Fishing Report for Guntersville: Weekend of 2/20/16

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After having a "decent" year last year in the clubs I fish, I really wanted to step up my game this year. Ok, so it really wasn't decent. I had some really good tournaments and I really grew as an angler. But, while I improved greatly on Wheeler, Wilson, and Pickwick, Guntersville continued to slide backwards. 

Considering that Guntersville represents about half of all the tournaments that I fish each year and would do so again this year, I needed to get better on the Big G. Last year we tried winging it on Guntersville and concentrating on the other lakes. That works really well 80% of the time. But, that one tournament or two that doesn't go well sinks any chances of finishing ahead of the pack. While most of my clubs don't have an AOY, I have aspirations of fishing some bigger trails, so it is important that I find a winning combination that can give me a chance.

Regarding Guntersville, most of you know how I feel about it. You should take anything I say with a grain of salt because I am just an average fisherman. Additionally, I get frustrated like anyone else, except that I have a platform to preach from. 

But, I challenge you to go read up on the fishing reports. Check out the guides sites. Not only are they openly saying that it is tough, but even when they "catch fish," there isn't much to see. One of the guides I followed made a comment on his personal Facebook page that he is catching around one fish a day, most days. Lies or disinformation? Maybe. 

Now, go read the fishing reports for the everyday Joes on some of the Facebook sites. You can really see the frustration. 

That doesn't mean fish aren't getting caught, because someone always catches them. But, the weights to win big tournaments are lackluster. Low 20 pound bags and the drop off from, say, 5th, is pronounced. 

Ok, so let's talk about this past weekend. So, I bought a new-to-me boat a few weeks ago. I hadn't had it out much and we planned on using it in our club tournament this weekend. I took off late Thursday afternoon to start prefishing, as well as continue to learn my boat. 

I put in at the Comer bridge ramp. That's where things started off badly. So, the wind was howling. I backed the boat off and tied it up. Jumped in the car and started to pull up the ramp. But, man, was the truck struggling! I turn around in time to see that I was nearly pulling my boat UP THE RAMP by the motor. Apparently the wind had pushed the boat just perfectly so that it circled the trailer and got the motor between the guide rails of the trailed. 

Figured that out. Went up river to Jones Creek. Dropped the trolling motor. Turned on the front graph. WHAT THE CRAP! It wasn't reading anything. Pull up the trolling motor and see that the transducer case had separated down the seam and the bottom half had fallen off. Don't know when. Now I had to turn the back graph around so I could see it. That gave me a headache.

Anyway, I start fishing the creek channel swings in Jones. First cast or two,  I hang a 15 inch fish on a square bill. Up ahead of me, a boat pulls in a similar fish. Considering the flickering bait I was seeing and the seagulls, I figured I was on some fish! 

Just kidding. Fished the rest of Jones. I didn't really have a game plan. In fact, my gameplan was to not have a gameplan. I just led where my heart told me I should go. That found me meandering around, just searching for anything. But, the water was cold and muddy. Usually less than one foot of visibility and hovering around 47 degrees. Never found a good stand of grass. 

I ran some main river ledges, only finding one spot holding fish, but they weren't biting.  I did snap a cool pic of my boat, though.

I put her on the trailer and headed home. 

Ok. So. On to Friday. Brad and I decided to swap things up. We headed to Allreds. We started in the back. The first channel swing, which was next to one of the small islands, had some matted vegetation. Once again, one of my first casts landed me a fish on a square bill. Then, nothing.

We worked Allreds pretty hard, noting that the temperature was about the same as in Jones. The water color was a little better and we occasionally found some better grass. Like yesterday, scanning the creek channel found some fish sitting in a little nook, adjacent to a hump, with bait fish. Couldn't get any takers, despite hammering the spot. 

After checking Brown's Creek for a few minutes, we put the boat on the trailer and headed to City Park in Roseberry. Water color was terrible, though we noted it was 50 degrees. Gave up on that and headed to North Sauty. 

In the back, by the old bridge, we noted water temps that reached 55 degrees, easily the warmest we had found. But, the water color wasn't very good. That being said, we watched a boat land two small fish while jigging the old bridge. So, we at least had a little intel. We pushed further back in Sauty, all the way to dirt shallow areas. No takers. We ended the day on that. 

Saturday morning, we agreed that the only thing we knew was that we shouldn't fish anything we had already fished. Having looked at the map of South Sauty, I suggested we try some channel swings featuring 13 feet channels to shallow flats. We pulled up on the first swing we had identified and immediately graphed a ton of stumps on the ledge, all with fish on them. Additionally, there were bait balls hovering in the channel, even flickering on the surface. We tossed out marker buoys and worked the area hard. Nothing. 

We checked a few other places in South Sauty before moving down river to the Seibold area, where we hoped to find a combination of warm and clear water. No such luck, nor on catching any fish. Before leaving the area completely, we stopped and fished some humps on the opposite side of Seibold. The stumps adjacent to the main river were covered up with boats, but obviously not fish. We pushed towards the bank, which is where I hung one measuring fish on a swim jig. 

After anchoring down, we failed to scare up another bite. 

We headed to North Sauty, hoping to use some of the intel we had gained from the day before. But, as usual, the area was covered up with boats. We moved to a pocket that featured some stumps and stickups. No takers. But, Josh and his partner Anthony met up with us and we shared our experience, which came down to two fish total. 

At 130, we started back towards the ramp, but stopped at the North Sauty causeway. While it has been a community hole, there wasn't anyone on it. While throwing a jig on rock, I hung a decent fish on the first cast. Next cast, had a hit, but couldn't get the hook in the fish.

We headed to the ramp. Winning weights were 15, 13, and 12 pounds. Big fish wasn't 5 and change. Only one other boat weighed more than one fish, though that probably means most just didn't bother.

It's tough. 

Seared Heart of Romaine w/ Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette Cheese, Peach and Veggie Medley

Items needed:

• 1 Cup of Feta cheese
• 1 Cup of fresh Mozzarella
• 1 Peach
• 2 cups of Cherry tomatoes
• Half of a red onion
• 2 pieces of bacon
• Half of a cucumber
• 1 heart of romaine lettuce
• olive oil
• your choice of balsamic vinegar
• honey
• reduced (optionally) flavored balsamic vinegar 

Begin by mixing 40% olive oil, 40% balsamic, and 20% honey in a jar. In this case, I used a pre-mixed dressing from The Olive from Chattanooga.

If you do not have reduced balsamic, reduce 1 cup. Very little is needed.

On a large skillet on medium heat, heat up just enough olive oil to cover the bottom in a thin film

Dice the cheeses, onion, cucumber, tomatoes, peach, bacon, and cucumber and place into a mixing bowl. Drizzle a generous helping of the salad dressing onto the veggies, stir several times to ensure equal coating and let sit.

When the skillet is properly warm, place the romaine lettuce in the pan, rotating sides every 3 minutes, or until partially charred.

Remove from skillet and split in half, placing flat side down in a large salad bowl. Lightly sprinkle salt on the top.

Pile the mixed veggies and cheese as desired on top of the lettuce.

Add additional dressing, as desired. I did not add additional.

Lightly drizzle your choice of balsamic vinegar on top of veggies. I chose a raspberry infused reduction.

Add fresh cracked black pepper as desired.

Enjoy. 

How to Build a Lighted Rod Storage Rack in a 20XD Bullet

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I haven't posted anything about it, but I recently picked up a new-to-me boat, which replaced the 2000 ZX202C Skeeter. I purchased a 2003 20XD Bullet from a local guy. If you aren't familiar with Bullets, there is a storage compartment in the center of the front deck. Lift the steps up and viola! A giant compartment. However, they didn't come with a rod storage system. This is what it looks like. 

If you can't tell, it's big enough to nearly crawl in. It is certainly big enough to hold a lot of rods, if you just want to throw them in there. But, between all the hooks and guides, as well as the wiring and plumbing for the trolling motor and front depth finder, you are asking for a disaster every trip. So, I decided to make my own.

Equipment List:

• Sheet of plywood. The final cut is roughly 27x 14 inches. (Lowe's)
• Length of 1"x 2"wood or something in the vicinity. It isn't really important what size, as long as it can hold a screw without splitting. 
• Roll of outdoor carpet (O'Reilly's)
• Can of carpet adhesive(O'Reilly's)
• LED lights, if you so desire plus heat shrink, 18 gauge wire, spade connectors, etc. I chose these lights at the loca Academy, as they are sealed units. (Lights from Academy, electrical components from O'Reilly's)
• Rocker switch. I got a lighted round one with a flange. (O'Reilly's)
• 10 2" diameter by 2' sections of PVC. Lowes has these precut.  I would advise against buying just a tube and cutting it yourself, unless you have REALLY steady hands OR a good cutter. Sure, it's more money, but it's a lot less hassle. Don't worry, I did both.(Lowe's)
• 2" diameter pipe straps. These are metal straps that are preformed to fit over the PVC and have flanges with a single screw hole on each side 
• 4 pack of small L-brackets (Lowe's)

Tools You Will Need

• Skill saw
• Powered screwdriver
• Solder gun
• lighter
• Wire cutters/strippers
• 2" hole saw
• Small drill bit, around 3/8ths works. 
• Razer blade
• Handheld sander with coarse grit paper. 

First thing I did was to remove the factor incandescent light fixture on the passengers side of the compartment. Not only is it not very bright, but it has to be removed to install the rod rack anyway.

Ok. So measure the wall to wall dimension inside your compartment. I would suggest measuring as far back as the small distended bulkhead. Remember, your rod handles are long and you need to be able to fit the whole rod in without hitting the handles. In most cases, it will be virtually impossible to fit a long handled baitcaster above the level of the step. In my case, I cut a 27 width by 13 height. You will notice that will leave a slight gap at the top. Not only will that make installing/removing the rack easier, but it allows the back compartment to breath in the event that there is any moisture. You can't see the gap once it is installed. 

Decide on how many rods you want the rack to support. I decided on 10, though I could have done more. I left a center section open for a number of reasons. First and most important, I was afraid that rod tips would hit the recessed trolling motor or any of the associated wiring. Secondly, I thought about eventually adding a "Bullet" decal to that spot. Neat, huh? Using a 2" hole saw, I created my holes based upon a 4.5" center to center spacing. 

Now, cut the plywood to shape.  I would recommend running a sander over the entire surface including the new 2" holes. Not only will that knock any burs and splinters, but it will also held prime the surface for the carpet adhesive. 

Next, I flipped the board over and placed a series of backing boards. These will be used to mount the pipe straps, which will hold the PVC in place. You want the backing board to be even with the very bottom of the 2" holes so that that PVS can rest on them when they are installed. Now, I would recommend screwing them in from the back first. After the holes have been established, remove the screws and re-install from the front. This will keep any of the tips of the screws from protruding the front. Do this one at a time so that you can keep the right position. Make sure that the backing boards aren't higher than the 2" holes or the PVS won't fit. 

Ok, the next step is optional, if you want lights. 

I decided to mount an LED light strip on each side of the rack with a lighted button centered at the top center. For that, I measured the diameter of the button and selected a drill bit appropriately. Then, I drilled the hold. I used the same drill to create a wiring passage for the two lights so that the wiring would be hidden. 

Ok, get your carpet out and unroll a section. Set the board down and cut a 1" overlap around the board. Now, spray the board with adhesive. I would recommend waiting a minute or two before placing the carpet on the board, as the adhesive will begin to set and will help you. Now, place the carpet. Using an item with a straight edge, perhaps a piece of wood, smooth the carpet in all directions. This will both smooth out and wrinkles but also promote full adhesion. Lastly, apply some adhesive to the back of the board, cut slices on the corners (as you would wrapping a present), and fold them over the back. Ensure good adhesion. Let sit for 30 minutes, preferably in the sun.  

Using a razor, carefully cut out all the holes, including the optional lighting holes. 

If you are installing lighting, now is the time to secure them in the board. I ran the wiring in the created holes and then placed the light bars centered over those holes. I soldered the two leads together to a spade connector, which was then slipped on to the "load" terminal of the switch. I repeated the process, but added a 3rd wire to the ground leads, which will hook to the boat's electrical system. A 3rd wire with spade connector is hooked to the "constant" terminal on the switch. Then, I placed the wiring in black wire loom and secured them to the backing boards . 

Now, using one of the 2" PVS lengths, install the pipe in the hold, slide the metal pipe straps over the PVS, down the backer board, where you will screw each in. 

Remove the PVS and go to the next hole. Repeat until you have all the straps installed.

                   (This picture shows hand-cut PVC, which I scrapped for much better pre-cut pieces)

Now, move the whole assembly into the boat. 

Using the existing wiring from the factory light, splice the new "constant" and "ground" wires from the rack assembly . Make sure to use solder and heat shrink for safety. Ensure the lights work.

Now, Install the assembly into the locker. Remember, this is NOT possible with the PVC pipes already installed. I had to use a rubber mallet to move my assembly into place. You want the assemble NO LESS than 22 inches from the front of the rod locker, otherwise no rods will fit. Once you have measured both sides and verified they are even, install the "L-brackets" to hold it in place. Do not screw into the top and bottom of the locker. Use the sides.

Now, slide each tube into place. 

              (This picture shows hand-cut PVC, which I scrapped for much better pre-cut pieces)

I then added a custom carpet decal. It cost me $27

Make sure to read about all my other projects! 

How to Install a Recessed Trolling Motor Tray on a ZX202C Skeeter for Motorguide/Minn Kota

Fishing Report for Guntersville 1/31/16

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Check out my Discount Baits Page!  to save cash on lures

Tournament season is upon us. After this past weekend, every Saturday from now until, well, forever, Guntersville will be packed with tournament fishermen. 

I admit that I am no exception that that. Except, of course, I am not good enough to fish any large tournament trails, benefit tournaments, or essentially any tournament who has an entry fee greater than, say, $30. 

But, I do have club tournaments coming up and I would like to make at least a respectable appearance on Guntersville before I try and make up ground on every other lake that my clubs fish. 

The best way to get better is time on the water. For me, I can up the ante by fishing in a tournament, even if I have no chance to win, I at least make myself get up on frigid Saturday mornings and put myself in the right frame of mind. 

So, Josh and I headed to fish the  The Bait Tackle and Grill at Goosepond Wildcat.  This would be the last wildcat from Goose Pond and only the second that I have fished. You can read about how we didn't catch any fish at the link below. 

Fishing Report for Guntersville 1/9/16

We had spent the previous tournament inside Roseberry and caught our lone fish with a jerkbait off a dock. We knew of at least one good spot that we wanted to check. Beforehand, we had decided that we would only spend about an hour inside Roseberry before we headed out. Additionally, my friend Brad would be fishing, as would my friend John. We hope to put together some semblance of a pattern between the three boats. 

We ran into Roseberry only to find a boat fishing exactly where we wanted to fish, so we had to be content on fishing the channel side of a pocket. We did managed to catch two keeper fish in the first hour, which we considered a good start. Word was that any fish caught early was a bonus. However, the fish were caught 200 yards apart and on different baits (one on a XR50 in Rayburn Red and the other on a chatterbait.) Without that making much of a pattern, we decided to move out of Roseberry completely. 

We ran into Brad, who hadn't had a hit. 

By lunch, we hadn't had another bite, nor had Brad. John and his partner had caught one fish. 

We worked the mid-lake over efficiently, covering hundreds of yards at a time with select fast moving baits. We slowed down only when we found green emerging grass. 

Alas, we didn't find any more fish. 

Not unexpectedly, several boats did. As typical this time of year, around five boats found a good limit. Another couple of boats would find a small limit and everyone else had ones and twos. There were some pigs caught including an 8.44. The winning sack was 24 pounds.

We were boat 30 and there were a lot more boats behind us. 

Of the three boats, three fish were caught, total, with the largest being around three pounds.

We surmised that the winning sacks came from down river, perhaps beyond the big swing towards Guntersville, as we didn't see but a handful of boats all day, though by day's end, there were a ton in the back of North Sauty, but I think that had more to do with the fact that it was 30 minutes from weight in and the wind was nonexistent in north Sauty, 

In conclusion, it isn't a surprised that we didn't catch fish. We know what baits to throw and how to work them, but when the fish are lethargic in the 42 degree water, you have to be around them....sometimes on top of them....to get bites. If you aren't around them, you aren't going to get bit. Saturday, we weren't around them, try as we might. 

Still, sucks to get skull drug, but I have to remember that these dudes are good....and sometimes great....fishermen. 

My advice to you would be to throw lipless cranks, square bills, and chatterbaits and don't stop trolling until you bag a 3+ pound fish, then anchor down. 

Fishing Report for Guntersville 1/9/16

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It's the new year, and with the new year means tournament season is nearly upon us. If you are from the north Alabama area, you know that starting the first weekend in February, Guntersville lake will be on fire, no matter the weather. Every club and trail series has a stop on the Big G. My clubs are no exception. 

2015 has already starter for me, and it started pretty awesome. You can read about it below. 

Fishing Report for Wheeler/Ingalls Harbor 1/6/2016

Truth be told, I didn't fish any early season tournaments on Guntersville last year, as I was moving into our new home. Additionally, I was sick one of the weekends. Apparently the McDonald's in Hazel Green is the worst McDonald's in the world, as I got food poisoning from it. I am not the only one. Ironically, it is now closed, despite being in a fantastic location. That's right. It is THAT BAD. 

Anyway, I started out 2014 pretty solid on Guntersville and I would like to get back to having that kind of success. That doesn't mean I won a bunch, because I didn't. However, I learned a lot and I wanted to put that to use. I also learned that you cannot fake your way on this lake this time of year. 

So, with a free Saturday, I asked Josh to fish the The Bait Tackle and Grill at Goosepond Wildcat, which they have every weekend during the winter. I have no affiliation with the store or its owners, but Jamie and his wife do a fantastic job at Goosepond in providing year-round service for fishermen. I can't recommend them enough. 

Anyways, we had 15 boats and 24 anglers. The ABA was also using Goosepond for their tournament. The lake was completely empty, save for these boats and a ton of duck hunters. 

The night before, Josh and I went over our gameplan. We decided to fish the hotspot we found in 2014. We knew there was a chance that the fish probably weren't there anymore, but it was worth a shot. I was going with a four bait system: The A-rig, a red square bill, a green pumpkin chatterbait backed by a PTL Craw D, and a red lipless crank. 

Josh and I ran into the back Roseberry creek. As we pulled up on the point, we were whistled at by duck hunters, which made us change our boat positioning. No big deal. It just wasn't something that we had anticipated. 

Nothing in the first spot. We moved over a pocked. Nothing.

When scanning the Roseberry creek channel which was intersected by a secondary creek and a huge conduit (which we found on sidescan), we came across two masses of fish adjacent to some bait balls. It was picture perfect as one can find using electronics. But, both of us had our doubts if they were bass and even if they were bass, would they be feeding? Their position, holding tight to the bottom, told us that they probably weren't.

Indeed they weren't active, but I busted out a PTL bullnose jig and set the hook on a fish anyway, reeling in a drum. We left. 

After fishing some bluff walls at the mouth of Roseberry, we caught our lone bass of the day, a short fish on a jerkbait. 

We fished Mink Creek for the rest of the day, not having another single bite. 

That was the story of the day, as boat after boat was either not present for the weigh in or had nothing to weigh at all. I can attest that only 5 boats weighed any fish. So, a swing and a miss. As much as that makes me disappointed, I will simply chalk it up to bad luck and learn from it. That's going to be one of my themes this year. Not that anyone really cares, but those are going to be:

• Don't get upset. Get even. It isn't striking out. It's eliminating water. 
• Don't celebrate winning on tough days when everyone else struggles.
• Don't feel better about struggling when everyone else struggles. 
• Find a way to win even when everyone else is catching fish.

 Here are the final results directly from The Bait Tackle and Grill at Goosepond 

"Hello Lake Guntersville Anglers! The Goose Pond Wildcat tournament results for Sat January 9, 2016...1st place and Big Bass winner was Jr. West with 16.50 lbs and a 6.04 biggin!...2nd place was Joey West with 14.32 lbs...and 3rd place was Benny Medlen and Mark Breen with 13.78 lbs they also had a 4.20 spotted bass...we had 15 boats, 24 anglers...It was a beautiful morning, 50° and breezy but for Jan it wasn't terrible..the winners said lures that worked were A- rigs, crankbaits, traps, jigs, and " Forks! " lol ....the ABA Div 29 also went out, 23 boats 18+ lbs won it, see there website for complete results. With the weather moving in we will be closed this Sun. Stay safe and warm! Thanks for coming out to The Bait Tackle and Grill at Goose Pond!"

Fishing Report for Wheeler/Ingalls Harbor 1/6/2016

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(Please excuse the stupid face)

A quick look at the Fish of 2015 Page shows that my first catch of 2015 came on 1/17/15. I thought it would be tough to beat that early of a date, but the weather this past year has been.....unique. On a related subject that I promise is non-sequitur, 2015 proved, among many other things, that the best trips are always the last second trips. That is, not the days I take a day off of work. 

So, when I got a phone call around lunch time from my fishing partner, friend, and co-worker John asking if I had time to fish for a few hours in the late afternoon, I said yes. After all, the best trips seem to be those I didn't plan and the weather was decent (for the first week of the January). 

John had some info that the fish were really turned on with the high water and current coming out of Wheeler. In particular, the smallies were really biting. Well, that was GREAT news. I have good cold weather gear. I like to catch smallies. And, wouldn't it be the proper and fitting beginning to a 2016 to follow up where 2015 left off. In case you didn't know, 2015 was definitely "The Year of the Smallies" for me. 

No, I didn't catch a ton of them, but I caught SOME and really got hooked on catching them. And, the first fish of the year in 2015 was a nice smallie I caught on Guntersville. No, really! Furthermore, I caught at least one smallie on every Tennessee River lake in Alabama last year, which puts me in a very rare group. If you caught one on Guntersville, Wheeler, Wilson, and Pickwick last year, speak up. 

Maybe I am wrong, but catching smallies is a game that really separates fishermen. And, it doesn't hurt that it seems that the worse the conditions, the better they bite. Translation: Joe Blow ordinary fisherman won't bother getting out, relieving much of the fishing pressure. In order to catch them, I've had to do much more work on matching lake and weather conditions. I have had to do a lot of scanning. But mostly I just had to throw the A-rig.

Anyway, we fished out of Decatur and ran to where the powerlines cross the lake. The powerline towers are located on the main river channel and are stacked with rip-rap. The heavy current creates some great eddies. The water was very stained, offering only about 8 inches of visibility. Water temp was 45 on the main river and 47 in slow moving eddies and backwater. 

I brought four rods with me, but I really only planned on using two. I planned on using a A-rig with PowerTeam Lures grubs and a Luhr-Jensen speed trap. Initially I threw a sexy-chartreuse, but eventually changed over to a crawfish red with tiger stripes at John's suggestion.

We began fishing the eddie line and the swift water, but after two casts, I made a longer cast right at the rip-rap and inside the eddie, which was actually flowing in a backwards pattern than the river itself. The bottom was littered with rocks and I used the same retrieve I had been using on my last trip to Pickwick. That is, dead slow. I would crawl it over rocks. 

Fishing Report for Pickwick 12/23/2015

On my third cast in to the back eddie, the A-rig was absolutely DESTROYED by a fish. I said a little prayer that it was a brown fish and not a white bass or a stripe. Eventually I horsed in a nice smallie. 

That's a heck of a start. Seconds later, John was hooked up with a nice fish. But, it was about a 3-pound stripe. I boated another stripe, as did he. 

We made a drift, catching several more before motoring back up to the spot. We never got another bass to hit, though we caught more white bass and stripe. Then, the spot went dead. We followed the powerline to the next tower. 

Another trash fish or two, but no bass to speak of. So, I dropped the A-rig and went to the Speed Trap. After a few slaps, I slowed down the crankbait. As soon as it hit cover, I would hit the brakes. The positive buoyancy would lift the bait up. If nothing hit is, I would crawl it along. 

Withing 5 minutes, I had caught two largemouth. One of them a squeaker and the other a decent 2-pounder. 

Again, we caught all the stripe and white bass we wanted, but no more brown or green fish.

We fished a couple of other spots. John caught a tiny bass on a crankbait. 

Since we started out with just a few hours of sunlight and the sun was beginning to dip below Decatur, we decided to go back to where we started. 

The big stripe and white bass were back. And, they were ANGRY. John had one pull the D-ring off his A-rig at one point. 

While we both caught some massive white fish, we were both haunted by two different hits. 

Both of us made casts to where I had caught the smallie and both of us had freighttrain hits. In both instances, the fish got in the current and pulled off, even though the fish was halfway to the boat. Neither of those hits acted like whites or stripes. Coulda woulda shoulda. 

We ended up with 4 largemouth and 1 smallmouth on top of all the magnum whites and stripes we wanted. We took some pictures with the fish and let them go. I was repaid for my kindness with a nasty fin attack, #whenfishfightback . 

Fishing Report for Tuscaloosa Lake 12/26/15

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Check out my Discount Baits Page!  to save cash on lures

I think it's a fair statement to say that I love fishing different lakes. I don't have huge aspirations of becoming a serious tournament fisherman, but I think everyone knows that I am a competitive fellow. While I have given up trying to be a great fisherman at Guntersville, which is where all the action is, I do think that being able to fish other lakes is extremely beneficial. It makes me learn different techniques and patterns.

One such lake is extremely different than any that I fish here in north Alabama. And, it just so happens that I have one of the lake's best fisher-families on that lake. 

My wife's uncle Tony has been fishing this lake all his life and he really knows how to catch them. And, I kept seeing his pictures on facebook of some magnum spots and even a five or six pound largemouth. Between he and his son, they had won nearly every club tournament on the lake this winter. And, unlike my clubs, they have no less than 20 boats per tournament.

Since we were going to be in town for Christmas, I asked if he was fishing on the 26th. He said he was and I politely invited myself to fish.

Of course, we all know what happened Christmas night: Over ten inches of rain. We knew that the rain might produce some problems with the patterns we would be running. But, we would catch them or we wouldn't. 

Uncle Tony had instructed me on what to bring. While I typically listen, I also typically bring a lot more. I decided that I would only bring what he told me and nothing more. After all, I need more time throwing jigs in 30+ feet, which I typically wouldn't do. Correction: I would never do. 

There were over 30 boats in this club tournament and we were to blast off at 7AM. 

#WarEagle #bassfishing #bassnation #rippinglips #Tuscaloosa #bass #fishing

A photo posted by Zach Taylor (@best5zach) on Dec 26, 2015 at 4:49am PST

So, when the sun came up, we made a short run to a main river point. I was throwing a PowerTeam Lures bull nose jig, watermelon with a watermelon Craw D trailer. I was having to relearn how to fish such deep water with a jig. For me, that meant letting it fall on slack line to prevent it from penduluming back to the boat without ever getting in the strike zone. Many times that meant stripping off additional slack line from the reel.

Doing that meant that I lost touch with the bait for around the first 10 seconds of the cast. That's important when a largemouth snaps it up on the fall. But, I was ready for it and boated a solid 2.5 pounder.

Hey, not a bad start! Solid fish in the boat in the first 30 minutes!

But, the spot went dead. We moved to another main river point. Nothing.

We probably moved two or three times before our next bite. That bite came on a smaller 1/4 ounce jig I had tied on, but I had the drag set way too loose and I stripped drag when I tried to set the hook. The fish took off with the trailer.

After resetting, I was able to boat another fish. This one was a small spot.

#magnum #spottedbass #Tuscaloosa #bass #fishing #bassfishing #bassnation #rippinglips

A photo posted by Zach Taylor (@best5zach) on Dec 26, 2015 at 7:43am PST

We could tell the rain and subsequent flooding had changed the fish. Uncle Tony said that the quickly rising water (the lake came up two feet over the course of the day) would make the spots scatter. While we planned on getting a quick limit before looking for a largemouth, we ended up spending more time that we wanted on the spots.

Uncle Tony picked up two spots to even up the score, though the four fish were terrible inadequate and we needed some significant upgrades.

We pulled up to a secondary point inside a large creek, one of the few large creeks that didn't look like chocolate milk. By this time, we had around two hours to fish and we hadn't had a bite in a few hours. I had resorted to throwing a magnum shaky head with a PTL 7" Tickler. I cast one one side of the point and uncle Tony cast on the other. No sooner had each bait bounced on the bottom than we both set the hook. We both hoisted aboard two solid spots, which both finished the limit and culled the smallest spot.

We moved further on, looking to fish some trash in the bottom of the creek channels. As I was throwing the jig and working it through brush, I jiggled it off of an underwater tree top and a bass pounded the jig. I was still taking up slack from jigging it through the trash and I tried to set the hook on slack line. Nothing was there.

I inspected the trailer and noticed the teeth marks on the Craw D all the way at the weed guard. They weren't just any teeth marks. The trailer was serrated. That was the mark of a three or four pound spot.

Turns out, that was just the fish we needed. We finished just outside the top five with 7.25 pounds including a 2.5 pound largemouth. It took just over 9.5 pounds to win. The separation between first and third was less than half a pound. All of those boats had a 3+ pound spot.

Word was that all of the winning bites had come from upriver in muddy water, which was a great surprise to us.

Still, it was a great time. I am just bad luck as a partner. Don't take me if you are on some fish, because I will kill any bite you may have!