Bio
CTF name: P.Dona
Real name: Paul Dona
Age: 38
Current City: Chester
Hometown: Chester
Family members: Wife: Jody; Daughters: Emily, Rachel
Occupation: Gloves and safety product sales



1. What youth sports do you coach and what got you interested in coaching?
I've coached Emily's soccer teams the last 3 years, baseball teams for 3 years and assistant coached Rachel's teams for 2 years.

Soccer: I was coerced into coaching soccer because there weren't enough coaches. I have never played in my life, but with the help of the internet, and the professional coaches we made sure the kids had fun and learned the fundamentals.

Baseball: I played in Chester and our team won the "Chester, Deep River, Essex "little league championship back in 1979. I played till 9th grade when I HAD to get a job to support a vehicle, and my hunting and fishing habits. Coaching baseball is a lot easier for me, because at least I know the game. Next year a new game, softball!!

Right now, three other coaches and I are planning a summer game schedule with our 8-year-old ability kids playing games every Wednesday night. It's a great addition for them going to the next level in their baseball career.



2. You live right near the CT River. What is your favorite species to target in the CT River? And, what are your top three tips for catching more and bigger ones in the CT River?
PIKE is number one!! There is nothing like the initial hit of an aggressive pike.

1. B I G BAITS!! That's the key to any larger fish of any species. We'll be tossing 2-5 oz , 7"-9" hard baits out there, sometimes.. All of my 35"+ pike came on huge baits, although that little white spinnerbait will catch them, too.

2 Time on the water will produce more numbers and niches for better fish. I hope to have more time on the water in the future!!


3. Learn all you can from everyone you can. I've learned a lot from the reports, and fishing with various people on this site. Just by watching Zach work a bait, I've picked up on it and learned how to work it.



3. You work for a company that sells protective gear (gloves, clothing etc.). Do you have any interesting stories about how gear either saved you or someone else from a spoiled fishing trip?
Not really spoiled a trip, but I always have disposable gloves everywhere I go. Up on Champlain I used them to fillet some perch. Our crew gave me a ration of bs, but I didn't need to wash my hands afterwards and it's easy clean up. They're great for baiting up hooks, too.

Do you have any stories about how having the right gear could have prevented a bad time outdoors?
Hmm? I seem to remember at least 2-3 times where friends I fish with forget various items of clothing. HATS! Ahhhhh, JACKETS!! It seems like Walleye fishing is the culprit. I always have extra back-ups in my pack with me just in case I need them.

4. What are your top five favorite pieces of fishing gear (besides rods, reels & lures)?
BOGA GRIP: Great for kids to handle , and weight fish.
Head light: An absolute necessity for night time fishing.
Rubber coated string gloves: Keeps your hands warm in colder months, prevents cuts , gill rakes and tooth marks when handling fish.



Camera: I'll call it fishing gear, cause that picture is my trophy.
Fillet knife! Certain fish we all love to eat!!

5. Out of all of the members on the site you have never fished with, who would you like to fish with the most and why?
That is a really hard question. I would fish with anyone from the site. I've fished with a lot of members in one way or another. I'd love to fish on the back of your G3 for bass, fish with T-BONE for pike, CHRIS-MED for Crappie, to name a few. I could go on, and on. I think we all could get along pretty well and love to fish for those species.

6. What do you think about the private ctfisherman.com so far?
I think it's going great. It's a perfect balance of people sharing the same passion. There is no other site in Ct for all kinds of fishing and other outdoor activities that even compares to the quality of content here. I look forward to all the new stuff you have planned, and hope to make more of the CTF outings we have in the future.

7. Describe your dream fishing trip.
Basically what Blaine will be doing soon. PIKE, and Walleye in the middle of nowhere. Catching them like smallies in the spring time. I just wish it wasn't so far away. I always like to maximize my precious fishing time.

8. You've been active in helping plan a few CTF outings, especially Piketoberfest. What advice do you have for those looking to start an outing?
1. Have it organized and get more loud mouth motivators to help you. I have the luxury of being on the board 8 hours a day, and sometimes on the weekend, so I can keep the information updated pretty easily. All you have to do is look at some of the past outings, and steal their format. The food threads we all use now were probably started at day one of the site!!

2. Go to the functions we all put on, and meet people. Putting a face and a handshake to an avatar changes your whole outlook on someone. When everyone sees what you want to do, they'll be more apt to help you in your adventure.

9. Describe what it's like raising two girls. Is one daughter more into fishing than the other?
Girls? I have a boy, and a girl!! j/k Emily is our fisher girl/jock. Rachel is our girly girl. She's into yoga, gymnastics, and dancing. At times they are challenging, but at the end of the day they are my two little angels. Having kids will change your life!! Now I don't know what life is without them. This was about 4 years ago!!!



10. Your mother recently passed away. What advice do you have for others regarding how to prepare for and deal with such a huge loss?
That's a hard one. She passed away exactly 2 years ago, July 7th. I can never remember dates, but that one will stick in my mind. I don't think there is a way to prepare for a loved one's death. It will definitely make a family stronger. Just remember your loved one is in a good place free of pain, suffering, sickness, and it always in your heart.

11. You've mentioned some of the crazy/adventurous things your brother has done. Tell us about some of them.
He's a fire freak, ah? I mean he likes building fires. BY HAND! I took him duck hunting about 5 years ago, and I went to set the decoys out there. Next thing you know I see smoke billowing from our boat area!! He uses a hand drill most of the time, although I have seen him use a bow and drill. Jack knows first hand how hard it is to start a fire with a hand drill. He must have tried for a good 5-10 minutes up on Champlain. I've tried it lots of times with no success.

This picture is of Charles and his friend, Ray on Champlain. They made an igloo and slept in it the 2nd night we were there. The first night, they just slept in their sleeping bags next to the shanties.



He does 50-mile running races and came in 2nd in the men's division for the 24 hour bike race around Mt Washington, THE GREAT GLEN.

Is there something crazy that you do that your brother won't do?
Not really crazy, but I'll bet I can sit in a chair longer than he could!! That kid can't sit still, he will give a cup of coffee jitters!!!

12. When did you start fishing and what is your earliest fishing memory?
I can remember my dad waking me up opening day when I was about 7-8, but I'll bet he tried taking me before that, too. Another great memory is catching sunny after sunny with poppers on fly rods.

13. Let's say a guy is thinking of trying ice-fishing for the first time this upcoming season. What would you say to convince him to give it a try?
Ya never know what you'll pull up through that hole!!!! Get out there on the ice with some of the ice fisherman here and you'll love it. The best way is at one of the CTF outings we have. Visit all of the crews and see just what everyone does.
" Ice is for liquor " Ok, bring it out on the ice, then!!

14. You've brought some excellent homemade pea soup to many of the outings. What is your recipe?
I really don't have a written recipe for my pea soup. Basically boil up about 7 or 8 smoked ham hocks in a huge pot water, and some bay leaves. Next add about 4 bags of the washed, dried spit peas, carrots, sauted celery, onion, garlic. Take out the hocks, and put it all in a blender with a little bit of meat. (one little secret) I usually chunk up small pieces of smoked sausage, ham, and the little hock meat you get. I'll also put in smoked Gouda cheese, near the end (another little secret) Then let it simmer for a while and add spices to taste. My favorite is curry. I'm always experimenting, and I think it comes out different EVERY time.

15. What is the Connecticut Caching Community?
http://WWW.GEOCACHING.COM is our family's newest adventure!!! It's basically treasure hunting with a GPS. Go on the site, sign up then start looking for caches. We've found 20+ so far, but people have found 2000+ !! Largefry and I found one this past Saturday after the Gardners Lake Tourney. There is another one right on the small island at Gardners that we all found at the kids event.

The CCC is basically the CTF of geocaching. Firefigher skippy and Largefry are both on there as well. I'm sure a lot more people on this site are there too.

16. What is the craziest thing you've seen someone do while boating or fishing?
Crazy, or stupid? Dad and I fished opening day on Cedar Lake a long time ago. This Little jon boat, about 11 ft long had 4 guys very intoxicated guys, coolers, and a ton of gear in it. They started the engine, started to take off, and proceeded to drive the bow straight under water. Luckily it was near the launch and they were able to stand in the water.

17. How did you get into target shooting and how often do you shoot?
My dad started me really young. I remember getting a fat lip with his 12 gauge shooting at a Clorox bottle out of the duck blind. We would shoot .22's , high power rifles, and skeet while up in Maine on vacation to my grandfather's house. He had a 200-yard range, and they would reload different loads to get the best groups. Then I started "falling plate "shooting at my Dad's NIANTIC SPORTSMAN club!! That is a drug!! For a while I was shooting about every other week, and sometimes came in 2nd, and 3rd at the matches…Now I shoot about every couple of months.

18. If you were to break one fish species record in CT, what record-breaking fish would you like to catch?
Ah, PIKE !! I can't imagine a 30-pounder when I've caught 13, and 14-pounders.

19. Does your wife enjoy participating in outdoor activities with you?
She'll go on the boat with the kids, and read a book while we fish. She also likes Geocaching . We've all been on nice hikes and bike rides as a whole family, and probably wouldn't have gone to those places if we didn't do the caches. We haven't gone shooting in a long time, but she does like to shoot as well. We both love working in our flower and vegetable gardens.

20. If Zach were caught cheating in the annual Piketoberfest tournament, what do you think the appropriate punishment should be?
He wouldn't cheat! Jack and I wouldn't let him-We measure each pike down to the millimeter! Lol! Hmm, punishment? Take the trash home? Woops!! Pink tutu ?? : )