When You're Hot, You're Hot, And When You're Not, You're Not

Those lyrics from an old Jerry Reed tune pretty well sum up the compilation of fishing reports I have tonight.

This first report is the second in a series from my buddy, Jim Bauer, who still is sending me info from his current perch on Lake Gaston. What you see here is the 1.2-lb. crappie that he caught yesterday. His totals for the day also included three bass--a 1.8-pounder and two dinks.

"To say it was a slow day would be an understatement" is how Jim characterized his second day on the lake. "Talked to two anglers in a Tracker who didn't have a fish, and they had talked to a guy who only had one," he continued.

Jim went on to say he started yesterday with the Rage shad, which provided one strike but ended with a swing and a miss. "I never saw the fish coming, and it hit right alongside the boat," he said. "I lost another good one on a Rage crawfish late this afternoon. Got it close to the boat, but it turned and came off." Another fish broke him off in rocks, too.

In today's report I just received from Jim, he was pretty upbeat after boating a total of eight bass, including the 3.6 pictured here, as well as a 1.7, 1.4, two that weighed 1.0, and three dinks--all on the Rage craw/shakey head. He also boated about a 1.5-lb. channel cat on the craw.

Then comes this report from Skip Schaible who, like me, spent today in Albright's. His biggest fish was this 1-15, but he also had eight others--"all in the same range," as he explained. Skip started the morning by throwing a Spro frog, which accounted for a couple or so fish. His most productive lure, however, as it was in this past Saturday's tournament, was a soft-plastic swimbait. In his own words, "The fish were tearing it up."





And then there's this report from none other than "ol' reliable." In case you don't know whom I'm talking about, it's my kayaker buddy, Charlie Bruggemann. He fished from 7 to 2 and only quit that early because he was "pooped out." The Chigger Craw helped him land all but two of 16 bass, including four that weighed more than 2 lbs. "The top five went 11 lbs. even," said Charlie. It certainly looks like he's found his stride for what undoubtedly will be another outstanding year. Read all the details about Charlie's day and watch his video, too, at http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.

Finally comes this lackluster report from yours truly. I spent my first three and a half hours on the water this morning relearning how to slow down my worm fishing to a snail's pace. All I really had to show for it, though, was a tortured soul. I had several fish pick the worm up but then drop it just as quickly. Two held on long enough for me to execute a swing and a miss.

While I kept the worm handy throughout the day and threw it intermittently, I started trying some of my arsenal of other lures that I have more confidence in. A Bang-O-Lure quickly generated a couple of blowups but no connections. The chatterbait produced absolutely no response. So I ultimately grabbed one of the Strike King 1XS lures I had Tim Hughes repaint for me this past winter.

In short order, I had two pickerel jump all over the bait, and then I found three bass (the biggest the 1-9 pictured above). The other two were a 1-2 and a 12-incher. I reckon anything is better than a skunk--at least, that's what I keep telling myself.