L.D. Guide Service Newsletter
July 29th: Evening trip with Tom and Sally Franko. A beautiful evening. We caught 43 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.
July 29th: Maintenance trip to Snake Creek Marine
July 28th: We connected today! Went fishing with Wayne Wintermute and his son Roger. The sky was mostly sunny and the water got up to 75 degrees but dark stained. We caught 106 fish with 1 channel cat in the mix ! mostly on crank baits.
July 27th: After the rains the river is better. Went fishing with Ken and Mark Schlegel. The day was mostly sunny and the water was dark stained and 75 degrees. We caught 72 fish with 1 bluegill in the mix. Mostly on crankbaits.
July 26th: Went fishing with Ray Secrist. The sky was sunny and the water was dark stained and 77 degrees. We caught 35 fish mostly on crank baits
July 25th Went to the North Mountain Rifle shoot. Pounded my arm 60 times with my 45-70 and 405 gr bullets. Had a great time.
July 24th: Went fishing with Dave Pchola and Tony Saia. We started out at 5:00AM to beat the heat and finished at noon. The sky was sunny, hot , the river was low, slow, and 79 degrees. We need rain. We caught 38 fish on cranks.
July 20th: Went fishing with Ed Bartel. The day was hot and sunny. The water dark algea stained and 79 degrees, very low. I tried fishing left handed because of a pinched nerve in right hand. I missed more than I caught.LOL but Ed came through. We caught 43 fish on cranks and spinners.
July 19th: Went fishing with lew Bolinger and Joe James. The day was hot, water hit 80 degrees and green stained with algea, also very low. We caught 47 fish with 1 walleye in the mix mostly on crank baits
July 18th; Did photography work at the North Mountain Sportsmen club for their Youth Field Day. Had about 60 photos to edit and put on their website at www.northmt.com . The kids had a great time shooting ect.
July 17th: Evening charter with Skip Connant and his daughter Christy Gross. It was still hot out and the fishing slow. The darn jet skies didn't help either. We caught 15 fish with Christy getting a big one
July 17th: A ton of people on the water. Saw a wide variety of home made rafts. One was 30ft long. Went fishing with two good old boys, Tim Fry and Brian Eshenour. Even with all the boat traffic, we had a good time. We caught 42 fish with 1 channel cat in the mix mostly on crankbaits. We had a little top water action at the start then it got populated. A big thanks to Mrs Fry who sent along a huge sandwich for me that tasted great!
July 16th: Evening trip with Dave, Don, and Nick Free. Dave is 82 yrs old and just got his first fishing license. We caught 21 fish with Don catching a big 18" smallie. A good time.
July 16th: Went fishing for a half day with Dick Rivers. The sky was sunny and hot. The water was stained green and 77 degrees. We caught 45 fish and 1 rockie in the mix on jerk baits and jigs.
July 15th: Went fishing with Don Free and his son Nick from Tenn. It was their first smallie trip and they did great. We caught 57 fish with 4 rockies and 1 hog nose sucker in the mix. The morning we used Hubs Chubs Lures on the surface then went to jigs and jerk baits.
July 13th & 14th: Went fishing with Mike Silka and John Kirkwood from Ohio for two days. The days were overcast with some light rain. The water was 77 degrees and algea stained. We caught 152 fish total with 3 rockies in the mix. The mornings we enjoyed top water action with the Hubs Chubs lures, then went to jerk baits and jigs.
July 12th: Went fishing with Ted Manley today for 5 hrs. We caught 39 fish with Ted catching a big bass.
July 11th: Went fishing with Jeff Barber and Vance Rhodes. We caught 45 fish today
July 10th: Went fishing with Dave Pchola and Ray Dilliplaine. The sky was mostly cloudy and the water was stained with green algea. We started out at 5:30AM and caught the first 10 on the surface with Hubs Chubs lures. The rest came on crank baits. We stopped at 11:30AM with 40 fish C&R. Dave also caught a northern pike.
July 9th: Went fishing with Dick Rivers and Jeff Harding. We got on the water at 8:30AM and got off at 3:00PM. Had a pretty good wind as the fronts came in from the East. The river is very low and algea stained. We never hit but I took the boat through some surprisingly shallow water of about 4". The bite was slow but we caught 40 fish with 1 rock bass in the mix. Jigs and crank baits caught the fish.
July 8th: Now this is the way to catch fish in the summer heat. Fished with Charlie Galliger and Carl Rosen. They came up yesterday from Ohio and stayed at my fish camp. We met at 4:45 AM,and was on the water at the mornings light. We got a surface action going with the Hubs Chubs lures for the first 15 fish. Then it was crank baits and LD spinners for the walleye and bass. The one Northern Pike we got came on a Hubs Chub. We ended up with 75 fish with 8 walleyes and the northern pike in the mix. Off the water by 1:00PM and back to my shower and air conditioner by 1:45PM. I'm tired but it was worth it! The guys went back to the camp for a snooze! What a day!
July 7th: Met Bob Hunt and his grandson Colin at 6:45AM and we were on the water soon. The air hit 98 degrees but there was a slight breeze to help us through the day. The water got up to 81 degrees and the green algie is forming now with a low water river. We did catch 60 fish with 3 walleye in the mix.
July 6th: First time I ever had a client cancel because of the heat. Can't blame them though, the air got up to 100 degrees and on the reflective water it would have been worse.
July 5th: An afternoon trip from 2:30PM to 5:30PM. The hottest part of the day with Doug Denure and his grandson Dan. Doug showed us he can catch fish in the bright sunny heat while Dan and I caught less. We ended up with 15 fish and a channel cat in the mix.
July 5th: Went fishing with Mike Delp, Corey Lockard and his son Ethan. We met at 6:00AM to beat the heat and we were off by 2:00PM. The air got up to 97 degrees and sunny. The water got up to 79 degrees and dark stained. I got a couple of bass right off on a Hubs chub surface lure and that was it for top water. We caught 63 fish with 2 walleyes and Mike caught a 26" Musky at noon, with a bright sun in 3ft of water. He must be living right.LOL
July 4th: Went fishinh with Keith Murry and his sons Kyle and Connor. We got out on the water about 7:30AM and the day turned hot and sunny. Lots of boat traffic but we still managed to catch 52 fish with 1 walleye and 1 rocky in the mix
July 3rd: Had a hot and sunny evening charter with Steve koch , His sister Brenda, and their Uncle Al Hence. The fish were stubborn in the sunny heat but we managed to get 19 fish. Now Brenda caught only two but she caught the only walleye and right at the end a beautiful 18" smallmouth bass. We were using crank baits.
July 3rd; Had a real fun day with some old friends/clients. Went fishing with Judy Bowser, Lee Ann Grafton, and her son Andrew Audo . We met at 7:00AM and the day was sunny & hot. We fished, relaxed, caught up on old times shooting cowboy action and had fun. We caught 50 fish with 4 walleye in the mix.
July 2nd: Evening charter with Jake Buxton, Pat Roberts, and John Fitz. We caught 37 fish on crank baits.
July 2nd: It was just me and long time client Dick Rivers today. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was 70 degrees and dark stained. We caught 57 fish today with 3 walleye in the mix. LD Indiana spinners, cranks, and alluring Baits Trick Sticks caught the fish.
July 1st: Went fishing with Jim and Sue Boyd . The sky was partly sunny and the water was dark stained and 72 degrees. We caught 54 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix. Crank Baits and LD Indiana Spinners caught the fish.
June totals: Smallmouth Bass 1384 fish, Walleye 74 fish, Rock Bass 5 fish, Musky 3 fish, Channel cats 2 fish, Carp 1 fish, Northern Pike 1 fish, White Sucker 1 fish Total fish= 1471 fish
June 30th: Went fishing with Nancy Hollinger and Sue Reed. We met at 5:00AM and were off the water by 1:00PM Again we beat the heat. The were in the fog in the morning and it eventually became sunny and hot. We caught 69 fish with 6 walleyes in the mix. These ladies could fish! Most were caught on LD Indiana Spinners and crank baits.
June 29th: Went fishing with Leo Parker and his buddy John. The sky was sunny and hot. The water got up to 78 degrees and dark stained. We met at 5:00AM and was fishing by 5:30AM and off the water by 1;30PM and we beat the heat!. We caught 62 fish with 5 walleye in the mix. LD spinners and cranl baits caught the fish.
June 28th:Went fishing with Jerry and Drew Zimmerman. The sky was overcast and we got some rain. We caught 58 fish with 1 walleye and 1 catfish in the mix. Most were caught on the new LD spinner baits with the Indiana Blade.
June 27th: Scheduled day off. Went to a rifle shoot at North Mountain.
June 26th: Evening fishing lesson with 8yr old Ally Parks and her dad Mike. The heat was there and the fish didn't co-operate. Mike and I both caught fish so Ally could reel them in but she didn't fare so well so we will reschedule and let her have another shot at it, She did however show good improved casting skills in the 3hrs we were out.
June 26th: Finally got out early. I was fishing at 5:30 AM with Dustin Deloplaine and Troy Bessember. We hit the walleyes first thing up to 24" long with LD spinners with Indiana blade. Started out with extreme fog and the water was dark stained and got up to 77 degrees. The early angler gets the fish with 71 fish caught and 10 walleyes in the mix. All but one was from 16" to 24". All were released.
June 25th: Evening fishing lesson for 10yr old Lucy Parks with her dad Mike. She caught several bass and her first walleye.
June25th: Went fishing with John Yaswinski and Mike Obenski. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was 79 degrees and dark stained. We caught 51 fish with 4 walleye and 1 rocky in the mix. Mostly on crankbaits and jigs.
June 24th: Evening charter with Dan Gerhart and Marny. We caught 15 fish
June 24th: Went fishing with Will Cressman and Bob Snyder. The sky was sunny and the water dirty. We caught 40 fish with 3 walleyes, 1 sucker, and 1 rockie in the mix. Mostly on crank baits and jigs.
June 23rd: Gave fishing lessons to Tom & Lil Mortimore and their grandson Dylon. They learned quick and did great. As soon as Dylon got the spinning reel down pat the was casting like a pro. They caught several bass but the jewel was when Dylon caught his first musky on a crank bait.
June 23rd: Went fishing with Tim Miller and his dad Ed. The sky was partly sunny and the water dirty and 72 degrees. We caught 57 fish with 2 walleye and 1 northern pike in the mix. We used crank baits and jigs.
June 22nd: Did a half charter with bill Thorburg and Jim Hendy. The sky was overcast and the guys called it when it started to rain hard. We caught 25 fish with 1 walleye in the mix on crank baits and jigs.
June 21st: It was just me and Rich Wildrick fishing today and we got an early start. The day was partly cloudy and the water was dirty brown and got up to 75 degrees. We caught 51 fish with 4 walleyes in the mix. Crank baits caught most of the fish.
June 20th: A fun evening with Charles Williams, Wayne Shortle, and Gary Dutton all from Southwestern Energy. They caught 19 fish with 2 walleye in the mix.
June 20th: Went fishing with John Snyder and Duff Duffy. The sky was partly sunny after a cold front went through which shut the fish down. The water was dirty and 74 degrees. We caught only 16 fish but we had a good time with great conversation. John let the rock go free that he caught last season.
June 19th: Evening trip with mike and Kevin Boylan. We caught 21 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.
June 19th: Went fishing with Jamie Bosler, Tim Williams, and Corey Frank. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was dirty and 70 degrees. We caught 47 fish with 4 walleyes in the mix mostly on crank baits.
June 18th: Had a 2 hr charter with Seth Hazen and his boys Jacob and Luke. The kids were a lot of fun and Seth sure has his hands full. The youngest had just caught a nice walleye and he was ready to go on another boat ride. I believe the jet boat held the most interest with the youngest.
June 18th: Had a partial charter with John Yaswinski with his sister Cindy and niece Aubrey. We caught 49 fish with 1 channel cat, 1-walleye, and 1 musky in the mix. All on crank baits.
June 17th: Evening charter with Ed Derrick and Dick Snyder. The front passed and we had a beautiful evening. The crank baits were working again and we caught 22 fish. Ed has really improved with his fishing and caught the big bass of the evening.
June 17th: Went fishing with Mike Jones and Gordon Rosenthal. Bad windy (20mph) cold front came through while we were fishing shutting down the bite with muddy water, We fished hard in the dark water with jigs for the 27 fish we caught with 1 rockie in the mix..
June 16th: Went fishing with Garner Travelpiece and Dave Moore. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was muddy and 70 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 3 walleye and 1 rockie in the mix. Crank baits and jigs caught the fish.
June 15th: Did a half charter with Gary Urban and Al Bachman. Muddy river and 71 degrees. We caught 22 bass
June 15th: Did a half charter with Bill Holmes and Jim Hartshorne. The sky was sunny and the river was muddy and 71 degrees. We caught 15 fish with 1 walleye in the mix.
June 14th: Fished with Marion and John again. The sky was overcast. The water was muddy , rising and 70 degrees.. We caught 50 fish on cranks and jigs with 2 walleye in the mix.
June 13th: Evening trip with Marion Nunan and John Gemberlin. We caught 20 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix.
June 13th: Went fishing with Doug Bachman and Fran Drexler. The sky was overcast with extreme humidity and ended up with a very hard rain. The water was muddy and 71 degrees. We caught 39 fish on cranks and jigs.
June 12th: Evening trip with Mike D'Elia and Tim Pointek. We caught 22 fish with 3 walleye in the mix on cranks and jigs.
June 12th: Went fishing with Joe Giunta and his son Joe: We started at 6:00AM with overcast skies. The water was dirty/muddy and 69 degrees. I thought we were going to hit one out of the ball park! It stayed overcast for the first 4 hours and we caught over 50 fish! Then the sun came out and the bite pretty well stopped. We ended up with 60 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix. The guys decided that it was a good day and stopped an hour early. Crank baits and jigs caught the fish.
June 11th: Evening charter with Greg White and Dennis. We caught 22 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix
June 11th: Went fishing with Dennis Snyder and Ed Bardzel. The sky was partly sunny and the water was muddy and 69 degrees. We did great with 64 fish caught with 3 walleyes, 1 carp, and 1 rocky in the mix. Crank baits and Alluring Baits jigs caught the fish.
June 10th: Went fishing with Bob and Rob Gunther. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was muddy and 69 degrees. We caught 27 fish with 1 walleye and some quality smallies in the mix. LD spinners and crank baits caught the fish.
June 9th: Went fishing with Jim Toolan and Ken Schlegl. The sky was overcast with a steady late morning rain. The water was muddy and 66 degrees. We stayed out for about 4hrs before the rain soaked in and we called it a day. However when I got home I counted up all my little pen marks on my score card and we caught 41 fish in that muddy water. The big fish of the day belonged to Ken who caught a 18" beauty. Last night I painted 3 of my big crank baits solid black and that was the ticket to catching the bass in the muddy. water.
June 7th: Went fishing with Steve o'Kula and John Yanatell . The sky was partly cloudy and the water came up 2ft and was muddy and still rising with a 72 degree temp. We caught 30 fish with the guys catching a couple of big ones. LD Thumper spinners, Alluring Baits 3' Trick Sticks and JJ's Hair Jigs, the Black Woolybugger did great! We caught 30 fish in the muddy water. We really needed this rain.
June 6th: Watch out what you wish for! We decided to meet at 5:30 AM and When they arrived it was raining so hard I could hardly make out their truck as they drove in. Along with the lightning and the prediction of thunder storms on and off all day along with a tornado watch, we decided not to become a lightning rod and canceled for the day. It rained on and off in the night also.
June 5th. Had a fun evening trip with Mark Mellott and his wife Beth. Our trip was cut short because of a lightning storm and the fish were just starting to bite. We caught 15 fish and just about beat the storm back to the access. Just about.LOL
June 5th: Went fishing with John and Andrew Snyder. The sky was mostly sunny and the water is low, (we nicked the boat at one spot on the bottom), dirty brown and 79 degrees! Had 2 young eagles keep us company for quite a while. We caught 33 fish with some big ones being caught again. WE NEED RAIN!
June 4th: Went fishing with Ken Keen and his grandson Kyle who was very good with the baitcaster and my LD spinner Baits. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dirty stained, low, and 77 degrees. We caught 40 fish with 3 walleye and 1 musky in the mix. Alluring Baits 3" Trick Sticks and LD spinner baits caught the fish.
June 3rd : Evening charter with Dave and Richard Andreuzzi. We caught 15 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. Mostly on LD spinners and Alluring Baits trick sticks
June 3rd: Went fishing with Barney and Byron Cook. The sky was sunny and hot, the water was low, dirty brown and 77 degrees. We caught 31 fish with a couple of big ones in the mix. It's still post spawn. Jigs and LD spinner baits caught the fish.
June 2nd: Went fishing with Scott Robinson and Gary Johnson. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was dirty brown and 76 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix. LD spinners and jigs caught the fish.
June 1st: Went fishing with Ray Getler and Tom Nucomb: The sky was mostly cloudy and the water was low, warm 76 degrees, and dirty. We got hit with a couple of hard rain showers that the fish liked . We caught 58 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix. After the hard rain the fish came up off the bottom and the jerk bait bite did well.
May totals: Smallmouth Bass 1578 fish, Walleye 55 fish, White suckers 7 fish, Rock Bass 8 fish, Northern Pike 11 fish, Musky 5 fish, Carp 1 fish, Perch 1 fish, Channel Cat 2 fish, Quillback 1 fish = 1669 fish total
May 31st: Went fishing for a few hours with Bill and Garett Stone. The sky was sunny and hot. The water dark stained to dirty and 77 degrees. Post spawn conditions combined with the warm water made us work for what we got which was 20 fish with 2 walleyes and 1 channel cat in the mix. The guys had an impressive collection of crank baits but the fish didn't want anything to do with them. The fish were caught on jerk baits and jigs.
May 30th: Went fishing with Joe Rynald and Jake Johnson. Today we were on the water by 6:00AM and off by noon. In the foggy cool morning we got some top water action in then it was jerk baits and jigs. We caught 57 fish with 2 walleye and 1 northern pike in the mix. In all this heat the early angler got the fish.
May 29th: Went fishing for a while with Phil Mund,Mike and Tim. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was dark stained and 75 degrees. We only caught 18 fish on jerk baits with 1 musky in the mix. I had a big musky on for a short while before he got off. We had a good time and we will do it again this season.
May 28th: Evening trip with George Kofel and Myron Fedor. We managed to get 12 fish with Myron getting the big one.
May 28th: Went fishing with Joe and Frank again. They have been fishing with me for over 10 years and it's always an enjoyable trip. The sky was overcast so at least we didn't bake but the post spawn is going strong with 75 degree water. We caught 30 fish with 1 walleye and 4 northern pike in the mix on jerk baits and jigs.
May 27th:Had a half charter with Joe Lamarca and Frank Corcione. We caught 21 fish with 2 walleye in the mix on jigs and jerk baits.
May 26th: Evening charter with Rob Gunther and Dick Werner. Rob showed us how it was done with the jerk baits and we managed to catch 12 fish with a couple of big ones that Rob caught along with a northern pike.
May 26th:Went fishing with Kevin Readinger and Paul Bornman. The sky was HOT and sunny. The water is up to 74 degrees! The bass are in post spawn now and I expect it to continue for the next 10 days. The big female bass are tired and are hard to catch. We had a great time and fished hard for the 31 fish we got with 1 channel cat and 5 walleyes in the mix. I'd say that the jerk baits caught the most fish.
May 25th: Went fishing with Rick Liebert today, The sun was bright and sunny, yuck! Rick's been fishing with me about 12 years so we decided to try everything from fly fishing to our musky rods. I also brought a 5ft Ultra light rod for an additional challenge. We caught 22 fish with Rick getting a big fish on his musky rod only to get off before we could identify it but it was pulling drag! That was exciting while it lasted.
May 24th: Went fishing with Doug and Dave DeNure. The sky was mostly sunny and the water light stained to 3ft. We caught 44 fish with 2 walleye and 1 rockie in the mix. It was Dave's first time on the river and he caught some big smallies.
May 23rd: Evening charter with Jim Benson and his buddy Moe. It was Moe's first time fishing and he caught a trophy 18" small mouth, Jim also got a nice 16" smallie. They ended up with 10 fish on Hubs Chubs surface lures.
May 23rd: Went fishing with Scott Alexander and Bob Miller. The sky was overcast and on and off sprinkles. The river was light stained to 3ft and 66 degrees. We caught 41 fish with 2 rockies and 1 sucker in the mix. Hubs Chubs, jerk baits, and Trick Sticks caught the fish.
May 22nd: Evening charter with Dave Rossman and Eric Stowell. We caught 15 bass and 1 northern pike all on the HubsChubs surface lures.
May 22nd: Went fishing with Todd Alexander and Ryan Miller. The sky started out cloudy and went to sunny. The water was light stained to 3ft and 66 degrees. It was a top water morning as we caught huge bass on the Hubs Chubs surface lures. We caught 39 bass and 12 were from 16" to 18".
May 21st: A relaxing evening charter with Al Peters. The evening gave way to an overcast sky with no wind and we used the Hubs Chubs surface lures all evening. We caught 30 fish with some nice quality bass in there.
May 21st: Hit a home run when I went fishing with Steve Fagan and Bob Murray. The sky was partly cloudy and the river was dark stained and 62 degrees. We caught 102 fish today with one walleye in the mix. These guys were fishing machines with jerk baits. Towards the end we did get in a little top water action.
May 20th: Went fishing with Will Cresman and Ken Weidemoyer . The sky was sunny and the water was dark stained and 60 degrees. We caught 56 fish with 4 walleyes in the mix. Top water with Hubs Chubs, jerk baits , 3" Alluring Baits Trick Sticks, and some with JJ's Hair Jigs.
May 19th: Went fishing with Ken Braren and Ed Brielle. The sky was overcast and the river dark stained and 58 degrees. We caught 62 fish with two walleyes in the mix . It was top water with Hubs Chubs surface lures and we caught some big ones! The rest came on jerk baits.
May 18th: Had a real fun day with Bill Sordoni and Roy Nunn. The sky was overcast with light rains all day. We had top water action ALL DAY! It was great. We caught 72 fish with Bill getting a 19" beauty with his Hubs Chub surface lure. Bill and I used Hubs Chubs surface lures and Ray used a POP-R. There were many quality bass caught today!
May 17th: Went fishing with John Yaswinski and John Jasson. The sky was partly cloudy and the water was stained and 59 degrees. We caught 64 fish with 2 walleye and 1 quillback in the mix. JJ's hair jigs, Alluring Baits Slammers, Jerk Baits and a little top water action with Hubs Chubs.
May 16th: Had an evening trip with Brian and Daniel Goff. We caught 11 fish with Daniel catching a big 18" smallie.
May 16th: Went fishing with Ed Nester and Barry Buchecker. The sky was overcast and the water dark stained and 55 degrees. We caught 65 fish with 9 walleye and 1 musky in the mix.JJ's Hair Jigs, Alluring Baits trick sticks, tubes, and jerk baits caught the fish.
May 15th:Went fishing for a half day with Austin Genell. The sky was partly sunny with winds. The river was dark stained and 55 degrees. We caught 40 fish with 2 walleye, 2 suckers, and 1 northern pike in the mix . JJ's hair jigs, and Alluring Baits LD Smallie Slammers caught the fish.
May 14th: Went out for an hour with Dave Pchola and Ray Dilliplaine in a very hard rain. Trouble was the guys forgot to bring any rain gear so once they got soaked through it was not comfortable fishing. But while we were in the storm Dave caught several bass and I caught my personal best Northern Pike at 40" on my 6 1/2ft custom light weight rod and 10lb Stren Magnathin line. The guys will make up the fishing date later this year. Good guys, I'll bet they always bring rain gear from now on.
May 13th: Had an evening charter with Ken Newbery. We caught 30 bass.
May 13th: Went fishing with Rhett McManus and Ed Thompson. The skies were mostly cloudy and the water for most of the day was 49 degrees and dark stained. Once we figured out that the fish were finicky from the cold front we switched over to hair jigs and the action started to happen. We caught 82 fish with 2 walleye and 2 Northern Pike in the mix. Probibly over 60 were caught on hair jigs. Rhett and I used woolybuggers from JJ's Jigs. Rhett also caught a 19" smallmouth on a crank bait which got him an angler award.
May 12th: Went fishing with 83 yr young Earl West and his son-in-law Ike Fields. The sky was overcast with rains and wind. The water was 50 degrees and dark stained. We caught 27 fish with Ike catching a 19" smallie which got him an angler award. We also caught 1 northern pike and 1 walleye.
May 11th: Had a cancellation. Instead of filling it I took the boat to Snake Creek Marine in Montrose PA and had a new 80lb trolling motor installed along with new double trailer bunks with some other minor work done to the boat. Can't wait to try it out tomorrow.
May 10th:Had an evening charter with Dale Grosvenor and his friend Shibu Simon from India. We caught 21 fish with some big bass and 1 northern pike in the mix. All on jigs. LD Smallie Slammers from Aluring Baits.
May 10th: Went fishing with Doug DeNure and Randy Duncan. The sky was partly cloudy with winds 15 to 17mph. Water temp dropped again to 54 degrees. We caught 41 fish and lost several with 2 walleye and 1 northern pike in the mix. Jigs and jerk baits caught the fish.
May 9th: Went fishing with Jerry Tanczos and his twin 14yr old sons, Chris and Eric. The sky was mostly cloudy with 20mph winds and cold air starting out at 38 degrees. The water temp dropped to 56 degrees. It didn't look promising but we still caught 62 fish with 3 muskies, 4 walleye, 2 rockies and 1 sucker in the mix. Each of the guys caught a musky. Everything was on jigs.
May 8th: Iron men! That's what Steve Getsie and Jim Utly were when they fished 10 hrs with me through 30 to 40mph winds. You had to hang on to the boat or get blown off! trees were being snapped and blown down around us and a couple were too close so we got out of there! The amazing thing was that we caught 75 fish with 2 rockies and 1 perch in the mix. The first hour before the front came through it was dead calm and overcast and we caught some big bass on surface Hubs chubs lures. The water was 62 degrees. The rest were caught on jigs.
May 7th: Had an evening trip with Tom Zablocki and Jim Jordan. The evening became overcast and we did great with top water action and Hubs Chubs lures. We caught 24 fish with some big bass in the mix.
May 7th: Went fishing with Dick Rivers for a half day. The sky was sunny and the water dark stained and 62 degrees. We caught 36 fish with 1 walleye in the mix and several big bass. All jigs.
May 6th: Did a TV show with Alan Probst. Wouldn't you know it a big cold front went through and just shut the fish down followed by sunny skies and high winds. By the time the fish recovered it was time for Alan to leave. We did manage to catch 35 fish and a couple of big ones but it was disapointing to me after the last few days of great fishing. Most of the short day was jig fishing with Alluring Baits 3" LD Smallie Slammers, but there was a place where I had a flurry of fish on the hubs Chub top water.He will be back this summer and fall for more shows.
May 5th: Went fishing with Bill Dombrowski and his son Bill. The sky was sunny with some wind so the top water bite was limited. The river was light stained and 61 degrees.We caught 103 fish with some big bass in the mix.Mostly on jerk baits and some top water action with Hubs Chubs.
May 4th: Went fishing with Marion and Barry again. Today it was just great top water action! We caught 97 fish with 1 sucker, 1 walleye, and 1 northern pike in the mix. Over 60 of the fish were caught on top water. I used the new crayfish color on the Hubs Chub 3" surface lure. A great lure.
May3rd: Went fishing with Marion Nunan and Barry Stark. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was light stained and 60 degrees. We caught 40 fish with 2 walleye and 1 rockie in the mix on jigs.
May 2nd: It was just me and Val Larioni today. Dee Dee was supposed to come but some last minute work got in her way.We caught 68 fish with 1 walleye in the mix We got into some great top water action with the Hubs Chubs surface lures and caught some lunkers. Val caught a 25" walleye which earned him a catch and release angler award from the PFBC and a patch from me.
May 1st: Evening charter with Ben DeVito and his 10yr old daughter Jenna. It was a nice evening, with most of the boats gone in for the day. We caught 27 fish with 2 walleye and 2 white suckers in the mix. Mostly on Jerk baits and jigs.
May 1st: Went fishing with Ed Nestor and Barry Buchecker. The sky was sunny and the water was stained and 56 degrees. First day of Walleye season and many boats out for the walleye madness. We caught 64 fish with 6 walleyes in the mix. Used just about everything to catch them.
April Totals: Bass 1601, Walleye 46, Catfish 3, white suckers 12, northern pike 5, Carp 1, Musky 10 = 1678 fish
April 30th: Went fishing with Dave Shaw and Al Pekasiewicz. The sky was sunny and it was the first time in a long while that it got hot outside. The water was stained and 51 degrees. We caught 76 fish with 11 walleyes and 3 muskys. It was the first time we ever caught 3 muskies in one day! Jigs, jerk baits, and small cranks caught the fish.
April 29th: Evening charter with Jell Minnichbach, Tony and Mike Ciarlante. We caught 23 fish.
April 29th: Went fishing with Rick McNeal and his buddy Ronny. The sky was partly clear and windy. The water was dark stained and 50 degrees. We caught 76 fish with 5 walleye including a 25" Angler award walleye that Rick caught. and 1 musky that Rick also caught. There were many big bass in the mix. Mostly all jigs were used.
April 27th: Went fishing with Will Cressman and Andy Nichols. High winds and dirty/muddy water hampered our fishing. Water was 49 degrees. We caught 60 fish with 1 walleye in the mix and several big bass. Mostly on jigs.
April 26th: Evening charter with Dale and Dave Grosvenor. Still raining. We caught 33 fish
April 26th: Went fishing in the all day rain with Todd Fetterolf and Gary Sidwell. We caught 75 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. water was stained and 53 degrees. Mostly with jerk baits.
April 25th: Went fishing with Bill Dombrowski and Dave Flannery. We caught 43 fish in very windy 25-35 MPH conditions. With 1 musky, 1 walleye, and a sucker in the mix. Biggest bass was 20"!
April 24th: Had an evening charter with one of my sponsors, Alan Coy of Snake Creek Marine and his buddy John Harding. We did great! I caught many fish on top water with the Hubs Chubs surface lures. Alan caught a hog bass on a jerk bait along with many more bass. And John caught many on surface baits and jerk baits. It was a fun evening and we beat the rain this year! We caught 31 fish toal
April 24th:Went fishing with Blake and Tyler Barth. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was light stained and 55 degrees. We caught 82 fish today with 1 walleye and 1 sucker in the mix. I caught a few with Hub Chub Surface Lures in the morning which was great fun. Most of the fish were caught on jerk baits. I caught a few fish on a new R&D worm hair jig from JJ's Jigs.
April 23rd: Evening charter with Kevin Readinger. We caught 17 fish with Kevin getting a big bass on a Hubs Chubs new crayfish pattern top water lure, a northern pike and a 32" Musky to end the day.
April 23rd.Went fishing with John Y and John J again. The sky was sunny but high winds hampered us. The water was 54 degrees and light stained. We caught 52 fish with 3 walleyes in the mix.
April 22nd: Went fishing with John Yaswinski and John Jason. The sky was mostly sunny with heavy winds in the afternoon. The water was light stained and 53 degrees. We caught 51 fish with 1 northern pike and 3 walleye in the mix. John Y caught a huge 20" smallie which will get him an angler award and John J caught a 34" 23lb 13oz carp on a light rod which also got him an angler award.
April 21st: Went fishing with the owner of the HC Bait Co Steve Monoyoudis. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was stained and 52 degrees. We caught 63 fish with Steve catching a 36" Northern Pike. The top water bite is not there yet but we still caught 12 bass with the Hubs Chubs surface lures.
April 20th: Went fishing with Mike Delp and Skyler Warner. The sky was partly cloudy and the river was stained and 51 degrees. We caught 112 fish with 1 walleye in the mix. There were over 21 bass 15" to 17" and Skylar caught a heavy 4lb 8oz smallie a little over 19" which will earn him an Angler award from the PFBC and myself.Mostly jerk baits today with a few caught on jigs.
April 19th: Went fishing with Jim DeAngelo and Frank Tomasic. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was stained and 51 degrees. We caught 63 fish with 1 walleye and 1 musky in the mix. Jerk baits and alluring baits 3" LD Smallie Slammers caught the fish.
April 18th: Went fishing with Val and Dee Dee . The sky was overcast with shower and wind. The river was stained. Dee Dee had a little problem getting the pattern down in the morning but hit a home run in the afternoon with an Angler Award 20" monster smallmouth.(see it on my photo page and on my Facebook page under Lance Dunham). We caught 75 fish with 2 walleyes and a Northern pike in the mix. Mostly on jerk baits.
April 17th: Evening charter with Todd Shaner and Doug . We caught 25 fish with 2 walleye in the mix.
April 17th: Hit one out of the ball park with John Snyder and his buddy Even. It was just a real cold windy rainy day. The river was stained and 53 degrees. We caught 104 fish! with 3 white suckers in the mix. Jerk baits and LD smallie slammers caught the fish.
April 16th: Had a great day with Dave Pchola and his 12 yr grandson Nathan Eckman . The sky was overcast with wind. The river was stained and 53 degrees. We caught 76 fish with 2 musky, 1 walleye, and 1 sucker in the mix. Jerk baits caught the fish.
April 15th: Had an evening charter with Joe Hayes and his 11yr old son Colin. We caught 22 bass on jerk baits
April 15th: First charter had to cancel so I took the fly rod out for awhile and caught 6 bass on a #2 woolybugger from JJ's Jigs.
April 14th: Scheduled boat maintenance day
April 13th: Went fishing with Joe Galliger and his son Brady. The sky was overcast and the water stained and 53 degrees. We caught 71 bass with some big ones in the mix
April 12th: Went fishing with Larry and Carroll Snoke. The sky was sunny and the water was stained and 52 degrees. We caught 45 fish with 1 musky that Larry caught and 1 walleye in the mix along with 1 white sucker. Crank Baits and , LD smallie Slammers caught the fish.
April 11th: Went Fishing with Val L. and Dee Dee F. The sky was mostly cloudy and windy. The river was dark stained and 52 degrees. We caught 52 fish with 2 walleyes in the mix. Most were caught on crank baits. A few were caught on JJ's Jigs Black Wooly Buggers and Alluring Baits LD Smallie Slammers. The walleyes were caught on LD Thumper spinners.
April 10th: Had an evening charter with Doug Mantz and his friend Jackie. The winds mostly stopped for a nice evening. We caught 13 fish with some big bass in there and 2 suckers.
April 10th: Went fishing with Doug Bachman and Fran Drexler. The sky was sunny but it was cold! I had sleet on the boat in the morning with high winds. The river was dark stained and 51 degrees. We caught 51 fish today with some quality smallies in there. LD smallie slammers caught most with the LD Thumper spinner and JJ's Jigs River King Crayfish catching some.
April 9th: Went fishing with Triston Taylor and Jerry Campbell from Maryland today. The sky was mostly cloudy with high winds .The water was stained and 54 degrees. We caught 87 fish with 1 walleye and 1 channel cat in the mix. Lost many jigs. LD Smallie Slammers caught the fish.
April 8th: It was Jeff Harding and myself today. The sky was mostly cloudy with high winds. The water was stained at 54 degrees. Today was the first day the jerkbait worked for me this season. We caught 42 fish with 2 walleyes and 2 white suckers in the mix. Jerbaits, small cranks,JJ's Jigs wooly Buggers, and LD Smallie Slamers caught the fish.
April 7th: Went fishing with the husband/wife team of Leo and Tracey Parker. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was stained and 52 degrees. The morning was slow with Leo getting an Angler Award 37" Northern Pike, and an Angler award 40"-30lb Carp. The thing was huge! We were picking up a bass here and there then we found where they all went. LOL They caught bass after bass, after bass in the afternoon. We ended up with 70 fish with Leo catching half of them himself. There were also 3 walleye caught. Most of the fish were caught with the 3"LD Smallie Slammer from Alluring Baits along with their 3 1/2" baby crawl.
April 6th: Went fishing with Ryan McGee and Mr X. Had a thunder storm first thing in the morning. The fish shut down. We caught 21 fish with 1 channel cat in the mix. Biggest bass was 19". Alluring Baits trick sticks, baby crawls, and tubes caught the fish.
April 5th: didn't fish
April 4th: Went fishing with Denny and Bob Lederach. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was high, fast, dirty, and 50-51 degrees. It was the guys first river trip and we had fun. We caught 23 fish with 1 walleye that Bob caught. Tubes, Alluring Baits baby crawls, and JJ's jigs River King Crayfish caught the fish.
April 3rd: Went fishing with John Hendricson and his son Kyle. This was Kyles first smallie trip and he did fine. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was high, fast, dirty and 47-49 degrees. We caught 42 fish with 2 walleyes, 1 channel cat, and 1 white sucker in the mix. We also saw a river otter but he was so quick I couldn't get a photo. Tubes and Alluring Baits 3 1/2" baby crawl caught the fish. It's good to get back.
April 1st & 2nd: Had to reschedule charters, river too high. This Sat should be good enough.
March totals: Bass 93, Walleye 8, Carp 3, White Sucker 1 Fish total = 105 fish Too much high muddy water! Drove me nuts!
March 29th & 30th: River too high to fish, had to reschedule charters.
March 28th: Went fishing with the owner of JJ's Jigs for a couple of hours. The sky was overcast with a mist rain. The water was high, fast, muddy, and 39 degrees. We wanted to try our fly rods but we were pushing the fly rod season. Where we were fishing the water was 9ft deep and except for a couple of hits for both of us, the fly rods didn't produce. I brought my light spinning rod as a back up and caught a couple of trophy smallies on a black wooly Bugger jig and an Alluring Baits 3 1/2" black crayfish jig.
March 26th & 27th: Helped with an open house at Snake Creek Marine one of my sponsors. Best in the area with Mercury motors.
March 22nd to March 26th: And the river came up again so no fishing. Can't stand it.LOL
March 21st: Went fishing with Matt Blackton and Jim Dailey today for a 6hr cold water special. The sky was mostly sunny and the water was high, fast, dirty, and it got up to 44 degrees. We caught 56 fish with 2 walleye in the mix. Over 21 of the bass were over 15" up to a 19". Matt did great with his tubes and JJ's crayfish. Jim did great with Alluring Baits Baby Crawl and JJ'Jigs King Crayfish. I fished only about 3hrs total after lunch and caught mine on a Black JJ's woolybugger. (because I was out of the King Crayfish)LOL. As usual all fish were released.
March 19th: Went fishing with Kevin from Just Fish Taxidermy and Donnie O'Connor from O'Connor Taxidermy. The river was still up 4ft over average, fast and dirty brown. The water temp got up to 42 degrees. I went out for a little R&D and asked them along. I was testing the new JJ's Jig Crayfish jig. It looks very realistic but I had only 1 prototype lure. We ended up with 20 fish, 1-18 1/2lb, 36" carp, 3 walleye and 16 bass. I tied on the new crayfish and soon caught 7 big bass then a northern pike that wanted to keep it. The new lure clearly out fished everything else we had. I finished the day with a black woolybugger JJ's Hair jig. All fish were released.
March10th to March 18th: River flooded, water went up 11ft higher than ave. No fishing.
March 9th: Went fishing with Kevin Raymond of Just Fish Taxidermy and our friend Doug Duffield. The sky was sunny and the water was mixed. There is muddy water coming out of the creeks because of the rapid snow melt off, so everything is going to the standard spring dark stained water. There is still ice in the big coves and the muddy water hampered our efforts. Water temp went from 39 degrees to 42 degrees. We caught 17 fish before we went to the NBSA (North Branch Smallmouth Alliance) meeting. All bass with 2 walleye, 1 carp, and 1 white sucker in the mix. Kevin and I used JJ's Hair Jigs, (black and brown woolybuggers) and Doug used curly tails. As usual, all fish were released.
March 7th: Went fishing for a few hours with Ed Nestor. The sky was clear and the water was from 38 degrees to 40 degrees and clear. We caught 4 fish with a walleye in the mix. The biggest bass was over 17" and so was the walleye. It was a male walleye and it was let go along with all the fish. It's just too close to the walleye spawn to keep even a male. Hey they get one shot a year and ya just got to let them have it. It's a guy thing. My fish were caught on JJ's hair jigs, woolybugger pattern. 3/16 oz and 1/8 oz. Bass were caught on baby bass brown color and the walleye on black/red color. Just a good lazy day fishing for a little while with a good friend. Saw lots of eagles, ducks and geese.
March 5th: Went fishing with Joe V. in his boat for more fun today. The air was 36 degrees, partly cloudy with high winds. The water was37 degrees and clear. We caught 6 fish today. Five smallies from 14" to 18 1/2" and a carp. All on hair jigs. I used a black JJ's Jig in the woolybugger pattern. There is still ice in most of the coves. We saw more turkeys, 4 eagles, several hawks, a couple of ravens and many Canada geese along with a pielated woodpecker. All fish were released.
Feb. 28th: Went fishing with Doug Duffield today. The air was 28 degrees and cloudy and the water was light stained and 35 degrees. Doug is a friend so we both had to shovel a path through the snow to get the boat trailer down and back up the ramp. We only caught 2 fish today. Doug caught a nice 23" walleye and I got a very fat 21" walleye. They both were full of eggs and they went back in the river. JJ's hair jig, a black woolybugger and a curly tail jig caught the fish. It was great to be back on the open water. All the coves where I wanted to fish are still covered with ice or we would have caught more fish I'm sure.
A flock of about 50 turkeys flew across the river and we saw several eagles, about a thousand Canada geese, and many ducks.
