Author: Guide

The line between catching fish and not catching fish is remarkably fine,this line is more prevalently fine when fishing for bass. There is art to catching any fish, especially with black bass. Maybe the art is the same with all freshwater fish but there is no doubt that there is more emphasis put on catching black bass than any other freshwater fish in this part of the country.

Through reading, learning, and hours on the water you can balance yourself on this line so that you consistently catch bass. Initially learning the seasonal patterns and migrations of bass and then on to learning how bass react to the many weather variations. Billions of pages of information could be written to try and explain all of the patterns and how bass relate to weather. What is funny is that some of the best bass fishermen in the world admit to totally understanding very few of these pages. Their performances portray a seemingly total understanding of all of the pages and at times their comprehension seems to exceed these pages. When learning an art such as bass fishing the more that you learn seems to reveal the fact of what you do not know. I break down all of the different techniques, weather conditions, patterns, etc. into individual levels or lines. The lines run from left to right with the left being the simplest form of that subject. Your learning does not always begin here but for most bass fishermen who seek the complete knowledge their learning backs up to the left to where they master the basics of each “line”. The more you learn the further to the right your knowledge carries you on the “line”, however the line is infinite to the right.

This line can also be equated to the line I referred to earlier which is the “fine line” between catching fish and not catching fish. If you deviate from the line you get away from the correct knowledge that lies along this line and suffer the consequences of not catching fish. Getting into the “flow” of Mother Nature can help steer you down this line. Becoming more environmentally conscious when on the water like making sure you leave nothing behind from a day of fishing, increase your awareness by listening to the rhythm of nature(the birds, insects, etc.), and developing a deeper appreciation for the outdoors. These three bits of information would be found way on the left of the “in the flow” line, some of the simplest starting points of this level.

This line level system is a simple way to look at the knowledge that you amass through your fishing experiences. There is no limit to the number of levels in your system and you can label them anything you like. My system goes unwritten but this is the way I perceive the knowledge I have attained throughout my fishing career. Remember there is always another level and one little experience or bit of knowledge can get you to another level where you can advance your understanding of that level information.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Anxiously awaiting the first tournament of the 96-97 B.A.S.S. Central Division season on the Arkansas River reminds me of my first B.A.S.S. event. My first event was this same tournament last year on the Arkansas River and what a rough one it was.

My traveling partner and I had located an area full of bass in practice. Quality fish where I felt that I could get an easy limit each day. In a three day tournament a limit a day has got to be your number one goal. Well one draw back to these fish were that they were 65 miles from the tournament headquarters and there were two locks on the river that I would have to lock through to get there. Each lock takes approximately 30 minutes. So I was looking at two hours of travel time one way. As rumor had it many of the fishermen made the run and had success with the limited fishing time on the unpressured fishing areas that were so far away.

I intended to make the run if my partner did not win the toss. Once you meet your partner you have to flip a coin to see who’s boat you take and also to see who’s fish that you go to first. My first day partner was from New Jersey and he was willing to make the run. We left in our flight and started our long run. Two locks and two hours later we pulled into my area. I quickly get the trolling motor down and start fishing. I made a few cast and eased up to a big laydown. I made a cast down each side of the tree and let the spinnerbait fall as it reached the end of the log. No fish, so I picked another target and cast. My partner is flipping a jig and flips into the same laydown I had just fished and sets the hook. A three and a half pounder comes to the boat and into his livewell it went. First of all I was amazed that the fish had not hit my spinnerbait because I know that fish had just seen it and secondly this guy was catching my fish. We fished our way around and this guy catches two more quality fish on the jig fishing behind me, used water. I come off of my game plan and put the spinnerbait down and tie on the exact jig he is throwing.

I pull up to a big tree top in the water on the edge of the bank. I have good position on it so I make about ten casts into every little nook and cranny. No fish, so I pick another target and cast. This “guy” flips in there and sets the hook. A solid fish is in the tree tangled up and dangling under a branch. I get on the trolling motor and crash into the tree trying to knock the fish off, just kidding, trying to get into the tree far enough so that I could reach it. I did and he has four solid fish in his livewell. I back off of the tree that I had just crashed into, banged into all of the branches, and even ran the trolling motor all over and figure I had better make a couple of casts into anyway. I make several flips and feel there are no more fish in it or that if there is they are so spooked that they won’t bite and then I flipped to another tree. My partner flips in there and sets the hook. It’s another three pounder and my mind is now totally gone. I was a FISHING FRUITCAKE from that point on. I somehow managed to catch a keeper fish to keep from blanking that day before we had to head back, but that was totally by mistake because I was in la la land kicking rocks with a fat lip.

Day two and three went about the same and I ended up way…. way back in the standings. It took me a while before I could analyze the tournament and see what all I had learned. One thing I had learned was how to get waxed by your partner on your own fish. But looking back now it is kind of a humorous memory. Maybe I could have been a little more tuned in and a little more aware and the outcome would have been better for me.

Well I will be there the third week of this month and with the knowledge of what not to do and with a little luck maybe I will come out on top.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

This time every year people everywhere are making resolutions for the new year. We say that we are going to cut back on our spending, spend more time with family, slow down and enjoy life more, and the list goes on and on.

I have been guilty of making resolutions for the new year and not following through with them. Sometimes the goals and resolutions that we set are unreasonable and difficult to follow through with.

However, just the thought of analyzing ourselves once a year and making some simple changes is very constructive.

One change could improve the lives of thousands of youngsters in our society. That change is to take a young person fishing. There are too many youngsters out there in our society who have never experienced a fishing trip. For example, take the children and teenagers who live deep in the heart of some of the big cities around the state and country. We become critics and wonder why some of them cannot stay out of trouble.

Well many of these kids have never spent time in the outdoors. They have never had a real experience with Mother Nature and they are missing something.

Young people have an overwhelming instinct to be interested. They encounter many things these days and have many options when it comes to developing interests.

We can easily tap into this interest by occasionally taking young people out fishing. Give them a new experience that will develop an interest and hopefully be a positive influence.

When I started college in 1989 1 was meeting all different kinds of people from all over the state and country. Many of my fellow classmates had never been fishing. I didn’t know what to think of this, I thought that everybody fished, especially men.

This is when I realized how fortunate I was to have a dad who would take me fishing on weekends. But you don’t have to be a dad to take someone fishing. My interest would have developed for fishing and the outdoors if my mom, uncle, grandam, or any other adult would have taken me.

It doesn’t have to be a big expensive ordeal to take a young person fishing. ~I remember the times we would leave the boat at home and fish off of Mr. Adens pier on Johnson’s Bluff. As a kid, I probably had just as much fun doing that as I did going in the big boat. Remember that young people enjoy simple things, they don’t have to be impressed to be entertained.

Fishing develops patience, character, and an understanding and respect for the environment.

Well, fishing is not the solution for everything but it is no doubt a positive influence on youngsters. So when you are making those New Year resolutions think about a young person around you and plan on taking them fishing.

Fishing is allowed in designated areas of all the marinas around Lake Conroe and also from Lake Conroe Park on FM 105.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

Black Bass:
The lake is just over two feet low and the water temperature has been in the mid to upper eighties for the last few weeks. All through June the bass were aggressive except during the week that the lake level fell over a foot. Buzzbaits, crankbaits, and crawworms have all been exceptionally productive on shallow bass. Most of the bass on Livingston are in one to five foot of water. Believe it or not on some of the hottest days you will pull solid keepers in less than two feet of water. Concentrating on shallow cover is the key; stumps, laydowns, rocks, and reeds(toolies).

White Bass:
Good limits of white bass have been coming off of the 190 roadbed, 190 flats, mainlake points, and Pine Island. Jigging 3/4 oz Cobra Jigging Spoons has been one of the hottest producers all summer. Stripers have also been mixed in with the whites quite often and will also hit the Cobras. The birds will give away the schooling activity most of the time but if they are not schooling graph the humps and ridges and find schools of whites close to the bottom on the top of the structures in 14-25 feet of water.

Catfish:
Plenty of catfish have been caught early in the mornings around the bulkheads especially after a good rain. Night crawlers, shad, chicken liver, shrimp, or prepared dough baits will usually do the trick. Later in the day head to a creek channel or the main river channel and fish deeper through the hot hours.

Crappie:
Crappie have been pretty good around marina boat docks and standing timber in 10-20 feet of water. Minnows and crappie jigs have been responsible for most of these fish. Crappie jigs in black/chart., black/blue, and pink/white have been working. Remember through the hot months that the crappie will suspend so figure out how many turns off of the bottom that they are.

Bill Cannan Professional Fishing Guide – Lake Mohave

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ATHENS, Texas — Just as April showers bring May flowers, summer rains may produce lots of big bass, come winter.

The 19th Budweiser ShareLunker season begins Oct. 1 and continues through April 30, and program coordinator David Campbell anticipates a good year. “Many lakes caught a lot of water this summer, and that produces more habitat for fish to spawn. Plus, when the lakes remain full for a longer period of time, the spawning areas are more accessible to anglers, and they catch more big fish,” Campbell said.

Anglers who catch largemouth bass 13 pounds or more from October through April are encouraged to enter the fish into the ShareLunker program. Offspring of the lunkers are stocked into public waters in Texas in an effort to improve the quality of fishing in the state. Anglers receive a replica of their fish by Lake Fork Taxidermy and other prizes and may donate the fish to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or have it returned to them after spawning.

Anglers wishing to enter a big bass in the program may call Campbell at (903) 681-0550 any time, day or night, to arrange to have a fish picked up. Or they may page him at (888) 784-0600 and leave a phone number including area code. TPWD personnel will attempt to retrieve the fish within 12 hours. Information about caring for fish before the TPWD pickup can be found on the ShareLunker Web site (http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fish/infish/hatchery/tffc/sharelunker.htm). Most marinas also have this information. – Lake Mohave

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation board has voted to recommend acceptance of the Jasper County bid to host a new East Texas freshwater fish hatchery for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The TPWD Commission must still approve the foundation recommendation at the commission’s Nov. 3 meeting.

The Jasper County proposal was valued at approximately $28 million over 50 years, more than $4 million higher than the next highest bidder. It offered the largest land area at 200 acres. And it was also the only hatchery proposal that would require almost no water pumping, because water could be delivered primarily by gravity flow at reduced cost. The site topography is flat and suitable for hatchery ponds, and it will be cleared at no cost to TPWD. Jasper County officials say a bass fishing tournament took place recently at a new pavilion near the site, attracting an estimated 18,000 visitors and competitors.

The Jasper County proposal would locate the new hatchery near the Sam Rayburn Reservoir dam on property owned by Temple-Inland. The site is currently a managed forest logging operation.

Other partner offerings in the Jasper County proposal include help to provide water and financial support from the Lower Neches Valley Authority, assistance with road construction from the Texas Department of Transportation, and additional support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Jasper County officials have stressed that they welcome participation from neighboring counties and communities to make the hatchery a truly regional project.

“The Jasper County proposal presented the best value for the anglers of Texas,” said Ed Cox, Jr., former foundation board chairman and head of the current foundation hatchery site selection committee. “The bids received from other communities were carefully considered and much appreciated and we’re going to look for ways to partner with these and other communities that realize how important fishing is to regional economies. This project will benefit all of East Texas.”

In May, the foundation received hatchery proposals from seven bidders—San Augustine County, Jasper County, the South Sulphur River Development Association, the Newton First Committee, Tyler County and the City of Woodville, the Sabine River Authority and Dow Chemical Company.

The hatchery proposals were evaluated based upon technical merit and value-added criteria by technical staff at TPWD and by two engineering companies and a CPA firm hired by the foundation. The goal of the hatchery is to provide anglers with the most value for the monies spent.

The new hatchery will replace the present Jasper Fish Hatchery, which was opened in 1932 and has had no major renovation or modernization since the late 1940s. The primary funding source for the new hatchery and for improvements at other hatcheries in the TPWD system will come from a new $5 freshwater fishing stamp that was required beginning Sept.1, and from community and corporate support.

“This approach is a great deal for the 2 million people who fish in Texas, two-thirds of whom fish freshwater,” said Robert L. Cook, TPWD executive director. “This kind of local community support will leverage the value of our new stamp funds to produce the most cost-effective possible outcome. The bottom line is that fishing in Texas will be better.”

Fish hatchery production, along with fisheries management, regulations and law enforcement, helps sustain the high quality of fishing in Texas, an important part of the state economy. Freshwater anglers in Texas generated $1.49 billion in retail sales in 2001 based on data collected by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. This angling activity generated $733 million in wages and salaries annually.

There are still major sponsorship opportunities available in connection with the new hatchery. For details, contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation (formerly the Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas) at (214) 720-1478. – Lake Mohave

The
Women’s Bass Fishing Association
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Concerned Texas bass anglers unite to form conservation action group.

www.s-m-a-r-t.org – Lake Mohave

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Please Contact Us if you are interested in submitting news from your area. – Lake Mohave

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Lake Houston – January 30th

Lake Houston Marina – Lake Mohave

ATHENS, Texas — Texas anglers received an early holiday gift: 50,000 red drum, donated by the largest commercial red drum farm in Texas. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocked the 10-14-inch fish into Lakes Braunig, Calaveras and Fairfield, and Victor.

“We are in the business of producing redfish for the retail market,” explained John Turner, managing partner of Lonestar Aquafarms, Ltd., of Palacios. “We have to produce fish of a certain size, and sometimes we have a surplus of a particular size. If the community at large can benefit from having them, I think that’s a really good deal.”

In 2002, while Turner was managing another aquaculture operation, he donated about 100,000 6-inch red drum fingerlings to TPWD.

“We really appreciate Mr. Turner’s continuing support of our programs to provide quality red drum fishing in several of our lakes,” said Phil Durocher, director of TPWD’s Inland Fisheries division. “When a commercial grower is willing to donate part of his production to the state, it is a direct benefit to the anglers who fish these lakes and a great assist to our stocking program.”

Although red drum is a saltwater species, TPWD stocks them into selected lakes to provide increased angler opportunity for this popular sportfish. Lakes stocked with red drum are power plant lakes, which have the warmer water temperature the fish need to survive.

“The fish Mr. Turner donated in 2002 did really well in the lakes,” said Todd Engeling, TPWD’s hatchery program manager. “Lakes Braunig, Calaveras and Fairfield already have redfish, and typically we stock them every year. These freshwater red drum fisheries have become very popular, and the fish stocked this week will probably be legal to catch a year from now.” All three lakes have a 20-inch minimum length requirement, no maximum size limit and a daily bag limit of three fish.

Turner said Lonestar Aquafarms sells about 25,000 pounds of fresh fish per week. “Sometimes survival is higher than expected, and we also stock our ponds to make sure we have plenty of fish. We take the risk to produce more and give them away, because that’s better than not having them.” – Lake Mohave

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission voted Nov. 3 to approve the Jasper County bid to host a new East Texas freshwater fish hatchery for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The commission vote completes the new hatchery site selection process, confirming a recommendation made last month by the private, nonprofit Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.

More than a dozen elected officials and community leaders from across the region came to the commission meeting to express their support for the hatchery, including several communities that bid for the project but were not selected.

“I’m reminded of the Caddo and Coushatta tribes that lived long ago in deep East Texas,” said Jimmie Cooley, mayor of Woodville, which had teamed with Tyler County to submit a hatchery bid. “Those tribes knew no county lines, and we know no such boundaries with our neighbors in Jasper. We will share our resources to make this a successful project for all of East Texas.”

“Tyler County submitted a proposal and fought hard for this project,” Tyler County Judge Jerome Owens said. “We gave it a good fight, but we are here to let you know that we support the Jasper proposal and will do all we can to make it a truly regional hatchery.”

Jasper County officials welcomed the participation from Tyler County and invited neighboring counties and communities to make the hatchery a regional project.

“We know that the location of this hatchery in East Texas will be a great benefit to the citizens of the entire region and to all the people of Texas,” said Joe Folk, Jasper County Judge. Officials with the Deep East Texas Council of Governments and other communities expressed similar sentiments.

“We deeply appreciate the spirit of regional cooperation that is developing around the new hatchery project,” said Joseph Fitzsimons, TPWD Commission chairman. “There were many fine proposals by local communities, and it was a difficult decision. We fully support the concept of making this a venture that will benefit the entire region.”

The Jasper County proposal was valued at approximately $28 million over 50 years, $4 million higher than the next highest bidder. It offered the largest land area at 200 acres. And it was also the only hatchery proposal that would require minimal water pumping, and with water delivered by gravity flow during parts of the year. The site is well-suited for hatchery construction, and will be cleared at no cost to TPWD.

The Jasper County proposal will locate the new hatchery near the Sam Rayburn Reservoir dam on property owned by Temple-Inland. The site is currently a managed forest logging operation.

Other partner offerings in the Jasper County proposal include water and financial support from the Lower Neches Valley Authority, a new county road to the site with possible assistance from the Texas Department of Transportation, and additional support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The new hatchery will replace the present Jasper Fish Hatchery, which was opened in 1932 and has had no major renovation or modernization since the late 1940s. The primary funding source for the new hatchery and for improvements at other hatcheries in the TPWD system will come from a new $5 freshwater fishing stamp that was required beginning Sept.1, and from community and corporate support.

Fish hatchery production, along with fisheries management, regulations and law enforcement, helps sustain the high quality of fishing in Texas, an important part of the state economy. Freshwater anglers in Texas generated $1.49 billion in retail sales in 2001 based upon data collected by the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service. This angling activity generated $733 million in wages and salaries annually.

There are still major sponsorship opportunities available in connection with the new hatchery. For sponsorship details, contact the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation at (214) 720-1478. – Lake Mohave

Members can post bass fishing photos to the Photo Gallery.

Login, browse to the 2004 Gallery, near the top right of the browser screen you’ll find a drop down menu, choose add photo, locate your photo on your computer, add a caption and you’re done! – Lake Mohave

Water stained; 1.27′ low. Black bass are fair on perch colored spinnerbaits and small crankbaits. Striped bass are slow. Crappie are fair on minnows. Catfish are good on shrimp and stinkbait. – Lake Mohave

Fish & Anglers Getting Hooked On Beer Caps

By Tom Daykin

Knight Ridder

Norm Price is on a crusade that has two goals: Help fellow anglers catch more fish, and recycle millions of discarded beer bottle caps from bars and restaurants throughout North America.
Price is the Canadian inventor of the bottle-cap lure, a beer bottle cap pinched together with tiny ball bearings inside, and a hook attached to one end. The rattle of the lure’s steel bearings, and its shiny, colorful finish, can cause an unsuspecting lunker to strike faster than an angry Teamster, he said.
The lures are catching on with anglers throughout Canada and the United States, said Price, a fishing and hunting guide in Sherbrooke, Quebec, who has sold nearly 100,000 lures over the past five years. He now hopes to persuade major brewers, including Milwaukee’s Miller Brewing Co., to sponsor a contest that would award cash to people landing big fish with his bottle-cap lures. So far, though, Miller and other big brewers aren’t taking the bait.
Brewers “spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year on ridiculous marketing campaigns,” said Price, owner of the Bottle Cap Lure Co. “In this case, where you can help save the environment, why wouldn’t they participate?”
That hasn’t discouraged Price, who couches his plans to make a buck with pronouncements on battling the global menace of bottle-cap pollution.
“I don’t know how many times I go fishing and see bottle caps on the bottom of the river,” Price said. Recycling those caps from litter to lures “could happen all over the world,” he said.
Price fashions his lures from whatever bottle caps he can scrounge. His “six-pack” of lures – which sells for $35 at www.bottlecaplure.com – features a half-dozen popular brands: Miller High Life, Miller Genuine Draft, Budweiser, Coors Light, Molson Canadian and Labatt Blue.
The brewers of those brands haven’t given Price written permission to use their caps – something he regards as a technicality. Along with the Web site, Price also sells the lures in more than 100 sporting goods stores, bait shops and other retailers throughout Canada.
“I’ve had brewing companies tell me I don’t have a license to do this,” Price said. “I’ve basically come back and said, ‘In your face. I don’t need a license to recycle your trash.’ ”
Montreal-based Molson Inc. doesn’t care if Price uses its caps, as long as he doesn’t use the Molson logo on the packaging for the lures, said company spokesman David Jones.
Molson has invited Price to submit a written proposal for his fishing contest idea, Jones said.
But Jones said fishing contests aren’t a major marketing venue for Molson. He also expressed some weariness in dealing with Price.
“Norm calls every couple of days,” Jones said.
The three largest U.S. brewers, Anheuser-Busch Inc., Miller Brewing and Adolph Coors Co., haven’t threatened to sue Price for using their caps. But they haven’t exactly rushed to sign up as sponsors.
Pittsburgh Brewing Co., however, is in hook, line and sinker.
Pittsburgh, which sells mainly in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, is paying Price to produce 1,000 to 3,000 lures with caps featuring the Iron City Beer logo, said Tony Ferraro, vice president of sales and marketing.
Pittsburgh Brewing plans to distribute the lures as promotional giveaways in 2005, Ferraro said. A lot of beer drinkers, he said, also fish.
That’s exactly Price’s point.
His unwavering confidence that the big brewers will see the light stems from the surprising success of the bottle-cap lure concept.
Price was drinking a beer one night when he took the bottle cap and bent it together, indulging a longtime habit. He nonchalantly tossed it on to a table next to some fishing hooks and lures. He was then struck by the similarity in shape between the tools of his trade and the distorted cap.
Price decided to create a lure. He then went with a fishing buddy to a nearby river, and promptly caught a big brown trout. When his friend
told Price that it was a fluke, he cast again. This time, Price caught a nice rainbow trout.
Price, then living near Calgary, Alberta, later moved to Sherbrooke to be with his girlfriend. His company now has about 30 employees, mostly college students working part time.
The bottle caps – his main raw material – come from local bars and restaurants, which provide them for free.
Price expects sales to jump thanks to a recent spate of media attention, including a feature that ran several times this month on “CTV News,” Canada’s national television news show.
Meanwhile, Price still seeks sponsors for his fishing contest, which he dubs the “battle of the brands.”
He envisions anglers using lures fashioned with Miller Genuine Draft caps competing with those favoring Budweiser lures, and other such stunts.
It’s an idea inspired by God, Price said, and will help clean the environment and put people to work – as well as sell a boatload of bottle-cap lures.
“Beer and fishing have always gone hand in hand,” Price said.
This is why he is now bringing this to a whole new level. The Original Bottle Cap Lure Company Ltd. Is going to sponsor the largest fishing contest in the world. It makes sense too. they are starting The Battle Of The Brands Free Fishing Contest. Inspired by Andy Vander Ploeg the 3 time Canadian Sport Fishing Champion. Norm asked Andy what bottle cap works best. Andy replied I don’t know. I haven’t used a lot of different caps, however Molson, Coors, Labatt, Budweiser all work well
– Lake Mohave