4 lb. smallmouth, 5 lb. largemouth (1000 Isles)
I've been bass fishing for 40 yrs. now (I'm 52 at the time of this blog). I started fishing when I was 12. To be honest with you I had no clue what I was doing when I started bass fishing. (Nobody in my family fished) And, to make matters worse I had no money. But, I did what I could. I primarily fished from a row boat at our new house on Lake Wallenpaupack in the Pocono Mtns. of PA. I had one rod and one reel and that was a Zebco push-button reel. No, it didn't have Snoopy painted on it..ha. I fished primarily with the live bait I could dig up in the woods: worms, salamanders, bugs, etc. I never really caught anything big..mostly sunfish and an occasional bass off the dock. When I was in the row boat, I tied on the only lure I owned and that was a Chartreuse Beetle Spin Spinnerbait. Little did I know at the time, that Pickerel loved Chartreuse. Therefore, about 50% of the fish I caught were Pickerel (Pike Family).
When I got out of College in 1982 I finally had money to buy some decent bass equipment. My college fraternity roommate Kirk Zucal showed me how to fish for bass. I was amazed at his tackle box- at the time. It was bigger than the suitcase I owned. From 1982 to 1986 I think I read just about everything there was to read about bass fishing. I also attended any bass fishing seminar that came remotely close to my house. I remember dragging my poor wife to a weekend bass fishing seminar in Hershey, PA. She was a trooper to go along with me. I took a particular interest in the science of bass fishing and remember talking to Dr. Loren Hill about fish biology for hours. I bought my first bass boat in 1986. It was a Tracker FS180 Fiberglass bass boat. It was a terrible boat. It was grossly underpowered, it was a wet rough ride, it was constructed poorly, etc. But hey, it was mine and that's all I cared about.
I joined a local bass club (Peace Valley Bass Anglers) in the late '80s. I didn't win any money in my first year of the club but in my 2nd year I started winning some money. In my 3rd year of being a member of the club I won my first tournament on the Delaware River. I also won lunker fish awards on the Potomac River in addition to placing 2nd and 3rd at other Lakes: Hoptacong, Greenwood, Wallenpaupack, etc.
In the early 90s it was time to trade in my Tracker bass boat for a REAL Tournament Bass Boat. I bought a Ranger 461VS from my friend, and guide, Bill Albright. I also gave up on the local bass club tournament scene and decided to fish the Red Man Tournament Trail. There were only a couple decent fishermen in the local club and winning at the club level didn't mean much to me. It was like stealing money from a drunk at a bar..since most of the guys fishing these local bass clubs were drunks- I'm serious. The Red Man trail was an amateur trail and feeder to the B.A.S.S. Professional trail. Now, I was fishing North from the 1000 Islands, St. Lawrence River South to the Potomac River and everything in-between. I was also fishing with the BIG BOYS now. These guys were serious about bass fishing and most of the guys were trying to reach the next (Pro) level. It was a lot of money and a lot of travelling for me. I never used my boat in tournaments. I always went as a rider because it ensured my travelling partner (Bill Albright) the use of his boat for the tourney. I can't tell you how many bad boaters I was paired with which is why I never got "in the money". When I pre-fished with my friends I caught a lot of fish..that were BIG fish. (See photo above) When I fished the tourney with a boater (picked out of a hat) I caught fewer and smaller fish. I never really had fun on tournament day. I gave up tournament fishing and sold my boat because my parents sold their house on Lake Wallenpaupack- my home lake. I just burned-out of the tournament fishing scene...but I didn't burn-out of bass fishing..it was in my blood.
Oh, along the way, I got to meet some of the best Pros in Bass Fishing: Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli, etc. In fact, I befriended Mike Iaconelli and helped him put together one of his first Bass Fishing Seminars out in Harrisburg, PA. I also put together Mike Ike's website when he first started out on the B.A.S.S. tournament trail. Now, he has a professional doing his website and it's one of the best on the internet (in my opinion). And, that was BEFORE Mike Ike was a millionaire like he is today.
In the early 2000's, I bought my Hobie Outback Fishing Kayak and decided to start fishing locally. I fished Lake Nockamixon (now the Dead Sea) and the Delaware River (the Big D). I fell in love with the Big D. I don't think there was one trip where I got skunked- I always caught fish. I got my brother-in-law Matt hooked on bass fishing too. At first he was pretty bad. His technique was bad as well as his equipment. In recent years, he's gotten MUCH better. In fact, he may have outfished me a few times. Nothing wrong with that. The better he gets the better he'll force me to get.
This year we decided to build on my property on Lake Wallenpaupack. We had owned the lot for 20+ yrs. I figured if we weren't going to build anytime soon..we would never. The house is being built as I'm typing this blog. We hope it will be done this Summer..weather permitting. Now, I'm getting the bug to buy another boat. I'll probably buy something similar to my Ranger 461VS. I'm looking at a 2012 Skeeter ZX190. In fact, I think the Skeeter is selling less than the Ranger MSRP'd for back in the late 90's early 00's. And, that's equally equipped. Skeeter may not be up to par with Ranger but it's a good boat..much better than Tracker/Nitro. So, we'll see.
That's it for now. I'm getting excited to do more bass fishing this Summer...specifically SMALLIE FISHING out of my boat at the Pack and out of my kayak at the Big D. I'm hoping to get out to the Susquehanna River this Summer too for wade-fishing. I'll be sure to post a blog of my bass fishing trips and any tips I can pass along.
