Monday, May 29, 2006

Dialed In!

Well, it's been a while since the Hardcore Fshin blog has been updated, but fear not, piscine voyeur, I have been busy catching more big bad micropterus dolomieui from 3 lbs up to 4.13 lbs, micropterus salmoides up to 4 lbs, and even the odd esox niger. I've fished the Nock, Lake Galena, Lake Marquette and Memorial Lake in Lebanon county. My Luck has been pretty good, of course it's a wide gap between time spent fishing and time spent actually catching, which is why it's called fishing and not catching. I haven't gotten skunked in a while, and the fish I've caught around here are nicely sized. When I was in Harrisburg for work training for two weeks, I took the F.U.C.K.ing boat, and pretty much fished every evening after training until dark. Most of the fish I caught up there were 1-2 lbs, small in comparison to up here, but then again, the lakes are quite different structurally, especially Memorial Lake, which was shallow and very weedy. The best fish I caught up there wasnt even a bass, it was a hammerhandle esox niger, who just completely exploded on a top water lure. I tell you top water fishing is a blast when theyre biting, they usually hit the lure hard, with a big splash and commotion. I can't wait to get a sizeable micropterus dolomieui on a top water lure, it will most likely be freakin awesome.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Always Look on the Bright Side/Reversal of Fortune


I had planned to go out to the Nock on Friday due to the fact we were working extremely close to it lately. Woke up on Friday with a sinus headache that only got worse throughout the day. Exacerbated by the fact that we worked through lunch, by the time I was off work I wasnt feeling too hot. Instead of going straight to the Nock, I decided to take my time at lunch, get some cool air into my system and mellow out first. Well, I think it did a world of good. I decided to go off the cuff, and fished an area completely opposite to what I had been fishing lately. Lo and Behold, my personal record 5.9lb micropterus dolomieui came almost right on cue. Then a 4.9lb. Then a 4.8 lb. Then a 3.11 lb. Then for a lite afterthought, a 2 lb micropterus salmoides. It was quite a great end to a day that had started very poorly, to say the least. I had cast fruitlessly for a while with a spinnerbait, and decided to change to my confidence bait, a senko worm. Basically first cast, I wasnt really paying attention as I had drifted in a touch too close to the shore, and my line started moving with a mind of its own. That got my attention immediately, and I set the hook, and Kabaaam, my drag starts screaming out, and then this huge bronze brute jumps about 2 feet out of the water, and the fight was on. When I finally got it to the boat after a few minutes, I was adrenalized and amazed at the size and beauty of the fish. When I held it up into the light, it was surrounded by a golden sheen that almost glowed. It will truly glow in my memory for a long time to come. I got some pictures of the fish I caught that day, and they were developed THE NEXT day.
They turned out great. Anyways, I went out today again with a friend of mine. And again proceeded to start off with a white spinnerbait. I had a few hits right off the bat, but nothing that stuck, until a 3.13lb micropterus salmoides hit it, and I was on the board again. A couple of casts later, I had a small reel backlash that snapped my line and sent that lure flying up, up, up high into orbit, then down, down, down, into the deep blue abyss, never to be heard from again. As I didnt have another white spinnerbait, I went to my confidence bait, the lowly do nothing senko,
and proceeded to catch another 4 micropterus dolomieui, ranging from 4.12 lbs to 3.9lbs, and missing another three or four hits. It's days like these that are awesome, and makeup for the skunk days, But even the skunk days are better than doing anything else.
(Above image of the Overlord's personal best 5.9 lb micropterus dolomieui)