I Guess I’ve Entered My Golden Years

 

I woke up one morning last week and all of a sudden I’m 70 years old. Whoa! Where did the time go? Those sands in an hour glass are dropping faster than they did even a few years ago. The funny thing is, now a minute on the treadmill feels a lot longer than it ever did. But, everything beats the alternative.

So, what does a guy who turns 70 do? Well, this guy went fishing, and I managed to find myself a present in the form of a nice, resident smallmouth bass. 

                                                           Nice, 12" smallie for the old man!  
 

As long as I can put one foot in front of the other, tie a knot and cast a fly I’ll be on the water. Hopefully I will have a little story to tell when I reach 80.

Go out and fool a fish!

Breaking News!

 
     Catching one fish, no matter what the size, can make for a successful day on the water.

 

Not the biggest steelhead I've caught but it is the prettiest.

     Now, back to your local programming.

     Go out and fool a fish!

Find A Pond Near You

 

For many fishermen, their first experience with catching a fish was at a small pond. Hooking that first sunfish has put a smile on the face of many kids. I know that was the first fish I caught almost 65 years ago. In my case, I caught it in Marblehead, Ohio, near Cedar Point, long before the park became a popular destination. Now, maybe in an attempt to reinforce my belief that the size of the fish doesn’t matter,  or to smile like that kid again, at least once a summer I head to one of the local ponds near my home. It’s usually during the hottest and driest portion of the season, when the rivers are low, and in need of a good rain to freshen the flow. 

 

Hot summer day on a small pond.

Instead of a cane pole and worm, my tackle of choice is now a 3wt fly rod and a small popper. But, any lightweight rod will make catching these willing panfish a lot of fun to land. And, if you happen to hook a bass, so much the better. Panfish are not shy. They will sip just about anything off the surface.

Panfish love small poppers.

So, find yourself a pond, and spend an hour putting that kid smile back on your face.

Go out and fool a fish!

Bits And Bobbers

 

I’ve been away from the writing desk for a long time but now feel the urge to say a few words about a lot of nothing. Sit back and enjoy….or not.

The older I get the more I gravitate to warm water fishing for bass. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to swing a fly for steelhead but my body is telling me warm weather is better. Besides, I only have one more year with a leading 6 in my age, so maybe I should listen to my body. Problem is, my mind gets in the way. I know come September I’ll start having thoughts of steelhead that will pull me to the river. Talk about conflicted!

For various reasons, I put the rods away last Thanksgiving and didn’t fish for almost four months. That was my longest break since I got back into fishing 10 years ago. Ended up missing most of the steelhead season. And, I’m still alive, so I guess it didn’t kill me.

Having all that time over the winter allowed me to check out several fishing websites. I happened to see a post someone made about wanting to report a spin fisherman for poor handling of a fish. Why specifically mention the method of fishing?  I’m sure there are fly fishermen and centerpinners who have handled a fish poorly. Sometimes it just happens no matter how hard you try to protect the fish. Unless you were born with a fly rod or centerpin outfit in your hand you started out with a spinning or baitcasting rod. Let’s not forget how we got our start in this great sport.

Congratulations to all the fishermen who participate in organized river clean-up activities. The sad thing is we have to have organized river clean-ups. Too many people rely on the other guy to pick up their trash. Check out the CLE Fishing Company. They have a bag that you hook to your belt or pack and can be used to hold trash. Just a great idea. 

 

I can be happy on the water and not catch a fish.

 

                                     Warm weather smallie.

There are a lot of people who try to take advantage of others. Watch your equipment when you’re on the water. Put a pack down and someone may just walk off with it. And, don’t leave a rod behind in the parking lot. You won’t get it back.

A strike indicator….it’s still just a bobber!

Go out and fool a fish!

 

I Like Fishing Videos, But…..

 

If you are an avid, or even a casual fisherman, you occasionally like to kill some time and watch fishing videos. I like them because they expose me to water and scenery that I might never experience in person.  And, with technology now available, everyone can be a videographer. Cameras that can be mounted to your body, selfie sticks, and phones all make it easy to capture “the moment”. Then, social media allows you to share these moments almost immediately. Unfortunately, there is no guidebook that someone can use to help them make a quality video. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert, but I know what I like and more importantly, what I don’t like. So, I’ve put together a list of areas that could act as a guide to making videos a little more pleasing to watch.

But first, if you want to see a quality video do a search for Todd Moen. He is, in my opinion, the standard for top shelf videos. Sure, he is a professional with high quality equipment but it is his technique that makes his videos easy to watch. He captures the location, the hunt, and the take better than anyone.

So, let’s take a look at ways to improve fishing videos.

Get away from mounting cameras on your body. There is nothing more aggravating then clicking on a video and seeing nothing but a close-up of a rod, reel, hands and arms. Most of the time the viewer is not shown the strike, which for me is the most exciting part of a video. Secondly, if the camera is mounted on your body there is no stability. I suffer from vertigo so watching a video where the camera moves all over isn’t any fun. So, if you are by yourself invest in a small tripod, and set-up the camera on the bank with a view of the water you are going to fish. Turn on the camera, step into the shot, and fish.

Fishing videos are about fishing not about driving or talking. I’ve watched more than a few six minute videos where the first three minutes is devoted to driving. Same with talking. Keep it short. Introduce yourself to your audience, let them know what your fishing for and what lure or fly you’re using. It’s a fishing video. Show the action.

Watch where the sun is. Filming into glare makes viewing difficult. I know this isn’t easy to control but if you can minimize the effect of glare your video will be easier to watch.

Longer fishing videos are not always better…unless there is a lot of action. Ten minute fishing videos with very little action are not as good as a three minute one with a lot of action. Edit, edit, edit.

Keep the quick cuts to a minimum. I am not a fan of quick cuts where the scene is on screen for a second or less. For some videos these cuts go on for a minute or longer. I want to see the scene not guess what I just saw.

Whatever you do when making a video remember you have an audience. Think of your audience as a customer. A customer won’t buy (watch) if they don’t like it.

Go out and fool a fish!

How To Kill An Hour

Do you have an hour of free time? If you do, find a pond near your home and rig up a small panfish fly or a worm and bobber. Then, spend that hour catching some gems.

This hour will be fun not because you caught something huge, but because you were able to steal an hour on the water. That time will recharge your batteries. You may not catch a monster but that won’t matter. In fact, save trying to catch something big for another time. What will happen is you will have a lot of fun. But if you do catch something, more than likely it will be a nicely colored bluegill or sunfish. And, with an ultralight rod you will be surprised how much fight they have.

This is the darkest bluegill I have ever caught. It couldn't resist a black popper.

Another panfish fooled by a popper. Find an hour, find some fun!

So, if you want some quick fun, find that hour, and find that pond.

Go out and fool a fish!