Continuation of Journal 12 10-18-23
Mountains 7-7 to 7-21
Sat. day 1. 20 pan fish off dock.
day 2. 2 pike, 6 bass, 3 jack perch, 2 rock bass, all on shiners.
day 3. am. lead core. Nothing.
1 perch. 17 inch bass.
day 4. am. 1 pike. 21 inches.
2 rock bass. 2 perch. 2 bass. 14 and 17 inches.
day 5. am. 1 perch.
day 6. 1 bass. 1 pike
day 7. 2 pike. One 33 inch length. 20 inch girth. Shiners.
Sunday am. 7-15-10 9:20
Were into day nine of fourteen, at the Huth camp on Kiwassa. For the first week we had Sue, Katie, Sandy, Fia, Mom, Dad and myself. For the second week just Mom, Dad and myself.
I did not plan to catch and freeze fish, as things have been slow up here the last two years. But I’ve been pleased to land and clean more fish than I can keep track of.
Shiners have been the ticket, but lead core and crawlers have worked as well. We’ve caught several beautiful bass, five twenty two inch pike, and several jack perch. Also a few sunnies and rockies.
One pike had a dime size tumor on its jaw. I cut the tumor off and threw the fish back.
Dad has caught three of the pike, and several bass and perch.
Yesterday I landed two pike. The larger one was 33 inches long, with a 20 inch girth. I took it up by Hildi’s on Kiwassa. It dove at boatside several times. It hardly fit in the net.This is the largest fish I’ve ever landed. The bait was a small shiner.
I replaced the rig I lost in Florida with a rod and reel from Justin. Perfect for saltwater, and large fresh water species. A large open face with 20 pound test line, on a medium weight ugly stick. Just the ticket.
Oh, we’ve been drifting, or rowing slowly with shiners off the bottom.
Shiners are expensive. 6 dollars a dozen. However, I asked Mr. Tuttle up in Bloomingdale for two dozen, and he gave us fifty or more, for no extra money. God bless Mr.Tuttle.
Thursday 7-19-01
Only two days left. The fishing has been fantastic. I caught a huge pike, and lots of bass. I went perching up the Saranac River, and caught 15 keeper perch in one and a half hours.
Mom’s friend Gerilynn rolled into camp as I was about to leaves for the stumps above the locks. I had her jump into boat clothes, and we took off. We used worm – spinner combos.
Judy sent some lures, and a lucky fishing hat. And a note wishing me the best fishing ever. And it certainly has been. She said the hat would be awarded to the person who caught the biggest fish, and who told the biggest story.
7-22-01
I went up the river, the Saranac, to my secret perching spot, a second time. This time alone. I caught my 15 keepers and got back to camp an hour earlier than I expected.
The sunnies, and a lesser extent the perch, swallow the #4 hooks. I tried a 1/0, but it was too big. What is hook size between a #4 and a #10?
I could be more selective in my panfishing, keeping only the larger ones. But when they swallow the hook, they most often die. So I keep smaller ones.
In order to claim the lucky hat, one has to catch the best fish, and tell the best fish story. My fish stories will be the best too.
Fish story #1
Note that the hat has a fake fish sewn into it. It looks like fish is growing out of the head of the person who wears the hat.
So I said, “it was raining cats and dogs. Cats and dogs and fish. Raining like I never saw it rain before. In fact an eleven inch brook trout impaled itself through my skull.
Fish story # 2
Now here is my second fish story. I was out fishing with my pike pole. And I hooked into a big one. Why it was so big that when I cleaned it, it had a full grown white tail buck in its tummy. Well I put the fillets in the freezer and went out to fish again. But this time I used the big bucks seventeen point antlers for bait.
Well, I hooked the biggest devil of a fish that a man ever did see. Maybe three or four miles long. I got that ole devil of a fish into the boat, and it’s flopping around like crazy. So I reached for my pike billy and gave it a good smack on the head. Well it starts a’flopping even worse than before.
And just then the Heavens parted. A bright light shown down. A big hand with a finger extended from Heaven pointed right at me. Then I heard a voice like thunder. it said “MICHAEL, YOU’RE TELLING FISHING STORIES AGAIN!!”
July 2001
We went to the woodsmen’s show in Tupper Lake. I think the firewood business looks interesting. However it would take $50,000 to get started.
The new muzzle loader I bought is an inline by Traditions. Made in Spain. State of the art. I’m going to et it up for extreme accuracy. This means pyrodex pellets instead of powder, belted bullets, and a good sight. I will use see through scope rings, if feasible, with fiber optic open sights, for close range work.
The gun has a muzzle break, and a nickel barrel. I’ll have to tone down the shiny barrel with a gun sleeve or bluing. I’m going to set up my two muzzle loaders is such a way that one possible bag will serve for either. The new inline take either no. 11’s, musket caps, or 209 primers. Both guns will be set up for musket caps. I’m still figuring this one out.
8-22-01
I tested the new in-line this last Sunday. I could not get acceptable groupings. In fact, I could not get the bullets in to a two foot square from fifty feet away.
I just sent it back to Cabelas in exchange for a rolling block with a scope. This second gun looks to be of better quality. The first gun I ordered, by Traditions, was cheaply made. The trigger mechanism was white metal. The clip that held the barrel into the fore arm was flimsy. I hope the gun coming next is of better quality.
The Traditions gun had a muzzle break on it. This is a set of holes drilled into the end of the barrel. This would mean that pryrodex pellets are necessary. Pyrodex pellets are twice the cost of powder. Also, belted bullets are fifty cents apiece. Ballets, conicals, cost a dime. round balls cost a nickel.
I talked to Mary Cartwright about permission to hunt her property. Permission granted.
I also dropped in on Mr. Mehlenbacher and his new wife. There was no opening to ask for hunting permission.
However I talked to Michael Gallo on the phone last night. He gave me permission to hunt his land near Varysburg.
I sent my doe permit application today. I asked for units 8m and 9h.
Field Notes
The next notebook begins here. At the time this was written I was sitting on the conservation council for the Town of Amherst. I took it upon myself to begin field observations within the parks, with their lakes and streams, within the Town of Amherst. I noted bird species, reptiles and amphibians, and mammalian life. Crustaceans as well. I always carried my fishing poles, to census fish life within all the water ways.
3-20-10 Field Notes
I checked several Amherst ponds today. My first stop was the three ponds by Geico at Crossppint. The first two were still under ice. There are lots of geese, everywhere. They are pairing off for the nesting season, and obviously annoyed with my being there. There was one 13 inch, winter killed bass. There were vultures overhead. I could not tell how deep this water was.
Dann Lake:
There was a pair of mallards on the pond, and migratory V’s flying overhead. Wood ducks flew by, as I cast a dare devil for northerns.
I heard peepers for the first time this spring.
There was musk rat damage around all the ponds. And there is a four wheeler rut along the shore of Dann Lake.
There was a significant winter kill of small sunnies around the shore. Two to three inches. Also a dead 6 inch red ear sunfish, and a dead bullhead. I saw one small aquatic snail.
The deep end was readily fishable. I hooked two nice northern. 19 and 22 inches. They were fat for their length, with excellent color. One pair of sea gulls circled overhead. Redwing blackbirds were singing, and I found beaver chewings, for the first time. A cardinal was singing and there were crayfish burrows in the bank.
There was a thick mat of rotting seaweed, just under the surface, in the shallow areas.
Two other groups showed up. Young fathers with toddlers. The kids were more interested in sloshing through puddles than fishing. Neither party stayed long. I broke off a vintage Mepps Aquila on a branch still frozen in the remaining ice over.
Pond by the compost facility.
A flock of robins greeted me at the compost facility. Two red tail hawks circled overhead.
There were dozens of large, 4-5 inch crayfish, dead, in the grass around the pond. All the grass around the pond was flattened by the geese. There were three dead snakes, together, by the pond shore, and one dead frog. A lot of musk rat damage around the pond. It was good to hear a song sparrow sing.
Field Observations Sunday 4-03-11
Checking out the ponds by Geico. Geese were everywhere. No fish. A used syringe. At Dann Lake I was checked on by DEC officer Michael Phelps. I found a used drug pipe here, too. I hooked two small pike, landed one. One swirl, one follow. Later in the afternoon the beaver and muskrats came out. An osprey flew over. I was there from 2:30 to 7:00 pm.
I visited Nature View Park. There have been four wheelers illegally running back there.
4-05-11
Today we stocked trout in Clarence Town Park, and in Ellicott Creek at Mill Street in Williamsville. We used hearty rainbows, 5-10 inches long from the Caledonia State hatchery. 400 in Clarence, and 1200 fish in Ellicott Creek.
4-10-11 Field Observations Ellicott Creek at Mill St.
The parking lot by the dam was full, Fishermen I presume. I did not get down into the creek there. rather, I went down to the mother house to try there. There were two men with whom I entered conversation. They reported having caught some steel head and some stockers. Taking me to their favorite spot, on the golf course, they caught one trout and one 16 inch Northern.
I decided to check out the bridge, where we stocked. On the way there, I met two young brothers. They had done well that evening, having caught steel head, rainbow stockers, bass, sunnies, and perch. Having kept some sunnies and perch for dinner,and in good spirits, they walked with me down to the stream, to show me their exact technique. It was simple. Worms and small split shot, drifted across riffles, and through holes.
As darkness approached, I hiked past the orchard, up to the parking lot. There were six deer on the far side of the meadow.
5-01-11 Field Observations Dann Lake 3-5:00pm.
Cloudy and rainy.
Mallards
Blue Heron
Green Heron
Red Wing Blackbird
2” green leopard frogs
Deer prints
Dog-coyote prints
One hen turkey
2 other fishing parties. One group caught one crappie, two pike, some sunnies. The second caught seven pike, 14 to 24 inches.
Seaweed and algae beginning to bloom.
Cardinals, redwings, and peepers singing.
ACAC Field Observations 5-5-11 6:30pm. Dann Lake
Swallows
First hatch of tiny flies.
Bull frog in reeds
Burrowing crayfish
Noisy Geese
Turtles in pond
Large fish jumping
One small pike landed on a ¼ oz. daredevil. I’m wondering if these small pike might be pickerel.
