What's up, fellow Blog Readers?!
As you can see from the right tab of this Blog page, the place itself has been quite dead for a while, eh?! Heh. This is no surprise, since I have been caught up with all kinds of different matters for the past months or so -- from editing and compiling videos on social media to getting robbed and beaten up in my own neighborhood. Regardless of the getting beaten and robbed part, reviving this fishing Blog with interesting fishing reports and informative posts is only a dream for now (and a Patreon goal). As much as I like to write and educate, I am but one human being. In other words, my time is very limited!
So, you may ask -- "Leo, what exactly have you been doing for the past few months?!" And I will gladly answer you on that! :) If you follow Extreme Philly Fishing religiously on social media (and I appreciate that), you know that I have been consistently doing the following actions for the past few months:
-- Daily updates on the SnapChat account (ExtPhillyFishin). That is where I post quick and funny updates of my daily life; sometimes fishing relates, sometimes not.
-- Weekly updates on my Instagram account (Extreme Philly Fishing). That is the place where you will see my up-to-date catches, including a few miscellaneous photos here and there. Though, 95% of the photos there are related to fishing.
-- Consistent 2-days upload on my YouTube Channel (Extreme Philly Fishing). This is probably my most time-consuming task nowadays! And sincerely -- it makes sense, since I am now a part-time YouTuber. Getting footage, uploading it to the computer, editing, compiling, uploading it to YouTube, and finally giving it final touches...we are talking about 12-15 hours per video (fishing included)!
So, you see? Three videos a week equals a total of 36-45 hours!!! That is excluding my hours for my regular tutoring + restaurant job. So, there you go...now you know why I have no time to work on any side projects, Blog, Smugmug Database, and Facebook Page included! I also spend an average of 3-5 hours weekly on fanbase feedback, so you can add that to the list. :)
Ultimately, the point here is to show that albeit the Blog has been dead, I have been twice or triple as busy as usual! I certainly don't want to give you folks the impression that I have abandoned this Blog; however, on the other hand, you can clearly see how I don't have the availability nowadays to keep this stuff running with juicy posts. :( Let's just hope that my fishing related income will go up in the future, so that I can have more free time and revive this place up! Hah.
Let's talk a little bit now about recent updates and what has been going on on my social media...
1. The Extreme Philly Fishing August Give-Away is still going strong! Details are all in the video below:
The give-away system has been changed due to the reasons cited in this video. Nowadays, I do monthly give-aways. Make sure to participate in it, if you are up to it!
The prizes for the August give-away are two $100 gift cards! The winners will have the option to choose between Cabela's, BassProShops, Dick's Sporting Goods, etc. To enter the give-away, make sure to donate the minimum value on my Patreon Account. That will confirm your identity and extinguish any liability problems that we may have in the future. :) The results of it will be announced on the 31st of this month!
2. My Florida trip + family time recap. My father was here from June to July, as you folks may or may not have been aware of. During that time, I tried to work as little as possible on my social media, so that I could focus my time and attention on him! After all, due to a number of life circumstances, I only get to see my old man 30 days a year! We fished and we fished, and we fished some more! We even went down to good old Fort Lauderdale in Florida for a Multi-Species trip. All videos are on YouTube already (if interested, the playlist is here). Below are some of the photos from the trip:
My old man with a nice Mayan Cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) from an unnamed Canal in Opa-Locka, FL.
My first ever Midas Cichlid (Amphilophus citrinellus). A new Species for my Pokedex. :)
My first ever Jaguar Guapote (Cichlasoma managuense). Another new Species for my Pokedex.
My first ever Salvin's Cichlid (Cichlasoma salvini). And yet another new Species for my Pokedex. Haha.
The good old Porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus).
A very gorgeous juvenile Lane Snapper (Lutjanus synagris).
The mighty and somewhat dangerous Houndfish (Tylosurus crocodilus)
A super duper ultra cute Spotted Trunkfish (Lactophrys bicaudalis). First one ever!
A Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)! So neat to have held one of those.
My second ever Bar Jack (Caranx ruber). The blue stripe on its body is one of its prominent features!
A freaking Spotted Moray Eel (Gymnothorax moringa) that bit the hell out of me! Thankfully, I healed well from that injury. No infection or other contamination from the bite.
My first ever Bulleseye Snakehead (Channa marulius). Feisty fella for sure!
And, of course, my old man with a Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides). This one we know too well!
As mentioned above, videos on YouTube cover the whole adventure we had down there, not to mention that the Smugmug account will contain the photos of all the new Species that I caught down there.
3. The Maryland Trip/Collaboration. I have recently done a collaboration with 1Rod1ReelFishing in Maryland. If you folks follow this Blog since 2011, you actually know that my good friend Mike S. Hsiao (a.k.a. 1R1Rfishing) has contributed quite a bit to this fishing Blog! Here is a good example of that. That is correct, folks -- Mike was quite the legit writer back in the days. Haha. So nostalgic, eh?
The first video of this Maryland Trip is already on YouTube:
In this video, 1Rod1ReelFishing and I go fishing for different Species of fish at the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C.. :)
There will be two more videos on this trip coming up in the next couple days, including a very very neat hot pepper sauce 1VS1 Bass fishing challenge. Stay tuned! :)
And finally, let's discuss some potential projects for the near future...
-- The tank project. This one is still ongoing, fellas! I know that you all have been eager to see me setup my new fish tank, do some micro-fishing, and place some residents in my 55 gal. tank. However, due to all the trips that I made and the fact that I got beaten up badly recently, this project has been greatly delayed! I will eventually bring you all some videos on it, though! Be patient, young grasshoppers. :)
-- YouTube Collaborations. I want to collaborate with a few other YouTubers before the end of the year! Use the opportunity to put myself more out there on social media, as well as make new contacts and fish new places. I may do a collaboration in the near future with the following YouTubers: Joshua Jorgensen (a.k.a. BlackTipH); Robert Terkla (a.k.a. LunkersTV), and/or Tim Galati (a.k.a. Tim Galati). If you want to see me fish with one of them over the others, don't be shy to give me your feedback -- comment under this video and let me know!
-- Florida Trip. I want to do one more Florida Trip before the end of the year, so that I can boost my Species list up to 150 or more! I am currently at 142, so I gotta do my best for it. :) Don't forget to check my Master Species album on Smugmug, fellas!
That is it for now, bros and sis! Hopefully I will be bringing you guys many more exciting things in the near future :)
Best of luck for all of us,
Long Days and Pleasant Nights!
Sincerely,
Leo S. (a.k.a. Extreme Philly Fishing)