stilt fishing

Stilt fishing is mainly confined to a small part ofGalie District, in southwestern Sri Lanka. Fishing is done with arod and line whilesitting on a cross bar tied to a wooden pole driven into the coral reef. Barbiess hooks, made by the fishermen, are without bait to catch spotted herring andsmall mackerel. The method has existed for about 50 years. After disputes between groups of fishermen over fishing rights, different areas were allotted to different groups. Each fishing reef is used only by fishermen from a particular village or group ofvillages. The fishery is managed by the fishermen. Craft and nets are forbidden, as are certain types of hook. However, the use by outsiders ofsmall-mesh nets to catch fish approaching or leaving the reefs and the building ofhotels close to stilt fishing areas threaten the fishery. These are threats which cannotbe managed by the fishermen without government assistance. Regulatory measures are necessary if the stilt fishery is to survive.

The fishermen sit on a cross bar called ‘petta’ tied to a vertical pole planted in the coral reef and carry out rod and line fishing. Sometimestwo or more stilts are joined together to form a fence or ‘wata’ so that more than one fisherman can fish at the same time. The fishermen hold the stilt by one hand while seated and carry out rod and line fishing with the other hand. They usually sit against the wind. The stilt is made by tying two sticks on to apole 3 — 4m long. These two sticks are tied at a height of about 2m. The free ends of the two sticks are tied to another stick which in turn is tied to the main poleto support the cross bar. This forms atriangular structure. One or more shorter sticks maybe tied belowthe ‘petta’ to serve as steps.

This is like fishing on a fishing rod with a fishing rod. I will have to try this the next time I am in Sri Lanka area.

beauty supported by opinion

Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean,

Needs not the painted flourish of your praise:

Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye,

Not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues

http://www.handmadefishhooks.com

wilmette harbor

The village is named in honor of Antoine Ouilmette, a French-Canadian fur trader, who lived here with his part-Potawatomi wife, Archange (a daughter of Sauganash). He persuaded the local Native Americans to sign the Treaty of Prairie du Chien in 1829 so the U.S. government awarded him 1,280 acres (5.2 km²) of land in the area that is now Wilmette and a small part of what is now Evanston. They later sold the land, in 1848, to farmers and developers which eventually evolved into modern-day Wilmette. The oldest surviving Bahá'í House of Worship was constructed here between 1920 and 1953.

downt at kankakee

Up through the early 19th century, the river furnished an important water transportation route through the Illinois Country for both Native Americans and early European settlers, notably French fur trappers. The headwaters of the river near present-day South Bend allowed a portage to the St. Joseph River, which drains into Lake Michigan, as well as furnishing a subsequent portage to the Lake Erie watershed. The Kankakee thus was part of an inland canoe route connecting the Great Lakes to Illinois River and subsequently to the Mississippi River.

The Kankakee rises in northwestern Indiana, approximately 5 mi (8 km) southwest of South Bend. It flows in a straight channelized course generally southwestward through rural northwestern Indiana, collecting the Yellow River from the south in Starke County and passing the communities of South Center and English Lake. It forms the border between LaPorte, Porter, and Lake counties on the north and Starke, Jasper, and Newton counties on the south. The river curves westward as it enters Kankakee County in northeastern Illinois. Approximately 3 mi (5 km) southeast of the city of Kankakee it receives the Iroquois River from the south and turns sharply to the northwest for its lower 35 mi (56 km). It joins the Des Plaines River from the south to form the Illinois, approximately 50 mi (80 km) southwest of Chicago - Wikipedia.

Kankakee was an awsome place to fish & explore.

winter ... the perfect time to fish

It's officially winter here is Chicagoland and it is getting cold. Perfect time for some great fishing. I've only gone out a couple of times and mainly to test out my winter gear (to see how long I can stay out without being too cold). I am also scouting different locations for me to engage in my winter fishing. I am lure casting and fly fishing from shore and although I have not caught anything significant yet, I am getting closer. Getting in proper gear and being out there is nice. Stay tuned for some big winter catches coming soon.

one for the ladies...

Women, like many things they do in life, are good anglers. As I look through some of the fishing pictures on line, I often come across some seriously cool looking women angler images. There are the images of the Pros, the classic images from the past, and certainly the images of the "babes" fishing. I think they are all pretty cool. Here is one entry for the cool ladies who catch fish.

Cheers to you.

surf casting

surf casting 에 특별한 맛이 분명히 있다. 넓은 해변을 전체적으로, 그리고 강한 힘을 가하여 casting 하는 재미가 분명히 있다. 그리고 고기를 잡아 들여올때, 들어오는 각도나, 또 파도에 리듬을 타고 reel 하는 맛이 있다. 날씨가 좋을때는 그나름대로 좋지만, 날씨가 아주 춥거나, 비가 올때 나가서 하는 재미도 있다. 개인적으로는 Surf casting 은 west coast 쪽이 좋지만, 다른 coast 에서도 더 해 보고 싶은 생각이다.

throwing a line...indoors

People like to fish across the world. People don't always live near the great outdoors. In fact many and most people around the world live in densely populated cities. You have to imagine, those people want to fish too, and if escaping to the nearest stream isn't an easy option, well there a place for these folks (at least for those in Asia) Okay, there's no fancy rock formations (even the artificial kind) and it doesn't resemble a theme park. In fact it looks more like a bar or a gambling hall (and there's definitely some of that going on in some of these places), but the only different is there's live fish and a small rod involved. For those who have the opportunity to fish in great outdoor locations will laugh (or frown) on places like this, here you are basically fishing from a large tub of water ... chances are they haven't been bound to the city for an extended time, with no fishing possibility in sight. Keep anglers in the city long enough, and chances are, you will find them in these urban indoor fishing halls. At least once.

There are various styles of these places, everything from basement level halls where it is generally dark, and there is a prize associated with the fish you catch (gambling involved in some locations). There are places where it is straight fishing, just indoors and this ranges from huge greenhouses to docks that are enclosed (I found places in US (Arkansas & Texas) that is set up this way). Then there are places across Asia, where you catch what you will eat...literally. You catch, the waiter takes away and brings back prepared the way you want it.

Now here is what I find attractive about this. The concept that I can go anytime and any weather and there is fish waiting is basically convincing enough for a try. Kind of like a super market, where I am not going to the orchard to pick my own fruit or to a farm to milk my own cow - I just buy it. I know it's different with fishing and the environment is part of the experience, but remember you are stuck in the city. The experience is altogether different, especially when you look around and there are people literally elbow to elbow around you, but that's part of this experience. These places usually charges anywhere from $30 - $50 for an entrance fee, but seems like there isn't a lack of customers at these places. Well, that's one way to fish.

fishing in motherland

Koreans love fishing, and there are many many places to fish in Korea. The beautiful landscape offers so many diverse faces of fishing, everything from true urban fishing in the middle of downtown Seoul to mountain streams in the Kang Won province. With ocean surrounding all 3 sides, fishing is available any direction you travel. I plan to continue exploring all that my homeland has to offer in fishing.

blue fish

The bluefish is a moderately proportioned fish, with a broad, forked tail. The spiny first dorsal fin is normally folded back in a groove, as are its pectoral fins. Coloration is a grayish blue-green dorsally, fading to white on the lower sides and belly. Its single row of teeth in each jaw are uniform in size, knife-edged and sharp. Bluefish commonly range in size from seven inch (18 cm) "snappers" to as much as forty pounds (18 kg), though fish heavier than twenty pounds (9 kg) are exceptional.

Bluefish are generally found in bays and sandy bottomed near-shore waters. Migrating fish may be encountered in as much as 200 foot (60 m) depths. Depending on conditions such as water temperature and atmospheric pressure, bluefish may be found nearly anywhere in the water column, from just above the bottom to just below the surface.

Bluefish are voracious, predatory fish. Depending on area and season, they favor menhaden and other sardine like fishes, jacks, weakfish, grunts, striped anchovies, shrimp and squid. They should be handled with care due to their ability to snap at an unwary hand. In July 2006, a 7 year-old girl was attacked on a beach, near the Spanish town of Alicante, allegedly by a bluefish. Luckily, even though she was seriously mauled and left in critical condition, her life was not at risk.

From Wikipedia.

One of these blue fish were caught by my friend today.

a special lake

There are some places fishermen want to keep to themselves. There's places to tell friends about, and there are places to fish privately, and only with the closest of friends. I know of a such place. It is a private lake, and it requires extensive work to get permit to fish this lake. It's a lake that is close enough that we often fish it on our way home after work, yet secluded enough that when friends are brought here, people are amazed at the beauty that sits so close by.

It is a lake that has taught me the basics of bass fishing, as well as other game fish. It is a place that has rarely let me down, almost always producing a good amount of fishing action. It's a place with such a diverse landscape that it never ceases to amaze me.

It's a place where wildlife greets you when you arrive early in the morning...everything from deer to coyotes. It's surrounding architecture and bridges allows you to dream for the time you are there of a very different place, taking you to a different time. It's a place where you can find people sitting at the banks, either in prayer or thinking about things & beings much bigger than we are.

It is a very special place, and for now, that is all I will say.

is it cold here?

I have to admit, it's now officially getting cold. Even with waders and thermos, it was cold standing waist deep in icy waters at Diamond Lake. Even the texture of the water seems different, it's brittle....it feels rough. Didn't do so well catching fish, mainly because I was feeling too cold and couldn't get myself to cast far enough. I think it's time to do some more shopping for serious winter gear, to get suited up properly to deal with winter. I guess I need some of that special formula to help the eyelets of my rod from getting frozen shut with ice water from the line. The fish are still there, just need to be able to reach them at the right time & place.

will this fly fly...

This weekend, I took the leap and started to buy gear to tie my own flies. I had resisted this for a long time, mainly because I would rather use that time to be on the water fishing. Now that winters rolled along, and although I intend to fish through the winter, I will definitely be able to have some time to try tying my own flies. For the moment, I think I like it more for the designing part of it than having it being really effective, but I am sure I will get to the point where I will want them to work. I have seen some innovative use of materials and the overall gesture of some flies are definitely very elegant, sometimes inspiring. The first attempt turned out like...well like the first attempt. It's more difficult than it seems and I seem to have fingers that are too thick for the fine tying lines. I will keep trying, and I can't wait to catch a fish on a fly I designed. I think that will feel pretty special.

give me bling....yes fishing bling

I was looking for fly patterns on the web and I ran across this website that creates lures with bling...literally. The lures costs anywhere from couple of hundred dollars all the way up to thousands, and is the home of the famous million dollar lure. They are more custom decorative pieces of jewels, but I did sit back and thought about fishing with such things. I wonder if I would fish differently in general, and when a fish struck the lure, how carefully I would bring it in. It's definitely worth a look. ( http://macdaddysfishinglures.com/ )

lake cuyamaca

I was glad to hear that Lake Cuyamaca ( http://www.lakecuyamaca.org/ ), has reopened after the tragic fires in California. I had an opportunity to fish this lake before the fires and I wanted to write a short entry about the beautiful place.

This 110 acre lake sits on top of the beautiful Cuyamaca Mountains in San Diego. The drive up to the lake is a pleasant one, and for a Midwest guy like me, the scenery is a fantastic one. And it (scenery) changes with each step up in altitude, from a desert setting to a mystical forest, and then to a forest that is more familiar. This beautiful scenery with the hope of meeting a trout had my heart in a good mood the entire drive up.

The high altitude of the mountains keeps the water nice and cool for the rainbow trout, sturgeon, smallmouth bass, crappie, and bluegills that are stocked all year round. You can purchase a California fishing license right at the tackle shop, as well as a day pass to the lake. There are some selection of flies and other gear, but bring what you need as it's limited in selection. The lake is strictly catch and keep, and no fish can be released except for undersized small mouth. The shop gives you a small piece of paper with the daily catch size and number limit. It was windy when I went, and even thought it was still late summer, it was pretty cold (bring warm clothing).

I started by walking around the entire lake, fishing from one spot to another but not spending more than 10 min in one spot. I wanted to see the entire lake and walk in the land that surrounds it. Like the drive up, the land around it had a lot of different faces to it. From mud that was nearly knee deep to dry, crackled land that had me lost for a moment, and onto rocky, bushy areas. It took me a good 4 hours to walk around the entire lake, and it was a fast paced walk. I saw people on floaters and on boats fishing in the water, but with the wind and all, I decided to stay on land and discover it that way. The fishing was okay for that day, producing smaller fish, but I guess I was focused more on discovering the lake than fishing that day.

It's a good lake, and one I know I will be back at soon. Next time, I will have many more fish photos now that I have spent time to discover the lake. Till then...