Special fish of '06

[Tim Negronida]

This is kind of a play off of Mike Clifford’s post, but with a twist. I think we a remember being there with the camera when someone else caught that special fish. I always enjoy see fishing pictures where the smile is almost as big as the fish.

 

This year was a good one as far as putting my oldest son and dad onto some quality fish. If you’re like me, you just love telling someone to put a lure in a curtain spot and then sitting back and seeing what happens…that happened with the two fish pictured below.

 

 

 

This 19" smallie was caught on the Wisconsin River in late September. It was hanging out on the edge of a current brake and hit a suspending jerk bait.

 

 

 

This was also on the Wisconsin in early August. Early morning I dragged Grady out of bed, I don't think both of his eyes where open yet when this guy hit top water to be the first fish of the morning. I took the measurement twice to make sure it was a true 20" fish.

 

Here are a couple of other memorable shots.

 

 

 

Chip P. on the Dupage with the fish of the evening.

 

 

 

Here is Don fighting that 22"er...oh never mind it was just a carp.

 

Well, here is to looking foward to a new year everyone! Tim

[Mike Clifford]

I usually fish alone (ya think?)...other than with my kids, so photos are hard to come by.

Can smiles be substituted for smallies? = )

 

 

These are a few that stick with me as being very special:

 

 

 

 

...and of course, a fishin' derby always elicits smiles:

 

 

No fair critiquing the photographic quality (or lack of) in mine either.....LOL

[Guest Don R]

Tim,good idea for a topic... (other then that wonderful photo of me...aaarrggghhh!! lol)

 

 

I think it was 105 in the shade the day that Tim N made his maiden voyage to the Apple River. Here he manages to smile through the sweltering heat on his way to a 114 fish day.

 

 

A good size smallie always puts a smile on Cory G's face. Great guy, good times.

 

 

The quality of an outing goes beyond numbers or sizes. It can only be measured in laughter when shared with others. William C with a smiling smallie.

 

 

This is my friend Dan's son Nathan. This is Nathan's first smallie. Dan told me than Nathan rarely if ever smiles for photos. It was a creek stompin' good time.

 

 

This is Kevin's (Nathan's cousin) first fish...ever! I've got to get that kid out fishing again this year..next stop..smallieville

 

 

I finally made good on a promise to take my buddy Don D to the Kankakee. On the way down to the river he told me that his personal best for IL was 17". I told him that I had a good feeling that he would better that this day. Here he is with his new PB 18".

 

 

Another multi-species day for Dick G. This guy is always full of smiles.

[Tim Smith]

As I've already mentioned, this was not a banner smallmouth year for me.

 

However, I did manage to catch some fish...

 

...THIS one was exactly 4' long. Great Baracuda. Caught it trolling a diving rapala while riding back from helping an EcoWatch project on Frank's Caye in Belize. The guy in the picture is Matthew Garbutt. He was my ride, and a good guy. If you're ever in Punta Gorda, Belize, look him up.

 

That's the biggest fish I've caught since the mid-Eighties.

[Guest rich mc]

tim, you win . the prize is you can do the youth article for the april issue. rich

[SKollmann]

My very first cast of 2006 while attending an early season ISA Outing at the Kankakee River State Park resulted in this 17-inch smallie, compliments of a new red and white spinnerbait right out of the package purchased at Bass Pro Shop a week earlier.

 

 

 

Hope 2007 will prove to be equally successful, but in greater numbers. Might help if I spent more time fishing than working.

[Mike Clifford]

I do remember that morning, Steve.

Congrats again...what a morning it was to be out on the river.

I learned something about spinnerbaits that day, for sure....LOL

[WILLIAM C.]

Special fish of 2006.

Many thoughts come to mind-my 4 year old grandsons first 16 inch bass,my first 20 inch smallie

of 2006. But at the top of the list would be when I took my brother to the Dupage,gave him my favorite

bait and put him in a spot that holds some nice smallies.He was visiting from his home state of Colorado

and needed to get out and fish.Being an experienced river fisherman I left him figure out the rest.Fifteen

minutes later he was into fish.First a 15 in.smallie followed by a 17 incher. We fished about 4 hours landing

many fish and he never had to change his bait once,Yum Woolyhawgtail.

I wish the picture had come out better but I was about 25 yards away using a zoom.