Fish with JD

This will make you sick to your stomach!

JD — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:53:21 +0000

Walleye: West Coast Style!

JD — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:09:49 +0000

Now, if they only would pull a little string...

Though he spends most of his time chasing chrome winter steelhead and big wild Chinook along the coast of Northern California and has made many forays into exotic destinations for all sorts of big game, guide Tony Sepulveda is quite the “Midwest” species aficionado. Crappie, yellow perch, pickerel…you name it…and he’s into it.

And that’s especially true when it comes to ol’ marble eyes! Tony’s such a walleye junkie that, even on a busman’s holiday to the Columbia River recently, he took time out from chasing spring Chinook to try his hand at the river’s prolific ‘eye fishery.

“I’ve never been so excited in my life to catch something that fought so little,” he says of this gorgeous 12-pound walleye he hooked on a crawler harness with a chartreuse Mack’s Blade from just below John Day Dam. “It fought like a big, wet sock…I’m not sure what my fascination is with those things is, but I dig ‘em!”

Wet sock or not, that’s one heck of a West Coast walleye! That should put a little more spin in any Midwestern angler’s Lindy Rig!

Incoming!

JD — Mon, 14 May 2012 04:39:05 +0000

Heads up!!!

BC Steelhead…I wanna go!

JD — Thu, 10 May 2012 06:02:29 +0000

As they often do in the springtime, my thoughts have been turning to British Columbia steelhead lately…man, I need a fix!

Woah! How about a World Record, 84-pound Carp!

JD — Wed, 09 May 2012 05:10:08 +0000

Is it a carp or a legless hog??

British angler Jo Green caught and released this massive, 84-pound carp in France and the fish is now the all tackle women’s world record for the species.

She and husband Mike were on vacation fishing when the beast slurped up the bait. While Mike says it would have been fun to catch the giant carp, he’s okay with the way things went down:

“Although I would like to have caught it,” he says, “it makes my life a lot easier because she is happy!” Smart man!

Read more about the monster here: The Sun

Catch a trout in Oregon & win $1 Million! (Okay, so maybe it’s not quite that simple, but…)

JD — Tue, 08 May 2012 05:13:15 +0000

Could catching this trout be life-changing??

Imagine how cool it would be to tell folks at cocktail parties that you made your million in trout fishing…

Well, that’s possible if you catch a certain tagged trout in Oregon that’s worth a million bucks! Crane Prairie Reservoir in Deschutes County and Dexter and Blue River Reservoirs in Lane County have been selected as Oregon’s representatives in the “Wanna Go Fishing for Millions” contest sponsored by Cabela’s, the Outdoor Channel and fish and wildlife agencies from 19 states.

The contest started May 5 and continues through July 8. Participants must register on-line at www.cabelas.com/fishformillions to be eligible for prizes.
Each of the participating water bodies have been stocked with eight to 15 trout tagged with a small “spaghetti” tag. The lucky anglers who catch these fish can claim their prizes by entering the tag number and other information on the Cabela’s website.

This is the second year Oregon has participated in the Wanna Go Fishing for Millions contest. Last year, tagged fish were placed in Henry Hagg and Detroit lakes and over 7,000 Oregon anglers participated in the contest. Seventeen anglers caught a tagged fish.

For ODFW, the contest is one more way to encourage families to get outside and go fishing, said Rhine Messmer, ODFW Recreational Fisheries Program manager.

This year, prizes include Ranger boats, Costa sunglasses, Rapala fishing tackle, Abu Garcia rods and reels, Cabela’s gift cards and, of course, up to $1 million in cash for one very lucky angler.

In addition to the chance to win prizes, anglers also have a chance to score a great day of fishing.
According to Brett Hodgson, ODFW fish biologist in Bend, fishing on Crane Prairie Reservoir has been on the upswing the last couple of years.

“We’ve made some changes in our stocking program, such as different stocks and bigger fish, that are starting to pay off,” he said. “Last weekend trout fishing was very good.”

Blue River Reservoir is in the McKenzie Recreational area and offers plenty of bank access in a picturesque setting.
And at Dexter Reservoir, about 20 miles east of Eugene, there’s plenty of access to good fishing thanks to a causeway that bisects the lake and a large fishing platform.

“It’s a great place to fish from, and to catch fish,” said Jeff Ziller, fish biologist in Springfield. “Who knows, maybe even a million dollar fish.”

All three locations are regularly stocked by ODFW and should provide great fishing well into the summer.

Monday Morning Getaway: Where the heck is this??

JD — Mon, 07 May 2012 02:48:15 +0000

Anybody been here??

I can assure you, I’d much rather be here many a day than in front of the computer! Can you guess where this is? Hint: I call it the “Kauai of the North” and especially like to be there (rod in hand) in oh, say…late August through early October.

Give me your best guess as to where this photo was taken…Click on the Facebook link in the top right column of the homepage to see the answer.

One tough little Striper!

JD — Sat, 05 May 2012 13:23:44 +0000

Talk about tough! We recently caught this shaker striper on the Sacramento River. As he came over the rail, I noticed that he’d been hooked before…

This worm hook was protruding from his abdominal cavity but…get this…the eye of the hook was still inside.

The only thing I can figure is the fish munched a soft plastic bait in the past and ended up breaking off. Amazingly, he was in the process of passing the very large and very sharp hook but it apparently hit a tight corner somewhere in his plumbing and started migrating through the abdominal wall.

Considering the little striper was still aggressively feeding, he was obviously no worse for wear. We, of course, removed the hook before sending him back on his way. Man, fish are amazing!

Name that Fish: I Honestly Have No Clue Edition

JD — Thu, 03 May 2012 03:32:47 +0000

Whatever it is...it's damn ugly!'

Okay, so here’s a special edition of Name that Fish! It comes from our buds over at Adien James Lures and I can honestly say that I have no frigging idea what this beast is.

It was taken on a Senko in Northern California’s Hennessey Lake…anybody have a clue what it is? It’s clearly not a sucker, carp or squawfish, but beyond that, I’m not sure…

Seven foot catfish drags anglers’ boat a mile before being subdued!

JD — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:44:48 +0000

Nto your average catfish! This massive, 218-pound, 7-foot, 8-inch wels catfish (hooked in the River Po in Italy) gave three German anglers all the fight they could handle as it dragged them downstream a mile, where they landed it and hour later!

Of the epic battle, guide Stefan Seuss said this:

“It was the hardest fight from a catfish I have ever witnessed…” Duh!

Read the whole story here: The Sun