July 2nd, 2008
Traveled to Swanson for a morning of fishing. Wind started from the SW at 5 mph. Very pleasant morning.
Sunny and cool. Then wind changed and came in from the north at 15-20 mph. The fish were just totally shut
down today! Talk about an empty cubboard! I fished and paddled for about 2 hours. I did not see any
other boats bring in fish either. The sonar produced a lot of fish but no luck today!
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008
Fished with client Lewis from Michigan today at Rock Creek. We started early in the morning and it was just a gorgeous
day! Glass water to start us out and very cool temperatures following last nights storm. High today was around
78 degrees. Wind picked up from south at 5-15 mph. Partly cloudy in the am. Lewis is on a mission
to catch a different species from each state on a fly rod. He has currently completed around 39 states. His travels
have taken him thousands of miles by road and he has had many exciting fishing trips. This was his first kayak experience
and he had a lot of fun. The challenge today was to land a Red Ear Sunfish which this lake is known for. Wouldn't
you know it! They just would not cooperate today. The spawn is over and they have retreated to hidden waters!
I did spot one and caught another in the early afternoon after catching nearly 200 fish today. We caught numerous Bluegill,
Perch, Largemouth Bass, Crappie, many Bluegill hybrids, and one Green Sunfish. Lewis is a very accomplished
fly fisherman and he landed fish after fish. The water is still very stained and shows no sign of clearing up yet.
Lewis did land a very nice Largemouth Bass and also one Rock Bass.
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| A beautiful morning at Rock Creek |
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| Lewis of Michigan with a nice Largemouth |
Friday, July 4th, 2008
CJ and I traveled to a local private pond for some panfish. We are entering the NEFGA fishing tournament and were
targeting a large Bluegill for the contest. CJ did not waste any time. He landed an 8 inch Bluegill on his second
cast. We fished from the kayak later in the day and caught more than 200 fish. CJ landed a nice 9 inch Bluegill
later. I could only muster up a couple 8 inchers. CJ caught a good half dozen Bluegill bigger than 8 inches.
We caught several smaller Largemouth Bass between 8 inches and 12 inches and several Crappie. It was very hot today
and no breeze to speak of today. We got home just in time for the fireworks.
Saturday, July 5th, 2008
CJ and I returned to the same pond as yesterday for some more action. The fishing was fast and furious for the
first hour or so. We caught dozens of Crappie, and Bluegill. CJ has a good dozen double catches on his "Huckaby
Rig" today. He got a couple more 8 inch Bluegill and a couple nice 12 inch Bass. I got a nice 12 inch Crappie.
The water was very calm again and we got some relief from the cloud cover this evening. We fished until dark from the
kayak and caught more than 200 fish again.
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| CJ with his 9 inch Trophy Bluegill |
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| CJ's official measurement of the Bluegill |
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| Kayakjak with 12 inch Crappie |
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| 34 Inch Channel Cat at Swanson |
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Fished with CJ at Swanson Lake just west of Trenton. Very slow today. We did manage a 21 inch Channel Cat
using a Lytle Lure. Nice day! Hot!
Wednesday, July 9th, 2008
Traveled to Swanson again this morning and it was very slow at first. Did land 3 Largemouth Bass, a Drum and a
whopping 34 inch Channel Cat that weighed in on my scale at approximately 19 pounds. Got him on a Lytle Lure.
It took 20 minutes to land it!
Thursday, July 10th, 2008
I fished at Swanson today. The Wipers came up quick today. I was barely on the water when I heard the slapping
of water. It was fairly easy to hook in them using a small 1.25 inch Kastmaster. I got 9 of them today
with one going 18, several 22-23 inchers and one Master Angler at 26 inches. I also used a topwater popper.
The water was calm and after a couple hours the wind came up from the south at 25+ mph. The shad are around 1 inch in
length right now
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| Kayakjak with 9 1/4 inch Bluegill |
Sounds Of A Wiper Video!
Friday, July 11th, 2008
Took off for Swanson early again today and hoped for another morning of Wiper action. I brought my principal along
for some fishing. We had only one school come through and I got two in amatter of minutes. Then things went silent.
No action. Went to the bottom with a Secret Lytle Lure and hooked into a nice 23 incher Wiper. Pic is below.
Mike got a couple White Bass later and I got one more White Bass and Drum before we had to go as I was meeting CJ for some
Bluegill action at a private secluded lake today.
CJ and I traveled into the country today for another Bluegill adventure. We found a gorgeous lake filled with Large
Bluegill which were spawning. We landed more than 50 of them using Huckaby Rigs tipped with Yellow, Black, and Bluegill Fry
curly tails. They worked great. These Bluegill were a bit hefty. The largest went 9.25 inches. CJ
also got a 17 inch Bass. He had a lot of fun.
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| CJ and his nearly 9 Inch Bluegill |
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| CJ and his 17 Inch Largemouth |
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| Kayakjak and his 23 Inch Wiper |
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| CJ with his 9.25 inch Green Sunfish |
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| CJ with another nice Largemouth Bass |
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
I spent the night on the beach at Enders after softball and headed out at daybreak. I found a few schools of White
Bass and landed quite a few of them. Somewhere around 20 or so. Got them using a Rebel Popper. They were
in the 10-15 inch range. The wind was brisk out of the south. It was a nice cool overcast morning.
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
CJ and I traveled to a private pond near Stratton. We caught good numbers of Bluegill in the 4-7 inch range.
Also, a few very small bass. We got one Crappie, a Yellow Perch, and a nice Green Sunfish as well. It was a beautiful
morning with brisk winds out of the south. We used small 1/64 oz. Jigs tipped with Yellow and Bluegill Fry Curly Tails.
Thursday, July 17th, 2008
Traveled to Swanson Lake this morning. The White Bass were surfacing and I got a little more than a dozen of them.
I tried to chase a school of Wipers but by the time I got there they had disappeared. I paddled around 3 miles this
morning chasing them. The wind was from the SE at about 5 mph. There was a change in the wind for awhile from
the NE. The White Bass were in the 8-10 inch range.
I used a Kastmaster and Lytle's Secret Lure.
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| CJ with a 12 inch Crappie |
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| Kayakjak with a 12 Inch Crappie |
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| CJ with his 9.5 inch Bluegill |
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| CJ's Bluegill with Tape Measure |
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| Kayakjak with 29 Inch Channel Cat at Swanson |
Friday, July 18th thru 21st, 2008
CJ and fished this afternoon for that 10 inch plus Bluegill again. We still have a few hours left. After supper we are
headed out again to a great pond just outside of town. Earlier today CJ hauled in 4 incredible Crappie. One was 13 inches
and the others at 12 or more. He also got two Bluegill in the 8.75 range. We know the big ones are there. I thought I had
one on but lost it.
Earlier in the week I fished at Enders for White Bass after spending the night on the beach after
softball games in Imperial. The sunrise was incredible. I got quite a few White Bass in the brush and weeds.
Then CJ and I traveled to Stratton and fished a pond near there. We got more Bluegill but only in the 7 inch range along
with several other fish.
I was very humbled today by my "Double Mini Bass" catch. CJ was cracking up and just had to take
a pic of the little monsters.
Then, this morning I fished Swanson for Wipers and White Bass. Got more than a dozen White Bass after sunrise. Then worked
on the kayak trailer and helped on of our new teachers move some furniture.
Today at the pond I think I answered just about every question ever asked by a six year old. At least I tried. The one
that really stumped me was when CJ asked me how many fish were in the pond. This tournament has been a lot of fun and you
talk about a little guy on a mission! He even analyzes the stats Chad puts up. When we are out there though it is fun just
catching fish and maybe, just maybe a trophy will show up.
Well we waited out the storm and it looked like it would clear off for a good hour of fishing
before dark. We drove down to the pond only to find ourselves in a monsoon!  We waited some more and CJ had more good questions that I tried to find answers for and just before the rain quit
we started getting the kayak unloaded for the third time today. The fish went nuts after the rain! We caught quite a few Crappie
over 12 inches again and then in a small inlet we found the big Bluegill! CJ landed a 9.5 and then I got one on that looked
like "GillZilla" You got it, lost it.  We got CJ's photographed and then tried some more. Not a bite! The fish just totally shut down! Even the bass which we caught
several of as well. And now for the Catfishing! We are headed to a local lake in our camper for a full night of fishing!
We have to put in some time this weekend as I have a guiding trip for a Church group and we are leaving Tuesday for Estes. (Our Family Vacation). We won't be back until Saturday afternoon when we go for the Bass species. This has been quite
a venture! More than a few hundred Bluegill, numerous Largemouth Bass, and Crappie galore! There's a lot of big catfish in
this great state! It will be interesting to see how big they get during the next week. Good Luck Everyone!  __________________
Well, Friday evening CJ and I headed for Rock Creek for some night fishing. He caught a 16 inch
Channel. We stayed until 12:30 and he was pretty whooped by then. We got home by 1:30 and I got a couple hours sleep before
heading to Swanson and meet a former Quarterback who played for me in the early 90's, Chris Bauer who frequents these boards.
He was also a starting pitcher for the Huskers at one time. He wanted to try a kayak out so we went looking for some Wipers.
There was not much action this morning so I went deep hoping to catch a Cat or anything that would bite. Got a small Walleye
and Drum and then WHAM! Got a 29 inch Channel! I'll take it! After a short paddle in I headed home to pick up the boys and
head to Enders for a kayak rental party for a local church group. CJ and I fished for cats that night and he got a 18 incher.
We got up early this morning to chase some White Bass only to be disappointed for a couple hours. I dropped a line for cats
and got another 18 incher. Then the White Bass went nuts. I was first on the scene in the kayak and nabbed a couple. Then
the water went into a frenzy as White Bass were everywhere! And the boats came from everywhere! From a quiet serene morning
with glass water to a scene from Jaws where everyone was looking for the monster. CJ came running down the hill from camp,
grabbed his pole and climbed aboard for some White Bass action. He nabbed 13 of them in a short time. I think we caught close
to 40 of them in the 10-15 inch range. One of the funniest things was when we returned home my wife asked CJ how the
camping trip went. He said the coolest thing..."We cooked crawdads and they turned into Lobsters and ate them." The boys had
a ball at the lake. They hunted for minnows, lizards, and crawdads. There were numerous containers filled with critters spread
around the camp. It looked like the lizards had fruit loops for their first captive meal. We are headed to Swanson,
running on fumes right now, for a evening of Catfishing. If he does not get his cat tonight we will head back in the morning
again. After that we are done because we are headed on a family vacation to Estes! Of all times! I could tell my wife that
it would be cheaper to camp at Swanson for a couple days.  No, I don't want to spend the rest of the year in the garage. 
We did fish Swanson the other evening and drifted the entire length of the dam with no luck. We paddled back against
25 mph winds and returned home for a few hours much needed sleep. We took off again for Swanson around 7:00 AM for one last
chance at CJ's Catfish attempt. It was a beautiful morning! CJ let his line down from the spinning rod and in just three minutes
hooked a huge Channel Cat! His hook was baited with shrimp. Needless to say we went for a ride!  I had to move him to my lap so he wouldn't fall overboard!  When he got it close I paddled to shore and he dragged it to the beach. You talk about an excited kid!  We are now looking forward to Round 4! It should be interesting. We do have a lot of 18 inch Largemouth in the area
but there are many White Bass and Wipers too. I don't know how he will be able to hook a wiper and hang on. He has caught
numerous 15-17 Largemouth Bass already this summer and more than a dozen 15 inch White Bass already so it is possble. The
only problem is that our window is very short this weekend. We will fish before Church and then CJ is getting baptized that
evening. We will most likely head out again later.
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| CJ and his 30 Inch Channel Cat |
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| CJ's measurement of the cat |
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