Rusty Spoons

This past week, warming water temperatures signaled the beginning of the open-water fishing season. I took a trip to Muscoot Reservoir to catch bluegill; initially, I was concerned that I had come too early in the season and that the fish would be lethargic from the fleeting winter, but thankfully the bluegill were hungry and willing to bite. I targeted these fish in a small cove off the main lake. I used a bobber with a small jighead suspended a foot off the bottom over a shallow weed-line in about four feet of water. On the jighead, I was using two or three waxworms, which I threaded on the hook. On this day, the fish were associating very closely with the weeds, so it was very important that I was able to cast at least 40 feet from shore where the weed-line started. To do this, I used a weighted bobber, which was easy to cast and cut through the mild crosswind. Note the vertical stripes on this bluegill, which indicates that it spends a lot of time in and around weeds Imm

Earlier this weekend I wrote an article documenting my experience blueberry picking. This article is a follow-up describing my experience baking a batch of blueberry muffins! I followed a  recipe  from New York Times Cooking called "The Ritz-Carleton's Blueberry Muffins". The recipe is inspired by Chef Charles Bonino who was a pastry chef at Boston's Ritz-Carleton in the '70's. He based this recipe off of the popular blueberry muffins sold at Gilchrist's - a popular Boston department store. Although he wasn't able to perfectly replicate the original, this recipe serves as a beautiful replacement. The recipe is simple and takes about 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to bake. It yields about 16 medium sized muffins. The recipe is unique in that it highlights the fresh blueberries through the muted flavor of the batter. The acidity of the blueberries cuts through the subtle sweetness of the muffin. An important addition to the recipe is to c

 Planned vibrations from my watch woke me at 6 am this Saturday morning. I stumbled into some very short shorts, aimlessly searched for a pair of breathable socks to wrap around my feet, and snatched a shirt from a neatly folded pile in my closet. Without delay, I walked downstairs only to be surprised by the appearance of my mother in the hallway. It is my prediction that she was restless at this early hour, and required activity to spend her energy. "Are you going to Rockefeller?" asked my Mother. "Yes, I'm going there right now to meet some teammates for an early morning workout, we planned to beat the deadening heat that is forecasted for today." I replied. "Would you mind dropping me off early so I can walk home?" asked my Mom. "Of course! I will leave in 20 minutes." I answered. After a small bowl of oats covered with milk, raisins, and almonds, we snuck out the door, as we did not hope to wake the rest of my sleeping family. 

This weekend our family decided to go blueberry picking. Blueberry picking is a fun family activity that yields both delicious fruit and an excuse to enjoy the beautiful July weather. Although the orchards strongly advise against it, the best part of blueberry picking is indulging on the blueberries - collecting a portion of the harvest to take home and enjoying a majority of the harvest as you walk along. We decided to 'go on a limb' and try out a new orchard, which is closer to our NYC home: Ochs Orchard. Being only a one hour commute from NYC, Ochs Orchard is the perfect place to visit on a Saturday morning - avoiding both the heat and the weekend bustle of the city. Furthermore, at a price of 4.99 per pound or 3.99 for 5 pounds plus, Ochs' blueberries seemed to be 'ripe for picking'. Ochs also had other seasonal offerings like garlic, zucchini, and peaches available through July. The drive up to Och's was beautiful. We slowly navigated the windy and hill

My family and I were on a vacation to Niagara Falls, which gave me the opportunity to fish the river on a dreary and rainy Sunday Morning. After stopping off at Creek Road Bait and Tackle for some crayfish and hooks, we went to the New York Power Authority fishing pier: a favorite spot among locals. When we arrived, at the coffee-necessitated hour of 6:30, I was discouraged to see two rain drenched anglers quickly walking back to their car. I didn't bother to ask "how was the fishing", because I knew the answer might have been too hard to swallow. I had bought crawfish from the bait-store to use on a Carolina Rig with about 15 inches of 8lb. fluorocarbon leader. I had never never used crawfish as bait before, but I had frequently caught them from a local stream near my house. These crawfish, however, were vastly different from the ones I usually caught, for they were about the size of my fingernail and had very soft exoskeletons. I was instructed by the very helpful bai

(Continuation from "The Tungsten Fly") The last article was on the VMC Tungsten Fly, but many different ice fishing tackle manufacturers make tungsten fly lures. For example, Northland makes a tungsten fly lure called the Northland Tungsten Larva Fly Jig. This lure is different than the VMC Tungsten Fly jig because it was designed to have a vertical presentation rather a horizontal presentation. Although a very disputed topic within the ice fishing community, personally, I feel that vertical jigs are better suited for picky fish. A very small sized Tungsten Fly Jig will have a slow descent rate due to the buoyancy of the hair. In this way, a Northland Tungsten Fly Jig in a very small size would be my lure of choice to catch finicky, shallow water bluegill and crappie. The Northland jig is also available in much smaller sizes - to as small as 1/100th Oz. - and is available in many different colors that better replicate natural forage. My preferred color for the Northland j

Every year there are new innovations in the sphere of ice fishing; whether they be new rods, lures, techniques, electronics, often these innovations are ignored because they are not revolutionary breakthroughs that will radically change the life and success of an ice fisherman. This year, however, I think several new baits that have been released by VMC are revolutionary: 1. The Tungsten Fly. It is without argument that tungsten has revolutionized the ice fishing industry(discussed later), but the most notable and personally one of the most effective lures that I have used this year is the VMC Tungsten Fly. Although using artificial flies to entice fish is usually inherent of fly fishing, VMC has incorporated this subtle approach to catching fish into ice fishing. Because not many anglers use flies as lures, fish may be more inclined to hit a fly. The Tungsten fly not only imitates a fly but also many other aquatic insects, so the Fly is more versatile than the traditional Tungsten