March 2022 Best Fishing Times

Snake Baits: They've Been Around for a Long Time

In the early 1980s, big-bass expert, the late Doug Hannon, helped Burke Lures develop a snake lure that originally was called Snaketrix. Ultimately, it became known as The Snake (left).

Then, in the early 2000s, Mark Abernathy of St. Cloud, FL, was inspired by his daughter, Kalin, to develop a snake lure while the two of them were fishing from a concrete seawall on a canal leading to Lake Ajay.

"We had caught a couple of small bream," said the elder Abernathy. "Kalin has a short attention span and began wandering. I looked and on the concrete wall was a little black snake sunning itself," he continued. "I went and grabbed Kalin, then tweaked the snake with the fishing pole."

The snake slithered over the side into the water and began swimming across the canal. That's when Abernathy saw a wide mouth open out of nowhere and the snake disappeared, followed by a splash that sounded like a cement block hitting the water. At that instant, he decided he wanted to design the most realistic snake ever made. Moreover, he wanted one that would float when not moving.

Abernathy subsequently learned from a dentist friend, Dr. A. Jai Prakash, the perfect material to make the lure from...the same material that's used to make a set of false teeth. 

Describing the dental material as an elastomeric plastic, Abernathy said he knew he'd found the right stuff. He designed the molds and took prototypes to the world-renowned Hannon, who was impressed when the whole lure floated. However, he suggested several changes, including three-dimensional eyes. He also became a co-producer of the product.

After 14 months of trial-and-error testing, during which 11 bass weighing more than 10 pounds were caught while using the lure, it was ready. They showed it off at the fishing tackle manufacturers trade show and took it to the Bassmasters Classic in New Orleans.

The "Hannon Big Bass System" kit (above, right), as it was marketed, retailed for $39.95. Included were nine snakes in three colors, plus four vanadium 4/0 hooks, three specially-designed rattles, three yards of 25-pound test fluorocarbon leader, and a DVD by Hannon, giving some of his own fishing secrets for catching big bass.

That brings us to the latest version, which is called the Savage Gear 3D Snake Wakebait (left). It looks just like a snake swimming...a disgusting, creepy, bass-enticing little snake easing along the surface. Just simply reeling the bait at a slow and steady pace, the head of the lure rocks back and forth, creating a wake as the body of the snake wiggles along behind it, constantly drawing out an "S" shape in the water.

Intermittently pausing your reel allows the bait to walk a little wider, almost like working a topwater. You also can affect this action by twitching the rod tip a little. Completely stopping your reeling allows the head of the bait to swing out wide like a glide bait. It then coasts to a stop, while the remainder of the body, down to the tail, quivers to a halt as well.

The wakebait also has two line-tie points on the nose that will allow it to dive a little deeper. By moving the split ring up to the front eye, the bait retains the same action but 6 inches or so under the water, instead of on top.

A large plastic lip, similar to what you find on most wakebaits, is at the nose of this lure. What really sets it apart from other wakebaits, though, are the 11 total segments versus the two or three you find on most wakebaits.

With two super sharp treble hooks, this bait is ready to go out of the box. The hooks have a longer shank, helping them cover the most ground possible and eliminating the need for a third treble. Typically, the fish gets stuck by one of the hooks on the initial strike and, inevitably, the second hook penetrates as well while the bass is fighting.

Another cool feature to this bait that aids in keeping fish pinned are the rotating hook hangers. Savage Gear basically mounted swivels within the bait to use as hook hangers, so that when a fish does fight, twist and turn, the hook will spin and relieve some of the pressure on the point of contact. Most hook hangers on other baits are simple fixed rings, and if the fish can get the bait turned a certain way, then swing its head the other way as hard as possible, the weight and momentum of those baits often will tear the hooks loose.

The 3D Snake Wakebait comes in two sizes: an 8-inch version and a 12-inch version. The 8-inch version is listed as weighing an ounce but can be fished comfortably on a 7-foot medium-heavy baitcasting rod without feeling overpowered by the bait.

This wakebait is one of those diamond-in-the-rough lures that is fun to fish. Just watching the lure swim, with anticipation of a blowup, is exciting in and of itself. It reportedly has a great action, good hookup-to-strike ratio, and does a good job getting the fish to the boat once you set the hook.

At $20.99 for the 8-inch version and $25.99 for the 12-inch, the 3D Snake Wakebait is an investment for sure but not something that's going to break the bank, or a lure that you'll need 10 different versions of, like a lipless crankbait, for example.

As one angler aptly noted, "We all know that the good folks at Savage Gear are only one night of hard drinkin'/weed smokin' away from coming out with the 3D Suicide Manatee, but man, do their baits ever look cool!"

Maybe the only thing cooler would be to pull off something similar to what I read that a kayak fishing guide did. This dude caught a 10-pound largemouth in Texas' Brazos River on...get this...a stunned but nevertheless live rattlesnake! (above).

S-h-h-h! It's a Secret...You Can't Tell Anyone, Ya Hear?

You don't have to spend much time surfing the Internet to realize there are a whole bunch of tackle stores just waiting to take your orders and add something new to your arsenal of fishing gear. I accidentally stumbled across another new one today...Secret Lures is its name.

This company has been around since 2008, producing tournament-grade, precisely designed fishing tackle. As they advertise, "Largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass...it doesn't matter; we've got something for all of them."

The focus has been on tournament grade because that's the best venue for testing products against other baits and varied conditions. Success in bass-fishing tournaments has translated into success for all customers, not just the competitors.

The problem with being proven on the tournament trail, though, is that when anglers win events on their baits, they usually don't tell anyone else.

"Occasionally they will let it slip while talking to a fishing buddy," noted one official, "but for the most part, they are tighter lipped than a Florida largemouth after a cold front. How many times have you asked a buddy, and they said, 'Oh that one?' I caught it on a Secret Lure. They usually say it with sarcasm, just to throw you off the trail, but the truth is they probably did. Secret Lures has been the official lure of big catches and big wins for more than a decade now."

The company has been quietly cranking out winning baits with their recipe of precision designs, extensive testing, and quality components. It started as a quest to make the best and most efficient topwater frog, the Chubby, but it has grown into much more. Secret Lures now offers dozens of different jigs and terminal tackle, such as shaky heads, swimbait heads, wacky-rig jigs, and tube jigs. 

Secret Lures also is an expert in hand-dipped and salted tube lures. Their Stupid Tube and Stupid Tube Jig Head have qualified three tournament anglers for the Bassmaster Classic. They have been credited behind the scenes for wins at all levels of tournament bass fishing, too.

It's this "behind the scenes" credit that has kept the company making more great baits. However, that's also why so many folks haven't heard about Secret Lures. Anglers simply have been keeping their Secret Lures to themselves. The new ownership wants to let the secret out now, though.

Whether you're a tournament fisherman or a weekend warrior fishing local ponds, Secret Lures has products that can help you make the most of every cast, and "we are excited to start sharing that fact with anglers everywhere," said the company official.

To find out everything the company has to offer, just click on this link: SecretLures.com.

Even in Today's Divisive World, There Still Are Good Samaritans

Earlier today, I read about about a 35-year-old gent who noted that today's world is different from the one he grew up in as a kid.

"If you only watched the news, you'd think the whole world has gone to hell," he said. "Just yesterday, about 45 miles southeast from where I currently live and much closer to where I grew up," he continued, "there was a mass shooting. When you reflect on these kinds of things, the world seems like a really scary place, full of bad people."

This gent, however, went on to explain that he recently had purchased a nice reel from a fella he had met on a fishing forum.

"The communication was great," said the gent, "and the seller even engaged me in some conversation. I thought the questions a little strange but nevertheless nice enough. When I received my reel, I noticed the heaviness of the box. The reel I had purchased is one of the lightest on the market. When I opened the box, I found it jam-packed with soft plastics, jigs, jerkbaits, lipless crankbaits, etc."

While the seller had no reason to send this gent all the stuff, he did so out of the kindness of his heart...the definition of a Good Samaritan.

"Gestures like these keep my faith in humanity strong," said the gent. "They take away the negativity. It may be a relatively small gesture in the grand scheme of things, but if more people made an effort to do things similarly, the world would be a better place. I vowed to pay it forward and become more like this man, whom I didn't know, with more kind gestures, wanting nothing in return."

As luck would have it, the seller happened to see this gent's comments and answered back with a note of his own.

"It was some stuff I had laying around that doesn't really suit the type of fishing I now prefer...finesse fishing," he explained. "I've had many random acts of kindness gifted upon me over the years, and I try and pay that forward as often as possible...both because I'm able to do so, and because I have a 2-year-old boy, whom I'm trying to lead by example. He's still a little young to catch on, but I'm trying to stay in good practice. Hope you enjoy the reel and the baits."

Also read about a family who had experienced the same kind of selfless act. Seems they had an alternator go out, and they were broken down about 1.5 hours away from home. A nice guy in a service truck let them use his tools and took the man of the family to a parts store to buy a new one, then hung around to make sure the job got done before leaving. They offered the service guy money and dinner, both of which he refused, suggesting instead that they "just pay it forward."

And finally, there was the story of a young bass fisherman who would toss good-eating panfish he happened to catch in his livewell and take them back to the boat ramp in the afternoon to share with bank fishermen. This item in particular brought back some memories of days gone by in my past.

During my Navy days in the '70s, while stationed at the Pentagon, I spent many a Friday night fishing the riffles on the Shenandoah, where I would catch catfish in abundance. Come morning, when I would head in, there always would be bank fishermen along the stretch of water leading to the dock, and I would stop and share my entire catch with all of them.

In the '80s, then, after I had retired from the Navy and was fishing regularly out of West Neck, I got to know a fixture most days on the bank at West Neck. Abe was his name. He was an older fella who fished more out of necessity to have meat on the table than for enjoyment. Accordingly, I often brought him a mess of panfish from my day on the water, which always put a big smile on his face. One year, as another Christmas approached, I noticed that some of Abe's rod-and-reel combos were in really bad shape, so I went out and bought him a new one, which I gave to him that Christmas Eve, and you would have thought he had just won the Lottery.

I often spent time just sitting beside Abe on the West Neck bank and swappin' stories with him. It was a sad day indeed when I learned he had passed.

A better world it would be...especially today...if only more folks would find the capacity to help others who are in need.

Mark Zona's Tribute Show to the Late Aaron Martens

As depicted in the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster, "Bass fishing is about friends and love. Fish and fishing are second." Click on this link (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhmGnpSOIlI), and you'll be taken to Zona's tribute show to his friend.

For Period Ending Sunday, March 6, 2022

Monday, Feb. 21 (from Ken)...Despite my belief to the contrary, I learned today that I actually still can catch a fish. When all was said and done, about 2:30 this afternoon, the water temp had climbed from 35 when I launched to 45, and I had managed to boat a total of six bass, missed four more strikes, and had one fish swirl twice at my bait but wouldn't take it. That's not bad for this ol' Kansas boy. Caught all my fish between 12 and 2:30 on a shallow crankbait, while beating the water between the West Neck Bridge and the S-curve. And to be fair about it, I need to mention here that I owe part of my success to a young kayaker named Matt, who bailed my butt out this afternoon when one of my errant casts found a limb instead of the water. The hook buried, and given the low water today, there was no way I was going to get to my lucky crankbait without some help. The closest I could get in my boat was about 6 feet away, and I was worried about getting grounded in place. Had talked to Matt and another young fellow kayaker first thing this morning...both of them were asking about ol' Charlie B. I shared as much as I know about him now. And as luck would have it, Matt was only a loud holler away when I oh so needed his help, and he came stroking that paddle, knowing full well he would have to fight a head-wind on his trip back toward the West Neck Bridge. I offered to tow him, but he assured me that he had everything under control. In any event, I got my lucky lure back and continued catching some fish. Had three that would have gone about 10 or 11 inches, as well as three that would have been keepers, coming in at about a pound or pound and a quarter apiece. The boat again performed flawlessly, which is always a blessing. I can't tell you how happy I am not to have to worry any more about whether the boat will get me back to the dock, no matter where I decide to run. That consolation, combined with managing to catch a few fish today, made for a perfect outing, as far as I'm concerned. (Feb. 22 UPDATE: Just talked to a friend who reminded me that the "35" degree reading I got yesterday morning was because my transducer sits inside the boat. Therefore, that reading actually reflected overnight "air temp." As he suggested, to get a more accurate "water temp" reading, the boat needs to have been in the water for an hour or two. The "45" reading I had at day's end aligned with what my friend was showing. He was fishing the opposite end of West Neck and said his reading didn't fluctuate more than a degree or two all day, which makes perfect sense, given the conditions yesterday. Incidentally, my friend noted that he, too, caught six fish yesterday, all in the same size range as what I was getting. And he also...like me...had absolutely no luck with a jerkbait. It wasn't until he started throwing a crankbait that things started happening.)

Friday, Feb. 25 (from Ron)...Got on some bass. Caught seven and pictured is the largest in length. Micro-spinnerbait was working, water was clear, and the air temps were comfortable. Lost a couple. Sure was nice to catch some bass for a change.

Sunday, Feb. 27 (from Ron)...Planned to fish the burrow pit (Crystal Lake) and launched about 10 a.m. While transiting the creek to get back where I wanted to go, I threw a spinnerbait and caught a few. Was thinking this should be a good trip. Got in the lake and fished about an hour and a half without finding anything. Returned to the shallow, skinny creek and logged a few more. Had a total of six bass (the best of which went 1-6, 1-9 and 2-7), two chain pickerel, and a yellow perch. All fell to the micro-spinnerbait (in pond magic).

Monday, Feb. 28 (from Ron)...Close but no cigar...or in this case, no skunk. That's the way you could describe my evening, fishing out of West Neck Marina. Launched at 3:30. That chilly wind coming straight down the creek was anything but enjoyable. Threw about 150 casts for two hours without even a sniff. As I headed back...with cold hands and a skunk staring me in the face...made that "one last cast" toward the corner fall-down, near the entrance channel. Thought I at first was snagged, but the snag started fighting back, and I avoided the skunk. Didn't weigh her but estimated the weight at about 3 lbs.

Tuesday, March 1 (from Ken)...Wanted to get a day on the water before the tournament this Sunday, and all things considered, today looked like my best opportunity. Didn't feel comfortable launching at West Neck this morning...the water was a bit lower than I expected and didn't feel like gambling with my luck. Decided to hook up and head down to Pungo Ferry. Was a bit concerned when I first arrived there, because two firetrucks and a rescue boat were on the scene. My first thought was that they may have been in the process of recovering a body...not a good way to ever start your day. As it turned out, however, they only were conducting a drill. One of the fellas quickly put my concern to rest and assured me they would move out of my way so I could launch, provided they hadn't already departed the scene. It was about 11:30 before I actually got the boat wet...an hour later than I had hoped to get on the water. But I didn't let that alter my plans to run to West Neck to fish. The water there once again left a lot to be desired in the way of color, and for the first hour and a half, I didn't have the first sniff on the crankbait that was so productive the last time I was out. Decided to try a chatterbait and hadn't made but just a few casts when I felt pressure as I was lifting the bait off the bottom. Set the hook and boated the healthy fish in the accompanying photo. Then went through another dry spell before picking up a jerkbait and nailing a small white perch. That fish spelled the end of my activity for the day. When I quit at 2:30, the water temp was 47...didn't notice the reading when I started. 'Twas a good day, as far as I'm concerned. It's difficult to complain anytime I dodge a skunk.

Lost Something Overboard Recently?

I've lost my fair share of tackle overboard, and if I can believe what I was reading online earlier today, I have a lot of company in that regard. In the vast majority of these cases, anglers often try to get their gear back. And, as I learned today, many of them resort to using something different than the commonly accepted method of dragging an old stringer across the bottom with all the clips open.

For example, there was this fella who said he was fishing brushpiles in about 10 feet of water with a monster worm, when it suddenly got snagged. While maneuvering the boat to free the bait, the wind swung the boat around, and the rod slipped out of his hand. He watched as a $300 combo subsequently sank to the bottom of the lake.

To his credit, however, this fella happened to have a small folding anchor (pictured above) in the boat and threw it into the vicinity of the snag. On the first try, he hooked the brushpile, which turned out to be a submerged Christmas tree, and his rod was laying on top.

"Hardest part of the evolution," said this fella, "was getting the anchor out of the brushpile after I had retrieved the rod."

There also was a guy who lost his rod and reel in about 6 feet of yucky-looking water and went back a couple of times trying to snag it, with no luck. As is often the case, though, the third time was a charm.

On the third try, he went back with a mask and snorkel. After stationing a spotter on the bank, just in case, he donned a PFD and floated face down on the surface looking for the combo. He prodded the bottom with a 6-foot pole, so he didn't have to dive down much.

"Had the combo back in 10 minutes," he noted.

Another incident involved an angler who lost a rod and reel overboard at night, way off shore, in about 20 feet of water. He immediately dropped a buoy, then tied on a treble hook with a Carolina-rig weight on top of it.

"I hooked the combo in less than a minute," said the proud owner, who went on to explain that he's "been very lucky in retrieving several rods that have gone overboard."

In yet another case, a fella dropped the cover to his outboard from his dock in about 4 feet of water. Knowing that the bottom had about 3 feet of silt buildup, he decided to wait 'til the next morning to look for it. It was a relatively simple job because he got out his underwater camera, located the cover, and raised it with a big treble hook.

And finally, there was this incident in which a fella took a friend fishing in his boat. The latter had a spincasting rig, which would have been OK but for the fact the line was old, and he was having nothing but trouble trying to use it. The fella subsequently handed his friend a spinning outfit from the rod locker, and don't you know the friend ended up kicking this substitute overboard.

The boat owner tossed a buoy marker where the rod had gone into the water and rigged up a heavy structure spoon (with a strip of lead attached) to probe the 35 feet of water they were in. About 30 minutes later, without having any luck, he started pulling in the buoy marker. As luck would have it, the strip of lead, which was spinning, happened to snag the fishing line on the spinning rod, and they got it back after all.

As these examples show, some folks are lucky enough to retrieve their property. Others, however, have no choice but to suck up their loss and do their very best to ensure lightning doesn't strike ever again. Take the case of a guy who was running the rim canal on Okeechobee at 50 mph when he hit some wake from another boat. He could only watch as two rods launched over his head and went to the bottom in 20 feet of dark, murky water.

Lesson Learned: Never run anywhere...even if it's less than a mile, as in this case...without your gear tied down. This lack of attention to detail cost him hundreds of dollars.

A Decade of Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Classics

Are You Zen About Getting Skunked?

...Or do you, for lack of a better way of putting it, go bonkers? According to the info I gleaned today during some online research, angler reactions to registering goose eggs after spending a day on the water likely run the gamut from these two aforementioned extremes.

The reason I even bothered to look into this topic in the first place is that there seems to be a heapin' bunch of people who have little, if anything, to report from their fishing trips in recent days. Had a fella just a few nights ago tell me that he thought this was the time of year to be throwing jerkbaits. He subsequently was quick to point out that he'd had three trips in a row...throwing these baits...without a single fish to show for it. And, unfortunately, he represents what I'm hearing from nearly everyone I talk to at the moment.

Ran across one fella who reportedly spent 110 days on the water this past year, with only two skunks. As he explained, one of these skunks occurred on a new spot that receives a lot of pressure, so going in, he figured he might have trouble. The second time, though, he was fishing one of his favorite spots, which he admitted made the skunk a bit more frustrating.

"I look at a skunk as a learning opportunity," said this angler. "What piece of the puzzle did I miss? It can be frustrating when the bite isn't what I expected, but I just try my best to reframe it in a positive light. It helps not to get angry about it."

He went on to explain, though, that "what really hurts is losing a big fish. Had a couple over the past year that I just had to sit down after they came off. Gotta have a second to grieve...lol. Lost a b-i-i-i-g girl on a jerkbait while I was trying to get the hang of a new technique and must've flubbed something. Anyway, she came unpinned.

"Those are a little harder to let go of than the skunks...IMO. But I don't throw a tantrum or throw my rod. Just take a few moments for a little heartbreak, then go back to casting. At least I know I'm fishing the right areas and triggering big bites. Gotta keep that positive spin in mind. Not saying I don't feel angry sometimes; I just try my best to manage it quickly."

On the other hand, I found another guy who said he occasionally fishes with a couple of friends who don't do well with getting skunked.

"There's no yelling, screaming or throwing things," he said, "but they really wear it on their faces. You can tell it really kills them. With one, he gets really quiet and stops laughing...period!...even if you say something funny. For lack of a better way of putting it, he pouts. The other gets seriously PO'd and tries to hide it, but you can tell by watching him that he's mumbling his discontent under his breath."

As for yours truly, I many years ago used to carry an ultralight spinning rod, rigged with 6-lb. mono and a beetlespin, on every trip. If I was facing a skunk heading into the last hour of the day, I'd wear the water out with that rig. It worked more times than not, but I still incurred some skunks. Ultimately, I learned to just live with those fishless days and stowed the ultralight gear for good.

A Prop-Stopper If I Ever Saw One

I was checking out the latest issue of Jay Kumar's BassBlaster when I came across the photo at right, showing the wire turtle trap that bass pro Russ Lane picked up while fishing his first tournament of the new year. Just goes to show you that everybody has to take his/her turn in the barrel. Lane summed up his feelings in one word, "Disgusting!"

This incident made me start wondering what other kinds of messes involving props have occurred over the years.

I feel pretty certain the vast majority of us have found fishing line wrapped around our props from time to time. There truly is never a morning that I don't sweat finding some line in the water as I ease up the channel toward the West Neck Store for a tournament. It already has happened to me multiple times since 1977.

Would imagine a few folks also have gotten hooked up in crab pots from time to time, as well.

After a bit more research on the Internet, I found one other incident that...at best...only could be termed gruesome.

Seems an angler was backing his boat off the trailer one morning when he realized something wasn't right. He subsequently shut everything down and pulled the trailer up the ramp a ways to see what was wrong.

Imagine his surprise when he found a deer carcass wrapped around the propeller. Someone evidently had cleaned the deer and then tossed the remains in the water at the ramp.

Local game wardens noted that they "find stuff like that at boat ramps all the time." For the unlucky angler in this case, however, it was the first (and hopefully the last) time he'll ever have to deal with something like that.

It Won't Be Long Now, Guys and Gals

There's a 1920s song that goes like this:

When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along,
There'll be no more sobbing when he starts throbbing
His own sweet song.

Wake up, wake up, you sleepy head,

Get up, get up, get out of bed,

Cheer up, cheer up, the sun is red,

Live, love, laugh, and be happy... .

These lyrics suggest that the arrival of robins means that spring is just around the corner.  The three robins in my neighbor's tree at left (photographed just this morning) therefore must mean the same thing, right? These three robins were just some of the more than a dozen I counted as I tried to position myself without spooking all of them.

Other signs also are showing up, as well. For example, I have another neighbor, whose fruit trees already have blossoms on them. And, too, my early spring allergies have already made their return. After just my trip outdoors this morning to get the accompanying photo, I had to dive for the medicine cabinet that holds my pills. And before we know it, all the vehicles will start turning yellow with pollen, and owners will be crying for a little rain to wash away the residue.

And, yes, all the streams once again will come alive with anglers looking for bragging-size fish. In case you haven't looked at the calendar recently, our initial Dewey Mullins Memorial Tournament of the 2022 season (Sunday, March 6th) is only three weeks away. Wayne and I already are busy getting things ready to go. Don't forget to keep an eye on your email box for any and/or all updates between now and then.

As usual, please refer questions to the TD, Wayne, at 757-705-4950.

"Listen, My Children, And You Shall Hear...

Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere." But folks, I'm not here to acquaint you with the works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. No, I just used that intro as a ploy to get your attention.

What I really want you to hear is the 10 things...perhaps "sugar-coated things" would be a better choice of words...fishermen say most often when they get skunked.

In no particular order, here they are...for those of you who haven't already learned them by heart:

1. It was still a beautiful day on the water.

2. That's why they call it fishing, not catching.

3. I don't go to catch fish, I go to relax.

4. It was a nice day for a boat ride.

5. I just needed to run the engine.

6. There was a good band playing at the club tonight, so we came in early.

7. It's not how many fish you catch, it's how good you look fishing.

8. I just wanted to work on my tan.

9. I enjoy bird watching as much as catching fish.

10. I didn't get skunked, I ran out of time.

If we're willing to face the facts, though, we know that any fisherman who tells you he/she never gets skunked is lying through their teeth. It happens to all of us, and to some of us, a lot more so than others. 

There's a lot we can say to make ourselves feel better about a bad day on the water, but as one hard-nosed angler noted, "I don't like any of it. That thing about how it's just always great to be out there, I don't play that way. No one ever will confuse me with one of those zen anglers who goes out on the water to enjoy the experience.

"When I get my butt kicked by the fish, I get mad...madder than a box of bull frogs! I curse at children. I rip up flowers. I kick small animals. Then, I sit around moping and thinking about all the things I did wrong."

For others, though, the lesson is this: We all go through rough times...at home, at work, on the water, or anywhere...man, fish and everything in between. Getting skunked can teach us just as much and sometimes more than having one of those every-other-cast-kind of days.

Pay attention to what's going on in the environment around you, try your hardest, and don't forget to appreciate the time you get to spend doing what you love. Even if the fish aren't being cooperative, don't get frustrated and go home feeling worse than you did when you came. I've been guilty of making that mistake too many times myself.

Tight Lines! And even if there's no fish on, keep casting.

For Period Ending Sunday, Feb. 20, 2022

Friday, Feb. 4 (from Ron)...Fought the wind this afternoon in Ashville Bridge Creek. No bass but no skunk either.

Thursday, Feb. 10 (from Ken)...With today's weather forecast being what it was, I saw it as a good day to get out and log a couple more hours on my rebuilt motor and fish a couple of hours, too. Continue to be very happy with the way the boat is running. I can't thank Craig and Wayne enough for everything they've done to get me back on the water. Only wish I could report that I had caught a few fish this trip, but, alas, that didn't happen. And to be honest about it, given the color of the water most places today (looked like a dose of coffee, with a lot of cream in it), along with a 10:15 launching-time water temp of 35 degrees, I truly didn't hold much hope for finding any fish. In fact, the only sign of life I saw on the water all day was an ol' turtle. Other than that, I felt nothing and saw nothing. My biggest excitement of the day came along after having a horrible backlash with one of my baitcasters while heading into the wind. Once I got past the crux of the mess, I was rapidly stripping line away from the spool, so I could rewind it evenly, never paying the first mind to what the wind was doing with all that line. And don't you know, right in the middle of that operation, my wife called on the cellphone. Suffice it to say I couldn't have gotten to my phone (back beside the driver's seat) if my life had depended on it. I had line wrapped around my feet, my legs, the seat I was sitting on...pretty much everywhere. Fifteen or 20 minutes later, I finally had extricated myself and was able to call my wife back. I also had a bit of an eye-opener today while throwing a crankbait on 20-lb. braid, vice the 40-lb. I normally use. Discovered a lot more stuff on the bottom everywhere I went than I've ever felt with the heavier line. Despite starting my season with a skunk, I gotta say the worst part of my whole day was when I got back to the dock at West Neck this afternoon and recovered my boat. Had no problem getting it on the trailer, but found I was a bit rusty when it came to backing into my shed. Even that was OK, though. It wasn't 'til I went to shut the rear doors of my van to start home at day's end that I absolutely lost my cool. The one door wouldn't shut, and when I checked to see what was wrong, I discovered someone today...while I was on the water...had tried to break into my van. They had used what I surmise was a crowbar and had mangled some of the metal enough that I had to take a hammer to it when I got home so it will close and lock right again. I've never had any use for a damn thief, and it genuinely gripes me they would mess with my vehicle, which is 24 years old now. This marks the second time since I've had this ol' piece of junk that someone has tried to get in through the rear doors. My question is: Why don't they pick on a vehicle more likely to make it worth their while?

Friday & Saturday, Feb. 11 & 12 (from Ron)...Looks like the season is starting on a low note for my friend, just like it is me. He suffered a double skunk the past two days. Will be interested in hearing from another friend who had a club bass tournament today...their first of the new season.

Friday, Feb. 12 (from "another friend")...As it turns out, this is more bad news, too. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, there were no limits and a bunch of zeros at weigh-in. Per the usual, however, in any tournament, a couple of guys managed to find a few fish. The worst part of all, though, is that my friend and his partner didn't even make it to the event. Trailer problems enroute to the site put the kibosh on their day before it ever really got started. So much for that myth about the "great fishing" to be had on the third day of a warming trend, as well. That, apparently, is in a memo the fish never got.

Wednesday, Feb. 16 (from Ron)...Says he incurred another skunk today in Milldam Creek. His questions to me were: Isn't this supposed to be prime season for jerkbaits? Why aren't they working? Wish I had some answers for him, but I honestly haven't talked to a soul in a while who is having any luck on the water. If anyone has anything to the contrary to report, I'd welcome hearing about it.

Saturday, Feb. 19 (from Ron)...Broke the curse today. Launched about 9 a.m. at Oakum Creek, as it was forecast to be windy. Between 9:30 and 10:30, I caught three dink bass and three chain pickerel on a micro-spinner. Lost the only one I had with me to what I suspect was a chain pick, and that was it. Tried some jerkbaits to no avail and called it quits around 12 o'clock, when the wind really picked up. Sure beats a skunk.

Failure of Inflatable PFDs May Have Spared Worse Injuries

You likely recall the post I put up here last month...Jan 23rd, to be specific. It discussed the reliability of inflatable vests in cold-water conditions.

Entirely by accident, I yesterday stumbled across a real-life example of a time when the inflatables on an FLW tournament angler and his marshal failed simultaneously during an event on Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama.

This situation occurred on Sunday, March 29, 2015, and involved FLW angler John Cox (left) and his marshal, Bryan New. Cox said they were moving to another pocket in the lake's mid-section to do some sight-fishing. They were traveling about 45 to 50 mph when the boat suddenly cut to the left.

Both men subsequently were launched into the 52-degree water. Because their PFDs didn't deploy, they quickly dropped 10 feet to the lake's bottom, since both were wearing their foul-weather bibs and extra layers of clothing. Those PFD failures, however, may have saved both men from suffering additional and more severe injuries.

Said Cox, "If we had been wearing regular jackets, it would have kept us toward the surface, and there's no telling what would have happened when our boat passed over us."

The kill switch thankfully worked and cut off the motor as soon as Cox left his seat, but he nevertheless ended up with a gash on his head that required staples and possibly a concussion. He also almost bit through his tongue. And New suffered a bump on his forehead and was left nursing an unrelated collarbone injury.

"The whole thing was just scary," said Cox, who had moved onto some beds that Sunday morning. He already had caught two 2-pounders when the accident occurred.

"I may have been barely turning left at 50 mph tops," he explained afterward. "I don't even remember hitting the water. I've been doing this for a while, and the only thing I can liken it to is when you hit something and knock off the lower unit, and the boat then spins."

There were two boats behind Cox and New when the accident occurred, but none of those occupants could add anything to what either of the victims had to say. They were just stunned by how the boat instantly spun around.

"We were going dead straight, and there was no wind, no chop, and no waves," added New. "All of a sudden, my head hit John's shoulder or the seat, and then I think I tried to come back over to my side, but then I got throwed again. I remember John and me going in the water at the same time. I had my phone in my hand the whole time."

New went on to recount that when he realized his couple years old Stearns SoSpenders PFD didn't inflate, he already was almost back to the surface. Cox was wearing a new Mustang inflatable PFD.

New got back in the boat first and helped Cox get back in. They looked at each other for a few minutes, then asked, "What in the world just happened?"

According to New, "The driver of the chase boat that was trailing us said the rooster tail coming off our boat was normal and "then, all of a sudden, shot really high like Cox had hit something, or the motor was trimmed really high."

Both Cox and New feels it's a true miracle that neither was injured any worse. Once both were back in the boat, they idled to the ramp, and Cox opted to end his day early, before seeking medical attention. He took a zero and finished 10th.

Unforgettable Moments on the Water (Part 3)

When You Sell a Boat, Forget It and Move On

A guy had owned and fished out of an Allison XB (left) with a good 225 Mariner on it for several years before selling it and buying a BassCat. The fella who bought the Allison wouldn't run it hard and, in the opinion of the former owner, "couldn't even begin to drive it."

As luck would have it, these two gents met up on the river one day, and the new Allison owner talked the old one into getting back in the boat and showing him it really was as fast as he had said. At this time, it had been about two years since the old owner had driven the Allison.

"When we got to a good stretch of water," said the old owner, "I opened it up and started bumping the trim, trying to get as much speed out of it as possible. I was getting near the max when, just for an instant, I lost control and nearly wrecked it. The passenger told me he could read the lettering on both sides of the boat before I got it back under control.

"I was pretty shook up, so I pulled up on a sandbar, then asked my companion if he knew how fast we had been going. He noted that the GPS had been registering a little over 88 mph the last time he had looked at it."

That was the last time the old owner ever drove that Allison...as well as the last time the new owner ever asked him to drive it.

Sometimes It Takes Two...

Bad experiences, that is, to learn your lesson. This is the tale about a dude who was a passenger in a 20-foot Bullet (right), with a 300 Merc on it, when the driver bow-hooked the boat while running in the mid-90s range. Lucky for the passenger, he survived that incident, thanks to the fact he was wearing a helmet and an impact lifeline safety vest. However, he was sore for a few days afterward.

In a second incident, he was at the helm of a 20-foot Bullet, with a 250 Merc on it, heading down the Arkansas River. He was running about 65 mph when he misjudged the size wave a loaded barge was making. When he hit the first wave, it launched the boat into the air, and it didn't come down until about the third or fourth wave. That spearing broke the trolling motor off the boat, ripped out the front pedestal seat, and sheared off all the front electronic gear. The windshield also was broken.

When the boat came back above the water, the two-time victim navigated to a safe area, where he pumped water for more than an hour before taking the boat back to the ramp and putting it on the trailer.

Watch Where You're Going

That's good advice in any situation. In this case, though, it was an early June day, and Darien was fishing famed Lake Guntersville with some of his buddies. They were on an offshore spot when Darien noticed a bass boat approaching at a fast idle. At first, he thought it might be some friends of one of his buddies stopping by to talk or something, but that wasn't the case at all.

Before he knew it, the approaching bass boat had nosed up on the back deck of his Phoenix. The helmsman claimed he was staring at his graphs and letting his boat idle while talking on a cellphone...and simply never saw Darien's rig.

Check out the accompanying video Darien put together of the incident. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7l0KS1CYhs&t=169s.

Doing the Right Thing

My tournament partner and I was on our way back to weigh-in when we noticed a young girl frantically waving her arms for help. We were headed toward her when we noticed two other people in the water, as well. Their craft, a small paddle boat, had been swamped by high waves.

The girl was sitting on the back of the paddle boat, which was the only part not submerged. She had no life jacket. Her brother, also in the water, likewise had no life jacket and was treading water. The girl's grandmother was in the water, too, holding two youth life jackets to help keep her afloat.

"My partner and I were able to rescue all three, thank God," said the boater, "without injury to any of them. We tossed them our throw cushion and our life jackets to keep them afloat until we were able to pull them out of the water."

It turned out that the grandmother had taken her two grandkids for a paddle-boat ride at the mouth of a bay where they were camping. The high winds and the current pushed them out into the main lake, where the high waves swamped their boat.

"They actually were in the channel when we got to them," said the boater.

They only had two youth life jackets aboard the paddle boat for three people, which could have been a very life-threatening mistake, especially since the current and waves had separated them from the swamped boat.

The sad part of this story is that at least five other tournament boats went by these folks without even slowing down.

"I guess getting to weigh-in was more important to those fishermen than helping people in distress," said the boater. "Not one bass boat even stopped to help after we started our rescue. They just would veer around us and look our way as they passed."

These two anglers, however, did all the right things by rescuing the victims and taking them safely back to a dock at their campsite.

"We stayed with them for a few minutes to make sure they absolutely were OK, then headed to the ramp, released our fish, trailered our boat, and reflected on the day," noted the two Good Samaritans. "In our eyes, this was our best finish ever in a tournament...dead last!"

Unforgettable Moments on the Water (Part 2)

Do You Smell What I Smell?

That's the question an angler asked his buddy one day on Smith Mountain Lake (right). They were on a day of fun fishing in the buddy's 1990s model Ranger, which, equipped with a late model 225 Optimax, ran pretty well. It was about mid-day when the back-seater had noticed an overwhelming smell of gas and asked his buddy if he smelled it too.

"Ah, that's normal," said the buddy...unconvincingly.

About an hour later, the angler's alarm system was at a point where he no longer was believing what his buddy had said. He knew something had to be wrong. The tipping point came while the back-seater had a box of spinnerbaits open, laying beside him on the back deck.

"I opened the lid to check on the smell," he explained, "and saw fuel leaking. At the same time, I accidentally kicked the box of spinnerbaits into the battery compartment, and somehow they bridged the two adjacent batteries, causing a fire to erupt. Fortunately, we got it extinguished quickly and found someone to tow us back to the ramp. The culprit in all this was a cracked fuel line.

"It took only about two minutes to put out the fire," noted the back-seater, but it felt like an eternity."

Darn Scary!

It was 1992, and we had launched my Procraft at Presque Isle and ran maybe 10 miles to an area called the "Ws" in Lake Erie (left). Morning was like glass, but with a small-craft advisory starting around noon. The plan was to fish until 10 a.m., then run back and fish the bay.

"Around 9 o'clock, though," said the boater, "we  could see the lake was changing colors from all the wind and immediately started back. Only had gone about a mile when it really got rough and ended up taking almost two hours to make it to the ramp. We had to power up each wave, then surf down the back side.

"We had good rain gear, but it was May, and Erie still was cold, and we were soaked from running west on a big northwest wind. When we were at the bottom of the waves, all you could see was water...darn scary, if you ask me," noted the boater.

Thank God for the Angels That Day

Many years ago, when Toledo Bend (right) still had big tree stumps in the water, a non-boater drew a boater with a 21-foot Champion bass rig in a Red Man Tournament trail event. They were the No. 2 boat that day, with plans to head up north, where the boater boasted "he was on some big heads." Only problem...besides the big tree stumps, that is...was that they had to go through two really sharp, back-to-back turns in the boat lane.

As it turned out, they missed one of those turns...thanks to the watchful eyes of the non-boater who happened to notice a string of bass boats peeling off in a 90-degree direction from where they were going.

"I immediately had a strange feeling something wasn't right," said the non-boater, who subsequently grabbed the boater by the arm and told him to shut it down...which he did.

"What's the problem?" asked the boater.

"Do you know where you are?" returned the non-boater.

"Sure," said the boater in a high-pitched voice...about the same time they hit a tree stump. Simultaneously, his eyes got about as big as silver dollars, as he looked and saw the string of boats running north in the boat lane about a mile away.

It took about a half-hour to idle back to the boat lane. Along the way, they hit 15 stumps that were just mere inches below the surface.

"Trust me," said the non-boater. "I know we had angels in the boat with us that day."

What a Wall of Water!

A non-boater was fishing a B.A.S.S. Federation northern divisional on Lake Ontario (left) back in 2003. His boater was a guy from Ohio with a Skeeter ZX 200. They were running into a bay when the non-boater noticed an old wooden Chris Craft cruiser running about a mile in front of them.

"I could see the big rollers coming off the back," said the non-boater, "but my partner didn't (or chose to ignore them), and we hit the first one at about 70 mph. We launched off it and caught the second one with the Skeeter's stern, which kicked up the transom into a nearly vertical posture. When we came down, both windshields got broken, both GPSs were ripped off, and all the boater's rods came through the windshield, cutting up his face. I ended up breaking four of my rods.

"Most of all," added the non-boater, "I remember the wall of water that came rushing at us. When we surfaced, the water in the boat was level with the consoles."

The boater had no hotfoot but had let go of the throttle when they hit the first roller and grabbed the wheel with both hands.

In the words of the non-boater, "He was so shook up he hardly could fish the rest of the day, even though he was leading for his state at the time."

Unforgettable Moments on the Water

To set the stage for what I tentatively envision as a series of articles, all with the same title, I found a video online that shows an old aircraft carrier...the USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) (see photo left), to be exact...being slammed by giant waves while riding out a typhoon. Take a peek for yourself at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0Jzb8dfcC4.

Let me assure you that, after riding a tin can, two cruisers, a battleship, and an amphib, I'm more than a little familiar with how heavy seas will affect shipboard life. I, too, rode out a typhoon while returning home from a cruise to Japan aboard USS Columbus (CG-12). And for anyone who may not be familiar with that ship, Columbus, like her sister ship, USS Chicago (CG-11), which I helped commission, had been refitted with towering macks, vice masts, that planners long had had questions about whether the ship could stay upright in a major storm. Suffice it to say that we proved her seaworthiness on that trip. Other than watchstanders manning their posts, all other ship's work was knocked off, and all hands slept in their coffin racks with straps across our chests and legs to keep us from being thrown out and injured.

I still can remember those long, eerie nights, lying awake in my rack and listening to those all-too-familiar extended groans the ship emitted as it lay over in one of those heavier rolls.

It would be an understatement to say we were anything but immensely relieved once the seas calmed, and our workdays returned to being routine. To see an aircraft carrier, such as the Kitty Hawk,  take water across the bow, with some even reaching the flight deck, as depicted in the earlier video, is indeed an extreme circumstance. We cruised in formation with many a carrier during my career, and I don't recall another incident that equaled what you see in the foregoing video. By and large, aircraft carriers are among the stablest of platforms you'll find anywhere.

But let us turn our attention to bass boats and the ride you get from one of them in rough seas. Consider this account I found during my online research.

A 21-year-old had drawn a "wild man" of sorts during a BFL tournament.

Said the 21-year-old, "We were on Texoma. He had a Bumble Bee single-console with a 225 Merc on back. That motor sputtered and died five or six times while we were idling out to the main group. The owner constantly had to put it in neutral and rev it up just to keep it running.

"As we were idling toward the call boat, he asked, 'You like fast boat rides?'

"I said you bet. I was young and stupid at the time, and this thing sounded like it was going to blow up at any minute, much less run fast. We left the group and headed to our first stop.

"He said 'I've had a little work done on her' as he gave it the throttle.' My thought was that someone had seen him coming and had stuck it to him.  Wrong! That was before we started somewhere around 160-ish in the pack and soon was leading all the other boats. I bet we were going 85 or better.

"With nothing but clear water in front of us, and maybe a 6-inch chop, everything was fine, except for the chine walking the boat was doing. I thought I would get thrown over the side...at the same time thinking, though, this is cool."

Coming back was an altogether different story. The wind had gotten up, and Texoma was showing what it could do wave-wise. That, however, didn't bother the driver. He never backed off the hand throttle, even a little bit. Instead, he kept both hands on the steering wheel. After submarining three or four waves, we had water in the boat about a foot deep or more, which helped slow the idiot down. It also washed my tackle bag from between my legs and over the back deck.

I figured he probably still was hitting about 60 or better. It was beating the daylights out of both of us. It was too rough to go back and look for the bag, as I figured it had sunk anyway.

"I ripped the screws holding the strap handle from the fiberglass and pulled a bicep muscle," said the 21-year-old. "That was the absolute worst boat ride I ever had taken. The handle on the left side stayed on the boat. Otherwise, I would have been bounced out."

Then there was this account from a gent who described a bass tournament in which he was at the helm, taking "the scariest boat ride of his life.

"We knew there was supposed to be some bad weather coming in, so the tournament director made the call at the morning briefing to cut the day short by 2 hours. Well, I started back about 30 minutes early, but that was too late. The wind was blowing up the lake, creating some big waves, but because of all the ski boats that had been out, they weren't timed.

"Some would be 5 feet apart, some 30 feet, plus the cross waves...it was like driving in a washing machine. That's so far the only time I've been in a boat that speared a wave, and it was because of the timing. I was running the tops of the waves, and I had it timed to hit the top of the next wave to keep the bow up...kind of like in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMjDckn8Dec.

"I was a co-angler in the video I just cited. The boater was doing a very good job of keeping the bow up and throttling the motor up on the downside of a wave, so the bow wouldn't fall. Perhaps this video will help someone drive a boat in these conditions. Incidentally, three different forecasts this day were calling for only 6 mph winds.

"Getting back to my original story, though, there were two waves close together, and then two further apart. The two close together caused me to misjudge the third, and I ended up going up that wave, let off, and tried to get back on it, but the bow just dropped between the waves. We were doing about 20 or 22 mph, so still a safe speed, but I learned something that day: Never trust the weather."

Fishing Flea Market Coming in March

Learned a few days ago that the Great Bridge Fisherman's Association (GBFA) will be holding their 13th annual fishing flea market at the Chesapeake Conference Center, 700 Conference Center Dr., Chesapeake, on Saturday, March 12. 

Hours will be from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Cost of admission is $4 per person, with children age 12 and under free. Parking also is free.

I'm told this event usually includes both fresh and saltwater gear...everything from new and used rods and reels to custom lures, as well as a variety of boats and trailers.

Should you be interested in trying to sell some surplus gear of your own, you're encouraged to contact event chairman, T.B. "Butch" Pierce. His email address is tbpocean@aol.com, and his phone number is 757-287-0330. Vendor spaces cost $70 each. Here's the link to use for filling out an application to participate as a vendor:  https://fishgbfa.org/download/flea-market-2021-revised/.

How To Keep Your Fish Doin' a Happy Dance

...And no, I'm not suggesting that you grind up a little "weed" and drop it in the livewell with your catch. Instead, I'm passing along a suggestion from Walker Smith of Wired2Fish about how to keep your livewells squeaky clean. As he points out, "These are the nastiest part of any fishing boat."

Bacteria, algae, fish slime, and fish waste build up over time and can cause harm to your catch, inhibiting a healthy release. Regular cleaning is the only way to prevent any fish-care issues.

There is more than one way to skin a cat, and the same goes for cleaning livewells. The method described here is the one Smith has used ever since he lost a few fish during a tournament back in his college days.

As he described the situation, "I couldn't figure out why, because I'm always very cognizant of fish care in my boat. After finally trying this trick I picked up from some random Internet forum, I have never seen more lively fish. I also have not lost a single bass in my livewell since I started doing it."

All you need is two gallons of distilled white vinegar and two 32-ounce bottles of hydrogen peroxide, which certainly isn't going to break your bank.

The vinegar does a great job at descaling your pumps so they run efficiently and at full capacity. The peroxide cleans all the old algae, fish waste, and slime coating out of the lines.

"Essentially," as noted Smith, "you're making sure that no old buildup is discharged into your fresh livewell water, as this will result in too much ammonia and carbon dioxide and sour your livewell. Any type of decomposing organic matter can and will kill fish. Additionally, making sure your pumps and lines run at full capacity is the most important part of livewell maintenance. This equipment is what keeps your fish alive and healthy."

Remove the valve screens at the bottom of your livewells, because they get nasty in a hurry. Removing them helps eliminate the old algae and fish waste that accumulates underneath them. Once they are removed, you can just leave them laying in the bottom.

You'll be running your livewells during this process, so make sure they are plugged, or the actuators are closed, so the livewells will hold water. Then fill them about 3/4 of the way full with fresh water. Now add one gallon of distilled white vinegar to each, as well as one 32-ounce bottle of the hydrogen peroxide. When that's done, turn on the aerators and let them run continuously for 30 minutes.

Once the 30-minute cycle is done, completely drain your livewells and refill them with fresh water for another 30-minute cycle. This flushes any residual vinegar and hydrogen peroxide out of your livewells and pumps.

For the last time, drain your livewells and wipe them down with a clean rag, and if possible, park your boat in direct sunlight, with the livewell lids open, to make sure they're completely dry.