Son, that's a big fish! (part 2)

My brother sent me this info a few days ago and I thought I'd share it with all you fishermen and women out there:

80 lb Flathead at El Dorado Lake

I would think the biologists would have had more sense than to pull a flattie that size out of the water and pose for multiple pictures with it, as it had to have been extremely stressful for such a huge fish.

It's a big flattie and I've seen my share of them, though maybe not quite that big! One morning at Chase county Jer and I saw a huge flathead lazily swimming in a few feet of water in the small creek that feeds into the lake. I had my pole in my hands, (my fishing pole, heh) and looked at the fish, looked at my rod and the 8 pound test on the crappy plastic WalMart Diawa reel and quickly decided it would be futile to even attempt to cast out to it.

An interesting tale about the world record flathead mentioned in the article. A relative who knows the guy who was fishing with the man who supposedly caught it at Elk City lake told him the true story was different than the one told to the public. He claims the flathead had grabbed a 10 or 12 pound carp that had became lodged in the fish's mouth which prevented it from breathing. In other words... the big fish was dying. The man saw the fish, dropped his rod, grabbed the fish and dragged it up into the rocks where he then stuck the crappie jig in its mouth and contacted a warden. This makes more sense to me than the tall tale told to the world, that he was crappie fishing with a Zebco 33 reel with 12 lb test, hooked this behemoth and fought it for 15 minutes before finally getting it on the bank. Pfffttt. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.

So anyway, how did I get so off topic?

Bottom line, big flats are everywhere in the eastern half of the state, not just at El Dorado lake. They are eating machines and grow quickly into huge fish, gaining as much as 10 lbs in a season. If it'd ever cool off and rain we might even catch a few!

Clark State Fishing Lake

Camped out here after going through the hills. Clark is a really nice lake! Clear water, tall bluffs, awesome scenery... Curtis said it was like Chase on steroids! We didn't do much fishing, but an old timer showed up and was bringing in 2lb channels after each cast. I told Curtis I was almost embarrassed to fish next to him! He knew what he was doing. Really, I was just too worn out from the heat, it must have been 110° with little to no shade. I had a really good time and hope to get out there a lot more in the future.

I really admire how the KDWP utilizes native stone on most park signs

Looking south from the north end

Going around the lake and facing east

South end, near the spillway

On the southwest edge looking east


Same as above, with a bit of zoom




Clark State Fishing Lake is worth the drive!

Woodson County, Kansas

A few pictures taken in June...

What a great time to be at the lake!

...Through the Woods

Drum

I drove up to Cottonwood Falls this morning with the intention of catching a few drum, and I wasn't disappointed. Eventually this little angler came along and joined me, telling me all varieties of tall tales just like a fisherman should, and he enthusiastically agreed to pose for a picture before he left to go home and eat dinner.

Pottawatomie Lake #1 in Konzascope!

Spent a night here with Isabel and Curtis last summer and snapped this panorama on the way out. It's a nice little lake. I caught a black bullhead just after sundown, but didn't have great luck fishing after that. I remember making some really good chili and being greeted by every local that would drive by with their horn honking. It was an enjoyable experience.

Son, That's a Big Crappie

This is the state record White Crappie caught in a farm pond somewhere in Greenwood County by Frank "Curley" Miller of Eureka, on March 30, 1964 . The remains can be viewed at the Augusta Historical Museum in Augusta Kansas. There's a nifty little video of the museum here.

The lower picture is Frank holding his prize outside the "Bait House Cafe."

Garcia Mitchell 300

Just wanted to flash my newly acquired pride & joy... The Garcia Mitchell 300 spinning reel. This is a NICE piece! I started looking into vintage reels after realizing most of the inexpensive reels nowadays are mostly made of plastic and look more like pieces of a UFO crash than something that would land dinner.

I like an all purpose reel. Something I can use for panfish, all the way up to nice size channel. I have always been a fan of the Zebco 33, so I was looking for something similar in size and capability.

One afternoon Curtis called me and said he received a boxed, mint condition Garcia Mitchell 300 on accident after he had ordered his Berkley. He showed me how nice it was the next time I was at his house and I fell in love. The mechanics of the GM300 are sound. Time doesn't seem to effect the craftsmanship of this old timer. Both cringing at the fact we knew he needed to send this beauty back to the rightful owner just lead to his search for a replacement.

Well... Curtis is a good man and somehow managed to find 2 reels for a good price. Guess who got one of those?! Thanks Curt, I owe you one. Cheers!

Read all about these classics:
Mitchell Fishing Reel Museum
Mitchell Homepage
Abu Garcia on Wikipedia
Abu Garcia Homepage

Grouse Creek

If you enjoy paddling and have never been to Grouse Creek, you should probably check it out. The public section, located within the Kaw Wildlife Area near Ark City is 4 1/2 miles of nice water, minimal portages, beautiful scenery and good fishing.

A hotspot for local floaters, you will most likely pass a couple people enjoying the cool water on a hot summer day. There are 4 access points available, which allow for short, medium or day length trips. This is a creek that is suitable for Canoes, Rafts, Tubes and Kayaks.

I have been out there several times and most of the portages are in between the 2nd and 3rd bridges where there are larger rocks in the shallow water. For the most part, the creek is consistently a smooth ride.

After passing the last bridge the creek gets a lot deeper, which might slow you down(not recommended for tube-type craft), this is because of the confluence with the Arkansas River. I'd say a casual float will take somewhere between 3-5 hours to course.

Distances:
Silverdale Boat Ramp to 2nd Bridge = 1.5 miles
2nd Bridge to 3rd Bridge = 1.25 miles
3rd Bridge to Lower Grouse Creek = 1.75 miles


Need directions? Click Here

Berkley 420!

I bought this beautiful reel on Ebay last week and thought I'd show it off. It's brand new and around 40 - 50 years old... wait a sec, allow me to clarify. It WAS brand new half a century ago but it's been in the box and hasn't been on a rod, ever. It still has the original line on it which is well past its use-by date!

I haven't decided whether to actually fish with it or keep it cozy and safe in it's nice little box. I have two other slightly (cough) less pristine 420's so I'm thinking the latter.

Fish Heads

Eat them up, yum!

What do you do with a flathead's head when you've finished carving up the carcass? If you were me or Derek you'd spike that one-eyed bugger on a fence post and allow people the opportunity to ooh and awe/and or/cringe at it as they drive by. This one's on 296th road just north of the town of Silverdale, the home of many huge, sawed pieces of flat limestone.

Serious.

Cat Crazed!

Now that's a nice stringer!

How bout some gar fishin?

Son, that's a big fish!

A nice flathead D and I caught at Grouse Creek last weekend on a 3/4 lb drum. We measured the length at around 40 inches but didn't weigh it, we guessed around 30 - 35 lbs.

Chase Channel Cat

There's just nothing like fishing next to a campfire. The warm fire, cool breeze and good conversation is rivaled only with the sound of a rod flying off the rock! That's what happened just minutes before landing this healthy 7.5lb channel cat out at Chase State Fishing Lake.

Salted Chicken Liver

Some years ago I got tired of throwing liver away.

You go fishing, take two or three tubs of liver out of the freezer, come home with 1 1/2 tubs of thawed liver, then what do you do? You can stick it back in the freezer, except refreezing it screws up the texture, and the next time you thaw it out it's runny and a hook won't stay in it.

So I would throw it away.

Then one day I had a bright idea. (one of my better ideas in some time) Why not try salting it?

So I did. And it works great.

The salt attracts fish, and after a few months in the salt the liver is tougher and stays on the hook better. You don't have to keep it frozen as it will keep for several years stored at room temperature.


Here's how you do it:


Buy chicken liver. There's a grocery a few blocks away where I get mine, usually approaching the "sell by" date, marked down to half price or less. If it already smells nasty, no worries. The salt will preserve it.

For every 3 tubs of chicken liver you'll need 1 lb of salt. (I use 3 for a dollar generic table salt from the dollar store)

Dump 3 tubs of liver into a big bowl.


































In one of the empty liver containers, add about 1/4 inch salt, then add several pieces of liver, and then add another 1/4 inch of salt. (you can get creative at this point, adding oil, garlic, vanilla, anise oil or whatever your heart desires)























Repeat until the tub is almost full, then top with salt. Make sure there's a 1/4 to 1/2 inch space at the top to prevent the lid from coming off as the liver ripens.

I use a magic marker to write the date on the lid, then store them in the corner of my garage sitting on the floor. I have 6 or 8 tubs that have been there for more than 2 years and it's still good. It has a slightly nasty smell, but not nearly so close to vomit inducing as rotten liver is.






















Two year old salted liver



You'll notice there's some small scraps of liver and blood left over in the bowl. I add this to another container, throw in some salt and add a few rocks and then freeze it. It makes an excellent "chum bomb" to throw still frozen into the water where you're fishing.

You can use this process for other baits beside liver, I've done it with shrimp, minnows, and cut bait.

Happy salting!

Nightcrawlers!

Ever get tired of paying waaaaay too much money for
crappy little half dead nightcrawlers? If you have them
in your yard or neighborhood it's easy to collect enough
in one night to last the entire fishing season.

Interested?

I thought you might be, please read on!

First, you must determine if you have crawlers in your
yard. They're only active after dark, but you can look
for signs during the day. Ever feel lumpy soil beneath
your feet when you walk through your yard, or see
funny-looking little piles of soil with small sticks or leaves
sticking out of them? If you do, then you probably have
nightcrawlers.
























The best time to collect them is early in the season,
shortly after the ground thaws in the late winter. They
remain active into June, but it becomes more difficult
to find them after the weather turns off hot and dry.
March/April/May is the best time here on the Konza.

The only thing you really need is a good LED headlamp
with red LED's. I payed eight or nine dollars for this
one at a local store several years ago, and it's an
indispensable piece of equipment.


















It uses three triple A batteries that last for an amazingly
long time, usually hundreds of hours, or pretty
much the entire fishing season.

Of course you can use a flashlight, (I did for years)
but that ties up one hand when you need both. And,
the LED headlamp has red LED's that the worms can't
detect when you shine it on them. They'll suck back
into their hole in a second if a regular flashlight beam
hits them.

The best time to search for them is after a rain, when
the ground is wet and soggy. Wait till about an hour
after the sun goes down, then don your headlamp and
grab a bucket. Approach the area on your hands and
knees, as it can be difficult to see them and damn near
impossible to reach them if you're standing upright.
Move slowly, and don't make any moves that will jar the
soil as this will cause the worms to back down their holes.
If you do, don't worry, the worms will come back out in
a few minutes; move a few feet away and resume hunting.
When you spot one, calmly reach down and grasp it firmly
where the body is anchored to the soil, and pull firmly but
gently.

It may take a few seconds but the worm will soon tire

and slide out of its hole. Professional worm collectors

strap a can of sawdust to their leg to coat their fingers
to give them better traction; I prefer to wipe my hands
on my pants occasionally to remove the mucous from my
fingers.

If you've never picked up nightcrawlers before, don't get
discouraged if you break some in half or if many of them
get away. It requires a little time to become efficient and
you'll get there in a matter of minutes.

Don't worry about depleting the population, it can't be done.
I have robins nesting in my yard that eat thousands of them
every year, not to mention the box turtles that rise before
the sun to eat their fill. After ten years of picking up
crawlers, I have more now than ever.

I usually catch two or three hundred worms to last me
throughout the fishing season. I keep my worms in the
fridge in a six-pack cooler, and it has its own revered spot
on the bottom shelf.






















Make sure your fridge doesn't get below freezing or you'll soon
wind up with a terrifically horrid smelling mess! For the
bedding, I've found the best thing to use is leaves.
I rake them up off the ground in the fall and dry them in the sun on
my driveway, then grind them on the concrete with my hands
until they're ground into small pieces. Before adding the leaves
to the cooler, I wet them just enough so that you can't squeeze
any water out of them. I collect enough leaves to change the
bedding four or five times throughout the summer, and when
changing the bedding I discard any weak looking or dead worms.
If dead worms remain in the cooler for very long it'll kill the rest
of them in a matter of weeks.


Any questions?

Hit the comments and I'll be happy to help you out.