For some anglers, fishing is enough. Getting up and making it to the ramp just as the sun starts to rise and untying from the dock to try a new spot, is just enough to keep them reeling. But in my own mind, what's the bother if you don't tell about it? Well, maybe not everything but enough to brag... or in my case complain about falling short.
Some get after me about writing. I divulge to much about the proprietorship of "secret" spots or techniques. My simple opinion is, if it's not the day before a tournament then there is no conflict. If I am telling other competitors where I am going to fish the in the days prior to competition, that's just stupid. But if I talk about an area totally unrelated to an event or after the event is over, no damage done. Guys can be stingy that way. They don't share any information, anytime. My stance is that if I throw a bone once in a while, I'll get one back when I really need it. I notice a lot of anglers make the mistake of thinking they can just do it all on their own. Nothing I have ever accomplished has been done solely off of a hunch. All done by educated decisions made from things I have learned from other people in some form or another. For those who keep tight lips sealed, my secrets will stay just that... a secret (from you).
I also write because it helps me remember things I have done. Things that worked, and all the stuff that didn't work. All of it is so very important to keep for later reference. If you are fishing to do what I am trying to do, then you are fishing enough to forget plenty of what you have done wrong in the past, to make the same mistake twice; or pass up a great opportunity to use a killer technique you stumbled upon. Don't forget about bragging rights too. I can tell you from personal experience that getting my tail whipped at the scales leaves me wishing I could repay the favor someday. Retribution does happen on the rare occasion and when it does, I let the world know it by posting it here. I guess you could say it lifts my spirits to keep me fishing. Otherwise I would have curled up in some corner of my house and quit by now. So as for good advice for the mediocre anglers among truly skilled anglers getting the short end more often than not; don't give in, keep on pressing. And when you get the goods on tournament day, you need to reward yourself. It's okay to brag about yourself, especially when you have managed to fare well or even win in an event you know you are the underdog in. Rewarding yourself in these situations, to me, is imperative to future success in a mental capacity.
Don't go overboard with it. If you know my columns well, then you know I am moderate with my writing and I never bash others. Talking smack in writing can sometimes be taken the wrong way, and if you aim to be vindictive, you may find yourself a target out on the water later down the road. Say enough to talk yourself up and gain confidence in you and that's as far as you need to go. Extra banter about how bad Joe Bragger did, does absolutely nothing but start battles. You are already battling the fish. Why create yet another opposing force?
In this sport, you are your own coach, which is unique to bass fishing. You have to be supportive of yourself at the same time being realistic with a good sense of sportsmanship. If you boil it down, this is what writing is all about for me. It reminds me of dos and do nots. So I guess you could say it's more for me that it is for the people that read. Although I suppose others could gather from what I know or think. But don't take my writing for it. Try it yourself.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Monday, November 2, 2009
Nanticoke Fishing Reprort for the Week of 11/1/2009
Well everybody, here is what I promised you. A weekly Nanticoke fishing report. As long as my guys keep giving me updates every week, I will post this info (though general) on this here blog on Mondays. Enjoy!
Weather Forecast: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=38.633868836177584&lon=-75.61675071716308&site=phi&smap=1&marine=1&unit=0&lg=en
Tides:
Tides.Info: Tide Predictions for Sharptown, Nanticoke River, Maryland
Current Water Temperatures: Upper stretches of both branches hovering in the low 60's while cooling at night. Main portions of the river in the high 50's and falling daily with consistent rain and wind. Broad Creek temps around 63 degrees with temps in Marshy Hope slightly higher at 64.
The catching seems a little tough lately with the windy and rainy conditions, however the fishing has not slacked off at least until Saturday. I went out with my son last Monday and the bass seemed to like a TX rigged ribbontail, but the bite was light. You had to really be paying attention. I was also scrounging around for some spots for a few hours on Saturday and I noticed the boat traffic had slowed down a lot since Monday. I tried my luck up-river and found some fish stuck on wood and playing very close submerged solids that you could not see with the water so high like it was. Crankbaits have helped me find this kind of stuff, though the fish don't want to take it. So I follow up with a soft plastic on the structure I find with the crankbait. I predict with all the precip we will be getting, the water temps will continue to fall and presentations will need to become slower and slower. But the feed bag will stay on. We'll see!
Others I chatted with who had fished this week claimed success with shakeyheads in skinny creeks and metallic colored lipless crankbaits on your steeper drops, when the current let off a little.
Weather Forecast: http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=38.633868836177584&lon=-75.61675071716308&site=phi&smap=1&marine=1&unit=0&lg=en
Tides:
Tides.Info: Tide Predictions for Sharptown, Nanticoke River, Maryland
Current Water Temperatures: Upper stretches of both branches hovering in the low 60's while cooling at night. Main portions of the river in the high 50's and falling daily with consistent rain and wind. Broad Creek temps around 63 degrees with temps in Marshy Hope slightly higher at 64.
The catching seems a little tough lately with the windy and rainy conditions, however the fishing has not slacked off at least until Saturday. I went out with my son last Monday and the bass seemed to like a TX rigged ribbontail, but the bite was light. You had to really be paying attention. I was also scrounging around for some spots for a few hours on Saturday and I noticed the boat traffic had slowed down a lot since Monday. I tried my luck up-river and found some fish stuck on wood and playing very close submerged solids that you could not see with the water so high like it was. Crankbaits have helped me find this kind of stuff, though the fish don't want to take it. So I follow up with a soft plastic on the structure I find with the crankbait. I predict with all the precip we will be getting, the water temps will continue to fall and presentations will need to become slower and slower. But the feed bag will stay on. We'll see!
Others I chatted with who had fished this week claimed success with shakeyheads in skinny creeks and metallic colored lipless crankbaits on your steeper drops, when the current let off a little.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Season's End
I have to say, not a bad finish for my first full season on the ESB trail. I finished 4th overall in points and fished the State Championship Tournament, pulling 40th in my first as a co-angler. Now that it is all said and done, I can think back on different things that could use some change, and the other things that worked out for me and build on that to improve for the 2010 season which is already well under way.
Starting with the State Championships, I had no idea. I'll just say that. When you are so used to being in control of your own boat. Having first shot on new water and fishing at your pace, and then all that is taken away and you are no longer in control, you have to adjust to a different pace. Quite possibly, you may end up changing your entire style. All this on tournament day; for me it spelled total disaster. I did what I could to hold on and not zero each day, which I didn't. But I think mentally, that was the goal I eventually set for myself. "Just don't zero. Whatever you do." And that attitude was not going to get me anywhere beyond 40th place.
Things I would do differently now: For one, I would be out there learning the ropes of being a co-angler before tournament day. If you have never really fished in the back, you better learn how it works way before you go out with money on the line. Essentially, you are competing, knowing you have a distinct handicap from all the other anglers out on the water on the front of a boat. These are learning experiences only learned through trial and error. So for those of you that are new to the sport, my advice to you is this. Expose yourself to as many situations you can present to yourself. Get the experience of being in different scenarios so that when it occurs again, you be ready to answer the call by using the last experience as a gauge.
Having already kicked off the 2010 season at Chesapeake Bay, the struggle to get and stay on top is unrelenting. Out of the old and right into the new. No break yet, not until January. The tournament last Saturday [a complete train wreck on my part] and again, another learning experience. Knowledge of this fishery is key to any kind of success. You just can't go there and slay the bass without pre-meditated planning of your game plan. I had a game plan, but too much of it depended on game time decisions that were more like guesses than sound, educated decisions. The weather for the day was snotty. Gale winds up to 30 mph, rain on and off and high water all day. The bay was inaccessible and dangerous so I opted not to attempt a cross over to the Susquehanna river. It was off limits anyway due to the weather. My game time [guess] was made and I B lined it to Lloyd's Creek. Within, there was a grassy cove with a wooded shoreline and it was heavily shielded from the high wind by way of a towering cliff. I thought to myself "At some point in the day, the fish here will bite." I would run the shore line with a ribbon-tail worm and a lipless crankbait, then at the end, switch sides and cover the edge of the grass bed with a beaver tail pegged to a 1 ounce weight to punch it through the grass. I had the whole area to myself all day long; and all day long I went back and forth stubbornly with the same tactic waiting for the bait switch to activate. Never even had a bite!
On an even more horrible note, as the wind picked up more and more, the gusting bursts of wind started to penetrate my area intermittently. Just fishing, minding my own business I just happened to look over an witness on of my $650 rod/reel combos get inched a little to far off the side of my gunwale and it went in. My heart instantly shattered to pieces and I leaped back to the driver's seat to set a man-overboard marker. For the next hour and a half or more, I would try to no avail to hook up on my sunken treasure. Surely lost forever I gave up on it and returned to the the ramp hopelessly defeated by those Chesapeake bass. My fellow club members can tell you, I was about as angry as a man can get. No fish and down 1 $650 rod plus the cost of gas. Total LOSS all around on the day not to mention the 2 $10 crankbaits I will have to replace. I vowed never to return to fish and events of any kind on this particular body of water. An unrealistic threat, but at the time felt good to say. Obviously that was a threat I can't keep as that is one of the most popular tournament waters in this area.
On my way back home I began to contemplate the possibilities of getting my combo back out of the water. At the time, I had not had enough weight to keep a hook plastered to the bottom, so I never had a real chance of getting back that day. I could go back the next day, but if the current moves it I'll never find it. I concluded that for $650 it was worth going back with the right tools to try and get it back. My ramp pass was good for the next day so why not give it a shot.
I went back first thing in the morning with a big 3 oz. sinker and a big treble hook. I tied it on and affixed the sinker/barge anchor about an inch up the line from the hook. My MOB marker was still active leading me straight to the site of my lost crew member. On arrival I used the little bit of current and wind to drag the rig across the bottom. It only took about 10 or 11 passes and I could tell I had snagged an object of some kind. I noticed I was about 12 feet from my marker so I was not all that excited but when it surfaced, sure enough I was rewarded with one recovered rod and reel. Definition of near disaster.
Starting with the State Championships, I had no idea. I'll just say that. When you are so used to being in control of your own boat. Having first shot on new water and fishing at your pace, and then all that is taken away and you are no longer in control, you have to adjust to a different pace. Quite possibly, you may end up changing your entire style. All this on tournament day; for me it spelled total disaster. I did what I could to hold on and not zero each day, which I didn't. But I think mentally, that was the goal I eventually set for myself. "Just don't zero. Whatever you do." And that attitude was not going to get me anywhere beyond 40th place.
Things I would do differently now: For one, I would be out there learning the ropes of being a co-angler before tournament day. If you have never really fished in the back, you better learn how it works way before you go out with money on the line. Essentially, you are competing, knowing you have a distinct handicap from all the other anglers out on the water on the front of a boat. These are learning experiences only learned through trial and error. So for those of you that are new to the sport, my advice to you is this. Expose yourself to as many situations you can present to yourself. Get the experience of being in different scenarios so that when it occurs again, you be ready to answer the call by using the last experience as a gauge.
Having already kicked off the 2010 season at Chesapeake Bay, the struggle to get and stay on top is unrelenting. Out of the old and right into the new. No break yet, not until January. The tournament last Saturday [a complete train wreck on my part] and again, another learning experience. Knowledge of this fishery is key to any kind of success. You just can't go there and slay the bass without pre-meditated planning of your game plan. I had a game plan, but too much of it depended on game time decisions that were more like guesses than sound, educated decisions. The weather for the day was snotty. Gale winds up to 30 mph, rain on and off and high water all day. The bay was inaccessible and dangerous so I opted not to attempt a cross over to the Susquehanna river. It was off limits anyway due to the weather. My game time [guess] was made and I B lined it to Lloyd's Creek. Within, there was a grassy cove with a wooded shoreline and it was heavily shielded from the high wind by way of a towering cliff. I thought to myself "At some point in the day, the fish here will bite." I would run the shore line with a ribbon-tail worm and a lipless crankbait, then at the end, switch sides and cover the edge of the grass bed with a beaver tail pegged to a 1 ounce weight to punch it through the grass. I had the whole area to myself all day long; and all day long I went back and forth stubbornly with the same tactic waiting for the bait switch to activate. Never even had a bite!
On an even more horrible note, as the wind picked up more and more, the gusting bursts of wind started to penetrate my area intermittently. Just fishing, minding my own business I just happened to look over an witness on of my $650 rod/reel combos get inched a little to far off the side of my gunwale and it went in. My heart instantly shattered to pieces and I leaped back to the driver's seat to set a man-overboard marker. For the next hour and a half or more, I would try to no avail to hook up on my sunken treasure. Surely lost forever I gave up on it and returned to the the ramp hopelessly defeated by those Chesapeake bass. My fellow club members can tell you, I was about as angry as a man can get. No fish and down 1 $650 rod plus the cost of gas. Total LOSS all around on the day not to mention the 2 $10 crankbaits I will have to replace. I vowed never to return to fish and events of any kind on this particular body of water. An unrealistic threat, but at the time felt good to say. Obviously that was a threat I can't keep as that is one of the most popular tournament waters in this area.
On my way back home I began to contemplate the possibilities of getting my combo back out of the water. At the time, I had not had enough weight to keep a hook plastered to the bottom, so I never had a real chance of getting back that day. I could go back the next day, but if the current moves it I'll never find it. I concluded that for $650 it was worth going back with the right tools to try and get it back. My ramp pass was good for the next day so why not give it a shot.
I went back first thing in the morning with a big 3 oz. sinker and a big treble hook. I tied it on and affixed the sinker/barge anchor about an inch up the line from the hook. My MOB marker was still active leading me straight to the site of my lost crew member. On arrival I used the little bit of current and wind to drag the rig across the bottom. It only took about 10 or 11 passes and I could tell I had snagged an object of some kind. I noticed I was about 12 feet from my marker so I was not all that excited but when it surfaced, sure enough I was rewarded with one recovered rod and reel. Definition of near disaster.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Big Big Fish
Ya know, I have often wondered what the feeling would be like to catch a state record fish. Would it be fulfilling in that it would bring a mild amount of celebrity in the local fishing community. More so, what if it happened during a tournament? Well after Saturday I still have no idea what it feels like to be the current placeholder of a record or to have caught one in a tournament... or at least weigh one in at a tournament.
I will say this; I had one in my hand, only one millisecond from pulling it in the boat. The current Delaware state record largemouth stands at 10 pounds 5 ounces. It was caught in Andrews Lake, about 2 miles from my home by Tony Kaczmarczyk in 1980. That's 29 years of quality fisheries management in this state and few fish have come close to that record. That is until this past Sunday.
I was fishing in our last club tournament of the season at Lums pond near Delaware City. It is the states largest public freshwater pond at almost 200 acres. Right now is where I tell you that I had no co-angler meaning no one else on my boat but me. As I set out in search for the 5 biggest bass I could find, the morning started out slow. Everything was slow in fact, everything but the wind that is. I hit some stump fields on the south end of the lake in a north wind, which means, that shore line was getting blasted in a gusty Delaware wind. I was getting pushed into stumps and I could not stay a safe distance from shore for longer than 3 seconds before I would have to readjust my position. After getting my jig snagged up in some one's old ball of fishing line in some submerged wood, I decided to go catch fish elsewhere, less the frigg'n wind. (If you hadn't noticed, I hate wind).
I moved directly across the lake to the north shore. The tall trees here blocked out the wind so I was able to make my presentations in total relaxation. The water being as high as it was, I knew the fish would be tucked as far back in that crap as they could get. I switched to a 1/2 ounce Explosive tackle jig in B&B and trailed it with just a generic black jig trailer. I hooked up on my 3rd flip, but short. That told me all I needed to know.
After making a few more carefully aimed flips into the [crap] I moved up into one of the main arms of the lake and fished all the north sides of all the coves in the arm. I boated my first keeper (about a pound) at around 10:00am. I decided there was a lot of good offshore stuff I was missing, so I tied on a Bomber Model A and commenced to crank'n. White perch with crank bait and trebles plastered to his face is all I came up with.
By now, I only have about 2.5 hours to boat 4 more keepers to even have a chance to take this thing. These guys I fish with, if you saw the weight they bring in, you would know what I'm talking about. At this stage in the game, I need to find an area where there are likely to be a bunch of fish holding in a short distance. So I decide to try one of the feeder creeks out of the wind. Again getting my jig as far back in the under brush as I can, I rear back on a 3 pound fish. Nice! Thinking to myself "If I get just 2 more of those, I may have a chance. I'm on the right track". As I approach the end of the creek I notice one of my fellow club members fishing the main lake arm about 150 yards ahead of me. I'm pulling up in front of a low, overhanging bush with a small opening in the front and I had the perfect angle on it to sling it home. I hopped the jig once and my G Loomis Mossyback doubled over under the load of a monster fish. After the initial surge of raw power from this fish, it let me pull it right out of the bush. I reeled it to the boat and lipped it instantly and as soon as I lifted the weight off the line and it went slack, the hook fell out with ease. Now, I know the reputation anglers have in telling their stories and people shake their heads in disbelief all the time. But as I held this fish and looked at it face to face I am telling you THIS FISH WAS BIGGER THAN 10-5! I have no doubt about that. Furthermore, if I in fact am over exaggerating by mistaking an eye weight (which i am NOT) it was at least 9-8.
So I've got this fish in my hand, right in my face. The hook just fell out half a second ago. With one flail of it's fat yet powerful body, it busted my grip and went home packing. I sat there hunched over the side of my boat; staring into the water in complete disbelief in what had just transpired. My body reclined back on my ass an with my head between my knees I began to weep. Remembering I am in a tournament at the moment I had to force myself back on my feet to utilize the remaining 30 minutes to try and boat another keeper. Try as I did it was to no avail as I weighed in my 2 fish at 4.34, taking 2nd place. Hey, I still look on the bright side. I qualified to fish the state championship. Boo hoo hoo.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Old Skool
Lately I have been chatting with old high school friends that I have not seen or spoken to in ages. The convenience of all the new social networking sites on the web make this easy as seemingly anyone and everyone with computer seem to flock to these sites... including myself. I missed my 10 year reunion last September, which I had no idea about. I was told that some thought I had died in the war so efforts to contact me faded quickly. Understandable. But firstly these folks that know me should have known I was not going to be dying in any facet of combat. With my luck I'll die by a shark falling off the back of a truck going down the road and be attacked while the driver of said truck takes no notice. Aside, I seriously can't help but wonder what those fellow school mates think when they read about all this fishing I do. Really! Looking from the outside-in, it must seem like I'm some immature kid chasing a pipe dream. How could you not perceive it that way? Not speaking out of embarrassment, I have no shame in what I do and besides the fishing, I do have a full-time job. I just see all these guys (and gals) going to school full-time and trying to hold down a job in the same stature. Some run their own businesses with kids, husbands, wives.
I have these things too. But fishing? Are you serious? That is something people do if they get a little extra time on their hands in the real world. In my world its an act I commit 2 or even 3 times a week. Drop $20,000 on the fancy boat, thousands on gear, tournament entry fees, another couple Benji's on lures, plus travel. People see this and I honestly wonder what they think. Maybe nothing right? Maybe I'm being vein. Who has time to care about what I'm doing? But if that were the case, and everyone was so busy keeping their own lives in order. Then why do we inherently find the need to keep up with our Facebook pages and Twitter all the time?
It's the third paragraph and I still have not revealed my true motive in this entry so I will do so as elegantly as possible. I used the example of high school because it relates to all the childish jibber jabber that some people can't seem to keep to themselves. Then I mention Facebook and Twitter because people like to be sucked in by other people's lives. It's a story different from their own so naturally they are interested. Some seem to be interested in my life and like to know what has been going on and hold no opinion on the matter; they just care. But there are others that can't get enough. They push and prod and flap their gums to other "life watchers" about my fishing habits and the monetary issues that surround it. They form their judgmental opinions and like I said, they share it with others which just spreads like disease. People think its fun to say demeaning things behind other's backs and face to face act as though they are friends so they may maintain access to the real life drama. You know, because John and Kate Plus 8 just is not enough.
I am going to be nice here and not mention any names. These specific people know who they are and I know at least one of them reads on a regular basis (consider this your warning). I am sure you thought that your impressions would never reach my ears. And now you are saying "I don't care if he knows". Oh but you do, because you know I am PISSED. You need to focus more on your own life. Don't worry about my paper stacks and stop hating because I have fun fishing. I presume you think I have a cake walk and I assure you that is not the case. I have struggled hardships in my life just like most of us humans. I only have found my happy place and in stead of glaring at mine with hate and jealousy, go find yours and live in it.
I have these things too. But fishing? Are you serious? That is something people do if they get a little extra time on their hands in the real world. In my world its an act I commit 2 or even 3 times a week. Drop $20,000 on the fancy boat, thousands on gear, tournament entry fees, another couple Benji's on lures, plus travel. People see this and I honestly wonder what they think. Maybe nothing right? Maybe I'm being vein. Who has time to care about what I'm doing? But if that were the case, and everyone was so busy keeping their own lives in order. Then why do we inherently find the need to keep up with our Facebook pages and Twitter all the time?
It's the third paragraph and I still have not revealed my true motive in this entry so I will do so as elegantly as possible. I used the example of high school because it relates to all the childish jibber jabber that some people can't seem to keep to themselves. Then I mention Facebook and Twitter because people like to be sucked in by other people's lives. It's a story different from their own so naturally they are interested. Some seem to be interested in my life and like to know what has been going on and hold no opinion on the matter; they just care. But there are others that can't get enough. They push and prod and flap their gums to other "life watchers" about my fishing habits and the monetary issues that surround it. They form their judgmental opinions and like I said, they share it with others which just spreads like disease. People think its fun to say demeaning things behind other's backs and face to face act as though they are friends so they may maintain access to the real life drama. You know, because John and Kate Plus 8 just is not enough.
I am going to be nice here and not mention any names. These specific people know who they are and I know at least one of them reads on a regular basis (consider this your warning). I am sure you thought that your impressions would never reach my ears. And now you are saying "I don't care if he knows". Oh but you do, because you know I am PISSED. You need to focus more on your own life. Don't worry about my paper stacks and stop hating because I have fun fishing. I presume you think I have a cake walk and I assure you that is not the case. I have struggled hardships in my life just like most of us humans. I only have found my happy place and in stead of glaring at mine with hate and jealousy, go find yours and live in it.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Pollish it Till it Shines
Y'all haven't heard from me in a while because I have been putt'n in my share of work on the water. Getting out there and learning the the way these places fish, is key to my success even before having all the latest and greatest tackle and gear. Sure it helps by making things like casting easier, but it don't help me find fish. So hence the reason why Bob has been a ghost for a while now.
I have fished all over the area (from WV to Delmarva and NC) so far this summer and have learned a great deal. Mostly being humbled by waters unfamiliar to me. Anyone who takes pride in the outcome of their efforts in fishing, knows that finishing out of the money on tournament day is not only disappointing, it's downright heartbreaking. Any of us that give two shits about the previously mentioned, do everything short of cheating to make sure we have the knowledge needed to have a fighting chance on tournament day. I have found it somewhat difficult to get this information myself, therefor I have struggled as a result. You can ask others for information but you always wonder afterwords about the validity of what you have been given. Not saying bass anglers are dishonest, but it is very competitive. Recently I have come to realize there is one sure fire way to get around the speculation. Actually fish with other anglers, and specifically with the ones you seek information.
Last Friday I fished with a good friend of mine. I will call him JZ for confidentiality purposes. We swung down to the Nanticoke at around noon and started fishing by 1:30 or so. We could not schedule the trip around the best tide because of work so we got slapped with kinda crappy tide to start with. But none the less, we caught fish and a fair amount. By the end of the day I figured, if we had been fishing a buddy tournament with a 7 fish limit, we would have had a full sack of 7 fish in at around 9.5 - 10 pounds. Mostly thanks to JZ but hey... who's counting? In the end I had finally concluded that time it's self, is NOT on your side on these tidal rivers. Speed is chief, and one should not spend much time in one area if fish are not biting. Go find the fish that are.
I have fished all over the area (from WV to Delmarva and NC) so far this summer and have learned a great deal. Mostly being humbled by waters unfamiliar to me. Anyone who takes pride in the outcome of their efforts in fishing, knows that finishing out of the money on tournament day is not only disappointing, it's downright heartbreaking. Any of us that give two shits about the previously mentioned, do everything short of cheating to make sure we have the knowledge needed to have a fighting chance on tournament day. I have found it somewhat difficult to get this information myself, therefor I have struggled as a result. You can ask others for information but you always wonder afterwords about the validity of what you have been given. Not saying bass anglers are dishonest, but it is very competitive. Recently I have come to realize there is one sure fire way to get around the speculation. Actually fish with other anglers, and specifically with the ones you seek information.
Last Friday I fished with a good friend of mine. I will call him JZ for confidentiality purposes. We swung down to the Nanticoke at around noon and started fishing by 1:30 or so. We could not schedule the trip around the best tide because of work so we got slapped with kinda crappy tide to start with. But none the less, we caught fish and a fair amount. By the end of the day I figured, if we had been fishing a buddy tournament with a 7 fish limit, we would have had a full sack of 7 fish in at around 9.5 - 10 pounds. Mostly thanks to JZ but hey... who's counting? In the end I had finally concluded that time it's self, is NOT on your side on these tidal rivers. Speed is chief, and one should not spend much time in one area if fish are not biting. Go find the fish that are.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Slump Ended Bathed in Potomac Water
I have to admit, coming in for this tournament I did not have high hopes for myself. I kinda thought I would do the usual 0 out. Well I did. But we'll get back to that issue later. Right now I want to talk about how this whole thing set up.
The Potomac River is my home water sort of. I mean, I grew up right near the area. I would not say I know it intimately but I know it's basic make-up. I'm not at a complete disadvantage in this fishery. So the week before the tournament, I heard of some good fishing coming out of Douge creek. Seated near Fort Belviore, VA; Douge is a funnel shaped creek with a shallow channel. It has been known to be very productive and often gives up good fish. Grass is very plentiful as well and has 2 washout points on the southern shore. These points have creeks that run out of them and into the main body, which makes the points very exaggerated. Sure enough the bass were there. They were no doubt liking my Explosive Tackle spinnerbait in black and red. Next time shaking off a catfish that wanted a piece of the action, but not until after he slimed my boat.
I'll save you the anguish of telling you the long version of the rest of the tournament by just saying I did not hook up on any legal length fish. But before you all lose hope and interest in old Bob, if you have not already, I can tell you that this angler had his hour after the last meal of the day.
After me and my co-angler got too hungry to even fish, we headed back to Mattawoman and rolled back to camp with guts twisting, obviously for two reasons. Of course we got harassed for not putting anything on the scales and to the other side of the spectrum; ''sorry you had such a crappy day of fishing". After feelings had been replenished and everyone had a good laugh at my expense, we had some killer steaks for dinner which were flipped with a grill fork unlike the night befrore's plastic fork idea. They tasted better without the petroleum by-product additive. Anyway, over good fishing conversation and beer, we finished our steaks and started out for yet another opportunity to duke it out. This time opting out of paying into the purse. Remember that statement because it will become chief later on in this story.
The boats are in and everybody starts taking off. I'm already at a major disadvantage here in the fact that everyone else is using golden rule. I don't have a golden rule! So now I have to bring back 15 inches or over and they just have to measure anything 12 or over and throw it back. Really I can't say much for my attitude at the time. I was not angry or anything. Just disappointed about my sun glasses being lost to the depths earlier that day plus not doing anything in the tournament. I really just wanted to go fishing. Not really wound up for the competition of it, not about the money at stake because there was none. Just let's fish. So I decided to just idle on into Grinders Wharf. Grinders, if you can picture this, is about 100 yards from the ramp. It's really a cove with some old pilings and a wreck or two. From shore it drops from 0 to about 10 feet pretty rapidly. Then it comes back up to a flat about 4 feet deep and covered in thick coon tail. Then that drops off into an even deeper channel around 14 feet and back up again with a massive grass flat that stretches all the way out to the main body of Mattawoman. I'm in the 14 ft. channel at this point, punching the grass about 20 feet in from the edge, with a YUM wooly bugger and a 1 oz. flipp'n weight pegged with a handful of tooth picks. My co-angler says "I'm going to try a buzz frog". I begin thinking to myself "yeah along with everything else you have in your bag as well. I have never seen anyone switch as much as he does. I wonder how he ever figures the fish out. As I'm am thinking this, one comes up an kisses his white frog. Okay, this guy is on to something I think... and just then he hooks up but the grass interferes with the hook set. Just about then I am thinking I need something that is designed to move slowly and can partially penetrate through the grass. I got it! I pull out these huge mongo 8" YUM Dingers in black and blue. I rig it texpose with no weight and give a wing. It just flops on top of the sloppy thick weeds like SPLAT!. Then I pulled it into a gap in the Forest and let it fall all the way and let it just sit. The pick-up, the move, the hookset. YANK! Got him (or her). It's a nice fish in the 3 lb. range and the good part is it was over 15". A keeper? What's that? At any rate. One's in the live well and plenty of our 2 hour limit left. I hurle the huge worm like a mace to the next gap in the Forest but no body's home, so I turn to the edge of the grass just before it hits the 60 foot wide channel. The worm sinks and I twitch it's way further into the weed line and same thing. I could feel it get attacked and YANK! Another quality fish at around 2.5 lbs IN THE LIVE WELL! YES! I could see fish moving all through the grass, but as I targeted them they would not bite. I saw a very large boil further down the weed edge so I figured I would cast behind it and maybe I could get it's attention with some twitching. I felt the fish suck the entirety of the worm in with my mega sensitive G Loomis GL2 rod. I reared back with a devastating hookset that brought the fish out into the channel with me. As it came for the boat I raced to take up line and keep tension on the hooked lip. Once it reached the boat it must have realized that it was blocking its way into the grass because it took an instant detour around the bow, narrowly missing trolling motor. Meanwhile I'm thinking ''please don't play ring around the Rosy on my trolling motor and break off". I swung the fish around to the other side placating it's need to be near the vegetation, and that was all it had. Thumb, lip, boat, in that order.
By the end of the whole 2 hours I had a couple ounces over 10 pounds with just 3 fish. Mainly because the biggest took up half of that total in it's weight alone. I went to bed that night thinking "what if I had caught another couple of 3 pounders." The slump is over!
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