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I am calling on all fellow fisherman and outdoorsman to help a very worthy cause. I am organizing a Trash Cleanup along the banks of the Susquehanna River in the area below the Brunner’s Island Power Plant on March 21st 2009.

The Susquehanna River is the longest flowing river in the East and along its long journey, it picks up way too much unnatural trash and deposits it along its banks. The area that we are cleaning is a “catch all” for this debris, and is nothing short of an eye sore and a real shame that anyone has to look at it.

Please help this worthy cause and bring the whole family and your friends. Even if you don’t use this area, we need your help!!

LOCATION: South End Gut RD Near Saginaw PA
DATE: March 21st 8:00am – 4:00 PM

WHAT TO BRING:

• Work Clothes
• Waterproof Shoes
• Work Gloves
• Bagged Lunch

Remember We ALL LIVE

Welcome Aboard!  Winter-time blade bait fishing is probably as old as fishing with artificial lures and there is definitely not another type of artificial lure as consistent at catching all species of fish in the frigid late fall and winter water temperatures. In fact the current Maryland tidal water largemouth record was caught last winter (2007) by Justin and Ed Riley using a blade bait on the Potomac River. Have I got your attention yet?

While fishing a blade bait (known by many as a silver buddy, which was one of the first and original makers of today’s style blade baits) SLOWwwwww, is many times the key. This retrieve works very well for the cold weather conditions but I promise however cold it is, once you feel the heavy weight of a good quality largemouth bass on the end of your blade bait your blood will immediately start to flow and the fight will be on.

The Retrieve: There are three popular

Every year on the Susquehanna (and other Mid-Atlantic rivers) something happens that gets fisherman excited. Smallmouth begin to chase migrating shad, and will attack baits with reckless abandon. While many baits will catch fish, nothing does it better than a hard jerkbait.

The Right Jerkbait

One of my long-time favorites is the Lucky Craft Pointer series. Normally I have my clients throw the bigger sized baits like the 100 size, in ghost minnow, chartreuse shad, or all chartreuse. When the fish move into deeper areas this bait is hard to beat, and will catch some of the biggest fish of the year. Another bait that has done well since its introduction is the 10 pound X-Rap from Rapala. My favorite colors include, mossback shiner, blue silver, and glass ghost. This is a great bait that suspends well, and at times is preferred over any other bait.

A new bait that is quickly becoming my go to bait is the

A map is a critical tool to use before traveling to any body of water. It is just as important while you’re on the water as it is to you while you’re off the water. Maps allow you to locate marinas, navigational hazards, damns, jetties, creeks. The list can go on and on. The amount of information a map can provide is limitless as well as priceless.

Applying the basic seasonal movements of bass to these maps will allow you to find fish and acquire confidence long before you head to the lake. I like to associate different color markers with different seasons of the year. This will help you understand the seasonal movements of bass to any particular body of water you may be fishing.

My marker color choices that help me keep it simple are as follows:

• Spring/Fall-Red
• Summer/Winter-Blue
• Transition Areas-Black

We all know the basic seasonal movements of bass. The warmer spring temperatures bring bass out of there

I wanted to pass on some pictures and say thanks for the service and blogs on the website. As a result of reading George's blog on Lake Erie I put to use some of his lure selections and rigging options to land some of the fish in the pictures while fishing with Elite Series Pro Matt Sphar. Also I read about Koto Kirayama's winning bait in the Erie tournament this year and was happy to see you guys carried it in the store, the Cross Tail Shad which is a variation of the Crazy Ninja Worm...After landing my 8th fish on the bait, Matt Sphar said, "alright you've sold me on those I'm gonna have to get me a couple bags of them". Thanks again for your service, selection and articles online... Much appreciated!

Welcome Aboard! The fall pattern has started, it is in the early stages but the pattern should become much more consistent next week, as the bass get a chance to adjust and settle into the cooler water temps. We are using the deps Mini Bro spinnerbait in the chartreuse color and the new ima Rock N Vibe lipless crankbait in the fire tiger color to locate the fish on the move during the moving tide. The Roumba is still getting some good quality bass when the topwater bite is on especially in the early morning hours. The outside grassbed edges seem to be best close to the deeper water and also the main points leading into the creeks. When the tide is not moving or extremely high we are targeting the wood with the Zappu Inchi Wacky jighead, rigged with a 4 inch finesse worm. The spinnerbait and Rock N Vibe are working great on the rip- rap shorelines and points also.

As always we are applying scent to all of our baits about every 25 cast’s.

Thanks & Good Fishing,

There is only one thing better than knowing a quality person, friend and talented Pro Fisherman, and that is when that person is on your Pro-Staff as well! Saturday, September 13th was the final day weigh-in for the Walmart FLW series at Lake Champlain and Tournament Pro and SFT Pro-staffer Pete Gluszek landed in second with a four day total of 73 lb. and 1 oz. bringing in $46,488! Pete lead the tournament the first three days, but couldn't quite hold that first spot when winner Chip Harrison brought in a monster bag of 21 lb. 6 oz. on the last day. Never the less Pete, who won a Stren Series Tournament on Lake Champlain in 2006, once again proved his ability to catch fish in changing conditions.

Most of his success came from his ability to target largemouths and smallmouths in areas that he could switch back and forth as feeding patterns changed between the two species. He knew this would be critical in keeping the bite going throughout the day as well as being able to change

One of the most important things to remember when fishing for shallow smallmouth bass is to be always be prepared with a follow-up bait. Often times I find that when using spinnerbaits or jerkbaits the bass will track your baits to the boat and turn off at the last second. This is probably one of the most exciting aspects of fishing, followed of course by a frustrating letdown.

The Real Key to Success

If you want to stop this cycle from hindering your catch, then it’s time to embrace the follow-up bait. I like to have a spinning rod rigged with light line and some type of soft plastic. I position this rod across the front of my bow up by the trolling motor. I keep it there so I can access it immediately when I see a bass tracking my baits.

Typically, I usually use a tube for this application, But had a fellow tournament angler clue me in on using the Gary Yamamoto 4” Senco so I put

Recently I had the privilege of fishing the PVA bass tour as a Boat Captain. What an extraordinary event. What makes America the greatest country on earth is it’s willingness to give and volunteer, Entire family’s with teenage kids showed up and did whatever was needed to assist with the event. This country may have finally learned from history , and is paying it’s dept of Honor to it’s veterans. Being an ex Paratrooper I can tell you it’s a calling and only ask to not be forgotten.

Rods… Why buy high end rods is the subject of this blog, and for the purpose of this article I’m talking about Flipping , pitching and spinning rods and any technique that requires you to pull the trigger.  GLoomis IMX and GLX are by far the most sensitive rods you can buy that are readily accessible, a major factor in rod purchase. My Flipping, pitching and spinning rods are very personal items. When I’m standing on point on my Z21 Ranger,

When the 08’ Elite schedule was released I gave it a look and instantly knew that if I could have my pick, the Erie event is the one I would fish. Well as luck would have it I got a call from Joe Horvath (my Skeeter rep), telling me of a slot for a co-angler in the Erie Elite about three weeks prior to the event. Joe didn’t get a chance to ask if I’d be interested, I replied, when do I leave. Having fished Erie for the last several years I knew I didn’t need to “think about”.

 A three week lead time didn’t give me a lot of time to prepare so I got right to it. First was a call to my good friend and Elite angler Rick Ash. Rick and I would practice together the day before the event. Even as a co-angler practice is important for several reasons. First and foremost it helped get me dialed in to bait choice. Second it let me get the feel for fishing deep (up to 40’) again as most of my fishing is done very shallow in heavy