Fishing for Blue Fish The average fish weighs between 4 and 10 pounds, with any fish over 20 pounds being considered a real quality fish. The recognized IGFA record is 31 pounds, 12 ounce fish caught off the coast of North Carolina in 1972. Unconfirmed monster fish have reportedly been caught in the 40-pound range. Population numbers of bluefish have been documented to follow cycles lasting about forty years. A recent disappearance occurred during the 1920s, and anglers are still enjoying a high for the fish which began in the 1970s. They are migratory fish, following schools of baitfish such as menhaden shad and mullet, heading north from Florida in spring, all the way to Maine by the end of the summer.

De-Mystifying Fly Fishing I remember the first time I saw someone fly fishing. I think I was five years old. My father, my sister and I had back packed to a remote alpine lake. My trusty Zebco with the closed face push button casting reel, cork bobber and jar of Puatzke's, among my gear I couldn't live without. Positioned on a log vigilently eyeing my bobber for movement, a one-man raft paddled past, and in no time the occupant was making wild movements with the longest fishing pole ever. Mesmerized, I watched his graceful movements like he was a black belt martial arts expert. When my father came to check on me, I asked about him, my dad said he was fly fishing, a couple of other fishermen gathered to discuss this exotic art. All agreed it was a superior art form requiring more time than any one of us had to learn, let alone master. I tried to study my bobber with earnest after that, but it never seemed to hold the same pull it once had.

Confidence in Fly Fishing Three quick stories come to mind illustrate this. First off let me say there have been plenty of times when I have been on both sides of the confidence equation. A few years ago, I was steelheading with a couple of fly fishing buddies. Unlike me, though there guys weren't purists. And we were using terminal gear. Although were just dead-drifting jigs, very similar to fly fishing, I felt about as coordinated as a monkey performing brain surgery. As the day wore on more and more steelies were caught. Huge steelies, the biggest I had ever seen! None by me. I could feel my confidence shrinking. And I mean my confidence in all kinds of things, like being able to read the river, being able to detect a strike. Things that had no connection to me using unfamiliar gear. The pressure inside my head built, until I HAD to catch a fish. I didn't catch one fish that day, although I finally had a strike, and set the hook so hard I jerked it right out of the fish's mouth. And I fished longer and harder than anyone else on the trip.

Woman part of third generation of fishing from the Grand River (MLive.com)
When she was a young girl, Maxine Schaner used to go fishing from the Sixth Street bridge every Sunday after attending service at St. Adalbert's. After church, Maxine's father, uncle and brother would go to Sixth Street Bridge and fish for catfish until well into the afternoon..


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Looks like Glory of the North
Mike has finally written up a report of his trip up North.. The Glory of the North.