Hook, Line & Sinker...

The first report I received this afternoon was from Charlie Bruggemann, who launched at West Landing Marina this morning and maneuvered his kayak across the North Landing River to Godfrey Creek. He was hoping to find clear water at the end of the creek and did but only managed to catch three dinks and a small pickerel. All the fish fell for a Storm Sub Wart that Charlie had modified by adding feathers and crystal flash to the rear treble.

The next report came from Chris Fretard, who, like me, launched at West Neck Marina. He told me that, from 2 to 5:30 p.m., he boated a 1-lb. bass and a 2-lb. pickerel, both on a Texas-rigged worm. He fished north of the bridge, all the way back to Indian River Road, because the water was clearer.

Even before launching this morning, I knew I was headed south in pursuit of clear water. After Tuesday's skunk in muddy West Neck, I wasn't about to take a chance on a repeat performance. My destination of choice was the back of Albright's Creek--just enough of a run to air out my Yamaha a little bit.

As I nudged the trolling motor around the bend into the stretch that would take me to the tree line, the water cleared up dramatically, and I didn't go very far at all before I boated this 1-lb. bass on a Mann's Baby 1-Minus in red craw. It was nice knowing I would escape a second skunk in a row, and for a brief period, I thought I might even go on to have a decent day.

When I had fished another half hour without a second hit on the 1-Minus, I started digging in my tacklebox and kept digging the rest of the day. I tried spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, various crankbaits, jerkbaits, and even a few topwaters--all to no avail, other than for feeling a couple of taps that felt like bream.

As Charlie remarked in his email, "I sure would like to know what's putting them off their feed."

Just in is a report from Eddie Sapp, who, unlike everyone else I've talked to for several days now, had a darn good day today, compared to all these other reports. He said the day "started a bit slow but finished red hot for mid-February."

 

Eddie said he fished from about 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and caught 12 to 14 bass. He estimated his best five at a total weight of 9 to 10 lbs. Most of his fish came on soft plastics, with a couple on a crankbait. He said the water temp ranged from 49 to 54 degrees, which is similar to what I found.

 

I also learned from Eddie that he ran across Jared Allbritten on the water today, and Jared said his day was about like Eddie's. Jared did tell him he lost a nice kicker, though, because of a bad hookset. Both caught all their fish in West Neck.

 

If I'm reading Eddie's report right, it would seem that most of his fish came later in the day. I'm guessing they may have been turning on about the same time I quit, which was 2:30. However, I wasn't fishing any soft plastics like Eddie was. Reckon I need to add them to the mix my next trip, and if that fails, perhaps I just should empty out the tacklebox.