CONSERVATION: The push continues to make striped bass a game fish.

FRESHWATER: Techniques for muskies, northerns, and walleyes.

CATFISH NOODLING: Looks like hand grabbin' might become legal in Georgia.

PERSONALITIES: Mark Sosin's still going strong.

BASS: In a word, plastics.

BOATS: What you can build with a spare $5 million.

BAIT: Are eels endangered?

MINNESOTA: Wildlife Officials to Kill 4,000 Cormorants.

MARYLAND: Surf caster catches state striped bass record.
Update: Here's a more in depth article.

SCIENCE: How do fish know to join the right school?

ETHICS: Are Massachussetts trout truck stalkers the moral equivalent of ambulance chasers?
(Link via Midcurrent.)

TRAVEL: Fly fishing the Sea of Cortez in Mexico.

Audio Fishing Reports Coming Soon

(Thanks to Rhumbline for the heads up.)

NEWS: That record catfish that's been on TV all the time lately? It died.

TRAVEL: Fly fishing for bream in Australia.

COLORADO: If you happen to be there June 4-5, you can fish for free.

MISSOURI: Fly fishing for panfish.

Fishing in Florida

Just got back from Florida and a fishing expedition into the 10,000 Islands. Man, I had on the biggest snook of my life. He made two big jumps, so I had a full appreciation of his girth, and ripped off two long runs. I had him close to the boat when he breached, shook his head, and spit the hook. Such is fishing. Other than that, I had a few snook follows in the mangroves, and caught ladyfish and jacks. We saw one or two tarpon roll, but they seem to have already passed through the area on their way up the coast. I was very happy to see several mating pairs of Osprey. I love watching those birds hunt and carry fish back to the nest.

Off to Florida

Is there a silver king or a snook in my future? The only thing certain is I will make an attempt for them when I'm down in Florida over the next few days. I'll try to post from the road.

TARPON: Rethinking the Suncoast Tarpon Roundup catch and kill tournament.

CONSERVATION: Bringing coaster brook trout back to the Great Lakes.

CONSERVATION: The growing problem of Asian jumping carp.

FLY FISHING: On dry flies and "avoiding trees."

FISH STORY: On getting skunked.
Money Quote: "Without those fishless days the sport itself would have no mystery or magic. Without those fishless days we would have no reason or desire to improve. Without those fishless, numbing, aggravating and frustrating days, we would have no apreciation for those perfect moments when the line goes tight."

LARGEMOUTH BASS: A primer for catching Florida bucketmouths.

FISH STORY: When lightning strikes, literally. (Mostly, though, it's about fly fishing for bass.)

FLORIDA: The Sun-Sentinel's statewide reports.

SCOTLAND: Where rainbow trout are considered an "alien" species. I fished Loch Lochy last summer and caught, what else, a couple of rainbow trout. The guide, or ghillie, who took me said farmed rainbows escape all the time.

BOCA GRANDE: Tarpon anglers love the "Hill Tides."

SCIENCE: So barometric pressure changes don't affect fishing.

STRIPED BASS: A freshwater report from Kentucky. Is there a better, more universal gamefish than the striper?

TARPON: Marshall from MidCurrent has a Key West tarpon report.

Striper Showing

The other day I fished for an hour and got one 20-inch striper on a black clouser, my first of the season. Today, I fished for two hours and got two. So, the fish are definitely around, I just haven't had the time to hunt for the big bass. What's great is I've been using my new saltwater six-weight rod, so tangling with schoolies is a blast.

BOOKS: In case you care how celebrities fish.

(Link via Outdoor Weblog.)

FISH STORY: Sometimes you don't have to do anything.

BOCA GRANDE: The tarpon have arrived. (I'm a few days late with this post.)

BLUEFISH: Check out this fat boy from Jamaica Bay.

One from the Trip

My buddy Staffin with a northern pike he caught on an eat-me fly.

TECHNIQUE: Advice from the Cast Dr. Check out the "Four Deadly Sins" of fly casting.

WEATHER: This doesn't bode well for the season.

Pike Trip Results

I'm recovering from four days of fly fishing for northern pike in upstate New York. We had 11 anglers in all, though some were more interested in the Canadian beer. Due to the cold spring, the water tempature hovered around 47 degrees, and the pike had not finished spawning. We usually go this time of year to capitalize on the post-spawn feeding frenzy where the pike ravenously forage the shallows. This year they were a little sluggish and not stacked in tight, but we did catch fish. The group pulled out a combined total of 60 fish, about half of what we landed last year.
Personally, I had a decent trip. Fishing Thursday evening, then from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm on Friday and Saturday, I managed to wrangle with 18 pike and one smallmouth. I fished Sunday morning with no success. My buddy Staffin again got the biggest fish of the weekend, which I'll post a photo of later.
I had my most success using a Deceiver with big eyes and perch coloring. I also caught several fish on the Puglisi yellow perch fly, and got a couple on my own pike fly I tie. Several people had success using Eat Me flies. The key proved to be letting the fly sink and slowly bumping it along bottom. I'll post more on the trip later.

The North Country Fly Trip Begins

I'll be catching northerns (hopefully) for the next four days so no more posts from me until Monday. Mike et al. will be camping out on the Farmington this weekend so with any luck this site should be flush with reports next week.

FLY TYING: For the mind and well-being.

BUSINESS: So someone figured out a way to make big money fly fishing.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: The angler's moon. With the full moon approaching, snook and tarpon should go off.

THE DAKOTAS: Give blood, go fishing.

SCIENCE: Great, the Gulf Stream is weakening.

FISH STORY: Fly fisherman gives the phrase "hooked on drugs" a new meaning.

(Link via Midcurrent.)

CONSERVATION: It could be a bad year in the Chesapeake.

FLY FISHING: In praise of terrestrials.

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: The fish are there, but "not quite."

TRAVEL: The elusive combination of trophy fishing and luxury accomodations.

NEW JERSEY: The blues arrive in Atlantic City.

BASS: Fishing with homemade spinner baits.

FLY FISHING: Learning to tie flies. I'm a limited tyer myself, but it's true, the satisfaction that comes from catching a fish on one of your creations rises to a whole new level.

FISH STORY: Even when you don't catch fish, fishing is still worthwile.

NEW YORK: Reel-Time's fishing reports are back, and so are the stripers! (Now if the guys at the boatyard would only finish the bottom paint...)

GEAR: I got the medium roller duffel for my birthday, and I think it's a great way to pack your travel rods. I brought two rods with me to Belize, and the rods survived four flights without anyone so much as opening the rod compartments.

MISSOURI:The dawn of the noodling age.

A Week From Today...

Fly-Caught Northern Pike

NEW JERSEY: Barnegat Bay to get a striped bass infusion.

TEXAS: Drift dead baits for big fish.

PALM BEACH:Persistence pays for Spring offshore fishing.

CONSERVATION: The Chesapeake Bay striped bass population could be in a lot of trouble.

TARPON:One man's battle with his addiction to the silver king.

NEW YORK:Releasing trout in the Bronx River.
(nytimes.com log-in required)

MONTANA: Potential trouble for the state's bull trout.

SOTHWEST FLORIDA: To some, Mother's Day means tarpon.

FISH STORY: The 23 1/2-inch brown trout named Homer.

SCIENCE: Individual brook trout have their own unique "fin prints."

IDAHO: Yet another river closed from the poor spring Salmon run.