STP Series: Introduction

STP is a commonly used acronym for São Tomé and Príncipe, a Democratic Republic and Portuguese speaking island nation in the Sea of Guinea off the cost of Africa. The coordinates are nearly the intersection between the equator and Prime Meridian at 0°20′N and 6°44′E.

São Tomé and Príncipe

At sea level, the climate is tropical—hot and humid with average yearly temperatures of about 27°C (80°F) and little daily variation. At the interior’s higher altitudes, the average yearly temperature is 20°C (68°F), and nights are generally cool. The rainy season runs from October to May. I’m here during the dry season.

The islands were formed from volcanoes and were uninhabited until 1470 when it was discovered by the Portuguese and only gained independence in 1975, for better or for worse. The country of just over 140 thousand people is poor and underdeveloped.

Downtown São Tomé

Since the late 1980’s various international programs, along with local government projects, have dedicated huge resources and funding to improve the agriculture, economy and standard of living. Nonetheless, it is hard to see much evidence of the effectiveness of these programs, considering the enormous amounts of money spent, and witnessing the current poverty, lack of real development and likely high degree of corruption. With 10’s of millions of dollars spent by international organizations such as the IMF, United Nations, World Bank, African Development Bank, the United States, Portugal and Taiwan… add to that 100’s of millions coming from petroleum deals made in 2004, one has to wonder why 140 thousand people would still be so poor. Draw your own conclusions.

Picture of the Week

Heed the call fishermen!!

Carpe Diem

Backyard Trout Capital – Home of the Brave

Sometimes you never know what you’ll find in your own backyard.

Growing up in the Midwest, Canada was always the Mecca for catching great fish. The further we could get away from civilization the bigger and better the fishing. There must be some “great white north” fishing ratio of miles-to-pounds – for every 50 miles further north add 2 pounds per fish and 4 fish per day.

Even visiting my mother’s family in Upstate New York often included a trip to family cabins in Canada on Crosby Lake.

Finger Lakes

Later, when I was still in high school, my family moved “Upstate” to Canandaigua, New York.

The area is generally referred to as the “Finger Lakes” and is well known for producing wine. In autumn, travelers flock in to enjoy the fall colors, spend cool days on wine tours, and some even stick around for the winter skiing nearby.

Canandaigua Lake is in fairly close proximity to Rochester, New York and is one of the lakes in the region that is particularly known as a summer resort town, so to speak. Lakefront property values go higher every year and the city is one of the fastest growing in the state.

Since Canandaigua Lake was so well known for other lake sports, I never thought of it as a great place to fish. The city is well populated and there are lots of recreational power boats on the lake. It just didn’t square with my idea of a serene and promising lake-of-choice where I could get my fix – the adrenaline rush from a healthy strike.

Most of the recreational watercraft spend their time on the northern end of the lake. So from time to time I’d go out on the south end of the lake, but for a serious outing in the region we’d travel a short distance to other nearby lakes.

Uncle Dale at 86 – his classic smile.

My Uncle Dale (who is now 86) is what I think of as “old school”. He’d make most of his equipment, maintained his own boat motors and even made electric down riggers using automatic-window motors from an old car. I think because he has a sense for how things work, it served him well on the water. He rarely came back without something on the stringer.

In July, I traveled back to Canandaigua with my family to visit Uncle Dale and the rest of my family there. Upon arriving at my father’s house I picked up the local newspaper and was treated to an EYE POPPER… a 21 pound Lake Trout.

My first thoughts were… Ontario Lake? Seneca Lake? …but to my surprise it was my own -taken for granted- Canandaigua Lake. Suddenly I had a flash back to my best friend growing up, David… actually I flashed back to his voice saying “you gotta fish the pump house!”

At the pump house there’s a 90 foot hole at the bottom of the lake – perfect for lake trout because of the depth.

So at this point, I’m trying to square things again and decide to do some research. I began by looking through newspaper archives and even found some research done by a student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Stephen Dwyer) in 2006 and his analysis of Seneca Lake as the “Lake Trout Capital of the World”. Stephen looked at the effects due to the presence of sea lamprey, zebra and quagga mussels, and smelt on the lake trout population in Seneca Lake, as well as, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) management.

This research and other articles led me to the following conclusion: The Lake Trout Capital of the World is more likely to be Canandaigua Lake than Seneca. Here’s why…

Picture of the Week

There were a lot of interesting articles that I read this week and of all the things that I came across the most unusual, yet memorable was the Lakemaid Beer posters that seem to be more and more popular on fishing blogs. So, not to be left out, I thought I’d share one.

Interesting concept really… I can imagine anyone of us fishermen sitting around a cabin after a day on the water talking about life and how to get ahead in the world. Slowly the conversation turns from one subject to another until they all come together in one of those “moments of clarity” that come with a second trip to the fried fish leftover from dinner, and a sixth trip to the cooler for a cold brew… and someone says, “You know, if we could somehow market beer, fishing and women in a single product, we’d make a fortune!”

Followed by the response, “That’s probably the only way you’d ever mix beer, fishing and women!”

Miss Walleye

But I’ve always thought there was something kind of fishy about mermaids… (sorry, couldn’t resist)

Artist Feature – Catch and Release Paintings

I’m always looking around for cool fishing related activities and stuff. I love original artwork and I’ve seen fish, and fishing, expressed through a lot of mediums.

Recently I happened upon and artist who had some pretty impressive reproductions of Trout and other species created from the original photographs of these fish. Catch and Release Paintings is the creation of Paul Puckett who is an angler living in Texas but has a true talent and gift which he combines with his love for the sport.

Artwork: Paul Puckett

With my father’s 72nd birthday approaching, I thought it would be an original gift so I contacted Paul and asked him about the possibility of working from a photograph of a beautiful Northern Pike my father had caught two years prior in Ontario, Canada.

Paul responded to my email immediately and said he’d be happy to discuss my request. He explained that he’d never created a Pike before and was looking forward to the challenge. He explained his rates and the dimensions of the final painting. I sent him some additional details about the lure used, date and location and Paul said it would take about a month and a half to create. The timing worked out perfect for me since I would be visiting my father at that time and could have it shipped directly to my father’s home.

I anxiously awaited the piece and a couple of days before its arrival, Paul sent me a picture (the one you see above) to give me an idea of what the final result was. I must say that this pictures certainly does not do justice to the artwork when seen in person.

The package arrived via USPS and I anxiously awaited my father’s reaction to seeing the work… not to mention how much I wanted to see what I’d invested in. As we unrolled the 14 x 20 canvas we couldn’t help sporting an “ahh” kind of grin that comes with uncovering a prized treasure.

…come to think of it, it’s the exact same smile he had when he caught this fish the first time. Happy Birthday Dad!

EGO – In awe

Sunset: Corriente River, Corrientes

I came across this picture I took in late 2007 or early 2008 of the Rio Corriente in the Argentine Provice, Corrientes.

It was a great EGO moment at sunset. I was with good friends, standing in waist deep water wondering at the beauty of nature. I hope you enjoy it.

You can find this and other pictures like it on the EGO page.