January 25, 2023. We met Captain Mike Arnoldy at 5:30 at the bait shop in Fellsmere, which is a hub for anglers fishing Fellsmere Reservoir and Stick Marsh, amongst other waterbodies. Many anglers go to this shop to get live shiners in the morning, and some anglers gather in the late afternoon to share their […]
Florida Bass Fishing 2023 – Day 5 – by Airboat on Three Forks Marsh Read More »
January 23 and 24, 2023. In the wee hours of a cool, dark Florida morning, Mark and I drove to the sleepy town of Fellsmere and onto a dirt road for several miles before reaching the boat ramp at Fellsmere Reservoir. The map of this massive, 10,000-acre lake is to the left. The boat launch
Florida Bass Fishing 2023 – Days 3 and 4 – Fellsmere Reservoir…with Roland Martin Read More »
January 21 and 22, 2023. As a life-long Michigan resident, every year at some point I get sick of the wintery mix of snow, hail, sleet, freezing rain, snow, and piles of blackish, melting snow, and try to head south to get warm, see sun for more than one day in a row, and fish.
Florida Bass Fishing 2023 – Days 1 and 2 – warming Up Before Fishing Read More »
Friday, September 2, 2022. I awoke in need of aspirin to help me un-fist my right hand, the tendons for which had tightened like overly tight guitar strings. As I found humor in the difficulty of opening a bottle of aspirin when one’s hands are in pain, I noted that sunlight came into the room
Day 8 – Saying GoodBye to Bolivia…or So We Thought Read More »
Thursday, September 1, 2022. It was our last full day in the jungle and my last chance to catch a vampire fish. I awoke with vampire fish on my brain–thinking about where we would fish for vampires, what I should use to try to catch a vampire, what my chances were of catching a vampire….
Bolivia – Day 7 in the Jungle – Does She Get a Vampire Fish? Read More »
August 31, 2022. We awoke to another beautiful morning in Bolivia. The air was chilly again, but the shower warm. I had just sat down to breakfast when I saw this small brown creature walking across the grounds of the resort. I had never seen whatever it was, so vaulted out of my chair, and
Bolivia – Day 6 in the Jungle – Cat Day Read More »
Tuesday, August 30, 2022. We had been warned by Memo that the temperatures were going to drop today, but I hadn’t expected a drop in the temperature of my shower. It was an on-demand shower, and while I demanded hot water, none came out. I took the most alarming, heart pounding shower I have had
Bolivia – Day 5 in the Jungle – Running out of Time for a Vampire Fish Read More »
Monday, August 29, 2022. When Memo said we had a chance to go on a jungle walk and then fish in a new place, we said “Sure!” What could go wrong? Now, when Memo described the experience in front of us, he told us we’d get into the usual flat-bottom boat, go for a 20-minute
Bolivia – Day 4 in the Jungle – a Little Outside my Comfort Zone Read More »
Sunday, August 28, 2022. By our third day in the jungle I hardly noticed the rooster in the morning and was up before the alarm, excited about whatever the day had to offer. What this morning had to offer is something I didn’t get a photo of, which was one of the guides pounding on
Bolivia – Day 3 in the Jungle – the Biggest Arapaima yet Read More »
Saturday, August 27, 2022. I underestimated the power of a rooster–one not bound and gagged and prepped for a cockfight–because one of the lodge’s rooster called at 5 a.m in the morning…over and over again, waking us up an hour early. In fact, by the time our alarm went off at 6 a.m., I had
Bolivia – Day 2 in the Jungle – an Arapaima Read More »