The Challenge Has Been Issued
Lets Invite Everyone

The Challenge - Joe and Scott have challenged Larry and Craig to a fishing tournament on Silver Lake this summer.

Date - ??

If anyone else out there thinks they can put a two person team together and can make it to Silver Lake in Perry this summer (at the date Joe picks), then feel free to join the competition... if you think you can handle it.

Stipulation - Im pretty sure that Joe said it was artificial bait only and Bass. Probably a total of a five fish wieght for the day.

Whose in?

Hello all. As you can see from Joe's posts, the weather has finally taken a turn for the better and the fishing is starting to get good. I have hit the water everyday for the past four days and the fish have cooperated on each trip. I have had the pleasure of fishing with some great people and also the opportunity to fish with the best partner I have fished with in long time (Brilyn). As far as the fishing goes, the browns have been hammering lures and the steelhead have been hitting the eggs (thanks for the loan Larry, I will repay you with some brown egg sacs that you will love). The weather has been nice, the fishing good, the company great, and this is just the start of some great fishing ahead. Before we know it we will being chasing the crappie and perch int he ponds, hitting the bass and pike in Silver and then it is tournament time for me on Lake Ontario. If anybody wants to fish let me know. Here is a small sample of some of the fish.

Hit Sandy again today. Went with Scott, his father-in-law, and Brilyn (on my back in her backpack). Fished for about an hour and a half. Many more guys on the stream than the other day, but I did manage to catch four. All fish hit a Vibrax spinner. Great day to be out fishing (cloudy, calm, 45 degrees.) Brilyn was awesome! She was a little scared of the fish (of course they are bigger than her), but her behavior was beautiful. Catch you later!

Finally!!! Hit Sandy Creek (A lake Ontario Tributary) Sunday with Scott and Larry from 2:00-4:30. It was cold (25 degrees) and windy, but boy did we have fun. I caught 11 browns, the biggest being around 8-9 pounds. Not too bad at all. The action was pretty consistant all along. They were hitting spinners hard. I can't wait to go back. Maybe tomorrow... Hope you guys are getting out there fishing. I hit the bluegills pretty well through the ice last week on Silver lake. In two days of fishing I put away 6 packages of meat (Rebisz size packages of course). The crappies and perch should be in soon...I can't wait.

Hey, this is my first post on this blog. You guys have some great pics and tales to go along with them. No I dont have any huge buck tales for this year, and no I didn't catch an 18 pound pike either. I did get a doe this year after having spotted her about 400 yards away from up in a maple tree. There was nothing between the doe and I except for foot high alfalfa, but with me all camoe'd out (new boonie hat with alfalfa stuck in it too) I figured to give it a shot. What the heck, its all about the stalk eh? So I crawled on my belly across the field, arms outstreched with my rifle on my arms (yes rifle.....I was in a legal zone for using the 22-250). It could have shot the 400 yds no problem...but what fun is that? After I got about 200 yards out I was sweating like a pig... I dont know why she didnt smell me. I was upwind of her too, coming down off of a slight slope. Air currents must have been going over her head I guess. So...200 yards worth it?..naww....had to get closer...I wanted to see the whites of her eyes....150?..naw...a little closer. Each time I peeked slowly up and froze when she would raise her head.. I'd start moving again when she began grazing again. So I decided I better forgoe my plan of getting close enough to ride her home and actually take a shot pretty soon. At about 100 yards I wiggled around so I was feet towards her..raised my knees...put the rifle on themand did an ab crunch looking into the scope..only now there were about 5 deer. I hadnt seen them... This threw me a bit...and they were so big in my scope I got mixed up as to who I was shooting at. You know the thing...pick a spot..focus...breath..exhale..hold it...squeeze. Well, adrenaline threw that out the window, and my shot missed the whole herd. So now they were running around like cows in a stampede and wouldnt you know it, they were running up to me. I pulled the bolt back, threw another shell in, and focused on a doe at about 70 yards that had stopped facing me, seeing me in the grass. Well, I got her through her brisket, and the bullet blasted out her shoulder, knocking her down like a ton of bricks. That little 22-250 packs a punch... Reminds me of a tophy elk my partner got with one back in my home of British Columbia...but that's another story. Hey, I'll keep reading your tales...you keep writing 'em. Stryker

So there I was, in shanty land once again when I got a flag and on the other end of the line here is this big pike. I was very happy to finally land one bigger than 40 inches. They usually break the line every year. I had help with this one from my friend Gene who stopped by on his snow machine to visit and was just about to leave as the flag went up. Gene did a great gaff job on this big pike. He was 43 inches and weighed about 18.5 pounds. Made my day and my season seeing as we did not get to ice fish until very late this year. Sent this one to the taxidermist and can't wait to see it on the wall next year. I also got some good use out of my new shanty that I almost did not put out due to the late forming ice/short season this year. Now the ice is good and we will be likely fishing until April 1st or later up north. If anyone is in the area, give me a call if you want to go ice fishing. The best time to go is in March and April (yes April) when the ice is thick, the fish are biting, the people are thin and the weather can be devine.

Can you even believe that it is already here? It snuck up on us this year. Just a few weeks ago we were thinking about shotgun hunting or sitting around any open water to shoot geese... now, we are preparing to observe the 2007 Citgo Bassmaster's Classic - the Superbowl of, I mean the World Series of... or even the World Cup of Bass Fishing. Thats right, Bass Fishing. One of the most mentally and physically daunting sports around. A bold statement, yes. But take it from one who has played competitive soccer for 23 years, ran track, played football, hunted, fished, and hiked for years. Competitive (not recreational) Bass Fishing in tournaments, for money, is extremely wearing. Picture an 85000 acre lake (roughly the size of the greater rochester are) that you have one week to learn. What do you mean learn? I mean learn the bottom, the structure, the flow of currents and channels, the timing of canals, and how weather affects the lake. The talk to locals to find some hotspots, pour over maps to get away from the crowd of the other 50 contestants. After learning the lake, try fishing it. Through your favorite trusty pattern that is hot one day and off the next, adapt to the change in the wind or redirection of bait fish. Then, on the three competition days, take time into consideration. Fishing is only from 8-3. How will you manage your traveling? You have to catch 5 fish. Your five fish all 3 days have to add up to the most cumulative weight. How will you do it...? So much for Grampa's rusty 12 foot row boat and your 6 foot fiberglass Mitchell fitted with the ever popular Zebco 33... live baits not even allowed. Dont beleive me? Catch it on ESPN and ESPN 2 this weekend Friday - Sunday. Or Join my Fantasy Bassmasters group at "You'ns Catchin Any." And may I say this, for the few of you that care - Go Denny Brauer!!

Hey all. I thought since the weather has made everything pretty much unfishable and unhuntable for awhile I would take this opportunity to re-hash the 2006 hunting/fishing year .

JANUARY: The year started off quite strong on New Year's Day when Scott Shady and I hit Sandy two or three days in a row and absolutely hammered the Browns and Steelhead. After that January cooled off and I didn't see any more trib action until march.

FEBRUARY: Not too much of anything in February. I did go rabbit hunting once with my dad for an hour and a half and we took three rabbits. Good Day. Silver Lake never froze up, so I never got out ice fishing.

MARCH: As usual March was good for next to nothing. I did hit Sandy a few times and caught a couple browns and steelhead.

APRIL: For the first time in a few years I really hit the Crappies this year. Most of them were taken in Lake Leroy with Scott Shady, Adam, Larry, Jocelyn, Matt, Dad... The Moore's and I also had a great bluegill meat day on Silver Lake. Again in April I hit Sandy several times with great success. Only this time I also caught Smallmouth, Largemouth, and a bunch of pike.

MAY: As usual May was a great month (normally the best) for fishing here in Western New York. I started the month by hitting the last of the crappies in Lake LeRoy. On opening day of Pike season I went to the Genesee River with Scott for Walleys, but all we ended up catching were suckers and I got one 30' or so pike. I also hit Sandy Creek Mouth several times with Scott and Larry and caught some nice pike. Later in May I really hit the spawning bass in Silver Lake several times. As usual, on Memorial Day we went camping in the Adirondacks. That was a ton of fun. Of course their was excessive fishing (and drinking) as is evident by the picture of Uncle John. We really killed the Largemouth, smallmouth, and brook trout again. Over the course of the weekend I probably caught between 75 and 100 bass and 25-30 trout.

JUNE: Bass season began and I hit Silver Lake Several times with Mr. Baker and Larry. Larry and I had some mild success, but Baker and I hit it perfect several times in late June (after school ended). We had several mornings with over 20 - 2-4 pound bass. I also took my baby girl fishing for stream browns in the Oatka several times in June. We had several days with 20+ fish.

JULY: What a great month I had in July for Bass, walleye, and Pike. Hit Silver Lake several times in July with Matt, Larry, Dad, Mr. Baker, Adam, Nicole, Nate, and so on with some great days. Larry and I had a great day on Silver in which we caught my biggest walleye ever ( on a yamamoto worm) and a handful of great bass (picture). I also went fishing with Matt and caught a 20" largemouth that was over 4 pounds. A nice day fishing with Adam and Nicole was also a highlight of July. One of my best days in July was pike fishing on Conesus with Larry and Adam. We were actually bass fishing, but boy did the pike start hitting. The highlight of the month, though, was the largemouth I caught in late July with Mr. Baker. I caught him on Silver lake on a nightcrawler. He measured just over 22" and weighed (estimated by using length and NYS DEC averages) about 6.5 pounds. I wish I kept him to get stuffed, but what are you going to do.

SEPTEMBER: I started the month off having a great day bass fishing with my dad on Silver Lake. We limited out in a couple of hours (I actually ate some of those bass tonight). Also in early September I went out trolling for samon in Lake Ontario with Scott Shady. We ended up hooking up four times, and landing one steelhead (see picture).

OCTOBER: Deer season begins. Opining day I saw three bucks sparring at about 15 yards (no shooters). I ended up taking a doe at 15 yards on the Sunday of opening weekend. Joce went out and helped me track it on the dark. Two weekends later I shot a two and a half year old eight point buck with my bow. I got out duck hunting two days in late October with Mr. Baker and the Steiners and did quite well (Andy is a great caller). Since I got my buck, I also got out
fishing the tribs (Sandy) a couple of days with Scott with great success. In one morning Scott and I caught 25 browns and steelhead between the two of us.

NOVEMBER: Started shotgun season by harvesting two deer behind my new house within ten minutes of each other. I shot another doe behind my house about a week later. Jocelyn and Brilyn hiked the 100 yards back behind the barn in the snow to the deer to help me gut and drag the deer.

DECMBER: On the last Friday of shotgun season I went hunting with Dad, Stryker, Larry and Nate. We hit the east side of Letchworth Park and I ended up shooting two deer. One was a small doe and the other was a nice 16.5" spread eight-point. I ended the deer season by shooting another doe in my backyard with a muzzleloader on the last weekend of the season. After Christmas I hunted geese for several days with Mr. Baker and the Steiners (shot six the first day). I also hit Sandy with Scott and caught a few Browns and steelhead. And now the new year has began...who knows what it may hold?

Hi all, I went to Virginia on my annual trip to hunt with My brother Steve. This year was especially tough and no deer were seen in the field by me. The only action was that Steve's friend Jay shot at a doe and wounded it on the way in to make a drive. The weather was bad as it was 70 to 80 degrees and this made the deer not move. We registered into to hunt in Fort Pickett, a military base. They make you get a permit for 25$ and then you have to check in and out of the area you are hunting daily. If you are not checked out within an hour of shooting light they come looking for you and you are guaranteeed a ticket. The areas we went to looked good and there was alot of territory to romp around on. Only shotgun or muzzleloader can be used in the gun zones. There are alot of Bow only zones too, which was interesting (maybe next year). They have a hut where you check in, a picture board and alot of other information on the deer taken. This year they got a few really huge bucks, an 18 pointer, a 14 pointer and several others like 13, 11, 10 etc. While we there one of the days, two trucks came in with two bucks a nice nine point and a three point which was half of a six. One nice thing about Virginia is that they let you hunt deer one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset! I wish New York would do that for Deer and Ducks/Geese. Anyways here are a couple of pictures of Steves Truck as it was stuck in the mud and of the Hunting gang.

Ok Joe, I know I have not been posting for awhile. I created a blog of my own and have been using that as a journal to record my fishing experiences. I figured I would not bore you all by posting too often here. The blog is called Reel Outdoors, check it out if you are interested in more details and pictures (If anyone knows how to copy and paste posts I will put them on here also). Anyways, the fishing has been very good all fall and right through the winter. This weather has been amazing and has allowed me to fish on an almost daily basis. I have had the pleasure of fishing with a bunch of different people and with the exception of one day we have been able to have successful days on the water. To me fishing is not about numbers but more about the experience of time spent with good people in beautiful places. But, for those that are interested here are some statistics for my trips over the past 12 weeks. On an average, I have been fishing four days a week, and have averaged around 5 fish a a trip. We have had four trips when the fish did not want to play but they were forgotten on days like the day Joe and I had when we put over twenty fish on the bank. The fish have been split between browns and rainbows. We have been lucky enough to catch three browns over 14 pounds with my personal best of 19lbs coming in mid October. My biggest steelhead weighed in at just over 15lbs and was caught on a day that nobody else would fish with me. I am always looking for people to fish with and new places to experience so if anyone is interested let me know.

Hi Guys,
Been goose hunting three times this week. Shot a couple more geese, but nothing great. Went fishing at Sandy Creek today for about one hour with "Scott Shady." Caught two and lost two more. All fish hit a number three spinner. It was a ton of fun. The fish weren't huge, but they were fresh and beautiful. One brown trout I lost was REAL nice. Maybe tomorrow...

Hey Joe that sounds/looks like some awesome goose hunting on the last day or two of the season! Larry I was not trying to gross you out by appearing with no shirt on, but that day on Blue Mountain Lake was awesome on 3/31/2006. The ice was thick and the temperature was about 75 degrees with no wind! Late season ice is the best, you have to bring your sunscreen. The first and third pictures are a couple of shots from our annual camping trip Memorial day this year. The second picture is from an alternate location we should try some time if you don't mind the walk of approximately 3.5 miles. I missed an even bigger one as it popped off the hook at the boat. It would have been good to have a partner to net it and it would have been sent to the taxidermist if landed. This location is best early like in April(is better) or May. I believe Joe senior had said we were going to the same place this year however. That location is real good for the whole crew so you can pack in more than the essentials. I am looking forward to it either way. If you are in the neighborhood during ice fishing season call me and we will go. I usually go on the reservoir near the house for Walleye, Pike and Perch but sometimes go up north for Lakers and Salmon.