BP folds! Thank you Customfish readers!!!

http://www.wbbm780.com/pages/849554.php?contentType=4&contentId=832984

This was a nice surprise before I embark on a trip to Great Slave Lake,NWT, Canada tomorrow.

Thank you to anyone who read my recent post regarding BP's previous plans to dump addition waste into lake Michigan. And a huge thanks to anyone who signed the petition. You can feel proud that what you did mattered. In a world where big oil companies rule the planet, the common man finally won a battle for the good of all.
That's just awesome.

I'll post a picture (or a hundred) when I get back from the Arctic. Brrrrr. The highs this week are in the 50's.

Have a great week everyone! You earned it!

8-14-07 Wilson makes a special appearance.

6 largemouth, 7 smallies, and one meanmouth bass for me. Most on Wilson. Yellow seemed to be the key in the early evening hours and into night. Most of these fish were caught in shoreline areas of 1-3'. Weeds and any available cover was the ticket. I also got a couple huge bluegills that nailed a Chug Bug as well as one nice channel cat that t-boned a crankbait.
Key didn't do too bad either while sticking with the flyrod. He even got a 17" smallie and once again did great in the darkness with his night time fly fishing expertise.

Zebra + fish = ?

The Customfish Fishing Team catches a ton of smallies. I mean A TON of smallies. This one has to be in the top 2 as far as markings and color.

More pictures tomorrow.

Pier fishing report. Or not.

THIS JUST IN: Thousands flocked to the local pier today to enjoy a day of fishing.
Not one person caught a fish.
And nobody seemed to care.

Snook on the fly 101

Our chief fly fishing corrospondant Ken Schumacher checks in with a recent snook caught in the darkness on a flyrod.
At this point I do believe Ken is the only professional fly fisherman who's niche is using a clouser in the dark.

The Man on the Mississippi

This just in from Customfish field reporter Jade Miller on the Mississippi River:

Had a huge front come thru this morning out of minnesota. Massive lightning storm. I took a nap as it passed over and met up with Gunney, what I call the old marine. (He really was one once) He handed me two St Croix rods, a medium light and a medium along with a sedona reel loaded for bear. This guy still has 50 St Croixs at home, all he uses. Retirement must be nice. I switched out the jig head for a 1/16oz bullett sinker, 2/0 EWG hook and baby brush hawg. I started off fishing a storm drain and getting little nips here and there then I snagged a 10 pound or so carp. Next cast get a huge hit and it was an even bigger carp that inhaled the brush hawg. After that I went to fish some rip rap off of the chute out of the dam. As I was crawling the BBH along the bottom I felt a tap and watched the line move off at an angle. Set the hook ala Joz and held on. With the drag screaming the fish went air borne for the first of several acrobatic feats. Worked it over to a relatively rock free area and landed my first true 20 inch smallie. Gunney was running over and had his scale ready and it read 3 pounds 12 oz. Man I would love to catch this fish in the spring or fall. He would have easily been over 4 pounds. A veteran of previous battles, his mouth scarred I got the quick photo and let him back to his watery lair. I followed him up with a 14 that must have gone airborne a dozen times before I got it in. Then the rain came.

As you sit in your recliner...

" Do one thing every day that scares you"
It's a saying that is on a magnet on my fridge.
I guess you can say that we try to follow that advice.

Join Customfish.com field reporter Pat Halko in his second installment of Crazy Shark Fishing. Just follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PU1vEF0-A_Q

And stay tuned for our next installment of really dangerous outdoor activities when myself and 4 others from our crew embark on an 8 day journey to just-south of the Arctic Circle at Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge in the Northwest Territories of Canada. We'll be fishing North America's deepest lake (just over 2,100 feet) Great Slave while fishing for the largest northern pike in North America. You can expect to see dozens of shots of pike up to 50" and some insane numbers of trophy class pike exceeding the much fabled 41"+ mark which grants a fisherman "Master Angler" status.


Please click on these two links to see the Customfish.com built/hosted site for Taltson Bay Big Pike Lodge.
The site.
The fishing reports and unbelievable photos.

If you are a fan of the TV show "Ice Road Truckers" on The History Channel,you've seen our destination as it is used by semi trucks which drive on top of the ice to get supplies to the diamond mines to the north of Great Slave Lake. We shouldn't have to worry about being run over by trucks out there...but then again the low last wednesday was a balmy 32 degrees.
Click here for info on Great Slave Lake


So...let me ask you a question. What are YOU gonna do today that scares you?


<*))))))< ~~~~~~~

IN other news: The early morning/early evening hours are fantastic topwater bites for bass right now. Try your favorite topwater baits in shallow during low light conditions on these hot days. I'll post some pictures tomorrow of recent catches and some of the areas we fish.
River smallmouth fishing is going to be back "on" as soon as the water levels drop a little bit from the recent rains. I'll keep you posted.

***************
And finally, this:
You may be asking yourself "Wait a minute...he's going up by the Arctic Circle? Land of the Polar Bear? Why haven't we heard about this before?!"
I've been a bit quiet about it because..well...Like I said, "Do one thing every day that scares you."

The Tarpon Report from Chicago.

We haven't done a tarpon report yet. So here goes: .....


On second thought, let's just look at that picture again.
I swear there's a tarpon in the picture.
No..really...there is.
Well, I heard there is a tarpon in that picture. I can't seem to find it either.

Helloooo Shell. Goodbye BP.

Hi Jamie,

It's clear that BP just doesn't get it.

Even after mounting public pressure, including over 55,000 petition signatures urging them to stop their toxic dumping plans from Environment Illinois supporters and our sister organizations around the region, BP still intends to go forward with their refinery project, even if it means more pollution for Lake Michigan. They have not committed to a plan that would ensure that no additional pollution would be dumped in the lake.

By planning to dump three more tons of toxic chemicals into Lake Michigan every day from their oil refinery in Indiana, it's clear that BP doesn't understand what it means to be a good environmental citizen. However, they are the world's fourth largest corporation, so I know they understand dollars and cents.

So today I'd like to ask you to join me in sending BP a message in their own language: Tell BP CEO Tony Hayward that you won't be buying their gas today, or any day until they agree to avoid any increase in pollution into Lake Michigan.

To take the No BP Gas Pledge today, click on the link below or copy and paste it into your browser:

https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/protect-lake-michigan/no-bp-gas?id4=ES

I know a lot of you have already stopped buying BP gas, but this is an opportunity to give BP direct notice of your decision and join with thousands of like-minded people around the Great Lakes and beyond. So please take the pledge today, and then forward this email along to your friends and family to help spread the word:

https://www.environmentillinois.org/action/protect-lake-michigan/no-bp-gas?id4=ES

Lastly, thanks to supporters all across the Great Lakes and beyond, we've raised the money we need to run our ad in the Chicago Tribune opposing BP's toxic dumping plan. But not just a single ad -- we'll be able to run it for four days! Be on the lookout for upcoming email alerts where we'll give you all the details of when it will run.



Sincerely,

Rebecca D. Stanfield
Environment Illinois State Director
RebeccaS@environmentillinois.org
http://www.environmentillinois.org

Recent pictures 8-07

Mike with a 21,5" Smallmouth bass from Hayward,WI.


Customfish Pro Staffer John Mich with a 49" muskie from a recent trip to Lake Of The Woods.

Hot water time

We're getting alot of reports of some great dog-days-of-summer fishing, especially for smallmouth bass. I got in an hour on the river the other morning and caught 10 quickly. I'm hearing of several different lures working, so try whatever you got. The fish are extremely active. Even topwater baits are working mid day right now.

Here's the quote for the week:
"Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it's not fish they are after" - Henry David Thoreau