Fishing Report for Pickwick 4/22/13

After the awesome trip that I had on Pickwick for the Alabama Mountain Lakes Media Event, I HAD to get back. You can find the full write up here. Long story short, 4 smallies over 6 with 1 over 7. WOW!

Anyway. A lot has changed from then until now, probably the most important being the water temp. I questioned if those pre-spawn smallies would still be there. I somehow doubted it.


But, really, the trip wasn't about fishing. My wife had never been on Pickwick. The scenery is incredible. The fishing is awesome. McFarland is one of the best ramps out there. You have terrific food at the River Bottom Grille right there on the water. Just tie your boat up!

So, somehow, i didn't have much to do at work and Alyse was free. We were dying to get the new Skeeter back on the water. The only issue is....we have 3 kids. Getting them ready for school and dropping them off takes time. We didn't get on the water until after 9 and we had to be back by 4. That makes for a short day. No matter. Both of us were just excited to have time alone on the water!

Here is the vid!

We launched the boat, I let her drive it a little, and we ran to the dam. Well, I couldn't get the smallies to bite, so I ran down to the mouth of McFarland where I ALWAYS catch some dinks. I was throwing the PowerTeam Lures Swinging Hammer. The fish on this lake have loved it so far(granted, limited data set here...the lure just came out and I have only been on Pickwick once with it). But, it did work...then....

Not today. Even throwing around a square bill...the perfect rocky bank spawning ground bait didn't turn up any fish. Did get some good pics though!

Well, I had a little bit of an Ace in my pocket. See, last year, I stumbled on to a pattern during a NASA club tournament that was AWESOME. But, I had SERIOUS doubts it would still work again....

Ok..so I have to admit something. I have a Club tournament. On Pickwick. This weekend. And I really want to catch them. So...I'm not going to let the cat out yet. Cause it is really off the wall and it may not work Saturday.

Anyway. First cast...hung a NICE spot. REAL nice.

The bite was slow, but it was definitely there. ***Props to Alyse who told me to fish more shallow than I had been***.

So, I decided to let it rest for Saturday.it's the exact bait in the exact spot doing the exact thing. I can't believe it still works. Hard to believe it worked the first time!  Meanwhile, I wanted Alyse to catch some fish, so I pulled up to a rock shoal that always holds a mixture of fish. She was able to get into a school of white bass with a Strike King Series 3.

We had a really nice lunch. One trick we have learned, for those that are picky about getting bread crumbs in your boat, is to use soft taco shells and make wraps. We had a nice smoked turkey, avocado, cheese wrap. Makes me hungry thinking about it! Taking a wife with you instead of another dude sure pays off. Sure, I make good jerky, but the wrap could not be beat! And, no mess!


Anyway, we didn't fish too hard and instead we enjoyed each other's company and the gorgeous scenery. We played around with the new boat, learning how to do things. Alyse wanted to learn to drive it....until I made her drive it. Now...I'm not so sure she wants to. Explaining that she has to floor it to get on plane is not working for her. HAHA!

 Before I knew it, it was time to load up and get the kids. Aubree had a softball game and softball waits for no one!