Oct 4, 2014 4 min read

There are still some fish to be had.

Just a couple days ago, I was talking to Joe Smith, owner of Smith’s Bait and Tackle in Eighty Four. He was preparing egg sacks for the upcoming steelhead run.

Joe not only sells bait but also is a competent angler. This is demonstrated by the 18-pound mounted steelhead on the wall of his shop. Joe told me the fish are being caught at the mouths of creeks, but low water prevented action upstream in creeks. He’s waiting for a good rain.

While it is difficult to think of trout fishing locally, trout can still be caught at the outflow of the Youghiogheny dam in Fayette County. It’s only 90 minutes from home, which makes it reachable for a day’s worth of fishing. Another place that will give up not only fish but big fish is the Monongahela River from Rices Landing to Greensboro. Last Sunday, my granddaughter’s husband landed a 19-pound channel catfish on six-pound line.

I believe it was the largest fish he ever caught. He sure had enough coaching from the sidelines. Keep your rod tip high so the stress is on the rod, not the line. Keep it away from the dock and don’t force the issue. Let him make his runs. He’ll get tired of pulling, even with the drag set at five pounds, etc.

Most of us have heard of Murphy’s Law. The batteries in my camera went dead, so we couldn’t take a picture of the big fish. Oh well, maybe he’ll catch another one.

The rig he was using was simply the familiar Lindy Rig. A sinker above the hook and a gob of night crawlers for bait. That works as well as anything. Chicken liver also works, as do the blood baits that are found in sporting foods stores.

• I have been doing a lot of shooting lately, using components that I bought years before the shortage. Back then, I worked at a local gun shop and found an occasional deal and had the foresight to buy bullets and powder. I bring this up because while things are loosening up a bit, have you noticed the price? An example would be the cheapest brand of 44 magnum ammo is now $1 a shot.

Federal’s American Eagle in 44 mag costs $49.95 for a box of 50. That is $1 every time you pull the trigger.

The reasoning might be you are so happy you don’t mind paying. Of course, it won’t hurt a bit to start looking for ammo you might need for the upcoming deer season. You don’t have to feed it like you would a pet elephant and you won’t have to run around hunting for it in mid- to late-November.

This is another reminder that needs to be mentioned. If you have any issues with the deer rifle, don’t wait any longer to visit the local gunsmith. They do get busy this time of the year, and don’t expect sympathy if you waited too long to get it repaired before the season starts.

I remember when a fellow brought a scope to the store with a broken reticle on Friday, three days before the season was set to start. He wanted to get it fixed and have it back for the opener. The repair would require shipping it to California and having it returned before Monday.

No, he wasn’t playing games.

He was serious.

The crosshair had broken a year ago and the gun had sat in the closet since that time. If you need it and know it’s broken, get it fixed now. Even if a new scope is bought, you need time to sight the thing in.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.