Jackall Lures Never Stops
That’s right just when you think one of the premier bait companies in both Japan and the US has reached the top, they raise the bar again. Jackall has released the 2011 product line and added even more baits to the great line they already have. In this article I will discuss some of the new baits and how I have fished them and found success on several lakes throughout the US.
Let’s start with the one bait I have been begging the guys at Jackall to bring over, the Bling55. This is one of the best flat sided crankbaits I have ever seen. I got a few from a Japan website about a year ago but they are hard to find for sale to the US market until now. There is no difference between the Japan version and the US version except some colors. The bait is made of the same plastic they make the other crankbaits from but this has a little different weighing system for casting. The system takes a small magnetic weigh that slides in a chamber when the bait is thrown. After the bait hits the water the magnet then re-attaches to the other weigh in the belly near the nose of the bait making it one of the truest running baits on the market. They also went out of the normal bill system they use and made the bill of the Bling55 from Fiberglass. This makes the bait cut through the water better and gives it a quicker/tighter action. When I got to fish the bait I found the Magnetic System they use is exactly what other companies have missed out on. I could throw this bait a mile even in 20+ mph winds. For the size of the bait this was one of the most incredible things I noticed. I fished the bait on a Jackall Poison “Master Stroke” rod with a Daiwa Steez reel and Lake Fork Fluorocarbon lines ranging from 10-20 pound test. I found the bait does dive a little deeper on the lighter line as one would think but the heavy line doesn’t hamper the action of the bait like most I have seen in the past. The paint on the bait is some of the best I’ve seen on a flat sided crankbait without having a custom job. After boating more than 40 fish in a single day the bait was scratched up but not “trashed” like many others I have fished before. I know this bait is going to be a “go-to” lure for many years on my boat.
One of the new baits I have fished is a version of the soft bait called the I-Shad that they brought out a few months ago. The new hard plastic version, called the seira minnow 80S, is fished just like its soft counterpart. One thing that makes this one a little different is the open mouth area of the bait. This lets water come into the mouth of the bait and pass through the gill section just like a real fish. I noticed if you twitch the bait or move it faster this sometimes makes a small bubble action as the bait swims. It also helps make the bait more stable and swim more realistic. One thing everyone needs to remember is this bait is fished with the I-Motion tactic and it’s not going to have much feel or action but the bait does work well. We fished this bait mostly on Clarks Hill Lake where there are huge schools of blue herring. We fished a Japan version that almost matched the color exactly and I think in the US its called Sparkle SS Shad. We boated numbers of fish on the bait swimming it below schools of the Herring and it worked very well.
The last bait I wanted to talk about is the Ammonite Shad. Now I have not used the US version of this bait yet but was told by the guys at Jackall it is exactly the same as the Japan version. All I can say about this soft swimbait is it ROCKS! The bait can be fished several ways with several tactics making it one of the most versatile swimbaits I have ever used. I found testing the bait in the pool that it has a tone of action and the body moves a lot making it perfect as a trailer on a swim jig and to fish in stained water. The tail also rotates 360 degrees when it is swimming moving a lot of water and causing a better vibration. The plastic is softer than most swimbaits making it more realistic but still tough enough to catch a good number of fish before you need to break out the glue. When I fished the bait I used a Jackall Poison “ Rushburn” rod rigged with a high speed Daiwa Steez reel and Lake Fork 20 pound Flourohybrid line. I fished it both solo (just rigging it to a 4/0 Owner swimbait hook) and with a ¼ oz swim jig. Both worked well and caught huge numbers of fish in both clear and stained water. I also fished it over heavy grass with the Jackall Poison “Delta Spec “ rod and 32 pound Lake Fork Flourohybrid line with a 1/2oz swim jig and neither the line size nor the rod action had an effect of the baits action. If you are looking for some big bites this is a bait you want to make sure you have in the boat.
In the next blog I will be talking about the last two new baits they have opened up to the US market, the Sole Shad 68 SP and the Swimming Ninja G90. Both of these baits are awesome as well and I’m sure every angler with a passion for catching more and bigger fish will standing in line to be the first to get them in tackle stores across the US.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Kota's American Dream Tournament-Lake Wheeler
I had the chance last weekend to fish the Kota's American Dream Tournament and what a blast it was. Kota and his crew did a great job on the event and worked very hard to make sure everyone had a ball. I really didnt get alot of practice before the event due to working some other shows out of town. I spent about 4 hours one day up river with little to show for it. I fished on the lower end about 3 hours with not alot for my efforts that day either. So I made the choice to just go fun fishing and have a good time.
On the first day of the event me and partner Paul Ponder ran all the way down and fished bluff walls with topwater baits and the NEW Jackall Bling 55 crankbait. I boated 3 fish fast on the bling and Paul had another solid keeper on a spinnerbait. We moved to another area looking for that last keeper and some bigger fish but time just ran out for us. We had a huge number of "junk fish" and shorts but headed to the weigh in without a limit. Once at the scales we saw every boat in the field had fish and had about the same day we did.
On the start of day 2 Paul and I wanted to move up so we made the choice to swing for the fence and look for bigger bites all day. Well we made the run back down river and stayed in an area we lost some bigger bites at on day 1. We pounded the area with just about every bait we had in the boat and had nothing to show for the efforts. We then moved further up river boating a few fish on a Zipper Worm hand pour rigged on a dropshot and a jig head. We jumped around alot catching a few more fish on a Lake Fork Lures Spoon off drops in about 10 feet of water. Time just didnt give us any help and we had to run to the scales about the time we found a small pattern to build on.
Once at the weigh-in we again saw alot of boats with fish and several locals had smoked em'. The winning pattern was fishing bluff walls down river from the launch with a crankbait and an SK Popper topwater bait. Most all the fish we found were following shad and it was more a right place/right time type of bite. Most every angler told us they fished crankbaits in 6-10 feet of water in coves and the mouths of creek channels.
Special thanks to Kota and his wife for putting together such a great event, the City of Decatur for hosting the tournament, David Haygood of American Bass Anglers and his team for the great job at weigh-in, Regal Marine for the great boats to look at, and all the other sponsors that hellped make this a huge success. I am looking forward to fishing this event for many years to come.
.
On the first day of the event me and partner Paul Ponder ran all the way down and fished bluff walls with topwater baits and the NEW Jackall Bling 55 crankbait. I boated 3 fish fast on the bling and Paul had another solid keeper on a spinnerbait. We moved to another area looking for that last keeper and some bigger fish but time just ran out for us. We had a huge number of "junk fish" and shorts but headed to the weigh in without a limit. Once at the scales we saw every boat in the field had fish and had about the same day we did.
On the start of day 2 Paul and I wanted to move up so we made the choice to swing for the fence and look for bigger bites all day. Well we made the run back down river and stayed in an area we lost some bigger bites at on day 1. We pounded the area with just about every bait we had in the boat and had nothing to show for the efforts. We then moved further up river boating a few fish on a Zipper Worm hand pour rigged on a dropshot and a jig head. We jumped around alot catching a few more fish on a Lake Fork Lures Spoon off drops in about 10 feet of water. Time just didnt give us any help and we had to run to the scales about the time we found a small pattern to build on.
Once at the weigh-in we again saw alot of boats with fish and several locals had smoked em'. The winning pattern was fishing bluff walls down river from the launch with a crankbait and an SK Popper topwater bait. Most all the fish we found were following shad and it was more a right place/right time type of bite. Most every angler told us they fished crankbaits in 6-10 feet of water in coves and the mouths of creek channels.
Special thanks to Kota and his wife for putting together such a great event, the City of Decatur for hosting the tournament, David Haygood of American Bass Anglers and his team for the great job at weigh-in, Regal Marine for the great boats to look at, and all the other sponsors that hellped make this a huge success. I am looking forward to fishing this event for many years to come.
.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Bassmaster Lay Lake Regional
Well making it to Regionals was a long road fishing all new waters all season in one division and 4 new lakes in the other division. I ended up making it to Regional in both divisions being 16th in points in the Tenn Central and 31st is the Tenn East. I was excited to hit some "home waters" at Lay Lake just south of Birmingham, Alabama. Although I have not been on that water in about 2 years I atleast knew where I was going and places that had produced in the past this time of year.
Well, it was nothing like I remembered but I had 2 weeks to fish and find areas that would produce. Practice was not great but I did find a few things that I thought would help get me in the top 50 cut and make the National Championship. I fished everything from the Logan Martin Dam all the way down to the Lay Dam finding 3 patterns that would get keeper fish in the boat. One was a solid spinnerbait pattern on sea walls. The key was to hit a wall that had deep water near it and run the walls as fast as I could. If I didnt get a bite go to the next one. The 2nd pattern was flipping grass. I fished this on the lower end of the lake flipping grass lines with a Lake Fork tube in Green Pumpkin with the tail dipped in JJ's Magic red dye. This pattern was great for a bigger bite but not consistant with weather conditions. The 3rd was my favorite, fishing a topwater River2Sea frog on scum mats. I had 2 places I could boat a solid 4-5 pound fish but weather also made this pattern inconsistant.
On day one of the event the weather/high winds was going to kill the two bigger bites I had found. I made the choice to hit the walls and throw a spinnerbait all day. On my first stop I put 3 fish in the boat in about 20 cast covering a 1/2 mile of water. I made several passes then moved. I then got my limit on the 2nd stop but knew the small fish I had would not get the job done at all. My co-angler boated his limit on the 3rd stop and had a 4 lb kicker. I ended up culling only a couple of fish but not much of an upgrade at all. I ended day one with 5.19 and in 100th place which was 2.5 pounds out of the top 50. Needless to say I was not happy. After a good "pep" talk with my wife that night I got my mind in the right again and was ready for day 2.
On day two I hit the water with one thing in mind, catching 12+ pounds and making the cut. I got a call from my good friend Mike before I put the boat in the water and he got me all worked up to go catch em. I owe him a ton for getting everything pointed in the right direction. After a long fog delay and tournament director Randy Sullivan letting us go around 8 am I knew I had a shot. Alot of anglers were on a good topwater bite but the late start was in my favor. I ran to my first stop and my co-anlger had one small fish in the boat. The 2nd stop produced a 3 pound spot on the first cast for me on a Spinnerbait. I then put 3 more keepers in the boat. The bite slowed so I left it going to an area I knew had solid fish in it and if they would bite could move me up alot. Once I sat down I tied on a Jackall TN60 Lipless crankbait in a shad pattern and started chunking. It was like a dream, I boated my 5th fish that went 2.5 pounds and was on a high. I then culled every fish I had except the 3 pound fish I started with. as the bite woould slow down I switched between the TN60 and the NEW Jackall I-Shad in the 3.8 size. I swam it in timber around 10 feet of water on the first break. The key was hitting the timber and catching the fish as they suspended near it. I did dip the tail of the I-Shad in JJ's Magic Red Garlic Dye and feel this made the bite alot stronger. My co-angler fished a bait the same way and had alot fewer strikes than I did.
With only an hour to go I had to make the choice to stay in that area or make a short run to the frog fish I had found in practice to try and get a bigger bite and go for the win. Well, while I was thinking I could almost here my Dad talking to me, saying "never leave fish bitting to find other fish". That is just what I did. I sat in the same area and both me and my co-anlger ended up culling 3 more times with doubles on the last 3 cast before we had to make the run back to the ramp.
Once back we saw alot of anglers that had done well on day one were not happy and struggled most of the day. I was getting more excited that I might have pulled one out and made the cut. Once at the scales I was hoping Randy was going to tell me I was inside the cut. I was floored when he told me I was the new leader with 14.04 lbs and a total of 19.23. This was forsure the comback of the year for me. Well I was bumped off the hot seat, but kinda had a feeling that wouldnt last long anyway. I ended up in 12th place and well inside the top 50 cut to make the National Chmpionship on Lake Guntersville.
I want to send out a special thanks to all of our sponsors that have been such a great foundation of support throughout the season. Federated Auto Parts, Jackall Lures, Lake Fork Trophy Tackle, Bluewater LED, Daiwa, Gator Grip, One Creative Services, JJ's Magic Dipping Dye, Owner Hooks, Topwater Clothing, Gemini Sports Marketing, Wired2Fish, Frazier Marine Group, WAAY 31 Broadcasting, Bass Pro Shops, and American Bass Anglers. Without thier awesome support this year could not have been what it is. I also want to say a HUGE thank you to God, my family, and all our fans. Without your support I would never have taken the chance and started "living the dream".
Well, it was nothing like I remembered but I had 2 weeks to fish and find areas that would produce. Practice was not great but I did find a few things that I thought would help get me in the top 50 cut and make the National Championship. I fished everything from the Logan Martin Dam all the way down to the Lay Dam finding 3 patterns that would get keeper fish in the boat. One was a solid spinnerbait pattern on sea walls. The key was to hit a wall that had deep water near it and run the walls as fast as I could. If I didnt get a bite go to the next one. The 2nd pattern was flipping grass. I fished this on the lower end of the lake flipping grass lines with a Lake Fork tube in Green Pumpkin with the tail dipped in JJ's Magic red dye. This pattern was great for a bigger bite but not consistant with weather conditions. The 3rd was my favorite, fishing a topwater River2Sea frog on scum mats. I had 2 places I could boat a solid 4-5 pound fish but weather also made this pattern inconsistant.
On day one of the event the weather/high winds was going to kill the two bigger bites I had found. I made the choice to hit the walls and throw a spinnerbait all day. On my first stop I put 3 fish in the boat in about 20 cast covering a 1/2 mile of water. I made several passes then moved. I then got my limit on the 2nd stop but knew the small fish I had would not get the job done at all. My co-angler boated his limit on the 3rd stop and had a 4 lb kicker. I ended up culling only a couple of fish but not much of an upgrade at all. I ended day one with 5.19 and in 100th place which was 2.5 pounds out of the top 50. Needless to say I was not happy. After a good "pep" talk with my wife that night I got my mind in the right again and was ready for day 2.
On day two I hit the water with one thing in mind, catching 12+ pounds and making the cut. I got a call from my good friend Mike before I put the boat in the water and he got me all worked up to go catch em. I owe him a ton for getting everything pointed in the right direction. After a long fog delay and tournament director Randy Sullivan letting us go around 8 am I knew I had a shot. Alot of anglers were on a good topwater bite but the late start was in my favor. I ran to my first stop and my co-anlger had one small fish in the boat. The 2nd stop produced a 3 pound spot on the first cast for me on a Spinnerbait. I then put 3 more keepers in the boat. The bite slowed so I left it going to an area I knew had solid fish in it and if they would bite could move me up alot. Once I sat down I tied on a Jackall TN60 Lipless crankbait in a shad pattern and started chunking. It was like a dream, I boated my 5th fish that went 2.5 pounds and was on a high. I then culled every fish I had except the 3 pound fish I started with. as the bite woould slow down I switched between the TN60 and the NEW Jackall I-Shad in the 3.8 size. I swam it in timber around 10 feet of water on the first break. The key was hitting the timber and catching the fish as they suspended near it. I did dip the tail of the I-Shad in JJ's Magic Red Garlic Dye and feel this made the bite alot stronger. My co-angler fished a bait the same way and had alot fewer strikes than I did.
With only an hour to go I had to make the choice to stay in that area or make a short run to the frog fish I had found in practice to try and get a bigger bite and go for the win. Well, while I was thinking I could almost here my Dad talking to me, saying "never leave fish bitting to find other fish". That is just what I did. I sat in the same area and both me and my co-anlger ended up culling 3 more times with doubles on the last 3 cast before we had to make the run back to the ramp.
Once back we saw alot of anglers that had done well on day one were not happy and struggled most of the day. I was getting more excited that I might have pulled one out and made the cut. Once at the scales I was hoping Randy was going to tell me I was inside the cut. I was floored when he told me I was the new leader with 14.04 lbs and a total of 19.23. This was forsure the comback of the year for me. Well I was bumped off the hot seat, but kinda had a feeling that wouldnt last long anyway. I ended up in 12th place and well inside the top 50 cut to make the National Chmpionship on Lake Guntersville.
I want to send out a special thanks to all of our sponsors that have been such a great foundation of support throughout the season. Federated Auto Parts, Jackall Lures, Lake Fork Trophy Tackle, Bluewater LED, Daiwa, Gator Grip, One Creative Services, JJ's Magic Dipping Dye, Owner Hooks, Topwater Clothing, Gemini Sports Marketing, Wired2Fish, Frazier Marine Group, WAAY 31 Broadcasting, Bass Pro Shops, and American Bass Anglers. Without thier awesome support this year could not have been what it is. I also want to say a HUGE thank you to God, my family, and all our fans. Without your support I would never have taken the chance and started "living the dream".
Thursday, September 2, 2010
BWS-Old Hickory Lake Event
Well what I can say about Old Hickory Lake...... Well let's start with it kicks my butt every time I go there so I knew the last BWS event was not going to be easy. After a long trip on the road and coming from one of the hardest events I have fished in years on the Detroit River (Lake Erie and St.Clair) I was looking forward to getting back south. Little did I know what I was asking for. I had one day to pre-fish, well more like 6 hours, but knew I could atleast put a small limit together. After getting to the lake I found out this event was going to be alot harder than I thought.
I hit the water at daybreak after a short nap in the truck at the ramp(thanks to the security at Blackjack cove) working some areas I had fished in the past event. I thought if those fish were still there, great but if not I atleast had a starting point on where to adjust on the water. When I pulled up on the first stop I noticed the shad were so thick it looked like you could walk across them. Now don't get me wrong, I love to find bait fish but there is such a thing as too many. I have found in alot of tournaments that if you have too many it kills the bite. Reason being it is hard to compete with Mother Nature.
After finding the deeper bite was not going to work for me I moved to shallow water and started fishing my strong points. I hit grass lines and areas just inside the mouths of creeks right off the main channel finding some keeper fish but nothing huge at all. After making some calls to good friend and local Radio host of Southern Bass Radio, Scott Morris I found I was on the right track. After making a few small adjustments I still found nothing huge but had a little more confidence in my areas.
On day one I drew a good guy that was from the area. We hit a couple of topwater spots fast I had boated a few keepers on first thing then moved to one of my better places when the sun got up. We stayed in that area catching tons of fish but all were smaller except one my co-angler boated on a spook type bait. We saw numbers of bigger fish eating shad but never got them to commit to the baits. Day one ended with my first zero in a tournament day in a long time. Needless to say I was not thinking very right at dinner. I needed to atleast boat one solid keeper to make the top 20 and make it to Regionals at Lay Lake in Birmingham.
On day two I drew out with a guy that didn’t fair much better than I did on day one so I went for the fence. I told him we were going to fish two areas all day on the south end of the lake and that's exactly what we did. On stop one(a small rock pile in Drakes Creek) I started busting all the 13.5 inch fish I wanted on just about everything I tossed at them. My co-angler got schooled in dropshots and Jackall Flick Shake tactics. I boated atleast 30 fish with not one keeper and he had no bites at all. I then moved to the second stop. Within one pass my co-angler boated a solid 2.5 lb keeper on a small crankbait(not sure of the brand). After seeing that I felt a little better and got a second wind. I tossed several baits at them with nothing but shorts to show for it. With time running out I just stopped and cleared my head. I changed the playlist on my IPod and tied on one of my big fish baits, a Jackall Ammonite Shad. I rigged it on a heavy Lake Fork Swimbait hook and went to stroking in under shad on the break line. It only took about 8 cast to put a 2 lb keeper in the boat. This was the last bite I got that would keep before time ran out to make the run back.
Once back at the dock I could already see several boats loading so I knew I atleast past a few others with that one keeper fish. After taking our catch to the scales saw I was in 16 for the year and made the top 20 as I wanted to at the start of the season(I did miss the first event so I made it in 4). To give everyone an idea of just how strange the lake was the angler that won only had one fish on day one and a massive 17+ lbs on day two to win the event. All his fish were caught on deep structure. Congrats to him and a great comeback.
Also I would like to say congratulations to Chad Hall for a great two day event and top 5 finish(he is strong on that lake with this being his 2nd check on it this year) and my roommate Robert Taylor for getting his first check ever on the Co-Angler side. He worked hard all year and waited to the last event to get one.LOL We are done with the regular season now in that Division and it's time to turn up the heat as we go to Lay Lake just south of Birmingham for the regional event. I look for Chad to be a heavy favorite there but I will give him a run for his money.LOL The big picture is making the top 50 there. Once you make the cut you are invited to the BWS Nationals held on Lake Guntersville. The gloves come off at that event and the winner heads to the biggest stage in Bass fishing, The Bassmaster Classic.
Thanks to all of our sponsors, supporters, and most of all our fans for the great support and well wishes. Looking forward to seeing everyone at regionals in Oct.
I hit the water at daybreak after a short nap in the truck at the ramp(thanks to the security at Blackjack cove) working some areas I had fished in the past event. I thought if those fish were still there, great but if not I atleast had a starting point on where to adjust on the water. When I pulled up on the first stop I noticed the shad were so thick it looked like you could walk across them. Now don't get me wrong, I love to find bait fish but there is such a thing as too many. I have found in alot of tournaments that if you have too many it kills the bite. Reason being it is hard to compete with Mother Nature.
After finding the deeper bite was not going to work for me I moved to shallow water and started fishing my strong points. I hit grass lines and areas just inside the mouths of creeks right off the main channel finding some keeper fish but nothing huge at all. After making some calls to good friend and local Radio host of Southern Bass Radio, Scott Morris I found I was on the right track. After making a few small adjustments I still found nothing huge but had a little more confidence in my areas.
On day one I drew a good guy that was from the area. We hit a couple of topwater spots fast I had boated a few keepers on first thing then moved to one of my better places when the sun got up. We stayed in that area catching tons of fish but all were smaller except one my co-angler boated on a spook type bait. We saw numbers of bigger fish eating shad but never got them to commit to the baits. Day one ended with my first zero in a tournament day in a long time. Needless to say I was not thinking very right at dinner. I needed to atleast boat one solid keeper to make the top 20 and make it to Regionals at Lay Lake in Birmingham.
On day two I drew out with a guy that didn’t fair much better than I did on day one so I went for the fence. I told him we were going to fish two areas all day on the south end of the lake and that's exactly what we did. On stop one(a small rock pile in Drakes Creek) I started busting all the 13.5 inch fish I wanted on just about everything I tossed at them. My co-angler got schooled in dropshots and Jackall Flick Shake tactics. I boated atleast 30 fish with not one keeper and he had no bites at all. I then moved to the second stop. Within one pass my co-angler boated a solid 2.5 lb keeper on a small crankbait(not sure of the brand). After seeing that I felt a little better and got a second wind. I tossed several baits at them with nothing but shorts to show for it. With time running out I just stopped and cleared my head. I changed the playlist on my IPod and tied on one of my big fish baits, a Jackall Ammonite Shad. I rigged it on a heavy Lake Fork Swimbait hook and went to stroking in under shad on the break line. It only took about 8 cast to put a 2 lb keeper in the boat. This was the last bite I got that would keep before time ran out to make the run back.
Once back at the dock I could already see several boats loading so I knew I atleast past a few others with that one keeper fish. After taking our catch to the scales saw I was in 16 for the year and made the top 20 as I wanted to at the start of the season(I did miss the first event so I made it in 4). To give everyone an idea of just how strange the lake was the angler that won only had one fish on day one and a massive 17+ lbs on day two to win the event. All his fish were caught on deep structure. Congrats to him and a great comeback.
Also I would like to say congratulations to Chad Hall for a great two day event and top 5 finish(he is strong on that lake with this being his 2nd check on it this year) and my roommate Robert Taylor for getting his first check ever on the Co-Angler side. He worked hard all year and waited to the last event to get one.LOL We are done with the regular season now in that Division and it's time to turn up the heat as we go to Lay Lake just south of Birmingham for the regional event. I look for Chad to be a heavy favorite there but I will give him a run for his money.LOL The big picture is making the top 50 there. Once you make the cut you are invited to the BWS Nationals held on Lake Guntersville. The gloves come off at that event and the winner heads to the biggest stage in Bass fishing, The Bassmaster Classic.
Thanks to all of our sponsors, supporters, and most of all our fans for the great support and well wishes. Looking forward to seeing everyone at regionals in Oct.
Guntersville Report 8-31
Water Temperature: 86
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Well after 2 months on the road fishing tournaments from Tenn to New York I made it back to Guntersville. Rodney has had several trips that were very productive and the frog bite has been getting stronger everyday. I hit the water Monday with a halfday trip with a father and son learning some of the lake. We started kinda slow with several bites but nothing boated on shallow grass lines. We then moved to deeper water and teaching them how to use some tactics I learned fishing the Detroit River. They both had some fish but nothing huge. After that bite died we found some schooling fish. We stayed on them the rest of the trip with several solid fish on a Jackall Mikey swimbait and the Bowstick.
After the trip was done I went back out to look around and the flippping bite was ok but not what I expected. I also tossed a rat over matted grass with several blow ups but nothing bigger than 4 lbs..
The schooling fish are alot of fun but the better size seems to come from flipping mats and throwing frogs. Im looking forward to being home all of Sept and staying on Guntersville for awhile. Thanks to everyoe for the calls and support and looking forward to seeing everyone back on "the Big G". Hope everyone has a great and safe Holiday weekend.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Well after 2 months on the road fishing tournaments from Tenn to New York I made it back to Guntersville. Rodney has had several trips that were very productive and the frog bite has been getting stronger everyday. I hit the water Monday with a halfday trip with a father and son learning some of the lake. We started kinda slow with several bites but nothing boated on shallow grass lines. We then moved to deeper water and teaching them how to use some tactics I learned fishing the Detroit River. They both had some fish but nothing huge. After that bite died we found some schooling fish. We stayed on them the rest of the trip with several solid fish on a Jackall Mikey swimbait and the Bowstick.
After the trip was done I went back out to look around and the flippping bite was ok but not what I expected. I also tossed a rat over matted grass with several blow ups but nothing bigger than 4 lbs..
The schooling fish are alot of fun but the better size seems to come from flipping mats and throwing frogs. Im looking forward to being home all of Sept and staying on Guntersville for awhile. Thanks to everyoe for the calls and support and looking forward to seeing everyone back on "the Big G". Hope everyone has a great and safe Holiday weekend.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Guntersville Report 9-2-10
Date Fished: 9/2/2010
Water Temperature: 88
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Got out this afternoon solo looking for some fish and just fun fishing. Had a solid afternoon with the Jackall Mask Frog over "soupy" type grass lines and the River2Sea frog(both white) on the mats. Most of the better fish are moving around and where I found them on Monday have moved further back in the grass pockets off the river. I did ok on some bigger schools of fish with the Jackall Mikey and new I-Shad(shad colors). The weather is getting better for the rat bite in the coming weeks and the fall pattern is starting to get stronger. Hope everyone is ready for an awesome weekend on the water. Best of luck to the anglers fishing events. See you on the water
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Water Temperature: 88
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Got out this afternoon solo looking for some fish and just fun fishing. Had a solid afternoon with the Jackall Mask Frog over "soupy" type grass lines and the River2Sea frog(both white) on the mats. Most of the better fish are moving around and where I found them on Monday have moved further back in the grass pockets off the river. I did ok on some bigger schools of fish with the Jackall Mikey and new I-Shad(shad colors). The weather is getting better for the rat bite in the coming weeks and the fall pattern is starting to get stronger. Hope everyone is ready for an awesome weekend on the water. Best of luck to the anglers fishing events. See you on the water
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Lake Champlain- Northern Open
.
I headed back north to Plattsburg, Ny for one of the best Northern Open events all year. Last year I found some awesome fishing in the New York arm of the lake but missed a check because of getting caught up with catching smallmouth. This year I knew I would have to make super long runs and brave the harsh waves if I wanted to win. Well thats exactly what I did.
After the 24 hour drive I wanted to get on the lake and find a back up plan first. I met a great guy that makes crankbaits on the Vermont side of Champlain. He wanted to see how we southern boys fish for smallmouth so we put him on the boat and went fishing. After getting used to catching several Northern Pike that are everywhere on the lake we found some big smallmouth. I wanted to use the smallmouth patternas a back up if the weather got nasty and made the long run to Ti impossiable. I put a pattern together within 2 days I thought was good for a solid 12-15 lb bite but knew it would not be what won the event.
The smallmouth I found were solid keeper fish with a few good 4-5 lb fish in the mix. I was fishing the dropshot with a Jackall Super Pintail in Goby color in 15-25 feet of water. I also found fish on several openwater humps. I used the new Jackall I-Shad in the 4.8 size on a C-Rig to get these bites.
On the first official day of practice my buddy, Will Peet and I hit the highway headed to Ti. Once we got there we started at the ramp finding largemouth in just about every cove in the area. The fish in Ti are everywhere it's a matter of finding the right fish more than finding fish there. I did have to slowdown alot to get the better bites. in the morning I fished two baits, the Jackall I-Shad, rigged weightless and worked over grass and the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad. After the morning bite was done I slowed waaayyyy down and worked a Jackall 6.8 Flick Shake rigged on a weightless hook wacky style. The key was letting the bait fall all the way down into the grass and let it sit. The fish would eat the bait on a slack line so bites were very hard to see. I only lost one fish in the tournament so that shows when they took the bait they wanted it.
On day one I had a great co-angler and we made the run to Ti in an hour and a half. Once there we went ahead and got gas then started fishing(the run was 76 miles oneway). I had a limit in less than an hour and started to upgrade. My co-angler Josh got 2 solid bites and was on his way to number 3 when we just ran out of time(we only had 4 hours to fish). We made the run back making a stop in 2 places trying to get his 3rd fish near the ramp. I ended the day in the middle of the pack but knew I needed more sun for the bite I was on to be productive like it was in practice.
On day 2 I drew a good angler that was in 6th place on the co side. The weather was going to be better but as with most events the reports were wrong! It sprinkled rain all day and winds were just plain nasty. I had my limit and my co-angler had his with some better fish but I just ran out of time. Something told me to head back earlier than on day one and I was glad I did. Once hitting the main area called "the narrows" I hit 6-9 footers coming from the south. I had to ride the waves in a zig-zag pattern. The ride back took almost 4 hours with us taking 3 waves into the boat and having to stop to let the water drain out of the boat before we could go on.
Once we got back my co-angler was in the lead and I ended up 95th. Still not bad for my 2nd time there but not where I should have been. It was a great event and congrats to Dave Wolak for a great win. Special thanks to all of our Sponsors for thier support
I headed back north to Plattsburg, Ny for one of the best Northern Open events all year. Last year I found some awesome fishing in the New York arm of the lake but missed a check because of getting caught up with catching smallmouth. This year I knew I would have to make super long runs and brave the harsh waves if I wanted to win. Well thats exactly what I did.
After the 24 hour drive I wanted to get on the lake and find a back up plan first. I met a great guy that makes crankbaits on the Vermont side of Champlain. He wanted to see how we southern boys fish for smallmouth so we put him on the boat and went fishing. After getting used to catching several Northern Pike that are everywhere on the lake we found some big smallmouth. I wanted to use the smallmouth patternas a back up if the weather got nasty and made the long run to Ti impossiable. I put a pattern together within 2 days I thought was good for a solid 12-15 lb bite but knew it would not be what won the event.
The smallmouth I found were solid keeper fish with a few good 4-5 lb fish in the mix. I was fishing the dropshot with a Jackall Super Pintail in Goby color in 15-25 feet of water. I also found fish on several openwater humps. I used the new Jackall I-Shad in the 4.8 size on a C-Rig to get these bites.
On the first official day of practice my buddy, Will Peet and I hit the highway headed to Ti. Once we got there we started at the ramp finding largemouth in just about every cove in the area. The fish in Ti are everywhere it's a matter of finding the right fish more than finding fish there. I did have to slowdown alot to get the better bites. in the morning I fished two baits, the Jackall I-Shad, rigged weightless and worked over grass and the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad. After the morning bite was done I slowed waaayyyy down and worked a Jackall 6.8 Flick Shake rigged on a weightless hook wacky style. The key was letting the bait fall all the way down into the grass and let it sit. The fish would eat the bait on a slack line so bites were very hard to see. I only lost one fish in the tournament so that shows when they took the bait they wanted it.
On day one I had a great co-angler and we made the run to Ti in an hour and a half. Once there we went ahead and got gas then started fishing(the run was 76 miles oneway). I had a limit in less than an hour and started to upgrade. My co-angler Josh got 2 solid bites and was on his way to number 3 when we just ran out of time(we only had 4 hours to fish). We made the run back making a stop in 2 places trying to get his 3rd fish near the ramp. I ended the day in the middle of the pack but knew I needed more sun for the bite I was on to be productive like it was in practice.
On day 2 I drew a good angler that was in 6th place on the co side. The weather was going to be better but as with most events the reports were wrong! It sprinkled rain all day and winds were just plain nasty. I had my limit and my co-angler had his with some better fish but I just ran out of time. Something told me to head back earlier than on day one and I was glad I did. Once hitting the main area called "the narrows" I hit 6-9 footers coming from the south. I had to ride the waves in a zig-zag pattern. The ride back took almost 4 hours with us taking 3 waves into the boat and having to stop to let the water drain out of the boat before we could go on.
Once we got back my co-angler was in the lead and I ended up 95th. Still not bad for my 2nd time there but not where I should have been. It was a great event and congrats to Dave Wolak for a great win. Special thanks to all of our Sponsors for thier support
Detroit River- Bass Northern Open
The "Motor City" was the site of the 2nd event on the BASS Northern Open Tour. What an awesome city with some of the BEST people I have had the pleasure of meeting while on the road. I was hosted by a great family(Jeri and Jessica Toner) in the city of Royal Oak not far from Lake St.Clair, which is where I had planned on fishing when the event started. For those that dont know, Jeri is the National Sales and MArketing Director for Zipper Worm Company. I use a ton of their hand pour baits on drop shots and we are working on doing a line of colors that I came up with that are sure to be a huge hit in the future. I was there a few days before the cut off so I was able to carry a couple of great guys fishing that I had met while on the trip.
I had met a guy here on Facebook named Brian McCarter. He is the owner of Nemesis Bait Company and makes some killer Goby baits. We got out on the water so he could show me some of the baits and kinda how to navigate the lake. This lake is like nothing I had ever seen in my years of fishing on the road. Water as far as you could see and most of the time not seeing land at all. Brian was a master of working a dropshot and I can say makes one of the best hand poured Goby baits I have ever seen and trust me I have seen alot of them during this trip(be sure to check out his baits at www.nemesisbaits.com)
I was totally lost when it came to finding fish on this body of water. This was honestly the first time I have seen a lake and had no clue where to start. There were no breaks, points, humps, or other things we southern anglers look for when on new water. I knew very quick I had a lot to learn in a short period of time if I planned on even catching a fish to take to the scales much less cashing a check. I had caught some awesome smallmouth so far but had no clue why the fish were there or what they were holding on.
One thing I can say to readers is if you plan on going to Lake St. Clair make sure to have all of your USCG equiptment in the boat and learn how to drive in big waves. What we see in the south as huge storms on the lake is normal there and when your in 3-4 footers and cant see land it's not a very comforting feeling. What's bad is when you get back to the ramp and talking with locals and they remind you it was a calm day and you should see it when it gets nasty. Which I did get to see a few times while there.
After several days on the water the event started with Official practice. I had spent most of my time on St. Clair so I made the choice to go to Erie and stay in the River for the rest of practice. Lake Erie is a BEAST of a body of water and running that lake(and I use the term lake very loose, more like small ocean) can eat a boat in a matter of seconds. I made the run to an Island that alot of anglers talk about and once there(only took 3 hours to get to it) I had a limit of about 17 lbs.. Only problem was it took me 4 hours to catch it and in the event that would put me an hour late getting back to weigh in. This was a problem for about 9 anglers in the event later.
I took 2 days of practice and stayed in the Detroit river section. This was alot better on the boat, the pocket book(fuel cost), and my brain(after being beat to death for a week by waves) but the fish there were not going to get me a check. I did have a chance to master drifting in some heavy currents running anywhere from 2-4 mph all the time. This is why the anglers up north say nothing fights like a smallmouth. These fish swim all day in current and are STRONG for their size.
On day 1 of the tournament, Chris Bowes, the Tournament Director let everyone know the "no wake" areas(none of which were posted) were and started blast off. I made the run to St. Clair then up 24 miles into the lake(total of 42 miles) to my first stop. I started with a Jackall Muscle 15+ in shad pattern. I noticed the fish were less active due to the cloud cover so I swithed to the Crosstail Shad in Ayu. I was catching cookie cutter smallmouth and switched baits alot keeping the bite going. Most fish were on the Jackall but I did have several on a special color I had poured by Zipper Worms and then swtiched again to the Goby bait that Brian had poured me. In fact thats the bait my co-angler had his limit on.
After I decided that the fish wouldnt get any bigger I moved out to an area I found that was holding big fish but stil no clue why. I stood on the Minn Kota and worked the area hard with the crankbait and Lake Fork Swimbait. I ended up loosing 3 fish that are still waking me up at night with nightmares. Those of you that know me know I rarely loose a fish. Well I am also rarely fishing in 4 footers and that was the only reason I can think of why I lost them. Trying to stand on the deck was not easy and it was just a plain bad late hook set on my part. This is where lack of local experiance comes into play. Like I said I learned a lot on this trip. I ran out of time knowing with rising winds and waves it would take longer to get back. The lake was ok(after all the practice here and Champlain) but the River, well thats a monster of it's own. The best way to describe it is like driving a boat in a washing machine. Waves come from all 4 directions and there is nothing you can do to avoid it. After getting back I was sitting in the middle of the field again and knew I would have to go for broke on day two to make the cut.
On day 2 I told my co-angler we were going for big fish after he had his limit(he still had a shot at the cut). I went to my limit spot and it took a little longer to get his but once we got it we moved out. I still only had 3 fish but knew if I boated 3 solid bites I had a shot. Well the old term I am famous for fishing came into play"go big or go home". The local weather was wrong again and the east wind was plain nasty. I worked 3 areas hard and only had one more bite but not the one I needed. We then had to make the run back. I stopped at our limit spot but never got another bite in the 30 mins or so I had to go. We moved back to the ramp and I was not happy with my preformance but learned a ton ready to get to the next event.
After the weigh in was done the locals put a beating on all of us who tour the country fishing and I think all but 6 of the top 30 were from the area. Congrats to all of the top 30 and the winner for a great event and a huge thank you to the City of Detroit for the welcome.
Although this event was not the most ideal conditions or outcome I have to thank a lot of people that made it wonderful. First and formost to Jeri Toner and her Daughter Jessica for putting up with me for almost 2 weeks and showing me all of the sights, Brian McCarter for the great Goby baits and teaching me how to navigate the lake, Dave and Rob for showing me alot about that style of fishing, and Zipper Worm Company for getting me some baits I really needed fast.
Lastly a HUGE thanks to our sponsors, Federated Auto Parts, Jackall Lures, Lake Fork Tackle, Bluewater LED, Gator Grip, Gemini Sports Marketing, Wired2Fish and American Bass Anglers. Also a special thanks to God, my wife Beth and my family. If it was not for them I would never have the chance to live the dream and continue to travel the country meeting new fans, friends, and learning and to all my friends and fans. You have truely been an inspritation and your support and comments keep me going even in the hard times. Thanks again and see everyone at the next event.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
I had met a guy here on Facebook named Brian McCarter. He is the owner of Nemesis Bait Company and makes some killer Goby baits. We got out on the water so he could show me some of the baits and kinda how to navigate the lake. This lake is like nothing I had ever seen in my years of fishing on the road. Water as far as you could see and most of the time not seeing land at all. Brian was a master of working a dropshot and I can say makes one of the best hand poured Goby baits I have ever seen and trust me I have seen alot of them during this trip(be sure to check out his baits at www.nemesisbaits.com)
I was totally lost when it came to finding fish on this body of water. This was honestly the first time I have seen a lake and had no clue where to start. There were no breaks, points, humps, or other things we southern anglers look for when on new water. I knew very quick I had a lot to learn in a short period of time if I planned on even catching a fish to take to the scales much less cashing a check. I had caught some awesome smallmouth so far but had no clue why the fish were there or what they were holding on.
One thing I can say to readers is if you plan on going to Lake St. Clair make sure to have all of your USCG equiptment in the boat and learn how to drive in big waves. What we see in the south as huge storms on the lake is normal there and when your in 3-4 footers and cant see land it's not a very comforting feeling. What's bad is when you get back to the ramp and talking with locals and they remind you it was a calm day and you should see it when it gets nasty. Which I did get to see a few times while there.
After several days on the water the event started with Official practice. I had spent most of my time on St. Clair so I made the choice to go to Erie and stay in the River for the rest of practice. Lake Erie is a BEAST of a body of water and running that lake(and I use the term lake very loose, more like small ocean) can eat a boat in a matter of seconds. I made the run to an Island that alot of anglers talk about and once there(only took 3 hours to get to it) I had a limit of about 17 lbs.. Only problem was it took me 4 hours to catch it and in the event that would put me an hour late getting back to weigh in. This was a problem for about 9 anglers in the event later.
I took 2 days of practice and stayed in the Detroit river section. This was alot better on the boat, the pocket book(fuel cost), and my brain(after being beat to death for a week by waves) but the fish there were not going to get me a check. I did have a chance to master drifting in some heavy currents running anywhere from 2-4 mph all the time. This is why the anglers up north say nothing fights like a smallmouth. These fish swim all day in current and are STRONG for their size.
On day 1 of the tournament, Chris Bowes, the Tournament Director let everyone know the "no wake" areas(none of which were posted) were and started blast off. I made the run to St. Clair then up 24 miles into the lake(total of 42 miles) to my first stop. I started with a Jackall Muscle 15+ in shad pattern. I noticed the fish were less active due to the cloud cover so I swithed to the Crosstail Shad in Ayu. I was catching cookie cutter smallmouth and switched baits alot keeping the bite going. Most fish were on the Jackall but I did have several on a special color I had poured by Zipper Worms and then swtiched again to the Goby bait that Brian had poured me. In fact thats the bait my co-angler had his limit on.
After I decided that the fish wouldnt get any bigger I moved out to an area I found that was holding big fish but stil no clue why. I stood on the Minn Kota and worked the area hard with the crankbait and Lake Fork Swimbait. I ended up loosing 3 fish that are still waking me up at night with nightmares. Those of you that know me know I rarely loose a fish. Well I am also rarely fishing in 4 footers and that was the only reason I can think of why I lost them. Trying to stand on the deck was not easy and it was just a plain bad late hook set on my part. This is where lack of local experiance comes into play. Like I said I learned a lot on this trip. I ran out of time knowing with rising winds and waves it would take longer to get back. The lake was ok(after all the practice here and Champlain) but the River, well thats a monster of it's own. The best way to describe it is like driving a boat in a washing machine. Waves come from all 4 directions and there is nothing you can do to avoid it. After getting back I was sitting in the middle of the field again and knew I would have to go for broke on day two to make the cut.
On day 2 I told my co-angler we were going for big fish after he had his limit(he still had a shot at the cut). I went to my limit spot and it took a little longer to get his but once we got it we moved out. I still only had 3 fish but knew if I boated 3 solid bites I had a shot. Well the old term I am famous for fishing came into play"go big or go home". The local weather was wrong again and the east wind was plain nasty. I worked 3 areas hard and only had one more bite but not the one I needed. We then had to make the run back. I stopped at our limit spot but never got another bite in the 30 mins or so I had to go. We moved back to the ramp and I was not happy with my preformance but learned a ton ready to get to the next event.
After the weigh in was done the locals put a beating on all of us who tour the country fishing and I think all but 6 of the top 30 were from the area. Congrats to all of the top 30 and the winner for a great event and a huge thank you to the City of Detroit for the welcome.
Although this event was not the most ideal conditions or outcome I have to thank a lot of people that made it wonderful. First and formost to Jeri Toner and her Daughter Jessica for putting up with me for almost 2 weeks and showing me all of the sights, Brian McCarter for the great Goby baits and teaching me how to navigate the lake, Dave and Rob for showing me alot about that style of fishing, and Zipper Worm Company for getting me some baits I really needed fast.
Lastly a HUGE thanks to our sponsors, Federated Auto Parts, Jackall Lures, Lake Fork Tackle, Bluewater LED, Gator Grip, Gemini Sports Marketing, Wired2Fish and American Bass Anglers. Also a special thanks to God, my wife Beth and my family. If it was not for them I would never have the chance to live the dream and continue to travel the country meeting new fans, friends, and learning and to all my friends and fans. You have truely been an inspritation and your support and comments keep me going even in the hard times. Thanks again and see everyone at the next event.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Lake Guntersville July 4th weekend.
Water Temperature: 90
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Had a great weekend with the family on the water just playing, watching fireworks, swimming, and doing a little fishing. The last two days got back at it working on tactics and some new baits with the time off getting ready for upcoming events on some new waters.
Monday had a great time working on some tactics and flat busted some topwater fish on some baits I was testing. Had several solid limits before the heat got up fishing over grass lines in 3-8 feet of water. After the heat started to work it's way into the mid-80's the deeper bite started and once you found them you could boat anywhere from 3 to 10 in that area.
Tuesday I got out a little later working on some deeper tactics and baits. I found a few schools of active fish in the 25-35 feet range but the REAL excitement came when I was testing a new dropshot bait. I had found a school of fish in about 50 feet of water on the sonar and decided to test the bait on them. After dropping it down and about 3 mins of working the bait near the school I saw the first fish eat it. To be honest it pulled alot like a strong spot(which is what I thought it would be when I saw them) but all of a sudden it came to the top like a rocket and when it cleared the water I saw it was a "bronzeback"! That's right a smallmouth. After putting the first one in the boat I got right back down there and started to put the smackdown on em'. Ended up boating 17 before the bite just died. I have fished this lake from one dam to the other from the age of 5 and now about to celebrate my 39th birthday in a few weeks and have only boated 3-5 smallmouth in these waters to date.
Even though they were not huge fish they were all keepers and a blast to catch. Hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend and looking forward to a great week. I will be on the water the rest of this week and Monday and Tuesday of next then I'm off the water on the road at tournaments the rest of the month. Rodney will be taking care of all our trips but I know i'm leaving clients in great hands. Be sure to give us a call if you would like to book a trip and learn some awesome new tactics. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Had a great weekend with the family on the water just playing, watching fireworks, swimming, and doing a little fishing. The last two days got back at it working on tactics and some new baits with the time off getting ready for upcoming events on some new waters.
Monday had a great time working on some tactics and flat busted some topwater fish on some baits I was testing. Had several solid limits before the heat got up fishing over grass lines in 3-8 feet of water. After the heat started to work it's way into the mid-80's the deeper bite started and once you found them you could boat anywhere from 3 to 10 in that area.
Tuesday I got out a little later working on some deeper tactics and baits. I found a few schools of active fish in the 25-35 feet range but the REAL excitement came when I was testing a new dropshot bait. I had found a school of fish in about 50 feet of water on the sonar and decided to test the bait on them. After dropping it down and about 3 mins of working the bait near the school I saw the first fish eat it. To be honest it pulled alot like a strong spot(which is what I thought it would be when I saw them) but all of a sudden it came to the top like a rocket and when it cleared the water I saw it was a "bronzeback"! That's right a smallmouth. After putting the first one in the boat I got right back down there and started to put the smackdown on em'. Ended up boating 17 before the bite just died. I have fished this lake from one dam to the other from the age of 5 and now about to celebrate my 39th birthday in a few weeks and have only boated 3-5 smallmouth in these waters to date.
Even though they were not huge fish they were all keepers and a blast to catch. Hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend and looking forward to a great week. I will be on the water the rest of this week and Monday and Tuesday of next then I'm off the water on the road at tournaments the rest of the month. Rodney will be taking care of all our trips but I know i'm leaving clients in great hands. Be sure to give us a call if you would like to book a trip and learn some awesome new tactics. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Lake Guntersville
Water Temperature: 90
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
After being on the road fishing other lakes for upcoming events and also fishing a few tournaments out of the state I finally got back to Guntersville. Man did I miss this place!! I first started out fishing some new tactics I have been working on and they worked fairly well. Im excited about some of the new baits that are going to be released at ICast in a few weeks.
Fishing on Guntersville right now is hit and miss but when you hit you hit BIG! I fished several miles of the ledges on my first day back and found several places that were holding fish in water ranging from 25-40 feet of water. Most fish were solid keepers with a few bigger fish thrown in the mix.
On the 2nd day back out I spent the day flipping shallow grass in some areas that have been solid in the past. FInding productive grass that doesnt have 30 boats on it is not easy but when you do its worth the wait. We had another solid day with fish coming off several baits in water ranging from 3-9 feet.
I hope everyone has a great Holiday on the water. Please stay safe and remember what the holiday is all about, our freedom! Remember our troops, and thier families as well as those that have given so much to so we can enjoy our freedom.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
After being on the road fishing other lakes for upcoming events and also fishing a few tournaments out of the state I finally got back to Guntersville. Man did I miss this place!! I first started out fishing some new tactics I have been working on and they worked fairly well. Im excited about some of the new baits that are going to be released at ICast in a few weeks.
Fishing on Guntersville right now is hit and miss but when you hit you hit BIG! I fished several miles of the ledges on my first day back and found several places that were holding fish in water ranging from 25-40 feet of water. Most fish were solid keepers with a few bigger fish thrown in the mix.
On the 2nd day back out I spent the day flipping shallow grass in some areas that have been solid in the past. FInding productive grass that doesnt have 30 boats on it is not easy but when you do its worth the wait. We had another solid day with fish coming off several baits in water ranging from 3-9 feet.
I hope everyone has a great Holiday on the water. Please stay safe and remember what the holiday is all about, our freedom! Remember our troops, and thier families as well as those that have given so much to so we can enjoy our freedom.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Friday, June 11, 2010
Jackall I-Shad Review
I have fished the I-Shad for a few weeks but just recieved the US version this week. There is really no change from the Japan to US version other than some colors and the bait is the same. Once getting the box I was like a kid on Christmas with a new toy.
I first used the bait the way it was made to be fished in Japan. This is using light tackle and line. I rigged the bait on the 1/16 I-Motion Jighead the tied it to Lake Fork Flourohybrid 8 lb. line. I also used the Jackalll Power Inch Wacky rod with a Daiwa Steez spinning reel. The one thing I think alot of anglers will have to get used to is the feeling of no action. This bait is meant to be VERY subtle and trigger strikes and it does just that. I started off fishing the bait on shallow grass lines working the bait along the edges. It took about 30 mins before my first bite but it was worth the wait. The strike was strong and the fish crushed the bait. After boating the first fish I was "hooked" on it. One thing anglers need to remember when fishing it with this set up is don't rush the fish or the bait and let your equiptment do the work for you.
After fishing the bait several hours the way it is intended I just had to start playing with it. I rigged it on a baitcaster with 14 lb Lake Fork Flourohybrid on a Jackall Master Stroke rod and Daiwa Steez 7.1 reel. I like the faster reel to get alot of slack line back fast when working the bait. I tossed the bait onto wood cover and worked it weightless(nose hooked on a Owner Widegap Dropshot hook). After the cast I let the bait sink a few seconds and work it with a "twitching action" I then let the bait fall at the end of the laydown and got hammered. I decided to try that on the grass lines with the same results. I began to work it on top of the grass then every 10 feet or so I would just stop the bait and let it fall. Almost every fish hit the bait on the fall.
After working the bait and seeing how well it caught fish on bigger line I moved out to some deeper water and worked it on a few other rigs. I found the Dropshot rig worked awesome and the less you made the bait move the better it worked I used the 4.8 and 3.8 sizes for that. I then hit some super deep water and worked it on a C-Rig using the 4.8 and 5.8 size. The bait still caught fish and preformed well on the bigger line.
Although this bait can be fished a number of ways and catches fish everyway you can fish it I did find my biggest number of fish were caught fishing the bait the way it was intended. I know this bait will help alot of people boat more fish and will be a great addition to anyones tackle box. The number one thing to remember is fish the bait and give it a chance to catch fish. I see alot of anglers try a new bait and after about 15 mins they put it down. I tell my clients all the time when fishing a new tactic, work the bait and it will work for you. This bait is one of the best finesse tactics I have seen since the Jackall Flick Shake.
I first used the bait the way it was made to be fished in Japan. This is using light tackle and line. I rigged the bait on the 1/16 I-Motion Jighead the tied it to Lake Fork Flourohybrid 8 lb. line. I also used the Jackalll Power Inch Wacky rod with a Daiwa Steez spinning reel. The one thing I think alot of anglers will have to get used to is the feeling of no action. This bait is meant to be VERY subtle and trigger strikes and it does just that. I started off fishing the bait on shallow grass lines working the bait along the edges. It took about 30 mins before my first bite but it was worth the wait. The strike was strong and the fish crushed the bait. After boating the first fish I was "hooked" on it. One thing anglers need to remember when fishing it with this set up is don't rush the fish or the bait and let your equiptment do the work for you.
After fishing the bait several hours the way it is intended I just had to start playing with it. I rigged it on a baitcaster with 14 lb Lake Fork Flourohybrid on a Jackall Master Stroke rod and Daiwa Steez 7.1 reel. I like the faster reel to get alot of slack line back fast when working the bait. I tossed the bait onto wood cover and worked it weightless(nose hooked on a Owner Widegap Dropshot hook). After the cast I let the bait sink a few seconds and work it with a "twitching action" I then let the bait fall at the end of the laydown and got hammered. I decided to try that on the grass lines with the same results. I began to work it on top of the grass then every 10 feet or so I would just stop the bait and let it fall. Almost every fish hit the bait on the fall.
After working the bait and seeing how well it caught fish on bigger line I moved out to some deeper water and worked it on a few other rigs. I found the Dropshot rig worked awesome and the less you made the bait move the better it worked I used the 4.8 and 3.8 sizes for that. I then hit some super deep water and worked it on a C-Rig using the 4.8 and 5.8 size. The bait still caught fish and preformed well on the bigger line.
Although this bait can be fished a number of ways and catches fish everyway you can fish it I did find my biggest number of fish were caught fishing the bait the way it was intended. I know this bait will help alot of people boat more fish and will be a great addition to anyones tackle box. The number one thing to remember is fish the bait and give it a chance to catch fish. I see alot of anglers try a new bait and after about 15 mins they put it down. I tell my clients all the time when fishing a new tactic, work the bait and it will work for you. This bait is one of the best finesse tactics I have seen since the Jackall Flick Shake.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Lake Guntersville Report (6-10-10)
Date Fished: 6/10/2010
Water Temperature: 86
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Headed out today for a fun fishing trip solo. This is the first trip on Guntersville after being gone to the Federated 300 race in Nashville. I started out on the same pattern I was fishing before I left but had to adjust some. Found most of the fish had moved up a little and started catching the better numbers on a Jackall Muscle 10+ crankbait. The fish I found were near creek channels on the 4-7 foot break. Hope everyone had a great day and looking forward to an awesome weekend on the lake. Also if your on FB be sure to check us out there for some great giveaways and information on upcoming events. You can also follow us on Twitter for on-water reports(Fins_N_Grins) See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Water Temperature: 86
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Headed out today for a fun fishing trip solo. This is the first trip on Guntersville after being gone to the Federated 300 race in Nashville. I started out on the same pattern I was fishing before I left but had to adjust some. Found most of the fish had moved up a little and started catching the better numbers on a Jackall Muscle 10+ crankbait. The fish I found were near creek channels on the 4-7 foot break. Hope everyone had a great day and looking forward to an awesome weekend on the lake. Also if your on FB be sure to check us out there for some great giveaways and information on upcoming events. You can also follow us on Twitter for on-water reports(Fins_N_Grins) See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Guntersville Report
Water Temperature: 83
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
This is a report for Sat, Sunday, an Monday.
I fished the Fishing for a Cure event out of Goose Pond Sat. and they had a great tournament. Alot of anglers showed thier support and that was awesome. We fished the upper mid lake section of the lake all day. With thei event being a 3 fish tournament and most of the anglers I knew that were in it I felt like it would take atleast 16-18 lbs to have a chance. My partner for the day Rodney Treadaway and I headed to some deeper stuff I fish and went hog hunting. We boated fish most all day with Jackall Swimming Ninja swimbaits, Jackall Craws and Lake Fork Live Magic Shads(5.5) in natural colors. My big fish and also big fish for the event(7.00) was boated at 7:15 on the Live Magic Shad. We ended the event with 15.04 taking 4th place and big fish. Huge congrats to all the winners and other contestants for a great job and thank you for being a part of a great charity.
On Sunday got out with a good friend for some fun fishing. The morning bite was awesome and we had a blast teaching him to catch fish on the swimbait. Again we hit deeper areas for the better fish but did find some solid keepers in shallow grass. The afternoon was not as good to us with both numbers and size dropping but still a good day on the lake.
Monday had a trip with a great angler from NC. He wanted to learn the dropshot and swimbait so we hit some section of deeper water I have been fishing. Size was lacking a little but he boated fish the entire trip with a solid 4 lb adv. for the size. All in all a great weekend and wonderful start to the week.
Hope everyone has had a great week so far and looking forward to some awesome weather. Be sure to also check us out on Facebook(Fins-N-Grins Freshwater Adventures) and also twitter(Fins_N_Grins) for on water updates while on trips and some other cool stuff we are doing. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
This is a report for Sat, Sunday, an Monday.
I fished the Fishing for a Cure event out of Goose Pond Sat. and they had a great tournament. Alot of anglers showed thier support and that was awesome. We fished the upper mid lake section of the lake all day. With thei event being a 3 fish tournament and most of the anglers I knew that were in it I felt like it would take atleast 16-18 lbs to have a chance. My partner for the day Rodney Treadaway and I headed to some deeper stuff I fish and went hog hunting. We boated fish most all day with Jackall Swimming Ninja swimbaits, Jackall Craws and Lake Fork Live Magic Shads(5.5) in natural colors. My big fish and also big fish for the event(7.00) was boated at 7:15 on the Live Magic Shad. We ended the event with 15.04 taking 4th place and big fish. Huge congrats to all the winners and other contestants for a great job and thank you for being a part of a great charity.
On Sunday got out with a good friend for some fun fishing. The morning bite was awesome and we had a blast teaching him to catch fish on the swimbait. Again we hit deeper areas for the better fish but did find some solid keepers in shallow grass. The afternoon was not as good to us with both numbers and size dropping but still a good day on the lake.
Monday had a trip with a great angler from NC. He wanted to learn the dropshot and swimbait so we hit some section of deeper water I have been fishing. Size was lacking a little but he boated fish the entire trip with a solid 4 lb adv. for the size. All in all a great weekend and wonderful start to the week.
Hope everyone has had a great week so far and looking forward to some awesome weather. Be sure to also check us out on Facebook(Fins-N-Grins Freshwater Adventures) and also twitter(Fins_N_Grins) for on water updates while on trips and some other cool stuff we are doing. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Guntersville report 05-25-10
Water Temperature: 82
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Got out today as part of a Corp. trip with an awesome guy from Bham.. He said he would rather go looking for a big fish than catch numbers and wanted to also learn a swimbait. Well we hit an area I have been doing well on a swimbait and after about 10 mins he boated his first. He then smacked a few more then wanted to hit a deeper bite. We made the move and hit some of my deeper spots. After missing a couple he got the hang of it and boated a couple of solid fish. We made a move with 10 mins before time to be back and on the last stop boated 2 more in 5 mins.. A great end to a short trip with a great guy. Hope everyone had a wonderful day and looking forward to a good holiday weekend. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Got out today as part of a Corp. trip with an awesome guy from Bham.. He said he would rather go looking for a big fish than catch numbers and wanted to also learn a swimbait. Well we hit an area I have been doing well on a swimbait and after about 10 mins he boated his first. He then smacked a few more then wanted to hit a deeper bite. We made the move and hit some of my deeper spots. After missing a couple he got the hang of it and boated a couple of solid fish. We made a move with 10 mins before time to be back and on the last stop boated 2 more in 5 mins.. A great end to a short trip with a great guy. Hope everyone had a wonderful day and looking forward to a good holiday weekend. See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Guntersville 5-26-10
Water Temperature: 83
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Headed out this afternoon to do some looking with fishing partner Rodney while we both had a day off from trips. We fished the same patterns we both have been on the past few weeks but in areas neither of us have touched in a few years. We ended up running from the storms that blew in but had a great day before they hit. Only on the water about 4 hours hitting a place catching a fish and moving. Best five went 21+ lbs and we both found a way to "tweek" the bite a little and shook off several bigger bites. Looking forward to the trips we have lined up in the coming weeks. Hope everyone is having a great week.
Best baits for the day were Jigs(natural colors), Lake Fork Swimbaits(shad colors) and Jackall Swimming Ninja(also shad color). Key today was fishing slower and "feeding" the fish the bait after they hit it the first time.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Headed out this afternoon to do some looking with fishing partner Rodney while we both had a day off from trips. We fished the same patterns we both have been on the past few weeks but in areas neither of us have touched in a few years. We ended up running from the storms that blew in but had a great day before they hit. Only on the water about 4 hours hitting a place catching a fish and moving. Best five went 21+ lbs and we both found a way to "tweek" the bite a little and shook off several bigger bites. Looking forward to the trips we have lined up in the coming weeks. Hope everyone is having a great week.
Best baits for the day were Jigs(natural colors), Lake Fork Swimbaits(shad colors) and Jackall Swimming Ninja(also shad color). Key today was fishing slower and "feeding" the fish the bait after they hit it the first time.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
FINS -N- GRINS FRESHWATER ADVENTURES
Lake Guntersville 5-27-10
Water Temperature: 84
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Headed out as part of a fullday multi-boat trip going from Waterfront. I got to fish with two great guys from Miss.. We started on topwater and to be honest the morning bite left alot to be desired today. We ended up going to swimbaits and started catching fish after we worked on the feel of the bite. They boat ended up doing ok on baits and learning some new tactics. After they were happy with the numbers I made the move to some bigger fish. We hit the deep water and they both culled everything they had in the morning the rest of the day., Best fish are coming on structure in 25-40 feet of water. Had both clients fishing dropshots, and swimbaits but also had a few suspended fish off Jackall Muscle 15+ cranks in shad colors.
Hope everyone has a great Holiday weekend and stays safe. Please remember to be kind to other anglers and boats and drink lots of water. The heat is just nasty right now and doesnt take long to dehydrate. Also have rain gear ready to use, last two days have had some nasty little storms pop up in the heat of the afternoon on some areas of the lake. Stay weather aware.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Water Clarity: 2-3 feet
Headed out as part of a fullday multi-boat trip going from Waterfront. I got to fish with two great guys from Miss.. We started on topwater and to be honest the morning bite left alot to be desired today. We ended up going to swimbaits and started catching fish after we worked on the feel of the bite. They boat ended up doing ok on baits and learning some new tactics. After they were happy with the numbers I made the move to some bigger fish. We hit the deep water and they both culled everything they had in the morning the rest of the day., Best fish are coming on structure in 25-40 feet of water. Had both clients fishing dropshots, and swimbaits but also had a few suspended fish off Jackall Muscle 15+ cranks in shad colors.
Hope everyone has a great Holiday weekend and stays safe. Please remember to be kind to other anglers and boats and drink lots of water. The heat is just nasty right now and doesnt take long to dehydrate. Also have rain gear ready to use, last two days have had some nasty little storms pop up in the heat of the afternoon on some areas of the lake. Stay weather aware.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Lake Guntersville FIshing Report(4-26/5-1)
The last week of fishing has been kinda funny between "pop-up" storms, fronts, and high winds fishing has been solid but size has been up and down. We started off the week after returning from Center Hill expecting the fishing to be good and it was. My trips this week have seen some awesome numbers and as the week grew on the size got better as well. Most of the best numbers are being seen still in pockets and in the shallow waters. Our best baits for the solid 15-18 pound bags have been Lake Fork Green Pumpkin Lizards and Jackall 6.8 Flick Shake worms in any color you want to use.
During the week I moved alot looking for the bigger bite and by the end of the week I found it. While the Shad Spawn is only days from kicking off, the ledge bite is getting hot. One key is finding green grass in 8-12 feet of water near shell beds. I got the chance to do some searching and found some grass on this pattern working well with Jackall Muscle 10+ crankbaits(shad colors) and two types of swimbaits. Both the Jackall Swimming Ninja(hitch) and Lake Fork Live Magic Shad(shad) are boating some great fish but the bite is slow as the day wears on.
The Jig bite is also picking up for us on the ledges and mouths of creek channels. I first position my boat on the down river side of the structure and work the bait with the current. After the bite seems to slow down(about a bite every 30-45 min.) I re-position the boat and fish the area again working into the mouth of the channel and dropping off into deeper water. This is also working with swimbaits but the jig seems to get the less aggressive fish.
As far as an outlook for the up coming week the weather will play a factor in the fishing. Brad Huffins of WAAY 31 says the weather will be nothing short of awesome this coming week with lows in the mid 60's and highs in the 80's all week. This should do nothing but more fish moving to the ledge and the topwater bite could get stronger as the week wears on. Ledges are going to be better all week as well as the creek channels where they meet the main river channel. With the big rains up north the TVA "should" be running water hard so finding stumps on the ledges will also be important, as this give some of those tired big fish a place to hide from heavy currents as they feed throughout the day to re-gain some mojo from the spawn.
Also hit the ledges first thing in the morning as well as open water humps looking for shad. I would suggest throwing a spinnerbait with the boat positioned in deeper water and throwing into the shallows. White seems to be the color that has worked best in years past. If you see shad following your bait your in the right area. After working the area solid and catching a few fish switch it up and use a swimbait and then a crankbait to catch a few more. Once the shad spawn starts fishing will be crazy every morning on this pattern for atleast 2 weeks. Once the sun gets up(around 8-9 am) that bite dies and the fish seem to shut down. Even though you should have 20+ pounds by this time you can still work the areas with the jig, spoon, or craw baits and get a few more bites.
Hope this report helps you guys/gals out in the following trips and you get out and enjoy this great weather and resource we have. Please remember to get a few pictures and get those fish back in the water so another angler can have the chance to catch the fsih of a lifetime. Thank you to everyone for thier continued support and please remember to support our sponsors. If it wasnt for them we couldnt be living this awesome dream. ROCK ON!!!
God Bless
Phil.4:13
During the week I moved alot looking for the bigger bite and by the end of the week I found it. While the Shad Spawn is only days from kicking off, the ledge bite is getting hot. One key is finding green grass in 8-12 feet of water near shell beds. I got the chance to do some searching and found some grass on this pattern working well with Jackall Muscle 10+ crankbaits(shad colors) and two types of swimbaits. Both the Jackall Swimming Ninja(hitch) and Lake Fork Live Magic Shad(shad) are boating some great fish but the bite is slow as the day wears on.
The Jig bite is also picking up for us on the ledges and mouths of creek channels. I first position my boat on the down river side of the structure and work the bait with the current. After the bite seems to slow down(about a bite every 30-45 min.) I re-position the boat and fish the area again working into the mouth of the channel and dropping off into deeper water. This is also working with swimbaits but the jig seems to get the less aggressive fish.
As far as an outlook for the up coming week the weather will play a factor in the fishing. Brad Huffins of WAAY 31 says the weather will be nothing short of awesome this coming week with lows in the mid 60's and highs in the 80's all week. This should do nothing but more fish moving to the ledge and the topwater bite could get stronger as the week wears on. Ledges are going to be better all week as well as the creek channels where they meet the main river channel. With the big rains up north the TVA "should" be running water hard so finding stumps on the ledges will also be important, as this give some of those tired big fish a place to hide from heavy currents as they feed throughout the day to re-gain some mojo from the spawn.
Also hit the ledges first thing in the morning as well as open water humps looking for shad. I would suggest throwing a spinnerbait with the boat positioned in deeper water and throwing into the shallows. White seems to be the color that has worked best in years past. If you see shad following your bait your in the right area. After working the area solid and catching a few fish switch it up and use a swimbait and then a crankbait to catch a few more. Once the shad spawn starts fishing will be crazy every morning on this pattern for atleast 2 weeks. Once the sun gets up(around 8-9 am) that bite dies and the fish seem to shut down. Even though you should have 20+ pounds by this time you can still work the areas with the jig, spoon, or craw baits and get a few more bites.
Hope this report helps you guys/gals out in the following trips and you get out and enjoy this great weather and resource we have. Please remember to get a few pictures and get those fish back in the water so another angler can have the chance to catch the fsih of a lifetime. Thank you to everyone for thier continued support and please remember to support our sponsors. If it wasnt for them we couldnt be living this awesome dream. ROCK ON!!!
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Lake Center Hill Event
Well when asked about Center Hill during my practice last week I was not real sure what to reply. When I arrived I was expecting a body of water along the lines of Clarks Hill or Smith Lake. Those are big water deep, clear, and rocky. Well This lake is deep, clear and rocky but nothing like any other lake I had fished before. The lake level being down about 30 feet didnt help matters much but I can see where this lake could produce some great fish. I was starting out my pre-fish like any other tournament pre-fish I do about a month prior to the event pulling up pictures, maps and reports. Well there is some pictures of the lake and one good map but I had trouble finding any up to date or past reports. This made things alot harder to get a plan together.This is one reason I wanted to write this report. I hope it helps anyone that is headed to the lake.
I arrived on Wednesday at day break to start my first day of on water pre fishing. I decided to put in at the tournament ramp, Ragland Bottom. Make sure you have some dollars for the launch fee which is $4.00. The parking is not the best put very secure. Once in the water I noticed the lake is alot more deep and clear than I expected. I then noticed that south is not down river. If you want to go down torward the dam on this lake you have to go north. Ofcourse I went south before knowing this. If the water was up this lake would have some awesome structure to fish and lots of places for fish to hide. With it being down the only thing I noticed that would hold fish is a change in the type of bottom. I started looking for this change on the banks. Once I located places where there were two types of rock or a section of red clay on the bank I would stop and graph it to see if the lake bottom had the same type as the banks. In most every case I found it did. I also noticed the water temps were ranging from 65-72 degrees. During day one I did alot more riding and looking than fishing but found some things that I would fish later in practice. This is something I always do when on new water. Getting to know areas of the lake and the type of structure around it will help later on putting a solid pattern together.
On day two of practice I got the boat in the water and started to fish. I first went down river and stopped at a section of the lake that the river channel turned in close to the bank. I held the boat in 45 feet of water and started with a C-Rig and Watermelon Top Dog Lizard. Once finding the banks on this lake drop from dry to the core of the earth(just kidding) with no "stair step" type of break while working the rig. I then knew I was in trouble. I did find a fish on the point I found and that was what I needed. I then looked on my Navionics chip and found another point like that one and headed that way. Once there made 3 cast to the bank and boated another solid keeper fish. I then moved again and duplicated the smae pattern for 5 more fish in the same type areas. Things were coming together as planned but I still knew it was going to be a hard event. After picking up my buddy Robert that was fishing the co-angler side, I went looking for spawning fish and a secondary pattern. I found one fish on bed upriver in about 10 feet of water and duplicated the pattern I found down river that morning.
On day three we went looking for some more areas and a better pattern. Well the same thing I found worked everywhere I stopped shaking off bites on most stops. I did go to back to check on the one "bedding fish" I found and she was gone already. Just my luck my "kicker" fish was off bed or being weighed in at the tournament that was going on that day. We put the boat on the trailer and went to get ready for the partner pairing. Once there we found out the event was not going to happen on Saturday due to some really bad weather headed our way. To be honest I really wanted to fish but the tournament director made the right decision for the safety of the anglers. I have to take my hat off to him for that and he is one of the best in the business.
Saturday we spent the day hanging out and doing a few business calls and stopped at the local tackle stores trying to spread the word about some of my sponsors in the industry. Also had to have my boat fixed at the host dealer. Just a note but if you have a chance drop by a dealer and grab a spare switch for your trim. If it goes out while at an event it will cost you alot more than the price of the switch.
Sunday We checked out and launched the boat. I made the decision to stay close to the ramp areas I had found in practice and hope to stay out of the wind as much as I could. On the first stop the winds were stable and ok. I boated one fish quick on a spinnerbait(white 1/4 oz) waking it just under the surface. The fish was short but was hope of more fish to come. I worked the pocket in 30 feet of water with the blade without another bite and started back at the mouth of the pocket with the C-Rig and dropshot. As the winds got worse the C-Rig was all I could feel or get to the bottom. We both boated a couple of short fish and my co-angler lost one that we think would have measured. I then put one in the boat that was small but a start. We worked the area for another hour without another bite before moving.
I then made the choice to move around to the other areas I found. Most every area was getting slammed with high winds but we fished it as best as we could. Boat position was extreamly hard to control. I fished several areas with only a couple more missed bites and short fish before moving further down river. Once I moved to a section that the wind was only blowing around 20 I broke out the 6.8 Jackall Flick Shake and Wacky Jig Head. Many of you know that is my go to bait when I have to boat some fish. Only problem was I am used to fishing the bait near some type of structure and there was none. Well I just tossed the bait out and let it fall down the rock until it hit the bottom. I missed the first bite I got then boated another keeper. I fished the area about another hour without a bite so decided to move again closer to the ramp.
On the run back we saw a boater with motor problems. We tried to give him a jump without any luck. We then put his co-angler in the boat with us as well as a great smallbouth he had and took him to the ramp. After dropping him off we hit an area I found in practice while looking for an emergency plan. Both my co angler and I fished it hard but boated nothing before time ran out. After weigh-in I ended up in 34th place with my 2 fish and some points to make my goal of making regionals at Lay Lake.
I want to give a huge thanks to John Glenn of American Bass Anglers for helping me out while at the event and the guys and gals at Time Out Sports Grill for asking us to hang out with them. We had an awesome appearance there with a great crowd. The next event in this Division is going to be on Old Hickory Lake in June. Looking forward to seeing some more new water and a better finish.
I arrived on Wednesday at day break to start my first day of on water pre fishing. I decided to put in at the tournament ramp, Ragland Bottom. Make sure you have some dollars for the launch fee which is $4.00. The parking is not the best put very secure. Once in the water I noticed the lake is alot more deep and clear than I expected. I then noticed that south is not down river. If you want to go down torward the dam on this lake you have to go north. Ofcourse I went south before knowing this. If the water was up this lake would have some awesome structure to fish and lots of places for fish to hide. With it being down the only thing I noticed that would hold fish is a change in the type of bottom. I started looking for this change on the banks. Once I located places where there were two types of rock or a section of red clay on the bank I would stop and graph it to see if the lake bottom had the same type as the banks. In most every case I found it did. I also noticed the water temps were ranging from 65-72 degrees. During day one I did alot more riding and looking than fishing but found some things that I would fish later in practice. This is something I always do when on new water. Getting to know areas of the lake and the type of structure around it will help later on putting a solid pattern together.
On day two of practice I got the boat in the water and started to fish. I first went down river and stopped at a section of the lake that the river channel turned in close to the bank. I held the boat in 45 feet of water and started with a C-Rig and Watermelon Top Dog Lizard. Once finding the banks on this lake drop from dry to the core of the earth(just kidding) with no "stair step" type of break while working the rig. I then knew I was in trouble. I did find a fish on the point I found and that was what I needed. I then looked on my Navionics chip and found another point like that one and headed that way. Once there made 3 cast to the bank and boated another solid keeper fish. I then moved again and duplicated the smae pattern for 5 more fish in the same type areas. Things were coming together as planned but I still knew it was going to be a hard event. After picking up my buddy Robert that was fishing the co-angler side, I went looking for spawning fish and a secondary pattern. I found one fish on bed upriver in about 10 feet of water and duplicated the pattern I found down river that morning.
On day three we went looking for some more areas and a better pattern. Well the same thing I found worked everywhere I stopped shaking off bites on most stops. I did go to back to check on the one "bedding fish" I found and she was gone already. Just my luck my "kicker" fish was off bed or being weighed in at the tournament that was going on that day. We put the boat on the trailer and went to get ready for the partner pairing. Once there we found out the event was not going to happen on Saturday due to some really bad weather headed our way. To be honest I really wanted to fish but the tournament director made the right decision for the safety of the anglers. I have to take my hat off to him for that and he is one of the best in the business.
Saturday we spent the day hanging out and doing a few business calls and stopped at the local tackle stores trying to spread the word about some of my sponsors in the industry. Also had to have my boat fixed at the host dealer. Just a note but if you have a chance drop by a dealer and grab a spare switch for your trim. If it goes out while at an event it will cost you alot more than the price of the switch.
Sunday We checked out and launched the boat. I made the decision to stay close to the ramp areas I had found in practice and hope to stay out of the wind as much as I could. On the first stop the winds were stable and ok. I boated one fish quick on a spinnerbait(white 1/4 oz) waking it just under the surface. The fish was short but was hope of more fish to come. I worked the pocket in 30 feet of water with the blade without another bite and started back at the mouth of the pocket with the C-Rig and dropshot. As the winds got worse the C-Rig was all I could feel or get to the bottom. We both boated a couple of short fish and my co-angler lost one that we think would have measured. I then put one in the boat that was small but a start. We worked the area for another hour without another bite before moving.
I then made the choice to move around to the other areas I found. Most every area was getting slammed with high winds but we fished it as best as we could. Boat position was extreamly hard to control. I fished several areas with only a couple more missed bites and short fish before moving further down river. Once I moved to a section that the wind was only blowing around 20 I broke out the 6.8 Jackall Flick Shake and Wacky Jig Head. Many of you know that is my go to bait when I have to boat some fish. Only problem was I am used to fishing the bait near some type of structure and there was none. Well I just tossed the bait out and let it fall down the rock until it hit the bottom. I missed the first bite I got then boated another keeper. I fished the area about another hour without a bite so decided to move again closer to the ramp.
On the run back we saw a boater with motor problems. We tried to give him a jump without any luck. We then put his co-angler in the boat with us as well as a great smallbouth he had and took him to the ramp. After dropping him off we hit an area I found in practice while looking for an emergency plan. Both my co angler and I fished it hard but boated nothing before time ran out. After weigh-in I ended up in 34th place with my 2 fish and some points to make my goal of making regionals at Lay Lake.
I want to give a huge thanks to John Glenn of American Bass Anglers for helping me out while at the event and the guys and gals at Time Out Sports Grill for asking us to hang out with them. We had an awesome appearance there with a great crowd. The next event in this Division is going to be on Old Hickory Lake in June. Looking forward to seeing some more new water and a better finish.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Lake Guntersvillle 4-16-10
Got out today on a trip with a great guy from Birmingham. His wife took advantage of the Christmas Gift Cards we sold and today was his trip. We had a blast with him boating fish all day. He had one over 5, pushing 6 and 19 keepers. We lost a total of 3 solid fish and one he said was bigger than the big fish he had. Also missed atleast 7 other bites that just didnt hook up.
We fished the mid-lake area while targeting open water humps and weed lines in 8 feet of water. We also had several fish in some shallow water with the boat positioned in 4 feet or less and throwing to dirt. Lake Fork "Top Dog" Lizards in Watermelon were the ticket for both numbers and size today. We rigged them on a Jackall Master Stroke rod with 20 lb Lake Fork Flourohybrid line and a 3/16 Lake Fork Tungsten weight. We also had a couple of fish on the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad and a few on the Jackall Craw.
All in all a great time on the water and lots of fish throughout the day to keep it interesting. Looking forward to a great weekend and next week is going to be just as good weather wise. We want to wish everyone fishing an event this weekend a great tournament and please be safe. There are alot of boats on the water right now. Also watch out for some stuff floating. We saw several ig logs in the water that would sure mess up a day of fishing if you hit it with the big motor. Stay safe and see you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
We fished the mid-lake area while targeting open water humps and weed lines in 8 feet of water. We also had several fish in some shallow water with the boat positioned in 4 feet or less and throwing to dirt. Lake Fork "Top Dog" Lizards in Watermelon were the ticket for both numbers and size today. We rigged them on a Jackall Master Stroke rod with 20 lb Lake Fork Flourohybrid line and a 3/16 Lake Fork Tungsten weight. We also had a couple of fish on the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad and a few on the Jackall Craw.
All in all a great time on the water and lots of fish throughout the day to keep it interesting. Looking forward to a great weekend and next week is going to be just as good weather wise. We want to wish everyone fishing an event this weekend a great tournament and please be safe. There are alot of boats on the water right now. Also watch out for some stuff floating. We saw several ig logs in the water that would sure mess up a day of fishing if you hit it with the big motor. Stay safe and see you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Fishing Lake Guntersville in the Spring
AHHHH, Lake Guntersville in April. Trees are blooming, birds are singing, and traffic on the lake. You know the fish are eating when you pull up to the ramp(any ramp on the lake) on a Wed morning and the parking lot looks like Walmart on Christmas eve. Well the fish are eating and the bigger fish are up in the shallows adding more fish to the lake everyday. During this time of year there really is not a bad place to fish on the lake if you know what to look for and how to fish it. This is one reason I am writing this article. Im going to give you a little insight on whats going on and the tactics I have been using to have some awesome days on the water.
First let's start with the pattern. In years past the spawn was coming to a close this time of year but the lake is about 3-5 weeks behind making it fish alot different that before. Grass is coming up but only in a few places. There are huge numbers coming off flats with hard bottoms near steep drops. I have had clients that have had close to 100 fish days in the last month but the size was not as great as the past. In the last week or so the size is picking upwith alot of bigger females moving up everyday to take thier place on the beds. We boated several in the last few trips that had already laid out and were ready to start thier move back to the ledges. If an angler was coming down here look for these flats and just start fishing. You will catch fish on most of them. Alot of smaller fish but there are bigger fish mixed in the groups. Also the sight fishing is picking up but the pollen is making it hard to see some fish unless your really good at sight fishing. FOr some pre-spawn fish hit the drops near the flats. One thing that will help is if you find a pocket that has a muddy bottom move. Everything I am catching is on a hard surface.
There are several baits that are working great for me right now. I am using the Jackall Cover Craw(green Pumpkin), Lake Fork Top Dog and Hyper Lizard, as well as the Jackall Giron, and Lake FOrk Live Magic Shad. Thise baits are getting the bigger bites with the plastics gaining huge numbers and a few bigger fish. One bait that I am flat smoke'n fish on is the Jackall Flick Shake or the Lake Fork Live Wack'n Worm rigged on a Jackall Wacky Jighead in 3/32. I am using that bait on a Jackall Power Inch Wacky Rod with Daiwa Steez and Lake Fork Flourohybrid Line. The Other PLastics I am using a Jackall Master Stroke Rod with Daiwa Reel Steez 7.1 reel and Lake Fork Flourohybrid 26 lb line. On the swimbaits I use the Jackall Delta Spec rod with the Daiwa Zillion Reel(4.3) and 32 lb Flourohybrid line.
If sight fishing is your thing this is the time to do it. Move to supper skinny water on flats and just go looking. Once you find a bed holding a fish then back off and start working it. I am having my best luck with the Flick Shake or Wack'n worm to catch most of the bed fish. PLEASE rememeber if you are going sight fish do everything you can to return the fish to the bed after a picture and get her back in the water ASAP. The less stress the better.
I want to thank all of our fans and those who have been a huge support to our efforts. We are having some great trips and the tournament season is going strong. We are only a few more events away from making the big goal. It is because you all of you that we are able to keep going and moving forward. WE will ALL be at the TOP together in no time flat. ROCK ON!!!
First let's start with the pattern. In years past the spawn was coming to a close this time of year but the lake is about 3-5 weeks behind making it fish alot different that before. Grass is coming up but only in a few places. There are huge numbers coming off flats with hard bottoms near steep drops. I have had clients that have had close to 100 fish days in the last month but the size was not as great as the past. In the last week or so the size is picking upwith alot of bigger females moving up everyday to take thier place on the beds. We boated several in the last few trips that had already laid out and were ready to start thier move back to the ledges. If an angler was coming down here look for these flats and just start fishing. You will catch fish on most of them. Alot of smaller fish but there are bigger fish mixed in the groups. Also the sight fishing is picking up but the pollen is making it hard to see some fish unless your really good at sight fishing. FOr some pre-spawn fish hit the drops near the flats. One thing that will help is if you find a pocket that has a muddy bottom move. Everything I am catching is on a hard surface.
There are several baits that are working great for me right now. I am using the Jackall Cover Craw(green Pumpkin), Lake Fork Top Dog and Hyper Lizard, as well as the Jackall Giron, and Lake FOrk Live Magic Shad. Thise baits are getting the bigger bites with the plastics gaining huge numbers and a few bigger fish. One bait that I am flat smoke'n fish on is the Jackall Flick Shake or the Lake Fork Live Wack'n Worm rigged on a Jackall Wacky Jighead in 3/32. I am using that bait on a Jackall Power Inch Wacky Rod with Daiwa Steez and Lake Fork Flourohybrid Line. The Other PLastics I am using a Jackall Master Stroke Rod with Daiwa Reel Steez 7.1 reel and Lake Fork Flourohybrid 26 lb line. On the swimbaits I use the Jackall Delta Spec rod with the Daiwa Zillion Reel(4.3) and 32 lb Flourohybrid line.
If sight fishing is your thing this is the time to do it. Move to supper skinny water on flats and just go looking. Once you find a bed holding a fish then back off and start working it. I am having my best luck with the Flick Shake or Wack'n worm to catch most of the bed fish. PLEASE rememeber if you are going sight fish do everything you can to return the fish to the bed after a picture and get her back in the water ASAP. The less stress the better.
I want to thank all of our fans and those who have been a huge support to our efforts. We are having some great trips and the tournament season is going strong. We are only a few more events away from making the big goal. It is because you all of you that we are able to keep going and moving forward. WE will ALL be at the TOP together in no time flat. ROCK ON!!!
Monday, April 12, 2010
ABA-BWS Tournament on Lake Chickamuaga
Well going to a lake I have never seen is one of my favorite things to do in the tournament series. I was not disappointed when I arrived on last Wed. in Dayton, Tn at all. Although the water was down about 6 feet and alot of the things I had found while watching maps and photos were dry dirt I still felt my mental game was "spot on". I launched the Federated Auto Parts Triton at the event ramp and started riding the waters. Fisrt place I pulled into I went as far back as I could thinking with water temps in the high 60's there should be fish in the dirt. Well I was right, first cast to a stump I spotted yielded a solid keeper fish. I then shook off 3 more bites on the same type of structure. Knowing what I know now and have learned by alot of mistakes I moved to other pockets with the same look as the first. I found fish in several of them and found things that would work reguardless of the wind direction. After riding about 40 miles of the lake and it's creeks I was feeling good about my event but knew it was a pattern that could fall apart fast.
On day two of practice I decided to look for a solid secondary pattern just in case. When I walked out of the Holiday Inn I was greeted with driving rain and high winds. After putting in the water made the choice to check the water in the areas I found on Wed.. Well as expected they were very muddy and getting worse by the hour. Needless to say day two went very bad and suddenly I found my mental game gone. Not one keeper fish or bite all day with the only thing I found to be gone due to weather.
Day three, after a long talk with a couple of people I can always count on to raise my mental state back up I hit the water on the lower end of the lake. I did that knowing from alot of lakes I have traveled to in the past the lower end tends to be deeper and have clear water. I had my link and good friend, Chris Abbott put me in at the ramp and take my truck to the lower end of the lake to save some gas but at the same time lay a track on the GPS to the lower end. It was nice to have someone there that could do that. Once I picked him up I moved to an open water hump very close looking for some "release fish". Well about the third cast got a bite and set the hook on an 8 lb fish! I marked it and left. Second stop was another hump and yielded another solid 4 lb fish. I looked at the Navionics chip map I had and found several humps that looked just like the first two I hit. Each one gave me a solid keeper fish. I found humps that I knew would be protected from any winds and located near large spawning flats. I was so "stoked" by the end of the day I couldnt wait to start the event.
On tournament day I was, as always, one of the first on the ramp and in the water 2 hours before check in. My Co-Angler, Kevin Rose, showed up carrying some breakfast and his gear. He knew the best way to start the day was bringing me food.LOL I told him we had a long run and after talking and getting to know each other a little we lined up for blast off. Being boat 40 was ok but once we went through check in and blast off and hit the river we hit the fog. There were several times I had to sit down off the pad to see the front of the boat. This is not a good thing when your looking at a 30+ min ride to your first stop. We made it to our stop only to find I had found a great spot. Atleast I knew it was due to the 4 boats sitting on it when I got there. I made my way into the hump and watched a boat that was sitting on the sweet spot smoke a limit in about 15 mins.. I just kept fishing and before long had my first keeper. I then put another one in the boat as did Kevin. I then had a solid fish on that just came off right at the boat. I shook off the bad karma and kept plugging along. We made a move to my next hump to get two more short fish. The winds kinda got up so I moved acroos the river to some Islands I had found had humps off the points. I hit the first one and had my limit in less than an hour. Kevin also boated a HUGE 5+ smallmouth and his largest "brown fish" to date. We were both stoked about his catch and I got to fish solo for a sec while he calmed back down. I then culled twice and had a couple of short fish in the stop.
After about another hour I made the run to some spawning areas in search of one 5 lb bite. Once I got there I found the nights north winds had beat the pocket up and the water was just nasty. I did what I could to see some fish and just blind casted to several waypoints I had marked only to find smaller buck bass on the beds. I then made the move back to my first stop to fish the last 30 mins of my day. The big fish I had on Friday was still there somewhere and I needed it. Kevin and I put another fish in the boat his was short and mine didnt cull anything I had then time was up. I made the run back toward the ramp getting there just in time for my check in.
Once at the scales Kevin found himself in the top 5 with 2 fish that went 8.78 and I had a good limit(for a non-local) at 11.53. I knew I needed one good fish to be in a better position but once all was said and done gained alot of places in the points race(from 85th to 42nd) and only 8 points from the top 40 that will go to regionals. I still have 3 more events to go so I'm on the pace I like and feel regionals is a very reachable goal.
My best baits for the event were the Jackall Cover Craw(Green Pumpkin) and Lake Fork Top Dog Lizard. I fished both on Jackall Posion Rods(Master Stroke and Rushburn) with Daiwa Steez reels. I also used Lake Fork Flourohybid 20lb line and Lake Fork weights. I want to thank God for giving me the chance to live out my dreams, My Family and fans for all the support and well wishes, Tom Helton for all his input, Betty Stahl for the loan of the Navionics Chip(which was a huge help on getting me around the lake as well as putting together a game plan) and my Sponsors with whom I couldnt be doing this without thier support. Please be sure to support those who support us. Looking forward to another great event next week for the Central Division on Lake Center Hill. See you on the water.
On day two of practice I decided to look for a solid secondary pattern just in case. When I walked out of the Holiday Inn I was greeted with driving rain and high winds. After putting in the water made the choice to check the water in the areas I found on Wed.. Well as expected they were very muddy and getting worse by the hour. Needless to say day two went very bad and suddenly I found my mental game gone. Not one keeper fish or bite all day with the only thing I found to be gone due to weather.
Day three, after a long talk with a couple of people I can always count on to raise my mental state back up I hit the water on the lower end of the lake. I did that knowing from alot of lakes I have traveled to in the past the lower end tends to be deeper and have clear water. I had my link and good friend, Chris Abbott put me in at the ramp and take my truck to the lower end of the lake to save some gas but at the same time lay a track on the GPS to the lower end. It was nice to have someone there that could do that. Once I picked him up I moved to an open water hump very close looking for some "release fish". Well about the third cast got a bite and set the hook on an 8 lb fish! I marked it and left. Second stop was another hump and yielded another solid 4 lb fish. I looked at the Navionics chip map I had and found several humps that looked just like the first two I hit. Each one gave me a solid keeper fish. I found humps that I knew would be protected from any winds and located near large spawning flats. I was so "stoked" by the end of the day I couldnt wait to start the event.
On tournament day I was, as always, one of the first on the ramp and in the water 2 hours before check in. My Co-Angler, Kevin Rose, showed up carrying some breakfast and his gear. He knew the best way to start the day was bringing me food.LOL I told him we had a long run and after talking and getting to know each other a little we lined up for blast off. Being boat 40 was ok but once we went through check in and blast off and hit the river we hit the fog. There were several times I had to sit down off the pad to see the front of the boat. This is not a good thing when your looking at a 30+ min ride to your first stop. We made it to our stop only to find I had found a great spot. Atleast I knew it was due to the 4 boats sitting on it when I got there. I made my way into the hump and watched a boat that was sitting on the sweet spot smoke a limit in about 15 mins.. I just kept fishing and before long had my first keeper. I then put another one in the boat as did Kevin. I then had a solid fish on that just came off right at the boat. I shook off the bad karma and kept plugging along. We made a move to my next hump to get two more short fish. The winds kinda got up so I moved acroos the river to some Islands I had found had humps off the points. I hit the first one and had my limit in less than an hour. Kevin also boated a HUGE 5+ smallmouth and his largest "brown fish" to date. We were both stoked about his catch and I got to fish solo for a sec while he calmed back down. I then culled twice and had a couple of short fish in the stop.
After about another hour I made the run to some spawning areas in search of one 5 lb bite. Once I got there I found the nights north winds had beat the pocket up and the water was just nasty. I did what I could to see some fish and just blind casted to several waypoints I had marked only to find smaller buck bass on the beds. I then made the move back to my first stop to fish the last 30 mins of my day. The big fish I had on Friday was still there somewhere and I needed it. Kevin and I put another fish in the boat his was short and mine didnt cull anything I had then time was up. I made the run back toward the ramp getting there just in time for my check in.
Once at the scales Kevin found himself in the top 5 with 2 fish that went 8.78 and I had a good limit(for a non-local) at 11.53. I knew I needed one good fish to be in a better position but once all was said and done gained alot of places in the points race(from 85th to 42nd) and only 8 points from the top 40 that will go to regionals. I still have 3 more events to go so I'm on the pace I like and feel regionals is a very reachable goal.
My best baits for the event were the Jackall Cover Craw(Green Pumpkin) and Lake Fork Top Dog Lizard. I fished both on Jackall Posion Rods(Master Stroke and Rushburn) with Daiwa Steez reels. I also used Lake Fork Flourohybid 20lb line and Lake Fork weights. I want to thank God for giving me the chance to live out my dreams, My Family and fans for all the support and well wishes, Tom Helton for all his input, Betty Stahl for the loan of the Navionics Chip(which was a huge help on getting me around the lake as well as putting together a game plan) and my Sponsors with whom I couldnt be doing this without thier support. Please be sure to support those who support us. Looking forward to another great event next week for the Central Division on Lake Center Hill. See you on the water.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
BWS-East Tenn. Division on Lake Guntersville
After the Bassmasters Classic on Lay Lake Last weekend I came home to pre-fish for the Bassmasters Weekend Series by American Bass Anglers on Lake Guntersville. The weather left alot to be desired but in tournament Bass fishing anglers have no choice to to get out there and make things happen. Our forcast for the week was brutal calling for high winds and snow on atleast one day of practice with the end of the week having a full moon and more high winds. Temps started off everyday in the mid to upper 20's with highs only reaching mid 40's by the weekend.
On Monday I started off pre-fishing like I would any other lake I have been on before, checking places I knew fish should be and hitting areas I have had done well in on past trips. I found fish in the mid-lake area on creek channels working into large spawning flats to me the most productive pattern. The best baits for me seemed to be the Jackall TN70 lipless crankbait and Greenpumpkin Jig. I did notice the bite was strong and fish seemed to hit the baits aggressive on every place I had found.
On Tuesday I hit the lake fishing the lower section looking to duplicate the bite from Monday and build on what I had found. I fished several steep drops with the jig and only had two bites for the day. The Lipless crankbait was seeming to be the most consistant bite on the lower end with most of my fish coming on it. I had several solid keepers and was feeling good about the pattern.
Wed. I hit the water to find snow and blowing winds. I stayed on the lower end again wanting to get some idea of how the weather would effect the fish I had found the day before and it did. The areas I fished seemed to be very slow and crushed my confidence to make the run down river to those areas. The few bites I got all day were very light and fish just seemed to be loading up on the bait and not striking near as hard as the other days. I knew the weather would effect the bite and high winds would blast the areas I needed to fish with a jig making boat position hard to deal with when fishing with a co-angler.
Last Thursday I made the choice to run up river and see if the bite was any better. I also wanted to fish areas I had not seen(which is hard to do being I grew up fishing here). I moved above the Hwy 35 bridge looking for places I knew would not get alot of boat presure and had steep drops. I found a submerged pond in a cut that was surrounded by spawning flats and lots of wood cover. The edge of the pond had alot of green grass(which was key to holding fish). I fished the jig with very few bites but the Lippless crankbait was producing several 4+ pound fish. I also noticed it was more protected from high winds which were going to blow on tournament day. I had alot of confidence in that area and made the decission this was going to be the first stop of the tournament.
Friday I fished the mid-lake area again looking for some type of back up plan in case the area didnt pan out that I had found on Thrusday. I found 3 areass that held solid keeper fish and knew I could get atleast 15-18 pounds from all 3 of them. I felt confident I could get a limit and knew with 2 or more good bites to go along with it I had a shot at a top 5 finish.
On the morning of the event we had to wait to launch due to the ramp having a sheet of ice on it and it delayed the 6 am. blast off an hour. My co-angler and I made the run upriver to my first stop finding the water temps had dropped a few degrees but we were alone as far as boats go. We fished about an hour before I put the first keeper in the boat. A few cast later he landed a keeper fish and we were both on the board. about an hour later I got slammed and had a solid fish miss the bait. 2 cast later I lost a solid fish due to line breaking from the cold temps and being frozen and brittle. After about another hour I noticed my front sonar shut off. Those of you that fish know theis means I have a charging problem. I cranked the motor to find the voltage regulator was not charging the cranking battery and my tournament was about to get alot harder than I planned. during this time my co-angler boated a solid 6+ pound fish. I made the choice to stay in that area a little longer but knew I couldnt stay long having to run the livewells and now couldnt go to the mid-lake areas I had my most consistant bite. I could have made it to those areas but knew that there was no way to have enough cranking power to get back to the ramp for check in. If you have a chance at making some points and your co-angler has a chance at a check with his fish it was too big a risk to take to make a run and not be sure I could get back. I made the choice to run closer to the ramp and fish there in case I had to use the trolling motor to get back to check in.
I ended up only boating one more fish on after getting near the ramp on the TN70 and him and I missing only a couple of more bites. This put him and I both with 2 fish at weigh in time. He ended up in the top 15 and I got some points to go to the next event. In tournament fishing when you are fishing the entire series every point is important to make it to the goal of getting to Nationals.
There were alot of solid anglers in the event and over 30 boats without a fish and only 23 limits brought to the scales out of 127 boats.
It was a great job by the anglers that finished well and now looking forward to the getting the boat fixed and my next event coming up. Hope everyone had a great weekend and stays warm. The coming week I will be home working on guide trips and getting ready for next weekends appearances at Bass Pro Shops. Thanks to everyone for all the support and well wishes. See you on the water
On Monday I started off pre-fishing like I would any other lake I have been on before, checking places I knew fish should be and hitting areas I have had done well in on past trips. I found fish in the mid-lake area on creek channels working into large spawning flats to me the most productive pattern. The best baits for me seemed to be the Jackall TN70 lipless crankbait and Greenpumpkin Jig. I did notice the bite was strong and fish seemed to hit the baits aggressive on every place I had found.
On Tuesday I hit the lake fishing the lower section looking to duplicate the bite from Monday and build on what I had found. I fished several steep drops with the jig and only had two bites for the day. The Lipless crankbait was seeming to be the most consistant bite on the lower end with most of my fish coming on it. I had several solid keepers and was feeling good about the pattern.
Wed. I hit the water to find snow and blowing winds. I stayed on the lower end again wanting to get some idea of how the weather would effect the fish I had found the day before and it did. The areas I fished seemed to be very slow and crushed my confidence to make the run down river to those areas. The few bites I got all day were very light and fish just seemed to be loading up on the bait and not striking near as hard as the other days. I knew the weather would effect the bite and high winds would blast the areas I needed to fish with a jig making boat position hard to deal with when fishing with a co-angler.
Last Thursday I made the choice to run up river and see if the bite was any better. I also wanted to fish areas I had not seen(which is hard to do being I grew up fishing here). I moved above the Hwy 35 bridge looking for places I knew would not get alot of boat presure and had steep drops. I found a submerged pond in a cut that was surrounded by spawning flats and lots of wood cover. The edge of the pond had alot of green grass(which was key to holding fish). I fished the jig with very few bites but the Lippless crankbait was producing several 4+ pound fish. I also noticed it was more protected from high winds which were going to blow on tournament day. I had alot of confidence in that area and made the decission this was going to be the first stop of the tournament.
Friday I fished the mid-lake area again looking for some type of back up plan in case the area didnt pan out that I had found on Thrusday. I found 3 areass that held solid keeper fish and knew I could get atleast 15-18 pounds from all 3 of them. I felt confident I could get a limit and knew with 2 or more good bites to go along with it I had a shot at a top 5 finish.
On the morning of the event we had to wait to launch due to the ramp having a sheet of ice on it and it delayed the 6 am. blast off an hour. My co-angler and I made the run upriver to my first stop finding the water temps had dropped a few degrees but we were alone as far as boats go. We fished about an hour before I put the first keeper in the boat. A few cast later he landed a keeper fish and we were both on the board. about an hour later I got slammed and had a solid fish miss the bait. 2 cast later I lost a solid fish due to line breaking from the cold temps and being frozen and brittle. After about another hour I noticed my front sonar shut off. Those of you that fish know theis means I have a charging problem. I cranked the motor to find the voltage regulator was not charging the cranking battery and my tournament was about to get alot harder than I planned. during this time my co-angler boated a solid 6+ pound fish. I made the choice to stay in that area a little longer but knew I couldnt stay long having to run the livewells and now couldnt go to the mid-lake areas I had my most consistant bite. I could have made it to those areas but knew that there was no way to have enough cranking power to get back to the ramp for check in. If you have a chance at making some points and your co-angler has a chance at a check with his fish it was too big a risk to take to make a run and not be sure I could get back. I made the choice to run closer to the ramp and fish there in case I had to use the trolling motor to get back to check in.
I ended up only boating one more fish on after getting near the ramp on the TN70 and him and I missing only a couple of more bites. This put him and I both with 2 fish at weigh in time. He ended up in the top 15 and I got some points to go to the next event. In tournament fishing when you are fishing the entire series every point is important to make it to the goal of getting to Nationals.
There were alot of solid anglers in the event and over 30 boats without a fish and only 23 limits brought to the scales out of 127 boats.
It was a great job by the anglers that finished well and now looking forward to the getting the boat fixed and my next event coming up. Hope everyone had a great weekend and stays warm. The coming week I will be home working on guide trips and getting ready for next weekends appearances at Bass Pro Shops. Thanks to everyone for all the support and well wishes. See you on the water
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Non-Motivated Angler Makes for a Long Day on the Water.....
I started the day out this morning not looking forward to getting on the water. It was just one of those days that it was just hard to get moving and once I hit the outside temps it was even harder to make myself go to the water. Well after a bite of breakfast I launched the boat and ran south to look to duplicate the pattern I had been on for the last few trips.
The pattern seemed to hold up but it did start slow. I found some fish hitting the bait like they did on Monday so I decided to slow way down and fish them a little different than with the TN70. I tied on a Lake Fork Live Magic Shad in the 4.5 size and rigged it on a 1/8 swimbait hook. I would let the bait fall into the grass lines then rip it from the bottom. After several cast I found they seemed to hit it harder and hold on to the bait alot better.
I ended up fishing the Magic Shad on the rest of my stops boating fish in all but two of them working grass lines in water from 1-4 feet. I did notice the water seemed to be getting cleared up more on the lower end that on the north and mid section of the lake. I think that also helps the bite because it tends to heat up a little faster when the sun gets out good. The size for me could stand to pick up though with my best five only pushing around 20 lbs and anyone that knows this lake knows that wont tip the scales this time of year in a tournament. Well back at it in the morning and hope everyone has a great "humpday". See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
The pattern seemed to hold up but it did start slow. I found some fish hitting the bait like they did on Monday so I decided to slow way down and fish them a little different than with the TN70. I tied on a Lake Fork Live Magic Shad in the 4.5 size and rigged it on a 1/8 swimbait hook. I would let the bait fall into the grass lines then rip it from the bottom. After several cast I found they seemed to hit it harder and hold on to the bait alot better.
I ended up fishing the Magic Shad on the rest of my stops boating fish in all but two of them working grass lines in water from 1-4 feet. I did notice the water seemed to be getting cleared up more on the lower end that on the north and mid section of the lake. I think that also helps the bite because it tends to heat up a little faster when the sun gets out good. The size for me could stand to pick up though with my best five only pushing around 20 lbs and anyone that knows this lake knows that wont tip the scales this time of year in a tournament. Well back at it in the morning and hope everyone has a great "humpday". See you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hard Fishing and Great Company on Guntersville
Well, the title sums it up fairly well. What seemed to start out as a great last min. trip on Guntersville with an awesome guy, Kyron Jones ended up with the fish not being very commited to the program. Kyron has helped me in the past at some appearances at Bass Pro Shops while doing tank demo's and we made the choice last night to get him out on the water in search or a big Guntersville Bass. Well, we started off launching at Waterfront and after looking at some cloud cover made the choice to run north from the ramp. Upon reaching our first stop and seeing the water to be about 3 degrees colded and 4 shades darker than the last time I was in the creek a few days ago I knew I was in trouble. I had explained to him I really needed the sun to pick up the better bite was sure we would have some fish reguardless.
We started off tossing Jackall TN70 Lipless cranks in the shallow grass lines. While fishing I was telling him how the bite had been very suttle and make sure to know exactly what his bait was doing at all times. It wasnt long before a fish smacked his bait pulled the rod and then came unhooked. He then knew what I meant about the bite being light. I ended up picking up a rod and using several different colors and sizes to see if it would help make the fish commit better to the bait. I then had a fish slap at the bait and ended up foul hooking it in the back. After getting the fish to the boat and letting him go back to his winter retreat Kyron missed another solid fish that was right at the boat and pulling drag. He was doing everything right and working the fish then it was just like the fish disappeared and the line went slack.
I made the dession to make a move further up river to an area I had boated a few fish in past trips. After working the area kinda fast I crossed the creek channel to another area and hooked up again on a solid keeper fish but still not what I was looking for. After a few more mins. Kyron had one fish knock slack in the line but when he set the hook nothing was there. We then were running out of daylight during the short 4 hour trip and moved again. The 4th area we fish produced one nasty backlash, some new line and no fish. We moved back to the area we had started and showed the most promise. Ended up with a couple of more fish several misses and some great leasons on the Lowrance set up/reading the graph and GPS. I even missed a fish on a Jackall Flick Shake, which those of you that have fished with me know that is a very rare thing to happen.LOL
All in all a good trip where lots of great fellowship and instruction prevailed over the fishing. Somedays are always better than others and there are somedays you just can't make them eat the bait good enough to get them in the boat. Water temps were 46-49 degrees with a light wind and very stained water. The current was moving so fast on the main lake it almost seemed like someone forgot to put the plug back in the Dam but water levels are still high. Hope everyone has a great week and stay safe.
God Bless
Phil'4:13
We started off tossing Jackall TN70 Lipless cranks in the shallow grass lines. While fishing I was telling him how the bite had been very suttle and make sure to know exactly what his bait was doing at all times. It wasnt long before a fish smacked his bait pulled the rod and then came unhooked. He then knew what I meant about the bite being light. I ended up picking up a rod and using several different colors and sizes to see if it would help make the fish commit better to the bait. I then had a fish slap at the bait and ended up foul hooking it in the back. After getting the fish to the boat and letting him go back to his winter retreat Kyron missed another solid fish that was right at the boat and pulling drag. He was doing everything right and working the fish then it was just like the fish disappeared and the line went slack.
I made the dession to make a move further up river to an area I had boated a few fish in past trips. After working the area kinda fast I crossed the creek channel to another area and hooked up again on a solid keeper fish but still not what I was looking for. After a few more mins. Kyron had one fish knock slack in the line but when he set the hook nothing was there. We then were running out of daylight during the short 4 hour trip and moved again. The 4th area we fish produced one nasty backlash, some new line and no fish. We moved back to the area we had started and showed the most promise. Ended up with a couple of more fish several misses and some great leasons on the Lowrance set up/reading the graph and GPS. I even missed a fish on a Jackall Flick Shake, which those of you that have fished with me know that is a very rare thing to happen.LOL
All in all a good trip where lots of great fellowship and instruction prevailed over the fishing. Somedays are always better than others and there are somedays you just can't make them eat the bait good enough to get them in the boat. Water temps were 46-49 degrees with a light wind and very stained water. The current was moving so fast on the main lake it almost seemed like someone forgot to put the plug back in the Dam but water levels are still high. Hope everyone has a great week and stay safe.
God Bless
Phil'4:13
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The Weather is Cold but The Lake is HOT!!
After an awesome trip to Lake Kissimmee in Fla for NEW Sponsor Federated Auto Parts and American Bass Anglers I returned to cold temps and even colder water. after a day of rest and spending time with Beth I hit the lake to stay on top of the fishing here. Well I got out with good friend and client Paul Ponder of Albertville. We hit the lake at about noon after the temps got up a little outside. We started out looking for a reaction bite to locate some type of pattern.
We put in at Waterfront and worked our way up river. As we rode the main lake the first thing I noticed was the lake was way up and way muddy. There were entire trees floating and running was dangerous. I decided to start off on creek channels and work from there looking for a bite. I have always been a strong believer that things happen for a reason and what happened next just enforced that. While teaching Paul a couple of things I let the boat just float with the current and winds. Once the leason was over we just stood up and started casting. I was working the trolling motor back to our original stopping point and on his 5th cast he stroked a solid 4 pound fish. I stopped the trolling motor and let him work the area a little more. He put another one in the boat in the next few cast and the pattern was formed. To be honest I would not have started at that location at all and the fish were way away from where they should have been according to past fishing logs I have.
Paul worked the Jackall TN70 in Chart. Shad in less than 2 feet of water on old grass lines boating several more fish and a limit in the first hour. He was wanting to learn more about working a pattern so we sat down and I showed him how to find places on the lake that would hold fish like we were catching. Well he wanted me to prove it so I had him pick a place on the map that looked like what we were fishing and we went there. Within 10 mins he was boating fish of the same size and building confidence in his ability to find a pattern and locate fish on the lake. It was like watching a kid open presents on Christmas morning seeing the smile on his face when he put it all together and was building confidence on his new found ability. We ended the day with a solid limit of about 22 lbs. and alot learned on tactics.
Water temps were between 48-50 degrees and the only bait that produced was the TN70 in Chart Shad and Red Craw. Every fish boated was caught on older grass lines where some green grass stalks were still present in less than 2 feet of water.
The following day I headed out on the lower end of the lake fishing alone and working on some tactics. The day was alot different as far as weather with very little sun out compared to the day before. I changed colors of the TN70 to the Gold/Black due to the lack of sun and worked the same pattern as the day prior. The fish seemed to be just a little further because of the lack of sun to heat up the shallow water. I found the same pattern to be working but just a little deeper on the first outside line from 6-8 feet of water. The fish seemed to be hitting the bait a little more slugish and water temps were just a tad lower in the mid 40's. After catching a limit on the TN70 I decided to change the size of the bait to the Dozer and the color to a Chart. Shad. I found the fish liked the bigger profile of the bait but I did get less bites. The quality of the fish was better. I upgraded my limit on every fish and ended the day with a solid 26 lb bag. One thing I noticed is the fish are in the same areas but if the weather changes an angler must change with it. The fish dont move far from day to day so if you have an area where you were catching fish dont give up on them if they dont bite as soon as you get there. Pay close attn to weather patterns and adjust as needed to catch the same fish.
I hope this helps anglers out a little when fishing and helps turn a day of fishing in the cold one of the best days on the water they could ever dream of. Be sure to remember some of the biggest fish in the lake are caught during Jan., Feb., and March. So stay with it, stay confident in your skills, and dont let the weather get to you and you should have a great chance at the fish of a lifetime. Good luck and be safe on the water. See you on the lake!!
God Bless
Phil.4:13
We put in at Waterfront and worked our way up river. As we rode the main lake the first thing I noticed was the lake was way up and way muddy. There were entire trees floating and running was dangerous. I decided to start off on creek channels and work from there looking for a bite. I have always been a strong believer that things happen for a reason and what happened next just enforced that. While teaching Paul a couple of things I let the boat just float with the current and winds. Once the leason was over we just stood up and started casting. I was working the trolling motor back to our original stopping point and on his 5th cast he stroked a solid 4 pound fish. I stopped the trolling motor and let him work the area a little more. He put another one in the boat in the next few cast and the pattern was formed. To be honest I would not have started at that location at all and the fish were way away from where they should have been according to past fishing logs I have.
Paul worked the Jackall TN70 in Chart. Shad in less than 2 feet of water on old grass lines boating several more fish and a limit in the first hour. He was wanting to learn more about working a pattern so we sat down and I showed him how to find places on the lake that would hold fish like we were catching. Well he wanted me to prove it so I had him pick a place on the map that looked like what we were fishing and we went there. Within 10 mins he was boating fish of the same size and building confidence in his ability to find a pattern and locate fish on the lake. It was like watching a kid open presents on Christmas morning seeing the smile on his face when he put it all together and was building confidence on his new found ability. We ended the day with a solid limit of about 22 lbs. and alot learned on tactics.
Water temps were between 48-50 degrees and the only bait that produced was the TN70 in Chart Shad and Red Craw. Every fish boated was caught on older grass lines where some green grass stalks were still present in less than 2 feet of water.
The following day I headed out on the lower end of the lake fishing alone and working on some tactics. The day was alot different as far as weather with very little sun out compared to the day before. I changed colors of the TN70 to the Gold/Black due to the lack of sun and worked the same pattern as the day prior. The fish seemed to be just a little further because of the lack of sun to heat up the shallow water. I found the same pattern to be working but just a little deeper on the first outside line from 6-8 feet of water. The fish seemed to be hitting the bait a little more slugish and water temps were just a tad lower in the mid 40's. After catching a limit on the TN70 I decided to change the size of the bait to the Dozer and the color to a Chart. Shad. I found the fish liked the bigger profile of the bait but I did get less bites. The quality of the fish was better. I upgraded my limit on every fish and ended the day with a solid 26 lb bag. One thing I noticed is the fish are in the same areas but if the weather changes an angler must change with it. The fish dont move far from day to day so if you have an area where you were catching fish dont give up on them if they dont bite as soon as you get there. Pay close attn to weather patterns and adjust as needed to catch the same fish.
I hope this helps anglers out a little when fishing and helps turn a day of fishing in the cold one of the best days on the water they could ever dream of. Be sure to remember some of the biggest fish in the lake are caught during Jan., Feb., and March. So stay with it, stay confident in your skills, and dont let the weather get to you and you should have a great chance at the fish of a lifetime. Good luck and be safe on the water. See you on the lake!!
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Friday, January 1, 2010
January 2010-First Day of a New Year, Lake Guntersville Style
Well the weather was cold but the fishing was HOT! I got out today to bring in the New Year with a bang and that is just what happened. The colder nights and high skies have moved the better fish to most of the wintertime "haunts" and they arrived hungry. For those that have fished with me in the past already know I would rather take a beating than fish a Jerkbait as slow as you have to fish it this time of year until the fish are on it hard. Well after several trips in the last few weeks of catching a few Jerkbait fish I went out today to see just how well they were eating it and committed to fishing it for at least half the day.
The day started kind of slow but when the sun reached the tops of the trees the bite got strong and was awesome to say the least. I Started with the Jackall Squirrel in Tenn. Shad. I worked the outside of main creek channels near deeper drops with the boat positioned in 12-15 feet of water. I was fishing the outside grass lines and found a solid 18 lb limit in the first 2 hours. After getting a solid bite I moved up to the Squad Minnow in the 120 size hoping to upgrade. The bite never slowed down and the pattern was holding up on all of the first 5 areas. I changed several colors and it never seemed to hurt the bite at all. One main key, yes the secret I found was once you pulled the bait down you had to let it sit for at least 12 seconds then remove the slack from the line and twitch it once. One key was DO NOT move the bait more than 4-6 inches and let it sit for another 12-15 seconds. This made the numbers drop a little but the size picked up greatly. I upgraded every fish I had caught prior to changing the size of baits I was looking at a solid 25+ pounds.
Once satisfied that I could put up coming clients on solid numbers and size on the Jerkbait I had to change baits and play with my newest weapon in my arsenal, The Jackall Delta Spec Rod. I tied on several baits starting with the Jig (Black and Blue) and changing to see what baits worked well on the rod. I went about 2 hours without a bite on several baits and only a few smaller fish on a couple. I then changed to the Jackall Giron (Black Crappie). I loved the way the rod preformed for casting the bait and it felt good with me being able to feel everything the bait was doing on the retrieve. I then had a solid 7 pound fish on the rod and its performance was everything I expected from the Jackall Rod. I boated several more fish on the same pattern just worked a little deeper (15-20 feet) than the jerkbait.
After finishing the day with a solid 28 pound limit I was pleased to see how the bite was getting stronger and the fish seem to have settled down some and moved into a pattern unlike past trips where it was a fish here and there.
The best baits on the swimbait pattern were the Jackall Swimming Ninja (Hitch), the Jackall Giron (Black Crappie) and the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad (5.5 in the Magic Shad color). I ended up with the best fish off the Live Magic Shad worked with a slow swimming motion then letting it fall into the grass edge. Most fish hit the bait on the fall near the bottom or just as I pulled it off the bottom and the end of the fall. Best advice is to not fish too fast and trust your area and bait. Some of the bites were very light so if it feels different set the hook.
I hope this helps some of our fans catch the fish of a lifetime and makes your cold winter days on the water a little better. If you want to see these tactics or some other little tricks we have to catch fish on winter patterns drop us a line and we will get you set up for a great fishing trip. Thanks again to everyone for their support and looking forward to seeing you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
The day started kind of slow but when the sun reached the tops of the trees the bite got strong and was awesome to say the least. I Started with the Jackall Squirrel in Tenn. Shad. I worked the outside of main creek channels near deeper drops with the boat positioned in 12-15 feet of water. I was fishing the outside grass lines and found a solid 18 lb limit in the first 2 hours. After getting a solid bite I moved up to the Squad Minnow in the 120 size hoping to upgrade. The bite never slowed down and the pattern was holding up on all of the first 5 areas. I changed several colors and it never seemed to hurt the bite at all. One main key, yes the secret I found was once you pulled the bait down you had to let it sit for at least 12 seconds then remove the slack from the line and twitch it once. One key was DO NOT move the bait more than 4-6 inches and let it sit for another 12-15 seconds. This made the numbers drop a little but the size picked up greatly. I upgraded every fish I had caught prior to changing the size of baits I was looking at a solid 25+ pounds.
Once satisfied that I could put up coming clients on solid numbers and size on the Jerkbait I had to change baits and play with my newest weapon in my arsenal, The Jackall Delta Spec Rod. I tied on several baits starting with the Jig (Black and Blue) and changing to see what baits worked well on the rod. I went about 2 hours without a bite on several baits and only a few smaller fish on a couple. I then changed to the Jackall Giron (Black Crappie). I loved the way the rod preformed for casting the bait and it felt good with me being able to feel everything the bait was doing on the retrieve. I then had a solid 7 pound fish on the rod and its performance was everything I expected from the Jackall Rod. I boated several more fish on the same pattern just worked a little deeper (15-20 feet) than the jerkbait.
After finishing the day with a solid 28 pound limit I was pleased to see how the bite was getting stronger and the fish seem to have settled down some and moved into a pattern unlike past trips where it was a fish here and there.
The best baits on the swimbait pattern were the Jackall Swimming Ninja (Hitch), the Jackall Giron (Black Crappie) and the Lake Fork Live Magic Shad (5.5 in the Magic Shad color). I ended up with the best fish off the Live Magic Shad worked with a slow swimming motion then letting it fall into the grass edge. Most fish hit the bait on the fall near the bottom or just as I pulled it off the bottom and the end of the fall. Best advice is to not fish too fast and trust your area and bait. Some of the bites were very light so if it feels different set the hook.
I hope this helps some of our fans catch the fish of a lifetime and makes your cold winter days on the water a little better. If you want to see these tactics or some other little tricks we have to catch fish on winter patterns drop us a line and we will get you set up for a great fishing trip. Thanks again to everyone for their support and looking forward to seeing you on the water.
God Bless
Phil.4:13
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
