Quality... Not Quantity :)

If you happen to live anywhere near central PA, you know how cold it has been lately. We have been pounded by northwesterly winds and freezing cold temps... With daytime highs in the 20s and nighttime lows in the single digits, most of our open water is now slushy or frozen--making things really tough to get out there and fish.

Still, if it sounds like I'm complaining... I'm really not. I actually caught two of my best fish of the year in the last couple of weeks. I was only able to get out twice, and both trips were short... but they were productive.

My first trip was a nighttime excursion for walleye--and believe it or not, I actually found a couple... Conditions were pretty nasty and it was raining and freezing so photo opportunities were not great, but I pulled in two pretty walleyes in about an hour. One was just over 20 inches and the other measured 26 inches and was really fat--6lbs. + easily.

My other trip was a quick little stop by the river following an afternoon of Christmas shopping... I fished a small open water section for a little over and hour just before dark--with the end result being two nice bass. One bass in particular was especially nice--measuring 20 inches and very fat.

This winter's fishing has been pretty tough due to the cold so far, but the action has been quality not quantity... And I will take that any day of the week, at any time of the year.

With the holiday's coming up, there is a good chance that this will be my last report for 2010. So for now, I would like to wish you all tight lines and a very Merry Christmas! Thanks again for reading, and following my blog in 2010. I will catch you guys and gals later in 2011... :)

Christmas came early this week... :)

Somebody must have forgotten to ask Marianne, because somehow I made the "nice" list again this year... :) It turns out that Santa (actually the Good Lord) left a nice, toothy-little present for me in a local river eddy this past week. It was nice to have the many hours of fishing and not catching pay off. She measured 37 inches, and swam away strongly after our brief encounter.

Dad and I fished on three separate afternoons, and scored some good smallies too. It was cold, but definitely worth it. Not too bad for freezing cold December weather... :)

Before the rain...

Here we are. It's early December, the rivers are blown out, and it has been COLD and windy lately. I wish that I had a nice up-to-date report to share with you guys, but the truth is... I don't. Honestly, the only outdoor activity I've been taking part in lately has been hunting.

However, about a week and a half ago--before deer season started--I was able to get out a little bit one afternoon. The river was on the rise, and the fish were being pushed into the eddies. Lucky for me I picked up one nice walleye (my first since September) and snagged a bunch of carp.

I wasn't able to fish the next day, but my Dad and nephew Gabe went out after them. They returned to the spot I fished the previous day and had an awesome trip. Instead of walleyes, they caught bass. I don't think they caught a lot of bass, but boy did they get quality. In fact, Gabe reeled in the largest of the trip that measured 20 inches! Great work, gentlemen!

I wish I had more for you guys, but as far as the fishing goes, that's all I have to share right now... For the time being I am patiently waiting for the river levels to recede and some milder temperatures to return (hopefully).

Before I close, I do have one more "shout out" to make, and that is also to my nephew Gabe. Last Tuesday morning Gabe shot his first buck. He was hunting with his Pappy John Coder when the 8 pointer walked by, and Gabe made an excellent shot. Congratulations on what will hopefully be the first of many bucks, Gabe! Nice work!

In closing, here is to hoping that my next report will include a little bit more sunshine and hopefully some warmth instead of all this cold stuff... Until next time, thanks again for reading and good luck staying warm! :)