For the Week Ending Sunday, April 30, 2017

Wednesday, April 26, 2017...Had an email from Ron, saying he fished Rudee Inlet all day--"I had a day off to burn," he explained. He took a couple breaks in between but still ended up logging 17.6 miles in search of the gator blues. He ended up locating five small bluefish and a pre-dawn striper. "At least, it was mostly cloudy and relatively cool, with mild wind," he concluded.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017...Went looking for a few fish in Albright's today and found 'em, but the bite didn't measure up to the one I had last Saturday. Of course, I honestly didn't expect it to, either. My final tally was four bass, including a 1-3, 1-4, 2-8, and 3-7. The only productive lure all day was my whopper popper. Had absolutely no luck at all in getting anything to go for my modified Senko, a jerkbait or a spinnerbait. The day's biggest disappointment was having to call my boat mechanic before I got off the water to see if he could look at my outboard. It started acting up just as I turned into West Neck but got me back to the dock OK. Will be anxiously awaiting to hear what is wrong with my Yamaha (preliminary testing on 4/27 makes it look like a power pack or stator problem).

Thursday, April 27, 2017...Ran into Ray today, while I was at the marina with my mechanic to run some tests on my Yamaha, and learned that he had been chasing some fish down in Albright's. "Fished the north end," he said. "The water level was extremely high, with a temperature of 67 to 71 degrees. Visibility was around 2 1/2 feet where I fished." For his efforts, Ray scored one bass (1.6),
two nice crappie, and a single perch. He caught everything on a spinner with a large white paddle-tail grub. "Tried the finesse worm, frog, swimbait, and crankbait but with nary a taker," he explained. Ray went on to say he spoke to a crappie fisherman who had caught seven crappie...with what appeared to be a float and fly type rig. Ray characterized his day as "slow but fun."

Thursday, April 27, 2017..."Too windy for Rudee yesterday evening," said Ron, "so I launched at Indian River Road and fished for two hours in the very clear, very high water." He caught only one fish (maybe a 2 or 3 pounder, as he described it) on  a Pop R and lost him yakside.

Thursday, April 27, 2017...My buddy, Skip, has been on the go so much here lately that he didn't get around to sending me his input for this report until today (4/28/2017). However, I always say, "Better late than never." All that aside, though, he boated these two bass while fishing West Neck. He didn't get on the water until 9:30, then quit at 12 because of the wind. His best fish pictured here weighed in at 2-6.

Friday, April 28, 2017..."Thought I would try some freshwater fishing today and launched at Tecumseh," said Ron. He threw the XTS Minnow, Whopper Plopper, and Pop R without much luck. Then he tried trolling a beetlespin under a bobber and caught a few panfish, three gar that threw the lure, and two pole-bending catfish but, oddly, no bass. His biggest catfish weighed 5-2 and measured 25.5 inches.

Friday, April 28, 2017...His tourney bass fishing hasn't been up to par here lately, so Jim W. decided to try his hand at some fun fishing from his kayak. Given the results you see in the accompanying photos, I would have to say he seems to have found his stride again. He caught the 5.3 on the right today. The fish on the left came earlier, during a trip he made to a small pond. Although the fish met requirements for a state citation, Jim simply released it on the spot. It should be noted this citation fish was his first one that day. What a way to get a skunk out of the boat...or in this case, the kayak, in a hurry!

Sunday, April 30, 2017...All the trolling finally paid off for Ron this morning. He landed a few 2-to-3-lb. blues, but then his rod doubled over, and the big fight was on. "I managed to get him yakside and attached to the lip rip," said Ron. "He measured 36 inches (enough for a VA citation), but in my excitement, I forgot to weigh him." Ron noted that the blues should be a around for another week or two before he starts targeting flounder.