The Day That I Got SUPERSICK!!! (01/28/17, New Britain, PA)

What's up, Avid Anglers?

It has been a while since I posted here, huh?! You know what that means, right? Time to catch up, people!!! :) Here is my fishing report for January 28th, 2017. The statistical fishing chart was updated as well.

Location: Pine Run Dam

Time: 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

- Nothing

Video:

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

My 12th outing of 2017. Possibly one of my worst ideas ever!!! Don't forget to watch it in HD quality (1080p60)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support my YouTube Channel by subscribing to it. More likes and more subscribes = more time to make videos.

Summary & Photos:

Nothing much to say about this fishing session, other than the fact that this was possibly one of my worst ideas for 2017!

I went down to the Pine Run Dam in New Britain with hopes of catching at least one fish for my Mystery Tackle Box "Pro Box" Slam. However, I failed to realize that the weather conditions for the day were far away from perfect: 35F with 15 mph winds. By the end of the unboxing (approximately 15 minutes), I was already feeling very cold. Even with six layers of Under Armour, I still felt like the wind was getting to my bones. Heh.

But I was there already, right, folks? Therefore, I still fished the Reservoir for about three hours. I used some of the lures that came inside the box, including a pretty neat spoon and a cool & original soft plastic made by Catch Co itself. For the spoon, I used a steady retrieve approach. For the soft plastic, a drop-shot rig. In the end; however, they were to no avail. I ended up not catching anything. Sigh. :(

Well...I should actually fix my last sentence by saying that I did catch something that day, at least: the flu. Even better -- maybe two things: the flu and a strep throat. Hah. 

Summarizing...Because of that fishing session, I got extremely sick! Thus, the title of my YouTube video. After having a 103.1F fever for a few days, I finally decided to go to the Doctor. He put me on Tamiflu and Amoxicillin for ten days. And even after I was "healed," I still had post-viral cough syndrome for about five weeks. So, as you guys can see, because of that illness that lasted me 20-40 days, I was unable to fish for most of February (bummer), and I was slowed down on my social media platforms as well...

Yes, folks...certainly one of my worst ideas for this year! And this is to show that one should never underestimate Mother Nature, of course.

Best of luck to all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights!

Tight lines!

Sincerely,

Leo S. a.k.a. Extreme Philly Fishing

Last Day of Fishing in Florida!!! (01/25/17, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL)

What's up, Blog Readers?

Here is my fishing report for January 25th (day and evening), 2017. The statistical fishing chart was updated as well.

Location: Anglin's Pier

Time: 8:00-10:00 a.m.; 9:00 p.m.- 11:00 p.m.

Fishes caught:

- 7 Slippery Dick (Halichoeres bivittatus)

- 1 Grey Triggerfish (Balistes capriscus)

- 1 Doctorfish Tang (Acanthurus chirurgus)

- 1 Blackear Wrasse (Halichoeres poeyi)

- 1 Inshore Lizardfish (Synodus foetens)

- 1 Grass Porgy (Calamus arctifrons)

- 2 Houndfish (Tylosurus crocodilus)

- 5 White Grunt (Haemulon plumierii)

- 1 Spottail Pinfish (Diplodus holbrookii)

- 3 Smallmouth Grunt (Haemulon chrysargyreum) 

- 4 French Grunt (Haemulon flavolineatum)

- 1 Sailor's Grunt (Haemulon parra)

- 1 Blue Striped Grunt (Haemulon sciurus)

- 1 Tomtate (Haemulon aurolineatum)

Video:

Below are the highlights for this fishing session:

Morning session:

My 11th outing of 2017. Morning fishing session. Don't forget to watch it in HD quality (1080p60)! If you enjoy watching my videos, please support my YouTube Channel by subscribing to it. More likes and more subscribes = more time to make videos!

My 10th outing of 2017. Evening fishing session.

Summary & Photos:

For my last day of fishing in Florida, I decided to take a good part of my day to hang out with my Mother. Thus, I was only able to fish a little bit during the morning, and a little bit during the night! For both fishing sessions, I decided to hit the Anglin's Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea -- a convenient fishing spot for me, since it was only a few blocks away from my hotel. :)

To spice up the YouTube Channel a little bit, in the morning, I filmed a "2 hours Multi-Species fishing challenge" on the pier. My setup consisted of a 2-pieces Penn Pursuit II, medium action rod, paired with a Shimano Sedona 4000 FD. For line, I used 12lbs test KastKing Fluorokote. The plan for the day was to vertical jig the pier with a high-low rig, consisting of 2 size #8 Mustad J-hooks and a 2 oz. River Coin Sinker. I also did some hand trolling at the end of the pier, and some cast and retrieve with small jigs.

On the vertical jigging technique, my first victim of the day was everyone's favorite -- the Slippery Dick:

Fish #244.  The Slippery Dick.

I followed up with a very strong fish on the other side of my line! After battling the beast for a few seconds, I came to realize that it was a Grey Triggerfish:

Fish #246. The Grey Triggerfish

It was indeed a beautiful sample! Perfect eating size as well. Yes, folks...Not only they are amazing fighters, but they are also great as table fare. Regardless, I ended up releasing the fella, since that was my last day down in Florida.

I continued my quest for the two hours Multi-Species fishing challenge, slowly jigging the pillars of the pier. And soon enough, another Species fell victim to my strategy:

Fish #247. The Doctorfish Tang.

Well...it didn't come as a surprise that I had to take a little bit of time to identify the Doctorfish Tang. Those Tang always confuse me! Thus, I took a good look at my Smugmug Fish Photo Database, just to make sure that I wouldn't misidentify it as an Ocean Surgeonfish (Acanthurus bahianus). The shape of its tail, body markings, and the coloration around its eye gave it up. In the end, it was a Doctorfish Tang indeed.

A few minutes more of jigging, and a few more Slippery Dick later, I got to add another Species to my list:

Fish #249. The Blackear Wrasse. Species number 158 on my list!

Initially, I just thought that the fish was a weird colored Slippery Dick. After consulting with my good Multi-Species friend Patrick Kerwin, we both came to the conclusion that I had caught its cousin -- the Blackear Wrasse.

After the Wrasse, I decided to shift focus for a little bit. I put down the high-low rig and setup a small 1/16 oz. jighead with a Berkley 2.5" Gulp! Alive Minnow, chartreuse color. And for my surprise, I had a bite on my first cast!!! It turned out to be an Inshore Lizardfish, another new Species for me:

Fish #253. The Inshore Lizardfish. Species number 159 on my list!

I was quite happy to have landed that guy! I always wanted to land a Lizardfish, and my closest attempt to it was a Sand Diver (Synodus intermedius) that I had caught at the Pompano Beach Fishing Pier, a while back.

I continued to work the jig for another 20 minutes, without any additional bites. That is when I went back to my regular setup: hook and sinker! Just this time, instead of vertical jigging, I decided to do some hand trolling. I went all the way to the back of the pier, cast as far as I could, and just did a steady retrieve -- so that my bait (a whole shrimp) would stay just above the top of the coral reefs.

Less than a dozen casts in, I got an extremely powerful hit!!! And guess what?! It turned out to be one of the most gorgeous fishes that I have ever caught in my life:

Fish #254. The Grass Porgy. Species number 160 on my list!

Note the Y shaped mark close to the caudal peduncle of the fish. That is one of the key characteristics in identifying the Grass Porgy from other similar Porgy Species. Needless to say, and also to emphasize, it was surely a magnificent catch! 

As soon as I landed that fish, my alarm rang. The two hours Multi-Species fishing challenge was over. :)

For the evening, nothing really excited happened! My plan was to catch new Species of fish; however, nothing new really showed up. Instead, I ended up landing the whole Grunt family one more time. Hehe. 

Here are the photos for my night time fishing session. Highlights are entirely in the YouTube video:

Fish #257. A White Grunt.

Fish #258. A Spottail Pinfish.

Fish #259. A Smallmouth Grunt.

Fish #260. A French Grunt.

Fish #262. A Sailor's Grunt.

Fish #264. A Blue Striped Grunt.

Fish #265. A Houndfish.

Fish #267. A Tomtate.

And this finally concludes my January fishing adventure in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, featuring my one and only Mother. :) I know that it took a little while for me to write it all, considering my busy schedule with work and social media; however, I am quite glad that it is over!!! 

Hope you guys enjoyed the knowledge and the read. 

Best of luck to all of us,

Long Days and Pleasant Nights!

Tight lines!

Sincerely,

Leo S. a.k.a. Extreme Philly Fishing