Rusty Spoons

Early Ice - Ice Fishing Safety As the ice begins to form, anglers across the country often prepare their equipment and set their expectation of when they will be able to go fishing far before the ice is even remotely safe, in this way, they not only risk loosing a equipment, but also risk loosing something that is far more valuable - their life. Here are some of the necessary equipment for early ice safety: An ice spud - using an ice spud to test ice thickness is important to staying out of the water during early ice. Basic ice spuds can be bought for under $50, and are very important for all levels of ice anglers. Furthermore, they replace the need for hefting a large auger during the early season, for they are efficient hole makers, when the ice is under five inches thick. It is important to note that ice conditions can change drastically depending on where in the lake you are located, as well as weather conditions while you are fishing. ( https://www.fishusa.com/produc

Shallow Water Bluegill Ice Fishing As the ice starts to form on the bigger lakes and reservoirs of the Southern New York region, I am preparing my gear for the iced-over smaller lakes and ponds, which I know freeze over first. My beginning of the year spot, "King Lumber" on Muscoot Reservoir, freezes as soon as the temperature drops below 20 degrees at night for a week. "King Lumber", as anglers affectionately refer to the less than five acre cove, holds an early season ice bite, with plentiful bluegill, crappie, and perch. Most of the fishing at "King Lumber" is over shallow water weed-beds, and the rare 20ft sections that resemble the larger basins of larger lakes- "King Lumber" is a microcosm that resembles a larger lake. During the early season, when pursuing bluegills in this over-pressured location, it is paramount that you develop a presentation that is unique from the countless other presentations that these fish have become accu

11/26/2017 A warm day at the end of fall just beckons for an attempt, on the 13' Hobie Outback kayak, at lake trout. Although this was just my second time lake trout fishing on Round Valley Reservoir, I ended up catching two beautiful specimens. The date of this fishing excursion was 11/25/2017 I started the day off by stopping at the local bait shop: Behre bait and tackle. Although they were not well stocked because it was the end of the open water season, Behre had medium and large shiner minnows, as well as the necessary assortment of lures that I needed: a bladebait and a Krocodile spoon. I purchased a dozen medium shiners, a Thinfisher bladebait, and a Krocodile spoon. In my previous trip to Round Valley, I had fished the North Dam and North Tower of the Reservoir with only a bite and a foul hooked rock bass to show for it - given that this was only a one hour excursion, I deemed it very successful, so this time we launched out of the Southern launch site, and I fished t

The amount of fishing that goes on in this world is unprecedented due to the aggressive increase in human population. A report by the World Wildlife Fund in 2015 found that nearly half the marine life was lost in the last 40 years. Our impact on the world's wildlife population is both depressing and urgent. We must radically change the way we conduct the business of harvesting fish recreationally. In my opinion, if an individual is not relying on fishing to put food on their table, one should not be harvesting fish from the ocean recreationally. We cannot rationalize our decisions. We can't say that one fish won't make a difference because that is the same exact thinking that got into this situation. What I can only hope from my fellow anglers is to reconsider if they really need to eat the fish they caught, or if they could release it back into the waters in which it belongs. Think of your refrigerator and pantry at home, does it have enough food for you to eat, or do you

The challenge of finding time to fish during the school year becomes harder with each passing month. The burdens of school work, test prep, and sports prevents us from casting a fly or a popper out into waters. Slowly, things become more important than fishing. We rationalize, and proclaim we’ll go during the break or over the summer. Yet our attempt does not meet our expectation. A youtube video now or then, seems to sufice; for the time being. But, more often than not, I find myself daydreaming in class of the glistening waters of the Keys, or the icy wind on a frozen lake. At what point do we take a break. At what point do I bury my math or english into my backpack, grasp my rod and reel, and head out into a blissful afternoon of fishing. Again, I rationalize. I tell myself," I'll get good grades and work hard, so I can fish more often when I’m out of school." But, as I evaluate my parents lives as adults. They to struggle to make time for their hobbies. Is now not the

Fishing is hard- no matter the season, the weather, or the time of day- fishing is possibly the most frustrating pastime known to man. Despite having top tier gear and equipment, as well as a focused and calmed mind, fishing presents unique and difficult challenges that the common man can not endure. Fishing shapes a mind and reinforces humility through countless skunked outing, and patience through long hours spent on the water. Although fishing has not always been fruitful, it is without a doubt my favorite pastime past summers, winters, and autumns. This fall, however, was a unique exception. This fall, the spot I have fished in years past has been over-run by other fisherman. So much so, that the fishing has become a standstill, and discarded braid and trash abound. I know I shouldn't complain, for I have been provided a beautiful slice of wilderness. This past weekend, I reached the water and cast out my line at about 5:00a.m.; this was about the earliest I had ever fished

Weather is cooling, tog are bitting, so charge the fish finder battery and start finding some crabs. Despite the negative connotations about Tautog - relatively ugly, not fun to catch, a fake gamefish - Tautog are without a doubt the angler's dream. Tautog are a bottom dwelling fish that eat mostly crustaceans like crabs and shrimp; they are hard fighting and a delight to catch; they are simply beautiful creatures with adorable faces that should be appreciated by everybody. Catching a tautog can be quite tricky though, for they always live on structure like boulders and wrecks. Because of this, a kayak angler must have a decent fish finder that is capable of locating this structure to then target these fish. Many people recommend a very stout rod to tug these fish out of cover, I am usually partial to a lighter tipped medium action rod matched with a 2500 Penn Battle with 20 lb. braided line. Furthermore, because these fish live on rocks, leader is a necessity. I fish 30 lb. Ande

Fishing the Fall Run - 9/18/17 Fall is commonly referred to as the best best time to catch striped bass and bluefish in North Eastern waters - especially those of Long Island Sound. Starting the first full moon of September, stripers and bluefish follow the large concentrations of adult bunker south into the Sound. During Mid to late September through the middle of November, surf-casters have the opportunity to catch. On Sunday September 10th, my first experience with the 2017 fall run began. I first started off casting a 4.5 inch Tsunami Talking popper into a end of the outgoing tide. The sun was still high, as it was 5:15 P.M. on an end of the summer night, so I was plenty aware that it would be at least an hour until the fishing really started to pick up. I started fishing a current break with the popper, trying to determine if there were any fish waiting for disoriented bait to flush over the rocky embankment; after fishing for 30 minutes without any hits on either the poppe

To many anglers in the USA, and especially in Florida, the island of Sanibel on the Gulf coast holds some of the best spots to fish for the infamous Tarpon. Their strong fighting ability as well as the challenge of landing the fish makes them one of the most enjoyable and invigorating fish to catch. Since we did not have any means of water transportation, our choices of where to fish were limited. Luckily, we received a tip that a pond-like waterway behind the Sanibel town hall was filled with Tarpon in the early morning hours. At the crack of dawn, we hopped over to Whitney’s Bait and Tackle where we bought 50 live shrimp and a package of 2 ought circle hooks. As we approached the gazebo that sat on the side of the saltwater pond, we could see Tarpon rolling off on the edge of the waterway. We cautiously and silently set up our gear, not wanting to spook any nearby Tarpon. To attract the predatory fish, we threw a handful of the smallest shrimp in our livewell and any other shrimp

08/29/17 Kayaking the Maine coastline is one of the most beautiful activities to do when visiting the north-eastern section of Maine. One might forget, however, of the abundance of fish in the pristine and cold waters of the Northern Atlantic ocean. Two species of fish: the Pollock and the Atlantic Mackerel, are both abundant during certain times of the year in shallower waters under 50 feet. Mackerel, unlike Pollock, live in the middle to top of the water column, while pollock live in the bottom of water column. Because of this habitat difference, catching either species of fish is very different. Catching Mackerel: The Atlantic Mackerel feeds on plankton and small fish, so inshore kayak anglers must rely on the tide to sweep the plankton and small fish into harbors and coves. A small minnow imitation, like a small spoon, retrieved in the top 3' of the water column is very effective; a sabiki rig jigged near the top of the water column produces the effect of a small school o

Charter out of Bud N Mary’s- Flats fishing Summer of 2017 We started the day bright and early at Bud n/’Mary’s in Islamorada Key, Florida. We were out on the water at 6 a.m, and hunting tarpon by 6:30. Our captain, Mark, brought us to our first spot, a cove nuzzled into a mangrove island. As soon as we cut the motor and Mark handed us a well kept and maintained rod and reel rigged with a white D.O.A minnow; Tarpon tails were clearly visible as the illusive fish swam with their tails out of the shallow water. Rods at the ready, and our ears pierced by the soft but sturdy tone of Mark’s voice calling out “12 o'clock” or “3 o'clock”, we would precisely fling our soft plastic baits several meters in front of the tarpon's path. After 1 hour of seeing tarpon roll and seeing the tarpon blatantly ignore our offerings, we moved on to another species: bonefish. We coasted along the mangrove islands in skinny water that would most likely not pass our knees. Our captain, Mark

Stripers in the Heat of the Summer (8/13/17) Small schoolies are very abundant in Northern Long Island Sound waters. This specimen was taken on a Lazer Sardine SP minnow from Weed Beach in Darien, CT. We fished from 5:25 to 7:00p.m. . Fishing a boulder field when the tide is moving is extremely productive for catching finicky summertime bass. Schoolie stripers will move into inlets with heavy current and rocks during the heat of the summer, because this setting provides dissolved oxygen and abundant baitfish for the schoolies to gorge on (on this particular trip we observed striped bass feeding on peanut bunker). Although these fish may be in great quantities during this time of year, they tend to be finicky and reluctant to feed on some baits. It is of utmost importance to size down on the profile of the bait. Implementing subtle action baits, and retrieving lures slower so the lethargic fish will not be spooked by presentation can also lead to increased catc