71 Fish in 2 Weeks + 1 Turtle

Over the past two weeks, I've been in Kentucky, trying to hook some bluegill and largemouth bass. I have a few friends down there that let me fish on their private lakes. The first day of the trip, I went to a new friend's lake that I had never been to before. I had seen the lake, but never fished it. When I got there, I grabbed the two cane poles and the spin-cast rod out of the bed of my truck. I started fishing around 7:00 am and started instantly catching bluegill on the two cane poles. I had almost no time to throw the spin-cast rod. All the bluegill were normal sized, around 7 inches, nothing fat or long. The other private lake I fish at has 8.5 inch bluegill, so this lake was somewhat of a disappointment.

At 11:00am, I got another ordinary bite on my line, thinking it was another bluegill. I started pulling it up when a head and arms appeared out of the water. I had a turtle on the end of my line! I pulled it onto the bank, and for cryin' out loud, it swallowed the hook. I ended up cutting the line and the turtle walked itself back into the water with a big splash. I shouldn't be surprised that I caught a turtle, after all, I was fishing with live worms. I'm not sure what species of turtle it was, but if you know, please comment below. The picture to the right shows the turtle.

Summer Fishing Trips

Sometimes it's nice to get away from the urban hustle-bustle, even if your in the suburbs. In some suburban regions, such as the outskirts of Philadelphia, there are decently stocked trout streams.

Earlier in July, I went to Michigan to a wild trout stream. Now, in late July and early August, I'll be taking a trip to Kentucky. This trip doesn't have a main goal of fishing, it's supposed to be mostly sightseeing Louisville. But, I'll find a cane pole or a spin-cast rod and fish for some bass or bluegill.

Summer is a hard time for trout in Pennsylvania when it's hot and water temperatures approach the 70's. But in Kentucky, it's prime time for warm water fish like sunfish and bass. Last year, I went on the same trip and caught over 40 bluegill over an 8 hour period. That's about 5 fish each hour, or 1 fish every 12 minutes.

It's great fishing there, but there's nothing like the pull of a trout on a fly rod. So, getting away from your regular fishing hole every once in awhile is a good idea, just to keep in the back of your head.