Fishing Lessons I

West by East

(June 2012)

The entire time that Quoddy’s Run plied the coastal waters of Central America and Mexico, we refused to fish.  The skipper did not want fish blood and guts all over the deck, and we all thought it better to buy from or trade needed goods with local fishermen.  We did not like the attitude of many North American cruisers in the south, where fishing was just another way of getting something for nothing.

But now we have a boat repair debt and we’re hungry for protein.  Beans and rice and pasta can only take you so far, especially when it’s cold.  In Nanaimo, we asked the chandler to outfit us with Fishing 101 equipment—gear that would not be frightfully more dear than the value of the fish we might catch.  There it was then, a pole, a line, a reel, all bundled together, a real deal.  But then…

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They worked him

Record Striper Rejected by IGFA, Angler Loses Out on $1 Million

After an agonizing two-month wait, angler Rodney Ply finally learned that his fish is not worth a million dollars.

Ply’s rollercoaster fish ride began … well, two months ago when he pulled a freshwater striped bass that weighed more than 68 pounds from Bull Shoals Lake in Arkansas on Feb. 18. Ply’s fish was so large that it not only shattered the state record by more than four pounds, it also qualified for a $100,000 prize. Ply had entered Mustad Hook’s “Hook-a-Million” contest where state record fish qualified for a $100,000 winning, and $1 million for world record fish. Ply tried to have his fish weighed on a certified scale and verified by an official game and fish commission witness but his every attempt was met with rejection and or excuses (read the full story about Ply’s record striper). Failure to have the fish weighed and witnessed meant no state record and no shot at 100K.
With so much riding on his fish, Ply emailed an appeal to Arkansas Game and Fish Director Loren Hitchcock. The response Ply received was anything but helpful or professional. It read in part, “You seem to think I personally certified all previous records and it is my decision to vary from standards. It doesn’t work that way on my watch. You are misinformed. I’m not going to vary from written guidelines.” The only hope Ply had left at this point was left riding on whether his catch could be certified as a world record by the International Game and Fish Association. If the organization ruled in his favor he would still have a shot at Mustad Hook’s million-dollar prize.

Yesterday the IGFA informed Ply that while his fish is certainly large enough to take the new record it won’t be as the rig he used to catch it was “illegal.” The rig Ply used was of his own design and is considered an umbrella rig or Alabama lure.

The following email excerpt sent to Mr. Ply by Jack Vitek, World Records Coordinator for the IGFA explains: “After significant review by our Rules Committee, we consider your lure to be a spreader bar arrangement. IGFA Equipment Regulations state: ‘spreader bars are permitted to be used provided that the actual fishing line is attached to the snap or other release device, either directly or with some other material.’ Since the angler’s line is not attached to a release device so that the hook could be disengaged from the lure arrangement, this lure violated IGFA equipment rules for spreader bars.”

Ply said he will appeal this fateful million dollar decision.

What do you think? Is Ply getting hosed or does the IGFA have a good point? Comment below!

 

Hood River

Hood River, Ore., may best be known as a world-class windsurfing destination, but with bronze-backed smallies, silver salmon, and gold-medal rivers, the surrounding Columbia River Gorge offers a virtual Olympics of angling. To help you qualify for a spot in the games, we’re providing this multispecies map.

 

Feels good to be back after a week. Beautiful hot sunny day, dragonflies chasing one another, bluegill are out on a frenzy as usual, and we all know that lunker im for searching for is definetly wearing his poker face. Hope everyone is having a fishy Friday and stay tuned, I’m be posting my stringer later.

 

Beware

The government of Guangxi region’s Liuzhou is asking people to hunt the alien South American species, which badly bit two people earlier in the week who were paddling in the Liujiang River, the China Daily said. A southern Chinese city is on the alert for piranhas after two people were attacked in a river, and is offering a 1,000 yuan ($160) reward for every fish caught, dead or alive, state media reported on Thursday.

According to the story, Chinese officials have gone to a full court press to catch the piranhas, which they suspect were introduced into the river by people who originally bought them as ornamental fish.

 

Fishless

Got a late start this morning, headed out around 10am with intentions of landing a lunker largemouth today, instead I was annoyed by starving baby blue gill nibbling away at my senko worm. So I thought hey try a night crawler. After going through about 8 or 9 without being able to hook one I then switched over to a top water lure. After not getting one good bite I decided to wrap things until later this week, time for work. Until next time…..fish on

 

Congradulations

Congradulations to Brent Chapman who will turn 40 in early July. That’s a milestone he didn’t want to celebrate without having ticked the box next to a top career goal: a Bassmaster Elite Series win.

Well, Chapman got his early birthday present after coming back from 11th place to post a four-day winning weight of 83 pounds, 9 ounces in the Toledo Bend Battle this past weekend. He had a margin of victory of 4 pounds, 4 ounces over Cliff Pace of Petal, Miss., who tallied 79-5 for second place.

“I feel awesome,” said Chapman. “This is one more check-off on the list of my goals.”His Elite win was not only worth $100,000, but he earned enough points to take over the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year points race and a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic.

 

Prayers from Lured

The Bass Federation (TBF) and the entire fishing world mourns the loss of division championship angler Lorenzo Magdaleno, 51, from Lake Placid, Fl. Magdaleno was pronounced dead by Florida officials on Friday, June 8, after a bolt of lightning apparently struck Magdaleno and his boat partner, Mike Hardin of Tennessee, while fishing shortly after noon prior to the final day weigh-in of the TBF Southern Division Championship on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee.

Magdaleno was a veteran angler and a member of the Florida Bass Federation and the Homestead Hawg Hunters club for more than a decade.