Didn't Break a Sweat 'Till I Cleaned Up the Boat

That's how nice it was on the water today. If I had been able to place an order for the perfect fishin' day, don't think I could have done any better than what Mother Nature delivered today. If you weren't there, you missed a good one.

And, incidentally, the fishin' wasn't half bad today, either. This 2-4 was my best of the day. He, like four others, fell for my Bang-o-Lure. I caught two more on an SS Minnow and two on a Super Fluke Swimbait. Five of my nine fish were keepers. Besides this 2-4, I had a 1-2 and three that were 12-inchers.

I also missed and/or lost about four other fish today. In most instances, they came unbuttoned after tangling in grass.

Like this past Saturday, there were pods of baitfish being pursued in Albright's today, but the numbers were far fewer today, and I only wasted my time with blowups on a couple of occasions.

While I was cleaning up my boat this afternoon, a gentleman approached and asked if I'm "the fella who does the blog." I acknowledged that I am, and he explained that he's affiliated with the Virginia Beach Stranding Team, which is part of the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center. He wanted to know if I'd put out the word that if/when you happen to see a dolphin or other such unusual species in local waters that you call and report it to the Virginia Aquarium. Their phone number is 757-385-3474. Their concern, of course, is to get critters back to the waters where they belong. For future reference, you might consider adding that number to the contacts list in your cellphone.

The Latest from Two Different Anglers

In a note I just received from Jerry, I learned he had gone to the Northwest today, hoping for a repeat of the day he had there last Friday when he boated 10 bass. The water level was about 8 inches higher and very tainted, he reported, but the temp still was in the 78-to-79-degree range. "Even the short bass were hard to find today," he said.

After four hours on the water, Jerry had caught four bass, with one of them "unearned," to borrow his term. "A fish swirled about 10 feet in front of my boat," he explained. "I then cast to the spot and caught the only keeper of my day." The fish weighed in at 1 lb. 10 ozs. "I've caught many fish over the years when I cast to a swirl near a tree, cypress knee or laydown," Jerry continued, "but this swirl was out in open water. That's why I feel this fish was 'unearned.' If it hadn't shown itself, I would have had an even more pathetic day," he concluded.

And then Charlie sent me a short note about his day yesterday in Albright's. "Caught mostly gar and grindle," he said. However, he also boated three bass--his best a 1-9.

Water Everywhere, But Not a Drop to Drink...

We've all heard that saying, right? Well, here's a new one for you: Fish everywhere, but not one that will bite. That's the way it was for Rob and me in this last Saturday's tourney, and given the number of other participants who didn't weigh any fish, it might be true of some of them, too. Here's the way the day unfolded for Rob and me.

We started in West Neck, where we didn't see or feel a fish. Then we ran to Albright's, which was teeming with baitfish and bass that were chasing them. Everywhere we looked, there were huge pods of baitfish shifting hither and yon, with bass in hot pursuit. We began working a typically productive stretch of shoreline, each pausing intermittently, however, to toss a lure where baitfish just had blown up. There were no takers, though.

From there, we ran to a point where we nearly always catch two or three fish. Again, the water was alive with baitfish and bass activity, but they weren't interested in letting us join in their games. As the day wore on, we finally managed to put one keeper bass and three dinks in the boat, which was really frustrating, given all the activity we witnessed throughout the day. There were times our boat was surrounded completely by baitfish pods, with fish busting them, yet they wouldn't even bump our variety of offerings.

Knowing others had to have experienced similar days on the water, I decided to do a little digging on the Internet and find out if there were any ideas for resolving the problem. One of the first suggestions I found was to try a buzzbait. The theory here is that bass hit this bait out of anger, not because they think it's food.

Another suggestion I found was to go weightless if you see bass busting baitfish in shallow water. "Try a little 4-inch soft jerkbait and just let it sink weightless, then start twitching it back to the boat," said one person. "If that doesn't work, try a Senko or large flipping tube."

Someone else suggested a Hula Popper--a small 2- or 3-inch model, with a white belly, yellow skirt, and green on top with black spots. "Just drag it across the surface where those fish are busting... bass can't seem to resist it," said this writer. "Let it sit for a while when you first get it out there. Then try a couple of different retrieves. Vary the speed, alternate directions, and keep a low profile."

Yet another person suggested split-shotting. "Tie on a straight-shank 1/0 hook, attach a split shot about 24 inches up the line, then rig a 4-inch finesse worm on the hook," he recommended. "Fish it at various speeds until you find what the fish want--usually very slow. Use a light, sensitive but fast-action graphite spinning rod."

If you can accept the conditions, stay confident, and fish with patience, you're going to catch fish, insist the pros. Veteran pro Denny Brauer adds, "The secret to being a good angler isn't knowing how to catch fish when they're biting, it's being able to catch them when they're not." I reckon we can all agree with those statements.

Another Big Turnout for Today's Event

Today's tourney, which was event No. 12 of 18 this calendar year, drew a total of 19 boats and 29 anglers. Those numbers were good enough to pay three places, as well as big fish.

Claiming the first-place prize, with a five-bass total weight of 13.3 lbs., was the team of (l-r) Jeremy Gatewood and Joe Glazebrook. They also walked away with big-fish honors for a bass that tipped the scales at 5 lbs. even.

Second-place prize money went to the team of (l-r) Dennis Cohen and Ronnie McLaughlin, with a five-bass total weight of 12.7 lbs., anchored by a bass weighing 3.1 lbs. My hat's off to Ronnie, who, for the second time this season, volunteered to run the weigh-in for me.

And last, but not least, the team of Mark London and John Goodman (not pictured) rounded out the winner's circle with five bass weighing a total of 9.3 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.13 lbs.






Congratulations to all of you on your success today.

Here's how everyone else finished:
     * The team of Duane and Donny Kessel had five bass weighing a total of 8.8 lbs. They didn't weigh a big fish.
     * The team of John Matyiko and Mark Cable had five bass weighing a total of 6.9 lbs. after taking a 0.25 deduction for one dead fish. They didn't weigh a big fish.
     * Bryan Dear had three bass weighing a total of 6.3 lbs. His big fish weighed 2.13 lbs.
     * Skip Schaible had one bass weighing a total of 3 lbs. even.
     * Jeff Stemen had two bass weighing a total of 2.7 lbs. He didn't weigh a big fish.
     * Jim Bauer had two bass weighing a total of 2.6 lbs. He didn't weigh a big fish.
     * Jim Wilder had one bass weighing a total of 1.2 lbs.

Those who didn't weigh any fish today included the following: the team of Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff, Gary Coderre, Jesse Munden, Paul Donnelly, Rob Powell, the team of David Dozier and Nelson Anderson, the team of Al and Chris Napier, the team of Tim and Zachary Ackal, and the team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle.

Those 15 anglers who participated in the weigh-in accounted for a total of 34 bass with a combined total weight of 66.8 lbs., which translates into an average of 1.9 lbs. per fish.

Three more anglers joined the growing circle of fishermen who have qualified to fish our season-ending two-day Classic. The latest additions are Mark London, John Matyiko, and Ronnie McLaughlin.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10. Start time will be safe light (or approximately 6 a.m.). Weigh-in will be at 2 p.m.

His "Go To" Bait Just Keeps on Producing

When Jerry has his confidence bait tied on, you can bet he's going to bring a few fish like this one in the boat. This is one of two 14-inchers he caught today, en route to setting his single-day, season-high total of 10 bass. He also caught two bowfin. All but one fish came on the bubblegum Senko; that other fish fell for a junebug Senko, which is his son's "go to" bait.

Said Jerry of his Northwest River trip today, "It was good to finally see the water level down about 10 inches from Saturday, with a 7- or 8-degree-cooler water temp. And the cloud cover this morning just made for a perfect fishing scenario."

I seriously doubt anyone would take exception to that appraisal of today's conditions. While he only could find smaller fish today, Jerry was by no means complaining. He evidently shares my philosophy: As long as I'm feeling a tug on the line, I'm totally satisfied.

Congrats on another great day on the water, Jerry.

Dodged Another Skunk by the Skin of My Teeth

It had been a week since I last was on the water, so I decided to go looking for Bubba today. As it turned out, though, I not only didn't find Bubba but nearly didn't find a fish period. My total for the day was one bass about 11 inches long that I caught this morning on a Yo-Zuri SS Minnow.

The water still was so high that all my favorite stuff in West Neck was underwater. After wasting two hours fishing the main creek, with nothing but one swat and a miss at a popper to show for it, I decided to check out some coves. The first one I visited was where I found my one and only fish today. I had one other swat and a miss--again on the SS Minnow--before going to a second cove, where I got hooked up with a second bass on the SS Minnow, but he came unbuttoned about 10 feet from the boat.

The third cove I visited is one I often see Bob Glass and Randy Conkle in on tourney mornings. I had switched to a SwimSenko by the time I got there and hadn't gone very far before a fish picked up the worm and started swimming with it. When I jerked, I saw a swirl, but only because the fish was slow to turn loose of the worm. Instead of the hook going into the fish, the worm had pulled off the keeper in the hook's eye. That proved to be my final chance of the day--a very poor showing for 7.5 hours on the water. I couldn't help thinking about that saying: "If it was easy, it would be called catching."

Like Jerry's son the other day, I learned a valuable lesson today. Mine, though, had nothing to do with drag settings. Instead, it was about how to handle one of those "birdnests from hell." I was sitting under a tree in the back of a cove when I let loose a lot-less-than-perfect cast. As the lure went straight up into the tree, I felt the line bubbling up under my thumb. When I looked at the reel, I only could shake my head in disbelief.

Most times, I would have broken out a knife and started whacking, all the while muttering things under my breath. Today, however, for some reason--and I'll never know why--I just removed the lure, rolled up the reel with the bird's nest still there, and laid the rod down. When I got home and had unloaded all my gear, I went out in the driveway with that messed-up reel, and don't you know I was able to completely undo that whole bird's nest. Seriously, I didn't have to cut out a single inch of line. I hope I can remember this episode the next time I get another bird's nest on the water. I can't tell you how good I felt when I got that mess unwound.

Another positive from today's fishing trip was the fact I got to experiment with the coffee stirrers and 6-inch steel leaders on my lines. While the information I read about the coffee stirrers indicated you wouldn't notice any difference in how the lures worked, that wasn't my experience. Both the SS Minnow and Bandit Footloose lost a fair amount of wiggle with a coffee stirrer on the line. My Bomber Square A, though, didn't appear to be affected. And when I threw the SS Minnow and Bandit Footloose with one of the steel leaders attached, they both performed as they usually do. Both suggested remedies significantly reduced the fouling problems I've been having--I didn't have but four or five cases total today. I learned one thing about the coffee stirrers that wasn't mentioned in anything I had read. They are small enough to slip through all the guides on my rods, so you have to watch what you're doing with them.

So, all in all, it wasn't a bad day. It got warm pretty fast, but I knew that was going to happen. I saw Skip Schaible on the water today--he had a couple when I last talked to him, and I think I also saw Lenny Hall but didn't get a chance to exchange notes with him. That was about the extent of fishermen today, except for a fella who came in shortly before I left. I didn't recognize that rig.

Good luck to everyone who has a trip planned yet this week.

Following is a photo of one of the two bass that Skip caught today on a Pop R. In Skip's own words, it was only "7.5 lbs. short of a citation."

Drag Setting Can Be Your Make or Break Point

That's a lesson Jerry's son learned the hard way today, and there are many of us who can relate to that "empty" feeling you get after losing a nice fish, simply because you had that drag cranked down too tightly.

Back in the days when I used mono, I experienced many of those empty moments before I read some advice in a magazine article. Don't ask me what magazine or what article that was, because far too much water has passed under the bridge since then for me to recall. Shoot, I'm at that stage in life where my wife even kids me about keeping the library's phone number handy in my cellphone contacts--just so I can call and find out what the date is if I forget that, too.

Anyway, the article in question discussed a simple way to set your drag and have a reasonable degree of certainty that it was set correctly or close to it. The article said to fasten the end of your line to a stationary object, tighten down the drag, then start loosening it until you could walk backward (holding the rod in a straight line from the stationary point), with the line slipping through the guides without undue resistance.

I followed that advice for the remainder of the time I used mono, including the whole year I spent experimenting with nothing but ultralight tackle, including 4- and 6-lb. test line, and I only had a few of those empty moments. Once I shifted to braided line, I began adjusting my drag just by pulling off a few feet until I thought the resistance felt about right. I still use that method today, but as I admitted to Jerry, I know the drag setting usually is too heavy, even for the 40- and 50-lb. test line that I use. As all the articles I read today spell it out, you run the risk of having the braid bury into itself when a bigger fish makes a hard run or you hang up with too much drag set.

According to most experts, a reel's drag should be set to one-third of the line's breaking strain. To be precise, tie the end of your line to the hook on a set of pocket scales or a spring-balance pair. Have someone hold the scales steady while you walk slowly away from them, pointing the rod tip directly at the scales. Adjust the drag-setting mechanism until the reading you get on the scales is equal to one-third of the breaking strength. One note of caution here: If you're using 30-lb. test line but only a 15- or 20-lb. leader, the drag should be set to one-third the breaking strength of the leader--or other weak link in your setup.

Tight Lines! And here's hoping you don't have too many "empty" moments in your future fishing endeavors.

A Slow Day, With a Lesson Learned

Jerry and his son hit the Northwest River this morning and found themselves sharing the water with those folks who were fishing the Bass Chasers open tourney. "We talked with several teams while on the water," said Jerry, "including two teams early in the day on the North Carolina side, and they were struggling just like my son and me. We also got to meet John Goodman today."

Given the grindingly slow bite today, Jerry and his son called it quits at 11:30, but not before catching 10 bass. Their best three 14-inchers weighed a total of 5 lbs. 11 ozs., including the one in this photo, which tipped the scales at 2 lbs. 9 ozs. "I caught it with my 'go to' lure (check the mouth of the fish)," said Jerry.

The "lowlight" of the day's fishing was one Jerry's son will remember for quite a while. "Over the years," as Jerry explained, "I have been notorious for hooking big bass, only to lose them in the battle. My son had noted just this morning that my hookup and catch ratio of the 'big boys' has improved lately. I told him that I've started setting my drag a lot looser than normal, and it has paid off."

Just a short while after Jerry and his son had that conversation, they relocated to a different part of the river, where his son set the hook on a fish, and the fight was on. "The bass showed itself long enough for me to estimate its weight in the 4-lb. range," said Jerry. "Then it dived and headed for the bow of the boat." At that point came a snap... "and a few words I can't publish, LOL!" noted Jerry.

Following this incident, Jerry's son let up on his drag.

By Any Name, Unwelcome Company

At various times, Charlie (pictured here) has suggested that I try out some kayak fishing. My standard reply is, "Thanks, but no thanks. I want a platform that has a little more freeboard than what a kayak offers." That response isn't about to change anytime soon after the email report I received a bit earlier from Charlie about his fishing trip today on Back Bay.

He began the note by saying he "had an 'interesting' trip." I can think of many adjectives to describe the kind of day he had, but "interesting" wouldn't be one of them. I would go with "frightening" maybe, or perhaps "terrifying," but certainly not "interesting," or as he later referred to it--"exciting."

Charlie's fishing day began innocently enough--he launched at Lovetts about 5:15 and was fishing at the duck blind by 5:30. "Fishing was s-l-o-o-o-w, just like yesterday," he said. Unlike yesterday, though, it was a little breezy, which, as he explained, "helped with the heat problem."

His final tally was four bass: three on a hollow-bodied frog and one on a Chigger Craw. All of the fish weighed less than a pound. "They were way back up in cuts or ditches that ran back into the marsh," noted Charlie. "Plenty of bait were running around, but nothing much was chasing them," he continued. "I think they were spot."

Now we get to the highlight of Charlie's day--the event, which, as he described it, "got my juices flowing.

"I never saw the damn thing until I felt something in my lap and looked down. Luckily, I know my snakes well, or I would have bailed out. There lay a brown water snake with a small spot in its mouth. Guess he was looking for a dry place to have breakfast and picked my lap." The ever-cool Charlie then said, "I brushed him over the side and checked my skivvies."

To cap off his experience, Charlie was unloading his kayak at the ramp when he found the unwanted guest still was riding along. Without his knowledge, the snake had climbed back aboard in the rear of the kayak after Charlie had tossed him out the first time. "It's a good thing I didn't reach back there and feel him, or I would have bailed for sure." Instead, he chased him out of the kayak and finished packing up. Said Charlie, "I hope the next trip is less exciting."

For your viewing pleasure, here's a copy of the video Charlie got of his unwelcome company today:

Be watching Charlie's blog later tonight for a full-blown version of this episode in all of his own words. Here's the link: http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

It's That Time of Year Again

Duckweed is making its annual return to the area's streams and waterways. In very short order, we'll likely be seeing the green stuff everywhere we go on the water.

This photo, taken in September 2010 by my friend, Charlie, during a trip to Nawney (or Nanney, as he calls it) Creek, shows what we all have to look forward to in coming days. And, yes, I know how many of you feel--I already can hear your collective sighs and groans.

I, too, groan a bit when it comes to cleaning duckweed off my boat's black hull. Wiping it off with a rag doesn't amount to much more than a drill in futility. You just kinda move it around from one spot to another. The best way to get it off is to attach a nozzle to the nearest hose and knock it off--the sooner the better--after getting your boat out of the infested water.

On a positive note, some of the best fishing I had last year came from tossing topwaters in and around duckweed colonies. My introduction to the "good side" of  the green stuff came early one morning last year. I was motoring toward a piece of shoreline in West Neck Creek when I saw a lot of movement in a long parallel line of duckweed a few feet out in front of the shoreline. I stopped and started throwing at that movement.

In some cases, the fish wouldn't hit until I put the bait directly in the middle of the slop. Other times, they would smack the bait along the edges of the duckweed. When the fish were hitting out along the edges, I was able to use a shallow-running crankbait effectively. And on those occasions when a fish would blow up but miss your bait in the middle of the slop, you had a very distinct hole in which to toss a follow-up bait--something like a worm or other soft plastic.

Hollow-bodied frogs are the go-to topwater choice of many anglers for fishing duckweed. It's my understanding that's where the term "scumfroggin'" originated. Some, though, prefer to use a spoon. I caught a few fish last year on a Johnson's Silver Minnow, tipped with a 3- or 4-inch white Mr. Twister tail. Another successful lure for some is the Stanley Ribbit Frog and look-alikes fished on weightless hooks.

So don't just scoff at the duckweed this year. Watch for fish movement in it, and when you see some, stop and work the area over. You might be surprised at the results.

Trying to Find a "Pill" for a Braided-Line Headache

My friend, Charlie, recently found what appears to be a solution to the long-term problem he has had with braided line wrapping around the blade arm of his beetle spin during a cast. He attaches a couple of bobber stops.

I routinely don't fish beetle spins, but I do fish spinnerbaits, as well as a number of crankbaits. In any given day's time on the water, I repeatedly will have to unwrap my braided line from around the blade arm of the spinnerbait and the front hook of the crankbait. The real frustration for me comes when I've made a hurried cast to a nearby swirl in the water, only to have the line foul in the bait, thus making it impossible to work the lure back to the boat.

Unfortunately, patience never has been one of my virtues, and when this problem keeps recurring, especially as many as three or four times in a row (standard fare on windy days), I often don't handle it very well. For that reason, I made a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods today and bought what I'm hoping will be the end-all to my braided-line headache.

I bought some of these wire leaders. The ones I chose are 6 inches long and are rated at 30-lb. test.

It's not that I distrust Charlie's solution. As a matter of fact, if my experiment fails, I likely will adopt his bobber-stops method. I just first want to see if perhaps my idea offers an alternative.

It'll probably be next week before I make my next fishing trip and have a chance to test the wire leaders. If you're interested in seeing the results, I plan to include them with my fishing report of next week's outing.

After some additional research of the Internet, I found another suggested solution to the problem of braided line fouling a lure during the cast. That suggestion was to use about a 3-inch-long section of one of those tiny coffee-stirring straws. You just thread the line through the straw before tying to a snap, other connecting device, or directly to the lure. Once in place, the straw is supposed to cure the problem without affecting the action of the bait.

"That Guy Who Does the Fishing Blog"

That's how many local fishin' folks are coming to address me, and that's perfectly OK with me. To help make it easier to ID me, I've gotten some new license plates for my ol' blue van, as well as a magnetic sign for the van's back door.

In the future, anytime you see a faded... and dirty (a bad habit of many native Kansans)... blue Chevy Astro van with this license plate:

and, sometimes, with this magnetic sign:

you can be certain I'm somewhere in the vicinity--or out chasin' bass on the nearest water. So if you wanna chat for a spell or pass along a tip for a new blog item, don't hesitate to stop me. In the words of an old tune, "My time is your time."

Those 3 Barges Should Have Been 300

In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, Rob and I launched and were headed out of West Neck Creek about 5:45 this morning. When we reached the mouth and turned left, the spotlight from a barge was shining ever so brightly directly into our eyes. We were blinded momentarily, so we eased back into West Neck Creek to let the barge pass. Once it had cleared, we headed out again but was forced to return to the creek a second time because of another barge coming at us. A third such encounter made us decide just to cool our jets for a spell and fish a while in West Neck.

In the first hour, Rob boated this keeper bass and one more a little smaller on a topwater. He also had some other fish take a swipe at his bait without getting a hookup. Meanwhile, I, too, boated one about the size of the fish in this picture on a different topwater and had another fish that evidently needed eyeglasses splash at my topwater at least six times consecutively--on one cast--and never did get the bait.

We then made a mistake. We decided to leave West Neck--and the fish we had found there--and run to Blackwater. We figured if the bite was on in one spot, it would be on in another, but that was not the case. After fishing a stretch of water in the front end of Blackwater without any success, we cranked up and ran to the back. I'm here to tell you that chocolate syrup has nothing on the water we found back there.

Muddy water in the back end of Blackwater has foiled many of my plans over the years, but today was, far and away, the worst I've ever encountered. All it took was for me to turn around and see the look on Rob's face to understand that he wanted to leave as badly as I did.

From there, we came back upriver to Albright's Creek. The water there was in super good shape, and we saw lots of fish moving, but therein, the compliments have to stop, because the bass were being as tight-lipped there, as they were down in Blackwater. We simply couldn't buy a strike.

Finally, about an hour before we had made a pact to end our day, I suggested that we run back and finish up in West Neck, where we had started.

In hardly no time, Rob had put this, his third and biggest keeper, in the boat--again on a topwater. Some cloud cover had moved in temporarily, making topwater baits a good choice for another period of several minutes.

My highlight of the day was coming home with one less rod than I started the day. I was tossing around a SwimSenko today when, all of a sudden, about 20 inches of the tip snapped off on a cast.

Fortunately, I always have spares parked in my rod carousel in the den, so all I had to do when I got home was grab one, slap on the Lew's reel from the broken rod, and I was good to go again. Otherwise, a trip to Bass Pro Shops in Hampton would have been in my plans for tomorrow.

This brings me to the reason I, in the title for this post, said those 3 barges this morning should have been 300. If there had been that many, we undoubtedly would have stayed in West Neck all day long and likely would have caught a lot more fish than we did. It's a case where we both felt like we beat ourselves today. Perhaps one of these days, we'll both learn that when you get on fish, you don't leave 'em--no matter what.

After the Saturday Rains...

Came the Tuesday muddy water, as evidenced in this photo Jerry sent me today.

"Having not fished since the first week of July, I was looking forward to hitting the water again today, until I saw the brown water," he explained. Nevertheless, he didn't let that stop him from checking out the same area of the Northwest River where his son and friend had some success Saturday before the storm nearly swamped their boat.

"None of the fish I caught were picture-worthy," he continued. "However, I did pull six bass from the mud, all of which were under 12 inches. I also caught two nice pickerel"--or "jacks," as he called them the other day. And in case you're wondering, all the bass succumbed to a bubblegum Senko.

As it turned out, though, Jerry's ride home proved to be the highlight of his day. "I just had turned off the Expressway onto 168 to bypass the tolls when I spotted an unmarked police vehicle with lights and siren going several vehicles behind me," he said. "I immediately pulled over and stopped to let the officer pass. Ahead of the officer was a dump truck, which the officer followed for several miles with the lights on and siren wailing. I figured maybe the police was a rear escort for the dump truck."

Not so, as Jerry eventually would learn, though. After several miles, as the line of traffic approached the left-turn lanes near Wawa, another unmarked police vehicle lay in wait. As the dump truck got close, this second police vehicle circled in front and blocked the truck in.

Said Jerry, "I plan to check the newspaper tomorrow to see if this story makes the local news. Wish I knew what it was all about."

So, in the final analysis, Jerry had some fun and a little excitement, too.

Mark Your Calendars Now

The 2013 Virginia Bass Region 7 open team bass tournament is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 6, at Munden Point Park in Virginia Beach.

Pre-registration (see form below) mailing deadline is Sept. 28, 2013. Please do not mail registration forms after that date. If you miss that deadline, don't fret, because on-site registration will be open the morning of the tournament from 5 to 6:30 a.m.

The entry fee per team is $85, which includes your shot at the big-fish pot. There will be an 80 percent payout (based on the number of entrants). Blast off will occur in 30-boat increments. Here is the schedule:

1st flight: safe light to 2:45 p.m.

2nd flight: 15 minutes after 1st flight to 3 p.m.

3rd flight: 15 minutes after 2nd flight to 3:15 p.m.

4th flight: 15 minutes after 3rd flight to 3:30 p.m.

 

Officials emphasize that flight-out times may change, depending on safe-light conditions.

All tournament fish have to be 12 inches long (14 inches if you fish North Carolina waters), and teams are allowed to weigh a total of eight.

 

Backers for this Virginia Bass Region 7-sponsored event include: The Glass Baron, Surface Technologies Corp., Ocean's East 2 Tackle Shop, Murphy's Prop Shop, Little Creek Bass Anglers, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Miller Oil Co., Lance, and Pepsi.

 

Anyone who has questions about the tournament should contact Wayne Hayes at 757-374-3205 or Randy Trout at 757-320-7465.

 

As advertised in the Region 7 flyer for this event, there will be free food and drinks, along with a raffle and prizes, so plan now to come out and have some fun.

 

Click on this form, which I saved as a photo, and it will open in a bigger printable size. Fill it out and mail it to the address provided at the top.

When Things Go Floating in Your Boat...

That's a signal that you have a problem. In the case of Jerry's son and his friend, who went fishing yesterday on the Northwest River, it simply meant they had sat through a severe downpour. Said the son, "By the time we got back to the ramp, things were floating in about 5 inches of water in the bottom of the boat."

As Jerry explained, the boat is a 14-foot V-bow skiff. The reason there was 5 inches of water in the bottom is that the boat has no bilge pump. "He and I usually try to avoid all inclement weather when we go fishing," Jerry noted, but that wasn't to be the case yesterday for his son and his friend.

As his son described the scene, "We looked like we had been swimming when we got home. It must have rained for more than an hour." He went on to say that, afterward, his garage was a mess with soaked tackle and life vests on the floor. "However, I was able to vacuum the boat a little before putting it in the garage," he concluded.

I can attest to how wet it got for a good spell yesterday morning. The elements forced me to give up my perch down in Albright's Creek on the North Landing River and make a run for the Pungo Ferry Bridge. Because of its height, that bridge didn't offer much protection, but as I've always contended, "Some is better than none."

Despite their drenching, the two young men still reported a successful two-hour venture. Jerry's son ended up with five bass (including the only 15-inch keeper of the outing) and one jack, while his friend caught one bass and one jack. All the fish were caught on Senko worms.

Here's hoping your next trip is a dry one.

Lots of Nice Fish Brought to the Scales Today

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I thought today's field of 18 anglers in 13 boats made a really nice showing. Leading the pack was this man, Bryan Dear, who weighed five fish for a winning total of 15.88 lbs. His big bass weighed in at 4.77 lbs. It and his next best bass is shown here.

Second place went to the team of (from left) Randy Conkle and Bob Glass, who also weighed five fish that tipped the scales at 14.33 lbs. Their big fish checked in at 4.13 lbs.

Rounding out the winners' circle was Jesse Pearce, who topped all the competitors today with this big fish weighing 5.32 lbs. He only weighed one fish, but when they're this size, who cares?







Here's how all the other contestants finished:
     * The team of John Matyiko and Hayden Capper had five fish weighing a total of 12.54 lbs. Their big fish weighed 3.73 lbs.
     * The team of Paul Donnelly and Jack Wynkoop had five fish weighing a total of 9.58 lbs. Their big fish also weighed 3.73 lbs.
     * Wayne Hayes had five fish weighing a total of 9.05 lbs. His big fish weighed 2.83 lbs.
     * The team of Mike Evans and Jeff Garnes had five fish weighing a total of 8.34 lbs. Their big fish weighed 3.52 lbs.
     * The team of Bobby Moore and J. P. Twohig had five fish weighing a total of 7.79 lbs. Their big fish weighed 2.59 lbs.
     * Skip Schaible had two fish weighing a total of 6.95 lbs. His big fish weighed 3.70 lbs.
     * Jim Wilder had two fish weighing a total of 2.24 lbs. He didn't weigh a big fish.

These anglers didn't weigh any fish: Jim Bauer, Ken Testorff and Al Napier.

A total of 15 anglers participated in the weigh-in. They accounted for 40 bass weighing a combined total of 92.02 lbs., for an average of 2.3 lbs. per fish.

Three more anglers joined the list of those eligible to fish our season-ending two-day Classic on Oct. 12-13 by virtue of having fished four tourneys to date. Those three individuals are Jim Bauer, Bryan Dear, and Bobby Moore. A total of 17 anglers now have qualified.

For planning purposes, our next tourney is scheduled for Saturday, July 27. Start time will be safe light (probably about 5:30 or 5:45). Weigh-in will be at 2 p.m.

What's in a Name?

I recently received an email from John Goodman talking about the diversity in slang names/nicknames that people--especially writers--give big bass. Some of those terms seemed to befuddle him as much as they did me.

As a result, I did a little research on the Internet and found most of the ones John had listed, plus a lot more. You might say that I'm more befuddled now than ever before. Hope you have better luck than I did trying to figure out how people came up with some of these names/nicknames:

I realize these names are pretty small in this format, but if you'll click on the chart, you should be able to see everything OK.

On Monday, July 15, 2013, I was reading some of the email posts on the Stateline Bass Anglers website when I happened across a note from John Goodman that I simply can't resist taking to task in this forum. He had sent the same note that precipitated my article here to Bob's Fishing Hole and to his co-clubbers message board. In the note to his co-clubbers, however, he went so far as to suggest that they "prepare an Excel spreadsheet defining the various terms (from John's email note) and when appropriate to use each" (e.g., what size fish merits use of each term).  I'm sorry, but from where I stand (as a writer/editor with more than 50 years of experience), that kind of suggestion is ridiculous--at best--and I'm being "gentle" here. It ranks right up there with some of the suggestions I was getting from my former boss and department head, which gave me more than enough motivation to turn in my retirement papers. Incidentally, the department head just recently retired, and my former boss was so desperate to ensure he had a decent showing at his farewell party that he called and tried to get me to attend. I'll give you two guesses as to what my response was--and the first one doesn't count.

"Not the Best Day I Ever Had, But No Skunk Either"

That's the way Jim Bauer described his day on the water today. The two fish pictured here checked in at 1.13 lbs. (top photo) and 1.3 lbs. (bottom photo). He also boated a dink that weighed all of 12 ozs.

Jim was first in the parking lot and launched at 7 o'clock this morning, but before he could get away from the catwalk, another fella and his son showed up and were able to drop their john boat in the water and shove off ahead of him. His friend, Joe McDevitt, whom he hadn't seen in quite a while, also showed up, and they talked for a bit before Jim finally fired up his Yamaha and backed away to start his fishing day.

The bigger fish was Jim's first of the day. He fell for a Buzzjet Jr. in sexy shad. As Jim explained, the fish was foul-hooked under the jaw and really didn't feel like much of a fish until he was near the boat. "Then he made a run and got my attention," Jim explained.

Prior to this first fish, Jim had three others swirl at the BJ Jr., but none of them came close to the hooks. A dink finally did get a little too close, and Jim was able to set the hook, but the fish came unbuttoned on the way to the boat.

Other baits that proved unsuccessful today included a Rage Shad, Bandit Footloose, and a Beaver soft plastic. It wasn't until Jim tied on his old reliable brown/orange Slider worm that he picked up the 1.3-lb. bass at the West Neck Bridge. He was working his way toward the bridge when he picked up the 12-oz. dink and had a good fish break him off--also on the Slider worm.

Jim reported that he "had plenty of room to fish today." However, he also said there was "plenty of wind and water all day"--so much so that the water level is sneaking up on the catwalks again. He said the gauge already is once more completely underwater.

The water temp when Jim started his day read 83 degrees. It had moved up to 85 degrees at 1 o'clock when he came off the water, cleaned up the boat, and headed home.

A New Tip from "The Thinking Man"

I'm talking about none other than my friend, Charlie. He comes up with ideas, even when he isn't trying, and that's exactly how he came up with his latest suggestion that I'm going to share here. I just want everyone to be clear--Charlie deserves all the credit.

As anyone who follows Charlie's blog already knows, he likes to fish a beetle spin like the one in this photo. He's had one problem with them, though: One in every six casts finds his braided line wrapping around the blade arm. That was until his fishing trip yesterday.

He had been using a Texas-rigged plastic with a 1/8-oz. bullet weight pegged against the hook with a bobber stop. When he decided to switch to a beetle spin, he didn't want to remove the bobber stop because he knew he might be going back to the soft plastic. So he just left the bobber stop attached.

In the next hour, as he was fishing the beetle spin with the bobber stop (look closely in this photo, and you'll see the bobber stop), he came to realize that the blade arm hadn't wrapped in the line once. Said Charlie, "I don't know why it worked, but I sure was glad it did. From now on, I'll use a bobber stop on any bait with an arm and blade."

Charlie admits his newfound "fix" needs further study, and he's going to do that study. While he's at it, he's going to test the idea on crankbaits, too. As I explained to him, I have a similar problem with crankbaits in which the front hook sets way forward on the bait. My braid constantly wraps around the hook in such cases. I'll let y'all know the results of Charlie's study.

Incidentally, Charlie always has used bobber stops, instead of toothpicks, to peg his sinkers because, as he aptly noted, toothpicks cause your line to fray. Back in the day when I pegged sinkers, I always used cut-up pieces of rubber bands--another good way to avoid frayed line.

First It Sizzled, Then It Fizzled

That pretty much describes the kind of day I had today down in Albright's Creek. I went back to the stretch of water where Rob and I had our success last Thursday. I primarily wanted to see if I could expand on the groundwork we had laid then.

These fish were the first two that I boated this morning. They weighed in at 2-2 (top photo) and 2-10 (bottom photo). My enjoyment of catching this pair and another four in the first three hours on the water was highlighted by the fact they all fell for a Buzzjet Jr. in brown/orange that I had custom painted by my friend, Richard Prager, down in Florida. Not only were these six fish the first ones I've caught on this particular bait, but they also marked my best topwater outing to date this year.

The 2-2 bass really grabbed my attention. He smacked the bait so hard he nearly jerked the rod out of my hand, thanks to the arthritis I've been battling in both my hands and arms since I fished all winter. Fortunately, I was able to get a better grip on the handle and brought the fish to the net.

All six bass that hit the Buzzjet Jr. today did so with authority. Given the fact I've been anxiously waiting for some decent topwater action, today was especially enjoyable.

When 9 o'clock rolled around, though, it was as though someone shut off the light switch. They wouldn't have a thing to do with topwater baits--period. I went nearly two hours with only a couple half-hearted strikes on crankbaits but no hookups. Finally, my seventh and final bass snatched a slowly retrieved Bandit Footloose. By day's end at 2 o'clock, I only had been able to add three small white perch to my final tally.

I'm not complaining, however, because that topwater bite this morning made all the day's fishless hours more than bearable.

My day got off on the right foot this morning when I was able to meet one of my regular blog readers. Charles Murdoch happened to be at the West Neck launch ramp same time as me, and we had a very pleasant chat. I truly appreciate all your kind words, Charles, and will do my best to not ever disappoint you with any of my postings.

I appreciate all my blog readers and urge you to stop and talk a spell anytime you see me.

Got Some Extra "Toys" Money Laying Around?

Then maybe you'll want to check out these bargains being offered by Sportsman's Outfitters in Dothan, AL. The sale expires July 9th, so you still have time to make up your mind.

This company offers a "low price guarantee." In other words, should you find a lower price, they'll match it. If you're interested, here's the link to their website: www.sportsmansoutfitters.com.

The Alabama Rig Controversy Rages On

If you don't think so, just dig around the Internet a little bit and see for yourself.

Here's the latest offering from Mann's Bait Company to satisfy the legal requirements in states with "one hook only" restrictions on the rig. They've dubbed this new soft-plastic lure the "three-for-all," which seems like an appropriate name, given its design: one weedless jig head and three minnow-shaped attractors. It comes in different colors, and you can buy it in both 3- and 4-inch sizes.

According to the manufacturer, this bait "creates extremely hard strikes." And the patented Hardnose process keeps the bodies spread apart for maximum action at all speeds. They also say it's easily fished on standard tackle.

Will this new rig quell some of the controversy? Only time will tell.

It's Too Bad We Weren't in a White Perch Tourney Today

Had we been, there's at least an even chance we would have finished in the money. Neither Rob nor I were keeping track of how many white perch we boated, but it was a bunch, and many of them were nice size. It's been ages since I recall catching that many white perch while in pursuit of largemouth bass.

As you can see from these pictures, though, we also caught some bass. In about six hours of fishing, Rob boated these two, plus six more, all on a crankbait.

And while we neither one could scurry up a single fish on a topwater lure early this morning, Rob picked his up again around noon, and in very short order, had boated two decent crappie on the bait. He also had a couple other fish make a pass at it but miss or come unbuttoned.

Considering how slowly our day started this morning, I don't think either of us expected to end up with the kind of day we ultimately had.

When we launched this morning, I immediately ran to Straight Creek, where we wore out both shorelines with our topwater baits but to no avail. The fish just weren't having anything to do with those baits, even though they kept chasing baitfish. When the topwaters didn't work, we started running through a whole litany of lures but, again, with nothing more than a couple of half-hearted strikes that didn't yield a single fish.

We decided to run to the back of Albright's to see if maybe we could find some on the wood there. That idea, too, however, was a waste of our time. It was then we decided to check out a couple other areas in Albright's, and one of those proved to be a good choice. For reasons I think most folks will understand, we're not divulging where that area is located--not now, anyway.

If you get the impression that I was slower than Rob in getting started this morning, you're absolutely right. While he was putting bass and white perch in the boat, one after another, I still was trying to find my stride. My best efforts for a good while yielded only two pickerel and two grindle, and one of those grindle--about 5 or 6 lbs. worth--was a real handful. Rob even felt him for a minute, 'cause he volunteered to snap the grips in its mouth, and when he did, the fish tried to yank his arm off. As I was releasing that ornery critter, I made the comment to Rob that it likely would be my only big fish of the day.

Little did I know that, before all was said and done, I would hang this 4-7 bass on the same crankbait that had tricked the grindle and pickerel. I honestly thought for a few seconds that I had hung another big grindle when I got this fish because he was shaking his head underwater just like the grindle had done. As he crossed the boat's bow, though, and started down the port side, I saw the telltale stripe and asked Rob to get the net.

I ended today's outing with four bass--all keepers--with this being the biggest. All but one of Rob's bass also were keepers, so we would have been doing some culling  if we had been in a tournament. I also had my share of white perch and boated one bluegill before we quit.

I feel pretty certain that I speak for both of us when I say we were very happy with the overall results today. I think we both also learned a lesson or two that will help guide us in future pursuits on the water.