West Neck Water Level/Fishing/Work Report

Charlie Bruggemann launched his kayak at West Neck Marina about 11 o'clock this morning, and he fished until 2:30 or 3 o'clock. I'm not sure at what point within that time span he took this picture of the new gauge, but as you readily can see, the water level is showing approximately 3.3 feet.

One thing is for sure: With those 25-35-mph southerly winds I saw predicted for tomorrow, the level is going to rise a good bit more. Bottom line: Nobody has to worry about being able to launch tomorrow--if you plan to try your luck, that is.

For those wondering what kind of day Charlie had on the water, be assured he doesn't seem to have missed a beat in his catching ability, despite the fact he missed a few days because of the recent cold spell. He finished the day with 10 or 11 bass (won't know the exact number until he checks his video). His best two were a 1-12 and a 1-6. All the others were dinks.

Charlie's 1-12 bass fell for an X-Rap Shallow Shad, and one dink went for a Jig 'n' Pig. Everything else, though, succumbed to the action of a black and gold Yo-Zuri SS Minnow. Most of the fish were in deep water until about 2 o'clock, when the water temperature hit 50 degrees. At that point, the dinks started moving into shallow bays.

Before coming off the water, Charlie talked to a couple older guys fishing in a boat at the bridge. They told him they didn't have a thing. He also had a conversation with a fella having just come off the water in a bass rig, and he, too, had been skunked. Charlie summed up his day like this: "Great day and beautiful weather."

Charlie's day wasn't complete, though, until he snapped this photo of Jim Bauer, doing some much needed repairs on the catwalks at West Neck. As result of Jim's self-motivation, we now have catwalks with some new cleats installed, which will greatly improve our ability to tie off our boats while backing our trailers down the ramp. As anyone who ever has tried to recover their boat during a busy weekend in recent years can attest, it was difficult--at best. Those days, however, should be behind us now, and let's hope patrons take better care of these cleats than they did the original ones.

Whether or not you hear it from another soul, please know I thank you, Jimmy. And if Dewey still was here, I'm sure he would thank you, too.

I had thought I'd be trying to find a few fish tomorrow, but given the predicted strong winds, I don't think I'll go after all. If any of my readers hit the water tomorrow, please send me a report--along with a photo or two, if you like--and I'll post the results here on my blog.