather. In the early 1980s I went without power for five days due to an ice storm. And school was closed the whole time. Now we have an ice storm lasting a couple of days and it is global climate change.

Bass respond to the unusually cold weather by settling in deep water and not eating much, as do all fish and most cold blooded animals. Yet they will eat, and they move shallow to feed after a nice warm week like we had this past week. Fishing can be tough for a few days but it does not last.

In fact, bass and other fish and animals respond to the length of daylight more than temperature to go into their reproductive cycles. Bass bed earlier than we realize most years, with big bass on the bed around here in late March every year rather than the late April time frame most people think of. A cold front will slow them down a day or two but nature takes its course, to make sure there are little bass to keep the species going.

Anytime someone says the debate is over and the question is settled is trying to pull the wool over your eyes. That statement means they are running out of facts and don’t want to debate the issue any more. When you hear it, especially from a government official, be very wary!

I agree with Ronald Reagan when he said the nine scariest words in the English language are “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

Are You Thinking About A Career In the Outdoors?

This is mostly for young people thinking about their future.

Ever thought about working outdoors? Would you like to have a job that would let you stay outside, working in the woods and on the water? There are many that allow that, and you can probably get one if you really want it – if you are young enough to plan for it!

I almost became a game warden in 1974. Back then a college degree was about all that was required, and a good family friend was head of enforcement. Also back then a lot depended on who you knew, and he told my dad if I wanted a job as a game warden I would have one.

In my second year of teaching, working outdoors seemed like a wonderful change! Then I really compared things. As a teacher I worked 190 days a year and made about $7000 per year. Game wardens worked at least 250 days a year and were on call 365 days each year. They often worked nights, weekends and any time they were needed, in all kinds of weather. And they made about $9000 to start.

In teaching, my time off was mine, except for the time I spent working on higher degrees. And I had every weekend off. When on the lake or in the woods I decided I wanted to be able to hunt game and catch fish, not try to hunt game violators and catch people breaking the fishing laws!

I stuck with education. I often wonder how my life would be different if I had become a game warden, though!

If you are still in school and want to work with the state, either as a game warden, fisheries biologists or technician, stay in school. Go to college and major in a field related to what you want – biology if you want that kind of job or something related to law if you want to become a game warden!

I have some suggestions for kids if you want to be a professional fisherman, too. Stay in school! Get a college degree, preferably one that will help you learn about fish – fisheries biology would be good.

Learn all you can about fish. Read all you can about fish and fishing. Read magazines, books and the Internet to learn what others know. Go fishing every chance you get and go to learn. Keep up with every fish you catch, noting all you can about catching it.

Start out fishing with clubs as soon as you can. Go to learn. Try to fish with good fishermen and learn from them. And think while fishing. Exercise regularly so you will have the stamina to stand on one foot in a rocking boat for 8 hours a day, day after day.

Mainly, have rich parents that can support you, or get a good job with lots of time off. That way you can support an expensive hobby. Most pro fishermen just barely make enough money to pay expenses.

I fished with a man from South Carolina a few years ago while working on a magazine article. He had to quit the pro circuits. He had dedicated two years to fishing the pro circuit and in 1998 he won 41,000, but had expenses of 40,000 above what sponsors paid. “Take home” pay of $1000 a year is not enough, even if you do get to fish every day!

Not long after that trip I fished with a pro fisherman from Alabama. He told me he won $60,000 during the year but said his contracting business is what kept him going. He could not win enough or get enough sponsors to really make it worthwhile, even winning that much in one year!

Trying to be a professional fisherman is tough – as tough as being a professional ball player – maybe even tougher. Being a game warden is not quite as tough, but those jobs are very competitive. You need to get a degree and make good grades. Talk to local game wardens and find how they go their jobs. Contact some of your fishing heroes and see what they suggest. If you want either of these kinds of careers, go for it. But be prepared for hard work, lots of study, and a long time getting to where you want to be!

Bald Eagles On Lake Guntersville

Hurry to See Bald Eagles On Lake Guntersville

Editor’s Note: Today, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Dave Rainer has a bit of advice for those southern birders looking to get a good look at bald eagles. Although the season’s winding down quickly, a very tough winter has pushed more of the great birds than normal to Alabama’s Lake Guntersville and Lake Guntersville State Park area.
from The Fishing Wire

Bald Eagle

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle. Photo courtesy USFWS.

Better hurry up if you want to catch the amazing flight of soaring bald eagles in north Alabama through the Lake Guntersville State Park’s Eagle Awareness program.

Only a few weekends remain to enjoy learning about and watching bald eagles, some that make Lake Guntersville home, and some that just visit for the winter because of an abundance of habitat and food.

In fact, this has been a bumper year for bald eagles in Alabama because of the especially harsh winter.

“Fortunately for us, it’s been so cold up North that it’s pushed a lot more birds down our way,” said Park Naturalist Patti Donnellan, who is in charge of the Eagle Awareness program, which was started by Linda Reynolds 29 years ago at Guntersville.

“The bald eagle is a large bird, standing 2 to 3 feet tall,” Donnellan said of the national symbol of the United States. “Sitting on a branch, it’s a large bird. The wingspan is about 6 feet, and the birds usually weigh 12 to 14 pounds here in Alabama.”

Donnellan explained Bergmann’s rule of animal sizes, which is somewhat determined by latitude. As a general rule, the farther north an animal lives, the larger it is. This is especially true for the cervid species like deer, and it also applies to eagles. Donnellan said eagles in Alaska can weigh as much as 18 pounds.

Park Naturalist Patti Donnellan scans the dawn for bald eagles at Town Creek Fishing Center at Lake Guntersville State Park during one of the Eagle Awareness weekends. The park is rated as the top place in the state to watch the majestic bald eagle, the national symbol of the United States. David Rainer photo.
Of course, food availability has a lot to do with size as well. At Lake Guntersville, there is plenty to eat. There’s a year-round supply of fish, and plenty of coots, water birds that swim like a duck but are more closely related to the crane family, in the fall and winter.

“About two-thirds of an eagle’s diet is fish, but they’ll eat just about anything they can get their talons on,” Donnellan said. “They love coots. If you’re out eagle-watching on your own and you see a mass of coots who think there’s safety in numbers, look up because there’s probably an eagle flying around overhead. They’ll eat any kind of duck. I’ve seen them eat snakes. They’ll eat road kill. One of their nasty habits is stealing from other birds.”

Speed also helps eagles when it comes to catching prey. Donnellan said eagles can fly at speeds up to 40 miles per hour but can reach 100 mph in a dive with the wings tucked.

Donnellan said they were able to witness one dive-bomb attack by an eagle near the Guntersville Dam.

“There was a red-tailed hawk circling around the (eagles’) nest,” she said. ‘The missus was sitting on the nest and she screamed, ‘Honey, we’ve got trouble.’ Here he comes from the river, flying pretty fast. All of a sudden, he tucked those wings and turned on the afterburners, flying straight at the nest. He chased that hawk down into the brush, and we never saw that hawk again.”

That dive-bombing eagle was named Barney, who succumbed to old age last year. Barney was part of a reintroduction program from 1985-1991.

“Eagles can live to be 25 to 30 years old,” Donnellan said. “Barney was hatched in 1989. The last time we saw him was in December 2012. That’s a good, long time for a wild bird.”

Eagles mate for life and it took Barney’s mate, Thelma Lou, quite some time to pick a successor and set up house in the nest near Guntersville dam.

“The nest is massive,” Donnellan said. “The record nest in Ohio is 9 feet across, 20 feet deep and weighs 2,000 pounds. Our nest at the dam is approaching this.”

Donnellan said the new male eagle did a little remodeling in the nest and the pair successfully raised one eaglet last year.

“Thelma Lou’s time clock was a little off because of losing Barney,” she said. “Typically, our eagles are incubating eggs right now or feeding newly hatched young. Eagles can have from one to three eggs per nest. An eagle egg is surprisingly small. It’s only 30 percent larger than a chicken egg.”

Donnellan said the eaglet’s rate of growth is phenomenal because of the protein-rich meals provided by the parents.

“An eaglet can go from being hatched to full size in three months,” she said. “They are as big as their parents in three months’ time. They’ll hang around the parents for that first full year, learning how to be an eagle, learning how to fish and hunt, and learning how to watch for those big metal things coming down the road. Then when it’s the next nesting season, mom and dad say, ‘Out you go.’ They’re done with them after that first year.

“We have a lot of young eagles that spend the winter with us. The adult eagles have their established areas up North. The adults tell the young eagles to go find someplace else to hang out in the winter, so they come here.”

Donnellan said eagles don’t reach full maturity until 5 years old and will not get the full white head until that age.

“I remember as a small child, second or third grade, doing a book report on eagles,” Donnellan said. “I said I hope to get to see one one day. Now I get to go out and see them all the time because of restoration projects throughout the Southeast and East.”

A plethora of problems – loss of habitat, pesticide (DDT) use and poaching – pushed eagle populations to the brink of extinction nationwide. Alabama’s restoration project was started in 1984 by the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries’ Nongame Wildlife Program.

However, the restoration process was not simple for eagles. It required that an egg be retrieved from nests with three eggs. The retrieved eggs were incubated, hatched and reared in special cages that kept the interaction with humans concealed. Then came the hacking process, and we’re not talking about computers here. An eagle must be “hacked” to a certain location. Hacking is the process where eagles are forced to take their first flights, which gives them an imprint of that area. After they’re hacked, the eagles will return to that area to nest when they reach reproductive age, usually 4 to 6 years old.

Wildlife biologists successfully hacked 91 juveniles in Alabama between 1985 and 1991. More than 20 years later, there are more than 77 bald eagle nests confirmed in our state. Donnellan said Marshall County has an estimated 18 eagle nests.

More important, the bald eagle was taken off the Federal Endangered Species list in 2007.

“Alabama, being the beautiful place it is, eagles love it here,” Donnellan said. “We’ve got plenty of trees and running water that doesn’t freeze. We estimate that between 700 and 1,000 eagles winter in Alabama each year. A lot of them will stop at Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee, but Reelfoot is frozen this year. That brings even more down our way.”

To join in Eagle Awareness, visit www.alapark.com/lakeguntersville and check out the program. There are even special packages that include rooms at the beautiful Guntersville Lodge for the weekend. Eagle Awareness weekends that remain are Jan. 31-Feb. 2, Feb. 7-9 and Feb. 14-16.

Amanda Glover, Donnellan’s assistant, said there will be a special event, a bird-of-prey release, during the Bassmaster Classic, which will be held at Lake Guntersville on Feb. 21-23. The Alabama Wildlife Center, headquartered at Oak Mountain State Park, will release a raptor, most likely a red-tailed hawk, at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 22 at the Guntersville Lodge.

Fishing and Hunting Legacy

A message on the forum on my Internet site got me to thinking about my fishing and hunting legacy. Several people have posted in a thread named “To Those That Came Before” about people who have influenced their lives through fishing. Heritage is one of the most important, if not the most important, part of fishing and hunting.

My mother has to top any list when I think of people that influenced me. She loved to fish so I got my love of fishing honestly. She was thrilled to catch anything from a tiny bream to a big catfish, and never met a fish she did not want to catch. I thank her for taking me to local ponds and creeks when I was growing up, and showing me the patience to sit and watch a cork for hours on end.

She also sacrificed so I would have time to fish as a teenager. Living on a farm with 11,000 laying hens, there was work to be done all day every day, and I was expected to do my share. But I realize now there were many times my mother worked extra hours, often long into the night, grading eggs so I could go fishing. She would do anything she could to make me happy.

My father also instilled a love of the outdoors in me, but from him I got my love of dove shooting and quail hunting. I spent many hours with him following our bird dogs, and also have many good memories of sitting in a dove blind with him telling me what to do and how to hit the elusive bird that I almost always missed.

He also taught me dedication and the desire to do a good job at anything I started. This has carried over into my fishing, making me want to learn all I can about the fish I am trying to catch, the equipment I use and the methods that work best.

My Uncle Adron hunted and fished almost every day of his life. He came back from World War 2 “shell shocked” and never held a regular job, but owned a small hunting and fishing gas station. He would lock the door and go hunting or fishing in a second if no one was there to run it for him when he wanted to go, though.

Uncle Adron took me deer hunting for the first time. He taught me to shoot a bow and helped me learn how to sit in a tree perfectly still, waiting on what was a very uncommon animal back in the 1960s. Seeing even one deer was something to talk about for a week, and shooting one was celebrated for all year. Uncle Adron had dozens of racks around the canopy of his store. There is no telling how many he killed.

Uncle Mayhu lived in Virginia but his visits every summer meant day after day of bass fishing. He taught me a lot about the habits of my favorite fish, where to catch them, how to fight them and even how to land them. He was always calm and thoughtful while fishing, and helped me learn to think about what I was doing while fishing. He is the first one to tell me to think like a bass to try to catch one.

Uncle Walter loved to go to the coast and fish saltwater. I went with him one time and will never forget fishing on a “head boat” for grouper and other bottom dwelling fish in the Gulf off the coast of Florida. The trip was exciting, too, since I seldom saw him without his bottle of whisky in one hand and a cigar in his mouth. I found out later my mother was worried sick the whole weekend I was gone, but everything worked out OK.

There are many others that influenced my love of the outdoors. Those memories are very special, and they will live with me the rest of my life. I hope you have many similar memories, and are passing them on to your children.
If you would like to share your own fishing and hunting heritage, email your comments to me to post.

Cold Weather Fishing Clothes and Fish Stew To Warm You

I caught this bass after a bad cold front

I caught this bass after a bad cold front

Sometimes when I say I am going fishing this time of year folks just shake their head. They think it is way too cold to go fishing and that you will be miserable out on the water. And you will be, if you don’t dress for it.

For a normal January day I will start with insulated underwear – what we used to call “long Johns.” New material is light-weight and very warm, and it will wick away any sweat so you don’t feel wet and clammy. Thin socks of similar material help keep feet warm and dry.

My next layer is a soft flannel or modern material long sleeve shirt and flannel lined jeans. Several brands make flannel lined jeans and you can order some from ads in magazines that are not expensive but are very warm. I top the thin sox with wool sox.

My fishing jacket is a baseball type lined jacket with a hood. It is water resistant and very warm, and the hood is great. I put on my baseball cap so I will have a bill to shade my eyes, pull a stocking cap on over it down over my ears, then pull up the hood. That keeps head, neck and ears warm.

If the day is real cold I wear insulated boots. If it is not too cold I go with walking shoes but try to make sure they are loose on my feet. If they are tight, especially with heavy sox, it cuts off circulation and actually makes your feet colder.

That is plenty if the temperatures range from the 30s to the 50s like it does most days. On really cold days I pull on a snowmobile suit over everything else and will put two to four chemical handwarmers in inside pockets. It is amazing how much heat those things put out.

If it is ridiculously cold, in the teens, I have Gortex insulated Cabelas Guidewear. These suits zip and snap up and with bibs and the coat you are covered from head to foot. The hood has a flap that snaps across your chin and mouth, covering it. For long runs I add a face shield and heavy gloves so no wind hits me anywhere.

I have fished in temperatures as low as 11 degrees and have been comfortable. My hands get cold, though. I have tried all kinds of gloves but none allow me to cast and feel the fish like I want so I always fish bare-handed. It helps to switch from a bait casting reel to a spinning reel. For some reason opposite hands get cold with the different reels so switching helps warm one. And one of the handwarmers in both side pockets allows me to stick one hand in there and warm it for a few seconds.

Dress right and you can be comfortable while catching fish, even on the coldest day.

When I get home on a cold day I love some kind of fish stew to warm me even more. One of my favorites is s spicy red Manhattan style stew I make with bass. It is fairly simple. Boil about five skinned and gutted bass in enough water to cover them with a bay leaf. Let it set to cool. Fry up three strips of bacon then brown a chopped up onion in the grease. Drain the fish broth through a strainer and put it back into the pot, then pull all the meat off the bones and add it back to the broth.

Crumble up the bacon and add it and the onion to the stew. Put in a can or two of chopped tomatoes. I like the ones with chili peppers in them. Add salt and pepper and let it simmer for 30 minutes. For a heartier stew add rice or diced potatoes. I also add a good bit of Crazy Jerry’s hot sauce – I like it and its motto is “A Lot Hot” but you can add any kind you prefer.

Serve a big bowl with saltines and this stew will warm you inside and out.

Another favorite stew is a white or New England style fish stew. For this one I just use bass filets – no bones to make a broth since it is much milder. Chop up an onion and sauté it in butter. Put a half-gallon of milk, more for more stew, and real milk makes a richer stew, on and simmer it. Add the onion, a stick of butter, salt and pepper to the milk. Cut up the filets into bite-size pieces, and simmer until done. You can add rice or diced potatoes to this one, too.

I really like this with saltines or oyster crackers. You can make it as rich as you want by adding more or less butter and using regular or skim milk. For me, the richer the better.

I’m hungry – gotta go cook some fish stew!

Fishing In Winter Can Be Special

There is something special about some winter days when out fishing. Every so often a day will be just perfect, cool in the upper 40s and low 50s with clouds but no wind. The lake is hushed with little activity and no noise to disturb the fishing. The whole world seems to be pausing in quiet to make my day more enjoyable.

On days like that I hate to crank my gas motor. It seems like I am suspended in the middle of nothing with the gray sky and water and subdued colors on shore. And fog just makes it even more surreal. Every plop of a lure in the water is magnified by the quiet. Any sound is intense.

The smell of wood smoke drifting over the lake is another favorite thing in the winter. Just a whiff of burning wood or pine straw seems to warm me like I was standing beside the fire. I want to inhale deeply and hold it in to keep that feeling.

A few years ago I was on Jackson Lake one January day like above, fishing back in a creek. From a cabin nearby the sounds of a mournful jazz song seemed to float across the lake. The female singer’s love song was perfect for the day and I wish I knew the singer and song so I could get a copy, but repeated playing of it might make it less special.

I like the feel of being bundled up against the cold and the comfort of a chemical hand warmer keeping me toasty even though the air touching my nose and hands makes me want to burrow down in my snowsuit. And I like the feeling running down the lake when I am warm all over except one small spot where the wind gets in to bare skin. That makes the rest of me feel even warmer.

Big bass can make a winter day exceptional, too. I have caught more bass weighing over eight pounds in January and February than the other ten months put together. It is not unusual to fish all day for one or two bites but those are more likely to be from wall hangers.

There is something about being out in cold weather that makes me feel like I can withstand bad things if prepared for them. But at the end of the day it really feels good to get in the truck and turn the heater on full blast!