This Sunday!

Ok Everyone!

This should be it. Our first official, non-sanctioned outing. No...it does make sense.

Sunday the 25th. My brother happens to be coming in for the afternoon. He will be on his way home to DC from a liesure trip to New York. And, because he has had so much success fishing our lakes in the past, wants to fish with me.

Wether or not he actualy shows up, we are going out almost all day off and on. I will be out mid moring. The exact time of the first outing will be determined, but, I can say that I will make a short portage around noon or 1:oo. My brother will most likely want to fish the waters at Kirby's Mill, but we wont go out there.

I will call Rob and Roy and, with any luck, the word will get out to meet in the AM and again around mid day. They will have the exact times before the end of the day Friday. So, either contact me (610-996-5851) or Roy or Rob. I wont post their phone numbers, but if you dont know mine, then you probably know theirs.

Please be prepared to bring a trash bag and a few extra minutes to gather some un-needed trash.

Also, please become a "follower" of this blog by creating a free google account. It will notify you of my new posts and nothing else.

So, see you all Sunday....or Saturday if I am around. And, of course, I will be.

Thanks.

Atsion Lake

Last weekend I 'roughed it' in a log cabin at Atsion Lake. If you don't know, the lake is part of Wharton State Forest and is flanked by the villages of Atsion and Basto. It isn't known for bass fishing but does attract travelers from afar for the camping and other recreation. The many furnished cabins are available for rent 11 months in advance, and they book fast. My wife booked ours just so we could see what the fuss was about.
I was impressed.



The cabins were clean and well organized. All of the buildings have a kitchen, bathroom and indoor and outdoor fireplace. Not to mention they are all right on the water.



Ours had three bedrooms between the two stories and a screened in porch that looked out over the lake.

Anyway...I was really there to fish. I was told upfront, by more than one person, not to expect any bass but to bring some pliers for all the pickerel.

This looked liked prime bass country. Scattered bushes. Trees. Dozens of sunken tree trunks and green grass. But I found nothing. I got a few bites and thought it may be pan fish but later assumed it was very small pickerel. The bites on the laminate green and white senko, but not on the hard baits led me to that conclucion.



If any bass were here. They would be exaclty that... Here. But they weren't. I threw every bait I had with every retrieve I could, but got nothing from it.

I returned to the cabin for lunch. After a beer and some fire wood cutting I headed out again. This time not so far from home. I went directly across the lake to the opposite shore hidden from the gusty wind. At times it felt as if I were sailing rather than paddling. The wind pushes bait and surface foods across the water and the feeder fish typically follow. I caught a few very small pickerel. Picture a light green hot dog with teeth. Very tiny sharp teeth. I traded down to the ultra lite rod and a micro tube. I caught the only decent fish at atsion. A rather large crappie.






I really thought it was a bass. But seriously...look at the mouth on that thing.

So, in conclusion, for family fun and fishing, Atsion is not the place. But it is great for relaxing and getting away without going too far.
I stopped at Barton run for 15 minutes in the way home and caught 2 bass at 1.5lbs a piece. Oh well. Too bad the lake at home is so great for fishing. I had a great time at Atsion, and will probably return, but for some time away. Not for bass fishing.

Read on.
Thanks.

-- :el

Weekend of the 16th

Hey all,
This weekend my lovely wife has reserved us a cabin at lake Atsion at the Wharton State Forest.

She has already checked in and gotten us some firewood. I'm getting the beer and snacks on my way.

She told me the cabin is 2ft from the water. And I'm getting really excited. Except it's raining right now, so the fishing on Saturday may not be the best or even typical of the lake. Don't worry, I'll take plenty of pics and post again.


-- :el

Location:Lake Atsion

Good example

Aside from the dozens of free bobbers and other types of fishing tackle that is 'on display' in the trees and banks of the lake, this is a prime example of something I would like to help avoid.





I caught this tiny bass by the bridge across from the Barton Run Swim club. It looks like I wasn't the only one to catch him this weekend. I found not only my hook in his mouth, but also a nice looking coated wire leader protruding from his throat.





I took some time and my pliers and removed the leader from the hook. The shank of the hook was into the fishes gut and looked like it shouldn't be disturbed.

The point is this: There is absolutely no reason for this type of leader to be anywhere near this lake. At a maximum of possibly two or three pounds, 8-12lb test is plenty to reel in these guys. The fact that a 50+lb leader was used simply tells me that the angler fishing it just doesn't know too much about fishing. Also, when using hooks big enough to set in the jaw of a shark, you should keep an eye on them and set the hook as quick as possible to avoid this gut hook. Not only that, but when using live bait, use a smaller hook and choose a design appropriate for the catch, like a circle hook or new design octopus hook. They are easier to set, hold the fish more securely and are very easy to remove. If you do gut-hook the fish, and don't have the tools or patience to remove the hook, at least get that leader out of there. The hook will dissolve inside the fish, but that coated wire leader is forever. If you never land this fish, its because your knots are too weak, or because the leader is obviously too big for your tackle. Which I am assuming was the case here.

To make a long story short, I dont enjoy catching other peoples tackle and spending time removing it and disposing of it. So if you aren't really sure about what you are doing, just ask someone. There are a lot of experienced fishermen aroung here that would love to help you out.

Thanks for stopping.

With any luck, I have posted some signs around the lake encouraging local anglers to participate in this small club.

Because the club has not really started yet, and I am the only member, I thought I would take this initial post to describe what I hope to accomplish.

As an avid local, but small time fisherman, I have been searching for a club that would be everything I want, and nothing I don't need. Most clubs were too big and too serious. I only want to meet and fish with other people locally and have a good time. After paying my $50 dues to another club, I watched as they changed all of their tournament schedules weekly and refined the dozen pages of bi-laws. I can't go to the 'meetings' on week nights, and can not attend the tournaments on Saturday mornings. Of course the bi-laws say that this makes me a member not in good standing and leaves me in-eligible for any of the club 'benefits'. Not only that, but my first non-sanctioned outing with some other members ended up with me fishing all alone in a tiny lake over an hour from my home.

The Barton Run Fishing Club aims at creating a relaxed and fun forum for very local anglers to meet up and enjoy our surrounding lakes. Now for some of my ideas.

Yes, we will have fees. They will probably be about $5 per person for the 'tournaments'. That will cover the awards. If you dont want to get an award, but still want to fish with us, then just dont pay the $5. Its that easy. I don't plan on spending much money at all on advertising or junk like that. No annual dues! If you want things like logo T-Shirts and stuff, I can make that happen easily, but you will have to buy the stuff on an individual basis.

Tournaments will be scheduled about one week in advance. They will all be very local. Either Barton Run, Kirby's Mill (for boaters) or Kings Grant if I can convince the association there to let us fish the lake.

Having a canoe or Kayak is not required, but will obviously help your chances. I am sure people have spare boats to lend out and tandem fishing is allowed, and will help your chances even more (two people increase the intimidation factor). I have seen many boats along side of the lake that never ever get used. I will try to see if we can borrow those boats from the owners.

Fishing from shore will also be allowed. However, you may not alter the local brush or terrain to gain access.

The only thing that will not be official club plolicy is live bait. Even though we will be having fun, the idea is to learn about tactics, methodology and new things. I dont think you can do that by watching a bobber.

Awards will be for serious and the non-serious alike. Most lost lures, most found lures. Most minor injuries. Smallest fish, largest fish. Most fish and fewest fish (I am expecting a few ties for that last one). Best fishing outfit, and of course worst fishing outfit (this will be a voted award if applicable).

We will also encourage a 'hands out' policy. As in, make sure you have something in your hands when leaving that you did not bring with you...trash. The majority of Barton Run is rather clean; however, the shore access areas tend to get a bit trashy. Cigarette butts, empty cans, lure trash and such are an eye sore.

Rained out tournaments and events will hopefuly be replaced by beer and pizza while watching some fishing shows. Larry Dahlberg, Bill Dance, Iaconelli and Zona to name a few.


Please leave a note for me. I have not speant very much time on this and have no idea what to expect. I know there are a bunch of people out there that would enjoy this. So give me a call, write and email or respond to othe posts here. And please, help me out by sharing your ideas and insight. I would love to get some feedback.

Thanks again,

Andrew. :el

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