The Mitch's Fishing Tips

Hey all! As I wake up on yet another rainy summer day, I am reminded once again that I have not been able to enjoy one of my favorite things in life as much as I want to......fishing! And, I have the day off and Rachel is too busy being busy to notice I am busy writing on her blog. I have had a couple of chances to go this season and have had some great outings. Most of my fishing has taken place this spring and early summer as the clear sky and cool temps allowed for some amazing small mouth and trout fishing. I don't know how many of you out there are into fishing, but I thought I would share some helpful ideas and tips that might improve your wet late summer fishing! Here are some of the things that help me have a fun and peaceful experience.........

1. We live in Vermont. Lots of great places to go. Open your atlas and search for an interesting river system that feeds into a pond or lake. These types of places are great for small mouth bass fishing and allow for a day full of bushwhacking and adventure. This may not be the ideal situation for those who are looking to hang out on the shore with a beverage and play the waiting game for their fishies!!

2. For those who are interested in relaxing while fishing, I highly suggest looking into hanging out at a State Park which has beach and trail access. This will allow for a relaxing time with the fam or yourself while you kick back and just see what happens. This is the perfect time to use live bait (night crawlers, shiners, and various types of grubs).

3. If walking or sitting is not your bag, try canoe or kayak fishing. This is the best way to access key areas on a lake or pond and will give you the best chance at finding some tasty dinner! Look for over hanging trees, rocks, logs, or any type of cover near the shore line. Our friends with gills love to camp out under or next to these types of cover.

4. No matter where you go, always bring a selection of gear. Try to bring a variety of tackle, proper clothing (depending on location), food and water, sunscreen, bug spray, a container to keep fish in if you are keeping your catch (be sure to keep them cold), if you are not keeping them but want to have evidence of the "big one" bring a camera. REMINDER - If you are taking your catch, please be sure to examine the health and size of your catch. If it seems small, put it back and let it grow, we do have a responsibility to keep the population growing!!

5. A very important thing to remember is when using live bait, especially shiners or minnows, is to NEVER ok to dump left over bait into Vermont's water systems. These bait fish are not native species and have the potential to invade ecosystems and disrupt natural fish populations and feeding habits. PLEASE TAKE THIS TIP SERIOUSLY!!!!!

6. Last of all, no matter where you go, or who you go with, have fun! I have to admit I get a little frustrated when I am out all day and nothing happens, but I have to remember what I am doing......fishing! We live in one the greatest places in the country for outdoor and natural recreation, so even if it is a tough day, just be thankful that we are blessed with such bountiful opportunities!! I hope everyone has the best of late summer experiences! Peace, The Mitch!

PS - Best Tip for Having Someone Paddle You Around - make it seem like a romantic canoe trip and get your honey to chauffeur you around the lake - heeheeheeheehee.


Oh, and click HERE to get your fishing license online!

The Garden in the Rain

The rain has got my vibes down too. At times I feel grumpy and irritable as if it were March! But, instead of lamenting over the state of the weather, I thought it was high time to share a bunch of Charlotte Farmhouse pictures! Of course, many are from earlier in the summer, but always worth sharing! The Mitch and I realized the hard work of last year's gardening season has definitely paid off this year. And after our initial mini-catastrophe with the clay/dirt, we added some great topsoil, fish emulsion, and landscaped some flower beds. It really looks fabulous! We're in for some weeding, cutting back overgrowth, and weed whacking tomorrow and then I'll get some more pictures up.

The veggies are doing well despite the rain. The tomatoes are slow and some are cracking, but our soil is rich, well drained, and in a 100% south facing field, so that has saved them. The peppers are slow, but we've had some. The cucumber, zucchini, and melon plants have been loving this rain and the plants are huge. They are all flowering and fruit is starting to appear. The celery is the champ!!! I hear it is hard to grow and failed at it a few years ago, but it looks spectacular! And the herbs, peas, leeks, onions, garlic, and lettuce have been plentiful. The peas have made for some great stir-fry's. The broccoli bolted due to the weather, but we still got some and I am cutting those back tomorrow - even though I know the bees love the flowers - I've left them up for a while and they'll come back! Oh, and I better thin those carrots!

Here are some Charlotte Farmhouse pics, garden pics, and some of bringing the outdoors in and indoors out...

Music in July

So much is going on this July with music I guess it's as good an attempt as any to make up for the horrific weather! While I usually try to write about my Vibe adventures, I fear I will not get a chance to write about all of these and since I no longer write the Vermont Music Blog, I want to share some of my musical adventures coming up this month!

Without further ado...


Ween! I actually have never seen Ween. Most of my friends are in love with them and well, when you love music as much as I do and are NOT a trust fund kid (as some idiotic Phish boys insisted I was after reading my Phish blog - they also thought I was 18 - bwah!), you have to pick and choose what music you spend money on and Ween just never got in the shopping cart. Once I found out they are playing at the Burlington Waterfront as part of the multi-faceted Lake Champlain Quadracentenial Celebration, The Mitch and I made the decision that we did indeed need to attend. I have enjoyed the music of Ween in numerous social situations when friends have been playing it, am told by many of these same friends they cannot believe I am not a huge Ween fan, and after receiving a Ween coloring book that was even too strange for my taste, knew I could put off this musical experience no longer. So a group of us are going to camp at North Beach for the weekend and celebrate 400 years of Lake Champlain being called Lake Champlain. Maybe we'll see Champ!
Ween, Burlington Waterfront, Saturday, July 11th

Vermont Mozart Festival! The following weekend The Mitch and I will be heading to Shelburne Farms for the opening night of the Vermont Mozart Festival. Last year it was canceled and was held at the Champlain Valley Expo Center which was irritating because half of what you pay for (in my opinion) is the outside experience, but at least we could bring in our picnics and wine. This year I am crossing my fingers that it will be outside because our Vermont Symphony Orchestra experience last week was already brought indoors and for that picnics and wine were not allowed. Anyway, regardless the music is lovely and we purchased tickets some time ago and are sending out Vermont Vibes for the sun and a lovely evening of classical music.
Vermont Mozart Festival Opening Night, Shelburne Farms, Sunday, July 19th

Speaking of classical music, the North American headquarters of the British classical music record company, the Divine Art Recordings Group, has officially opened their English Tea Room - Harmony and is in the process of setting up a variety of classical music events at their United States headquarters in Brandon, Vermont! Easily named Brandon Music - Vermont's Classical Music Haven is in the former Warren Kimble Gallery and is home to a very diverse CD store selling music from a collection of labels under the Divine Art umbrella. Quite a lot going on and in the works - check it out by visiting when in Brandon and check out the brand new website at www.brandonmusicvt.com!

And finally, the weekend of July 24th, before The Mitch and I head out of state to rock out with moe., I'll be paying my respects to Michael Jackson at the One Glove Michael Jackson Tribute being held at Higher Ground. Hosted by Vermont's most innovative news outlet, Seven Days, the One Glove event is presented by Woodchuck Draft Cider - the country's most widely distributed hard cider which is made in Vermont and is naturally gluten free! Higher Ground will officially be switching to Woodchuck Draft Cider as their hard cider choice that evening and I can't wait to check out the karaoke competition and dance away while Top Hat Entertainment plays hopefully every Michael Jackson tune I can think of.
One Glove: A Michael Jackson Tribute, Higher Ground, Friday, July 24th

And look - it's sunny out!!!