A Passing Breed

I have been blessed to know a few of the type fisherman which seem to need little but a platform to fish from.  I always aspired to be one of those who produce consistently.  The passing breed are the ones who know that they do not need all the latest and greatest gadgets to produce.

You know the ones I speak of, the salty ones who kinda poo poo the thought of yet another type of faster sonar, the type who is still using the same line his dad used (some form of Trilene), the guy who knows what a flat fish is better than a flicker shad.  What makes anglers like these so capable?  Could it really be just lots of practice and patience. 

Even better yet as quoted from my friend and associate (smart ass or angler not really sure at times ) " fish the bite grasshopper."  Fishing when the species targeted is at its best are generally easier to catch.  This type of data takes a life time to accumulate and another one to understand how it all fits together.  This is the stuff the sonar and gps, or even that last issue of your favorite magazine can not provide.  Neither is it easy to google.  This is the type of doing and ________  input we gather over a lifetime.  Its the discussions of how we actually did something and not the smoke or the leftout detail.  

Simple is an opportunity to focus on the fish. I have learned that this is why I like to fish spoons so much, simple as it gets and fish love em too.

Check out this year's new PK Predator for panfish and all species. Shiney simple and will soon be a classic.

Sunrise

Anticipating, what is in store for a day, the fact that it is all fresh, new and clean as promised. The wonder of all this creation is truly amazing, as some in the family call it the universe. 

As a fisherman, I always visualize what is underwater to create an understanding. I wish, we as a society could all go slow enough to be curious about this creation (ourselves and nature). 

"I Saw A Yellow Leaf"

I have a buddy named Jeff who loves to snap spoons in front of fish. One day while talking with him I asked, "How do you decide when to start spooning for fish?"  His reply was, as soon as I see a yellow leaf. I have been paying attention to this for some years and it corresponds to a pretty dandy bite. I always went with its August, time to start checking if the fish will respond with vigor.  My way to decide is now the same as his.  I saw a yellow leaf. 

This is the true beginning of fall fishing for me, when everything that swims responds well to spoons. I have challenged myself for years to fish with spoons instead of plastics in all situations.  Some work out better than others, but it is possible to produce fish for fish with folks using plastics if you will challenge yourself to try.

There is a reason I sell PK spoons, I believe in them and how they fish.  On a recent trip the Kokanee's loved the PK Panics with me switching out the hooks to Trokar Trebles once again produced so well I had no need to test against other products.  We had doubles, triples and just a blast vertically jigging these fish.

The walleyes will respond to the spoons and blade baits as soon as we have our first real cold front. Start small, the younger bait fish stress before the others. 

   

If you live in an area with or without Shad as a bait fish, the late afternoon bite on sandy shore lines facing south is a great bet to check for predators of all types as the bait of the year will converge in the last of the warm water of the year.

On a personal note, I have a quote for my kids as they were growing up, "We Can DO Hard Things,"  mainly as a way to say I know it is hard you can do it.  I would like to share as of this reading I will have been off of tobacco for 12 weeks.  I am tired of hearing myself tell myself  " We Can DO Hard Things."  Thanks to God and  those who have supported and prayed for my success with this.  It is getting better, now to just get past the craziness the Wellbutrin has caused and determine what I have left of a brain after 40 years of pumping it up with a neural stimulant. Nothing like a little self induced brain damage. 

Give It Back!

This is a write up from a recent trip. I have been blessed to be able to earn an income while fishing  for a living. I have had many a cool trips with cool folks, but this one rises  to the top. It involves a neighbor whom has devoted himself to helping the hearing impaired ( his Son is disabled  in this way). I had no idea how empowering, receiving direction and converting it to success was for folks.

This is written by my neighbor Bud, "Imagine a world that is silent.... all the time.... and the many opportunities that are just beyond your reach. Ahhh now imagine you have the opportunity to go fishing on a beautiful lake with a premier fishing guide.  Could it really be possible?  Enter Steve Gerber one of Colorado's very best fishing guides.  A great guide who's patience and skills make anyone comfortable.  Steve likes to focus on helping those with disabilities or special needs. 

On a recent trip Steve Guided Quintin Greenfield who is deaf but by no means inhibited when it comes to catching lake trout.  Quintin caught his limit that day. See the attached photos for the results.  His fishing buddy is Bud who also volunteered as his interpreter.  They had a blast! By the way sign language is the best language to use when fishing.

Book a trip with Steve.  If you need an interpreter he'll try to accomidate. If you don't want to use an interpreter he'll still work with you.  The bottom line is you will have fun, see some amazing scenary and catch some fish."

All I can say is thanks Quintin for showing me another area where fishing brings joy to another. Yes I do love to share this with the youth and those whom we would  consider disabled. These anglers always seem to show me something new and from a fresh perspective. 

Grand county fishing, stevegfishing.com, fishingwithbernie.com,steve.gerber, fishing guide.

Why?

Why?  Why do we fish?

Because it is a way to ____________.

I do it because it is ____ and I can __________ with folks.

Because they are ______________ to eat.

Just a little fun for this week as the fishing has been tough, up where I fish any how. 

Smart Phone vs Sonar

Do you use a smart phone more than a sonar unit? I am proud to say I use a s________onar more than smart phone.  Although sometimes I think it is more important to know where or who is climbing aboard for a fishing day than where the fish are. It also helps my wife know where I am, do you get an invitation from your wife on your phone to attend a gathering?  This is an efficient way to get in front of me when I am not looking down at the sonar.  The sonar helps me figure the next move while fishing, the Phone guides me to the next event or the next endeavor.

Sonars are great, I use Lowrance HDS 10 and an older LCX 111CHD.  I love em both for what they are.  I have a buddy with a Hummingbird 823, I am learning this unit as well as it will be fished over also.  I have another  fishing buddy in Texas who states this is what happened to fishing it only takes money now, anybody can find fish if they use a unit and learn it.  He is an older gentlemen who just loves to fish and has been around to see the evolution of our sport, some is good and some is bad. I think this is just like the smart phone and my love/hate ( sometimes I could just throw it in the lake ) relationship with it. 

Now on to some funner stuff like being excited for fall and the change of fishing styles and the fish putting on the feed bag for winter.  My all time funnest bite is crappie in Texas, the declining lilly pad, the 24" - 30" ones hold lots of mature crappie ambushing minnow and the last hatch of shad for the year as the water warms each day.  This is target fishing.  Micro targets as sometimes it is only a stalk that is holding a fish. My favorite and now I let the cat out of the bag is PK Predator with its blade and ability to change the view of it 80 or so percent with only moving the target half the length of the lure which is only an inch long. The crappie have loved this on a 8' 6" fly rod and old Eagle Claw Trail Master that stays down there just for this bite.  I just hook it on 6# mono and drop or should I say plunk it 8" to 18" under the surface and 1' or so away from the target and twitch, don't watch the stalk watch the target.  The crappie make a sweeping bite at it and they just seem to appear.

Now for some local fare, the Kokanee will be schooling soon and already are at Blue Mesa.  If you have not tried spooning for salmon try it with Robby Richardson of Sportfish Colorado www.sportfishcolorado.com.  It is a fast and furious bite at times and really unique opportunity to fish a different way.  The Kokanee in Grand County are always fun and there are so many ways to catch em and places, more to come on that as the bite develops.  The lakers will start to spawn as the color changes on the leaves, it is awesome to be in a boat, to be quiet and hear elk bugle.  Plan some time or times to get to the hills and enjoy the changing season the evening temps are already droping and I am lowering the old motor just in case a freeze surprises us.

 FYI, Bernie with FishingwithBernie will be on large fish right up to the spawn and right after if you want some adventure and stamina fishing for plus 20# fish consider it. Sometimes using a snow shovel in a boat on a big fish day is a blast.

Size Doesn't Matter

Oh heck I missed a week, I am trying to figure out how to write about "Size Doesn't Matter."  What brings this to mind is a fellow I watched catching fish before I headed out on a charter on Grand Lake in Grand County, Colorado. 

This fellow was doing what I often do while traveling, grabbing some alone/quiet time in the early morning and fishing the local fare. Mind you he is up and at it at 5:30 a.m. on a board walk area, a few folks walking and enjoying the first breaths of a new day.  I don't start my trips until at least 6:00 a.m. I love this time of day and being in the boat or just outside to experience how nature is waking on a given day ( This is my "Be Still and Know I Am" time). 

Ok now to the size doesn't matter and the fellow fishing from the board walk. I was testing some fish I had spotted in the area to see if they would give me a bite for the clients who were to fish that day. I watched this fellow of more years than I fish with a crappie rig or it was one of those Eagle Claw two aberdeen hook tree rigs and worms hooked on each under a bobber. 

He would cast it 10' to 12'  let it sit and the stocker rainbows were eating it up.  These fish were 7"-10," he caught at least 3 - 4 in the 15 minutes I was there watching.  He noticed I had not seemed to be enjoying the same success as him and graciously offered all the intel for which I could succeed and enjoy the bite he had dialed in. 

I am telling you he was on cloud nine and the size of these fish did not matter "Size Doesn't Matter."  It was the fact he was catching them and he could share this joy with another.  Remember its 5:30 a.m. and its quiet.  He is sharing his info at a loud voice and others have stopped to watch him catch a few, you could observe these folks smile as they experienced his excitement and joy.  

Oh and by the way the fish I was checking would not bite for me.  He was king for the day.  I share this kind of stuff about fishing and my experiences with it as a means for all of us to remember the times and the joys of this craft, sport or gift of extracting a creature from the depths of our mind and the environment in which they swim. 

Please share the joy, use your mind to preserve and give our sport a future.  Take a kid fishing or just help the other guy find success and the joy of fishing.

stevegfishing.com, fishingwithbernie.com, Lake Granby, fishing Grand County, fins.com, pklures.com, Williams Fork Reservoir