Saving some Gas

With the ever rising gas prices that are affecting everyone across the nation, this is also cutting into our favorite past times. Fishing is a sport that is shared by many from young to old alike and is not gender based at all. But with the expensive gas prices that we are paying these days, many anglers are not taking to the waters as much as they use to. One thing that can be done to help conserve gas when boating on our waters is running the motor at lower RPM's instead of wide open all of the time. By bringing the throttle back halfway or more, the fuel savings is greatly enhanced as running the throttle wide open you are literally able to watch the gas gauge move in front of your eyes. It is fun to go across the water a little faster but in these days, taking your time and going slower is much easier on the pocket book. We are all feeling these pains with rising costs but don't let that stop you from enjoying a day on the water with family and friends. Slow down, take your time and get out on the water and enjoy the day.

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Eye to the Sky

New England's weather patterns as of late have been very unpredictable from nice to a dangerous situation. We are in a pattern that the mornings are very nice and as the day progresses, thunder and lightning forms for a wild afternoon. Since these patterns can come out of no where, the angler that is on the water needs to keep their eye on the sky at all times. These systems have been forming very quickly and come in upon you fast as well. There has been numbers of lightning bolts, high winds and heavy rain associated with these systems. By keeping your eyes on the sky, you will be able to get out of a bad situation fast and when these come through being on the water is not a good thing. If there are numbers of boats on the water as well plan a little ahead as at a point everyone is going to be heading to the landing at the same time. Be careful when fishing in these charged scenarios as the graphite rods that we fish with are lightning rods looking for trouble. Stay low in the boat and get off of the water as you will be the highest point in the area and this could turn into a dangerous situation. Enjoy these days coming out on the water but always keep in the back of your mind that we are in a pattern these days that can turn ugly fast.

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Fishing June 24 2008

With the ongoing rain storms coming through you never know how much time you are going to have to get to a fishing spot before the next lightning bolts start flying. Since there was a lull happening I decided that I might as well take a hike to my panfish pond and see if the fish are still frequenting the shallows or not. Upon arriving at my destination I was taking a moment and tying on T.H.E. Jig since I lost my last one on a carp or something like that, I was mesmerized as I looked into the shoreline waters. Normally I will see a small school of minnows swimming along the shoreline but today was different. As I gazed into the waters, there were thousands of minnows continually swimming past my spot and they just kept coming and coming and I have never seen anything like this before. Then things started to happen to my surprise as all around the area the waters were bubbling and exploding and there were fish everywhere chasing these minnows. This whole bay area was loaded with these minnows and the ones that were swimming near the shoreline were the only safe ones. I stood there and watch as you could see where there were others out in deeper water and the fish were schooling them and chasing these minnows while gorging themselves on the feast in front of them. The fishing action that I encountered after this was basically nonstop as the panfish were scattered everywhere and in a very hungry mood today. There were a few smaller sunfish caught but most were the colorful bull sunfish. I am noticing though that their colors are starting to fade and this means that the spawn is starting to wind down here and things are going to be changing soon. The bait of choice for this adventure was an all yellow T.H.E. Jig fished a foot under a float. More fish were caught out in the open water versus relating to the wood and overhangs of the last trip. Watching anywhere that the fish were chasing these minnows you could cast to that spot and get a bite on almost every occasion. Mostly sunfish were caught but a bass and also a decent crappie came to the hook as well. I don’t think that in all of my years have I seen such a feeding frenzy going on and it was something that I found myself a number of times just standing there watching. These are rare occurrences and if I were to go back there tomorrow none of this may appear ever again. Pending on the weather conditions tomorrow will dictate if I will be chasing panfish or if I feel that the bass are going to be cooperating that may be what I will do.

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Kids Safety Courses

As we involve more and more of our youth into the outdoors and the equipment that comes along with those activities, we as parents need to keep in mind that our kids need the proper training at home as well as from outside sources. Many states offer safety courses in the areas of hunting, boating, atv, snowmobile, fishing as well as other areas. We owe it to our children to get them involved in these training courses so that they have a clear understanding as to how to act and operate in the proper way. These courses fill fairly quickly so make sure to continue checking the schedule and when you find a course that works with your schedule get your kids signed up for that. We here at BWS OutDoors try our best to keep the "OutDoors for Kids" page as current as possible and list the upcoming courses in their respective states. Our children are the future of where the outdoors is going to go and with the proper training and hands on experience, this will keep them safe, others safe and make for a very enjoyable outing into the outdoors.

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Fishing June 21 2008

Finally have my major projects done that have been consuming all of my time for the last 4-5 weeks and seems like so long ago since I had the boat out in search of fish. Decided to get up early and head to the lake and my son wasn’t happy with that but with vacation coming soon, he is going to have a load of water time coming to him soon. Arrived at the lake to only find a few boats at the landing with the calm winds and sunny skies that had greeted me when I arrived I was pumped for the day ahead. The first thing that I wanted to do was check out and see if the crappies were schooling on the waters surface as they normally do on calm days as this. I wasn’t able to find any of those pods of crappies as they may still be doing their thing or recovering from the spawn that has recently passed. So I continued on to my best spot for nice bass that I catch on this lake. The area that I concentrate the most on is a flat that is in the mouth of a creek that goes quite a ways back. The water depths in this area range from 8 feet up to around 3 feet of water and there is a variety of different grass types as well. What I have found in the past in this area is that there are clumps of vegetation and then clear sandy areas mixed in and around these clumps. The fish are relating to these clear areas and when you bring your bait through these areas the fish are sitting in ambush and grab your bait at that time. There was a bait fisherman that had come into this area and was fishing shiners under a bobber. Was fun watching him as the floats would disappear and looked like he was catching a few pickerel over there and doing fairly well at that. I was fishing a few different bait presentations that consisted of crankbaits, jig/plastic, floating plastic jerkbait and also a Carolina rig. My confidence presentation that you will almost always find on my deck is the Carolina rig and this was the presentation that paid dividends for me again this day. I had a BearPaw Grizzly Jerk on this presentation and this is a type of bait that you usually throw weightless as the plastic jerk baits are catching fish all over the place. Last year I started fishing this bait on the Carolina rig and it has been paying off very well. I had been working this presentation through these areas and felt like there were some weeds on my bait. I kept feeling and feeling to tell when it was through the weeds but it had that weird feeling that it wasn’t a weed and proceeded to set the hook. The rod bent over and the fish fought back and the drag was singing its tune but as fast as this was happening the fish came off and never got to see what it was. Anytime that I fish this lake I always seem to spend a lot of time in this area as there may not be a number of fish here but the ones that I have caught in the past, the quality is second to none. As I continued doing the same thing finally once again the line felt funny so I set the hook and there was good weight there and the fight was on. This was one of them fish that didn’t want to show itself but when it did, I definitely new that I had a good fish on the line. I couldn’t seem to get it to the boat and then that bad sign when they dive under the boat and go either towards the motor or trolling motor and you do everything that you can to get them back to the surface. Kept directing the fish to get it to come back and finally it came back to the surface and a couple of more runs and finally able to lip this fish. This is why I fish this area as the quality is always there, but you won’t catch a number of fish but like I said the ones you do catch are usually always nice. I worked a couple of more hours throughout this area and not much time left and the line felt weird once again. I set the hook and got a couple of reels of the reel but that fish came off once again and had to call it a day. The bait of the day was the BearPaw Grizzly Jerk fished on the Carolina rig and if you haven’t fished this rig you definitely need to give it a try. You are able to cover vast amounts of water with it as well as different plastic baits that can be put onto this rig...

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Fishing June 20 2008

I had decided to head over to a pond that has some decent bluegill in it with a bonus bass and such. When I arrived there, there were a number of anglers out fishing in blow up boats and I really couldn’t tell if they were catching anything or not. This pond is a very off colored and looks like coffee with cream added to it. The weeds have grown in very quickly this year and I was hoping to see the bluegill spawning but with the color of the water you couldn’t see any fish at all. Wasn’t long and the first fish was nibbling as the bobber started dancing. Went to set the hook and wasn’t a crank of the handle and the bass came flying out of the water and through the bait. Then the sunfish started taking over and catching these was a matter of keeping the bait moving so the fish could find it. I moved from location to location looking for fish and catching one here and one there. Time was winding down and I wanted to try one last spot as in the past have done well in this particular area. Casting from spot to spot wasn’t really giving me what I was looking for and figured that I only had a few casts left and I had to head out. Landed the bait next to some weeds and the float went under, I reared back to set the hook and this fish took off like a mad man. This was not a bluegill as it didn’t cut and circle like they normally do and it wasn’t a bass as they generally take to the air fairly quickly. What could the fish be and seeing other commotion around this area I started having a suspicion as to what it maybe. I was fishing T.H.E. Jig on my ultralite with 2 lb line and there seemed to be no stopping this fish. It was barreling out into the lake and all I could do is stand there and listen to the drag rip off of my reel. Then that heart breaking feeling when your rod goes limp and the bobber floats to the surface some 25 yards away. The line had broken and the way that this fish was running I had made the conclusion that a carp had grabbed my T.H.E. Jig and was going to show the bait who was the boss. That fish had won that battle but there will be another day that I may be able to tangle once again with this fish and after spooling on some new line I will be ready to do it again...

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Fish are moving

With the weather warming up and this is increasing the temperatures of local lakes, this is getting the fish a little more active but in deeper water. The panfish are certainly into their spawning mode and are frequenting the shorelines just about every where. The bass have finished their duty and are in the transition phase as they are resting and moving to their summer haunts. This is where you are going to start finding the better quality fish these days and in this transition mode, you may have to work a little harder now to get those bites. But that hard work is going to pay off as the fish that you do catch are going to be of that nicer version. Work a little and get rewarded for that and this will make you a very happy angler.

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Fishing June 19 2008

Lately the fishing for bass has been very uneventful and believes that we are in that transition phase that they have left the shallows and are migrating out into their summer haunts. Since this had been a slow week I decided it was time to switch gears and go after some panfish that are swarming the shallow waters right now. The setup that I am using today is a short ultralite rod and micro spinning reel spooled with 2 lb test line. For bait selection I am going to use a bobber setup and below tie on T.H.E. Jig in a full yellow color pattern. Wasn’t after too many casts that the fish let me know they were hungry and ready to fight. Only sunfish were caught as the crappies have left the shallows already and are heading to deeper water. The sunfish that were biting were the male bull sunfish in deep dark brilliant colors. I was fishing a lake that I frequent quite often in the winter and there is a trail system around the whole lake and I was fishing from this trail as I walked. It didn’t take long to figure the pattern that these fish were relating to and that was the fish were positioned near tree over hangs that had some wood in the water. If you didn’t fish near these, you didn’t get a bite. Any place that I could find an opening in the shoreline brush I was able to catch fish but you had to get them out of there quickly as they would dig for the tree branches. Was a very fun lunchtime break and will have to do this a couple of more times before they start migrating away as well.

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Fishing Equipment

I have been fortunate to be able to try out a new rod from a company that is very angler aware as to the anglers needs and wants in their equipment. The company is Acadia Sports and they make a couple of lines of fishing rods, line of spinning reels, baitcast reels and also fishing tackle. When Acadia releases new product to the market they go through a rigorous field test and the folks that they use for testing are your everyday angler and not a big name fisherman. The equipment that Acadia offers is more angler friendly when it comes to cost and I am finding that these items are very comparable to other items that I use but more easy on your pocket when the purchase price comes. Fishing rods to me are very compatable to others that I am using and have been holding up very well to the fish that I have caught this spring. If you are in the need for some new equipment take a look at Acadia Sports and see if their items are something that fits into your style and financial area as well. http://www.acadiasports.com/


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Start moving out

As summer is fast approaching, this means that the fish for the most part have finished their spring spawn season. The fish are going to start moving out towards deeper water as the temps are rising and their comfort zones are in a little deeper water. A good place to start the search for these fish is on the inside weed line. As you are leaving the shore and heading out, watch your electronics and also over the side of the boat and you will come to the shallow side of the weed line. Fish are going to position themselves here in ambush for an easy meal as the panfish are moving around in this type of an area in the warming waters. Finding any type of an irregular feature or piece of structure along this inside line is an extra bonus as these areas attract fish and usually better quality fish at that. Fish may not be out in the deep water quite yet but give this inside weed line a try and this may surprise you.

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Fishing June 11 2008

The weather in New England has been perfect temperature wise for the fish, but not so much for us anglers. As the near 100 degree temps have finally vacated this region, this should have helped warm the shallows very nicely. Have been noticing the sunfish are moving in and staking their territory and moving into their spawn phase now. The bass fishing has been fairly slow and I still haven’t figured out yet if we are still getting into spawn or if we are into full post spawn already. From my previous records when the sunfish start showing in the shallows that is when the bass are in full swing of their spawn so we will have to see how this pans out.

The end of last week and the beginning days of this week, I had tried a variety of depths to see what mode these bass are in. The efforts were uneventful to say the least with no action shallow or deep. Today the weather finally was a little cooler so I made my hike back to the flat that I had been fishing most of this spring. The wind was blowing into this area and made casting a little tough but watching and gauging the wind gusts for that perfect time to cast made all the difference. Was fishing water 2-3 feet deep and using a Texas rigged tube bait, wasn’t long and the line started moving. Set the hook and a decent smallmouth came flying out of the water a number of times and the fight was on. Was nice to finally catch a decent fish once again and after a couple of photos gently put the fish back in the water to fight another day. Moved around this area and picked up another smaller largemouth that was cruising through the area. Those were the only two fish that were caught but now this has me thinking that maybe they are finally starting to move in and time will only tell.

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Hot Weather Fishing

Seems like summer came flying in with a vengeance over the past weekend and there are some very hot conditions out there. Fishing in these types of conditions can be very trying and also hazardous to the angler as well. There wasn't much wind to keep the air moving around and air conditions are not the best as well. The main thing to do if you are going to be out fishing is keep hydrated with plenty of water. Water is your best friend in this type of weather and make sure to always have plenty of it with you at all times. Also dump some over your head to cool yourself down some as well. Take many breaks if you are doing any type of activity in this type of heat. Keep in mind that you need to drink plenty of fluids and more the merrier.

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Search the Shore

With the warming days of summer taking over from the spring weather, now is another time to start exploring the waters edges. Since the waters have been warming they are starting to teem with new life as creatures are being born or hatched on a daily basis. What the young angler will see is the new minnows swimming along the shorelines, different types of bugs hatching and also new vegetation growing in the shallow waters. By watching the new minnows swimming along you will start getting an idea as to how they relate to their surroundings and if you think more about it, the fish that you seek are doing similar things out in deeper water. You may also see some big fish swimming along the shoreline that are either basking in the sun or searching for a spot to create a nest. Now is the time to take a walk along your favorite waters and see all of the new life that is forming.

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Bass Video

Video of a Largemouth Bass searching for that perfect spot...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGWeP6DIlBo

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Fishing June 2 2008

The last week or so has been fairly tough out there for me catching fish and it surely isn’t from lack of trying. After taking a look and thinking about the conditions that are happening, it isn’t so much weather related but the transition from spawn to summer patterns may be starting to shape up. Probably going to stay in this area that I have been fishing for this week yet and see if things change at all as the water warms, but I am starting to think about moving out to my deeper water spots in search of fish. Today I went back to the spot that I have been fishing recently and decided to change from the tube bait that I had been fishing and put on a BearPaws B-Bug in the watermelon color. I have been doing the same thing all along and by putting on the heavier ¼ oz slip sinker to get some distance in my casts out to around 3 feet of water. Seems that there is a general area that the bites have been coming from and today was no different as the fish picked up my bait and the fight was on. This was a fat largemouth bass and really was reluctant to come into shore but after a good fight I lipped the fish and took some pictures and back in the water to fight another day. Probably only going to spend a few more days in this area as the bites have been getting less and less and start going to my deeper water areas and see if anything is going on there.

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Fishing May 27-30 2008

After the holiday weekend, and doing a number of projects around the house, tried a few times during the week from shore. The weather was very cooperative as well as the winds were working in my favor as well. This location that I have been fishing lately the fish are not moving in like they had in the past. I am not certain as to what stage the fish are even in and this time last year the smallmouth bass were on fire. This is not the case this season and only had one outing that brought nice smallmouth to my hook and have been somewhat struggling this spring. I did catch a couple of bass during the week but they were small male largemouth and all were caught on the tube bait. Did try one day in the deeper summer places but was nothing going on there either. Will probably spend another week in this area and then start transitioning out to deeper water and locations that the fish congregate in for the summer months. Keep checking a couple panfish spots as well but have not seen any activity at all in these locations either. Hope that the panfish are still coming because I would like to try a few outings catching them.

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