Fishing in Florida

Last year at this time I was in Florida visiting my mother and father-in-law. This year I was not able to make it to Florida because my mother-in-law is having some health issues. So, I thought I would bring back a blast from a past Florida trip. 

As you can see, Pop (my father-in-law) has an audience while cleaning fish. These birds act like they are waiting to enter a five star restaurant, called "Pop's Filet," right before it opens. Anyway, Pop has been fishing down in Florida on Lemon Bay. Lucky for him, he has missed the cold hard winter and has been enjoying the 70's while we suffered in the teens. 

What was the catch of the day, Sheephead, six to be exact. Okay, they don't look like a sheep's head, but if you look at their teeth, then you would think they have sheep teeth. That's why they are called sheep's head. They are great tasting fish, however even with the size of these shown, the meat will only be the size of  two chicken strips after they are filleted.  
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Check-out that knife that's in Pop's hand. I'm not sure if he is ready to clean fish or have a knife fight with a Great Blue Heron over his catch. Here's the good news, next week I will be "fishing on Lemon Bay, drinking lemonade" and hopefully catching a few fish. Wish me luck and I will post a few pictures during the trip on the blog. Oh yeah, here's one of my vintage styled maps of Lemon Bay that I personalized and gave to Pop as a gift. That's him in the photos. See more of my maps at LeoMaps.com

"Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream, or at least put one on the wall!"

A little Bait Humor...

Here I go again, making bait fun.  

Need a great gift for the Lake Lover. My maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. Oh yeah, I hide a tiny mermaid in the waters of all my maps that folks love to search for. Find out more interesting facts about my treasured maps by going to LeoMaps.com. 

Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Old Field Studio News

Growing up near lakes, rivers and bays have paid-off. I took daughter, Callie to the airport today on her way to LSU. She has been selected as a candidate for their PHD Program in Biology/Ecology. She has already visited The University of Georgia and there are two other universities interested, The University of North Carolina and The University of Pittsburg. We will wait to see how far we have to travel to visit her in the future!

Congratulations Callie

Remember: Life is short, get away from the big screen and get on a big stream!

Old lures have a story.

"Old lures have a story!" I have been lucky to have a couple of lures that my grandfather fished with in the 20s & 30s. Now, my grandfather was not much of a fisherman, but did fish on rare occasion. When I was a kid, the family cleaned out his home after he passed. My father and I found these old Heddon lures in his shop. My father said he remembered these when he was a kid and fished with them on the Duck River. Just think these lures were used during the depression, & WWII.

As you can see, they have seen better days. In fact, someone tried to modify the top lure for some reason. I do wonder what's the story behind this bait, where was it purchased, and what fish were caught. I'm sure if this bait could talk, it would be fascinating.

They are made of wood. The shellac has deteriorated with age and the paint is starting to crack and flake off. The quality of the craftsmanship is excellent. The diving spoon is thick and made from high quality metal, no rust after 80-85 years.

I bet my father or his brother modified this lure when they were young and decided a spinner would be better added to the front. Oh well, I am glad to have these old relics.They are not worth much to anyone else but me. I do want to preserve the story and place them in a better container. So, I decided to print and build an old fashion lure box made of paper.

You just can't tell the story of an old lure unless you know it, write it down and keep it for future fishermen.  Remember:  "Old fishermen may pass, but their bait lives on!"

I do custom and personalized lake, river, island or bay decor maps. They make a great gift for the lake lover. If you would like to see if we have your body of water, go to LeoMaps.com. 

Life is short, get away from the big the screen and get on the big screen.

Great Valentine's Day gift for the lake lover!

I love to receive comments back from customers. Here's one that made my day! Makes a great Valentine's Day gift for the lake lover.

Go to www.Leolakes.com to see if we have your map. We have many popular lake maps such as the Lake Winnipesaukee, Great Sacandaga Lake, Lewis Smith Lake, Pickwick Lake, Greer's Ferry Lake, Lake Sidney Lanier, Lake Sinclair, Table Rock Lake, and Lake Wallenpaupack. Also, we paint custom maps and have personalized maps for that special someone. 

My Valentines Cartoons

Here's my early Valentine Day cartoons, oldies but goodies.  Anyway, hope you enjoy and have a Happy Valentines Day!

Also, if you like my cartoons, checkout my vintage style lake, river and bay decor maps. I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. These maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com.

Custom Lake Maps

Here's a custom lake map that I did for a customer in Minnesota. This paintings is printed on canvas and is 16x32. For a special touch, I actually hand paint/touch-up the waterfowl and other areas after printing. This makes the print pop when hanging on the wall.  The print shown here is before touch-up.

Meadow Lake is located in Minnesota and it's a fairly small lake. I do all size lakes and shapes. This map turned out great and is now hanging in a lake house over looking Meadow Lake. I sometimes place a star at the location of the lake house which folks really enjoy. Also, I have had folks request this poem that my wife dreamed up. I place it around the map or insert it in the map somewhere. I love the poem.

"I Love this lake, The most amazing scenes appear in its wake, The sun arises just above the shore, Giving grace and beauty to this place I adore." LKO

You know, I do hide things in the waters. I hide a tiny mermaid/fish in the waters of all my lake map paintings that folks love to search for. I call my maps treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. These maps make great gifts for the lake house owner, lake lover, or fisherman. I have over two hundred on my website that can be purchased right from the site, or I can do custom and personalizes lake, river or bay maps, too. If you would like to see more and read about my treasured maps go to LeoMaps.com. 

As you can see, my maps make a great gift. To see more of my work click 

See more at www.LeoLakes.com

My New Years Resolution

Here's my New Years Resolution and it should be yours too! I took this photo near Lemon Bay Florida. The Dolphin was just having fun cruising the bay. This is what you could see, if you get away from the big screen!

Paddle over to my website, LeoLakes.com. I paint beautiful lake, river and bay decor maps. Folks are discovering that these decor maps are wonderfully unique gifts that become family heirlooms. Oh yeah, I hide things in the lake waters, such as a tiny mermaid/fish. Folks love to search for them. I call my maps, treasured maps because most folks have that special body of water that they treasure. My treasured maps make a great gift for the fisherman, lake lover, or Lake house.