RIP Fish Whisperer

RIP Jim Byron 2020

Seneca River walleye

Probably the best pan fisherman I ever new.  Jim Byron was gifted with a nose for perch.  20 years ago my friend Dave asked me to go perch fishing.  Why would I want to do that, I said.  The perch I grew up with were tiny.  Dave said he a friend, Jim Byron, who catches perch 14 inches and bigger.  That was the biggest fish tale I had ever heard, but I went with them.  First time out was on Seneca Lake by the power plant.  Jim, Dave and I had ultra light rods.  Jim showed us how to put two hooks on loops with a homemade pencil weight on the end of the line.  The loops he said allowed the minnows to swim naturally.  

Jim at deer camp

All day Jim pulled in perch after perch.  Often he had doubles and they all were over 12 inches.  Dave and I caught nothing.  Using the exact same rigs with the exact same boat as Jim.  He laughed hilariously at our frustration and cursing his performance.  

He taught us about the "sense" you have when a big perch inhales the minnow.  One does not hardly feel anything.  After this outing Dave and I would go many times and very slowly we developed the sixth sense that he talked about.  I was able to teach my children the same technique.  Over the years we have had many 50+ 12"+ perch outings and I owe them all to Jim,

Jim also joined us for deer season.  He loved to bring in food from Swans Market and leave it in a crockpot for us to have for lunch.  His favorite gun was a smooth bore 10 gauge.  He was also known for shooting the first thing that walked by.  One year the deer he shot was so small that after processing it I was able to fit it all the venison in a shoe box.

Jim was a good man with a heart of gold.  My life has been richer because of him and I will miss him.  RIP Jim.

Catching up during the winter blahs

It is in the evening on a cold February night and I have a few minutes to catch up with my blog writing.  On Christmas Eve we went out to Keuka Lake looking for perch.  Hannah caught the only fish but it was very fun to be fishing on a 60 degree day.  The perch fishing has been very tough this fall and winter on Canandaigua, Keuka, and Seneca lakes.  Lots of speculation about this being due to invasive species having a negative impact on the perch population.  Severne has produced NOTHING in a year.  The south end of Canandaigua produced a brown trout for ma and a laker for Jessica.  Both were caught on large jigs.

Highlights of hunting season 2015.  Hannah got her first and the biggest buck of deer camp!!!

Fun Memorial Day on Seneca and Keuka lakes

Just got back from five days of fishing with a group of fathers & sons.  Five days before we left there was a bad storm in the region, especially in Branchport and Penn Yan.  It rained as much as 8 inches in one hour.  The result was lots of washouts and high water that resulted in Keuka Lake having a motorboat ban for the weekend and Seneca Lake had a 5 MPH speed limit.

Jake and Charlie with their perch caught while kayaking

Taylor's first cast 

What we did was trailered Mr. Flanagan's Lund and our Grady White over to Severne Point on Seneca Lake. The weather was stunningly beautiful and the boating ban made for a strangely surreal and calm setting on the lakes.  I have to admit I enjoyed the absence of jet skiers and speed boats, etc.  Friday night Dave made the camp venison prime rib sandwiches.  He smoked the roasts and red peppers than thinly sliced them his meat slicer that he had brought down just for this meal.  Unfortunately the next day Dave fell getting out of his boat and broke 3 ribs.  That was disappointing for sure.

Jake with his 2.5lb, 16 inch perch

At night the boys had fun staying up late and netting alewives that were attracted to the green underwater lights that Shu had put in around his dock.  We enjoyed nightly bon fires and healthy games of cards.  The deep fryer and Green Egg were used nightly for fish, chips, and venison.

 Discovered a great bait shop called 

Bubbas Bait Shop
10519 Cty Rt 76
Hammondsport, NY  607 868 7088

Great people and the bait was priced very fair.  I will still use the Outdoor Store for bait enroute to the Finger Lakes, but once I am there I will be using Bubba's for sure.