Hook, Line & Sinker...

Patience really is a virtue. If you don't believe me, just ask Steve Bailey the next time you see him.

Steve launched at West Neck today around 11 a.m. He described the water as "muddy, but not too bad," and the water temp was about 45 degrees.

When Steve left the dock, his game plan was to hit 'em with plastic craws. He did get four hits with these baits but no hookups. That situation all changed at 3 p.m. In the next hour, he caught 5 keeper bass--the biggest the 2.01-lb. bass pictured here. Said Steve, "I caught four on a deep-diving crankbait--dragging the bottom in about 4 to 5 feet of water--and one on a black-with-blue-claw plastic craw.

"All in all, not a bad hour," he noted--"with four hours of peacefulness."

When Steve returned to the West Neck ramp at 4:30 this afternoon, his boat's temperature gauge showed 51 degrees.

Also had an email from Skip Schaible, my water-level watcher, who said, when he checked the ramp at 4 o'clock, the water was approximately 3 feet above the joint in the ramp. That means any hearty soul who's willing to tackle those predicted chilly temps in the morning should have plenty of water to launch. As always, if anyone does go and wants to share their day's results with me, I'll be more than happy to post it here on the blog.