BASS FISHINGBass Fishing Sports Blog

The four men, all of whom were awarded the Purple Heart for their service in the Global War on Terrorism, were treated to two days of fishing and cookouts as part of the Wounded Warriors in Action program.

“the guys hollered to hold the fish up over my head,” Eisch said about the 10-pound, 1-ounce bass he landed, then let go.

The soldiers were invited to the catch-and-release outings, hosted by Orange Springs residents Charlie and Jackie Lawson, after applying online at the Wounded Warriors in Action website.

Participating were Eisch, 37, of Lacona, New York; Charles Lusk, 29, of Canton, Ga.; Jake Whipkey, 26, of Boswell, Penn.; and Jeremy Cabaniss, 31, of Panama City Beach. all are U.S. Army veterans.

They gathered with fellow outdoorsmen for a weekend of camaraderie and healing “using nature as a backdrop,” said Wounded Warriors in Action founder John McDaniel, a retired Army Lt. Col. the program covered all the expenses, said McDaniel.

The Rodman Reservoir, where the group fished, is adjacent to the Ocklawaha River in the heavily wooded northeast tip of Marion county. the wide smiles and gleams in the eyes of the four soldiers as they returned from their outings spoke loud and clear.

“this is huge, to know people still care,” Lusk said as he talked about the day’s catch on Saturday evening at the Lawson home.

Lusk, an Army Ranger sniper, was injured in Iraq in 2004 by shrapnel from a car bomb and again in 2005 by shrapnel from an improvised explosive device.

“I’ve had five years of speech therapy, 16 sessions in a hyperbaric chamber (from the 2005 wounds) and I lost part of my ear,” said Lusk, who with wife Daphne has a daughter Mattie, 6.

“I met Sen. John Kerry and (country singer) Toby Keith pinned on my Purple Heart,” Lusk said, “but this fishing trip is great with friends.”

The boats put in at the Kenwood Office of Greenways and Trails Recreation Area and fished in “water about eight-feet-deep with the drawdown,” or intentional vegetation control lowering, said guide Don Storey.

“this is a big deal, I’ll never forget it,” said Eisch, who was in the service for 19 years and was wounded Nov. 3, 2010. “America is a very generous country if you’ll just look around. A lady from Florida, on the plane here from New York, offered me the use of her family home if I need it and gave me her email address. this is patriotism to me.”

Eisch, a single father of Isaac, 13, and Joey, 9, said telling his sons he was going away and might not return, when he was first deployed to Afghanistan, was “a hard talk.”

Eisch was shot three times in the legs when he went to the aid of an Afghan police officer who was downed by a rocket propelled grenade attack and was still in the line of fire.

“He was out there and the Afghanis weren’t going,” Eisch said. ”He was a team member and I said, ‘Let’s get him.’ It was training and reaction when I went after him.”

Eisch suffered hurt to both legs, with extensive hurt to his left calf. He can walk, but not run. He is angered he cannot do some things he could before, but said, “It comes with the territory. We’re all volunteers.

“my Purple Heart was pinned on by a German Minster of Defense because it was a German controlled area in Afghanistan. I believe it was the first time,” Eisch said.

He also was awarded the Bronze Star for his actions.

Whipkey suffered five gunshot wounds to the chest and two to the wrist while serving in Samara, Iraq, in 2007. He medically retired in 2009.

“I can raise my arm to here,” he said, lifting his right arm to less than shoulder height. He said protective equipment stopped the bullets aimed at his chest and saved his life.

Whipkey, who is single, is a student and an associate with Wounded Warriors in Action.

“this is awesome,” he said of the fishing trip. “It’s a tribute to (earlier veterans) for the great welcome we are receiving.”

Cabaniss suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2006 and medically retired in 2007. He was accompanied by his wife, Deanna.

“Jeremy bent down to retrieve something and a rocket propelled grenade hit the turret of his vehicle,” Deanna said. “He suffers memory loss, seizures and debilitating migraines.”

“I had great time fishing,” Jeremy said.

He was wearing a bracelet honoring Sgt. Patrick Tainsh, who died while serving in Iraq in 2004. Tainsh’s parents became close with Cabaniss when they met at a medical facility, said Deanna.

McDaniel said he started Wounded Warriors in Action in 2007 after he retired from a 20-year service career and began taking Veterans Administration hospital patients fishing.

“in 2011, the WWIA program hosted over 100 Purple Heart recipients on 43 hunting and fishing trips in 26 states, and we hope for the honor to do more this year,” he said as he and his wife Kellie addressed the group Sunday.

He thanked the Lawsons for “opening their home and opening their hearts.”

Charlie Lawson is a Vietnam War veteran.

“These Purple Heart recipients are American heroes and American sportsmen,” McDaniel said. “We help heal the wounds doctors can’t fix.”

Honest weather fishermen, don’t bother getting out of bed.

The Kayak Angler Tournament Series – better known as KATS – is back in 2012 for a Texas bass throwdown. The first event, Bastrop, is in the books. Kristian of ACK shares the report and photos:

The first tournament of the Kayak Angler Tournament Series (KATS) took place on Lake Bastrop the last weekend of January and was a huge success! just fewer than 60 anglers (some from as far as Del Rio, TX) competed on a very windy and chilly day. The fishing was tough but a few lucky anglers took home prize money (pro division) and some fine kayaking gear (amateur division) donated by our generous KATS sponsors.

Being a part of an event where the competitors are truly passionate about the sport is a lot of fun but it is also very competitive. The Bastrop tourney was definitely not a fair weather fisherman’s event but these guys paddled out in the 20 mph winds through the day and nobody went home early. Steve Garcia took first place in the Pro Division while Spencer Colins secured the first place spot in the Amateur Division.

If you are not familiar with this event, it is one of the largest most sought after freshwater kayak fishing tournaments in Texas. The event brings together the most dedicated freshwater kayak anglers in Texas to compete for a chance to claim the rights to the AKF Kayak Angler of the Year. The series runs from January to June and includes four qualifying events, a wildcard tourney, and then finishes with a Classic Championship. Competitors that do not qualify for the Classic will be able to participate in a team competition benefiting charity.

If you missed our first event, don’t be discouraged, there are several opportunities to catch up including the next event being held at Lake Fayette on Saturday February 25th. to learn more about the series and to find the rules, sign up, and forum information please click here.

For more, visit ifakayakfishingtour.com.

Photos courtesy ACK.   

The 2012 bass tournament season kicks off this weekend with an Angler’s choice tourney on Saturday and an American Bass tournament on Sunday. Both tournaments are team events.

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has issued 45 permits for bass tournaments in 2012. these are “event” permits and involve tournament organizations and specialty tournaments. The DFG has issued another 51 bass club permits.

The event-type tournaments will draw most of the attention this year. The tournament organizations visiting Clear Lake this year are Angler’s choice, American Bass, Western Outdoor News (WONBASS) and Best Bass Tournament (BBT). FLW Outdoors will hold a major three-day tournament April 26-28. that tournament will draw professional bass fishermen from throughout the West.

BassMasters, which has held tournaments at Clear Lake in the past, won’t be out on the West Coast this year. There are also several specialty tournaments such as the Lake County Chamber of Commerce tournament (formally the Holder Ford) and the Triton and Stratos boat owners tournaments. Just about all the tournaments operate out of Konocti Vista Casino in Lakeport although a few will go out of Redbud Park in Clearlake.

Clear Lake is one of the more popular stops for the tournament circuits and the reason is the lake produces some of the largest bass in the West. The lake has a national reputation for its brilliant bass fishing.

The number of fishermen competing in tournaments has dropped considerably during the past five years. Ten years ago most of the team tournaments drew from 75-100 boats, but no longer. now a team tournament is considered a success if it draws 30 boats and some are drawing as few as 10-15 boats. One of the primary reasons for the decline is the economy.

Many tournament fishermen work in construction and the trades and many are out of work and have even lost their homes to foreclosures. to enter a tournament costs approximately $200 or even more in entry fees per team. Typically the tournament organizations pay back in prize money about 60 percent of the entry fees. a 30-boat field will pay back to six places and the winning team takes home approximately $1,000-$1,500 and that is divided by two. The other top finishers take home a lot less.

When you add in the cost of gas to travel to Clear Lake and the cost to operate the boat, not to mention motel and restaurant expenses, it can run up to $700 or more per tournament. Many of the fishermen just don’t have that kind of spending money these days.

Some exceptions are the specialty tournaments. they typically draw more than 100 boats and sometimes as many as 150 boats and they have a much larger payback.

For example, the ancient Holder Ford tournament always drew at least 150 boats. The same applies to the Stratos and Triton tournaments. The other tournaments that normally produce large fields are the Tournament of Champions (TOC) that many of the circuits offer at the end of the year. for example, the American Bass TOC usually draws about 180 boats and occurs in October.

Of course, it’s not just the tournament fishermen that are being impacted by the bad economy. Recreational fishermen numbers are also down considerably. even with the warmer-than-normal weather few fishermen are showing up to fish at Clear Lake. a check of parking areas at the local boat ramps shows very few boat trailers, even on weekends. The local fishing guides also say their business is down compared to previous years.

The excellent news is the bass fishing at Clear Lake has been rated very excellent despite the winter weather. The other factor is that within seven weeks the first part of spring will arrive and the fishing should be outstanding.

There is minimal mention of the area in historical references though the road is referred to as “Lucerne Park Road” which keeps the name in use.

Earliest activity in Lucerne Park is attributed to the Lucerne Park Fruit Association which had facilities on what is now “Ancient Lucerne Park” road.

One of the earliest names associated with the enterprise include a.S Beymer. Beymer was involved in developing several major downtown buildings including the “Beymer-Mann” (Ritz) Theatre. Beymer Memorial Methodist Church also pays tribute to the family name.

In the 1910-20 era, it is noted that a small steam engine ran daily from Bartow to Lucerne Park and on to Lake Alfred where residents would turn out in numbers to help “turn the train” on a huge manual turntable so the train could make the return trip to Bartow.

“Peggy,” as the train was called, primarily spotted fruit cars in the various destinations helping to move citrus to market.

As Florida approached the real estate boom of the 1920s, Lucerne Park Fruit was no different from other Florida companies looking for the opportunity to develop its extensive holdings.

Serving with Beymer on the company’s board was a man named D.C. Gillett.

His father, M.C. Gillett, was born in Wisconsin in 1858, and at some point following 1878, his doctor in Akron, Ohio, recommended a move to Florida where he expected to die of consumption (tuberculosis).

He settled in Marion County, and then, was frozen out of the citrus business in the great freeze of 1895. Gillett went on to found Buckeye Citrus Nurseries. He later went to Tampa where he served as mayor during the Spanish-American War.

M.C. Gillet joined with LPFA and proposed to develop an exclusive community called “Lake Lucerne” shown on the platted drawing.

According to an elaborate promotional brochure produced by the McFarland Publicity Service of Harrisburg, Pa., “The purpose (was) to make of Lake Lucerne a most exclusive winter home resort.” Buyers could buy land for a home as well as grove land.

The pamphlet went on to note: “under no circumstances will a grove be sold by the Lucerne Park Fruit Association to persons of other than unquestioned business and social standing.”

Lake Lucerne was to be a “community of congenial people. The lake was to be the private property of the owners for their use in “fishing, rowing and bathing.” The company also noted “gentle exercise can be indulged in at all times.”

The owners were questioned to consider putting up $500 for the construction of a clubhouse/casino, a plot that was projected to raise $50,000. LPFA pledged to donate the land for the clubhouse.

The pamphlet continues: “Our property is within gunshot of the best black bass fishing in America, and on the best hunting grounds in Florida. whenever the guest at the Florence Villa (Hotel) want a day of ‘sure enough fishing’ as we say in the South, they invariably go to Lake Hamilton. It is considered an unlucky day indeed when several 6- to 10-pounders are not caught, along with a large string of two- to four-pounders. Indeed, 12-to 15-pounders are not at all unusual.”

As with many of the grand plans of the Florida real estate boom, “Lake Lucerne” never became a reality, though one News Chief account mentions a hotel in the area. Lucerne was never a “park” for public enjoyment but has historic connections in early citrus production.

The name “Lucerne Park” today serves to designate an unincorporated area in northeast Winter Haven. Lucerne Park Fruit Association was later sold to Joseph DiGiorgio.

About the series: These articles are researched and written by Bob Gernert with the Museum of Winter Haven History. He is also the executive director of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce. Information for this installment was developed from promotional materials associated with the “Lake Lucerne.”

Published: Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 4:16 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 4:16 a.m.

Speck fishing is reaching a fall peak, and it promises to only get better with the full moon approaching Dec. 10.

“By Friday and Saturday, fishing ought to be fantastic for specks,” said Ron Schelfo at Ron’s Tackle Box in Lake Alfred. “They’re in 8 feet right now, but I think they’re going to start coming up to the grass. There’s a lot of them with roe in them already.”

Schelfo was talking about lakes Rochelle and Haines, where nights have been best for specks 1 1/2-2 pounds.

Specks 10 inches and up have become more the norm on numerous lakes over the past 10 days.

“We’re getting specks up to 15 inches, and they are few and far between. But we’re getting a lot of 12- and 13-inch specks,” said Leo Cosce at Camp Lester on Lake Kissimmee. “Out of 25, eight to 10 are 10 inches and the rest are 11, 12, 13 inches.

“It looks like it’s going to be a real good year for specks,” Cosce said.

Specks have been on the outside grass edges at Kissimmee the past few weeks, but perch 12-13 inches have went to the grass for the first time on Lake Hatchineha.

“On this growing moon, they’re starting to come alive,” said Travis Cliett at Chain O’ Lakes Bait and Tackle in Dundee.

Cliett said boats are parking in the grass and fishing minnows and jigs on the outside edge. But it requires some research.

“The fish are kind of isolated. You’ve got to move around until you find the schools and lock on them,” Cliett said.

Consistent limits of specks 12-13 inches have been steady at night on crooked Lake.

“It picked up about a week ago. They’re going out at dark and coming in about midnight,” said Cindy Ritchison at Bob’s Landing.

And on Lake Pierce, numbers are low, but specks up to 14 inches are coming in, said Jay Miller at Jennings Resort.

HYDRILLA SPRAYING ON CHAIN NEXT WEEK

Hydrilla treatments on Lake Kissimmee and Lake Cypress were scheduled to start this week, but they were postponed until next week because of weather and scheduling overlaps, said Ed Harris of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Spraying is also scheduled to start on Lake Toho (825 acres) next week.

Boat trails and access/flood protection areas will be sprayed on all four lakes on the Kissimmee Chain, but less than 1,000 acres on each of them. on Kissimmee, 79 acres are targeted.

BASS TOURNAMENTS

Billy and Michael Bechard won the Fishing Misfits’ classic on the north Winter Haven chain Nov. 19 with 17 pounds, 7 ounces. Larry Johnson and Harry Porter took second with 15 pounds, 9 ounces, including the top fish at 7 pounds, 1 ounce. Kyle and Terry Tucker placed third at 12 1/4 pounds. Dennis Minton and Keith Brown had 10 pounds, 7 ounces for fourth.

Joey Smith and Jason Eldridge combined for 15.44 pounds to win the Lake Wales Po’ Boys tournament on Lake Clinch Nov. 20. Eldridge boated the largest bass at 5.84 pounds. Don Smith and Ricky Timmerman placed second with 14.12 pounds, followed by Miguel Suazo and Wayne Montgomery with 7.91 pounds.

Monte Goodman and Eric Conant won the Sunday Open Series tournament on Lake Marion Sunday with four bass totaling 12 pounds, 6 ounces, including a 3-pound, 10-ounce fish. Martin Dukes and Gary Carter placed second with 4 pounds, while Willard Combee and David Harris had 3 pounds, 6 ounces for third.

Ismael Garcia Jr. and Willard Combee won the Sunday Open Series tournament on Lake Reedy Nov. 13 with 11 pounds, 13 ounces, topped by a 4-pound, 14-ouncer. Gary Carter and Martin Dukes took second with 10 pounds, 3 ounces, while Mike McFarland and Ed Burkheimer had 9 pounds, 1 ounce for third.

[ Del Milligan's freshwater fishing column appears Thursdays in the Ledger. he can be reached at del.milligan@theledger.com or 863-802-7555. Milligan's blog, Central Florida Fishology, can be found at theledger.com home page. ]

When you pick up a book by Michael Lewis, you are sure to learn something new, thought provoking, and amusing. Following up his recent best-selling work on the 2008 financial crisis, The Huge Small, Lewis takes a broader look at the global financial crisis and explores the European situation in his new book, Boomerang. The work is timely as the world is now witnessing the slow meltdown of European nations under the weight of sovereign debt, which threatens to bankrupt several countries.

BOOMERANG: THE MELTDOWN TOUR: By Michael Lewis, 240pp, 2011 Allen Lane hardback, 611 baht.

His journey starts in the US where Lewis speaks to hedge fund manager Kyle Bass, a contrarian who had bet against the sub-prime loan debacle and won. With his new profits, Mr Bass started to hunt for new investment ideas, believing that the financial crisis had not finished with the US.

“By their [Kyle Bass and his colleagues] rough count, worldwide debts, public and private, had more than doubled since 2002, from US$84 trillion to $195 trillion.”

Both Lewis and Mr Bass came to the same conclusion _ these are insane numbers for any country or continent and certainly would not be sustainable. in disbelief, Mr Bass clarifies that the only solution would be if European countries started running budget surpluses. “Yeah, and that will happen right after monkeys glide out of your ass,” he says.

One of Lewis’ strengths is his ability to humorously highlight his characters’ quirks. Describing Bass, for example, he writes: “As he laid out his ideas I had an experience I’ve often had, while listening to people who seem perfectly certain about uncertain events. one part of me was swept away by his argument and started to worry the world was about to collapse; the other part suspected he might be nuts.”

Because of Mr Bass’ belief that all financial systems are in jeopardy, he tells Lewis on a later visit that the only things he’s investing in are hard assets such as gold and nickels. in fact he’s bought 20 million nickels because each nickel (nominally worth 5 [1.56 baht]) is really worth 6.8 based on the metal itself. such is the mind of a savvy and eccentric hedge fund manager.

Lewis’ journey continues to Europe as he seeks to uncover the implosion of sovereign countries. The first stop is Iceland, traditionally a nation of fishermen. and it was these fisherman who led the nation down a path of ruin.

Lewis carefully clarifies how they transferred the risk-taking behaviour they had honed in fishing to the global financial markets. this penchant for risk led to an irrational binge of acquisitions and speculation around the world.

When Lewis meets an International Monetary Fund (IMF) banker, the madness of the situation becomes apparent. He writes, “Iceland was entirely new to his experience _ a nation of extremely well-to-do (No1 in the United Nations’ 2008 Human Development Index), well-educated, historically rational human beings who had organised themselves to commit one of the single greatest acts of madness in financial history. ‘You have to know … Iceland is no longer a country. It is a hedge fund,’ the IMF banker said.”

The lunacy of the situation becomes more apparent when Lewis hears a distant explosion outside of his hotel room. Because of the collapse and depreciation of the currency, the krona, many Icelanders “own $500,000 houses with $1.5 million in mortgages, and $35,000 Range Rovers with $100,000 in loans against them. to the Range Rover problem there are two immediate solutions. one is to place it on a boat, ship it to Europe, and try to sell it for a currency that has value. The other is set it on fire and collect the insurance: Boom!”

The Iceland lesson is symptomatic of so many financial meltdowns including the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Borrowing can give you a fake sense of wealth. if you’re not careful, the debt can quickly become a nightmare that can’t be ignored.

His next stop provides a timely glimpse into the current European turmoil. Greece, a country of 11 million people, had by 2008 indebted itself to the tune of $1.2 trillion, receiving up to $145 billion in financial aid from the IMF.

To place this in perspective, Thailand, which had a population of around 65 million in 1997, ran up debts of $80 billion before the financial crisis, receiving $17 billion in IMF aid.

How did this happen? as Lewis clarifies, the Greek government essentially turned into “a pinata stuffed with fantastic sums and gave as many citizens as possible a whack at it”. The average pay of a government job is nearly three times that of a private sector job. for example, the national railroad had revenues of 100 million against an annual salary cost of 400 million. The average state railway worker made 65,000.

In Ireland, Lewis focuses on the collapse of the property market. Ireland’s problem was primarily a property bust. Dublin home prices had risen more than 500% in just over a decade and more than a fifth of the Irish workforce was employed building houses. “Irish home prices implied an economic growth rate that would leave Ireland, in 25 years, three times as rich as the United States,” writes Lewis.

While greed and deception underlie the meltdown in other countries, Lewis also points out the resilience and discipline of the Germans throughout the crisis. The country’s economic strength is clearly seen today as its participation in the bailout of Greece and Italy (and perhaps others) is not only a request from the EU but a key critical component for the survival of the euro.

The last stop of Lewis’ journey is California, which isn’t a country but has the economy and population of a large one. Lewis evaluates the potential of the financial collapse of various US states and municipalities. He goes through the numbers with Meredith Whitney, a prescient equity analyst, who predicted the implosion of the US banks. her analysis of the municipalities revealed that the states had “systematically underfunded their pension plans and other future liabilities by a total of nearly $1.5 trillion”.

The worst offender was California, which Lewis discusses with the ex-governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. while Mr Schwarzenegger came to the job amid hopes of change, he is pushed out of the governorship because his drive to initiate change by balancing California’s abysmal fiscal situation does not sit well with his constituents. Again, debt is a problem: “The average Californian, in 2011, had debts of $78,000 against an income of $43,000.”

But Lewis ends on a note of hope and optimism. “When people pile up debts they will find hard and perhaps even impossible to repay, they are saying several things at once. they are obviously saying that they want more than they can immediately afford. they are saying, less obviously, that their present wants are so vital that, to satisfy them, it is worth some future difficulty. But in making that bargain they are implying that when the future difficulty arrives, they’ll figure it out. they don’t always do that. But you can never rule out the possibility that they will. as idiotic as optimism can sometimes seem, it has a weird habit of paying off.”

In an environment of irrationality and financial crisis, let’s hope that Lewis’ optimism carries through in the coming years.

Acknowledged bookworm Steve Briones is a country manager for ING Bank NV, Thailand.

About the author Writer: Steve Briones Latest tales in this category:

It’s late October and two and half hours’ drive north of new York City, the first snow of the season blankets the Catskill Mountains. Visibility extends for miles, snowfall softens every contour, and forested mountains rise from either side of the valleys in which churning streams start their journey to the Delaware and Hudson rivers. elsewhere, barns and silos mark areas where the topography is more forgiving.

With elevations above 4,000ft, the Catskills lie in the southern part of new York state and spread over several counties. the names of local villages reflect a variety of influences: land-use (Bovina), the response of a long-dead official to the surrounding mountains (Andes), the aspirations of early settlers (Phoenicia). sixty years ago, it took five hours to drive here from Manhattan. later, new highways reduced the drive to the eastern Catskills to two and a half hours, or three hours to the western parts, opening the area to weekenders.

“In the 1970s the Catskills appealed to hunters who wanted lots of land on which they built simple chalets. Today many of the buyers have professions which allow them to enjoy the benefits of telecommuting,” says Carol Spinelli, an agent at Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties, who estimates that in the past year around 90 per cent of her sales were to second-home buyers.

Many of these buyers spend three days a week at their mountain homes while others travel to new York just once or twice a month, according to Ron Guichard, a long-time Catskill resident and head of the Sotheby’s International Realty office in the hamlet of Andes. “The serenity; the quality of life, including air and water quality, and safety are what people like. there was also an influx of people after 9/11,” says Guichard, referring to the area’s lingering bolt-hole status.

An 1865 three-bedroom Greek revival farm in Roxbury listed at $1.35m

More influential, though, is what Spinelli calls the “four-season resort experience”. the Catskills have highly regarded trout fishing on the Beaverkill and several golf courses, but it’s often the ski resorts that tip the scales in favour of purchasing a second home. once committed to the thought, says Spinelli, buyers look for privacy, mountain views and a water feature. Catskill properties can fetch as much as $2m, particularly those closer to Manhattan. yet you don’t have to spend anywhere near that to obtain an exceptional home. Spinelli is selling a four-bedroom property with mountain views for just $750,000. Located in Bovina, it includes a pool and 12 acres of grounds.

One discernible trend is the increasing number of buyers seeking estates, usually of 100 acres or more. many new Yorkers are interested in buying former dairy farms and returning them to pasture or alternative agricultural uses. the advice for people seeking these properties is to head west into eastern Delaware County. “Delaware County offers more acreage than Sullivan or Ulster counties, and is more rural,” says Jean Orr, an associate broker at Prudential Fox Properties in Margaretville.

Guichard is selling several properties in the county, including Evergreen Farm and Stables, a 330 acre equestrian estate in Franklin, for $1.59m. In addition to the 3,500 sq ft main house, there is a guest cottage, stables, and a spring-fed 10 acre swimming lake stocked with bass and catfish.

Catskill home prices have not been immune to the recession, but the availability of large tracts of land is slowly diminishing. the cause is the watershed effect, whereby new York City buys up Catskill acreage at market prices in order to protect areas of runoff that feed into the city’s drinking water supply. with the city having recently committed to another 15 years of land purchases, Prudential’s Orr believes that reduced supply will underpin demand and prices of estate-size properties.

Brokers also highlight a small but growing number of new Yorkers who have decided to forgo a home in the Hamptons – or who have sold their Hamptons home – in favour of a Catskill retreat. International buyers are also emerging, says Orr, who in recent years has sold estates to Israeli and European clients. Among her current offerings is an 1865 three-bedroom Greek revival farm. Set on 89 acres, of which 80 per cent is meadow, the fully restored estate includes a pool and converted dairy barn. the Roxbury township home is listed at $1.35m.

Tom Munro, a British fashion photographer based in new York who has directed videos for Madonna, is one of the new wave of new Yorkers to have opted for the Catskills over more traditional second-home locations. “I ended up there one day when I was killing time just driving around. Andes was covered in snow, and I thought it was charming. then one weekend I arrived with the ambitious thought of finding a farm. I was taken to a derelict Greek revival farmhouse that hadn’t been out of the owner’s family since the 1850s and was unlived in. it was an ambitious project but the landscape was gorgeous,” he recalls.

Today Munro has expanded his holding to 65 acres, and he intends to add more land. “It’s 150 miles door-to-door and that doesn’t bother me,” says Munro of his weekend commute from new York City. “It’s better than sitting in traffic on the way to the Hamptons. and for the money, it’s a fantastic deal.”

……………………………………………………………..

Buying guide

Pros

? Plentiful cross-country and downhill skiing

? Acclaimed trout fishing on nearby rivers and reservoirs

? Relaxed village living or self-imposed seclusion

Cons

? Intermittent mobile phone coverage

? No excellent shopping centres or nightclubs

? Winters can be very cold

What can you buy for …

$100,000 a village home or a fixer-upper on two acres

$1m a refurbished farmhouse with 100 acres of woodland and pasture

Contacts

? Coldwell Banker Timberland Properties

? Select Sotheby’s International Realty

selectsothebysrealty.com

? Prudential Fox Properties

Flounders and Eels caught at Stanford

12:50pm Thursday 27th October 2011

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SEA ANGLING: ERITH & THAMESMEAD: Eddie Sharpe reports lots of whiting and a good number of flounders.

CHARLTON: Flounders of a decent size, all on lug.

STANFORD: Flounders and the odd eel.

GRAVESEND: Graham, at Dolphin Angling, reports dogfish plus 2.5lb Dover sole, bass to 4lb, codling to 4lb, flounder and lots of whiting.

GREENHITHE: Flounder, eels, whiting, bass.

WALTON PIER: Metcalf’s report lots of whiting, codling, skate, sole, bass, dogfish. Beaches too windy to fish.

SOUTHEND PIER: Rory, of Southend Angling, reports the odd mackerel, lots of whiting, dogfish, one smooth-hound, bass and the odd mullet.

SOUTHEND BOATS: Skate, whiting and a few codling.

FELIXSTOWE BOATS: Had so many whiting they came home early.

The Gravesend Open takes place this Sunday. Booking in is from 9.30am at the Ship and Lobster pub. Fishing is from noon until 4.30pm.

Read these Sport tales

Eloise was never known to be a person who liked to put a worm on the hook, sit in a boat all day and look at that cork every minute just to catch a fish but she always supported this writer in his love of the outdoors. Her brother Leroy loved to fish and was on the water searching for bass throughout his life here on Earth.

My wife went with me many times on these lakes in Florida but she never wanted to fish, just get a suntan and watch me as I caught a bass or two. Eloise has been the Light of my Life, the one person who taught me all about Jesus and how we should both follow him and we have for 58 years. it has been a fantastic life.

We were fortunate to have two children, a boy, Joe, and a girl, Cindy. now Cindy was the other angler in the family as she wanted to go with this writer on every trip to the phosphate pits near Bartow. Joe enjoyed fishing once in awhile but he had rather stay home and watch television.

I just want to thank my wife who has given this writer 58 years of happiness.

Fishing is getting better in the chain

This has been a week of some good catches made out of the Winter Haven Chain especially in Summit and Winterset. Tommy Johnson and Ernest Rogers of Lake Wales fished Winterset early Monday morning for bass. Both were using eight inch Junebug colored plastic worms and each caught three bass with the largest tipping the scales at five pounds. These two anglers fish the chain about twice a month. They said they delight in fishing the chain as they seem to catch a bass or two on each trip.

Walter Jones and Jacob Smith tried thier luck in Lake Summit on Tuesday morning. Walter said they come over from Plant City about once a month and their favorite lake is Summit. “We put our boat in the water at sunup and start fishing the docks with eight inch plastic worms,” Walter said. We had been fishing about 10 minutes when Jacob caught a three pound bass from under one of the docks. We ended up with seven bass weighing up to eight pounds working those docks.”

Fishing throughout the chain has picked up with the fall-like early morning weather. Bass is hitting off the grass lines in about four feet of water on shallow diving crank baits or plastic worms. Bluegill still hitting crickets. Best lakes for bass are Winterset, Summit, Howard, Cannon, Hartridge and Jessie. Better lakes for bluegills are Rochelle, Eloise, Hardridge, Jessie, Howard and Lulu.

Lakes located in Auburndale have been producing good catches of buegill and bass. Anglers fishing Lake Whistler caught some nice bluegills on Monday while fishing with crickets. Lake Ariana has been one of the top lakes for bass.

Some nice catfish have been caught during the week on cut bait such as chicken livers, wieners, or stink bait. Fish on the bottom for these fantastic eating fish.

Salt water fishing report

Redfishing is still inconsistent. Working all of the spots I have fished in the last decade has only earned us a few bites, mostly on cut baits.

Trout fishing has improved on the beaches. the west winds have torn up those areas in the past two weeks, making it hard to sit out there safely.

For those looking to take home a certain meal, Grunt fishing has been a sure bet. of course, the winds have to be cooperative.

In the coming weeks I expect a few changes. the Redfish will start to spawn in the fall, so we should see larger schools grouping up on the flats. of course the water temps should start to drop into the mid to upper 80s and not hover in the low 90s. as it continues to fall, it will also stimulate other fish to move like Mangrove Snapper and the deeper Grouper.

See you on the pond this week and be sure to take a youth with you on your next trip.

outdoorramblings@gmail.com or .

hey man, it really depends on the state or city in where you are fishing. i have seen places that want to bass to be 16 inches i have seen others where it is 14 inches and where i am it has to be 12 inches. there is not a set size for the country. what you need to do is look up your state's department of natural resources and there should be a list of the state's fish and the limit on the size and quantity. man i hope that helps you out a bit. good luck good fishin be safe and remember to share the experience

you need to check with you local wildlife warden office. Wherever you bought your fishing license should have a book of fishing regulations for free. In this book you need to look up the body of water in your county, and then it will give you special numbers that mean different things and then look in the back of the booklet and find what the numbers mean.

Example

Washington County
Grand Falls Flowage (water you are fishing)

Grand Falls Flowage- S24 and S19

Look up S24 and S19 in the back

S24:
you can keep two bass greater than 12 inches and not exceeding 14 inches in length

S19
you can keep 25 white perch per person per day

Most of the places I fish don't have bass. The others have bass because they were illegally introduced. those waters have no size or bag limit on bass so I do my part to help control an invasive species by killing every bass I catch.

Special rule S-13, Maine rules and regulations.

most states 12 – 14 inches but it varies state to state. some states have slot limits and some have none.
it's always best to check your local regulations.
here in cali the size limit is generally 12" but some lakes set their own. some have an 18" size limit.

Depends on where your fishing…where I live, South Alabama/Georgia, it depends on the lake…but it is usually between 12 and 14in…

12 inches in California and Utah but who would want to catch and keep a fish that small? it is still a baby!

without knowing where you live no one can answer your question correctly

its 12 inches in new york

Depends on what state your in.

It's 14" here in MI. I don't know where you are.