The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA

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July 19, 2008

Ken Maurer's Inside Line column: Lunker League

By Ken Maurer

Sunday evening's storms raised the river a little this past week.

Anglers who were out on Monday had a good bite going. Tuesday the action slowed a bit, then picked up later in the week. Some sections of the west branch have a good bit of that mossy growth in the water. The north branch isn't too bad yet in most areas.

A FUN TIME: My wife and I have been fishing the Thursday Nite Lunker League at Shikellamy State Park. It is open to the public, and is a fun night out. It costs $20 dollars for each two-person team to enter. One youth is allowed along if under the age of 16.

Each team is allowed to bring one fish back to the scales. Teams should get there by 5:30 to get signed in and get their boats in the water. Each team draws a number and boats leave the no-wake area in order. Boats have to be back inside the no-wake buoys by 9:00 p.m. Money and prizes are given out back to fourth place. It usually takes a pretty good fish, over three pounds, to get in the money. It's all for fun and the neat thing about is that anyone can win, you are always only one cast away from bagging a trophy. All Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission rules apply and the main requirement is to have a functional livewell. All fish must be released, so bring a camera to get a picture of that big one before you let it go.

MUSKIE ACTION: Last week, I accidentally caught a muskie. I was chucking a spinnerbait along a weed bed, looking for bass, when this fish swirled and made a wake, heading for a collision with my hook. He T-boned the spinnerbait and kept right on going -- airborne. He jumped several times and generally created a lot of ruckus. He was a fat little 34-incher with an attitude. I was going to give him a kiss, Jimmy Houston style, but thought about the dude on TV who had the alligator clamp onto his head and decided to just slip him back into the water with a pat on the tail. I'd like to get a hold of him in a couple years when he grows up.

That incident is one of the reasons I like to throw spinnerbaits in the river. I've caught bass, walleye, rock bass, channel cats, fallfish, and, of course, muskies on them. You can also throw them for hours without catching anything, but when they are hitting them, it's fun. I like to throw them when it's windy or when it's raining. Early morning and late evening are also good times. Other lures such as tubes or crankbaits will catch more usually, but spinnerbaits will often get the biggest fish of the day.

Some days they want silver blades, some days gold, and often a combination of the two works well. The skirts come in a rainbow of colors. On any given day, the right combination of colors will catch fish, while something only slightly different might be totally ignored. White is a good all-around choice in skirt color, but it never hurts to try different strokes. Give them a try sometime, you just might catch the big one.

n Ken Maurer, Herndon, is a licensed fishing guide and a regular contributor to the Outdoors section. E-mail comments to kenrose@tds.com

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