This popped up overnight.

Just talked to the Arcadia lake office, parks/ramps officially closed but folks are still welcome to park at the ranger station and walk to the dam.

Blues really heatin up catching 4/5 cats as blue. Webt out a few hours with Herb and his buddy Richie(?) and dual boat fished the point cove across from the south side of the dam. Including a pic of how I do my cut shad. Hook goes throughthe folded tip and through the eye socket, change out bout every 15-20mins.

Blues are biting hard on cut shad off rocky points 15-20ft down in the day, 5-10ft in coves all night. Channels too but seeing 5 blues for every channel (excellent). Shad plentiful along the dam around 5-10ft deep on the bottom. Shadzilla’s brother and cousin made an appearance today. Crappie biting hard between 7 and 9pm in shallows. Water is high, carp are splashing around in the weeds everywhere. Caught 2 blues while typing this. 3AM and still biting strong.

I was sitting on the couch with a sick kiddo sleeping next to me when this guy caught me eye out the back window. Grabbed my camera and snapped what pics i could through a dirty window. Very cool looking bird. Click for high res.

The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. Look (and listen) for Pileated Woodpeckers whacking at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, carpenter ants, leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. The nest holes these birds make offer crucial shelter to many species including swifts, owls, ducks, bats, and pine martens.

Took the pop-in law fishing sat morning.