Remembering Lighter Times

I've always functioned on the premise that everyone needs a good laugh every once in a while, and given the problems with this world today, I believe that statement holds true more so now than ever before. Accordingly, I've compiled a few short "fishing funnies," with the hope that someone somewhere will get a chuckle or two. I didn't get near the participation I would have liked from fellow West Neck anglers--I asked all of them to send me an item or two. However, only one obliged. I'm beginning this post with his contribution. All the others were written by yours truly.

A Red-Headed Woodpecker with an Attitude

By John Goodman

 

Last year, as was my custom when fishing tournaments out of Northwest River, I found myself fishing some canals in Tulls Bay Colony. While concentrating intently on my baits as I flipped and pitched various objects along a bulkhead, I heard a loud bang as if something had struck a window on the nearest home 30 feet away. It startled me, and as I looked up, I saw what I best cast describe as a fairly large bird picking itself up from ground and taking flight directly at me. It had a red head and grey-white wings.

 

In a split second, I thought I was seeing a hawk that I previously had seen in the area, and it was flying at warp speed directly at my head! I struck at it with my flippin' stick and managed to hit it. As the bird flopped into the water next to my boat and things settled down, I saw that it was not a hawk, but rather a large, red-headed woodpecker.

 

I just was going to let him "handle it" but thought better of that idea and gently lifted him from the water with my dip net. Seeing a dock nearby, I trolled over and attempted to put the bird on it.

 

Trouble was, he didn't want to let go of the net, so I flipped it over, and as he still held on for dear life, I hit the net several times on the dock. The woodpecker finally dislodged himself, and I continued fishing until a rather large, blonde lady, complete with housecoat and rollers, came to the water's edge and screamed something like, "That's right, you @#$%&! How would you like it if someone put you in a net and slammed you on a dock?"

 

I ignored her and continued fishing, all the while listening to her verbal assault. A couple of weeks later, while fishing the same area, out come my foul-mouthed mentor, and this time, she apologized for her previous behavior. Seems she found out from a neighbor what had caused the whole event in the first place.

 

That Sinking Feeling

 

By Ken Testorff



Back in the '70s, I was into the camping thing to some degree. One summer, my wife, stepson and I decided to spend a few days on the Rappahannock River. The location where we were staying used a series of anchored buoys (similar to what you see in the accompanying photo) several feet from shore for people to tie off their boats. Once you tied off your boat, you simply waded ashore.

 

Everything was cool the first morning when I eased out of the tent without waking my wife or stepson, donned my hip waders, and made my way out to the boat to go fishing. After fishing all day, I returned to the tie-off area, secured the boat, and donned the waders for getting back to shore. I should point out here that the shoreline now was covered with people, my wife and stepson included, sitting out enjoying the sunshine and watching boats come and go. What I didn't realize was that I was about to focus all those eyes on my sorry fanny.

 

In one quick motion, I eased my frame off the bow of my boat. There was just one problem: My feet kept going...and going...and going. By the time they finally touched bottom, my waders had filled with water, and I was left with one of the most difficult, humbling experiences of my life as I tried to lumber ashore. Everybody--including my wife and stepson--were pointing (although my wife swears she was trying to warn me about the deeper water) and dying laughing at my predicament.

 

My only thought, besides trying to "take it all in good stride (Ha!)," was wondering how I could have been so stupid as not to consider the difference in tides when I came back from fishing that day. You can be sure of one thing: There were no repeat performances.

 

A "Snappy" Fishing-Rod Demo

 

By Ken Testorff

 

One of my fellow clubber fishing buddies in the '70s was a guy named Ken B. Like bass fishermen everywhere yet today, we paid a lot of attention to TV commercials about new and improved fishing tackle. I don't remember what manufacturer it was, but this particular one had a long-running TV commercial that showed a guy picking up a rod (minus a reel) by its tip and lifting it completely off the ground without it breaking (similar to what I was only partly demonstrating in the accompanying photo, with my wife behind the lens).

 

Ken B, me, and four other fellow club fishermen were on an outing together at Kerr Reservoir when Ken B decided he was going to perform the same demonstration as seen in the TV commercial. He evidently felt compelled to hold up for the rod, because it so happened to be his favorite (he just had purchased two new ones), and the rest of us were saying we doubted the accuracy of what the commercial portrayed.

 

When we saw Ken B removing the reel from his one rod, we all started trying to discourage him, but he wasn't buying anything we said. He was dead set on proving that the commercial was accurate. With the five of us watching him, Ken B proceeded to grab his one new rod by the tip. The butt still hadn't left the ground when we heard the tip snap off in his hand. We figured that would be the end of the demonstration, but Ken B was determined to prove a point.

 

"It had to be a flaw in the rod," he said, while reaching for his other new stick. In moments, he had stripped the reel from it, too, and was getting ready for another demonstration. This time, we were pleading for him to give it a rest, but he was not to be deterred. I wish I could say he was successsful in his second try, but he wasn't. The rod snapped just like the first one.

 

The moral to this story is simple, "Don't believe everything you see on TV."

 

The Day Things Got Ugly in the "Catfish Capital"

 

By Ken Testorff



I grew up in the small southeastern Kansas town of Oswego. Just 12 miles to the south lay another small town by the name of Chetopa, but this small town had a much bigger distinction. It's known as the "Catfish Capital of Kansas." Every year, anglers from near and far flock to Chetopa to get in on some of the best catfish action you ever could ask for.

 

Mom and Pop often would take my brother and me for a Sunday drive to Chetopa. We'd park on a hill overlooking the dam (as seen in the accompanying photo) where fishermen stood elbow-to-elbow for hours upon end, casting into the rocks and muddy water of the Neosho River in hopes of catching one of the giant whiskered critters. I remember always being amazed that so many baited lines could be in the water at the same time without becoming one giant snarl. And, you did see times when lines did get wrapped, especially when someone hooked into a big catfish.

 

One incident in particular, however, always will stand out in my memory. Mom, Pop, my brother, and I were sitting in the car watching what was happening down on the dam when, from the side, appeared a younger guy toting a couple of rods, a tacklebox, and some bait. We watched him bait up both rods, thinking he surely was going to then make his way out onto the dam like everyone else and wedge into one of the small holes still available. But no, that is not what this guy did. He simply reared back from the shoreline where he was standing and fired a long, arching cast--straight out across all the other fishermen's lines.

 

I remember the four of us laughing so hard we cried while watching this guy quickly reach up, snip his line, and haul butt for safety, with all the dam (and, no, I didn't mean to say "damn") fishermen in hot pursuit. The guy made it to his car but didn't have time to load his gear. He simply tossed it all on the ground, started his car, and threw parking-lot gravel everywhere as he sped away from the scene.

 

Asleep at the Helm

 

By Ken Testorff

 

We all know what happens when people fall asleep behind the wheel of a car. It can be devastating, to say the least. But what happens when a bass angler falls asleep at the helm of his boat?

 

In the '70s, when I was club fishing, I came to know a fella named Jack G. He had a Fisher Marine aluminum boat (much older than the one in the accompanying photo) with stick steering. Many of our club tournaments found me paired with him. I always enjoyed fishing with Jack--in fact, he became one of my best friends. However, I also knew I had to keep an eye on him whenever we were underway in his boat, with him at the helm.

 

That fact became abundantly clear during a club tournament on Lake Anna. Anyone who has fished that body of water knows there are several bridges crossing it. As we neared the trestles on one bridge this particular tournament day, I saw Jack taking a course that would put us in jeopardy if he didn't soon adjust the stick. I hollered at him but got no response. It was then I noticed his chin appeared to be resting on his chest--a dead giveaway was the tilt of that old straw hat he always wore fishing on summer days.

 

I got out of my seat, moved forward, and touched Jack on the shoulder. Sure enough, he had fallen asleep. My touch, though, was all it took to awaken him from his nap. He immediately altered course.

 

When we arrived at our next fishing spot, we talked--and laughed a little, too--about what just had happened. At the same time, we made a pact for me to tap him on the shoulder or do whatever it took to get his attention anytime I thought he had dawdled off. That happened a lot--not just for me but for other partners, too, over the years.

 

There was just something about riding down the lake on a calm day, with bright sunshine overhead, that seemed to put Jack to sleep. We razzed him mercilessly about being "the old man" in our group, but he could take it with the best of 'em. As a Navy enlisted detailer, he was quite familiar with taking plenty of grief.

Epilog: Fellow West Neck angler Skip Schaible sent me a note, saying he had gotten a good laugh from the rod story. He also told me about a rod story of his own. It seems he and his wife, Leslie, once were in Best Products (current tenant is Best Buy) at the corner of South Independence Boulevard and Euclid Road in Virginia Beach. Best Products carried some sporting goods--including some fishing rods--and Skip was attempting to show his wife how you could bend an Ugly Stick in half (as he, too, had seen in a TV commercial). The rod ended up flying into three or four pieces. Suffice it to say that Skip hasn't owned an Ugly Stick to this day.

"Everything Was Biting"

That's how Skip Schaible described his day on the water today, and from the look of the following photos he emailed me of his outing, I'd have to agree.

It doesn't take long to spot several bass, a white perch, a bluegill, and a grindle. As he explained and as seen in these photos, the fish were hitting a variety of lures, starting with a topwater--Baby Torpedo, to be exact. "The huge cloud (but only with a few drops of rain) that hung around until about 12 sure helped the topwater bite," said Skip. "It was a blast--they hit with a vengeance," he added. The topwater bite continued even after the cloud disappeared, but the fish also started hitting crankbaits and Senkos.

Skip went on to say that he caught more fish than what is pictured here. Some also jumped off at the boat. "All in all, though," he concluded, "it was a super day."

Aug. 25, 2012 Dewey Mullins Tribute Bass Tourney

 

These two photos portray a day that started out a far cry from the bright sunshine you see here. As the 23 anglers in 13 boats left the boat basin bound for their first stops in today's bass tourney, the sky was heavily overcast, with lightning showing in the distance. For the most part, you could hear an occasional low rumble of thunder, too. In addition, we knew 20-to-25-mph winds were going to be blowing. Given these conditions, the anglers generally were hanging around, waiting for a "go" or "no go" signal. After checking some weather radars and getting a feel for the general consensus among anglers, Dewey finally gave the "go" signal, and thus began a stream of boats headed to the ramp for launching.

I can't speak for everyone participating in today's contest, but my partner, Paul Celentano, and I were subjected to recurring showers through the mid-morning timeframe before the clouds finally parted, and we started peeling off our rain gear. Unfortunately, the sun's arrival pretty much put an end to the bite we had enjoyed under the overcast skies, and we ended up with only three weighable fish.

Other anglers, however, didn't seem to suffer the same curse. Finishing in first place was the team of Mike Evans and J. P. Twohig, with a bag of five bass weighing 12.25 lbs. Close behind, in second place, was the team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, also with a bag of five fish and a total weight of 11.90 lbs. Taking third place was the team of Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall, with five bass weighing 10.18 lbs. Bob Glass captured the lunker award today with a bass that weighed in at 4.93 lbs.

(L-R) Mike Evans
and                                   
J. P. Twohig,
1st Place







(L-R) Bob Glass and Randy Conkle,
2nd Place and Big Fish (Bob)

                       (L-R) Gary Coderre
                       and Lenny Hall,
                       3rd Place




Here's how the other participants finished in total weight:
     * Kevin Mills and Tim Ackal, five fish, 9.90 lbs.
     * Al and Chris Napier, five fish, 9.77 lbs.
     * Tom Acree and Joe McDevitt, five fish, 6.39 lbs.
     * Scott Hickman, five fish, 5.48 lbs.
     * Paul Celentano and Ken Testorff, three fish, 4.40 lbs.
     * Brandon Cartier and Tucker Blalock, two fish, 2.79 lbs.

Jeremy Gatewood and Keith Jennings, Mark London, Christian Safley and Bernie Bailey, and Darren Hoercher did not weigh any fish today.

Anglers finished in this order behind Bob Glass for today's lunker award:
     * Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall, 3.56 lbs.
     * Mike Evans and J. P. Twohig, 3.51 lbs.
     * Al and Chris Napier, 2.95 lbs.
     * Kevin Mills and Tim Ackal, 2.25 lbs.
     * Paul Celentano and Ken Testorff, 2.23 lbs.
     * Tom Acree and Joe McDevitt, 1.49 lbs.
     * Brandon Cartier and Tucker Blalock, 1.37 lbs.
     * Scott Hickman, 1.18 lbs.

Those 17 anglers who participated in the weigh-in today accounted for a total of 40 bass, with a combined total weight of 73.06 lbs., for an average of 1.8 lbs. per fish. Our new grand total number of bass year-to-date is 632, with a grand total weight through 14 events of 1,185.66 lbs. The yearly average weight continues standing at 1.8 lbs. per fish.

Today's competition saw two more anglers become qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic on Oct. 13-14 by virtue of having fished four tourneys. Those two new addees are Lenny Hall and Mark London. That brings our Classic-qualified total to 26.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 8. Start time will be safe light (or approximately 0630), with weigh-in at 1430.

On a personal note: Paul and I caught a little of everything. Besides bass, we had white perch, pickerel, grindle, gar, and crappie. We each lost a nice fish, too, which would have given us a limit for weigh-in, but that's the breaks of the game. Paul's best baits today were an assortment of soft plastics. I was catching everything on various crankbaits. We spent our day in Albright's Creek and the oxbow at its mouth.

Hook, Line & Sinker...

Daylight this morning once again found me uncovering my boat at West Neck Marina and getting ready for a trip to Albright's. I was the first one to launch. The water temp at the time read 77 degrees. It only had climbed to 81 when I quit at 2:45 this afternoon. The water was down a bit when I launched and had gone out a little more during the day, but I noticed, while flushing the outboard, that it had turned and was coming in a little. I see more northeast winds predicted yet tomorrow, though, so I think it's reasonable to assume that we may find it lower again when we launch our next tourney Saturday morning.

The first bait I started throwing was a hollow-body frog. I had three decent strikes, but I'm still batting .000 in hooksets. Once the wind picked up, I put the frog down and started throwing an assortment of other topwater baits, drawing strikes on nearly all of them. However, I didn't put a bass in the boat until I picked up my favorite Buzzjet Jr. It only accounted for two of the six bass I boated all day, though. The others all came on a Bandit Footloose in red craw. As it turned out, the white perch liked my choice of Footloose more than the bass. I easily boated a dozen or more of them today. I also caught one bluegill.

At day's end, I had boated six bass. The best four weighed 1-1, 1-3, 1-5 and 1-9. The other two were dinks but may have gone 12 inches--I just didn't take time to check them. It was less than a stellar day, but compared to some other recent trips, it was one of my better outings.

Action really picked up at the same time the wind kicked into high gear. I had strike after strike in a windblown cove before moving to windblown shorelines, where the action continued. It was one of those days when you heard that "smacking" sound on nearly every strike. I don't think I ever could get too much of that sound.

When I got home and fired up my computer, I found a couple of emails I'll share with you. The first was from Jeremy Gatewood, who had promised he would give me some more data on oxygen levels at different areas from his trip yesterday. At 0800 yesterday morning, he recorded a water temperature of 78.1 degrees and a dissolved oxygen (DO) reading of 7.8 ppm while coming in at Bob's Fishing Hole. He then went to Tulls Marina in the mouth of Tulls Creek where, at 0830, he recorded a water temperature of 78.4 degrees and a DO of 7.9 ppm. When he arrived at the mouth of Mill Landing Creek at 0900, the water temperature was 79.8, and the DO was 7.6--with the water slightly stained. He concluded his day by going to Back Bay. At 1130, in the middle of a grass mat, he recorded a water temperature of 80.2, with a DO of 7.8 ppm. This area is where Jeremy caught some of his fish last Saturday. He says he caught fish everywhere he went yesterday. He also says the outside temperature all day only got up to 82 degrees, with a 5-10 mph northeast wind.

These latest readings, coupled with those obtained this past Monday night at West Neck, leads Jeremy to the same conclusion first echoed by Chad Boyce, the local game-and-fish rep. The problem we've been having with dead fish must be tied to faulty livewells or anglers not running their aerators enough. I only would add a couple other possibilities: In some cases, we may be dealing with gut-hooked fish, because I'm hearing a lot of guys saying they're catching their fish on Senkos. It's also possible some fish are being stressed too much by long (and perhaps rough) boat rides from the point of catch to the point of weigh-in. In any event, I don't see much else we can do about the matter, beyond what we've already done and are doing. I just would urge everyone to be vigilant when you're on the water and have fish in your livewell.

Jeremy included one additional bit of information for me in the email from his trip yesterday. It seems he took fellow angler Tucker Blalock with him to Back Bay last night to fish the Tidewater Bass Anglers Wednesday night tournament. Tucker ended up boating a 4.22-pounder, his biggest bass to date, and he and Jeremy had a total weight of 12.22 lbs., which was good enough to win the tournament. In Jeremy's words, "If Tucker wasn't hooked before last night, he is now."

One thing I forgot to mention earlier: Dewey told me this afternoon that John Goodman had been out today and fished Back Bay. He reported catching a number of nice fish there.

And, finally, I had an email note from Charlie Bruggemann, who went to Ashville Bridge Creek early this morning to work on his frog technique. According to Charlie, his hookset rate now is only about 60 percent (wish I was that good). In any event, he found really clear water--"I could see the bottom at 2 feet," he reported. Charlie's tactic today was to follow up missed frog strikes with a Gulp shad. "Most of the time, they would pick it up," he said. He also tried to work a wakebait, but the weeds just were too thick. He wrapped up his day at 12 o'clock with a toal of 16 bass. His best four weighed 1-11, 1-13, 2-0 and 2-15. Concluded Charlie, "Weather was great, and I had an awesome day."

Hook, Line & Sinker...



I decided to take my chances on the weather today and headed to West Neck Marina about 5:30. It was about 6:20 before I launched. Since I hadn't been to Pocaty yet this year, I stopped there, dropped the trolling motor over, and started fishing.

Given the heavy overcast sky and the steady surface activity I was seeing, I figured it was going to be a topwater day. I threw a number of topwater baits but didn't have the first strike until I tied on a hollow-body frog. In no time at all, I had had five strikes but zero hookups. One thing is certain: I've got a long ways to go before I'll be able to stand toe-to-toe with my friend Charlie Bruggemann when it comes to timing the hookset right with these frogs.

When the frog bite went away about 9 o'clock, I started running through a series of crankbaits and spinnerbaits, all to no avail. By 10:30, I had had about all the inactivity and frustration I could handle and decided to run back to West Neck and see if I could get something going there.

It took very little time before I boated a dink on a topwater, another dink on a Bandit 100, and two barely keeper bass on an 8-inch junebug red worm. I also missed several worm strikes because of my lack of recent experience with soft plastics in general.

The water temp when I launched was about 76, and I saw 81 as I was motoring back to the ramp about 3 o'clock this afternoon. Despite the north and northeast winds we've been having, the water level has remained just about as it was during our tourney last Saturday. I think the answer is the fact the winds generally all have been light.

With any luck, I'll get back out one more time before this coming Saturday's tourney. After all, I have to believe my partner, Paul Celentano, will be hoping to catch some decent-sized bass, and I haven't found any yet. It seems evident I have some serious scouting to do.

I'm not the only one who hit the water today. Shortly after I returned home today, I received an email from Charlie and learned that he had gone to Beggars Bridge today. The calm water and overcast sky had Charlie singing the same tune as me. "You would think it would be an all-day topwater bite," he penned. Instead, though, he didn't have any topwater bite, except for a couple of "short, half-hearted strikes" on a hollow-body frog.

When Charlie switched to a Gulp shad and a Johnson Silver Minnow, business picked up. He ended the day with six bass. A couple were in the one-to-two-pound range. His best was a 2-13.

"Most fish were out in the grass chasing minnows," said Charlie. "It turned out to be a sight-fishing day," he added.

Watch for Charlie's full blog report and video to be posted sometime tomorrow. Here's the link to his site: http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

Aug. 18, 2012 Dewey Mullins Tribute Bass Tourney

Eight of the 14 boats that fished today's tourney return to the boat basin for weigh-in. A total of 22 anglers participated in this event, which, despite all the weather predictions for scattered thunderstorms throughout the day, reamined nearly rain-free until the final moments. And even then, only some of the anglers were affected. Those of us who weighed in early and were standing around the store remained dry, while those who chose to fish until the closing moments ended up needing to don their rain gear before they made their dash for the boat basin.

Walking away with the first-place prize today was Tom Acree, with five fish weighing 13.84 lbs. This has been a super week for Tom--he's the fella who also boated an 8-2 bass on Monday. Second place, as the result of a disqualification for a rules infringement, went to the team of Chris and Al Napier, with five fish weighing 12.05 lbs. The third-place winner was Mark London, with five fish weighing 11.93 lbs.; he also claimed the lunker prize today with a bass weighing 4.88 lbs.









Tom Acree, 1st Place

Al & Chris Napier, 2nd Place

 

               Mark London, 3rd Place
                                  &
                            Big Fish








Here's how the rest of the anglers finished:
     * Kevin and Geophery Mills, five fish, 11.80 lbs.
     * Jeff Garnes and Mike Evans, five fish, 10.64 lbs.
     * Jeremy Gatewood and Charlie Reed, five fish, 10.47 lbs.
     * Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, five fish, 8.83 lbs.
     * Steve Bailey and Jason Fittro, five fish, 6.76 lbs.
     * John Goodman, five fish, 6.50 lbs.
     * Skip Schaible, three fish, 6.34 lbs.
     * Jim Bauer and Rob Powell, three fish, 3.06 lbs.

Anglers Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff didn't weigh any fish today. It also should be noted that the disqualifed team, who shall remain nameless, had a bag of five fish, with a total weight of 13.16 lbs.

Steve Bailey (right) and Jason Fittro (left) pull their fish from
the livewell for weigh-in.

                                                                           
The lineup of big fish behind Mark London was as follows:
     * Kevin and Geophery Mills, 4.44 lbs.
     * Tom Acree, 3.80 lbs.
     * Jeremy Gatewood and Charlie Reed, 2.99 lbs.
     * Chris and Al Napier, 2.90 lbs.
     * Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, 2.67 lbs.
     * Skip Schaible, 2.46 lbs.
     * Jeff Garnes and Mike Evans, 2.26 lbs.
     * Steve Bailey and Jason Fittro, 1.74 lbs.
     * John Goodman, 1.36 lbs.
     * Jim Bauer and Rob Powell, 1.31 lbs.

The disqualified team had a big fish weighing 3.55 lbs.

Those 20 anglers, including the two disqualified ones, who participated in the weigh-in accounted for a total of 61 bass with a combined total weight of 115.38 lbs., for an average of 1.8 lbs. per fish. For the year, through 13 events, tourney anglers have weighed in a grand total of 592 bass, with a grand total weight of 1,112.6 lbs. The year-to-date average weight per fish remains at 1.8 lbs.

One participant today joined the ranks of those qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic on Oct. 13-14 by virtue of having fished four tourneys. We now have a grand total of 24 Classic-qualified anglers.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for next Saturday, Aug. 25. Start time will be safe light (or approximately 0630), with weigh-in at 1430.

On a personal note: I boated a total of 19 bass between 0630 and 1300 but only had two small keepers in the livewell when I heard the first claps of thunder today, so I released my two fish, battened down the hatches, and headed for the ramp. I couldn't justify taking a chance on getting soaked for only two fish. There'll be another day.

Everybody Caught Fish, But Nobody's Bragging

That pretty well describes the kind of day it was for fishin' buddies and yours truly as we went looking for bass today. A common theme was the lack of a topwater bite this morning or, as in my case, any kind of bite this morning. It was nearly four hours after I launched before I boated my first fish.

Charlie Bruggemann reported "not much of a topwater bite." He had a couple of swipes at a frog and Zara Puppy. He went through six or seven different baits, with only a Senko, beetlespin and Crystal Minnow producing most fish. He said a wake bait also netted a couple fish.

His day ended with a total of 12 bass--all less than a pound, except for two that weighed slightly more than a pound. He also caught several white perch--one just shy of a pound--and some small stripers. For fun, he chased gar on the way back to the ramp and ended up getting several of them to hit, but was only able to get one to the kayak.

In Charlie's words, "Think I'll head to Back Bay next week. My luck on Albright's seems to have petered out."

Jim Bauer caught a total of four bass in West Neck today, two of which were dinks.  The other two weighed 1-0 and 1-7. The bass fell for a Senko and a couple different topwater baits. He also bagged two bream and some crappie with a fly rod.

My day ended with a total of 12 bass but only two keepers: a 1-8 and a 1-12. I also boated four white perch and two bluegill. Most of my fish came on a firetiger Bandit Footloose and what appeared to be a sexy shad shallow Bomber crankbait. A couple bass also fell for a Tennessee shad Bandit 100. There were several swirls at different baits, and I had about four come unbuttoned on the way to the boat.

Overall, it was a lackluster day, but I've always felt like things have a way of balancing out when all is said and done.

I Had a Game Plan and Stuck to It

I had a game plan when I headed to West Neck this morning, and I stuck to it all day long. My plan was simple: I wasn't going to fish anything but different colors of Bandit Footloose and Bandit 100. The bass pictured here weighed 2-12 and was my best of 15 that I boated. The next four best weighed 1-3, 1-4, and two at 1-9, for a five-fish total of 8-5. The majority of my fish came on the Footloose. However, the two 1-9s came on the 100.

Besides the 15 bass, I caught four white perch, one small striper, and a bowfin.

The best colors today were brown crawdad with orange belly and firetiger.

Although I never did see what it was, I had a number of fish hit the Bandit 100 right alongside the boat, just as I was lifting the lure out of the water. I nearly jumped out of my skin everytime it happened, 'cause I wasn't prepared. A couple of the fish actually got hooked for just a couple seconds, but they managed to free themselves before I could get them in the boat.

The water temperature when I launched this morning was in the upper 70s. When I quit at 2:45, it had climbed to 84.

I saw Tom Acree and Skip Schaible on the water today, and Skip was kind enough to email me these photos at right of some of the fish he caught--down in Albright's Creek, I think. That, at least, is where he indicated he was headed when we chatted briefly in West Neck Creek right after he had launched. His day included a total of eight bass and the one bream you see in the middle of the top row. Looking at that photo just goes to show you that there seems to be no limit to the size of lure a small fish will chase when it's hungry or annoyed--or maybe a little of both.

Skip's productive lures today were topwaters, crankbaits (as you see in the photo with the bream), and Senkos.

Everything pales in comparison to the 8 lb. 2 oz. (according to his digital scales) beauty Tom Acree is holding in this photo. The fish measured 21 inches in length and 19 inches in girth. He caught it today (Monday, 8/13/12) at 3 p.m.--just moments after watching me go by him, headed for the ramp. According to Tom, "It was my last cast of the day." Other than that, he's only saying that he caught it "in the creek" (meaning West Neck Creek), on a northeast wind. All I can say, Tom, is: "Congratulations on a job well done." (Note: If you ever want to get a close estimate on the weight of a trophy fish, measure the length and girth, then go to this web link: http://www.bassresource.com/bassfishing/fishcalculator.html.)

Epilog: Charlie Bruggemann also was on the water today. He paddled his way back to Spitzli Creek again, where he caught 21 bass. All were dinks, except for two that broke the 1-pound mark. His successful baits were a topwater frog (until 10 o'clock) and a Senko. Be watching for the full report on his blog at http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

Aug. 11, 2012 Stateline Bass Anglers Tourney

                      
                      The wind did blow...

and the water did rise...







but that didn't stop the Stateline Bass Anglers from holding their scheduled monthly club tournament today out of West Landing Marina.

The contest included 21 anglers fishing out of 11 boats. Walking away with 1st place in today's event was the team of Rex Shell and Kevin Mills, with a total weight of 16.563 lbs. Second place went to the team of Daniel Little and Jason House, with a total weight of 10.875 lbs. Finishing in third place was the team of Mark Ingram and Bob Clarkson, with a total weight of 9.875 lbs. The day's lunker award went to Jason House, with a bass that tipped the scales at 4.3 lbs.

Here's how the rest of the anglers finished:
     4th place, Sean Hopkins & Mike Moretz, 8.188 lbs.
     5th place (tie), Nelson Anderson & David Dozier and Ronnie & Chandler McLaughlin,
          7.875 lbs.
     6th place, Chris & Sean Vitovich, 6.813 lbs.
     7th place, Robert Stamey & Dave Hales, 6.800 lbs.
     8th place, Dale Waggoner & Eddie Confer, 6.438 lbs.
     9th place, John Goodman & Jeremy Gatewood, 5.438 lbs.
     10th place, Brian Skeens, 3.438 lbs.

Before leaving the tourney site today, I heard that the first-place team caught all their fish early this morning in West Neck Creek--I'm still waiting, however, for Kevin to confirm or deny that report. In any event, here's a photo of him (left) and Rex (right) with their five-fish limit:

As if the wind and high water weren't enough, the day had to end with some rain, as indicated in most of the following random photos:

A Sportsman's Logic

By Skip Schaible

A friend of mine, whose name I shall not mention, put in an order at Bass Pro Shops. He had some choices on delivery: $5 shipping on orders of $75 or more, $10.50 on regular shipping, or FREE if delivered to the store. Being an astute economist and seeing FREE, he chose that option, figuring that, at most, it would cost him $5 in gas. What a deal!

When the order came in, the friend and his wife drove over to Bass Pro in Hampton. On the way, they stopped and got coffee ($4). Once they arrived at the store, the friend figured he just would run in and get the delivery--actually, he planned to have his wife run in, while he sat in the car and drank his coffee. Well, we all know what coffee does; it makes you need to use the bathroom. So, the friend and his wife both had to go in to use the facilities.

Unfortunately, Bass Pro was having their annual hunting classic, so the friend's wife asked if he needed anything. He said no (temporary insanity). She reminded him, though, that he should pick up some shotgun shells, so he wouldn't find himself in his usual fix of waiting till the last minute. He picked up some buckshot ($22), then decided to have his wife pick up the order, while he walked through the fishing department. There he found some must-have lures and bought a diet coke ($24).

When they left the store, they decided to take the James River Bridge home ($3 additional gas), and while taking this route, they just had to stop at a BBQ place ($21). After all, it's great BBQ.

So, what started out as a free-shipping good deal ultimately cost the friend a total of $79. There has to be logic in there somewhere. Just be assured that any resemblance to me or my wife is purely coincidental.

Keeping Your Tournament-Caught Bass Alive

For a couple of tournaments in a row now, I've been a party to an albeit small but nevertheless a fish kill, and I decided to launch an investigation of sorts to see what, if anything, we might be able to do to curtail the problem. I first contacted Chad Boyce, the local Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist. When I laid out the problem to him and asked if he had any thoughts about what all might be involved, he quickly responded that our problem might be as simple as a couple of anglers not running their boats' livewells enough on tournament day, or they perhaps had inoperable livewells. He also suggested it might be well for me to publish some information on my blog.

Armed with that suggestion, I then turned to the Internet and started looking for articles that might provide some helpful guidance. It didn't take long to find one that looked interesting. After calling and talking to one of the two authors, I was convinced it would be a good choice. The two authors are Gene Gilliland (the gentleman I spoke to), who is with the Oklahoma Fishery Research Laboratory, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, in Norman, Oklahoma, and Hal Schramm, who is with the U.S. Geological Survey, Mississippi Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi. With their permission to reprint it, here's a somewhat condensed version of the article that I found.

Bass tournament anglers long have been dedicated to the conservation of black-bass resources. The practice of catch and release has reached outside their ranks into the practices of bass anglers everywhere, and this has done much to conserve or recycle bass resources on many water bodies throughout the United States. Released bass have been shown to survive very well when released immediately after capture, but recent data demonstrates that survival may not be as high for fish released after tournament events. This has become a source of concern to many anglers and fishery managers who have witnessed large increases in bass-tournament participation.

Over the past decade, several studies have addressed delayed mortality of bass weighed in at fishing tournaments. Although not all tournaments had high mortality, the high-end ranges that follow were observed during summer events:

Range in Delayed Mortality for Tournaments
     * 1-50% (Alabama summer 1991-92)
     * 11-52% (Alabama/Georgia summer 1991)
     * 1-44% (Oklahoma summer 1995-96)
     * 0-93% (Tennessee summer 1988-89)
     * 38% (Lake Fork, Texas in October 1999)

What Causes Mortality?
     * Physical Injury
     * Oxygen Deprivation
     * High Ammonia or Carbon Dioxide
     * High Water Temperature

What Causes Delayed Mortality?
     * Oxygen Debt
     * Toxins in the Bloodstream
     * Infections

Other studies have shown that smallmouth bass had significantly higher mortality than largemouth bass after being released.

By using holding pens to observe mortality on fish released after weigh-ins, researchers were able to determine that substantial numbers of fish died after release, even when they appeared healthy following weigh-in. Approximately 50 percent of the fish released sank after dying--a phenomenon that has led many tournament participants to underestimate the amount of mortality caused by their events.

Here are some pointers on how to hold "fish friendly" tournaments:

     * Fill your livewell at your first fishing spot, using water from open areas.

     * Turn on your recirculating pump immediately and leave it on all day (set pump switch to manual for continuous operation). If the aerator must run on a timer, run as often as possible because oxygen depletion occurs quickly when the pump is off. Make sure the aeration system provides proper aeration until the fish are weighed in and released. If you don't have a recirculating system, add one.

     * Only pump in fresh water when the surface-water temperature is below 75 degrees.

     * When the surface-water temperature is above 75 degrees, recirculate livewell water continuously, but don't pump in hot water. Use ice to cool the water and slow fish metabolism (block ice melts slower), and try to maintain the livewell water 10 degrees cooler than the temperature of the water you're fishing. Don't overcool the water, which also can be stressful to fish. Use only non-chlorinated block or bagged ice.

     * Use non-iodized salt (available at feed stores) to maintain electrolyte balance and reduce effects of stress. Salt should be added at 1/3 cup per 5 gallons of water. Premeasure and store in ziplock bags. Commercial livewell additives also may be added as directed, but don't oversalt if using both.

     * Drain half of the livewell water every three hours to remove toxic waste products (carbon dioxide and ammonia), then refill with fresh water from areas with good water quality. Avoid adding water from stagnant backwaters or shallow areas that may be extremely warm and low in oxygen. Add one-half the amount of ice, salt and commercial livewell additive each time.

     * Keep fish in rear livewells, evenly distributed between compartments. Fish in forward livewells are more likely to be injured from bouncing on rough water.

     * Land fish with knotless or rubber nets. Land them quickly and avoid damage to their slime coating. Grasp fish by lower jaw only, holding them vertically. Support large fish with a wet hand under the belly. Do not allow fish to touch boat or carpet and rub off protective slime.

     * Remove hooks quickly with as little tissue damage as possible. Remove deep hooks carefully with pliers or hemostats. When attempts fail, cut the line five or six inches above the hook.

     * Do not keep fish out of water longer than you can hold your breath. This includes fish in bags headed for weigh-in and fish being displayed. Depletion of oxygen in bags can occur in as little as two minutes.

     * Remove dead fish from boat livewells immediately to prevent further mortality. Dead fish may spread fungus and disease to other bass.

     * Do not use livewells when you are not competing. Practice catch and immediate release or selective harvest by keeping smaller fish (for the kitchen on ice) and immediately releasing large fish.

     * Install an oxygen-delivery system, which delivers oxygen directly into livewells from a pressurized tank through air stones or a hose. The system must have a regulator or pressure valve, and the tank must be securely mounted. This system is better than simple aeration (air is only 21 percent oxygen) and solves oxygen-demand problems. Although less need for water-temperature adjustments is usually required, flushing with freshwater every 2-3 hours still is essential.

     * If available, use a pre-release recovery tank (75-to-100-gallon capacity) after weigh-in. Water should be aerated and cooled 10 degrees below the body of water temperature with block ice. Tank should contain 1 pound of uniodized salt per 25 gallons of water. An oxygen tank with air stone or bubble hose should be set up to supply pure oxygen to the fish. Weak fish should be treated longer in the recovery tank. After 20 to 30 minutes, weak fish should be recovered sufficiently and then prepared for release. Active fish should be recaptured immediately and prepared for release.

     * Use a release boat if available (another option would be to use all or some of the tournament boats). In any event, move and redistribute bass out of high-traffic and/or weigh-in areas. Studies have shown that many released fish stay in the weigh-in area, making them highly vulnerable to harvest after the tournament is over.

This chart shows the average delayed mortality of bass after summer tournaments, using different aeration methods.





For a more detailed article on preserving tournament bass to be caught again, check out this link: http://www.bassmaster.com/sites/default/files/imce/KeepingBassAlive_guidebook%20comp.pdf.

Senkos: The Common Denominator Today

I found a couple more emails in my inbox today from buddies telling me about the day they had on the water. This photo of a nice 2-10 was sent to me by Jimmy Bauer, who, for a while today, swapped his ol' reliable brown-with-orange-tail Slider for a watermelon Senko and boated this fish.

Jimmy's biggest fish of the day--and, in his own words, perhaps his biggest fish of the year--unfortunately came unbuttoned right beside the boat. It was only about 10 minutes into the fishing day when he hooked the bass on a topwater. Shortly thereafter, he had another fish swirl and miss the topwater bait, followed by another one that came unbuttoned en route to the boat. Jimmy says he then changed to a different topwater bait but that the move only netted him a couple more passes with no hookups. After changing to a Bandit Footloose, he caught a dink and a small striper.

It was then that Jimmy started tossing his favorite Slider, but with only a steady tap-tap-tap from bream to show for the move, he decided to see if anything was happening around the West Neck bridge. There, he caught a bunch of crappie and bream before sliding into a cove, where he caught the fish pictured above.

While Jimmy was working around the bridge, Tom Acree happened along and shared the details of his day down in Albright's. Tom caught a mess of fish in the grass--all on a Senko. He told Jimmy he was culling fish by 7 o'clock this morning. He had five nice ones in the livewell that he showed Jimmy while they were talking.

The water was down a good bit when he launched this morning, said Jimmy, but the south wind that kicked in during the afternoon was bringing the water back in when Jimmy quit at 3 o'clock. The water temp at launch was 80 degrees, compared to 86 degrees when he returned to the ramp.

The other email I received today was from Charlie Bruggemann, who paddled his kayak down to Spitzli Creek this morning. "Topwater was a killer this morning," quipped Charlie. He hadn't had a chance to check his video yet when he sent me the email, but he estimated that he caught 12-15 bass today, the biggest a 2-8. He also had a couple that went about a pound and a half, with the rest being a pound or under.

Charlie's topwater bait of choice this morning was a frog. All he had to do was toss it to a sparse patch of grass and hang on. He also caught a couple fish on a Storm Subwart before changing to a Senko about 9 o'clock, when the topwater bite died.

It seems that Charlie is busy with something tonight, and it'll be tomorrow night or maybe later before he gets all the details and video of his day posted on his site. If you don't already have it, here's the link: http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

Epilog: With all these fellas catching fish--and my outboard problem fixed--I'm anxious to get back on the water. It turns out my problem was some sandy grit in the carburetors. And, just to be on the safe side, my mechanic also installed new filters. I ran her for about 30 minutes last night just before dark, and she never missed a lick--knock on wood.

Aug. 4, 2012 Dewey Mullins Tribute Bass Tourney

It's a good day when all tournament contestants catch fish, and that was the case today.

Claiming the 1st-place prize among the 18 anglers in 11 boats was the team of Bobby Moore and J. P. Twohig, who brought five fish to the scales weighing a total of 15.67 lbs., including the day's lunker at 4.89 lbs., caught by J.P. Second-place honors went to the team of Wayne Hayes and Chris Sims, who also had a bag of five fish, with a total weight of 13.58 lbs.

(Left) First-place winners Bobby Moore and J. P. Twohig with
their money and (middle) with their fish. At right is second-
place winners Chris Sims and Wayne Hayes.

Here's how all the other contestants finished today: the team of Paul Donnelly and Bob Clark, 12.44 lbs.; the team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, 12.18 lbs.; Tom Acree, 11.22 lbs.; the team of Chris and Al Napier, 11.05 lbs.; Matt Floyd, 7.67 lbs.; Jim Bauer, 7.50 lbs.; Gary Coderre, 7.49 lbs.; the team of Paul Celentano and Ken Testorff, 7.35 lbs.; and the team of Tucker Blalock and Aaron Phillips, 5.21 lbs.

The lineup of big fish behind J.P.'s lunker winner were as follows: the team of Wayne Hayes and Chris Sims, 4.58 lbs.; the team of Paul Donnelly and Bob Clark, 3.94 lbs.; the team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, 3.53 lbs.; the team of Chris and Al Napier, 3.20 lbs.; Tom Acree, 3.12 lbs.; the team of Tucker Blalock and Aaron Phillips, 2.53 lbs.; Jim Bauer, 2.27 lbs.; Matt Floyd, 1.90 lbs.; Gary Coderre, 1.59 lbs.; and the team of Paul Celentano and Ken Testorff, 1.30 lbs.

Dewey and Tom take care of today's weigh-in,
as an angler looks on.

Today's weigh-in saw 53 bass cross the scales, with a combined total weight of 111.36 lbs., not the 80.44 lbs. initially reported by Dewey. These numbers translate into an average weight of 2.1 lbs. per fish. In turn, these figures bring the year-to-date (YTD) number of bass to 531, with a YTD total weight of 997.22 lbs. The YTD average through 12 events remains at 1.8 lbs. per fish.

We now have 23 anglers qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic on Oct. 13-14 by virtue of having fished four tourneys. Those three new addees today included Tucker Blalock, Aaron Phillips, and Chris Sims. Unfortunately, however, Chris Sims has U.S. Navy orders to Hawaii and will be leaving the area this coming week. I also learned today that it's likely to be a good spell before Joe McDevitt is able to rejoin us, even for the Classic, because he has suffered a back injury. We wish both Chris and Joe nothing but the very best.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 18. Start time will be safe light (or approximately 0630), with weigh-in at 1430. Participating anglers are encouraged to take note of these times because they represent a change from the hours we've been fishing for a while now.

On a personal note: Paul and I were lucky enough to weigh another limit today, but the fish lacked the quality of those we brought to the scales last week. My brown-with-orange-belly Bandit Footloose continued to be my strongest bait. In addition to the six bass I boated, I also caught two bluegill and two white perch with it. My outboard problem still was prevalent today, so it appears I'll be getting my carburetors reworked here soon.

White Perch Everywhere Today

(L-R) 1-10 bass, 1-4 bass

I consider it somewhat of a miracle that I was able to boat any bass today, what with the proliferation of white perch that kept chasing my crankbait. Besides the two keeper-sized bass pictured here, I only managed to get five others in the boat, and they all were dinks.

On the other hand, I caught 18 white perch before I simply quit setting the hook when I felt another one hit. They just wouldn't leave the crawdad-with-orange-belly Bandit Footloose alone that I was throwing. By the same token, I couldn't even get a pass at any kind of topwater, the Rapala X-Rap Subwalk, or any other color of Bandit, including the firetiger model that worked so well for me last Saturday. Besides the seven bass and 18 white perch, I managed to boat four small stripers before calling it a day at 12:30 and heading for the marina before any rain fell.

All my fish today, except for one of the small stripers, came from the front stretch of Albright's. That last striper of the day came from the mouth of West Neck. Water temps everywhere today ranged from 84 to 86 degrees.

I had to check in with my boat mechanic this evening because of a little problem I had when I got ready to leave Albright's and run back to West Neck. The outboard fired as usual, and after letting it warm up a few seconds, I tried to take off, but all I got was some sputtering. After repeating the same process three or four times, everything worked as normal, and I was off and running. When I got ready to wrap up in West Neck for the day, I decided to run the boat a bit and see if I could clear the problem. Everything was working right when I quit, but I checked in with my mechanic, just to give him a heads-up that I may be asking for his help soon. I likely will know for sure come Saturday whether another phone call will be necessary.