Hiking the Cohutta Wilderness, and the Conasauga River.

Take a drive and head on over to North Georgia. Why? To hike into the Blue ridge Mountains. This is exactly what myself and a friend accomplished Marched 22 - 28th 2010.

Cohutta Wilderness

We began our drive on Monday morning March 22nd, 2010 about 7:30am. Not a long drive, only 426 miles, we took out time and made a few stops along the way. Coffee was going right thru us......the day was gray and cloudy, and as we passed thru Knoxville, TN. we saw it was snowing, this actually made us excited to get on the mountain(Cahutta Mountain).....and that's what it was doing as we drove up the pass to the trail head, snow, snow, snow. It was so awesome, we would begin our hike in while it was snowing all around us.

The trails are steep and rocky, but not a bad hike at all. We started at the Hickory Trail Head, which is accessed by FS road 630 in Crandall, Georgia. It is a beautiful place to go. The river is awesome, clear, clean in that area.....this was early spring so plants and animals where just getting out...trees were not turning green yet.....so awesome to be in that area.

Trout Fishing

This was why we went. For the trout. I had been doing some reading and thought we would find out if it was as good as we expected. I am gonna just say that the fishing was hard, and we did not do well. Those native trout are shy and skittish. But I am not convinced there are a whole lot in there. I mean, it's not a stocked fishery, but I expected at this time of year a lot more action, let me just say we did more fishing that catching,......but that's ok and that's the way it goes sometimes....but it's a beautiful river and the area is awesome....I just don't think there a huge numbers of trout there....we did our better fishing as we traveled up stream, closer to the head waters....

The Cahutta wilderness inside the Chattahoochee National Forest is a great place to go hike and camp. But we noticed a lack of respect for this place by other visitors. There was a lot of small trash left by others. Not a welcome site in a place like this....You might read that this place is hard to get into. But that is just not true. Lots of trails, and easy access. I say go visit, take a hike and you will be in heaven. Just do us all a favor and and pick up the trash you see. please. This is what we did, and others should do it as well.....

Easter and things to do.

Now the sun is starting to heat up the sea for real and I can start fishing with lighter gear and get my boat back to it`s right element. With the warmer weather my fishing horizon expands and I`ll be having more hours to fish sinch the daylight soon last 24 hours a day. 
The picture above is from last years easter, one day off the mountain fishing for seatrout somewhere on hammarøya, (Hammer-island). a bit north of Bodoe. Now I have one week off from work, it`s easter again, char is swimming under the freshwater ice, mountains dressed with snow, skiing, flyfishing for seatrout, and my boat need some attention before use. Cannot reach over everything but I`ll do whatever I can to get the most out of this days.

Occationally there has been reports about catch and observations of seabass in the waters outside of Bodø, specially a bit south of Bodø. In the south of Norway it`s common for some anglers to search for this fish and they do catch some. For me this is exciting and I like the thought about beeing one of the lucky anglers that catches one. In my cold waters I think it would be almost impossible, but in theese days I`ll start fishing for seatrout from the shore, with flies and lures. This fishing often leads to some great fights with coalfish or cod, but if I focus my fishing for seatrout closer to open water it might be a greater chance to catch a bass by coincidence. I can also learn to fish some spots that I`ve never fished before, seatrout is to be found everywhere and nowhere.
Check out this trailer, a norwegian bassfishing film.
I`ve been following Henry Gilbeys Website and blog, reading about bassfishing. The subject is really exciting and I need to experience this sometime. Untill I get the chance to do this I will continue to learn about the fish and the methods so I will be as ready as I can.

The 2010 Shad run has started

So I was dying all weekend to go out to the first island for some togs. I was checking out the water temps online and was pretty sure they would be biting. My hunch was confirmed when I got the call from Jimmy telling me it was ON! I heard Kevin in the back ground... "where ya at Rob?!?!" It was killing me. I promised the wife that I would do the family thing this weekend. We went to the aquarium and yes, I did enjoy that. However, the rest of the time, I just couldn't get the togs out of my mind. I was constantly scheming of a way to get out on Sunday. But to no avail, I ended up back in Richmond without my tog fix. So I decided to get out on the James for a couple of hours and see if the shad were in yet. They are. It's just starting, so it wasn't on fire like it will be in a couple of weeks. I caught 4 in about 2 hrs. And they are fun, too. Especially on the flyrod. They call them "poor man's tarpon".



The togs however are still calling my name.

Soon....

Just another day!

No fish to day, seems like the sea is empty for me.
This is my big bait sliding rig, I have prowns and some herring together on a 1,0 mustad stainles hook.

This weekend the world champinship in cod fishing went off in lofoten. This is an annual event that is known in several parts of the world. Anglers comes from all over to claime the titel as world champion. This year the biggest fish were cought by a norwegian from Kristiansand, Great fishing, a 36lbs northeast-atlantic cod really saved the day for Michael Røme.

      

This is not a new rod design, it is the result of too much pounch when casting. This fishingtrip lasted only for a couple of hours. Monday it`s right back to the store for this rod. I cannot accept this, the DAM super natural lightweight surf rod is by my opinion supposed to handle this kind of casting, I did not even cast with the maximum weight for this rod. I might be better off with a 13" slim beastmaster from shimano those rods can really handle the pressure, and they are cheap.  

Sandhornøya, eastside-fjord

Saturday morning I prepeared my car for fishing. Main target was the sea ice in a place called Gildeskål. So I packed my bait, the icedrill, and some rods for this use and I hit the road. I hooked up with my friend Markus when I came to the sea, and together we came to the conclusion that the ice was not safe to walk on. One week ago I was on this ice and fished safetly but all the snow we have had the last week isolated the ice so the saltwater could work its way through the ice and make it softer. Fortunately we had been in advance and packed some rods and gear for shorefishing. In one week we have had about 40 to 70 cm of snow, so we drove for 2 hours looking for a suitable place to fish, and park the car, with no 4wd it`s tricky to park and not getting stuck in the snow.

Sometimes I just have to use what I can get, hopeless as it seems. If there is sea there is always fish. We fought our way througth the snow and rigged some rods with baits and jigs. Allways checking the dephts with a jig on a new spot, that way I can also create a picture of what kind of bottom I`m fishing, sand, mud or rocks. This is vital information for how I rig the bait, fish the jig, or the lure.

Markus was the hero of the day with this cod, 2lbs back to the sea, cought on an easy sliding rig with herring. This weekend the sea was not giving anything away that easy, we fished for hours but the fish was not interested.

Sunday morning I hit the road again, this time I wanted to try out more shallow waters, so I went over to my favourite halibut-spot. Walking in over 2 feet of snow for about 1,5 kilometers to get to the sea really made me realise that I could be in the need for some more physical activity, I needed a two minute break before I could begin rigging the gear. I casted out a sliding rig with a big herringbait as far as I could and activated the baitrunner on my great shimano reel and then I fished the bottom and in the surface with jigs and lures, and then nothing, for five hours I went on fishing, changing baits several times. Neighter lures or jigs was interesting for the fish, no hits.    


The last few weeks the snow has been poring down at us, I should have been in the slopes this weekend, but since there has been little or no fishing lately I needed this trip to the shorelines in my backyard.
If you never have taken a walk at the shores in conditions like this then I strongly recommend it.

No need for fancy tripods in this conditions.

Trout Fishing Techniques

Trout Fishing Techniques
By Aaron Guhl Platinum Quality Author
Aaron Guhl
Level: Platinum

Aaron Guhl is an Internet Marketer who specializes in writing quality content for websites. He was born and raised in Rochester, NY and works as ...



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Angling for trout will always be a really pleasurable fishing experience. Hopefully, with most of these trout fishing tricks, you'll be in a position to reel in many greater trout. There happen to be numerous distinct kinds of trout, but for the reasons regarding this particular page, the kinds we shall end up being interested with will be Rainbow, Cutthroat, Bull, and Brown Trout. All of these kinds of trout are really identical throughout terms of exactly how they will act, just what lakes and rivers they are usually noticed in and what you are going to want to be able to catch all of them.

While fishing for trout, size will be absolutely an item that can not end up being pushed aside. Recommendations relating to size are generally to typically proceed using scaled-down tackle. When trout bite, it really is important that you can sense bite which often is exactly what a light-weight rod will offer you. Any good five foot light rod as well as a lightweight spinning reel spooled together with light line running through 6 to ten pounds is a good beginning. You are going to end up being stunned at the dimensions of the particular trout a person can easily reel in with a set up like this.

When you tend to be a wading angler in a stream, garments play a large part in supporting one obtain nibbles. When you are donning brighter colorations which stand out from any natural environment, trout can certainly recognize that. It can be usually ideal that in the event that people usually are going to wade inside the stream while fishing for trout, make an effort to fuse directly into your surroundings as best as possible by wearing bland hues. You really don't require just about any fancy camouflage, sometimes something as basic as a dark brown t-shirt will function as effectively.

It is also crucial for you to spend awareness to the odor you put off. Trout usually tend to be put off by any strange fragrances in the region and they have got very keen senses. The critical factors of it tend to be to just always be aware of the odor of your own hands and wrists. The scent that can be found on your own hands may rub off on your own lures while dealing with them and this can be discovered by trout. When your fishing lure doesn't smell like a meal to the trout, in that case the trout will not strike. 1 very simple trout angling suggestion would be to rub your own hands in grass, weeds or even mud to add a normal smell on to your hands.

Trout tend to be a quite intelligent type of fish around. One rule which can't possibly be stressed enough will be the display of your lure. No matter what variety of lure you work with, you need to be able to offer it to the trout in an attractive and natural manner. Utilizing realistic swimming tackle with lifelike motion is one of the sole best procedures to acquiring extra strikes whenever angling for trout.

You may be guaranteed for you to receive additional bites when you actually implement all these trout fishing tips the following time you are out there fishing. In fact, the more the catches the better, right?

Aaron is a pastime fisherman who enjoys writing about the leisure sport of fishing. He fishes mostly freshwater in lakes and rivers. Aaron looks to help others improve their fishing experiences by writing tips and techniques for freshwater fishing. To read more of his articles visit: Freshwater Fishing Lures.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Guhl

Fishing Article

I ran across this article and thought it was such a good read I had to a it to my blog, info is at the bottom of this blog.




Hundreds of thousands of sports fishers enjoy fishing-oriented events, competitions, and fishing expeditions designed for all levels - from novices to well-seasoned game fishermen. The perfect practice for people who love being outdoors in nature, enjoy quiet solitude or building close relationships with a few friends, and thrive on the challenge of learning the skills needed to attract, catch, and land the ever-evasive fish.

Opportunities to Learn Sport Fishing Basics

Anglers (who use a hook to fish) and other fishermen at all skill levels have a variety of ways to learn their craft. While many fishers learn the sport by first-hand trial and error experience, fishing schools are a great way to learn the basic techniques, whether you're interested in game fishing, fly fishing, ice fishing, or rock fishing. Fishing guides not only teach you how to get the best results, but they show you where you can find the fish you're after. Joining a group of more experienced fishers or a fishing charter tour will help you learn from the more experienced while you enjoy a group fishing adventure. You can even pick up tips and techniques when you visit boat shows!

No matter how your learn, you're sports fishing education should include techniques for:

- Knots
- Wire Twists
- Hooks
- Tackle Maintenance
- Wind-on Leaders
- Crimps
- Splices
- Building Riggs
- Angling techniques
- Learning basic equipment

Popular Sport Fishing Spots

In the United States, locations people choose for sports fishing depend on the type of experience they want and the species of fish they want to catch. Inland freshwater fishing, where sports fishers enjoy casting, working with exotic lures, and gathering the food for a great fish fry, is best in cool-weather climates. But warm-water streams, rivers, and lakes also offer abundant rewards.

Inland freshwater fishing offers good eating species like trout, bass, catfish, crappie, minnows, sunfishes, and carp. Among many popular inland locations for sports fishing are:
- Chattooga River near Clayton, South Carolina
- Owens River near Mammoth Lakes, California
- Jacks River near Knoxville, Tennessee
- Mountain streams at Slate Run, Pennsylvania
- Deerfield River near Charlemont, Massachusetts
- Conasaugua and Jacks Rivers near Crandall, Georgia
- Cranberry River near Richwood, West Virginia
- Upper Connecticut River near Pittsburgh, New Hampshire
- North Branch of the Potomac River near Bloomington, Maryland
- South Platte River near Denver, Colorado
- Lake Eufaula near Eufaula, Oklahoma
- Great Lakes

American sport fishers who want to stay in the States and enjoy the challenges of saltwater fishing find great spots in harbors and on coastlines as well as out in deep ocean waters. Just a few of many popular locations for game fishing, where sports fishers seek the bigger, faster adversary include:
- Cape Cod, Cape Ann and Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
- Charters from Atlantic City, New Jersey
- Long Island, New York
- Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
- Albemarle Sound, Cape Fear, and Cape Lookout, North Carolina
- Middle Chesapeake Bay
- Charleston Harbor and Winyah Bay, South Carolina
- Apalachee Bay and Apalachicola Bay to Cape San Blas, Florida
- East Cape To Naples Bay, Florida
- St Joseph, St Andrew and Choctawhatchee Bays, Florida
- Tampa Bay to Crystal River, Florida
- Mouth of the Mississippi River, near Venice, Louisiana
- Corpus Christi, Texas
- Matagorda Island to Aranasas Pass, San Antonio Bay, Texas
- Matagorda to Aransas Pass, Carlos Bay to Redfish Bay Texas
- Mississippi Sound to Cat Island Lake Borgne, Mississippi
- Laguna Madre, Texas
- Channel Islands, California
- Baja California, Pacific Side
- Mission Bay and San Diego Bay, California
- Santa Catalina, San Clemente Islands, California
- Alaska Coastline, anywhere
- Hawaii Coastline, anywhere

Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii are among the most popular game fishing locations internationally. And sports fishing can be found near any major international port and near mature reef systems. For sports fishers who want to get experience outside the United States, just a few of many popular locations include:
- Caribbean Islands
- Offshore Mexico, particularly Baja California
- Eastern Coastline of Australia
- Costa Rica
- Egypt
- Samoa
- Tahiti

Abhishek is an avid Fishing enthusiast and he has got some great Fishing Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 116 Pages Ebook, "Fishing Mastery!" from his website http://www.Fishing-Masters.com/772/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abhishek_Agarwal

Great Article

“Surfing around the web this week I was thinking a lot about other articles on spring fishing (some issue in my niche) and I found an interesting article that talked about it. It was rather informative and made me realize how this article is in fact important and worthy of attention. I’ve pasted this article below for you to check out yourself. It is simliar in content to a post I wrote last week but with more info. So I thought I would post it here for you all to read.





Early Spring Fishing
By Scott Patton of Bluegrass Lures

With the winter chills beginning to thaw, and longer daylight hours which in the fishing world we call it the photo light period of the day. It creates longer sun exposure . This is what begins to warm the earth's atmosphere and to warm at a slower pace the water temps as well. This photo light period is what makes the natural world start its change out of the dormant winter habits.

Next we will have to look at the currents warming and cold fronts to decide where the bass may be. One thing for certain they are triggered to move by instinct and the photo light period, to begin their way to the spawning grounds. The current weather tells us what techniques will be the best for catching.

Some of the first places that I start my search is by locating where a main river or a major creek will swing away from a steep bank or rock wall. These type of places allow the fish easy access to deeper water, or a shallower flat depending on the current weather, and the main area on this bluff or steep bank (deepest portion) is where the bass world have spent its winter. Now remember that this pattern will work the same in major creeks and no only on the main lake.

Some of the lures that will be effective at this time of year are a flipping or casting jig, jerk bait, a rattle trap and also a spinner bait.

You will be using the current weather to help you decide on what stage the bass will be at. It its been warm for a few days look for the fish with a jerk bait right on the edge of the drop into the deeper water. Use your electronics to help you find that main decline in depth, this is where the fish will normally hold also look for stumps or brush piles buried by crappie fishermen. Fish will also suspend right over the cover, moving up to absorb the heat generated by the sun. Keep in mind that these fish are cold blooded and a few degree change in water temp can mean a lot. A jerk bait is an ideal bait because you can get it down into striking range of the fish and it is a lure that you will want to fish with a jerk, jerk, and then pause the bait, this bait if you bought or weighted your own will suspend at the depth and will stay in the strike zone longer enabling these sluggish fish a better chance to take the lure.

Another lure that I like to fish early in the year is a rattle trap. This lure is awesome at this time of year. I like to find a long tapering point that extends out into the lake that has a river or major creek swinging next to it. I'll look for stumps or a gravel and rocky bottom. Once its been warm for a week or so this is a great place to catch not one but a lot of big fish. I'll be casting into 5 to 6 foot depths and working the bait back to the boat which could be in 20 ft. of water. The fish can be any where on the flat so keep the bait down next to the bottom and work it slow all the way back to the boat. You can also hop the lure back to the boat working it like a jig.

Now with the spinner bait I will fish it in both of the previous areas, but it is also an excellent bait to slow roll along creek channel edges when you have rock and wood together. I use a new spinner bait that I designed call the diamond back. It has a built in rattle chamber into the blade, combine this with the flash off the blades and the bass can't stand watching it go by. With the jig I will fish it after I have located my fish in any of the previous places that we just spoke of. One thing with the jig, I fish it slow and I will use a fish attractant and the only one that I have used that I know works is Carolina Lunker Sauce, it smells like the natural thing and most important it will stay on your bait for about half an hour. With most attractants they wash off in only a couple of casts.

Scott Patton has fished on the ESPN B.A.S.S. and or the FLW tour for over 12 years and has been fishing tournament for over 20 years he has been a guide for eight years, and is sponsored by St. Croix Rods and Reels, ZOOM, Rattle Trap and BLUEGRASS LURES, and Costa Del Mar Sunglasses.

www.fishin.com/articles/2004/spring.htm

New Arrival

Surf Casting rods up to 15ft

Cheap and lasting rods

Tidal James success

A couple friends have been wanting to join me on the tidal James and try for the big blues. So I picked a day and let them know. It was cold and rainy, but sometimes... that makes for some good fishing! Two of the guys that followed me didn't have the appropriate cold rain gear so they took off after an hour on the water. That left three of us on the water. First to hook up was me.

36lb Blue Catfish

I had another one at around 10lbs (not photo worthy).

Thom hooked up next with this 32lb 38" Big Blue.

T'was good times.

On the way back to the ramp I spied this beauty.

New arrival!!

Pre Spawn Bass Fishing

I have been asked, "What is your favorite time of year to get out and hit the Bass?",
more times than I can remember. The answer for me at this stage of the game is, Pre-Spawn.
Now this term can mean different things to different people. To me it means when the water
begins to warm up in March in my neck of the woods until they actually spawn.

So what's going on at this time that makes it better for me? Well, all winter the bass
have been holding deep. The cold weather forced the shad and other bait fish to move shallow
in the fall and winter months. The bass follow and that is where they staged through most of
the winter. Deep. The shad and other bait fish school up as normal at this time of year and
the bass don't have to do much work since things don't move much in this cold water, around
here the water is in they low forties, 41 degrees, or so......

Now at the end of February or mid March the days are getting longer and we should start to
get a warm up. The water temps will start to tick up, and all it takes for the bass in these
lakes, ponds and streams, to get moving is this upward water temp change of just a few degrees.
They will at this point, begin to stage in other areas for some heavy feeding. You have to think
they have been laying low the last few months and are a bit hungry at this point.They are
gonna chase the bait fish up into the shallows were the water has warmed, probably sit on a
shelf of some kind. Now when then move to this staging area, they will have another option to
feed on, and that would be the crayfish....

So when they are in this stage I like to use a crank bait and I am really into jigs. A jig
and pig combo always works this time of year, just think slow presentation. I have also been
using a lot of creature baits lately. I love all the new soft baits they have been coming up with
recently.

This is a very simple way of looking at what is going on in the pre spawn stage. But it is the
beginning of some good action and for me I seem to always hit my big ones pre spawn. Before
the females lay their eggs and go deep to get some rest. I say get out there now, go fish.

More cats

A new fishing buddy Justin Mayer came up to Richmond from the tidewater area to give it a shot at the big cats. It wasn't the most productive day, but at least he beat his personal record.

Oh, and in case you didn't know already...

Das Wasser steigt

Schön langsam steigt an der Donau das Wasser wieder, nach einem langen Winter in dem der Pegel auf mehr als 2m unter Normal fiel. Kaum Fische waren in dieser Zeit unterhalb des Kratwerkes zu finden, und die wenigen die nicht mit dem Wasser flussabwärts gezogen sind, waren von den Kormoranen wohl höchst eingeschüchtert.

Vorbei die knochenharte Zeit der Langzeitschneiderei !!!! *Muhahaha*

Gestern war ich zwei Stunderl am Wasser, und konnte eine spürbare Besserung im Beissverhalten der Fische erkennen.

Der Erste biss kam auf einen eher flott geführten "Big Lungo" von Gutjahr. Guter Einschlag beim beschleunigen des Köders, eine rasante Flucht von ein paar metern, und schon hing die Schnur wieder durch :-(

Beim kontrollieren des Köders zeigte dieser keinerlei Bissspuren, womit klar war, dass wohl ein besserer Donauschiad abgekommen war.

Ärger kam trotzdem keiner auf, viel zu froh war ich darüber, die Schiade endlich wieder Aktiv zu wissen.

Motiviert fischte ich weiter, und hatte auch schon am nächsten Spot wieder einen Biss.

Der 60er Hecht kämpfte nett, sprang sogar einmal halbherzig.

Wie beim letzten Hecht war ein 6er Saltshaker in "Mahimahi" der erfolgbringende Gummi.

Nächster Wurf, gleiche Stelle, es genehmigt sich ein fast gleich großer Esox den selben Gufi !!!!

Foto gibts leider keins, da sich die Cam beim Anschlag in den Steinwurf verabschiedete,.......

Längere Bergungsarbeiten waren nötig um die Kamera aus der engen Lücke zwischen den großen Steinen hervorzukitzeln....

Sehr zufrieden ging ich zum Auto, wo ich noch ein paar Würfe machte.

Ein hauchzarter Anfasser, ein paar Kurbelumdrehungen Später und der erste Zander des Jahres war auch abgehakt.

Echt noch ein Baby, aber schon ordentlich gierig :-))

SUR-fishing wünscht all jenen, deren Saison auch bald anfängt, ein DICKES PetriHeil 2010 !!!!!

New Waders To Be Tested

I just got a new pair of Waist Hi Waders from Dick's sporting goods. I am gonna take these waders into the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia this month March 22nd - the 28th. These are made by Caddis Systems CA12909W. Hope they perform well. I am not gonna leave my other waders at home which are my 3ply Chest high boot foot waders, those are really heavy, but I want a backup if I need them.....I have about 4 or 5 new products I will be testing and then I will give a full review when I get back from this trip.