Friday, March 28, 2008

Killer Stingrays!


What's Up With The Stingrays?

First Steve Irwin was killed by a stingray - considered to be a fluke accident and now this past week, a lady was struck in her head by a flying/jumping stingray and knocked to the deck of the boat - and her death, by one of these gnarly critters.

I don't know about you but I'm getting afraid of the darn Ocean lately and don't plan on doing any saltwater activities. Let's not forget the Bull Shark banquet of a couple of summers back along the Southeastern seaboard of the USA either. Then we've got box jellyfish, scorpion fish, a bunch of poison critters in natural, tidal, wading pools, just waiting to be stepped on. Not forgetting the whole slew of known man eating sharks to worry about.

Just this week I saw a young girl who was disfigured and has had dozens of surgeries - to be followed by dozens more, over the next several years, to repair the mess that a sea lion made of her when he attacked her and almost bit her head off, "in a display of territorial behavior."

It's as if the denizens of the ocean had a meeting and decided that they would pitch in and put the "smack down" on any humans they encountered - just to let them know they were not happy with things!

Is it over fishing that drives these sharks in closer to the shores than ever before or that more bathers are in the ocean than ever before? I'm asking because I have no clue. We do know by underwater video photography that Steve Irwin was in a spot where the stingray may have felt or seen movement above and approaching, following it. This could possibly trigger a self defense mechanism that caused the fatal barb to strike Mr. Irwin, causing his death. He was such a gutsy, knowledgeable, affable, guy and I always thought if he ever got hurt it would have been by a snake or a crocodile but a Sting Ray? The world grieves over his loss. But, the families and friends, as well as bystanders of these other horrific events, mourn the loss of their loved ones too. It just seems kind of strange. Any comments?

Friday, March 21, 2008

Boating Accidents

Too Much Talking - Too Much Noise - Too Much Beer!

Living on the shore of one of our Great Lakes, the season for boating, fishing, swimming and fun in the sun is rapidly approaching. Various stop lights are being activated again to control the flow of traffic. Power boats are being pulled (on trailers) into the gas pumps of our local service stations, trying to save the crazy mark-ups at the Marina gas pumps. I never could understand why a guy could dump mega bucks on a Scarab or Cigarette and not be able to pay the extra toll on gasoline at their Marina fuel pumps? Cars with strange license plates are starting to show up, mostly to open up condos, cottages, mobile homes and other summer dwellings for the summer. Robins are seen hopping about in more increasing numbers and the weekend warriors are coming - They're Back!!!

I received a link to a video clip from a friend, which documented a Coast Guard vessel, while trying to clear the area of boats in an attempt to locate a missing (presumed drowned) man, run over top of a power boat crossing their path form their right to left. I think they call that "right of way"? In their high powered CG "Cutter" they either didn't see him or were just plain not giving way, but they cut the powerboat in 1/2 with two uninjured boaters being pulled out of the powerboat, floating upside down in pieces. Boating accidents are staggering at times. Weekend warriors are notorious for steaming full throttle over reefs submerged just inches below water level and if that's not exciting enough for you, there's always the crew of a big open water racing/high performance boat, running head on into Islands, Channel Break Walls or simply exploding at their moorings.

All of these thoughts were on my mind after watching this video clip and I only hope that this year will hold less accidents, missing fisherman, floating bodies and suspected foul plays. I much prefer silence at night than the screaming of braking vehicles, followed by the inevitable huge thud, indicating an impact. I love to look at the stars on a clear evening but I hate the weekly sounds of Life Flight Helo's cutting the air as they scream across the sky with some poor soul inside or on their way to a rescue mission.

Boating is great fun, offering water sports like fishing, diving, underwater photography, wake boarding and many more endeavors. Please try to abstain from the use of alcohol or other recreational substances while operating your power boat, keep your head on a swivel, have a life jacket on or within reach, have a ship to shore radio and always leave a travel itinerary behind - just in case!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Light Tackle For Panfish!


Proper Gear Adds New Excitement

Have you ever wanted to really hit the big ones and stay on them, as you cast and hookup over and over again for hours? I'll share a question from a relative who showed me a "micro" bait casting reel and also the same size, in a spinning reel. These were reels set up for 2 # test line and a short rod with a lot of whip in it. Tailor made for Bluegills, Crappie, Sunfish and even small Bass to the point of worrying about catching one that will completely massacre your outfit entirely.

One has more concern about catching a fish that is way too large for your tackle, than having more than enough for what you need. I am reminded of using a freshwater rig for fishing in California waters. I was using a medium sized Garcia Mitchell reel, strung with 20 lb test line on a stiff 6.5 foot spinning rod.

As luck would have it the Bonito/Bonita were feeding in waves. We'd sit there swapping lies for an hour and suddenly a school would move through the reef we were fishing off of and everyone was hooked up at the same time, waltzing around, ducking under arms and holding your gear up overhead to keep the lines separated. They would hit the huge jigs we were floating about 15 ft. behind a rubber ball - used as a flotation device and offering the lure at about 4 - 6 feet of water. They were some of the most explosive hookups I've ever experienced in fishing for medium size fish. Fight? These guys would fight so hard your wrists ached from landing one, but right back into the water with another cast and another hookup.

Finally, one day I hooked a Halibut that appeared to be a submerged flying saucer when I finally got him up close enough to view. He just nosed back down and kept pulling. It was like tying your line to a bulldozer and then trying to reel it in. I fought this fish for 15 to 20 minutes and suddenly my rod whipped sharply to the "fish off" position with line flying through the air. Just as I thought, he'd snapped my line - I looked down and saw the spool had sheared off, the gears were destroyed and it popped right out of the reel's housing. It was hanging in the air about a foot under my rod hand. Then he took off again and being unable to wind him in, I tried to get the reel back together when it snapped out of my hand and tore off every guide that was tied onto my rod and finally the spool and whatever else was gone into the deep blue sea. I just stood there, red-faced and embarrassed at my lack of understanding how much more powerful ocean fish were, when compared to freshwater species of the same size.

Now I mention this because an old man at a farm pond showed me a tip at a Bluegill pond in my youth. He told me to get the tiniest rod and reel that our family owned and put some 2 lb. test line on the reel. I came back with a new ultra-light spinning outfit of my Dad's. I told him we didn't have 2 lb test line but this was 4 lb. test. He said to get some, but this would do for our lesson. The rod was about 5' long and had a very small Shakespeare spinning reel on it. Ok, he told me, "this will catch you more Bluegills and other Panfish than any other way I've tried and that includes live bait."

He tied a tiny spinning lure - it looked like a fly fishing fly but it had a miniscule spinner blade right ahead of the furry little body. Then he measured out about 7 - 10 feet of line and attached a tiny red & white bobber there. Getting the connection yet? "Ok boy," he said and I let go - a perfect cast to the center of the pond. At his instructions I retrieved it a slow measured pace, with the bobber keeping the presentation high in the pond, suspended at about 1 ft underwater. Every few rotations of the handle, he told me to pause and give it a "twitch" and begin reeling again, which I thought I performed quite well. The first cast was not retried before a lunker Bluegill smashed it so hard that the bobber sprung taught in the air and the rod bent nicely. It felt as if I had a Bonito/Bonita on the end of that tiny rod, I could feel the headshakes and the runs very clearly through the rod. What a blast! I caught about another dozen and we decided to call it a day.

Since that day about 40 years ago, I've employed this method when fishing for shallow feeding fish and have never been disappointed. Give it a try and turn a tiny ultralight rig into a Panfish annihilator and never sacrifice the thrill of landing a really large fish. It's just about the line test strength, the presentation (I've described) and a very soft rod. You'll feel like Hemmingway, fishing for Marlin off the coast of Cuba. Don't take my word for it - just try it and you will believe!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

Spring Fishing - Coming Soon!


It's Time to Get Your Gear in Order

With the advent of yet another March, who thought I'd be posting about one of my most favored pursuits - fishing? It's been over 1/2 Century since I began to fish for small Bluegills and Rock Bass that hugged the shore of our summer cottage in Ontario. The fishing was incredible back then and from what I've been told it's still darn good 50 years later.

One of the better tasting fish IMO, the Walleye, will be starting their runs up various tributaries to spawn in about a month + / - and fishermen will stand in the icy water in chest waders trying to hook one "inside the mouth" which is no heavy toll on the population, since they don't really hit well when coming upstream to spawn. After the spawning draws to an end, the Walleyes head out of the rivers, canals and streams and are found hanging around shallow water reefs. They are ravenous of course from their journey and what better place to find loads of small prey fish and warmer water than shallow submerged reefs.

They will often hold fish all spring and summer long, but as the hot "dog days" of summer begin they will most often be found suspended in deeper water where they find the temperatures optimal. They may be holding at 15 - 25 feet in 40+ feet of water and will remain suspended in deeper water until the fall weather cools things down again driving the fish back to shallow waters - like the reefs mentioned above and as it transitions from "Fall" to "Winter", they are caught right from the many piers and other shoreline fishing access areas. No boat required! The biggest fish are hooked during the fall / winter period, with some coming in at 14lbs. That's a very, very big fish.

Get set for the season guys it's almost time to begin again. Be sure to have your most valuable items secured in a waterproof all purpose pouch. Don't forget that camera either! I recommend an Ewa-Marine flexible housing for your camera to keep it high and dry, while offering you the opportunity to escape the lousy quality of disposables. You'll be glad you did when you hoist that 10 lb. Walleye into the boat or to the shore of your favorite fishing spot. Good luck!