From Three Different Fronts...

"I came close to staying off the water today," said Jim Bauer's opening line in his email to me today. "I woke up for the first time this week with a sore left hip. Took a bit to get out of bed. It was slow going, and I was late but finally got out."

In a sense, Jim is kicking himself a little for not remembering sooner what he had read in an Outdoor Report here recently. That report noted that swim baits had been working on Gaston. So when he finally hit the water this morning, he had a swim bait ready on deck, just in case the French fry wasn't working. It didn't take long for him to make the switch--and to change his luck.

The fish pictured here was his first one of the day that he boated--the very first one he hooked went under the boat and came unbuttoned. It looks like this fish was hooked deep, but as it turned out, the hook was in the side of her jaw. She definitely got the whole thing, though.

Jim finished the day with a total of four fish: a 1.5, 1.2, 1.0, and a dink. "I had one other hard strike but missed it," he added.

At 2:30 this afternoon, the skiers and jet skiers started showing up, and rather than do battle with them, Jim headed for the barn.

"It wasn't the best week I've ever had down here," Jim noted as he evaluated this trip, "but it sure beat sitting in my Lazy Boy in front of the tube, or perched in front of a computer monitor. I'm pretty grateful I still can do this now and then."

Meanwhile, Charlie Bruggemann hit Oakum Creek on the North Landing this morning. "High muddy water and no current to speak of forced me to go a mile upstream to find clear water," he reported. He still did OK, getting a total of six bass: two that went 1-1, a 1-9, 1-14, 2-12, and a dink.

If the weather gods are listening, Charlie has one wish--"some north winds." Be sure to watch his video of today's trip. In most likelihood, it'll be posted sometime tomorrow. The link to his blog is: http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

And bringing up the rear here is yours truly. I knew if I didn't get out today, it would be next week before I'd hit the water again, because I simply don't enjoy tangling with all that weekend boat traffic.

Like Charlie, I managed to pluck six bass from the water today, but all of mine came from West Neck Creek. None of them were big enough to weigh--only three would have made 12 inches.

None of my fish came from the main creek; I couldn't buy a strike there. Instead, they all came from coves. With the exception of the last cove I fished, I caught at least one fish in each.

Only one bait would work for me today--good ol. No 25. I'm sure glad you turned me on to that thing, Rob. If I hadn't had it today, there's at least an even chance I would have come up empty-handed. You're a friend, indeed.