"HEYFISH"
NEWSLETTER
GROUP LEADER --- GEORGE BENTZ ---
( FISHLEADER )
E-MAIL ---heyfish@comcast.net
2008
The 2008 Pasadena Sportfishing Flea Market/Show will again be held at the
Earleigh Heights Fire hall. The two day event is set for February 16th
& 17th 2008. Entrance
fee is $3.00 per and the hours are 8:00am to 2.00 pm each day.
On August 27th, 20 committee members jumped on the
“Drizzle Bar” for an
afternoon/evening fishing trip. We left the
dock around 3:45pm when Ellie relayed the message to J.W. that Don Barron just
showed up. We backed down, picked him up and made a brief stop to pick up Rich
Dobry at his pier. We were finally on our way with the PSG crew members. Some
of our Committee members couldn’t get away from their daily job. Ellie
don’t like fishing (it’s boring) so she opted to stay home and work
on the 2008 Flea Market paper work. Ethel baby sits but she joined Ellie later
in the afternoon. The Flea Market invitation will be mailed out in the first
week of September. This event is set for February 16 and 17, 2008.
The
Drizzle Bar headed towards Love Point to look for breaking fish but only found
small Rock and a few Blues. Hey we were out for a good time so off we went to
Belvedere Shoals where we jigged for White Perch with Bomber Rigs. That’s
where the fun began with joking and catching fish. Captain George would make drifts over the shoal
keeping the drift on the edge the best he could. That means he must continue to
move the boat to stay on the edge. He was hearing a lot of suggestions from
Mary Suit who would yell to the captain to move up on the edge and put us on
more fish. Mary and Carol fished side by
side and when they caught one everyone knew because of they would yell
“think I got another one”.
Everyone
fished with the Bomber Rig as seen above. These rigs will catch most all
species of fish. They can be fished with or without bait and some of the
committee used bait on them where others like John Bell and Fred Lohn
didn’t use any bait and still caught fish. I do feel using bait can
work better because after an hour or two your arm gets
tired from jigging and the fish goes for the bait. If you do use bait on the
bomber rig use a very small piece.
As the sun
set in the west we headed back to the dock with about 100 or more White perch.
It was a great fun day on the
WHY DO I DO IT
You know I was a young man (55) when I agreed to start this fishing group
and now 17 years later the Pasadena Sportfishing group has grown into a great
and well respected organization. Pasadena Sportfishing is one of a kind. No
dues, no membership fees, non-political, no smoking meetings, great guest
speakers, wonderful door prizes and many helpful members.
Pasadena
Sportfishing was established 1991; we held our first meeting at Waterbury Inn
with about 35 members. (I don’t know what the name of that place is today
but I’m sure it’s not Waterbury Inn.) It did not take long to outgrow Waterbury Inn
so PSG moved to
I have been asked many times why do I
put so much time into the group, well what you don’t see is all the work
my wife Ellie does for the group. Hey without her there would be no PSG. Ellie
puts in as much time as I do if not more. She has been at all the monthly
meetings and monthly committee meetings in the past 15 years. No matter what
needs to be done she is by my side. Even when she was fighting cancer Ellie
never missed a meeting and continued to help me with all the responsibilities
of operating the group. She corrects the newsletter and has threatened to let
it go without her edits. I know she means it too if I give her too much lip. The PSG
committee is also a very big part of the group. The committee is like a team
who keeps things running smoothly and I don’t have to worry too much on
how things are going to get done. They are members who volunteer each month to
work at the regular meetings and attend the committee meetings where all the
PSG business is conducted. They play a
big part in all the special events. I cannot name all of the past members but
you can see all the helpers at the prize tables and sign-in table. If one of
the helpers is absent at the regular meeting I am confident to ask any
Committee member to fill-in and they are right there to help. Fifteen years is
a long hall for me. I want to thank all the committee members who have helped
in the past and present for a job well done. There are a few committee members
I’d like to show special recognition because they have been a committee
member since day one. They are: Don Barron, George W. Bentz, Ellie Bentz and oh yeah me too. I am proud to say we have
a great Treasurer who has been with us for quite a few years; he is Milton
Price. His wife Debbie also assists him especially during the flea market and
kids’ fishing derbies. Ethel Peapos does a great job as our mascot and sergeant of arms.
I could go on and on about our committee members but I am sure you all know the
great job they are doing. As the PSG Leader, I have been rewarded in many ways
through the years. I have met many people, made new friends, and remember those
who are no longer with us. Great memories are also treasures only you can
keep.
Pasadena Sportfishing Group should be proud of its
accomplishment in seeing construction of the fishing pier at
I surely am going to give
it my best shot with the help of the Committee and my wife.
Thanks
for the memories—-George
HOW
OLD ARE YOU?
Most
of the younger fishing generation today only know how to push a button to make
it work. They have the latest technology in electronics fishing equipment to
help them catch fish. The best of these new advantages is it really help us
improve our fishing skills.
I
remember fishing with a bamboo pole when I was a young boy; there was a brass
spreader and the hooks were snelled with red thread attached to the leader
holding the hook. The floats were very colorful with strips around them and
they were about 8” to 10” long. The
bamboo poles were about 10’ to 12’ long. Yellow
perch and pickerel was the target but we also caught other species. I can even
remember when the first spinning reel was put on the market. Mom and I went to
Montgomery Wards where I purchased my fist spinning reel with the pick up arm
only went half way around. When I got that reel it made me feel like a pro
fisherman.
When we went bay fishing all we had was a bamboo bay rod
and an
How
about the 5 HP outboard motors the size of today’s 200 HP and it was not
a rewind or electric start. I also fished at a quarry located in Lansdowne for
carp and on the way you could buy night crawlers from Bill & Clyde who had
a little shack along side the road. They have grown into the big sport shop
known as “
Bait was never a problem then. You could go to
Soft
crabs and hard crabs were also plentiful. If you needed a bushel of hard crabs
all you had to do was put a few hand lines over and in a few hours you got your
bushel. Some of my hot spots were
There
is so much I could talk about but I am running out of paper. We always refer
to things gone by as the good ole days
because we know they will never return. We have just the memories and all the reminiscing in the world
won’t bring it back. All the modern technologies and numerous varieties
of lures still make fishing a great and challenging sport. Although the lures
catch the eye of the fishermen, it still boils down to the battle between you
and the fish. If you don’t have the right stuff you won’t catch
anything and the fish wins.
What’s
your memories? Come on now you guys I
know you all remember something.
E-mail me a short
story and only with your approval I’ll
have it published in the PSG
HEYFISH newsletter.
George
THE
With all the technology today its hard to keep a secret.
From fish finders to underwater cameras the fish that roam the bay
have a tough time hiding from the fishermen. I can say at times the fish do a
great job keeping the fishermen in suspense.
Those fishermen who think they have a secret of where they are fishing must be
afraid of competition. Those with secrets
are only hurting themselves or being very selfish because fish have tails and
swim from location to location. Some day those
who hold secrets will need help and pay backs are hell. Those with
secrets are not only recreational fishermen but charter boat captains too. Hey
you can’t tell the world where you are fishing by getting on the vhf radio. Get
a list of cell numbers of your friends and use the cell phones for a way
of communication. The best way is to call your buddies the night before and
find out where they are fishing and what they may have heard. Keep your secrets
at low key amongst your fishing buddies and you will be rewarded back some
day. I would tell you more but its a secret - - - - - George
“HEY”
All meetings open differently but PSG is unique. The reason for that is our
meetings are informal with no PSG business discussions. To open the meeting I
simply yell HEY and the
members yell HEY back. Its my attention getter as well as a greeting.
I have to open the meeting somehow and HEY does it. I am sure the
members have no problem
with this and when the members yell back HEY they get everyone to sit up and no one is asleep. What I hate
most about other organizations is when they open their meetings by hitting a
gavel on the table and doing the same thing every time they want your
attention. That gavel banging is really unnerving. I really hate it! I don’t like
the long dragged out business reports and discussions which generally end up between two
people. I call them REDNECK
meetings because when the meeting is over you go home with a red neck and high
blood pressure. In some cases you might not want to return to that hassle. Now
you can understand why I start the Pasadena Sportfishing meeting with a HEY. Another thing that is great about this is all the members
get involved at the opening of the meeting. Okay, what do you think? Am I doing
it right for PSG? Take a minute or two and give me a call on 410-439-3474 and
let me know Call anytime I would really appreciate your input.
THE MATE
When you go on a fishing trip aboard a charter boat, and if there is a mate,
here is a few things you
need to know. The captain has a mate to help you with your fishing. The
mate is out there fishing almost
every day on the same boat and he knows what must be done to catch fish so
listen to him. When trolling
it is very important for him to put the lines out because there is a
pattern so the lines won’t get tangled.
When and if they get tangled let the mate untangle them unless he asks for your
help. At the end of the day
it is very important for the mate to wind the leader around the reel so he
knows how to undo the leader on
the next trip. A good mate will answer most of your questions or explain his
method of doing things. Most
important, is give him room when he is netting a fish or putting out the lines.
Do not feel stupid or
think he is making fun of you if he sees you doing something wrong like
holding the rod and reel upside down. If this is your first fishing trip, let him know so he can
give you
safety tips and the right way to hold the fishing gear. The captain wants the
mate to do his job so let him
do it. He is also there to help make your trip enjoyable.
If you have any problems with the mate, speak to the captain.
I hope this doesn’t happen because most
captains are very selective of who they ask to mate for them. At the end of the
fishing trip don’t forget to tip
the mate. Generally, $10.00 to $20.00 per fisherman. If you’re unsure,
check with the Captain for the going rate.
George
Bentz PSG (Group Leader)
My phone No is 410
HEY FISH (410-439-3474)
My e-mail address is heyfish@comcast.net