For the Week Ending Sunday, March 17, 2019

Monday, March 11 (from Skip)...Caught three fish. Kinda slow, but not bad. All three fish fell for a jerkbait.

Monday, March 11 (from Ron)...Fished the unnamed creek off North Landing this evening from 4 to 7:15. Gotta love daylight savings. Caught two dinks and a 1-12 bass. Also caught my first white perch at 11.5 inches, which got me to salivating for some tacos, but the next dozen or so were all way too small, at only 7 to 8 inches. Rounding out my evening was one little crappie. Tacos, however, will have to wait for another time.

Wednesday, March 13 (from Ken)...Despite the frosty conditions this morning, I wasn't going to let it stop me from hitting the water. Can't say it was the kind of day you write home about but still had fun. Ended up hooking but losing my first two bass this morning but finally managed to catch a 1-2 bass on a crankbait. Also boated a small bluegill on the same crankbait. I should note that the bluegill came up and hit the lure while it was sitting still. I had made a cast, then laid my rod down to shift some stuff out from under my feet. Just heard a little splash and looked up to see my lure moving, so set the hook and nearly yanked the fish in the boat. Talked to Rob and Dave on the water today and learned they, too, were having a tough day. Also had a conversation with a fella who told me he finally had waved the white flag for lures and was anchored, fishing minnows when I confronted him. My biggest surprise of the day was seeing water temps reading 55 and 56 everywhere I went.

Wednesday, March 13 (from Ron)...One of my better outings in a while. Fished Ashville Bridge Creek form 4 to 7:30 p.m. Threw a micro spinner to cypress trees as I made my way toward Back Bay. Caught eight bass (three just over 2 lbs), with the biggest weighing in at 2 lbs. 9ozs. Four crappie made the 12-inch mark. Also caught two sunfish and a very small white perch. The crappie really woke up at sunset, but it was getting cold. Funny...I lost a few bass but didn't care as the bite was consistent.

Thursday, March 14 (from Dave and Ken)...As luck would have it, I forgot my camera this morning. It's a miracle there wasn't more. Everything was cool until the last five minutes before leaving this morning, and then it was as though someone through a hex on me. In any event, I got out the door in time to meet Dave at 7:30, and we were on the first hole by 8 o'clock. Together, we caught eight bass today (Dave 6, me 2), and while we only weighed one of the fish, our conservative estimate was that our five keepers weighed about 8.5 lbs. By 1 o'clock, the bite basically had turned off, so we battened everything down and returned to the dock. Talked to Rob today and learned that he had one over 3 lbs. Incidentally, anyone who hasn't been down in the vicinity of Pungo Ferry Bridge will notice a change in the scenery. Seems a barge got into one side of the pass-through and crumpled some timber. You can't miss the damage...I promise.

Thursday, March 14 (from Skip)...Seems like everyone caught fish today. Skip told me during our phone conversation a bit ago that he had a total of six bass, with four of them keepers. He also had a couple get off en route to the boat. The biggest one boated went a little over 2 lbs. Like most of us who hit the water today, Skip was in pursuit of a game plan for Saturday's tournament, and it looks like he probably found what he wanted.

Thursday, March 14 (from Ron)...Needed two more crappie for my fish fry (tacos) to add to last evening's four. Launched Lotus Garden about 6 p.m., and 23 minutes later, had my two. Played with them for another half hour and landed about a dozen more, as well as a bonus white perch. Real fun on the ultralight. Didn't even target bass, just used little jig heads with tubes.

Saturday, March 16 (from Ron)...Going to be traveling and off the water for a spell, so had to get out and fight the wind. Found some deep water and an OK bite. Caught two bass at 13 inches, one crappie, and one sunfish (on spinnerbait). Trolling round a 6-foot diving crankbait, I stumbled onto a nice pole-bender at 5 lbs. 3 ozs. 'Twas a nice break from the panfish and good to have some drag scream.

Sunday, March 17 (from Ron)...Wasn't going to fish today, but the yard work was done, and I had a few hours to kill. Fished Milldam, vicinity of Blackwater Road, from 1 to 3 p.m. The bite was on! Caught nine bass, including a 2-1, 1-3, two 1-6s, a 1-9, 2-4, 2-5, 3-8, and a dink. Also found a couple yellow perch. Also found a couple of yellow perch. All hit the micro spinnerbait. The 2-5 was all body, with a weird shape. My next report will be after April 1.