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.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
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
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