With a predicted high in the 70s today and a lot of forecast highs in the 40s over the next several days, I wasn't about to sit on my duff and not get in my licks one more time before the nasty winter stuff arrives again tonight. I hit West Neck Creek about 8:30 or 9 o'clock this morning and went straight to my favorite point, which promptly thumbed its nose at me, just like it did during Saturday's tournament.
By 2:45, I had boated a total of two bass. My best was the one pictured here, which tipped the scales at 1-7. The other one came in at 1-3. Both fish fell for a Strike King 1XS crankbait I had custom-painted a year or two ago by Tim Hughes.
Dead bluegill still dotted both areas I fished today, and I also saw a dead bass just as I was quitting this afternoon. Hopefully, this situation will run its course in short order.
Before coming home today, I learned that both Skip and Ray Scott experienced skunks today. Charlie Bruggemann, however, told me he had a good day. He'll likely have his blog updated with today's results sometime tomorrow. If you're interested, here's the link: http://vbfishguide.blogspot.com/.
Incidentally, if you haven't been to the water in recent days, you might like to know that the water is clearing up nicely. Albright's is nearly back to its usual color, and West Neck isn't too far behind.
In closing, let me leave you with some websites I have come across in recent days. These sites afford some ideas about the kind of baits you should be throwing at different times of the year--in both clear and muddy water. Here's the list:
http://wired2fish.scout.com/story/1465421-bass-fishing-lure-selector-chart
http://assets.espn.go.com/winnercomm/outdoors/bassmaster/pdf/BASSToday_SeasonalGuide.pdf
http://bestbassfishinglures.com/
Hope you find these sites helpful.
Till next time, Tight Lines!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Update: Following our fishing trips yesterday, Charlie contacted Chad Boyce, the local Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) rep, about the dead fish we all had seen. I thought perhaps some readers might like to hear what Chad had to say.
"I'm not sure why you are seeing the bluegill now...unless they are in the same boat as the speckled trout. I guess it's possible the extreme cold water for such a long time has them in a catatonic state, and they simply could be dying of malnutrition. I really find it hard to believe that oxygen levels are low enough to cause a kill. I'm not too worried about just a few, but please let me know if you see any more dead fish. But ultimately, if we do have a major kill, there's not much we can do, other than document it for future years."
In the same email note to Charlie, which he graciously shared with me, Chad talked about a shocking the VDGIF did in the canal at Back Bay Landing today to collect some fish for the freshwater exhibits at the VA Aquarium. Said Chad, "We saw a lot of bass, and, surprisingly, a lot were paired up. They aren't close to spawning, but they are starting to think about it. (There were) a lot of 3-to-4-pound fish, nice and plump.
"Also of note, we saw the first white perch today, as well--first 'ripe' white perch, that is--getting ready to spawn. Yellow perch appear to be done with their spawn, as we saw very few females, and the ones we did see were 'spent'--spawned out, eggless.
"Surface water temp in the canal was 51 degrees F."
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