In Case You're Planning To Wet a Line...

Here's what the West Neck Marina ramp looked like today when Charlie Bruggemann stopped there and a couple of other places, checking on the conditions. He said he was a little surprised to find the water fairly clear here today.

Incidentally, Charlie posted his "year in review" blog entry today, so I urge you to take a look. He definitely earned some "braggin' rights" this year. Check it out at http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

Another One Nearly Is History

To borrow the words from an old 1950's tune, "May your troubles all be small ones and your fortune ten times ten." That's my wish for everyone as we welcome 2013. And if you're out partying tonight, make sure you let someone sober drive you home, or call a cab. Those sorrowful stories I used to read and write about at the Naval Safety Center of people who chose to drink and drive still haunt my memory, even though I've been retired three years now.

Today's Contest Cancelled

"The forecasted rain was too much for our local fishermen this morning," said tourney organizer, John Goodman. "Only one other boat besides mine showed up at Bob's." The next tournament is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2013, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

In the meantime, you might want to mark your calendar for a New Year's Day tourney scheduled out of Bob's Fishing Hole. Tournament hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Their new entry fees apply to this next Tuesday event. In case you're not familiar with those fees, here they are: $25-per-person entry fee, plus $5 launch fee. There's a 5-fish limit per boat, and you may fish alone or with a partner. If you fish as a team, the entry fee would be $55, which includes the $5 ramp fee and $10 for the big-fish pot.

I was at West Neck Marina earlier today for a few minutes and found only one pair of anglers who had braved the conditions this morning and launched their Gambler bass rig. They just had come off the water as I was leaving, so I stopped and asked how they had done. "All we did was get wet," they harmonized. They didn't catch a single fish for all their efforts.

If you're headed out the next couple of days, you're probably going to get blowed around a bit. Charlie Bruggemann tells me that small-craft warnings are up the next 48 hours for strong NW winds.

Hook, Line & Sinker...

For good reason, I've learned to have a lot of faith in Charlie Bruggemann's ability to catch bass under a lot of different conditions. So when I received his email report a little bit ago, telling me he only could muster one bass today, I couldn't help wondering what had gone wrong.

Godfrey Creek--his destination today--was muddy for the most part, and the water temp ranged from 41 to 46 degrees. There was clear water at the end of all three forks in the creek, but as you passed the mud line, the temperature dropped from 46 in the mud to 41 in the clear zone. Charlie never felt the first tap all day in the clear water, and it wasn't until about 10 minutes before he quit that he caught a 1-4 bass in a deeper hole near the creek's mouth.

I decided to do a little online research and found these two websites that may prove helpful the next time we find ourselves fishing cold, muddy water: http://www.bassresource.com/fishing/cold_muddy_water.html and http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPage?mode=article&objectID=28722&storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

After all, our fishing trips are supposed to be a learning experience for the next time, or so I've always thought.

Another Goody's Big Bass Tournament This Weekend

It's Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012

 

7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

 

Bob's Fishing Hole

 

Entry Fee - $10 Per Angler

 

Better bring your rain gear, just in case the weather gurus are right.

 

For more info, call John Goodman at

757-427-0659

or email him at

johngoodman3@cox.net.

West Neck Water Report Update

Here's a photo Charlie Bruggemann took at the West Neck Marina ramp at 1 o'clock today. It shows that the WNW winds have allowed some of the water to return since I was there yesterday at 11:30. There's plenty to launch, but it's nasty and muddy, according to Charlie. 

Oh Where Could Eddie Be?

Photo compilation by John Williams

 

The snowflakes, they just keep on a fallin',

But Eddie still hasn't come callin',

Even though his boat's been reported unmanned,

And adrift in West Neck Creek... understand?

 

While some might want to go and worry,

I think they're just in too much of a hurry;

There's gotta be a reasonable explanation,

For Eddie to leave the helm of his transportation.

 

Oh! Look up yonder--there o'er all the trees,

Isn't that St. Nick and his reindeer blowin' in on the breeze?

I'll bet ya our Eddie just hitched himself a short sleigh ride,

To tell Santa in person what "toy" he wants for his Skeeter pride.

Turns out that's exactly what happened,
And his boat never was really threatened,
His anchor pole always was in the down position,
Holding the boat steady till he finished his Santa mission.

 

All is well in West Neck after all this Christmas Eve;

Eddie's been accounted for, and that you can believe,

So have yourself a jolly old holiday this year--

On that one wish, I'm totally sincere.

Here's the Eddie--Eddie Sapp, to be exact--I'm talking about in this poem. I had no ulterior motive for using his boat for the backdrop, other than for the fact I had a good shot of it from a tourney earlier this year. I handed that and a photo of West Neck Creek to a graphic designer friend of mine who produced what you see above. I only hope I've in no way offended you, Eddie. Please accept my best wishes for a holiday full of cheer--that goes for you and everyone in your family, as well as all the fellas I fish with, their families, and all those who read my blog.

Christmas in Florida

Received an email from Eddie Sapp this afternoon, telling me that he's down in Florida for the holidays--snook, red and tarpon fishing. Guess that explains the smile on his face here as he holds up one of his prizes--about 35 lbs. worth. He promised he'd try to get me a few more pictures, so stay tuned.

As We Approach Another Holiday Season...

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Joyeau Noel! Peace, joy and good health be upon you, everyone!

Plenty of Water But No Fishermen

This is the way things looked at the West Neck Marina ramp today at 12:30, when I was there. I have to admit I was a little surprised to find this much water, after all the strong winds we've been having. However, after coming home and checking the weather forecast, I think I understand why the water level is in such good shape. The winds currently are blowing out of the northwest, and when that's the case, there isn't as much of an effect as you get with northeast winds.

Perhaps it's the continuing strong winds, people doing last-minute Christmas shopping, or maybe folks just wanting to give it a rest, but I didn't see a soul on the premises, except for a guy sitting in his pickup down near the ramp when I turned into the parking lot. And as soon as he saw me, he started leaving, which couldn't help but prompt a question to cross my mind: What exactly was he doing down there?

I don't reckon I'll ever know, and it probably doesn't matter anyway. What's important here and really is the only reason I'm posting this item is to let all fishermen know there's plenty of water to launch at West Neck Marina. And in looking at the forecast for about the next 48 hours, I don't see anything in the offing that will change that picture dramatically. If you go, I do have a request: Catch one for me. And if you don't mind, email your results to me, along with a photo or two showing what you caught. Tight Lines!

It's the Little Things That Count

Whether you're a pro bass fisherman or just a weekend warrior, I think the vast majority would agree it's often the little things that determine how much success you enjoy any given day on the water.

I recently asked my fishing buddies to share some of those little things they do to make our sport better, easier, simpler, etc. Unfortunately, only a handful responded, but I decided that some is better than none, so here are their inputs:

Morris Worrell says, "I like to cut off the wire and spinners from spinnerbaits to where there's about a half-inch stub left. Then I get some needle-nosed grippers and wrap the stub until you have an 'o' for a line-tie point. Partly because there is no weed guard, the bait seems to act a lot better in the water. I finish the job by attaching a nice skirt. I usually work these baits around shallow structure, popping them up and so on--almost like you'd fish a creature bait but out more from the structure."



Chris Fretard says, "I like fishing soft plastics. If a certain type of bait is producing, I'll create a mold and handpour half a hozen baits for field trial. I'll tweek the shape, color, scent, and salt content in an effort to target a specific characteristic the fish are focused on. Sometimes, these subtle changes result in bigger or more fish."


Charlie Bruggemann says, "I have lost fish because the braid pulled out of the eye of my EWG worm hook. I did a Google search and found this solution to the problem: Wrap a piece of braid twice around the eye of the hook at the gap. Tie a knot, and put a small dab of Krazy Glue to seal the gap and hold the braid. I have yet to lose another fish since I started using this fix.

"Charlie also has this tip for repairing those expensive plastic worms that big bass and toothy pickerel like to tear up. He got this fix from Ray Scott. All you do is heat both halves of a Senko or other plastic with a butane lighter, press the halves together, and hold for a second or two. They will fuse, and the worm will be back in business. It may not look pretty, but it works.

"Finally, Charlie offers this tip: When using a tube bait that doesn't have a solid head for inserting a hook, simply cut off a short piece of old Senko and slide it into the head. It'll provide the solid backing you need."

John Goodman says, "With very few exceptions, I change out the hooks on crankbaits right after buying them. The majority of hooks being sold on crankbaits are cheap knock-offs. While I'll usually replace these cheap hooks with quality ones of the same size, there are instances where I increase the size of one or more hooks. Pop R's come to mind. I have a terrible time getting hook-ups with the Pop R's no. 6 hooks. I move up to no. 4 on the front, and that seems to increase my hook-up ratio.

"When I develop confidence in a certain bait, I buy a sizeable inventory of it, so that next year, when the manufacturer moves on to other things, I will have a supply in my inventory.

"Since I have a quality shed to store my stock of baits, etc., I only put in my boat what I expect to fish with any given day. You'd be surprised at how much dead weight you can be carrying around all day with you. I recently weighed 27 lbs. of crankbaits that I had taken out of my Ranger. The same thing goes for rods and reels. There's no sense in dragging around a flipping/pitching stick when I plan on fishing crankbaits and spinnerbaits. When I'm fortunate enough to fish with someone else in their boat, I carry my tackle in a tupperware box about 6" x 12" in size, and I limit myself to three or four rods.

"In similar fashion, I rarely, if ever, put more than a half tank of gas in my boat. I see no reason to carry around all that extra fuel when fishing locally. That reduced level saves me more than 100 pounds of dead weight when trying to put the boat on plane, as well as creating a significantly smaller footprint when fishing extremely shallow water. If I'm fishing out of the local area, I never gas up my boat before leaving town. Why tow that extra weight?

"I bring my own food, ice and drinks for the day. I stay away from buying anything from the stop-and-go type businesses.

"I don't stay in high-priced motels on those rare occasions when I fish out of town.

"Finally, while I may appear interested, I don't rely on dock talk, nor do I pay any real attention to the latest hot lure, line, rod, etc. There are two exceptions: I learned a lot in my early years of bass fishing from my friend, Don Foreman. I soon learned what he told me was gospel. The other exception was advice rendered me at the first tournament I fished against Wayne Hayes. He gave me a lure and told me to try it. I did and managed to boat a 7.5-lb. bass at Lake Smith. I didn't win the lunker prize, but it sure hooked me on bass fishing. Thanks, Wayne."

Tucker Blalock says, "I know people will bend up the hooks on topwater frogs a little bit to get a better hookset. I also know some folks trim the skirts on jigs. They trim the skirts thin for fishing clear water on sunny days. They keep the skirt thick on cloudy days and when fishing muddy water."

Skip Schaible says, "I take off the rear treble hooks on my stickbaits and replace them with the next size up. This makes the baits sit lower in the water, and they pop when you twitch them.

 

"On some small topwater baits, I use red fingernail polish on the bottom to imitate a bleeding baitfish.

 

"If the bite is tough, I'll take a white paddletail worm and spit the tail, which gives it a strange flutter in the water."

 

Ken Testorff says, "I've always known that braided line gives you an edge in landing big fish or pulling them from that snarly stuff. During a tournament last year, though, I discovered a new use for it. I just had heard my partner on the back seat say, "Aw shit!" only to turn around and find that he accidentally had lost his rod over the side of the boat. Using the landing net, he made repeated sweeps of the shallow bottom to no avail before finally telling me to 'forget it' and move on.

 

"I hadn't much more than engaged the trolling motor when I noticed some line laying on top of the water. Reaching out with the crankbait tied on my rod, I snagged the line, which, as it turned out, was the line from my buddy's rod and reel. In the way of an explanation, my buddy just had made a cast, so there was a fair amount of line out when the rod went to the bottom. I was well aware of the floating qualities of braid but never had given any thought to the fact it might save you a trip to the store to replace a rod and reel, as it did my buddy in this case.

 

"And while we're talking about retrieving gear lost overboard, here's another idea to keep in the back of your head, whether your 'lost treasure' is a rod, a pair of glasses, etc. The materials you need are simple: one of those old metal stringers, a couple ounces of weight, and a heavy-duty rod--a flippin' stick will work just fine. Tie a swivel to the line (braid gets the nod here) on your flippin' stick, open the swivel, and attach both the stringer and weights--always put the latter at the front of the stringer to hold the entire contraption against the bottom. Open all those clips on the stringer, toss it into the water, in the area where the gear went overboard, and start dragging it along the bottom, much like you would if you were fishing a Carolina rig.

 

"If you feel any pressure, keep reeling slowly, so that whatever you've snagged stays hooked up. On a few occasions, you'll get hold of something someone else lost, but in most cases, you'll recover what you lost, too.

 

"Finally, if you're one of those folks who fish a lot of spinnerbaits or buzzbaits, especially the kind with the open line-tie point, here's an idea that can come in handy if you prefer using a snap, instead of tying directly to the wire. Just slip a piece of small-diameter surgical tubing, or as I prefer, a piece of model-engine gasoline tubing that you can find in almost any hobby shop, over the open point, then attach the snap. I prefer the gasoline tubing because it seems to last longer than surgical tubing. Something else that I've found to work equally well in a pinch is a small split ring. You probably will have to compress the wire a little to get the split ring to slip on, but it seems to stay on and works just as well as the tubing."

Hook, Line & Sinker...

I received a note this evening from Chris Fretard (pictured left), saying he fished West Neck and Pocaty today from 10:30 to 4. In that time, he caught 8 bass and 3 pickerel. The bass averaged 11 to 16 inches, and he caught them in 2 to 5 feet of water. There was no pattern today. The fish came off logs, cypress knees, stumps, and in some cases, nothing.

In Pocaty, Chris caught one fish with a slow-rolled spinnerbait on the dropoff. He also pulled one off a stump there with a jerkbait. In West Neck, a couple fish fell for a Texas-rigged worm, and a few went for the jerkbait.

On a side note, one of the better bass Chris boated today looked like a spotted bass--"chunky but with a very small mouth," he explained, or as he described it another way, "a 2-lb. fish with the mouth of a 10-inch bass," he concluded. "I rubbed his tongue to make sure he wasn't a spot...lol," he added. [For those who may not be familiar with the distinguishing characteristics of a spotted bass, the most distinguishing feature is a rough patch of "teeth" on the tongue.]

This fish gave Chris some flashbacks to his days on Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake, where he frequently caught Kentucky spotted bass and smallmouth. "Wish we had them here," he said in closing.


                           ***UPDATE***
Eddie Sapp was reading this blog post Dec. 21, 2012, and was nice enough to send me this photo of a nearly 5-lb. spotted bass that he caught last month out of Lake Gaston. Now you have a picture to go with the description Chris gave everyone.







I also learned via email that Charlie Bruggemann broke his usual rule and fished two days in a row. As I reported yesterday, he'd had a bad day--for him, that is--in the oxbow at the mouth of Albright's. I'm happy to report that, after spending today in Oakum Creek, he's back on his game. He reported a steady catch all the way from 9:30 to 3. His totals were 13 pickerel and 18 bass. The biggest bass weighed in at 2-1, and he had four around a pound and a half apiece. The rest were dinks. He said he caught one of the pickerel on his fly rod.

When the sun came out around 1 o'clock, things "really kicked into high gear," Charlie reported. "I got several back-to-back bass."

The only downside to his day was a busted rod tip, but there's enough left to repair it, and Charlie assured me he'll "be ready to hit it again on Monday."

Hook, Line & Sinker...

There are days when I feel like I just should stick to doing this blog and leave the fishing to everyone else, and this is one of those days. Suffice it to say that I have been served a giant slice of humble pie, as the result of a couple emails I had waiting for me today when I returned home from West Neck. The first report came from Justin Reese (pictured here).

Justin and his buddy went to West Neck yesterday, and within 10 minutes of working the first point they came to, Justin boated this nice 13.25-inch, 1.5-lb., citation white perch. In his words, "The white perch slammed my 3-inch black-and-green, curly-tailed grub on a spinner." Shortly thereafter, discussion ensued about whether this was a citation fish--they weren't sure at the time. Justin's only real concern, though, was trying to catch about 10 more the same size.

Alas, that hope wasn't fulfilled, but the duo still had what Justin called an "OK" day, finishing with 9 bass, 2 pickerel, 2 crappie, and 2 white perch. And when they got home and learned that big white perch did qualify for a citation, Justin wasted no time. He sent off the necessary paperwork today to Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

The second email report I received today came from Eddie Sapp (pictured below), whom I ran across today as I was coming back toward the West Neck Bridge. We swapped info before I went on through the bridge. Eddie said he already had caught 10 to 13 small bass at that point. He still was out when I had cleaned up my rig and turned out of the marina parking lot, headed for home this evening.

As I learned when I asked Eddie for his final numbers, he ended up boating a total of 15 to 20 bass. He estimated his best five at somewhere close to 10 or 11 lbs., with the biggest a 3-5. He also lost a giant--probably 5+ lbs.--at the boat.

Everything Eddie caught today came off wood, with soft plastics, which reminds me of some reports I've been getting from another individual who shall remain nameless, at his request. Where he's been catching them also has to remain anonymous, because he plans to go back to the same "well" at least a few more times.

I have to admit here that I'm just a tad puzzled by this soft-plastics approach to bass fishing this time of year. I've been fishing these waters for a lot of years now, dating all the way back to 1977, and I have to admit that I've always considered the "go to" lure this time of year a crankbait, and I know some other guys who share that philosophy. Given this latest turn of events, I undoubtedly will have some kind of soft plastic tied on the next time I hit the water.

I really don't have any way to go, other than up, when you consider that my best fish today was this 1-1. My only other fish were a 10-inch bass and about a 2-lb. pickerel. The pickerel actually turned out to be my "highlight" of the day, because he executed a couple of big jumps after I set the hooks. His acrobatics were nothing short of fantastic. When I'd had a little fun, I set him free to be caught another day.

Because I am, as I've already noted, a confirmed crankbaiter this time of year, that was my primary attack today. I fished a Strike King 1XS, a Mann's Baby 1-Minus, and a Bandit Footloose, all to no avail. To my knowledge, the fish didn't even give 'em a look.

All three fish that I boated came off this same Bill Norman Thin N that has been a steady producer most outings in the last few weeks. This bait will continue to see action when I hit the water, but I can assure you that soft plastics will see their share of use, too. Never let it be said that you can't teach this "old dog" a few new tricks.

And before I forget, let me add this one other email report to the mix. My kayaker friend, Charlie Bruggemann, fished the oxbow at the mouth of Albright's today, where he caught 5 bass and 1 pickerel. His best bass was a 1-15.

Today definitely was an "off day" for Charlie. If you need some convincing, check out his trip to West Neck just the other day when his best five weighed better than 16 pounds. You can access his blog by going to http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/. I urge you to go there and see for yourself.

Dec. 15, 2012 Goody's Big Bass Tournament

Will Filomarino
with his 3rd place 3.42-lb. fish

Let me say right now that what you see in this posting may not be what you'll ultimately get, once Cox Communications email service is back online. And for those who haven't called Cox this morning for an update on that situation, here's what I learned when I called about 9 a.m. and waited 30 minutes to talk to someone. They're working on the problem but don't have a clue how long it will take to restore service. The rep I talked to wouldn't even rule out the possibility of it being days or weeks.

As a result, I won't know how this posting will look in the final analysis until service is back up and I find out if John Goodman was able to shoot some photos of yesterday's event--he earlier had said he was going to try.

In the meantime, the best I can do is repeat what I learned from checking out the website for Bob's Fishing Hole. It seems they had 20+ boats with 28 anglers participating yesterday, which, according to John's guestbook entry, was "a record number." Here's how everyone finished:


Cathy Brandt stands with Jim Sumrell
and his 2nd place 3.89-lb. fish

In 1st place, with 4.44 lbs., was John Goodman; in 2nd place, with 3.89 lbs., was Jim Sumrell; in 3rd place, with 3.42 lbs., was Will Filomarino; in 4th place, with 3.37 lbs., was Ken Kipler; in 5th place, with 3.21 lbs., was Sid Ryan; in 6th place, with 2.84 lbs., was Eddie Sapp; in 7th place, with 2.70 lbs., was Mark London; in 8th place, with 2.53 lbs., was Shawn Dunlap; in 9th place, with 2.05 lbs., was Brian Skeens; in 10th place, with 1.79 lbs., was Hunter Clark; in 11th place, with 1.70 lbs., was Steve Bailey; in 12th place, with 1.63 lbs., was Henry Boyd; in 13th place, with 1.49 lbs., was John Banks; in 14th place, with 1.36 lbs., was Darrell Kidd; and in 15th place, with 1.22 lbs., was Josh Clark.

Not weighing any fish yesterday were: Roger Armentrout, Austin Berg, Cathy Brandt, Paul Celentano, Bob Clarkson, Chris Fretard, Mark Ingram, Kevin Love, Ronnie McLaughlin, Tyler McNair, Kyle McNeal, Mike Miller, and Richard Woods.

The next Goody's Big Bass Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 29, said John Goodman, tourney organizer.


John Goodman
with his 1st place 4.44-lb. fish

UPDATE: As is evident by the addition of these new photos to this story, folks in Virginia who subscribe to Cox Communications for their email are back online after being down for more than 48 hours. Thanks, John, for being so quick to send the photos.

Hook, Line & Sinker...

Today's fishing trip was pretty much a carbon copy of what I've encountered for a couple weeks now. The fish were pretty much the same size as what I've come to expect, and they were in the usual kinds of places. I basically divided my 4.5 hours on the water in half, spending the first half working toward the mouth of West Neck. I started the second half just this side of the bridge, passed through it, and then began making my way up the right side. My results were exactly the same: two bass and one pickerel in each direction, the biggest being the 1-2 in this photo.

I saw a few splashes today but never was able to determine what they were. I always was too far away to make a cast and try to find out.

The two baits in this photo (a Baby 1-Minus and a chatterbait) were my only productive lures today. I didn't even have any passes with the Thin N that has been a fairly steady producer the past couple of weeks.

The water temp when I left the ramp this morning about 10 o'clock was 46.5, and it still hadn't hit 50 by the time I quit at 2:30. With no sunshine to speak of, don't reckon I should have expected any different.

I ended my day by towing a couple of young boys in a johnboat from near the bridge to the ramp. They had exhausted themselves, trying to get their old outboard started, and they didn't have a paddle in the boat. I saw 'em waving as soon as I motored through the bridge. It's always nice to lend a helping hand to someone in need.

The water level at launch time was about 14 inches above the joint in the ramp, but it had edged up a fair amount by the time I recovered my boat. There already was three or four rigs in the parking lot by the time I got there, and Joe McDevitt launched just ahead of me. I'm hoping to get an email report from him to update this item with, but at the moment, I'm at the mercy of Cox Communications. I've not had any email service since last evening, and they're saying "tonight" before it gets restored. I have my fingers crossed, because I'm also looking for a report from John Goodman about his Goody's Big Bass Tourney today down at Bob's Fishing Hole.

I don't have any firm fishing plans for next week. There's at least a chance I may not get out at all, considering the other things already on my schedule. Will just have to take it one day at a time.

Don't Miss the Next Goody's Big Bass Tournament

Saturday, Dec. 15, 2012

 

7:30 a.m. - 2 p.m.

 

Bob's Fishing Hole

 

Entry Fee - $10 Per Angler

 

For more info, call John Goodman at

757-427-0659

or email him at

johngoodman3@cox.net

Hook, Line & Sinker...

About 1015 this morning, I thought my morning really was getting off with a bang. I was working a submerged log in the vicinity of marker No. 9, when something big crushed my Thin N. The battle only lasted about 60 seconds, but it was wild. From the moment the fish slammed my crankbait, he was on a dead run, heading for open water in the opposite direction I was moving. Then, just as fast as it happened, my line went limp.

I probably should explain here that, for a very long time now, I've always cut off one barb on all my treble hooks to make my lures more weedless, and the hooks on this Thin N were no exception. When I reeled in the crankbait from this event, one of the two barbs on the front hook was completely gone, and both barbs on the rear hook were nearly straightened. I have every reason to believe the fish likely was a nice striper, based on the single scale about the size of a quarter that was hanging from one of the barbs on the rear hook.

Unfortunately, the rest of the day was tame, compared to the episode I just described. The 1-10 in the picture above was my best fish of the day to come aboard. I also had one that was 12 inches. Two more were just dinks.

My only two productive lures today were the Thin N and chatterbait in the photo to the left. They each accounted for two fish. However, I lost two more fish en route to the boat on the chatterbait, and I had two others bump the chatterbait without getting hooked up. Today was the first time in more than a year that I've caught any fish on a chatterbait. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can entice a few more into jumping on it before all is said and done.

I had the parking lot all to myself when I started this morning, but Chris Fretard joined me an hour or so later. We stopped and chatted a couple of times. The last I knew, Chris had boated two fish: one on a spinnerbait and one on a worm. He still was fishing above the bridge when I called it quits, so I'm not sure what his total was today. Perhaps I'll get an email from him later. If so, I'll attach an update to this report.

The water temp when I left the ramp this morning was 53.2. Once again, I forgot to check it when I came in, so that's my bad.

There was plenty of water all day, but the level was dropping, and as long as these north and northeast winds continue, it'll keep dropping. If I can believe the weather forecasts, it'll probably be Friday before the winds switch around to a favorable direction. With a little luck, I plan to try getting back out Saturday.

According to the email update I received from Chris Fretard, he ended up with six fish today: five bass and one yellow perch. The first dink was caught on a spinnerbait, on his third cast of the day. The rest of his fish came off a Texas-rigged worm twitched between the transition zone of 2 and 5 feet. His best bass of the day weighed 2-9; his second best weighed 2 even. The rest were dinks, including the smallest of them all--a 7-inch perch. As Chris constantly reminds his partner, "Big fish are easy to hook. It takes real skill to catch small fish."

Hook, Line & Sinker...

All this warm weather has 'em coming out of hiding--the fish and fishermen, alike, that is--as evidenced by what I experienced yesterday firsthand and by the email reports I received today.

The first report in my mailbox was from Al Lemieux, who stayed in West Neck Creek all day, catching fish on a firetiger 1-Minus crankbait. In his own words, Al had "a one in a million day" on the water, boating more than 40 bass. The five biggest (seen in the photo here) tipped the scales at 4-2, 3-8, 3-1, 1-14, 1-14, for a total weight of 13 lbs. 13 ozs. That's the kind of catch that will put a smile on any tourney angler's face--and probably a few bucks in his wallet, as well.

Al also caught this nice 1-12 white perch. All of his fish came from the stretch of water between markers No. 12 and No. 6.

While on the water today, Al saw a fella in a johnboat catch another big bass. He said it looked to be a 4- or 5-pounder, but the fisherman later told Jim Bauer, who also was out today, that he thought the fish would go close to 8 lbs. Without a pair of scales, there's no way of knowing if the fella in the johnboat was just giving his best imitation of Roland Martin, or if the fish really was as big as he claimed.

Unfortunately, Al's day ended on a sour note. He had a wheel bearing on his trailer go out on the way home. The hub is badly damaged, and he said the "spindle is ruined." In short, "It's a mess," and Al feels he's probably looking at putting a new axle on the trailer.

Jim Bauer got a late start on his day, choosing to wait for the showers to pass this morning before heading to the marina. He ended the day with two bass (a 1-0 and a 1-1), one white perch, and one pickerel. Both bass came on a firetiger Bomber Square A. The water temp at launch time was 55 and only had bumped up to 56 when he came off the water at 4 o'clock.

Jim met a guy in a Tracker coming in from above the bridge as he was going out. This guy said he had caught some nice ones on a spinnerbait and was headed to the ramp to pick up a friend, so they both could get in on the action.

Another fella in a Ranger told Jim he only had caught one bass today.

A high point of Jim's day was finding out that the new Revo baitcasters he just got performed even better than he had hoped. He was getting a lot of distance without really trying.

And last but certainly not least comes this report that I picked off the Bob's Fishing Hole website today. They hosted a tournament there yesterday, which saw 15 anglers in 10 boats compete. They paid three places. Finishing in first place was the team of Eddie Sapp and Paul Celentano with five fish weighing 12.38 lbs. Eddie also took big-fish honors with a bass weighing 4.32 lbs. Second place went to Chris Napier with four fish weighing 9.01 lbs. And third-place money was claimed by Chris Fretard and Mike Miller with five fish weighing 8.06 lbs. For those who haven't already made the connection, every one of these fellas were part of the Dewey Mullins Tribute Bass Tourney Series this year.

I offer a hearty "well done" to everyone mentioned in this report.

Hook, Line & Sinker...

 

I barely had gotten started this morning in West Neck before I caught my first dink on a Bandit Footloose in red craw. Moments later, I had another one take a swipe at the same bait, but he missed.

I then went a couple of hours without any hits or any sign of a fish. During that time, I was changing baits, colors and retrieve speed--none of which seemed to make any difference. I finally picked up a Thin N I already had thrown some and kept moving steadily up the shoreline, figuring the odds eventually would shift in my favor, and they did. I stayed with the Thin N until the clouds started breaking up and managed to boat two more dinks and a 1-4, which is the fish in the first picture.

With the first rays of sunshine, I picked up the Footloose in chrome with black back that had yielded a few fish for me the other day. However, the bite was slow to come around on it today. It wasn't until I had fished my way within sight of the "No Wake" marker leading to the ramp that I hooked another fish. He swirled before he snatched the Footloose, and once he had it, I knew he was a better fish. I only had one problem: I wasn't sure it was a bass, 'cause he stayed down. I was leaning toward a grindle until I saw him flash in the water beside the boat. I then got off the pedestal, grabbed my net, and brought the fish close enough to slide the net under him. My scales tallied him at 3-2 (the fish in the second picture).

About three casts later, I felt another fish for just an instant, but the hook tore out. I turned around and reworked the area I just had passed over and managed to boat one more dink before I secured everything and started motoring toward the ramp. I was plenty satisfied with six bass for the day, even if only two of them were keepers. I've had far worse days.

The third picture here shows my productive lures today: the Thin N and the Footloose in red craw and chrome with black back.

When I left the ramp this morning, the water temp was 53.3. Unfortunately, I forgot to check it again when I quit today.

There were about four other rigs in the parking lot by the time I launched. And when I looked up in my rearview mirror while pulling around to the ramp, I saw Joe McDevitt. We stopped and chatted a few minutes, then I was in the water and off to start my day. This afternoon, I ran into Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall on the water. I never got up with Joe before leaving the marina but did talk to Gary and Lenny, who told me they caught about a dozen--nothing of any size--before wrapping things up this afternoon.

"Be the good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise," I plan to take a few more licks on Monday. Hopefully, the afternoon showers in the weather forecast will hold off until I've had all the fun I can stand for one day.

Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012 - I had a phone conversation with Joe McDevitt this morning, letting me know he had a good day yesterday, too. He caught bass up to about 4 lbs., using a chartreuse crankbait. He said he got the idea to use that particular bait and color after seeing what I had tied on my rods as they lay on the front deck while he helped me get launched. We also talked a little about it yesterday morning. Joe said he never put his chartreuse crankbait down after he caught the first bass with it.

Hook, Line & Sinker...

 

If there was a Thin N bite happening in West Neck Creek today, I never found it, and that's after working both sides of the creek, all the way up to the mouth. Given my success with that bait in recent days, I would have been willing to bet you money I'd be able to catch fish with it today. As it turned out, though, the only two baits that produced for me were the ones you see in the accompanying photo--a Bang-o-Lure in Tennessee shad color and this Bandit Footloose in chrome with black back.

To say my bite today was fickle would be an understatement. I started with a couple different Thin N's, then tried a spinnerbait and an assortment of jerkbaits, without drawing a single strike. As I neared the area where I picked up that nice 3-14 yesterday, I decided to see what would happen with the Bang-o-Lure that I had caught fish with yesterday. Quickly, I brought an 11-inch fish aboard and had two more slap at the bait without getting a hook-up. I mistakenly figured that action was only going to be the start of a memorable day. However, I couldn't have been more wrong.

For a long while, I didn't have another pass at the Bang-o-Lure, and the Thin N's I had tied on also were just drawing water. Knowing I needed to find another bait, I opened my tacklebox, and the first thing I saw were the Bandit Footlooses that had worked so well for me earlier in the year. This chrome-with-black-back model was the first and only one I tied on all day, since it went on to catch four fish for me. Just as I was feeling fully confident with it, the tables turned on me, though, and in a stretch of not more than 20 or 25 yards near quitting time, I hit three fish with it but had every single one of them come unbuttoned on the way to the boat. The frustrating thing was that those three fish hit harder than any of the others all day, which left me puzzled about how they were getting off.

My bottom line for the day was 5 fish in the boat, only one of which, though, was a keeper.

Like yesterday, the water temp already was above 50 degrees when I started, and it'll likely stay that way until those winds shift to the north tomorrow. I'm taking at least a couple days off now to regroup and try to come up with a new plan of attack. My thought process at the moment is that I probably should give West Neck a rest.