Getting Off the Beaten Stream

The storms last week that brought long periods of heavy rains to the Central Pennsylvania area were devastating for the trout fishing.  The combination of the rain mixed with the remaining snow led to the streams to quickly rise almost 3 1/2 feet above normal flow.  Since last weeks storms the streams continue to be turbid and have not yet receded to an easily fish-able level.  It was almost a week since my last trip to the streams and I was really starting to feel the fishin' itch getting to my nerves.  Reluctantly I headed back out to my usual spots on Spring Creek, but this time I found myself on a new kind of adventure! 

The water was still 2 feet higher than average flow, making the fishing very challenging.  After a failed attempt at my usual spots I dedicated the rest of the afternoon to the small "cricks" in the area.  You all know of them.  Small, seemingly useless little drainage flows for small springs in the summertime, that eventually lead to the productive streams.  These little streams can't possibly hold fish, right?  You may be surprised.  Follow one of these small streams the next time your regular fishing waters are blown out with high water.  You may find a couple deeper pockets that hold wild trout or even natives.

I have known about the stream in the video below for a couple years now.  I was finally able to take my rod out and throw a couple casts into one of the deeper pools upstream from where it enters into the Bald Eagle Creek.  This area was formally home to an Iron Furnace that produce pig iron during the 1800's.  The pool I landed the wild brown trout in was actually a swimming hole at one point for the families who worked and lived on the property of the iron furnace.  Take a look!

Winter Trout teaser vid

Bad News for PA Trout Fisherman

HARRISBURG, Pa. (Jan. 23) – The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) announced today that it plans to reduce operating costs by $9 million over the next four years in order to meet future health-care and retirement obligations for its employees and to fund infrastructure needs. A portion of this reduction will come from closing two trout hatcheries, a move that will reduce annual operating costs by approximately $2 million.

The two hatcheries include Oswayo in Potter County, which has nine employees, and Bellefonte in Centre County, which has nine employees. No furloughs are expected. The PFBC plans to offer affected employees jobs at other PFBC facilities.

“Fishing license sales have steadily declined since 1990, while at the same time operating costs have continued to increase, including the price of fish food,” said PFBC Executive Director John Arway.

“As a result, we must streamline our operations and reduce operating costs in order to maintain a sound financial condition while we attempt to secure long-term, dedicated alternative funding,” he added. “As part of this process, we evaluated our 14 production sites and determined that closing these two trout hatcheries would have the least impact on the number of trout stocked.”

Arway added that because of existing vacancies within the Commission, no employees are expected to be laid off.

“Over the last two years, a number of vacancies have been created from retirements and transfers,” he said. ”As a result, we plan to offer the employees at Oswayo and Bellefonte the opportunity to take these jobs at other facilities.”

Today’s decision is one part of a long-range strategy to reduce operating costs across all PFBC bureaus by a total of $9 million by the 2016-17 Fiscal Year, which begins July 1, 2016. Approximately $6.7 million is needed for employee health care and retirement benefits and $2.3 million is needed for infrastructure needs, such as maintenance and repairs, at remaining hatcheries, other facilities and boating access areas.

In addition to the $2 million the PFBC expects to save by closing the two hatcheries, it estimates saving another $1 million by not enrolling a new class of waterways conservation officers. Overall, the bureaus of Hatcheries and Law Enforcement account for approximately 27.6 percent and 22.6 percent, respectively, of the PFBC’s annual expenditures.

The PFBC Bureau of Hatcheries spends approximately $12.5 million annually to raise 3.2 million adult trout, 2 million fingerling trout and more than 30 million fry and fingerling warm/coolwater fish at its 14 hatcheries. Oswayo and Bellefonte annually produce approximately 245,000 and 540,000 adult trout, respectively, including brook, brown, rainbow and golden trout.

The Oswayo and Bellefonte hatcheries aren’t expected to be completely closed until the end of 2014. Fish are being raised at both facilities and won’t be ready to stock until the end of this year and spring of next year. Once the fish have been stocked, the facilities will be cleaned and then closed.



In light of this very recent news, I urge everyone who is willing to write our state senators and state reps. Mr. Arway was involved in this decision. People need to know about this and the word needs to get out.

Tackle Tips

A must have for your tackle box that could make all the difference in whether or not you have a successful day on the water!

BONUS FOOTAGE!

Below is some more footage that was lost from the first Tackle Tips filming segment.

Friday Fillet

Species: Northern Pike and Chain Pickerel
                                                 (A.K.A. The Slime Beasts!)

Congratulations.  Today your mind may be blown.  You're welcome.

Today is a two for one special.  I really love to pursue these two fish as much as possible.  Mostly because of the fight that is unleashed once hooking into one of these beasts, but also because of the reward that is received if you decide to keep your catch.

Northern Pike and Chain Pickerel are in the same family of fish.  The Esocidae family.  So what does that mean?  It means that they are relatives to one another and they are similar in many ways.  The most important similarity they posses to each other is their bone structure.  Both Northern Pike and Chain Pickerel are very bony fish.  If you were to take an x-ray of these to fish they would look almost identical.  In the video below you will learn how to make precision cuts to extract the most amount of meat from these two fish.

And by the way.  If you think Chain Pickerel is just a waste fish, think again!  In my opinion the meat of the Chain Pickerel is comparable, if not better than the Northern Pike.  Some people find that Chain Pickerel has a sweeter taste.  Regardless, both fish have nice white meat that you will not be disappointed in.  So give it a try sometime!

Friday Fillet

Species: Trout


I love to fish.  You probably love to fish as well if you are reading this.  As an avid angler I preach and practice the method of "Catch and Release" for various reasons.  But, there are times where I get cravings for a fresh fish meal.  These circumstances find me along side a body of water with my measuring tape and stringer.  After I catch enough for myself I head home and begin the arduous process of cleaning and filleting.

Trout is one of my favorite fish to catch and eat.  Mostly as a result of the proximity of streams around me.  As fun as trout are to catch and eat, trout are not as fun to prepare.  Any person who has tried to fillet trout can tell you that the bones within the fish create a problem.  There are some people I know that will not even try to clean or eat trout because of the multitude of bones that can result in an unsatisfying meal.

Below is the a video of the best way I have found to fillet trout.  This is a little bit different than any other method that I have found.  If done correctly, you can remove all the bones from the meat!  Take a look!

Check back in every Friday to see what we are filleting next!

Ice, Ice, Baby.

Ice fishing season is finally here!




.....This weekends (general) weather forecast for most of the state:

           Wednesday: 43
           Thursday: 39
           Friday: 40
           Saturday: 54
           Sunday: 54

.....................

Just as soon as many lakes in PA froze safely enough ice to fish on, Mother Nature is playing her nasty Indian giving game with us again.  Last year was such a mild winter that the ice fishing season was nonexistent.  Let's just hope that she will not play the same card as she did last year and this weekend is the only warm spell.  A continuing pattern of cold to warm days like we had last year will not result in safe enough ice for the remainder of the winter.

Although the forecast will melt the ice, it has not deterred me to write the ice fishing article I had planed to release this week.  So in the hopes and prayers that the cold weather will return to the great state of Pennsylvania, let's continue with an opportunistic mindset of future slabs being pulled through some holes.

Truesdale's Top 5 Ice Fishing Rigs/Baits:

1) I Fish Pro: Taking the world of tip-ups to an entire new level.  I was turned onto this piece of equipment by the guys at Uncut Angling.  Being able to utilize your ice rod as a tip up will bring you ultimate control with fishing the tip-up technique.  What is also nice about this piece of equipment is the ease of set up.  And when the bite is slow, you can quickly undo the tip set to jig your bait in order to attract fish.

2) Minnows:  Because every fish eats minnows.  Slip the hook through the back dorsal fin to allow the minnow to swim when you put your line in the water.  An alive minnow is an active minnow, and an active minnow is an attractive minnow.  If you are fishing a lake with bigger species, be sure to grab some big shiners to throw in a mixture of different presentations.

3) The Swedish Pimple:  A unique style of spoon that offers a multitude of colors, patterns, etc.  This can be fished alone or tipped with a little extra bait of your choosing.

4) Perch Eye Jigs: You cannot mess with a classic.  Perch eye style jigs have been a staple in the ice fishing community for generations.  Combined with a tube jig or live bait, this rigging technique is deadly for pulling slab panfish through the ice when the bite is on. Entyzer Jigs (Facebook) offers quality custom perch eye jigs, and other custom ice jigs at a great price.

5) Hard Plastics:  A good alternative to minnows and one that could offer more action and sound in the water.  The Jiggin Rap, Jiggin Shad Rap, Snap Rap, or a rattle trap style are all good options when using hard plastics.  Being able to tie your line to the top of the bait will allow it to be jigged and lay flat in the strike zone in a normal suspended presentation position.

For all your ice fishing needs and for ice conditions throughout PA and the rest of the United States, check out www.iceshanty.com

Big Winter Trout

UPDATE:
I apologize for the lack of information regarding this pic post.  I was in a hurry at the time and left out some much needed info.

This fish was caught between Bellefonte and Milsburg and safely released.  (As is the regulations with this stream.)  I did not take any measurements or weights as I wanted to get the fish back in the water and healthy as soon as I could.  The lure I was using was my personal favorite and go to style from Rapala; the Ultra Light Minnow.  

.....DAMN!

Spring Creek, PA
1-2-2013

Thinking Outside of the Boat

A New Bass Fishing Technique; Chatter Jigging.

Fishing can be one of the most relaxing and reflective hobbies ever.  But the tranquility can be quickly altered by numerous circumstances while on the water.  Slipping on a rock and falling in a stream past your waders, discovering someone found your “secret” spot, or trying to combat the winds in your canoe can all make for a frustrating day.  But what is the ultimate annoyance on the water?  What can happen that may ruin an otherwise successful day?  Answer: Losing the hot bait/lure/fly that had been working all day.  

What follows is a short story in order to prove this point.

I am always eager to jump at the opportunity to fish new bodies of water. This especially holds true when those locations are historic and/or in a different part of the country.  This past month my father and I took a trip down to Florida to fish the Suwannee River for the river species specific Suwannee Bass.  Yes, the same river that has been featured in the television program AX MEN.  The Suwannee River begins in south eastern Georgia and snakes through the northern top of Florida, flowing to the west before it inters into the Gulf of Mexico.  A perfect location to spend a week during the month of December if your a northerner.  With temperatures in the mid to high 70's each day, it was hard to complain about anything.

Of course, for us Pennsylvanian’s, the temperatures felt extremely warm.  We were dealing with what felt like early to mid May conditions.  The first few hours on the water of our trip was tough.  Your mind would play tricks on you.  Each time I reached for a jerk bait I had to remind myself that it was December, and these fish were in their winter conditions.  Low and slow was the ticket during our time on the water.  Working the bottom of the rocky shoreline with grubs, craws, and worms would be critical for any success.  My golden ticket for the week was a June Bug colored Jackall craw on a blue and black skirted football head jig.  I would have the most action on this rig until my serenity changed as swiftly as the change in the wind.

For those of you who understood that Axe Men reference you should know that the Suwannee River is littered with submerged logs.  Mostly due to the float logging practice that took place over a hundred years ago in the forests that surrounded the Suwannee River.  A large number of these logs that were floated to mills would be lost during the float trips and would settle to the bottom of the river.  Today, these logs present great cover for a plethora of different species of fish, but these logs also present a big challenge for fishermen.  The submerged logs, coupled with the very dark low visibility water, create the perfect hook snagging environment as well as fish structure.  Throwing anything that is not rigged to be weedless or snagless will easily result in a hook up with a log every 15 casts on average.  

The snagging of baits was a huge annoyance for my father and I as we floated the river in our canoe.  Baits, hooks, and jigs, were lost at a rate that we were not happy with.  Not because we were too lazy to paddle back upstream, but rather due to the water depth and the threat of alligators.  Needless to say, it was not very long before my Jackall craw and only blue and black skirted football jig was lost to the Suwannee River gods.  My 12 lbs test line was cut clean after what I thought was a bite as I jigged around some rocks.  Lost either as a result of a sharp edge of a rock or a gar…  What was I to do now?

I attempted other rigging techniques with the same craw.  Nothing seemed to be as successful, Until I reached for a dark skirted Chatterbait that I had laying in the bottom of my tackle box.  Sometimes the unconventional works so I figured I would give this the old college try.  I rigged my craw in a weedless fashion on the end of the Chatterbait and gave it a cast.  Instead of fishing the Chatterbait the way it was intended, with a strait retrieval, I used the Chatterbait as a jig.  I continued to fish the same way as I had before with the previous jig, allowing the bait to fall to the bottom, and slowly twitching the bait with a very slow retrieval.  I also left the metal chatter lip on the bait to add an additional little flash in the water as it caught the sunlight.  Within a few casts I had a fish on the end of my line.  I can’t say that I was completely surprised, but I was happily surprised that my intuition paid off. My efforts proved that sometimes you got to think outside of the boat and try something new, quirky, or a bit unconventional in order to have success.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

I hope each and every one of my readers and their families have a great, fun, and healthy Christmas and holiday season!

After a bit of a hiatus, I am back and ready to blog about all things fishing!  Get ready for posts on brand new techniques, gear to get, and stream/lake reports starting NEXT WEEK!

Until then, I’ll leave you with this teaser video of a big bow I caught recently on a trip in Pennsylvania.

-Matt Truesdale

Twitter: @trueze
Facebook: facebook.com/truesdale19