The Honest Angler

Burn, Muskie, Burn

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:43:47 -0500

by Joe Cermele

Vintage Tackle Contest: Old Dominion Sneaky Bird

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:12:07 -0500

by Joe Cermele

Here's a strange little entry into our ongoing vintage tackle contest. The lure below belongs to Macon McCoy, and there are two things that make it unique. First, it's supposed to mimic a bird that's fallen out of a nest. Second, there is a whistle built right into the lure, which I assume you're supposed to blow before casting to mimic a screeching baby bird. Question is, do we have a serious lure here, or a pure novelty item? Let's see what Dr. Todd Larson of the The Whitefish Press and "Fishing For History" blog has to say about it.

Asian Carp "Fishing" Meets Mad Max Kill Tactics

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:22:17 -0500

by Joe Cermele

Bowfishing for Asian carp is one way to get rid of a bunch of these nasty invasives. Or you could do it like the guys in this video. I'm not sure how safe this is, but when the apocalypse comes and there's urban warfare in the streets, I'm going to hang out with these fellas. Enjoy.

Do You Need a Cormorant Hunt in Your Area?

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:06:28 -0500

by Joe Cermele

An article recently popped up on the website of CBC News about the ever-growing cormorant problem in Canada. While this birds are technically shore dwellers, over the last ten years they've made a noticeable migration inland, taking up residence on rivers, lakes, and ponds. So rampant and ravenous are these birds, a group called the P.E.I. Baitfishers is petitioning to the local Department of Fish and Wildlife to set up a cormorant cull, allowing hunters to thin out the herd in selected sites where trout and salmon spawn. It's not the first time of heard the idea, and the problem is certainly not restricted to Canada. There have actually been criminal cases brought against U.S. residents that took culling matters into their own hands. In some states, sharpshooters are also hired to reduce bird populations.

Tackle Bags and Boxes: What Kind is Right for You?

Sarah Smith — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 13:36:54 -0500

by John Merwin

Tackle bags and boxes are on my mind this morning. I started sorting out my bass-fishing bag over the weekend, with an eye to replacing or adding whatever I think I’ll need next season. Given our oddly snowless winter here in the Vermont mountains, spring doesn’t seem all that far away.

Over many years, I’ve tried boxes and bags of every description. But I’ve been most happy with a Cabela’s Tackle Bag that holds six Plano 3600 boxes on end. As you can see in the photo, I label the end of each box with a fat Sharpie as to contents, which makes for an easy grab when I’m fishing.

There’s a “top” box for various topwaters, a “jerk” box for jerkbaits, and so on. Most important is the “rigging” box that holds various hooks, sinkers, swivels, bobbers, and sundry tools and devices that I use to construct on the water, whatever rig suits what I’m doing at the time (we’ll get into that rigging box sometime in another blog post).

Friday Giant Tuna Double Feature

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:37:46 -0500

by Joe Cermele

Apparently, as I sit here in the Northeast with a boat on dry dock, longing for May when the bluefin tuna reemerge along the coast, anglers in other parts of the world are doing a lot more catching and a lot less waiting around. Yes, it seems the last five days made up the official giant tuna week of winter, with two fish coming to the scales that have made headlines. One is a potential world-record, and the other may as well have been ripped from the pages of "The Old Man And The Sea."

Vintage Tackle Contest: The Larson Fishtrap

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:18:47 -0500

by Joe Cermele

The lure below was entered into our ongoing vintage tackle contest by Bob Brown, who tells me he found it in his grandfather's tackle box. Not only is this one cool looking spoon, but I had to pick it because it shares a last name with our very own Dr. Todd Larson of the The Whitefish Press and "Fishing For History" blog. Was the Larson Fishtrap produced by the Doc's great grandad perhaps? Let's find out.

Tying Articulated Streamers with the Fish Skull Shank

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 11:34:43 -0500

by Joe Cermele

You may recall a few months ago I ran a post about how much I just adore articulated streamers. They're pretty much all I use for trout these days. Well, after the Somerset Fly Show, I now also adore Fish Skull's Articulated Shanks. Check out the video. Fly tyers...this one's for you.

Hipster Fishing: The Trout Slip-On

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:46:00 -0500

by Joe Cermele

Do Sportsmen Buy and Read eBooks?

Sarah Smith — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:21:03 -0500

by John Merwin

I’m looking for some opinions on this question: Do sportsmen buy and read ebooks? That is, titles dealing with hunting, fishing, or firearms that you would download and read electronically on your iPad, desktop computer, or even a smartphone.

The photo shows a fly-fishing ebook that I bought, downloaded, and read over the weekend on my iPad. Pat Dorsey, the author, is a well-known guide in Colorado. I wanted to see what his best fly patterns were and how to tie them. The tying-sequence photos in this book are large, bright, and easy to follow. I’d have no trouble setting up my iPad next to my tying vise and following the directions.

The only thing getting in the way here is tradition. Being an old guy, I rather revere regular books. I have hundreds of them, including many, many fishing titles. The whole ebook concept and its amazingly rapid growth is turning the book-publishing industry upside down. And as the author or editor of numerous traditional books, I find this very disconcerting.