In late March, the Grannom Caddis hatch began occurring, mostly on the Little Juniata River. It was a great time, we landed hundreds of trout in the two week hatch, with a great amount over 15 inches. Then, I received a shock. I was visiting the Alma Matter for the weekend, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was my father, telling me about the great day of fishing he just had. More importantly, however, he mentioned that the sulphurs (my favorite hatch) were coming off. In Mid April!!! It was kind of eerie, but at the same time I was stoked. I hooked multiple fish in the 20 inch range, including this boomer of a rainbow trout.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Spring Update
Now for what happened in the spring. As I was saying, the ice mostly melted by early March, and sure enough, the temperatures were unseasonably warm. As a result, the trout fly hatches were occurring a few weeks ahead of schedule, and sure enough, the blue-winged olive hatch was happening on Spring Creek, by late February. It is a fun hatch to fish, but timing is key, since the hatch occurs during the heat of the day, from about noon to two or threeish. My highlight of this hatch was an 18 inch brown trout I caught in a back pocket of the Benner Springs section, unfortunately the camera didn't work.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Well, happy belated Thanksgiving, holidays, Valentine's Day, Easter, and any other day I may have missed.
Yes, I am well aware that it has been a very long time since I've written one of these, but I have been working two temporary positions, and recently moved to the Berwick/ Bloomsburg, PA area for a new job.
Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to do this update in two parts. The first (this) post will pick up where I left off last year, and take you through the Fall and Winter. The second post will discuss what has happened so far this Spring. So, pay attention, and I promise to write more often in the future.
Later last fall, most of my fishing consisted of steelhead trips to Erie, during that late Fall/ early Winter phase where everyone else is either buck hunting, or waiting for ice. The steelhead runs seemed to be more populous, and I spent much of my time tying flies, both the usual (wooly buggers and single eggs) as well as experimental patterns (san juan worms, sucker spawn patterns in strange colors, crystal nymphs).
On one trip, my father and I got up early to fish Elk Creek, one of the West Side Tributaries, right near Uncle John's campground. Strangely, my chartreuse sucker spawn fly was extremely hot, and within a few casts, I hooked and lost a nice steelhead. After noticing he took my fly, I decided to tie on one of the pink/ orange san juan worms, just to see what happened. Sure enough, I hooked this 27" citation brown trout.
After that, saw what would've been a personal best steelhead, and finally hooked him after throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him. Unfortunately, he ended up throwing my hook, and I almost had an aneurysm. Later on, fished my favorite hole at 16 Mile Creek, and hooked a good number of steel head. Most importantly, Rocky the Steel head retriever had a blast.
That was the last of the big fishing events for the remainder of the year, with the exception of some random trips to lakes and streams "just for something to do." Most of my time was spent waiting for ice to form on the local lakes, so I could hit the hard water. On Iceshanty.com, my buddies were speculating we would get out on the ice in early December, but this just didn't happen. The month progressed, and desperation mode kicked in, and ice fishing predictions began to change from "when" to "if". It was like a curse, as I would check the ten day forecast, and get excited because consistent freezing temperatures were in the forecast. It got even better, when I would drive out to the lake, and see an inch or two of "skim" ice beginning to form.. Then, out of nowhere, the forecast would change for the worst, and 50 or 60 degree rainy days would ruin everything.
Finally, in the middle of January, when I was about to say "screw it" and get the boat back out, some of the local lakes (Sayers and Glendale didn't even freeze this year, but I suppose the great luck with bass I've been having makes up for it) got enough ice to fish on them. And, it ended up being a shortened, yet productive ice fishing season of about two months, even though Black Moshannon is the only lake I got to fish hard.
Very first day out (I was the only one on the lake, and some criticized me for it, but I was fine) hooked this 8 inch perch on a tip down with a fat head minnow.
( By the way, I got Lasik surgery in December, and no longer need glasses). Anyway, sure enough, posted about it on Iceshanty, and when I came back the next day, it appeared that word got out (not sure if I was responsible for this). Anyway, I established a strategy of setting up a few shiners on tip ups, and some fat heads and meal worms on tip down tandem rigs. The strategy began to produce. I found a new secret spot, which was right off the end of a downed tree in about five to eight feet of water. One day, I was sitting on my bucket in a day dream, when I heard a light "pop" sound. I looked up, and sure enough, the flag on one of my tip ups was standing straight up. I rushed over to it, and saw the spool rapidly spinning. After a brief fight, I pulled out this nice 25" pickerel.
For the remainder of the ice season, I caught a nice mixed bag of pickerel, perch, bass, and bluegill. Weeks later, I was fishing at night and about to pack up when my tip-down went off. I pulled up this fat hawg 11.5" perch.
The ice season ended earlier than usual, due to the unseasonably warm temperatures that began in the middle of March ( I remember wearing shorts and a t-shirt to watch the first round of March Madness). Not only that, but the trout fly hatches began occurring earlier than normal, and I found myself doing well with the blue winged-olives around this time.
Yes, I am well aware that it has been a very long time since I've written one of these, but I have been working two temporary positions, and recently moved to the Berwick/ Bloomsburg, PA area for a new job.
Anyway, I've decided that I'm going to do this update in two parts. The first (this) post will pick up where I left off last year, and take you through the Fall and Winter. The second post will discuss what has happened so far this Spring. So, pay attention, and I promise to write more often in the future.
Later last fall, most of my fishing consisted of steelhead trips to Erie, during that late Fall/ early Winter phase where everyone else is either buck hunting, or waiting for ice. The steelhead runs seemed to be more populous, and I spent much of my time tying flies, both the usual (wooly buggers and single eggs) as well as experimental patterns (san juan worms, sucker spawn patterns in strange colors, crystal nymphs).
On one trip, my father and I got up early to fish Elk Creek, one of the West Side Tributaries, right near Uncle John's campground. Strangely, my chartreuse sucker spawn fly was extremely hot, and within a few casts, I hooked and lost a nice steelhead. After noticing he took my fly, I decided to tie on one of the pink/ orange san juan worms, just to see what happened. Sure enough, I hooked this 27" citation brown trout.
After that, saw what would've been a personal best steelhead, and finally hooked him after throwing everything but the kitchen sink at him. Unfortunately, he ended up throwing my hook, and I almost had an aneurysm. Later on, fished my favorite hole at 16 Mile Creek, and hooked a good number of steel head. Most importantly, Rocky the Steel head retriever had a blast.
That was the last of the big fishing events for the remainder of the year, with the exception of some random trips to lakes and streams "just for something to do." Most of my time was spent waiting for ice to form on the local lakes, so I could hit the hard water. On Iceshanty.com, my buddies were speculating we would get out on the ice in early December, but this just didn't happen. The month progressed, and desperation mode kicked in, and ice fishing predictions began to change from "when" to "if". It was like a curse, as I would check the ten day forecast, and get excited because consistent freezing temperatures were in the forecast. It got even better, when I would drive out to the lake, and see an inch or two of "skim" ice beginning to form.. Then, out of nowhere, the forecast would change for the worst, and 50 or 60 degree rainy days would ruin everything.
Finally, in the middle of January, when I was about to say "screw it" and get the boat back out, some of the local lakes (Sayers and Glendale didn't even freeze this year, but I suppose the great luck with bass I've been having makes up for it) got enough ice to fish on them. And, it ended up being a shortened, yet productive ice fishing season of about two months, even though Black Moshannon is the only lake I got to fish hard.
Very first day out (I was the only one on the lake, and some criticized me for it, but I was fine) hooked this 8 inch perch on a tip down with a fat head minnow.
( By the way, I got Lasik surgery in December, and no longer need glasses). Anyway, sure enough, posted about it on Iceshanty, and when I came back the next day, it appeared that word got out (not sure if I was responsible for this). Anyway, I established a strategy of setting up a few shiners on tip ups, and some fat heads and meal worms on tip down tandem rigs. The strategy began to produce. I found a new secret spot, which was right off the end of a downed tree in about five to eight feet of water. One day, I was sitting on my bucket in a day dream, when I heard a light "pop" sound. I looked up, and sure enough, the flag on one of my tip ups was standing straight up. I rushed over to it, and saw the spool rapidly spinning. After a brief fight, I pulled out this nice 25" pickerel.
For the remainder of the ice season, I caught a nice mixed bag of pickerel, perch, bass, and bluegill. Weeks later, I was fishing at night and about to pack up when my tip-down went off. I pulled up this fat hawg 11.5" perch.
The ice season ended earlier than usual, due to the unseasonably warm temperatures that began in the middle of March ( I remember wearing shorts and a t-shirt to watch the first round of March Madness). Not only that, but the trout fly hatches began occurring earlier than normal, and I found myself doing well with the blue winged-olives around this time.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Changing Color Fun
Well, happy October everyone!!
Its the time of year where the colors are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and the fish are biting to fatten up for winter. And with the summer pleasure boaters gone, along with those who would rather hunt, there are plenty of fish to go around.
The lakes have been fishing decently lately, though a little high with some of the rain. I fished sayers a few weeks back, and hooked a couple of nice catfish, as well as something that snapped me off near a downed tree. I really want to get out on the lakes soon, as the clearer water and cooler temperatures will make the fish more active. Maybe head out to raystown soon in hopes of some striper or lake trout.
More importantly, however, we made our first trip of the season to Erie for steelhead fishing in the tributary. Steelhead are considered to be sea-run rainbow trout, eventhough they are extremely closely related to Salmon. They get into the 10 to 20 pound range, and it is extremely addicting to watch one inhale your fly, and take off, with your reel singing.
Friday, got up early and had to make the decision of the "west side tribs" (Elk, Walnut) or the "east side tribs" ( the mile creeks). There was a huge rainstorm on Thursday night, and after hearing some reports of Walnut being nearly blown out, I decided on 16 and 20 mile creeks, which are over towards the town of Northeast. The stream had more water in it than I thought, but it was still pretty clear. Started out at the mouth of 16 mile, with an olive wooly bugger. Missed one in a small divet along the rock wall, and then moved up to the falls, where plenty of fish, along with anglers, had congregated. Switched over to a red and orange half and half pattern (a few loops of red yarn on the tail as a sucker spawn, and an orange glo bug up near the head.) Caught one on this, accidently snagged another, and missed several up here. However, an older gentleman caught probably five in the couple hours I was over there. At this point, the fish seemed to be weary of the presence of the anglers, so I worked my way up.
Some steelhead were in a pocket behind a downed tree, and I worked these with various flies. A big problem was that the fish would try and run under and around the downed tree, leading to lost fish for myself and other anglers. It was around noon, so I decided I would grab a bite to eat, and head over to 20 mile.
After scarfing down a hot sausage hoagie and an order of fries at the Freeport restaraunt, I arrived at the crowded parking lot at 20 mile. Found a space of about 20 feet between two anglers, in a nice pool with some fish. The hot ticket here was black wooly buggers, fished weightless. Now, for steelhead, I tie these with a very bushy tail, as this adds to the natural action and motion of the fly. I caught two in this hole (D'oh! I forgot my net, so they were flopping around in the leaves for a bit before I got pictures), and had another one that made a nice run upstream before shaking my fly.
Worked my way down to the mouth, and there were a lot of fish. Unfortunately, there were also a lot of anglers, and the winds had picked up, blowing leaves and weeds into the stream. The fish here didn't seem the least bit interested in my wooly buggers.
I switched over to an experimental fly, which was a chartreuse sucker spawn, that I tied with green weenie chenille, since I didnt have any yarn of this color. Surprisingly, I had two hookups within a matter of minutes on this fly, before the 2nd one snapped me off. While I wanted to fish more, I had made some plans for later that night, and I decided I'd better begin the drive back home. A great trip all in all, though!
An important thing is to get creative with your tying, and don't be afraid to try some new patterns. The steelhead see the same egg sacs, prince nymphs, and whatnot day after day, and they'd gladly go after a new fly. The man at 16 mile was fishing a crystal caddis nymph, which I had never even heard of. Go to google and search something along the lines of "hot steelhead flies Erie" or just tie your usual flies, in newer, strange colors. You never know when you might stumble onto a hot pattern, and be the next "only guy catching anything."
Its the time of year where the colors are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and the fish are biting to fatten up for winter. And with the summer pleasure boaters gone, along with those who would rather hunt, there are plenty of fish to go around.
The lakes have been fishing decently lately, though a little high with some of the rain. I fished sayers a few weeks back, and hooked a couple of nice catfish, as well as something that snapped me off near a downed tree. I really want to get out on the lakes soon, as the clearer water and cooler temperatures will make the fish more active. Maybe head out to raystown soon in hopes of some striper or lake trout.
More importantly, however, we made our first trip of the season to Erie for steelhead fishing in the tributary. Steelhead are considered to be sea-run rainbow trout, eventhough they are extremely closely related to Salmon. They get into the 10 to 20 pound range, and it is extremely addicting to watch one inhale your fly, and take off, with your reel singing.
Friday, got up early and had to make the decision of the "west side tribs" (Elk, Walnut) or the "east side tribs" ( the mile creeks). There was a huge rainstorm on Thursday night, and after hearing some reports of Walnut being nearly blown out, I decided on 16 and 20 mile creeks, which are over towards the town of Northeast. The stream had more water in it than I thought, but it was still pretty clear. Started out at the mouth of 16 mile, with an olive wooly bugger. Missed one in a small divet along the rock wall, and then moved up to the falls, where plenty of fish, along with anglers, had congregated. Switched over to a red and orange half and half pattern (a few loops of red yarn on the tail as a sucker spawn, and an orange glo bug up near the head.) Caught one on this, accidently snagged another, and missed several up here. However, an older gentleman caught probably five in the couple hours I was over there. At this point, the fish seemed to be weary of the presence of the anglers, so I worked my way up.
Some steelhead were in a pocket behind a downed tree, and I worked these with various flies. A big problem was that the fish would try and run under and around the downed tree, leading to lost fish for myself and other anglers. It was around noon, so I decided I would grab a bite to eat, and head over to 20 mile.
After scarfing down a hot sausage hoagie and an order of fries at the Freeport restaraunt, I arrived at the crowded parking lot at 20 mile. Found a space of about 20 feet between two anglers, in a nice pool with some fish. The hot ticket here was black wooly buggers, fished weightless. Now, for steelhead, I tie these with a very bushy tail, as this adds to the natural action and motion of the fly. I caught two in this hole (D'oh! I forgot my net, so they were flopping around in the leaves for a bit before I got pictures), and had another one that made a nice run upstream before shaking my fly.
Worked my way down to the mouth, and there were a lot of fish. Unfortunately, there were also a lot of anglers, and the winds had picked up, blowing leaves and weeds into the stream. The fish here didn't seem the least bit interested in my wooly buggers.
I switched over to an experimental fly, which was a chartreuse sucker spawn, that I tied with green weenie chenille, since I didnt have any yarn of this color. Surprisingly, I had two hookups within a matter of minutes on this fly, before the 2nd one snapped me off. While I wanted to fish more, I had made some plans for later that night, and I decided I'd better begin the drive back home. A great trip all in all, though!
An important thing is to get creative with your tying, and don't be afraid to try some new patterns. The steelhead see the same egg sacs, prince nymphs, and whatnot day after day, and they'd gladly go after a new fly. The man at 16 mile was fishing a crystal caddis nymph, which I had never even heard of. Go to google and search something along the lines of "hot steelhead flies Erie" or just tie your usual flies, in newer, strange colors. You never know when you might stumble onto a hot pattern, and be the next "only guy catching anything."
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Hot Fall Fishing
Sorry it's been so long, everyone. But we are officially into fall, and the bite is really starting to heat up on almost every species.
First, I was on vacation right after hurricane Irene, and had a decent week of surf fishing. Throwing mullet on a bluefish rig, I was able to land many bluefish (including this nice 16 incher pictured below) as well as a shark, which shocked the hell out of me.
I have also had alot of success on the lakes as well, mainy Sayer's Dam. During the first part of September, I caught some nice smallmouth over the deeper roadbed and artificial structure:
Unfortunately, as the water cools, the fish move back into the shallows, into kind of a spawning-like state. It took me awhile to figure out that this happened right after Tropical Storm Lee, and the resulting front. The adjustment was well worth it.
I decided to start fishing the Lower Green's Run section of the lake, where there is plenty of shallow structure, from rocks and drop offs, to brush piles, weedbeds, and logs. Last Thursday, I was able to catch a bunch of crappie, as well as several bass in the 10-14 inch range. I even snagged a bog turtle by accident. Monday night, I was fishing near a downed tree, and hooked something that felt nice, but snapped me off due to a loop in my line. Very next cast, I hooked something else that was quite a fighter. Sure enough, after a brief fight, I pulled up this bucketmouth of a largemouth bass, about 4.5 pounds.
First, I was on vacation right after hurricane Irene, and had a decent week of surf fishing. Throwing mullet on a bluefish rig, I was able to land many bluefish (including this nice 16 incher pictured below) as well as a shark, which shocked the hell out of me.
Now, fast forward a few weeks later here, and I'm back to fishing freshwater. Through early to mid September, we had a cold front move through, along with plenty of rain. This, combined with the temperatures dropping, has cooled the water down, making the fish more active.
On the Juniata River, the isonychia have been hatching recently, making for some nice trout catches on the flyrod. While there is not much action on the surface, the fish have been aggresively striking the nymphs. Last friday, fished back in the state forest next to a railroad bridge, and caught this nice sized rainbow trout.
I have also had alot of success on the lakes as well, mainy Sayer's Dam. During the first part of September, I caught some nice smallmouth over the deeper roadbed and artificial structure:
I decided to start fishing the Lower Green's Run section of the lake, where there is plenty of shallow structure, from rocks and drop offs, to brush piles, weedbeds, and logs. Last Thursday, I was able to catch a bunch of crappie, as well as several bass in the 10-14 inch range. I even snagged a bog turtle by accident. Monday night, I was fishing near a downed tree, and hooked something that felt nice, but snapped me off due to a loop in my line. Very next cast, I hooked something else that was quite a fighter. Sure enough, after a brief fight, I pulled up this bucketmouth of a largemouth bass, about 4.5 pounds.
Strangely, I had four different nice hits in the same area, and I know they all couldn't have been the same fish.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Fall is in the air
Well, it's getting back to that time of year, where nearly everyone, from young children to retirees, is "getting back into the routine or swing of things." While fall doesn't officially, "calendar-wise," end until September 21st, kids will be back in school next week, many of the summer attractions will be shutting down on labor day, and it will be back to the hustle and bustle of families getting up for school and work, coming home, throwing together dinner, and rushing off to weeknight practices, meetings, and other commitments. The swimsuits, flip-flops, and baseball games will soon turn to hoodies, jeans, boots, and football. I am sorry to see summer go, but that doesn't mean there can't be brightsides. Fish will soon be scrambling to eat as much as they can, in preparation for the upcoming icing of their water bodies. In other words, some of the best fishing of the year!!
Anyway, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I recently took a new job. Fishing has picked up a bit, with slightly cooler temperatures. Fished spring creek a few times recently, with my combination green weenie and "zebra" nymph, caught several decent trout, and a bunch of suckers. The Juniata for smallmouth has been fishing well recently, my dad and I seem to catch plenty of them everytime we go,especially wil the whitefly hatch in the evening.
Lake fishing slowed dramatically, but has picked up recently. Fished sayers last night, and caught this two pound fat hog of a largemouth:
Anyway, sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I recently took a new job. Fishing has picked up a bit, with slightly cooler temperatures. Fished spring creek a few times recently, with my combination green weenie and "zebra" nymph, caught several decent trout, and a bunch of suckers. The Juniata for smallmouth has been fishing well recently, my dad and I seem to catch plenty of them everytime we go,especially wil the whitefly hatch in the evening.
Lake fishing slowed dramatically, but has picked up recently. Fished sayers last night, and caught this two pound fat hog of a largemouth:
Also caught a nice sized perch, which was strange, considering I haven't caught any of them since early April.
Anyway, looking forward to the next few weeks. Alot going on, including my new job, my football teams opening their seasons, and the August 27-September 3 family vacation to Fenwick Island, Delaware. I'm hoping to do some saltwater fishing there.
Tight lines, and God Bless!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
The last few weeks
Is it really August already??? That's what I wondered this morning when my alarm went off, and the Rocky 99.1 radio announcer stated it. A quick check of my calendar confirmed this. It is kinda sad, since last winter was brutally cold and full of snow, and I'm still enjoying this nice weather. In fact, I really don't want anyone to mention snow until at least December, that is, assuming that Camping guy wasn't right (the guy who "guaranteed" the world would end on May 21 of this year, then came out and said that God felt sorry for us, so God would postpone his rage until October 21.)
Anyway, fishing has slowed down the last week, although it's still decent. Fished Sayer's twice last week, one time caught 2 bass for a 4 pound, 2 oz total. Also fished it friday, caught a few nice ones, and initially had plans in the afternoon, but these got canceled, so I headed over to the railroad tracks on the mountain side, and fished those. I caught several fish doing this, but heading back, the wind picked up, and I encountered some rough conditions.
Saturday, floated the Juniata River near Mapleton Depot, with my dad. We caught probably about two dozen smallmouth bass, nothing big but it was still alot of fun.
Woke up early, and fished Sayers today. Worked the roadbed, and caught two nice sized smallmouth. Headed over to the mountain side, and hooked a small smallmouth, and a nice channel catfish. That was kind of strange, since I haven't caught any catfish since June.
Planning to fish it again tomorrow. Will let you all know how it goes. Until then, God Bless and Tight Lines!!
Anyway, fishing has slowed down the last week, although it's still decent. Fished Sayer's twice last week, one time caught 2 bass for a 4 pound, 2 oz total. Also fished it friday, caught a few nice ones, and initially had plans in the afternoon, but these got canceled, so I headed over to the railroad tracks on the mountain side, and fished those. I caught several fish doing this, but heading back, the wind picked up, and I encountered some rough conditions.
Saturday, floated the Juniata River near Mapleton Depot, with my dad. We caught probably about two dozen smallmouth bass, nothing big but it was still alot of fun.
Woke up early, and fished Sayers today. Worked the roadbed, and caught two nice sized smallmouth. Headed over to the mountain side, and hooked a small smallmouth, and a nice channel catfish. That was kind of strange, since I haven't caught any catfish since June.
Planning to fish it again tomorrow. Will let you all know how it goes. Until then, God Bless and Tight Lines!!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Sayers 7/21/2011, and the Dog Days
Fishing during the summer time is generally not something most people look forward to. In Central PA, we are currently in the midst of a record heat wave, so we are no exception. You can do all kinds of research, and find many articles about summer bass fishing, which often relate lockjaw bass to those of use who stay inside in the air conditioning, watching baseball and chugging Country Time lemonade all summer. However, they leave out one big detail. A human's life consists of worrying about food, clothing, shelter, transportation, money, jobs, and the like. Bass, or any fish, essentially have three main worries: eat, don't get eaten, and reproduce.
With that said, bass don't like the heat any more than humans do. Bass will often travel to the deep "flats" during the heat of the day, and eat very little. They will feed more as the water cools when the sun goes down. And the morning serves as one last opportunity to eat as much as possible, before the heat of the day sets in. Think about that for a second. It is natural instinct to want to wait until the last minute to do something. So, bass will generally eat consistently during the night, and will scarf as much as possible in the morning, in prepartion for the upcoming hot day. As a result, the early morning, from sunrise to about 11 AM, is one of the best times to fish during the summer.
Now for the good stuff. I woke up around 5:30, and headed out to my favorite summer spot at Sayer's Dam, the Hunter's Run roadbed. The water was incredibly smooth and calm, and I headed out, admiring the scenery. Now, I had three reels, one with 4 pound mono line, one with 10 pound mono line, and one with 20 pound braided line. While the braided was the strongest, it was also very visible, and I thought, with the bass already finnicky, that may spook them. So, I chose the mono line, and rigged up.
As I stated before, I absolutely love fishing plastics, as they mimic natural forage, along with natural motion. In addtion, I like to thoroughly saturate then with Gulp scent, sometimes even "marinating" the lure in it overnight. This serves two purposes. First, bass have a nose much like a dog's, that can detect scents from far away. Second, the scent helps offset any foreign scents you may get on the bait, such as gasoline, sunscreen, sweat, etc.
I put a Berkley Powerminnow on one rod, and began casting, The action came quickly, and within the first half hour, I pulled out two decent sized smallmouth. I was happy, but knowing big fish feed in the morning, I wanted more size. I was not to be disappointed.
Now, there is a convention that bigger baits catch bigger fish, and this is a logical idea. So, I switched to a jerk shad, which was about 5 inches in length, and I rigged it weedless. I wanted to work the steep drop off on the side, which goes into about 20 feet of water, and contains some huge fish. I did this, working the bait very slowly. Sure enough, the third cast, I felt resistance on the end of my line. This was going to be a "I thought I was stuck" fish. However, as fishermen, if you are able to continue reeling and pulling up, you are to do so, regardless of what scary creature may be on the other end of your line. I did this, and was in a fight with something that made my pole double over. I realized it was a giant bass, when my line rose to the surface, and the large, green monster jumped out of the water and flipped in the air. The fight lasted awhile, and I wanted to tire him out, yet play him quickly so he wouldn't be too stressed. I finaly pulled it up, and boated him before he could even think about throwing the hook. After measurements, I learned the bass was over four pounds, and nearly 19 inches in length. Even his mouth was the width of a pickle jar. I threw him back, telling him to bite again at tournament time.
I was pumped that I had a strategy that was working, and I hooked several nice fish within the next few hours. Unfortunately I missed alot of them. One put up an amazing fight, before my line looped, and I got snapped off. Another one hit, similar to the last one, except he got away.
The third lure I fished was the Senko worm. I had some decent luck with this, pulling up a nice 15 inch, 1.5 pound smallmouth. While not quite as big as the largemouth, it was still a solid, tournament quality keeper.
Around 11:30, the heat really started to set in, and my efforts were beginning to produce diminishing returns, so I decided to quit for the day. I will definately be hitting this early in the morning soon again.
Until then, God Bless, Tight Lines, oh and beat the heat and drink plenty of fluids!
JP
With that said, bass don't like the heat any more than humans do. Bass will often travel to the deep "flats" during the heat of the day, and eat very little. They will feed more as the water cools when the sun goes down. And the morning serves as one last opportunity to eat as much as possible, before the heat of the day sets in. Think about that for a second. It is natural instinct to want to wait until the last minute to do something. So, bass will generally eat consistently during the night, and will scarf as much as possible in the morning, in prepartion for the upcoming hot day. As a result, the early morning, from sunrise to about 11 AM, is one of the best times to fish during the summer.
Now for the good stuff. I woke up around 5:30, and headed out to my favorite summer spot at Sayer's Dam, the Hunter's Run roadbed. The water was incredibly smooth and calm, and I headed out, admiring the scenery. Now, I had three reels, one with 4 pound mono line, one with 10 pound mono line, and one with 20 pound braided line. While the braided was the strongest, it was also very visible, and I thought, with the bass already finnicky, that may spook them. So, I chose the mono line, and rigged up.
As I stated before, I absolutely love fishing plastics, as they mimic natural forage, along with natural motion. In addtion, I like to thoroughly saturate then with Gulp scent, sometimes even "marinating" the lure in it overnight. This serves two purposes. First, bass have a nose much like a dog's, that can detect scents from far away. Second, the scent helps offset any foreign scents you may get on the bait, such as gasoline, sunscreen, sweat, etc.
I put a Berkley Powerminnow on one rod, and began casting, The action came quickly, and within the first half hour, I pulled out two decent sized smallmouth. I was happy, but knowing big fish feed in the morning, I wanted more size. I was not to be disappointed.
Now, there is a convention that bigger baits catch bigger fish, and this is a logical idea. So, I switched to a jerk shad, which was about 5 inches in length, and I rigged it weedless. I wanted to work the steep drop off on the side, which goes into about 20 feet of water, and contains some huge fish. I did this, working the bait very slowly. Sure enough, the third cast, I felt resistance on the end of my line. This was going to be a "I thought I was stuck" fish. However, as fishermen, if you are able to continue reeling and pulling up, you are to do so, regardless of what scary creature may be on the other end of your line. I did this, and was in a fight with something that made my pole double over. I realized it was a giant bass, when my line rose to the surface, and the large, green monster jumped out of the water and flipped in the air. The fight lasted awhile, and I wanted to tire him out, yet play him quickly so he wouldn't be too stressed. I finaly pulled it up, and boated him before he could even think about throwing the hook. After measurements, I learned the bass was over four pounds, and nearly 19 inches in length. Even his mouth was the width of a pickle jar. I threw him back, telling him to bite again at tournament time.
I was pumped that I had a strategy that was working, and I hooked several nice fish within the next few hours. Unfortunately I missed alot of them. One put up an amazing fight, before my line looped, and I got snapped off. Another one hit, similar to the last one, except he got away.
The third lure I fished was the Senko worm. I had some decent luck with this, pulling up a nice 15 inch, 1.5 pound smallmouth. While not quite as big as the largemouth, it was still a solid, tournament quality keeper.
Around 11:30, the heat really started to set in, and my efforts were beginning to produce diminishing returns, so I decided to quit for the day. I will definately be hitting this early in the morning soon again.
Until then, God Bless, Tight Lines, oh and beat the heat and drink plenty of fluids!
JP
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