All Blog Posts (1,101)

Seems a little odd to separate this out, but the nearby large lake I hardly ever fish. It's well known and does produce good fish, but I don't really care for it as a kayaking lake because it is so big and popular with waterskiiers in the summer time. In a lot of respects it is similar to (and actually quite near) my home lake, but I gravitate to the other one. This lake does have stripers (haven't done well; big…

This one is about the river I have fished most in the recent past and will likely fish a lot this year. I have done very well in raw numbers and I am convinced that there are bigger ones. I won't say exactly where and for the most part it doesn't matter. There are a couple of other nearby flows I also fish, alternating because of proximity to other things or seasonal fish (I only have to go a little east to get into some sea run shad and stripers in the spring) but the character is much the…

I am avoiding names in the description even though it will be really easy to figure out. This blog is about my panfishing quest and I don't want to get sidetracked or hijacked into a long discussion about it here. Be happy to elsewhere and often do.

It's a medium sized lake - about 4000 acres - in the NC Piedmont. Max depth is about 40' or so and it is shaped like a fat check mark with the main channel in the long side. Lots of rocky bottom, some drowned timber, some shallow side…

I will take 3 rods - a UL, a light rod and an emergency backup (yes, there is such a thing as a fishing emergency). So I will only have 2 rods out for fishing at any given time.

The UL will almost always be my primary rod, but I will usually rig both. The light rod is light but short and has some backbone and 10# Nanofil (or similar if I replace it; small diameter but strong). If I don't have a specific plan for the light rod, it will probably have a medium sized lipless crankbait or…

New year and trying to step up my game a little in the fishing department. I have been fishing for about 50 years and caught all sorts of fish, but panfish have always been one of my favorite. I think a lot of it is that I enjoy actively catching fish more than I do stalking elusive ones. Bream have a reputation of being easy to catch and that is often the case, but not always. It certainly isn't true with the larger trophy sized panfish.

I am setting a goal of getting a NC "Master…

Series of 4 short vids on lure colors in the water

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpQTh_tnJ6c

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTi5nJqEzvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTqyVX3oZk0…

Our most current issue and the last of the year is now online for all to read.  I have had fun publishing this for the year, and I think it went very well to say the least.  Now there is much work to do for 2015, we have a lot of growing to do and improvements are going to take place for 2015.  So be sure to watch us as we help grow the world of float tube fishing one issue at a time.

http://joom.ag/JMzb

Man I really need to change the name of our magazine.... So this issue will be out for viewing before Black Friday.  There will promotion of some great fishing items you might be interested and also some really good articles to read.  I do have some room for advertising in this magazine if you know of anyone that might be interested I can offer a pretty good discount for getting involved before this issue goes out.  The over might change if an advertiser wants the cover but it should stay as…

I figured I would try this out an online magazine dedicated to Float Tube Fishing.  We have done pretty good so far take a look and let me know what you think.

http://www.joomag.com/en/newsstand/the-float-tube-fishing-forum-vol-1-issue-2/0035687001399486031

Sorry everyone - I have been tied up with work, college, and a few other things; therefore, I haven't been able do any fishing and contribute any photos lately...but maybe soon!

I made one to help get in and out of the canyak.

Works great - no more tipping over getting out!

Got the P-Max 170 installed in the Blue Beast the other day. I added an omni-directional, flat faced transducer instead of the directional one that comes from the factory. Because of the flat, disc-shaped face, I was able to silicone the transducer hard and fast to the flat bottom of the hull. None of the usual bedding usually seen, the flat puck sounder stuck wit a thin well squeezed out layer of silicone. My hope was there would be no bubbles or air pockets, and it appears I achieved…

Probably a few hundred bluegill went into growing this hulk, so maybe that counts?

It's the infamous Northern Snakehead (26", 8 lb), my first time to catch one. It's too big to fit in a selfie!

I was doing my usual thing, walking a jig with short cranks under a bobber. The bait was a little more aggressive this time: a three-inch storm shad instead of…

Im startin to go into detox here.  Life has conspired to keep me home. Well I got caught up last night and decided to work on my kayak console.  Its looking nice so far but I have to hit the pause button now. I was cuting a small base plate last night and without thinking I reached out to clear a scrap of wood from my table saw.  I got lucky; I only needed two stitches. 

Next project will be more push sticks and some cutting sleds.  Also blood does not make a good stain for…

September 20, 2014

Took the Mad River Adventure 14 'yakkanoe' out again. As I mentioned before, it takes 21 days to make a habit stick. That said, more trips are definitely needed!

EQUIPMENT NOTES

My Secret Fishing Trousers - Try cotton sleep pants for fair…

I finally got to go back to Sparkleberry Swamp.  My plan was to paddle deeper in and find some of the creek channels. Yesterday I loaded up my Yak with my ultralite rod, crickets, and some snacks.  Figured I would take my dog Sam; I wanted to see what kind of fishin partner he would be. I was on the water by 11am and figured the overcast would help bring on the bite.

I found out the sat image and the maps are almost useless.  On the sat images you can see what looks to be the creeks…