Fishing On The Captain Al - Report

I went fishing out of Point Lookout, NY on the Captain Al this morning. Yes that meant I had to get up at about 0500 hours and that was - shall I say - difficult for m,e. But I managed to drag my butt out of bed and out to the car and remembered to grab almost all my gear before getting in the car and taking off. I did forget a thing or two but did not realize until I was on the boat and we were underway. I got the the dock at about 0625 and was on the boat pronto to get a spot. The boat already had about 15 to 20 people aboard and I was not able to get a coveted spot in the stern but was close by on the rail on the starboard side. After claiming a spot, I was off to the deli across the way to pick up lunch. That was the first thing I had forgotten at home but that was okay. Then back to the boat and we were soon shoving off.

We spent the say fishing the ocean, probably about 3 to 4 miles offshore. We were fishing for Sea Bass, Porgies (aka: Scup) and whatever else would bite. The Captain Al is a slow boat, but it stays out for a full day and charges a competitive fare. The other boats at the same dock charge about the same as the Captain Al but only go out for a half day's fishing. The Captain Al also has a reputation for good mates and for moving around to find fish. Today was no exception. The mates were excellent, and Captain Al himself piloted the boat. He moved around to several different rocks and bottom structures to look for fish. We hit on them too, lots of them. In all I caught either 22 or 23 fish. Most of them were shorts and had to go back into the drink. Well they were required by law to go back into the water, but I suppose they did not absolutely have to go back. I threw all of my shorties back though I must point out that a lot of other folks were not as ready as me to follow the rules. I saw an awful lot of shorts get filleted before the boat was back at the dock. That is too bad since throwing them back probably assures more for future catches.

As for my fish, I had three nice keeper Sea Bass all at least 2 or 3 pounds, one probably about 4 pounds. I also had a keeper Porgy, and two cocktail bluefish (maybe 3 pounds each for the blues). So I had 6 keepers and someone else gave me a Sea Robin. The Sea Robin is a curious and ugly looking fish that most people either think you cannot eat or just would never consider eating. They are delicious and I wish others had caught more to give me. I threw at least 16, maybe 17 fish back into the ocean. Maybe I'll catch them next time. Waiting a couple weeks to a month some of them will probably have grown to keeper size - all some needed was about an inch or less.

While I was fishing and the sun was beating down on my face and the outside webbing of my thumbs, I realized something else I had forgotten at home. In fact I though of two things - a baseball style cap and my sunscreen. The sunscreen was supposed to ALWAYS be in my tackle box - and I have no clue what happened to it but it was just not there. I can tell you now that I regret not having any. As my daughter said when I got home, after 9 hours out on the Captain Al, "Somebody got some color today". That somebody was me and my face is already starting to hurt despite copious amounts of moisturizer having been applied since I got home. That's okay, I can live with it this once. Next time I'll remember the cap and the sunscreen for sure.

Tomorrow we will have some good eats in the form of pretty fresh fish for dinner. Linda was planning on making Eggplant Parmigiana. She still will make that but now will also bake or broil the today's catch too. It was a good day fishing for them today, and it will be as good a day eating them tomorrow.

All the best,
Glenn B

Florida Fish Tales - All True - You Just Can't Make Up Stuff Like This

When I was down in West Palm Beach last week I got to go fishing 3 times. Not bad in 5 days considering how few times I go when I am at home. The first day out was a nice one, picture perfect as you can see from the pic of my Uncle Ken fishing off of Juno Pier. The sun was shining, well peeking out from behind those magnificent clouds anyhow, the temps were probably in the mid to high seventies, a light breeze was blowing, the surfers were acting as chum in the water. Did I mention it was picture perfect, well maybe it was just a wee bit less than that, and if you look closely at the picture you may notice why. Haven't guessed it yet - okay I'll tell - in the pic there was no fish on his line, in fact none on mine so I had time to snap away, and very few brought to the pier by anyone at all. My uncle did catch one small bluefish, barely a keeper, and I guess that was pretty good considering we had the wrong kind of bait. Yet even those with the right bait were only catching a few now and then. Still it was a nice day.

On Tuesday we went out again, this time for fresh water fish at my insistence. I even bought a 3 day non-resident license at the same cost of a yearly resident license - $17.00. They want another $17.00 for a non-resident saltwater license, imagine that. Luckily since our first trip had been off of the pier at Juno, I did not require a saltwater license. The freshwater fishing experience was also picture perfect even though the day was overcast and the weatherman promised heavy rains. My uncle, his grandson Kyler, and I figured if it rained we could always head to Juno Pier and fish from underneath the areas with pavilions. A nice touch for a fishing pier. As it turned out we headed to Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Our first stop was a pond recommended by the ranger who collected our park entry fee. He told us that this pond in particular had some big ones. We fished there for about 2 hours or so, and we caught a decent number of fish - a few each - but all were small sunfish. We moved on at the insistence of Kyler who just did not want to wait for a big one to swim by. We drove down to the other end of the park looking for fishing holes. At the far en we came to the gift shop and canoe rental set on the Loxahatchee River (this is where Brendan and I had fished back in the summer of 2005, also where we saw a good number of alligators). With those clouds obviously so full of rain we decided against renting a canoe. We milled around a bit, then headed back a short distance to a pond we had passed while driving to the canoe rental area.

It was a small dark watered pond. Lots of peat or something else was staining the water a brownish color. probably not poet since the water was not too acidic for plant life. Whatever, we decided to fish in this forbidding looking water hole. Almost as soon as our baits hit the water (night crawlers from Walmart) we all had bites. Once again it was sunfish on all lines. These were bigger and more feisty than were the ones at the first spot, though still on the small side. I also caught a Peacock Bass which looked more like it belonged in an aquarium with other exotic species than it belonged in a pond in Florida. After about a half hour or so, young Kyler got into a discussion with uncle Ken about the best bait to be using. Uncle Ken insisted that the night crawlers were the best, Kyler insisted that some frozen shrimp we had would be best. To prove a point, Kyler baited his hook with a shrimp and cast out about a whole 5 feet from shore. Now if you had an eye that was quick enough, or maybe a camera with a high speed shutter you may have noticed the glass smooth surface of the pond was broken by ripples just before Kyler's bait hit the water. You see, just as his bait was about to hit the still surface of the pond, a largemouth bass affirmed Kyler's knowledge about which bait was best as it jumped out of the water to meet his bait in mid air just above the pond's surface. I don't know how he did it, but Kyler set the hook and then manhandled that big boy to shore despite the drag on his light spinning outfit brrrr'ing away.

That was the fish of the day for sure. As a mater of fact, soon after he caught that it started to rain and we decided to head off to call it a day and go get some lunch. Now you might be thinking that the bass would have made a fine lunch, and so had we. The thing was we threw it back hopefully so Kyler can catch it again on another day. We did not necessarily want to throw it back. Had I caught it I would have regardless of its size after some pics, but Kyler understandably wanted to keep this one. Thing was I did not have the fishing regs and seemed to recall it needed to be 18 inches long to be a keeper. This one was 15 inches, or a tad more, in length. So I called the office of the park. The jerk there actually reprimanded me for not having the fishing regulations, and told me how it was my duty to have them. Well since Walmart did not have any when I bought my license, I also went to K-Mart and guess what - they did not have any either. They told me the State sent them loads of saltwater fishing regs, but almost no freshwater regs and they were all out. So I asked the guy who's fault was that! I also asked him how it was that the admin office of a state park was so lax as to not have the regs available - he shut up. I then asked for the number to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission - he did not have that either, can you imagine - government buffoonery at its best - or so you would think - but it gets better (or should I say worse). I went to the car, and I dug out the saltwater regs. I then called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission number on the regs. It was the saltwater division, and that was just how the lady answered the phone. I asked for the number for the freshwater division or if she could connect me to them. She just flatly said: "No". I asked if she knew the size limit on largemouth bass, and again I received the curt answer: "No". So finally I asked if anyone there could help me and she in a nasty tone said: "NO". In a last ditch effort, I explained our situation, and explained that the young lad who caught the fish was hoping his best to keep it. She then softened up a bit, and said give me a minute. I heard her say something to someone else, immediately heard paper rustling, then heard pages turning, then heard her say she was looking it up for me. What happened to NO and NO and NO? I remained silent. In a half a minute she told me that the size limit statewide for largemouth bass was 18 inches if caught by a minor (youth as she put it), and 24 inches if caught by an adult. I thanked her for looking even though I wanted to call her something that rhymes with witch. So on her say so as to size limits, we let the bass go, and each of us were a little sad to see it swim away (happy too that it could still swim away after being out of the pond for a few minutes).


Oh yeah, remember the guy at the park office, the one who tried to chastise me for not having the fishing regulations with me. Well we stopped to show him the picture of the fish as we left the park. He was amazed when we told him where we had caught it. He said that pond has been bone dry a few months back and that there were definitely no fish in it. Once again - government buffoonery shining through. He just could not understand how we caught a bass like that there, nor did he look all that much like he believed me when I told him we caught several sunfish and something else that looked like a colorful mini-tilapia (that was the Peacock Bass). Of course when I described the oddball fish, he also had no idea what it could have been, I had to look it up online letter in the day. Lest you think I am telling a fish tale, you too can take a look at the pic.

Once we got home, my uncle, being the skeptic of skeptics, checked the regs online off of the site of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Co mission. He was pretty upset once he did. The minimum size limit was 14 inches - Kyler had caught a keeper and we had thrown it back. The limits I had seen the night before of 18 inches up to 25 inches were for Lake Okeechobee, where I had at first planned to fish. The limits told to me over the phone by the representative of lady at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Shame on her, there was nothing we could find that even closely resembled the so called regulations she quoted us abut a "youth" limit and "adult" limit - she won the government buffoon award of the day. Oh well, at least we have the picture, and Kyler can always dream of catching the same one again.

Enough of Tuesday's trip. On Wednesday uncle Ken and I headed about 60 miles north of West Palm Beach to Fort Pierce. Once there we boarded the Captain Lew, a party (or open) boat. I had done some online checking before I left NY and saw that every boat in WPB only went out for 4 hours at a cost of about $40 - $45 for each person. This boat on the other hand went out from 0830 to 1630, a full 8 hours, and only cost about $50 per fare. They also had a $2 off coupon online, and a senior fare that my uncle could use. I made a reservation. When we got there we saw a freshly paned boat, with a crew of 2, Captain Lew and his mate Mark. There was a small crowd of fishermen and fisherwomen, about 20 to 25 including us. Just before boarding, Mark took everyones' gear and stowed it aboard so we would not have to climb aboard while toting it. Then Capt. Lew read us the rules, a nice touch to avoid any problems aboard. As we boarded, the line of went through the cabin where Capt. Lew collected the fares. He remembered me by name, from my emails, when I paid. Another nice touch (by the way he promptly and courteously answered my several emails to him). One other nice thing, both the captain and mate had great manners. It was going to be a nice trip even if we did not catch any fish.

Well it took about an hour and a half to reach the fishing grounds. I could not see land in any direction. My guess was we were 10 to 20 miles out. The day was sunny, promising to hit the mid to high eighties, there was just a hint of a breeze, the water was as calm as the surface of a small lake on a calm day, and the water and skies were blue. On the way out I got a chance to talk to Mark, and to a few of the other fisherpeople. The captain was busy getting us there, but I got to speak to him once we arrived. Not much of a surprise, but at least a few folks aboard - including Captain Lew - were originally from NY. Captain Lew even went to college just a few miles from my home, and he was born in Brooklyn as was I. One of the fares, I think his name was Mike, was originally from Brooklyn, moved to Long Island, then moved to Florida 40 years or so ago. We had a good long talk, and he was a fine and interesting gentleman. We wished each other luck, and then went fishing.

As soon as uncle ken's rig hit bottom, he hooked a fish. Same for me a second or two later. Same for just about everyone aboard. We reeled them in, I got mine on the deck before uncle Ken who was using a lighter pole, and I had a nice double header of keeper Sea bass. Mmm delicious. After that we caught some Yellowtail and Lane Snapper, and a lot of Grunts. According to the captain the Grunts were only worthy of being cut up for bait. So we caught a bunch of them, as did everyone else, and we used em for bait once the squid ran out (that was my only negative complaint about the whole day aboard the Captain Lew - they did not supply enough bait, and actually ran out of the cut squid they had been giving out forcing everyone who did not bring bait to use cut up grunt). Well after about an hours or so of steady fish on action, it sought of petered out a bit. Still we were getting fish, but only Grunts ow and then. I turned to uncle Ken and wondered out loud if the captain would move around a lot, or if we would stay put. Apparently the captain was in the wheel house right over my head when I said that, and within a second he was on the loud speaker saying reel em up, we were about to move to another spot. I guess he had heard me; but if he had or had not, he was moving to another spot to look for more and better fish, and that is a sign of a good party boat captain.

In all we hit a few more spots, 4 or 5 I suppose. We never hit as good a spot as had been the first, but we did catch fish, at least anyone who kept on a bottom rig did so. Uncle Ken changed to a rig designed for bigger but scarcer fish, and he caught fewer than me, and alas no big ones. The Grunts were king wherever else we fished. In all I reeled in 68 fish, and raised a lot of skeptical eyebrows from those who asked me how I had done. Truth is I was pulling in Grunts even when most of the others were not, but most had changed to the rigs meant for the bigger fish. We also caught some small (under the size limit) Sea Bass, Yellow Tail and Vermilion. My uncle also caught an ugly little critter - a Toad Fish that Captain Lew called a Shell Crusher, and one look at its jaws would let you know why he gave it that name. I also had a colorful little sand perch - also a throw back. Out of 68 fish that I caught, and my guess would be 30 or more that my uncle caught, we had a total of only 12 keepers. Of those 2 were Trigger Fish, 4 were Sea Bass, 4 were Yellow Tail, and 2 were Lane Snapper. Other folks caught red snapper, Mutton Snapper, a single Cobia (a throwback at 31 inches), moray eels, grouper (also throwbacks at a pretty large size), scorpion fish, and some others.

All too soon it was 1500 (3PM) and time to head back to the dock. The fish were weighed and the pool fish selected, sadly not one of ours. By the way, the woman with the actual largest fish did not win the pool, she had elected not to enter. That is why I always put up the few bucks to get into the pool. The ride back was more for snoozing than it was for talking, and I got in more than a few minutes f keeping the other fares amused with my musical snoring. Once back at the dock, the mate and the captain got to filleting fish. It is amazing how 12 good looking fish can be reduced to a pile of disappointingly small fillets in a matter of minutes; but I will admit we had a few to 5 pounds of fillets. After that it was off to home to fry some fish, well that is of course after tipping the mate. Being I was on vacation I was somewhat generous and I threw a nice tip his way for my uncle and me. I have to say, he was the best mate, and Captain Lew the best captain, that I have met on a party boat in a long time. What a nice day it was, made even nicer by these two gentlemen.

After an hour or so, we reached uncle Ken's place. We cleaned up and uncle Ken got to fish frying. He did a pretty good job too with just some salt, pepper, garlic powder and oil. Those fish were ever so delicious and Uncle Ken, Aunt Glenese and I had a small feast on about 1/3 of the fillets; saving the rest for another day.

In closing let me say that if you ever are down near Fort Pierce, and if you want to go fishing, I highly recommend the Captain Lew. A nice boat, a nicer crew, and a good time is to be had. As for the fishing, I suppose it depends, but my bet is you will catch fish. As for me, I had only one regret in three days of fishing, and that was that my son and best fishing buddy Brendan was not there with me. You can bet, if we ever get to Fort Pierce together, both of us will be going fishing with Captain Lew.

All the best,
Glenn B

Just Got Back Home...

...from a couple of days in the hills Catskill Mountains and thereabouts. I went on a deer scouting trip, did some hiking, did some fishing, took in the sights, and camped out under the stars. Oh, my aching back! More later...the car needs washing.

All the best,
Glenn B

Road Trip 2008 - The Last Day

Wednesday, the 4th day of the road trip, dawned bright and crisp. Truth be told I am only guessing since I was not up at dawn, but close enough to it to be able to give it a good guess. Another day, another decision as how to spend it confronted us. It was a no brainer, we were going to go canoeing again. This time though, since it was further up the road toward home by ten miles than the other place, we chose Front Royal Canoe Company. Once again we were greeted by nice folks, this time those who worked at this particular outfitter. There was a bit of a difference from the experience at Down River Canoe Company though in that this time the outfitter's workers told us more about river conditions, asked us more about our own experience in a canoe, and gave us a brief overview of how to avoid problems; basically it was a more in depth outline of what to expect on the river. Another thing that was different was the price. Since it was Wednesday they gave us the midweek rate, or in other words they gave us a discount of 25% off of the regular cost.

For the trip, we chose one of 7 miles in length. We had plenty of time to complete it, we started earlier than the first canoe outing, and only had to be back by 6:00 though we chose 5:30. We had to pick a time this time around because we would not end up at the outfitter's base, and they would meet us at the haul out site. A young lad drove us, and another canoeist to the drop off area, and we again shoved off pretty quickly once all of our gear was secured in the canoe. We decided a nice leisurely day of fishing, with enough paddling to get us down river on time would be the way to spend the day; and of course since the sun was shining, we would be on the lookout for turtles too. One thing I did differently on that day was to hold off on putting on my sunscreen, I figured why not get a bit of sun for some color, then put it on. Decisions, decisions - sometimes the right one, sometimes the wrong one.

Well, as on the first canoe outing, and as at Skidmore Lake - Mr. Serious about fishing caught the first fish, and he caught the most fish, and he caught the most variety of species. For some reason though all I took were pictures of him with sunfish. I don't know why I did not take one of him with a bass, he sure caught enough of them (though not many) for me to have thought of framing one. As you can see, the penultimate fisherman (between the two of us anyhow) had that serious look on his face again, it could not be disguised by those Wally World special that passed for polarized sunglasses. I got myself a pair too, with amber lenses, but no you will not see me in them!

As we paddled along, we hit some rapids now and again, or maybe they were just ripples, and for the most part the river was deeper in this section. We did manage to get stuck at least once, again requiring climbing half way out of the canoe to push off, and I have to admit I realized I would have hated to have fallen in because those rocks were not only hard, they had lots of jagged edges where they had been eroded away unevenly by the currents over the eons. It turned out alright though, and we were off safely.

As we paddled on, we saw log after log, and rock after rock, basically covered with turtles. I am guessing that we tried to catch turtles at at least 75% of the places where we saw them, but those aquatic tanks can be fast. Even though we had a net to try to catch them, we had no luck which I suppose was lucky for the turtles. Our net, bought at Dick's Sporting Goods (the original store in Binghamton, NY) was a trout net - one with a long pole shoved into its hollow handle to extend Brendan's reach. It was great for scooping up fish, or for trying to catch turtles and frogs. One of its good points was that the net's edge did not overlap the aluminum rim, but was enclosed inside the rim offering it protection from rocks and such. It was not expensive or anything, but very practical for our purposes. I liked that net a lot, so much so that I had bought another just like it, and we also had that one aboard with us. I was happy to have bought the spare because Dick's apparently no longer carries them. As for the one with the pole stuck in the handle - it was our turtle and frog catching net. By the way, if you click on the pic, it should enlarge, but before you do - can you see how many turtles are on the log (answer below, if I don't forget).

Sometime not too long after the above shot we were faster than one of the turtles we saw, and Brendan was able to catch one. It was a small turtle covered in algae so it was a bit hard to identify without seeing its carapace (upper shell). I think it was a Painted Turtle, but am not all that sure. Still though the thrill of the hunt culminated in a catch after all, and that net made good. I guess it only made good though because this guy seemed to be sound asleep until we were really close, close enough for Brendan to position the net underneath the branch on which the turtle had hauled out to sun it self. That way, when the turtle was finally startled enough to take a plunge for safety, it landed right inside the net. Sadly though, it was the final catch with our net. I guess maybe I should apologize for torturing your eyes with that pic of me holding the turtle, I suppose I should have cropped it to include only the turtle in my hand, but oh well you're tough and can take it - can't you!

Remember I said I was happy I had bought a spare net at Dick's because they no longer carry them. Well, I was even happier I had the spare a short while later on this trip when I asked Brendan - "Hey, where is the net?" You guessed right, it was not to be found. Last I recall it was draped across Brendan's legs as we paddled, but I am not saying that he lost it. That is just where I can picture it in my mind's eye. We both had no idea of how or when it went overboard, but surely that is what happened to it because we searched the canoe at least two times, maybe three times in utter disbelief at our loss. Hopefully someone else, maybe a youngster in search of turtles or frogs will find it down river. The last I suppose I will ever see of that net is in the picture above as we honed in on numerous turtles on a deadfall. You can just make it out in the lower left corner of the pic.

At some point, just a little later on, we saw a nice little island, and we decided to beach the canoe and have lunch. I guess it had been just minutes after we had realized we had lost the net. I wasn't mad, which is surprising for me, but I did mention to Brendan I was sure disappointed that the net had been lost. There were a lot of fond memories with that net (and its predecessors- at least one, but I think two, of the same nets that had gotten holes torn in them and were then replaced with the now lost one). As we ate lunch on the island, I also mentioned how happy I was that we had the spare net, and that it still had the manufacturer's sticker on the handle giving the name of the company that made it. I did not bother looking at the label all that closely, no point since I could not contact them from the island; but I had wanted to make a call to them or shoot them an email once i got home. That way I could check to see if they still made them, and then order a couple of them for future use. Brendan agreed that was a good thing we had the spare. Despite the lost net, all was well. We fished some from the shore, and Brendan also tried to catch some bait. He wound up successful too. You may remember my earlier blog about wanting to see some Hellbenders while on this trip. While we had no luck with them, Brendan did catch a completely other typre of critter, with a somewhat similar name, a Hellgramite. A Hellgramite is the aquatic and larval stage of the Dobson Fly. While I have seen plenty of Hellgramites before, I do not recall ever seeing a Dobson fly - and man they are ugly and have large mandibles. The larval stage is none too pretty either, and while their mandibles look big, they are no match for those of the adult Dobson Fly. If I recall right, Brendan scooped this guy out of the river with the remaining net. He does not like insects and bugs, and is none to fond of touching any of them except maybe a worm to bait his hook; so I took it out and held it in place while he snapped a picture of it. Pretty isn't it! Well while you may not think so, the Spotted Bass who chomped down on it on my second cast with it surely must have thought it an appealing and appetizing morsel. We had only one other keeper sized bass from the river, that one from day one had already been filleted by me, and we now had another for the frying pan. All the others, except the one we ate at Skidmore Lake, were just too small to bother keeping - though now that I think of it - one or two of them 3 to 4 inch ones would have gone nicely in the tank with my Musk Turtle at home.

After fishing a bit more and only catching some smallfry bass (Brendan caught most of them, but he did take a pic of one I caught) we shoved off and headed down river. We soon paddled past another set of small rapids, and soon again saw more turtles. We decided to try to see if we couldn't get close enough to scoop up another one; and I am guessing it was about then that I asked Brendan: "Hey, where is the net?". Now if you are thinking that I am repeating myself, well you would be right; but I am only repeating myself because as you may have just guessed, the spare net was nowhere to be found in the canoe. The last place we both remembered seeing that one was on the little island where I had made the comment about being so happy to have the spare with the manufacturer's label still on it so we could cal them to see if they still made them. I guess my hopes of ever seeing another of these nets was pretty much bashed right then and there. Again, I did not get angry, but I sure was saddened by its loss. Brendan seemed devastated. I think he felt responsible for leaving the net on the island. (After returning home, he told his girlfriend that he felt bad because he had forgotten it there, and because I had mentioned how great it was to have the spare, and to have the maker's label still on it. I will try my best to replace it, and if I do, I'll give the new one to him as a present.) Oh well, life goes on and I suppose we will find a suitable replacement, but I have to admit, I'll miss that particular type of net - we have that particular type of net going on something like 15 years or more now; lots of fish, frogs, and a few turtles were scooped up with them over those years - lots of good memories were enmeshed in them.

It turned out that after that Brendan did not fish much. I did not realize why at first that he insisted on paddling as i fished; but it became apparent he was down because we lost the net. I assured him it was a shame, but it was okay in the long run, after all it was just a net. I even mentioned I hoped that maybe someone else would find it, and see us to return it before we got off the river. No luck there though. So we continued paddling, and fishing, until finally we arrived at the haul out site at about 5:00. We were about a half hour early, so we got all our gear out of the canoe, and then I tried to catch some minnows in one of our minnow traps. I figured we could do a bit more fishing from shore. No luck in that either, and soon the outfitter showed up to haul us, our gear, and the canoe back to the base.

We had planned on staying another day, but Brendan said he has wanted to make this the last day. So, once we were back at the car, that was it. We packed everything inside the Corolla, and we were off headed north. I guess I can say it is nice to have someone with which to share the driving, especially someone I like as much as Brendan, and whom I trust to drive as much as him. He is only 18 but so far has proven himself to be a safe driver. As a matter of fact, he drove all the way home that night. We departed the canoe company at about 6:00 or 6:15, then made a quick stop in a large roadside pawn shop I had noticed on our way in, and now again on our way out. We didn't buy anything, but they sure had an interesting collection of firearms, swords and knives. On the way home we stopped only one or two other times. I think maybe only once to gas up in New Jersey, where the prices are at least .30 a gallon less expensive than in NY. We wound up getting home at just about midnight. Not bad time at all, better than our time going down, mostly because of stopping less. One unique thing about the ride home was that we had a passenger. Remember that Spotted bass I had caught. Well it was in our live bait bucket for the entire ride home. I had a battery operated aerator pump hoked up to it, so it made the trip not too much the worse for the wear. We planned on eating it along with the fillets fro Brendan's keeper, and there is no fish better than truly fresh fish. I forgot to put Brendan's fillets into the fridge when we got home, so they wound up getting tossed the next day what with all the ice in the cooler having melted. I did not want to take a chance on it having gone bad. So what happened to the Spotted bass, well he is now residing in our fish tank with our Musk Turtle. I am hoping someone I know with a pond will want him, otherwise it is the frying pan for which he is destined. Not much of a meal in one small Spotted bass, but it will make a delicious appetizer, that is of course, only if the guy with the pond does not want him.

All in all we had a great time; and I think Brendan would agree with me on that one. I am hopeful that we will keep up this tradition of an annual road trip for many, many years to come; and I mentioned that to Brendan while on the drive home. His answer amused me, assured me, and comforted me when he said that when I am in my 90s, he will have to lift me up to put me into the canoe!

All the best,
Glenn B

PS: Lest I forget, there were 8 turtles that we counted in that pic. Do you see them all?

Road Trip 2008 - Shenandoah River and Beyond

How does the song go: "Oh Shenando I long to see you...." With its forested and farmland shores, small islands dotted throughout her waters, small rapids, abundance of wildlife, decent fishing - I mean who that loves the outdoors would not love this river. So once again, for the third time over the past several years, Brendan and I have been smitten by the beauty of this famed Virginia river, at least the south fork of it.

We left home on Sunday June 15at about 0730 - pretty darned early to get the younger version up, at em, and on the road with all our gear - but somehow I managed it. I am not saying I like to be up before the birds or anything like that, but just that while I would have liked to have left earlier by an hour or so, it wasn't bad timing at all. We had sort of planned on driving to Harrisburg, PA the first day and then spend some time at Hershey Park. I figured the drive there would be a breeze at about 199 miles, and 3 hours 40 minutes driving time per MapQuest. While I was driving I was, as usual, also talking. Brendan usually tunes me out after a while but sometimes he catches what I am blabbering on about. So somewhere along the way, while we were I was talking about our past canoeing road trips to the Shenandoah River, Brendan asked: "That's Virginia?". I said it was, and was surprised to hear that Harrisburg was out, and a direct drive all the way to VA, all 361 miles of it was in. Being a bit leery of just how long Brendan would want to be in the car I decided not to cancel our reservations at Motel 6 near Harrisburg until we were well passed it. While in PA, and long before we reached Harrisburg, we made a stop of about an hour and a half at a Pizza Hut, and then Cabelas near Hamburg. We picked up some lures, and I got a fishing pole to replace one that had broken on me some time ago. While there we took the time to get a good look at all the fish they have in the huge aquariums they have - all native species of freshwater game fish. Impressive, to say the least. We had both seen it before, but Brendan and I got a real kick out of it this time around too.

We then drove on without stopping until we hit the Welcome Center in West Virginia, on Interstate 81. We took a short break, and Brendan snapped a quick pic of me. We took a look at the map in the welcome center - I had forgotten to did out our road atlas, just to make sure I remembered how to get there. Then we grabbed a bunch of WV pamphlets just in case we decided to change plans and spend more time in WV. Then off again, this time with Brendan at the wheel. It's nice to be able to share the driving with my son, almost like the luxury of having a chauffeur and best buddy all in one. Along the way we made a stop for gas somewhere, and one other stop at the Virginia Welcome Center on Interstate 81. Lie in WV we stocked up on pamphlets and info guides about the state. When we drove on I had to start thinking about finding another motel at least for our first night's stay in VA. We had a reservation at the Best Western in Winchester, VA for Monday and Tuesday, but we decided to get closer to where we would likely be canoeing and we eventually decided on a Days Inn in Luray, VA. It wound up being a good choice, close to the canoe outfitters, close to other attractions, clean rooms, wi-fi, free continental breakfast, and nice folks running it. We cancelled the other reservation and stayed at the Days Inn for 3 nights. All in all it took us just about 7 1/2 hours of driving to get there, all three stops included, not bad at all.

Once we checked in at the motel, the rest of our day was spent shopping for fishing gear, and for supplies. I wanted to stock up on enough food for 3 to 4 days worth of lunches since we would likely be either canoeing, fishing, or hiking at any given lunchtime during the trip. So off to Walmart we went. We picked up a fishing supplies, our nonresident 5 day fishing licenses with added national forest permits, and lunch supplies and drinks for the next few days (not a beer or ale among those drinks though). As we drove around the area a bit, I realized just how much Luray, the tow in which our motel was located, has going for it as a road trip destination, or as a great place to live. There is, of course, the Shenandoah River with all the outdoor activities one can enjoy on a river like fishing, swimming, canoeing, rafting, tubing and so on. Then just about 10 miles away to the east is the Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park for sightseeing, camping, hiking, fishing, wildlife viewing and so on. Maybe a bit further to the west is the George Washington National Forest another great spot for hiking, camping, fishing, and also for hunting. The area is also loaded with caverns that are open to the public for a fee. We figured if the weather got miserable enough we would go and explore some of them, but as it turned out we never got the chance.

On Monday, day 2 of the trip, and our first full day in the Shenandoah Valley, we took off for Downriver Canoe Company in Benton. That was a drive of about 15 miles from the motel. We really didn't set off for that outfitter, but were headed to Front Royal Canoe about 10 miles further north. The thing that made us check out Downriver Canoe Company was that I was pretty sure it was down the same road as a canoe outfitter we had used on our 2 previous trips to the area. I could not remember the name of that one, but I wanted to use them again, and figured why not see if that was the right road. Well when we got to the river, there was Downriver Canoe Company on our right, and there was the building complex for the other canoe outfitter on our left just as I had remembered except for the fact that there were no canoes or signs of an outfitter at the place we previously had used. We stopped in at Downriver canoe Company and we were greeted by an pleasant gentleman with white hair but a youthful sparkle in his eyes. When I inquired about the other place, he told me that it had closed down after the owner, a heavily accented German lady whom I recall fondly, had retired in the last year or two. What a shame, we liked her and her outfit; and I talked to her each time about the old country - my wife having been born in Germany. Oh well, we figured what the heck we would give Downriver Canoe Company a try.

I am guessing we were in our canoe and on the river by about 11:00 AM. None to early, but they only open at 9 on weekdays; and it was more than early enough for sleeping beauty who really seemed to be comfortable in that Days Inn bed despite the alarm having gone off 15 minutes earlier with some truly irritating and loud preacher ranting about the wrath of God. As it was he finally woke up and we set off to enjoy the beauty of nature, which I guess you could see as God's greatest gift to us, too bad that radio preacher did not gear his sermon that way - then I might have listened for awhile.

I digress, so let me get back to the canoe, the river, and the good time we were about to have. We picked a trip of ten miles, and soon were in the transport van with two young ladies , one from Scotland the other from Ireland, who were traveling together, and with a man and woman I assumed to be hubby and wife obviously from the USA. The other two couples were dropped off first, then us. We opted to be dropped off above the rapids, or at least what there was of them since the water levels were on the low side. I guess VA had been spared the rain we had been getting in NY and surely were spared the rains that were pelting Iowa. We wasted no time once we were dropped off and we were in the river in about 10 minutes after having secured all our gear to the cross members in the canoe with bungee cords. We fished a while above the rapids, maybe a half hour or so; and Brendan caught a small mouth or spotted bass almost immediately. Nothing big, maybe a pound or pound and a half; but certainly the first fish of the trip. After a bit, and maybe a sunfish or two, and another but tiny bass, we headed downriver and through the rapids. They were fun but none too exhilarating since the water level was down. Still though it beat working, driving, and just sitting around. As I said it was fun.

Once over them we paddled a bit then started to fish again. We were constantly watching the skies as the weatherman, and the guy who helped us at the canoe rental, both promised severe weather. It was overcast, with lots of low dark clouds, but luckily each time we heard thunder booming, it was further downriver than were we and we stayed dry, at least early on. We had been told if we got in the thick of it to make for shore and wait it out. As it was we just fished and hoped we would not get rained on. A couple more tiny bass were brought in and some more fat sunfish. Brendan caught everything, I'd say about 8 or 9 fish - except that is for two bass about 3 or 4 inches long each. Oh joy, I caught them.

After stopping and fishing, then paddling, then stopping and fishing, then paddling, I started to wonder what time it was since I had forgotten my watch. We had time but it seemed later than it was to me. We continued on that way for awhile. Once or twice we got stuck right atop submerged rocks only and inch or two under the water in some of the other rapids we ran as we went along. Sadly when I get frustrated, I sometimes get not so nice and mouth off orders. None too fun for Brendan especially since I blamed getting stuck on him when it was as much my fault as his, maybe more mine for me being a lard butt who weighs too much. I apologized, shut my mouth and we pushed off, literally by both half climbing out of the canoe to give those rocks a shove. Then more fishing, and looking for turtles. Did I forget to mention that every now and then the sun came out. Once it was shining, it would not be more than 5 or 10 minutes and the turtles were climbing up on any downfall sticking up out of the water. We tried to catch some of them but they were just too alert and quick for us. You might be surprised at how quick they make a dive into the water when they think danger is approaching, it is no wonder that their cousin the tortoise was able to beat the hare.

We kept gliding along, fishing, looking at turtles, seeing cows cooling off in the shallows, watching birds, spotting some big fish swim under the canoe, and catching small ones. Then there was a sudden real darkening of the sky over us, and some loud boomers and lightning, and the water started to be whipped by the wind. In no time it was pouring, and we made for shore along with three other guys in two other canoes. We chatted with them a bit and they said they were catching fish all day long nonstop. When I asked what they were using, one guy said lures. What a helpful piece of info was that you cannot imagine. Heck we tried spinners, plugs both sinking and floating, artificial worms, other rubber like critter lures, live earthworms and meal worms; and we were not catching fish as they claimed they were doing. We must have been using the wrong lures, but no more information was forthcoming from the tight lipped fisherman with who we shared a bit of landing in the downpour. I had to wonder if they had caught anything. After about 10 or 15 minutes of getting soaked, we were off again. Luckily we had found out both the time and the distance to the canoe base, and realized we had enough time to get back if we paddled steadily with one or two stops for fishing. As it turned out, I guess the guy's watch was fast, or his guess at the distance was off, because we got back to the base at 4:30 PM, about an hour and a half before we had to be there. That was okay because in between we again got into the middle of a real bad one. We paddled ashore, this time just he two of us since the others had pulled way ahead since the last stop. I was kind of concerned because we had to have spent about 1/2 hour on the shore waiting for this one to pass. When it slowed down some, we were in the canoe and off toward the outfitter's base. We were both drenched, Brendan more so than I because he was wearing cotton shirt and shorts; and I was wearing a cotton shirt, and nylon swim suit with the addition of a poncho. Brendan was too manly for that, and he got drenched and stayed that way until we reached the outfitter's landing. Once there and not paddling he started to get cold fast and off came the wet shirt. The outfitter's helpers were there to meet us, or actually had come down to the landing to pick up the canoes of the other two parties who had arrived before us. Just lucky they were there to take ours just as we showed up. We put our gear together, and I gave Brendan the car keys and he went and got the car from across the river. We left and hit the hotel. I guess we were back at the hotel when I realized we were short a Camel Back day pack with a lot of our gar in it. Back down to the car, and nope it was not there; so into the car and off at speed to the canoe landing. Of course we got stuck behind a knucklehead who was driving erratically, slow then fast, then over the lines, then crawling, then fast - all when I was stressed out about losing my gear. When we got to the landing, there was my pack where I had left it. I guess the camo was pretty good since no one had driven by and spotted it. Lucky thing for me that it as still there.

After that we went into Luray to eat dinner. We stopped at Uncle Buck's restaurant. I had a burger. It was not cooked medium rare how I like it since they have to cook em medium or more in VA by state Law. Can you imagine the audacity of the politicians to tell you how you have to cook a burger - outrageous. Brendan had a bowl of vegetable soup and we also shared an appetizer called Texas Toast. It was toast smothered with crab meat and cheese, and toasted to perfection. I have to admit the bacon and cheese on my burger made up for it being cooked medium or medium well, and the food and service were outstanding. If you ever go to Luray, stop by this place. One side is a family style restaurant, the other is a bar. Not a bad set up. By the way, I had a couple of ales at this pit stop, one New castle that was on the flat side, and a Yeungling that was delicious. My first and only alcohol of the trip, but since Brendan could drive, a couple of pints were okay.

Later on we took a drive up toward Sky Line Drive in Shenandoah National Park. We headed up to it and turned around because the toll booth was shut down, and because it cost $15 bucks to enter if open. Now had it been the daytime that would have been okay, but I was not about to pay $15 for a short nighttime drive; and the sign said to pay upon exiting at whatever booth through which we would have exited. We were lucky though because along the way we saw a couple of deer feeding at roadside, and we saw a black bear sauntering along the road side a few miles later. The it was back to the motel to hit the sack.

The next day, Tuesday and day 3 of the trip, dawned sunny and much cooler. It was absolutely a perfect day. We decided not to hit the canoes again, I was still aching from the day before, and I think so too was Brendan at least a bit. My shoulders, back, knees and butt all were sore. So what to do. We decided to go fishing again, this time in a lake in the George Washington national Forest. It took us about an hour to find the road out of town to get across the river and to the lake. That was even after stopping at the COC to get directions and a local map. Even the locals had a hard time figuring out where that road started in town, and there were few access points to it out of town, and none within miles of it. Well we finally got onto the right road, and after a spell we were at Skidmore Forks. That turned out to be a stream, and we decided to stop there for lunch, and do some fishing. Lunch was delicious, fishing was not productive though we did see some small trout in the stream. We also saw a mess left by partiers or campers around a large fire ring. What a shame that people haul it in, then get drunk (as was obvious from the amount of beer cans) and then don't haul it out. If I had had a large garbage bag I would have cleaned it up.

After a short stopover, we were off again to look for Skidmore lake. I figured and hoped it would not be far from a stream called Skidmore Forks, and I was right. In a mile or two we hit the intersection of Switzer Lake Road. We figured that any lake was better than no lake, and if not Skidmore Lake, well Switzer Lake would do just fine so we decided to take it. Where did we wind up, well at Skidmore Lake of course! At least that is what the sign said near the lake. Why the road was named Switzer Lake Road and not named Skidmore Lake Road was beyond me, but I would guess there is a story in that somewhere. We fished there for a couple of hours. While hiking along the shore I lifted several flat rocks and spotted about 8 or 9 water snakes underneath them. I caught three of them to show Brendan. As I was headed back to where he was fishing (I figured some solo time would be god for both of us) he came walking toward me looking under some of the same rocks I had checked. I showed him the 3 snakes I had in my zippered vest pocket, and after a few minutes we released them. Brendan made on toward where I had been fishing, and as he did he looked for snakes too. He spotted one about three feet long, and very fat - probably gravid. he told me it had a stub tail. That was one of the same I had seen earlier on.

As for the fishing, we caught a bass or two, or I should say Brendan caught them, and he also caught a few sunnies. (Yes if you look closely in the pic, you can see a small sunfish at the end of his line.) After a couple of hours or so we moved to the other end of the lake to fish there. When we got there, a couple of other guys were jsut leaving, and we took their spot. We were the only ones there at that time, on the whole 118 acre lake. As we walked down to where they others had been fishing, brendan said that they had a fire, and had left it burining. Sure enough, there was a fire ring with hot ashes and embers in it. It was not more than 5 feet from the water, and those 2 other guys had been too lazy to fetch some water to assure it was out. Since it was also only about 25 feet from the woods, I think it would have been wise to have put it out. As it turned out, Brendan and I (mostly I) decided to gather some wood and start a new blaze. We fished, and enjoyed the campfire.

Again Brendan caught most of the fish, just a couple or few, but more than me with maybe one, if any at that area. When we tired of fishing, we sat around the fire and talked and Brendan and I each enjoyed half a sandwhich each, all we had left to eat, well besides a bass he had caught at the lake. I guess brendan was still hungry because he asked me to cook that up for him. I cooked it whole over the glowing embers. Pretty delicious if I say so myself, and Brendan agreed with me on that.

It was starting to turn to the hours of the long shadows as the sun got lower in the sky behind us; and and some other folks arrived to fish. A family of three, mom, dad and young sone - maybe 2 - shopwed up and fished for 20 minutes or so without luck. Then a couple of guys showed up and put a boat with a small motor in the water, and they were off to fish.I also spotted a canoe with fishermaen, and brendan spotted another small rowbaot with fishermen. Remarkable how the fishermen show up near dusk when the fish should be biting the best, but the fish did not cooperate. One other thing also started to show up when those shadows started to get long, and more of them came on as the sahdows lengthened. Dracula said: "Listen to them sing, the children of the night, what music they make." in reference to wolves howling outside at dusk. While these guys did not howl, they sure did have a buzzing, whining, drone, and also were children of the night, and bloodsuckers at that. Yes the mosquitoes had arrived, but luckily for us not in great numbers as on a pst trip we made to the Evergaldes a coupl,e of years back. Maybe it was the chill air, or maybe the smoke from the fire, but we only got a couple of bites each. Soon after they arrived we decided to make our getaway - fire or no fire they get pretty bold as it gets darker, and even the machete that Brendan was carrying would have been poor defense against a horde of hungry mosquitoes (we just had to buy it when we saw it at Wally World). We took off at about 8:15 or 8:30, and I was pretty surprised it was so late since it was still somewhat light out. We got back to the hotel pretty bushed and hit the hay shortly after our arrival.

I figure if you have read this through until now, you must be almost as tired of reading it as I am of writing it; and hopefully there were not too many typos. So for now dear readers I will pull the plug, and go watch something on the Sci-Fi channel. I'll finish up with the last day of the trip tomorrow or Sunday.

All the best,

Glenn B

Road Trip - We Cannot Afford It...

...but I'll be damned if Brendan and I don't get away on our annual road trip for at least a few days. This June marks some big events for him, his last days of high school, the prom, and graduation. Well the last day has come and gone, so has the prom which was last night. Graduation is not until later in the month. Then he starts a new full time job next Friday. Since I am busy tomorrow working on the house, that leaves us with Sunday through Thursday to get away. I am hoping for a drive to Harrisburg, PA to visit sites nearby - maybe Hershey Park, maybe Gettysburg - could be both. Then a drive down to the Shenandoah River Valley where we may camp out (talk about me being cheap, but only if I think my back can take sleeping on the ground otherwise an inexpensive motel). We have been there twice, and he liked the canoe and fishing trips we took on the Shenandoah River. A couple of days of that, then we head back north. maybe we spend a night somewhere in PA, maybe we drive right home. Either way we are home by Thursday at the latest. It is about the only outdoors 'regular' thing I look forward to all year anymore besides a fall hunting trip; but most of all Brendan deserves it. I think he maybe looking forward to it as much as I look forward to it. I hope so, because that means he will really help get all of our gear ready tomorrow night. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to pack for a road trip, now is there!

If you don't see anything left here in the blog from Sunday til Thursday - you will know why.

All the best,
Glenn B

Oh Joy - Its Gonna Be A Hot One

Yep, and it's sort of hot already, somewhere in the mid eighties with lots of sultry added on (that would translate to a lot of humidity for you desert dwellers). The garden is well watered, and even the bean plants that looked wilted yesterday look ready to face the heat today; and it is expected to get pretty hot - up to the mid nineties. With that humidity that should make it feel in the hundreds as the sweat pours out of one's pores and sticks to one's body. As for Brendan and I that should not present too much of a problem - we are heading east on a trip to visit my mom, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my nephew.

The trip was going to include a stop at the rifle range in Brookhaven, but alas other things have interfered. We need to make a stop for washing machine parts at a Sears service center. No, thank the gods, not for my washing machine; enough has gone wrong in my house, but for my sister's. Heck it may just be too hot for a fun day at the range anyhow; and we are also taking Mimi along with us, and we could not leave her in the car while we would have been out shooting in the expected heat. I have another thing or three up my sleeve. I figure to remember my fishing pole this time, the surf caster. My bet is that the bluefish are running, and maybe to too are the stripers and weakfish. A nice striped bass would be delicious! We are also taking Mimi along with us, and we could not leave her in the car while we would have been out shooting in the expected heat.

I guess I should also grab a small shovel, the screen sifter, and the metal detector. Who knows, maybe we will get a chance to look for Blackbeard's treasure while we are out east. One never knows, now does one. Yeah - I know - my luck stinks, so the most I'll find is a metal slug. Then again, with Brendan along, we make get lucky, he has much better luck than me - no black clouds following him around. If you don't ever see more written on this blog after today, you can figure either we struck it rich or that I hooked a big one, got pulled into the drink, and was eaten by sharks.

Of course I am also taking a frisbee. It just seems like a good day for it. Maybe if I stick to throwing the old flying disc around I can avoid the shark thing.

All the best,
Glenn B

Shark Surfing

There go I but for the grace of God having allowed me to stand in line when they handed out the brains. If this is for real, and who knows it could be, I think the name of the website from whence came this video says it all: StupidVideos.com. The only thing I cannot figure is how he threw the pole off of the pier then retrieved it. To the best of my knowledge fishing poles with reels attached do not float - but who knows. As for the shark in close to the pier like that - I remember my visits to Pacific Beach in San Diego when I lived in CA while in the Border Patrol. There were always surfers, and always guys fishing for sharks from the pier. In fact I saw quite a few sharks swimming by under the pier, and a few caught by the fishermen. Never saw a surfer do something like this though.

All the best,

Glenn B

Gone Fishing...

...and returned home already. I was out sick yesterday, and did not enjoy the beautiful day as I had hoped to, guess that insomnia thing just had me bushed. I slept better last night though, and called into work early to tell them I'd be taking a vacation day today.It looked as if it was going to be a really nice day, as nice as yesterday, and that would make for a nice day fishing.
I dragged myself out of bed at about 0415. The birds began singing this morning outside my window at 0433, much earlier than the ones I heard yesterday. They sang as I got ready to go fishing, grabbing my gear out of the shed by flashlight. I left my house at just before 0600, got to the dock by 0630, and was on the very crowded boat in no time. The boat was the Captain Al out of Point Lookout, NY, an open party boat (as in open for anyone - not a charter). They were going out for Blackfish. Mmm, good I thought. If you have ever fished on the Captain Al then you know it has one speed on the water - slow. It's an old fishing boat, slower than just about any other in the area, but the crew always does their best to find fish, so I never mind the ride. Scheduled departure from the dock was 7 and we left promptly at right around then if not exactly then

My guess is that 1/2 hour to 45 minutes later we were fishing over a wreck a few miles offshore. I hooked one at the first spot, my guess is a 3 pounder. I was a happy fisherman. Got another at the 2nd or 3rd spot, but it was a short and back in the water it went. After that it was pretty much downhill for me for the next several hours. I caught about 4 Skates (small ray like fish, sort of looked like the first stage of the lifeform in the movie Alien), a Dogfish (kind of a shark), and a small Seabass (no size limit as far as I am aware, but I threw it back, too small at about 12 inches as far as i was concerned). No one was doing all that great, the fishing is not what it was when I was a kid, not by a long shot. It was a nice day though, really mild (in the high 60s ashore, probably in the high 50s to low 60s on the water), sunny clear skies, and virtually no wind - so the water was very calm. My only regret besides not catching more fish was that Brendan could not make the trip. Maybe that was good because there were so few fish;but then again I think he would have enjoyed it anyhow, and I missed him too. Oh well, next time - I hope; and maybe the fishing will be better. Still though, as we say: a bad day fishing beats a good day at work (unless I guess if you are a fisherman for a living).

I kept the Dogfish (if prepared right it tastes pretty good), and have two decent fillets from the Balckfish - so I guess there will be a fish fry on Sunday. Of course the fish will have to be just an appetizer since there is so little of it, but I imagine it will be scrumptious.

All the best,
Glenn B

Yeee Haa A New Gear Purchase...

...was made by me today. Just a day or two ago, I said I wanted one of these but just could not afford one. I gave my reasons like being low on cash, needing to find a few grand to pay to the tax man, just having paid for some expensive electrical work on the house, just having bought a bed for my son, just having put a new floor in my son's room, needing about two grand to have an oak tree cut down in my backyard. Yes the outlook for me buying the H&K p2000 SK was gloomy, and as a matter of fact it still is just as dismal. I don't think I will be getting one of them in the near future. But I did pick up a new piece of gear today despite my scant cash situation.

Last summer I fell down while on a fishing trip, and my big blubbering self landed on top of one of my fishing reels. I snapped the handle off. Since then I have tried to buy a replacement handle for it with absolutely no luck. The reel would probably last another 10 years (I have probably had it that long, maybe longer), but I just cannot find a handle for it. I was not figuring on getting a new one, but a few days ago I received a $10 coupon (good as cash) in the mail from Dick's Sporting Goods because of prior purchases I had made. I started thinking of what I could use that $10 on, anything from a brick of .22LR ammo, to a folding knife, to a box of trap/skeet shot, to a new reel. I figured I would save it until I went shopping at Dicks which I did not think would be for a month or more. Otherwise Brendan could have used it. Then yesterday I found an old Dick's gift card. I checked it and found it had a whopping $5.20 left on it, a small but nice surprise. I stuck the gift card and the coupon in my wallet.

Today I took a trip to my sister's house to visit her family and my mom who lives with them. The trip actually started out with me going to a few other places that took me somewhat east of where I live, and thereby closer to them. One thing led to another and I decided to visit them since I was getting closer and closer anyway. On my way to their place I passed a Dick's Sporting Goods and made a stop. While in there, I spied a fishing reel I liked, a spinning reel. Then I remembered the stash in my wallet. I took the reel to the counter and asked how much (in fact I took two of them, each basically the same model in different sizes). I liked the bigger one, but if it cost too much I would take the little one that was marked $24.99. When the cashier told me the bigger one was only $19.99, I took out the coupon, the gift card, and a total of $5.65 in cash and paid for it. No its not a fancy reel, not one of very high quality either, but a decent brand - Quantum (same brand as the other one that I had broken) and cost about the same as the other one did about 10 years ago. I am pretty sure it will hold up as good as the old one, and give me many seasons of good fishing (at least of good casting, I don't know if I'll catch anything).

This particular reel is a Quantum OP40F. I figure it to be a medium freshwater reel. Line capacity is 230 yards of 10 pound test; and I usually use 6 or 8 pound test, so it will hold plenty more of either of them. If I decide to use 10 or 12 pound for larger fish, it will hold more than enough of each. It has 4 stainless steel ball bearings, an aluminum spool, an extra graphite spool, and a front drag. Not quite the piece of hardware I blogged about a couple of days ago, but something I will put to very good use nonetheless.

If nothing else, my having this new reel will assure two things: Spring Fever will grab hold of me harder and earlier than usual; and if I don't get to use it, well then that will be because Brendan swiped it to use for himself. So right about now, just after I finish this rant, I am going to find a nice hiding place for it; somewhere in which I'll remember where to find it, but that he will be unlikely to look. Now where around the house do I need a job to get done?

Not a bad purchase for $5.65 cash, a gift card with a small remaining balance that I found by chance in my junk pile, and a $10 coupon I got in the mail. Sought of made my day, and while I am not often easy to please, I sure was today.

All the best,

Glenn B

Gander Mountain...

...sounds like a nice place to go hiking, hunting, bird watching, camping or whatever. The name brings to mind the songs of birds in the treetops, the wind rustling leaves, geese flying north for the season (or please spring hurry up), fresh - cold - clear streams running full of trout, a secluded mountaintop pond loaded with smallmouth bass, a 12 pointer watching from the edge of the woods - oh you get the picture. Well I was there yesterday out in the parking lot. No its not a mountain with its own parking lot, but was the Gander Mountain store in Middletown, NY. I had occasion to be in Middletown yesterday, and I stopped in at Gander Mountain to use the facilities when nature called. Of course once inside, I could not resist some window shopping - so to speak.

Gander Mountain has a lot of things that the outdoorsman type of sports enthusiast would like. They have everything from fly fishing gear to paintball guns; stuff like: firearms, ammunition, archery gear, hunting gear, fishing gear, boats, motors for boats, camping gear, hiking boots, outdoors clothing, and on and on. They even sold live bait, and when I saw that how could I resist buying some worms for my pet musk turtle! I think that was what did it, I grabbed a cup of worms, then I started grabbing targets, fishing lures, gun cleaning patches, silicone desiccant for my gun locker, outdoors sports magazines, and whatever else I could think of for which I had a need.

I don't get a chance to visit a store like this very often, one dedicated mostly to the sports of hunting/fishing/shooting/boating/camping. Yes there is a Dick's Sporting Goods close to where I live, but they have drifted more toward the likes of the MetroSportsman than to the traditional outdoors man what with there bicycle department, their weight training stuff, their running shoe department, and whatnot. Nothing bad about that, Dicks is a somewhat more generalized kind of sporting foods store. Gander Mountain is a bit more dedicated to the hunter/fisherman types. So all in all I liked my visit to Gander Mountain yesterday, it was a rare treat for me. In the past several years I have been to stores like Gander Mountain, and Cabelas (another more of a hunter/fisherman type store), and Bass Pro Shops (ditto) only about once per year. They are just not all that close to home for me to go to them any more often.

I find all of these places to be okay; but I have to say that I think I actually prefer Gander Mountain. Out of the three chains I just mentioned, I have been to Cabelas the most often. I have visited the one in PA near Allentown, and have been lucky enough to visit their main store in Nebraska (and maybe another one somewhere else, but I cannot remember for sure right now). I have not been all that impressed with Cabelas. Yes I was impresses by the great displays of museum quality animal mounts that they have throughout their stores, all in natural like settings, and I was impressed by the large aquariums full of native American freshwater fish they have; but the fact is I was nowhere near impressed by the selection of merchandise on their racks and shelves at either location that I visited. As a matter of fact I was quite disappointed on y first visit to Cabelas in PA. I was looking to buy ammunition, and figured to get some good prices on it. I also thought, maybe - just maybe - they would have some really good prices on used guns. Well I was wrong on both counts. Their ammunition shelves were almost bare relatively speaking. They were out of stock of ammunition in several calibers, and had very few brands to select from in other calibers. I thought this was possibly due to the fact that I was visiting them just after Christmas, but when I again visited the same store at another time of year - the same thing - and no it was not just after hunting season. As to the prices on used rifles, as far as I am concerned they could not have built a roof high enough for those prices not to have gone through. Oh well, I bought some stuff each time and was on my way, a not so happy camper. There store in Nebraska was a bit better stocked, but again no great selection of ammo in my opinion.

As for Bass pro Shops, I don't remember where I went to one of them, but I seem to recall they had what I needed for fishing; and I think they had other items too - like hunting stuff. I vaguely remember that it was a nicer experience that either of the Cabelas I visited; but nothing to write home about.

Gander Mountain stick in my mind a little better than Bass Pro Shops, maybe because I was to at least GM twice (I think I was also once at another location where I visited one a third time). Besides that, they seem to have better stocked shelves than did Cabelas. The Cabelas store in PA was, if I recall correctly, much bigger than the Gander Mountain in Middletown, so it should have been stocked better, but I don't think that was the case. For example when I looked at the ammunition supply that Gander Mountain had on hand yesterday, they had just about everything I could imagine the average shooter, and even the somewhat rabid gun enthusiast, in the USA would have a need for; and they had lots of it. There shelves did not have bare spaces as did those at Cabelas when I visited there. Instead, Gander Mountain had the boxes of ammo neatly stacked, row upon row upon row. Sadly though prices were nothing to be desired as far as I am concerned. Last time I bought .35 Remington ammo for my Marlin 336, I paid about per box I think it was $24 plus tax at Gander Mountain yesterday. Yes ammo prices have gone up, but not that much since I last bought that .35 Remington last August. As a matter of fact I bought that ammo for $13.97 a box plus shipping. Now while you may think shipping added considerably to that price, I do not believe it would have added more than what it cost me to drive about 180-185 miles round trip to get to Gander Mountain from my home; remember that gas is going for $3.25 to $3.50 a gallon for regular around here, and I get about 30MPG on the highway, but also do a good amount of that trip - about 60 miles in total - through a fairly congested urban area (is that a nice way to refer to the roads in and around NYC). Yes the prices seemed high at Gander Mountain. The thing is though, if you needed it, they likely had it.

While I decided against buying any ammo, I did pick up gun cleaning patches (expensive too but that is all over), targets, some fishing hook and lures, live bait (for the turtle - really), and some other odds and ends. I was thinking of maybe buying a used rifle there, but from what I could tell, they had no great deal on used rifles. As far as the new rifles and handguns went, I guess their prices seemed about average. Now while the atmosphere was much nicer at Gander Mountain than someplace like Walmarts, I am pretty sure I could have done better at Walmarts, and the closest Walmart to my home that sells firearms and ammo is nowhere nearly as far away as 90 miles (45 miles, maybe even 60, but not 90). Before I go to far afield off subject, let me get back to Gander Mountain. Yes the atmosphere at Gander Mountain was nice indeed, almost making it worth a trip just to shop there. The sales clerks were courteous and friendly, they knew there stock, and were eager (but not in your face eager) to help the customers.

All in all I guess it was worthwhile for me to have stopped inside. Of course had the prices been somewhat better, I would have wound up buying an lot more, and probably wound up getting a scornful look from the wife when the next credit card bill arrived in the mail. As it was I spent about $95, for what did not seem like about $40 worth of stuff; but then I am just past 1/2 a century old, and I remember when candy bars were a only nickel.

Happy Hunting,
Glenn B