A Year In Review: 2017

Ah, life....what a wild ride. This years festivities didn't leave room for much fishing. Working and metal concerts predominantly shaped 2017, but we managed to squeak out some time on the water anyway!

I came into 2017 swinging with both fists clenched, we blazed new ground and tried to target Burbot in Canada. Unfortunately we didn't succeed but great times were had, however 2017 decided that this would be the trend woven into the year. Read it here: Zero Dark Burbot

I always love getting out on the local hard water despite lack of worthy targets, its part of the Pennsylvanian landscape I've learned to accept and embrace.

I got the frantic phone call from Mark, the shad were in town. You can read about it here, or you can enjoy this picture. Shad! Shad! Shad!

I'm absolutely dumbstruck and amazed by the sole lifer of 2017. If you were to ask me what fish I'd be okay with being the ONLY lifer of an entire year I'd say hands down the Sand Tiger Shark. What an honor to hold one and release it back into crushing waves. Damn.

I didn't plan on going quietly into the good night, however that is what I ended up doing. I tried to nail down another lifer nemesis in the elusive Mud Sunfish. However the glory was all Kori's on this trip as she flaunted her victory over my head. I've taken 3 people to catch them, and three people have caught them, I still wait for my glorious day however. Instead enjoy a photo of a Bluespotted Sunfish:

But lets not forget bigger picture folks. What did the Russo babies catch in 2017? I'm glad you asked, I can happily say I did bring their fishing careers to the forefront of my efforts, they did not let down.  Maddy's caught a fair amount of lifers at this point so she went fishing a lot but managed to secure 1 Cutlips Minnow. Skylar on the other hand has some catching up with her sister to do and caught 4 lifers, and 1 PB! Her lifer Cutlips Minnow, American Eel, Golden Shiner, and Rainbow Trout all made their way to shore. She also caught a PB Yellow Perch.

New Water #2: Frostbiten

        New Water #2 Frostbiten   

                                              A new 2016 imitative to fish new home waters                                           that we once ignored.

                                    This is part 2 of the new series continued into 2017.

59th PA location fished

Some bullet holes courtesy of the locals.

Cabin fever pretty much caught up with all of us at this point. Desperate to get out everyone planned to fish for Monday and 3 out of 4 of us actually made it as planned...

Stillwater Dam, located in Uniondale, Pa. Not exactly known for its trophy class fishing, but a local ice spot we could try out with the added benefit of being completely new. Being twenty minutes from my house obviously nothing of note stood out about Stillwater, this being the reason I didn't fish it in 27 years. However this time we put the plan in motion to see what this dam is made of as we set up to target the ever abundant Chain Pickerel.

Kyle started coughing and wheezing, shortly thereafter he stated he may have the flu and that he should of stayed home. Kyle managed to land one Chain Pickerel before falling asleep in the heated ice tent. Its a good thing he coozied up to the tent too, because today's weather was FRIGID. I'm fairly confident I have mild frost bite on my face as a result of today's venture.

No way was this accurate -_-

Kyle's 1st fish of 2017

Next up was mark who also managed a decent one.

I caught the biggest of the trip, still modestly sized. Stillwater Dam is mostly known for bad fishing and pickerel, so it lived up to its name. Not a likely place to return to unless we are bored locally or in case we want to watch a Bald Eagle hover our location by 20 feet.

My 1st fish of 2017, not a bad way to start the year.

Here is a dead one we found on the ice, locally chain pickerel are despised. 

All in all it wasn't a total bust a new place explored and now, Stillwater Dam will fade back into obscurity.