Not Just a Skunk, But a Yellow One, At That

One look this morning at the mudhole that was West Neck Creek quickly made me change my plans. I had figured I would spend the day there but don't usually do well in muddy water, so decided to run to Albright's instead and fish the front end. The water in Albright's wasn't perfect, but it was a darned sight better than West Neck.

As things worked out, however, I would have been just as well off to have stayed in West Neck and saved the gas. At the end of the day, a skunk...is a skunk...is a skunk. Need I say more? The inactivity might have lulled me to sleep, had it not been for some random strikes that came throughout the day. I had one hit on a crankbait, one hit on a jerkbait, one hit on a spinnerbait, and one hit on a topwater. In each case, though, I only got air when I swung, coupled with that telltale swirl in the water.

The water temp as I motored out the channel from the ramp about 8 o'clock this morning read 49 degrees, compared to 64 when I returned about 3 o'clock. The level was low, and it fluctuated a little bit throughout the day but, at day's end, was nearly the same as when I launched this morning. I also couldn't help noticing that the day's improving air temperature had brought out several more anglers than greeted me early this morning. Only one other rig was in the parking lot at that time, compared to five or six when I recovered my boat.

The only thing today's trip did for me was to confirm an area I likely won't be fishing during this coming Saturday's tournament. I'm waiting to make my decision about that until I see how much water those predicted strong southerly winds are going to pump into the creek between now and then. The water will be high--of that, I'm certain--unless something changes.

I didn't talk to another soul on the water today out of West Neck. Had a note earlier from Charlie, though, and he had a five-bass limit that went better than 13 pounds. Caught the fish on a variety of baits in the deep holes of bends.

With that, think I'll head to the shower and try to get rid of some of this pollen I picked up today. I'm looking a tad yellow, if you know what I mean.

A Mixed Bag for Ron

Had an email from Ron this morning, but it has taken me most of the day to work up enough energy to drag myself to this computer so I could post this fishing report he provided me. Not really sure what's going on with me, but I came home last evening feeling bad after spending the day with my boy and his wife, and things only have gone downhill from there. Got up this morning feeling horrible and felt even worse when the wife offered this possible diagnosis: "You know you could be coming down with the flu or whatever it was I had a couple weeks ago." Am keeping my fingers crossed, but given my close connection to old Murphy (he loves to ride on my shoulder), wouldn't be at all surprised to find my wife's prediction coming true.

In the meantime, though, I'm gonna keep dragging my sorry carcas around for as long as possible and at least try to add a few items to my blog, even if I have to do it in shifts.

Back to Ron's report. He told me that he spent this past Thursday on Lake Smith, where he managed to boat four crappie in the 10-to-12-inch range. He didn't have any luck at all with bass but said a "fella nearby was slaying 'em." He had a total of seven, including one that weighed 5+ pounds. All of them had fallen for a small crankbait, which happened to be among the things Ron had left at home that day.

Friday morning found him launching at Lake Smith again. "The skies already were dark at 7 a.m.," he noted, "and they only got darker." By 9 a.m. when he had to head to work, he had gotten a good drenching and had missed two strikes. He went back to try his luck yet again in the late afternoon but only could muster one crappie.

On Saturday morning, Ron pointed his yak toward Blackwater. "It was a long peddle to the first long west-running creek," he said, but he found a few dinks, plus a 1-2 and a 1-4 on Zoom flukes. While peddling back to the Blackwater Trading Post, he scored a 12-inch striper while trolling the XTS. He also picked up a crappie on the beetlespin.

In closing, Ron let me know I'm not alone when it comes to tangling my lures in trees and stumps. He was telling me about his first scare of last year that came from a mid-channel bush/tree stump. He was just about to reach for the lure when he saw a snake curled up. He backed off with the yak and worked on freeing the lure with his paddle. This activity was enough to spook the snake, which swam off harmlessly. Ron noted he's had to be careful of some low-hanging bees nests, too.

Annual Carp Ritual Is Once Again Underway

I barely had cut the gas motor this morning when I started hearing that ever-so familiar splashing and thrashing of the shoreline by none other than a bunch of those ol' rubber lips. They're not in full-out mode just yet but probably will be in a matter of days.

When I arrived at West Neck about 7 a.m., the parking lot was full, which immediately made me think a tourney likely had gone out of there this morning, and I wasn't wrong. A bunch of the boys in blue from Norfolk were having a contest. With that traffic added to what I anticipated from the Stateline fellas going out of West Landing, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me to head south to Albright's. I don't mind a little company on the water but figured I'd have more than I wanted if I stayed in West Neck.

Besides, I wanted to get to a certain tree in the back of Albright's where, last week, I was forced to leave one of my favorite $16 topwater lures when the wind snatched it in mid-air. To my surprise, the bait still was buried in the tree, and with considerably more water around it today, plus the fact the spot was protected from today's wind, I eased over there and had retrieved it in a little bit of no time. Glad I did, too, 'cause the bait came in handy this afternoon.

I tossed several baits this morning before this first fish, which weighed in at 1-5, very softly took my 1/4-oz. chartreuse/white spinnerbait. He got all acrobatic on me before I could get him in the boat.

Considering that the hook hadn't even penetrated his upper lip, it was a miracle of sorts that I even got to touch him. The hook fell into the bottom of the boat as soon as I grabbed him, and the same thing happened again moments later, when I boated another 1-5 on the spinnerbait.

Hours passed after I boated that second bass before I saw a fish move in a pocket I was fishing. On the third or fourth cast to the same spot in that pocket with my spinnerbait, I felt a little pressure, then saw my line moving off very slowly. Turned out all I got, though, was a swing and a miss, and I couldn't get him to chase my soft plastic.

About noon today, I started seeing some swirls along the grassy shoreline I was working, so I tied on the popper I had retrieved earlier. Just a few pops later, one swirled under the bait while I was letting it rest, and when I popped it one more time, a feisty 1-2 jumped all over it. A half-hour or so later, a 0-15 had his way with the bait, too. Both topwater strikes were aggressive, so I thought I might have some action that would last a while. However, I only had one more pass by what appeared to be a really small fish.

The water temp when I launched this morning was a tad over 57 degrees, and it had climbed to a bit more than 63 when I quit about 3 o'clock. The water color throughout Albright's was really pretty--probably the best I've seen it so far this year.

It was a fun day on the water, albeit on the cool side. With my trusty thermos of coffee at my side, though, along with my layered clothing, I remained comfortable throughout the day.

With any luck, I have hopes of getting in another practice day this next week for our scheduled tourney on Saturday. From the looks of the forecast I saw this evening, conditions likely will be similar to what I had today.

Personal Best of the Year Highlights Ron's Week

Ron is the only angler I've heard from so far this week with a fishing report. He included results of his trips on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week in a single email.

When he got off work Monday, he headed to Lake Bradford, where he stood at the ramp with the wind howling in his face, while staring at water about the color of chocolate milk. He kept telling himself he shouldn't launch but did anyway and ended up frozen to the bones and not a single fish to show for it.

On Tuesday, Ron went back to Milldam Creek, where the water had risen back to an acceptable level. He was targeting the banks up tight with Zoom flukes and had six or seven distinct line runs but could not get a hookup, even after waiting several seconds. He said he felt like they were picking up the plastic and running away with it while laughing at him.

When Ron first arrived at Lake Smith on Wednesday, he had more of the same experience with a chigger craw. He would feel a gentle tap, followed by a line run, and then a swing and a miss. This time, though, he switched to a Rapala shadow rap and ended up landing this year's personal-best bass, which weighed 3 lbs. even. "Chubby and fun" is how he described that event, even though he had to work a little bit before he could get the fish in the yak. It seems he got his line wrapped in some branches following the strike and hookset. Fortunately, though, he was able to maneuver the yak close enough to untangle everything.

Before Wednesday was done, Ron also had an 8-inch yellow perch slam his shadow rap, and he lost a chain pickerel yak-side.

The weekend likely will find Ron looking for more crappie at Lake Smith.

If Ya Wanna Know Anything About a "Whopper," Just Ask an Angler

Mention "whopper plopper" around a group of today's anglers, and most of 'em likely will know exactly what you're talking about. In case you're one who's not yet familiar, however, the whopper plopper is a fishing lure designed by legendary angler and TV personality, Larry Dahlberg.

The River2Sea whopper plopper delivers a sputtering topwater disruption that just begs to be crushed. Well-known for its ability to catch fish, as evidenced by this photo of an 11-and-a-half-pound bass caught by a kayaker, Dahlberg and the folks at River2Sea originally created the whopper plopper for musky, but once largemouth and smallmouth started crushing it, the bait was altered to meet the needs of bass anglers.

Whether you crawl it super slow, so you can't even hear the tail, just the tiny glass beads sizzling inside its body, or you speed it up so it throws water like a swamp buggy, with the same deep, hollow, whopper-plopping, fish-catching sound as the original, the whopper plopper gets bit. It casts a mile, and its ability to work at the widest possible range of speeds makes it a great tool for homing in on the most productive speeds and rhythms for that particular day. Available in a variety of colors, the River2Sea whopper plopper's tail is also perfectly tuned right out of the box, so it stays flexible and works properly forever.

Similarly, if you mention Whopper Stopper to a group of anglers, you'll probably have at least a few remember that was the name of an old lure company, based in Sherman, TX. They manufactured such antique classics as the hellcat, hellraiser, hellbender, bayou boogie, whirlybird, and dirtybird.

And finally, we've all heard our share of whopper fish stories over the years. How many, though, remember the one about the late-A. J. (Junior) Samples of Cumming, GA?

As Joel Vance, retired veteran writer with the Missouri Conservation Department, once wrote (in the 1990s), "Junior couldn't read cue cards, looked like 40 miles of bad road, and couldn't sing. But he did one thing better than anyone else ever has, and it made him famous. He told history's greatest fish lie. Junior became a star on the syndicated country television variety show 'Hee Haw' because of a taped interview he made in 1967 with Jim Morrison, then-chief of information for the Georgia Game and Fish Department.

"Junior (pictured left) claimed he had caught a world-record largemouth bass from Georgia's Lake Lanier, a sprawling impoundment just across the road from Cumming. The fish allegedly weighed 22 pounds, 9 ounces. Every schoolboy knows the world record is 22 pounds, 4 ounces, caught in 1932 by George Perry from Montgomery Lake, Georgia. It is the outdoors equivalent of Joe DiMaggio's streak of hitting in 56 straight games... .

"Junior claimed he ate the world-record bass. 'Ah's lookin' fer sumpin tuh eat!' he declared. That, of course, would have invalidated his claim, even if it had been true. But he told Morrison the fish had been weighed in several places around the lake. He just couldn't remember where. 'Ah don't know. Ah was dronk,' he drawled. Morrison remembered driving him all around the lake, looking for who had weighed it and even found someone who said he'd seen the fish.

"Junior said he was fishing about a mile below Bald Ridge Marina, on a 'smerged' (submerged) island. 'Ah dropped mah anchor rock there on the island,' he said, 'and ah peetched my li'l Zebco 33 outfit out. Ah had some heavy equipment there in the boat, and ah wuz gonna put uh big lizard on them an' git ready for uh big bass, an' ah just got one hooked, an' ah looked over there an' seed my line a-stretchin' out, an' I reached down and caught 'im. When ah jerked 'im, ah thinks ah'm hung, fer it dint go nowhere when ah jerked.'

"The fight, though, was unspectacular. Junior knew better than to embellish a good lie so much it sounded like a lie. 'After he come up and stood on that tail and shuck that head three or four times, he jist turnt over on his side, and ah just drug 'im right on in,' Junior said.

"He showed Morrison the head of the fish, and the size of it astounded him. Only a world-record bass could have such a head...assuming the decomposing remains were those of a bass. By the time Morrison saw the head, it was several days old and stinking. 'It was light-colored for a bass, but I figured a largemouth bass after three or four days of rotting might get a little lighter colored,' Morrison remarked.

"When Morrison returned to Atlanta, he woke up a fisheries biologist and showed him the fish head by the light of a flashlight...and the biologist said, 'Jim, this is the finest bass that's ever lived in the world.'

"That was verification enough for Morrison. The next morning, he ran into Aubrey Morris, a reporter for Atlanta radio station WSB and told him the story. Morris aired the story almost instantly.

"'The cat was out of the bag,' Morrison said. However, then a biologist who'd worked in saltwater got a look at the head and said, 'Hell, Jim, that ain't no bass; that's a red grouper.'

"Hoax or not, the tape was country funny, and Morrison played it on a Game and Fish Department radio show twice--once right after it was made and again about six months later. Each time, he was flooded with calls from people who were tickled by it... ."

Chart Records eventually obtained the tape, added some background music, and released it as a single entitled "World's Biggest Whopper" (see right).

If there's a bottom line to all these examples, I reckon it would have to be that anglers may be your best authoritative source when it comes to explaining nearly anything about a "whopper." However, ya need to be careful about just how much to believe of what they tell you. In other words, don't swallow it hook, line and sinker.

Such a "Quacker" of a Deal I Have for You

Fishing pressure and weather conditions on your favorite body of water sometimes can make it a challenge to catch fish. When that happens, have you ever tried throwing a curve ball at 'em? By curve ball, I mean something unorthodox.

The next time you're stumped by the bass, you might want to consider an outside-the-box bait like you see in the accompanying photos--provided, that is, you can afford one of these "crown jewels." For planning purposes, you should count on paying at least $70 (saw some on eBay for that price), and perhaps as much as $90, for one of these baits.

Handmade in the good ol' US of A by TrapBassBaits, these floating Duck Jrs. are 3.5 inches long from beak to tail, 2 inches wide at the base, and 2 inches tall. They are made from a proprietary blend of composite resin for durability and action, and they come equipped with sticky Owner hooks, so the fish stay hooked. They weigh 3 ounces apiece and are billed as a popular bait for catching largemouth bass, smallmouth, striped bass, musky, and brown trout.

TrapBass Duck Jrs. take the concept of "matching the hatch" to a whole different level. The simple fact of the matter is that bass will take down anything in their strike zone, as long as it has a heartbeat. That would explain why biologists say they have found such things as mice, eels, snakes, and yes, even baby ducks, in the stomachs of these opportunistic feeders. If you're a doubter, hold your final decision until you've had a chance to review the video found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSliEKRshe8.

Now, I realize the cost of Duck Jrs. probably places them out of the reach of some (including yours truly), but if you would like to get one, email Trapbassbaits@gmail.com, or visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/trapbassbaits for ordering and more information.

In closing, let me lay out this challenge to my good buddy, Charlie:

"Hey there, my 'fair-feathered' friend, since you're trying nothing but 'big' baits this season, why not add one of these to your tacklebox? It very well could turn one of those trips to your 'secret lake' into the experience of a lifetime. And, who knows? It might even put you in the record books."

The Trolling Batteries Took a Beatin' Today

Once those strong winds kicked in this morning, you didn't dare take your foot off the trolling motor for very long, or you quickly found yourself in extremis. The man-and-wife team of Nathan and Marjorie Gottsch suffered a busted trolling motor when the wind blew their boat into a stump. Fortunately, they are OK, but they'll have to replace the motor.

As if misery loves company, there were 21 of us in 14 boats doing battle with the wind and the bass today. Here are the winners:

1st Place, the team of (from left) Mark London and John Goodman. They weighed five bass for a total weight of 20.39 lbs. Mark had big fish for the tournament at 7.14 lbs.

2nd Place, Rob Peppers. He weighed five bass for a total weight of 15.66 lbs., anchored by one that tipped the scales at 4.06 lbs.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Gary Coderre and Lenny Hall. They had five bass with a total weight of 12.91 lbs. Their kicker fish weighed 3.14 lbs.

Mystery Weight Winner was Jim Wilder, who weighed three bass with a total weight of 3.88 lbs., which was closest to the 2.15-lb. tab that was drawn.

Here is how all the other contestants finished the day:

     * The team of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle, five bass, 12.70 lbs. total weight, 2.78-lb. big fish.

     * The team of David Dozier and Nelson Anderson, five bass, 12.44 lbs. total weight, 3.73-lb. big fish.

     * Paul Celentano, five bass, 11.88 lbs. total weight, 4.16-lb. big fish.

     * Steve Bailey, five bass, 11.69 lbs. total weight after 0.25 deduction for one dead fish, 4.08-lb. big fish.

     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Sean Vitovich, five bass, 9.98 lbs. total weight, 2.97-lb. big fish.

     * The team of Mitch Portervint and Skip Schaible, four bass, 9.36 lbs. total weight, 5.10-lb. big fish.

     * Al Napier, five bass, 8.47 lbs. total weight, no big fish.

     * Ronnie McLaughlin, four bass, 7.07 lbs. total weight, 2.78-lb. big fish.

     * Ken Testorff, three bass, 6.86 lbs. total weight after 0.25 deduction for one dead fish, 2.96-lb. big fish.

     * The team of Ronnie and Marjorie Gottsch had some fish but couldn't weigh them because they trailered their boat beforehand.

Overall, today's anglers weighed a total of 59 bass for a total weight of 143.29 lbs. The average weight was 2.42 lbs.

Congrats to all the winners, and thanks to all those who came out to participate. For planning purposes, our next event is scheduled for Saturday, April 2nd, from safe light (probably about 6:30 a..m.) to weigh-in at 2:30 p.m. Hope you can join us.

As happened during my practice day this past Wednesday, I had a topwater bite today. I boated a total of four bass, but only three were keepers. I also had one come unbuttoned en route to the boat, and two more short-striked. Having three keepers in my livewell by 9:30 persuaded me to blow off my original plan today and quit a couple hours early, so I could get my boat trailered and returned to my storage building before the promised raindrops arrived. Fortunately, the serious rain held off until after I had backed the boat into its shed.

I also want to express my thanks to our generous benefactor from last season who handed me $200 today to defray the cost of another season-ending cookout at West Neck Marina, following the second day of our Classic contest on Sunday, Oct. 16. This year, everyone who fishes at least one of our regular contests is invited to participate in the cookout. As last year, the benefactor again wishes to remain anonymous, so I'll gladly honor his request. In coming weeks, I'll be getting with Steve to work out the details of this event. Watch for updates.

Last but certainly not least here, I would like to say a few words about the fact the gang who fished today set a new collective record for the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney Series. The 21 participants in 14 boats weighed 59 bass for a grand total of 143.29 lbs. In checking my records, dating back to 2012, the first year I started keeping a running tally of such totals for all of our tournaments, I learned that we eclipsed the old record set on Aug. 23, 2014, when 25 competitors in 16 boats weighed 75 bass for a grand total of 140.18 lbs. As I told the gang in a separate email, "If ol' Dewey were still alive, I can assure you he'd be doing cartwheels about now."

PC Not for Me... Not Now... Not Ever

When I read "Too much change in the Navy" in this morning's Virginian-Pilot letters to the editor, that's all it took to light me off on the subject of political correctness. The writer was talking about how the Navy has decided to fix its ratings and titles to reflect a genderless force, e.g., airbeings, seabeings and firebeings, instead of the airmen, seamen and firemen.

In this writer's words, we'll next "have to change famous naval history quotes to things like 'blank the torpedoes, full speed ahead!' or 'You may fire when you are ready, Gridleyperson.'"

Did you ever hear of such a load of B.S.? And I'm not the only one who thinks of political correctness in such a light, either. I was reading a piece by the editor of a sporting journal this morning, who began his article by talking about how he loathed the trendy bastardization of our language with words like "spokesperson." While editor of a large daily newspaper, as he was at the time, he once instructed his desk editors, "Spokesman is perfectly acceptable. Webster's definition plainly states that a spokesman is a person who speaks for another. We will avoid the use of spokesperson as long as we possibly can."

When he grew tired of fighting "city hall" on this matter, he took up outdoor writing... and got "as far away as I could from spokesperson." Now, though, he's battling a new politically correct, gender-neutral abomination that's infiltrating the sportsman's vocabulary. "If you hadn't noticed," he said, "'fisher' has become the cutting-edge standard now and has replaced that once-comfortable and timeless old word 'fisherman.'"

"Why is this change necessary?" he wants to know, when Webster defines "man" as a human being and "fisherman" as a person who fishes. However, Webster also now defines "fisher" as a person who fishes. And, there are definitions for "outdoorswoman" and "sportswoman" but not for "fisherwoman," all of which only points out how convoluted things are getting.

One of America's most famous females who fly fishes is Joan Wulff, wife of the late-Lee Wulff. She eschews "fisher" and likes to be called a fly fisherman, thank you very much.

How about professional angler Delayne Collins (right), who takes pride in being called "the Bikini Bassmaster" and "the Kate Upton of bass fishing"? Although part of a male-dominated sport, this native Floridian doesn't shy away from standing political correctness on its head and showing off the feminine side of angling.

"But don't be fooled by the traditional girly look," said one writer. "Collins may have the face and physique of a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue cover girl, but she could well aspire to grace the cover of Sport Fishing Magazine."

The writer went on to note that Collins, a Fort Lauderdale resident, is no novice. "She's been hooked on fishing since she barely was old enough to handle a pole," he said. "At the tender age of three, she already was learning the difference between crankbaits and jigs.

"And she's in the 'big boys' league in the fishing world. Collins already has landed a personal best nine-and-a-half-pound bass," the writer concluded.

As the sports-journal editor I referenced earlier noted, "Competitive bass anglers wouldn't be caught dead calling themselves bass fishers, would they? What about youngsters who dunk worms off bridges? Are they fishers?"

Incidentally, everything that appears in that sports journal still uses the word "fisherman," instead of "fisher." The editor admits, however, that he "can feel the steam roller rumbling off in the distance. Inevitably, 'fisher' will prevail. 'Fisherman,' one of my favorite words, will go the way of so many other perfectly useful words that are now just a memory."

As for me, however, specifically as it relates to this blog, I make no such admissions about political correctness... now or ever. I only promise to always try and keep my language clean.

Any Kind of Topwater Day Is a Good Day

At least, that's the way I feel. It's always nice to catch a bass, regardless of what kind of bait you're using, but when you catch one on a topwater lure, that's extra special. And that's exactly what happened today while splitting my time between West Neck and Albright's.

My watch showed exactly 9:20 a.m. as I brought this first and best bass of the day into the boat. The 1-lb. 6-oz. fish hit a popper I just had worked across a submerged log in shallow water. And from that point forward, I kept using the popper intermittently with a Bomber squarebill.

The Bomber yielded a fish while I was working it across the mouth of a cove, and I caught one more bass and lost another on the popper before my day ended about 2:15. I had some early signs the topwater bite might be on--there were several swirls along the first stretch of shoreline I decided to try.

The water temperature when I started this morning was 54, and it had moved up to 68 by the time I quit. Several vehicles were in the parking lot at West Neck when I came in this afternoon, but the only person I talked to before leaving was my friend, Skip. He, too, went out today and had tried to repeat his success of last Saturday down in Blackwater, but the fish weren't cooperating today. Skip said he didn't put a single fish in the boat.

Neither one of us has any plans to go out again this week until the tournament this coming Saturday. Given the dramatic change in weather the forecasters are calling for then, I have to believe whatever bite we had today likely will have changed. That thought, however, won't dissuade me from trying to catch a few on topwater.

On Top of Their Game at Lake Gaston

My long-time friend and boat mechanic, Wayne Hayes (right), and his new Region 7 tournament partner, Al Napier (left), put on a clinic en route to capturing first place at this past Saturday's contest on Lake Gaston.

Their final tally for a six-fish limit was 22.45 pounds, which included Al's 5.76-pound big fish. In talking to Wayne afterward, I learned that they eclipsed the rest of the field with their deep-water expertise. According to Wayne, they spent a good part of the day with the boat resting in 25 feet of water, while he and Al plied the bottom with their jigs.

'Twould seem this duo, who both also fish the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney Series, may very well prove to be a force to be reckoned with for some time to come. I say that because of their collective knowledge base and the fact they, as Wayne allowed in our phone conversation, both prefer the same style of fishing.

Second place at Gaston went to (from left) Jared Allbritten and Chris Napier, a couple more anglers who are no strangers to the Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourney Series. They weighed in a sack of fish that tipped the scales at 19.09 pounds.

My heartiest congratulations go to all four of these anglers on a job extremely well done. Tight Lines!

Photos courtesy Region 7 website, http://www.varegion7.com/.

A Weekend with Mixed Results

Hadn't heard from Ron for a few days, but as I just learned, it wasn't due to his sitting home. He's been out wetting a line every chance he gets.

In this latest report, he says his son, Alex, broke a long-running skunk Friday at Lake Smith, where he boated five, including one that weighed 2 lbs. 5 ozs.

They backed that catch up Saturday morning with about 10 more. Once again, though, there weren't any big ones, and a lot of short strikes. About noon, the bite turned off completely. A little later in the day, they went to to Albright's, which yielded only one wee crappie.

On Sunday, Ron went to Lake Smith by himself and boated five bass--the biggest a 1-14 (see photo above)--as well as a crappie and one white perch.

He also lost a fish, which, according to Ron, probably is running around with part of its anatomy missing. He bases that suspicion on what you see in the photo at left. He said he thinks the victim probably was a chain pickerel.

Sunday's trip was big on jerkbaits--"twitch, twitch, bam!" said Ron.

And then, as if proving that variety truly is the spice of life, Ron went to Milldam about 4:30 this afternoon and locked up with yet another species--none other than this 8-lb. 5-oz. "fatty" carp.

He was heading back under the Blackwater Road Bridge when "rubber lips" sent his drag screaming and took him for a pole-bending sleigh ride he'll remember for a long time to come. "It was amazing!" is how Ron described the event, which, at one point, nearly claimed his rod. His beetlespin was lodged squarely in the big carp's lower lip.

"Nice catch," remarked fellow-kayaker, Charlie, who likewise has boated his fair share of carp over the years. Charlie went on to note that he never had thought of a beetlespin as a carp bait.

2016 Season Opener in the Record Books

Seventeen anglers in 10 boats helped usher in the new tourney series today at West Neck Marina. Winners were as follows:

1st Place, the team of (from left) Lenny Hall and Gary Coderre, five bass, 11.06 lbs. total weight, and a 3.90-lb. big fish, which was good enough to capture the day's lunker award. Gary caught that fish.

2nd Place, Jim Wilder, five bass, 10.31 lbs. total weight, 3.50-lb. big fish.

3rd Place, the team of (from left) Mark London and John Goodman, 9.85 lbs. total weight, no big fish.

Winning the mystery-weight award was the team of (from left) Mitch Portervint and Skip Schaible. They had 7.39 lbs. total weight (with a 1.74-lb. big fish), which was closest to the 6.90 weight that was drawn.



Here is how all the other contestants finished the day:

     * Steve Bailey, five bass, 9.46 lbs. total weight, 2.23-lb. big fish.
     * The team of Ronnie and Chandler McLaughlin, five bass, 8.76 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * The team of Nathan and Marjorie Gottsch, one bass, 3.66 lbs. total weight, no big fish.
     * Jim Bauer, two bass, 2.94 lbs. total weight, 1.83-lb. big fish.
     * The teams of Bob Glass and Randy Conkle and Rob Chatham and Ken Testorff didn't weigh any fish.

Overall, today's anglers weighed a total of 33 bass for a total weight of 63.43 lbs. The average weight was 1.92 lbs.

Congrats to all of the winners and thanks to everyone who came out to participate. For planning purposes, the next event is scheduled for Saturday, March 19, from safe light (about 7 a.m.) to 3 p.m. I hope you can join us.

I had forewarned my partner, Rob, to expect a slow bite, if any, until noon today or thereabouts. I based that prediction on the results I had been obtaining solo in recent weeks. Unfortunately, noon came, then 1 o'clock and 1:30, with absolutely nothing to show for our joint efforts but one short bass and several nice white perch. We also both had some missed strikes.

In talking to one other team after weigh-in, I learned that one member basically caught fish all day long on a soft plastic. When his partner eventually changed to the same bait, though, it had absolutely no effect on his fishing luck--he still couldn't catch 'em.

In my opinion, we likely are only days away from the "catching" business for nearly everyone picking up dramatically. I'm awaiting that event with baited breath.

A Maiden Voyage on Lake Smith Proves Memorable

That's how Ron described today's trip--one that he only decided at the last minute to take. After being skunked yesterday, he had decided to take a day off, but given the nice weather he found upon leaving work, he headed to Lake Smith. Besides, said Ron, "I already had paid $40 for the annual Norfolk lake pass."

A boat pulled into the ramp with some nice crappie as Ron was launching his yak, so he asked a few questions and was given a tip: "The wind is your friend."

Ron followed the advice and fished the windward side of the lake. He slow-trolled a beetlespin and a road runner, while tossing a Shadow Rap to shore and structure. Managing three lines while battling the wind was a real challenge, but he came up with six white perch before making a cast with the shadow rap that will live in his memory for a long time to come.

In his words, "I hooked the biggest bass I've ever had on a line, complete with an adrenaline rush from the drag screaming and the pole bending. Without a doubt, it was bigger than my Oceana 5-pounder of last year." Unfortunately, though, the giant fish left him heartbroken with one shake of his huge head.

Shortly afterward, Ron did catch a personal best 13.75-inch, 1-8 crappie, as well as another one that measured 12.5 inches and weighing 1-2 (the two fish in the accompanying photos), which gave him "dinner on the stringer."

"All in all," concluded Ron, "it was a great first trip to Lake Smith, and I look forward to going back." He recognizes, however, that crowds likely will become an issue.

Yo, Dummy! That Might Be a Fish

That's what I was saying to myself about noon today. I just had made a cast with a jerkbait, and after doing the jerk-jerk-pause thing, I thought I felt something but wasn't sure. So, I did a couple more jerk-jerk-pauses, each time feeling like there was some kind of jerk back going on. It wasn't until I felt like I should reel in and make another cast, though, that I suddenly saw the line jump sideways and finally realized I really was hooked up with a fish.

Turns out what I had been feeling was this 1-6 bass. And when he got close enough to see the boat, he decided it was time to put on a little show for me. With two of those three hooks on my jerkbait firmly imbedded in his face, however, victory ultimately was mine. On the next two consecutive casts, I again felt something but wasn't able to get another hookup.

It was about 2 o'clock when another bass jumped on my jerkbait as soon as it splashed down, and I boated my second and final fish of the day. He weighed in at 1-5. A few minutes later, I was wrapping up and battening down for the return trip to West Neck.

The water temp today went from a reading of 50 degrees when I launched about 7:30 this morning to slightly better than 63 when I headed back to the marina this afternoon.

All in all, it was a nice day, but not what I had hoped for when I left the house this morning. I had wanted to try and put together some kind of early bite, but that just did not happen. I went through a series of topwaters, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and a small soft plastic, all to no avail.

The first person I saw when I stepped off the boat this afternoon to back my trailer in the water was Skip, who told me he caught this fish about 10:30 this morning. When I asked him how much the bass weighed, Skip had one of his quips ready for me. "I didn't weigh it," he said. "Pound and 1/2 maybe... or 11 pounds. I get confused."

I learned that Skip also had talked to Lenny this afternoon and that he had one fish to show for his efforts. Meanwhile, Bob and Randy reportedly had found a couple bass.

So, no one came away empty-handed today--at least not among those I know about. However, it doesn't appear that any of us exactly set the world on fire, either. Sure hope our tourney results for this coming Saturday proves to be a tad more lucrative. It's a pretty safe bet that all the participants will be swinging for the fence.

Can't Get Enough of Milldam

And for that reason, Ron launched his yak from Blackwater Road Bridge at 4:20 this afternoon. It was an hour later before he caught his first fish: a 17-inch pickerel, which hit the XTS minnow. Then, in quick succession, came two 11.5-inch crappie. One hit the XTS while Ron was slow trolling it; the other fell for a beetlespin slow-trolled about 3 feet down.

Said Ron, "There was a very short window of surface activity about 5:30, including a few small V lines and an occasional surface swirl. And there was some minnow activity close to shore being spooked by my lure hitting the water." Ron went on to note that "any surface activity seems to be the key indicator for the crappie bite," adding, "I'm learning, slowly but surely."

Everything seemed to shut down about 5:45, so Ron wrapped it up and called it quits. "At least, I'm not bleeding," he said, referring to his recent up-close and personal encounter with a pickerel's teeth. "And, the warmer weather was a nice change of pace. Nice sunset and not too many mosquitoes, either."

Ron concluded his email with a note that he plans to try daily this week to see if he can catch enough to fill a skillet.

I also had an email today from Charlie, who included a new photo of the work in progress at what used to be the Pungo Ferry Capt. George's. As you will see here, the workers have a layer of blacktop down now in the parking lot.

Learn to Think Outside the Tacklebox

Let's say you're fishing down a 300-yard section of shoreline with laydowns, scattered stumps, and logs. For the past few fishing trips, you've been catching fish on a spinnerbait, but your first pass down the bank today yields only one small bass.

The wheels in your brain immediately start turning. You wonder, "Did the fish leave? Did you catch most of them?"

All these scenarios and more will run through your mind, while never once considering the possibility you might trigger the fish into biting by just changing lures or presentation with the one you're currently throwing.

Instead of tossing a spinnerbait, why not switch to a shallow crankbait? If a front has pushed through recently, you may need to slow down to something like a Texas- or Carolina-rigged worm. These aren't drastic changes--just simple adjustments. Often times, the fishermen move around more than the fish do. Change your tactics before you change your locations.

Fish get conditioned to seeing the same lures time after time. One of the quickest baits they get used to seeing and becoming leery of is a buzzbait. When the fish start slapping at a buzzbait or missing it on the strike is a good indication it's time to switch to a topwater prop bait. You will be making the same presentation but with enough of a change to make the bite pick back up.

Along the same lines, I remember one windy spring morning a few years back when I had been watching lots of surface action along a particular stretch of wind-blown shoreline, but the fish would have nothing to do with the Buzzjet Jrs. I had been throwing--they wouldn't even swat at that topwater bait. I went through a whole series of color changes, with the same net results.

It wasn't until I just had made another cast and was letting the lure rest while I thought about the situation, that I discovered the problem. It was my presentation. After letting the Buzzjet Jr. sit there at rest for several seconds, I, with no forethought, took a quick turn on the reel handle, and a bass suddenly jumped all over the bait. For the next 45 minutes or so, it was nonstop action, as long as I would let the bait rest, then make a quick turn on the reel handle, and if necessary, repeat the process. To say they were "hammering" the bait would be an understatement.

I also read about a guy and his friend who had a Christmas Eve tradition of going fishing. A couple of years in a row, they fished a shallow lake during a warming trend. The first year, they noticed the bass kept spooking as soon as their baits hit the water. After nearly an hour of watching this happen, the one guy decided to tie on, of all things, a popper.

One huge explosion then followed another as the duo spent the rest of Christmas Eve afternoon catching between 20 and 30 fish. The next year was the same thing all over again.

A young fella once asked a seasoned angler what he considered the key was to becoming a good fisherman. The seasoned angler thought for a moment, then said, "Learn as much as you can, and be on the water as often as you can. Read and do your research on techniques, study weather patterns and fish behaviors, but whatever you do, never ever stop learning."

The seasoned angler paused, then added, "Also remember this one thing: Don't be afraid to take all these things that 'should work' and throw them out the window and start over again from scratch. Allow yourself to find what works. In short, learn to think outside the tacklebox."