Monthly Archives: April 2014

Captain Jake Davis Guntersville Fishing Report

Four bass from Lake Guntersville

Four bass from Lake Guntersville

Lake Guntersville Fishing Report
by: Captain Jake Davis

Lake Guntersville Forecast – What a turn around on Guntersville; so far this spring the Mighty “G” really shined for all levels of anglers. I look for May to be no different than March and April. With fish in post and pre-spawn patterns and the famed arrival of the shad spawn during the second and third weeks for the month.

Over the past month we found our fish in 1 to 25 foot of water on a combination of baits, ranging from Assassinator Buzz Baits, Rattle Baits, Swim Baits, Rapala DT-6, 10, 16 crankbaits, Tightline football head jigs with Missile Baits trailers to single swim baits and Missile baits D-Bombs.

May will bring us a terrific spinner bait and top water bite, look for pop-r’s, spooks, Sammy’s and buzz baits to be the talk of the lake. Anglers should not forget the deep crank bait bite; Guntersville has a history of producing huge sacks of fish in May when angler employ deep diving crank baits such as Rapala DT 16 or DT 20 crankbaits on drops and channel grass.

Water temperatures range between 66 to 72 degrees.

Now is the time to plan your late spring trip to Guntersville, call me to reserve a date; May will bring the shad spawn and a great top water season. The ledge bite will start in late May and early June.

Eating Your Catch of Fish

Eating local as easy as filleting your day’s catch

By Kevin Kelly
1-800-858-1549, ext. 4414
from The Fishing Wire

(This article, from Kentucky Afield Outdoors, is part of their Spring Fishing Frenzy Series. It offers some good tips on handling fish to be eaten, whether you’re catching crappies in Kentucky, flounder in Florida or salmon on the Pacific Coast.)

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Local food sources and sustainable food options are of increasing importance to today’s health-conscious consumers.

Kentucky offers anglers an abundance of fishable water with some of the best tasting fish nature has to offer, and a good day can provide a bounty for the dinner table and freezer for far less than you’re likely to pay in a supermarket or restaurant.

“Back in the 1970s and ’80s the majority of people went fishing and ate what they caught,” said Ryan Oster, fisheries program coordinator with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We’ve swung so far to the opposite end of the pendulum nowadays that there are some fisheries out there that could probably benefit from people starting to harvest more of the fish that they’re catching.”

A low-fat source of protein rich in beneficial omega-3 fatty acids, fresh fish tastes even better when you are the one who caught, filleted and cooked it. But, the prospect of cleaning that catch can be intimidating for novice and experienced anglers alike.

You can filet your catch for good eating.

You can filet your catch for good eating.

Learning how to properly fillet a fish requires following a few simple steps that apply to most species of game fish in Kentucky. With some practice, and a little patience, perfect fillets can be had in no time, every time.

The process starts with proper care of the fish immediately after it’s been landed.

“If you’re going to keep fish to eat, really the best thing to do with a fish once you catch it is not put it on a stringer and let it dangle in the water,” Oster said. “Put it on ice right off the bat to help preserve the quality of the meat immediately.

“When you put fish on a stringer, that’s a real stressful event for a fish, and when you stress a fish you can really start to deteriorate the quality of the meat.”

Once you’re ready to fillet the fish, give it a quick rinse to remove excess slime and any dirt. Donning rubber gloves will improve your grip on the fish and cut down on the fish smell left on your hands.

A sharp-bladed fillet knife is a must, but it doesn’t have to cost a small fortune. A good one can be had for around $15 from catalog outfitters.

“A lot of people that I show how to fillet fish their first comment is, ‘Give me a dull knife because I don’t want to cut my finger off,'” Oster said. “That’s actually the worst knife you could have. A sharp knife makes the entire process of filleting a quick and easy process. With a really sharp knife all you have to do is put gentle pressure on it and the blade should cut through fish bone like butter.”

A 3-1/2 inch blade works well on bluegill, crappie and redear while larger blades in the 6-7 inch range are good for catfish, bass and walleye, Oster said.

To begin the filleting process, place the fish on its side on a firm, flat surface. Wood boards work well.

Securing the head with your free hand, make a cut behind the gill plate and pectoral fin from the top of the fish to the belly. People who consider themselves a novice should always remember to keep the knife blade pointed away from their body during the entire filleting process. Never turn the blade so that it is facing you. This helps ensure safety during the entire process.

Continue cutting into the flesh until the knife blade touches the backbone. Once it does, turn the knife 90 degrees so that the blade lies flat against the fish’s backbone, facing toward the fish’s tail. Cut through the ribs using the backbone as a guide but don’t cut all the way through to the tail. Leave 1-inch or so intact.

Next, flip the fillet over skin side down and work the blade into the fillet near the tail until the blade is between the fillet and the skin. Separate the skin from the meat by sliding the knife forward. Remove the rib cage from the skinless fillet and you’re done.

Repeat the process on the other side of the fish and discard the carcass and skin. Rinse the fillets in cold, clean water and keep the meat cool until ready to prepare. If you’re not going to cook the fish until the following day, Oster recommends storing the fillets in a plastic bag with water and a little salt added to it.

It’s best to freeze any fish that isn’t going to be used in two or three days. Some recommend quick freezing the fish by placing it uncovered on a sheet of aluminum foil in the freezer. Or you can simply place the fillets in a plastic freezer bag, fill it with water, seal and freeze to protect the meat from freezer burn.

A freezer full of fish means fresh never goes out of season. Remember, your 2013 fishing license expires at the end of this month, so buy your 2014 fishing license soon.

Kevin Kelly is a writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. An avid angler with a passion for muskellunge and stream fishing, his journalism career has included stops at daily newspapers in Cincinnati, Ohio, St. Petersburg, Fla. and Charleston, S.C.

Being Quoted In Sports Illustrated

I got a nice surprise a few weeks ago. An email from my editor at Georgia Outdoor News said “ You’re famous – you were quoted in Sports Illustrated.”

I was sure it was a joke but when I searched on my name and the magazine title the following was in the issue that contained information about the Bassmasters Classic:

“Behind Bryant are 220,000 square feet of exhibition space filled to the gills with Ugly Stiks and Mr. Crappies, and an 18,000-seat arena that will host the nightly weigh-in for the 44th annual Bassmaster Classic, the self-described Super Bowl of Fishing—though to the 200,000 angling enthusiasts passing through here in cardboard hats in the shape of bass and weapons of bass destruction T‑shirts, the Classic is a vast improvement on the Super Bowl. Says Ronnie Garrison, veteran correspondent from Fishing-About.com, “They really should call the Super Bowl the Bassmaster Classic of Football.”

I called my editor since I assumed it was only in the on-line version but he said it was in the March 17, 2014 printed magazine. That was where he saw it.

I am not sure if the writer heard me say that while I was at the Classic as a media observer, or if he found it here. No matter, being quoted in that magazine is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Or maybe in many lifetimes. I never expected it. And he even got my website right!

Now,if I can just find a printed version or ten to buy.

Fishing In March at Lake Oconee

March was certainly going out like a lion last week.

From very cold at night to wind that blew my boat and van all over the road, then rain Saturday and Sunday, the weather made fishing tough. But for the state Top Six at Lanier Monday and Tuesday the weather guessers said it would be nice. I will believe that when I see it.

Bass seem confused, moving shallow to get ready to bed then backing off when the temperature drops. But the crappie are biting good. Every report I got from West Point, Oconee, Clarks Hill, Jackson and Lanier was about big catches of good sized fish.

The wind makes crappie fishing tough, too, but you can troll or drift with the wind and catch them if the wind is not too strong. Thursday afternoon it was too strong, but by now it should be calm enough to catch your limit of those good tasting fish.

I always looked forward to this time of year when my parents were alive. We would go in our big ski boat daddy had set up for fishing, with a trolling motor on front, and tow our jon boat behind it. We would pick our favorite cove – Carp Cove, Beaver Cove, Turtle Cove or some other place we knew the crappie would be bedding, and fish all day.

Mom and dad would stay in the big boat, tied up in the bushes where the crappie were feeding, and I would get in the jon boat and fish all around the cove. They usually used shiner minnows but I tied a Hal Fly jig under a cork on my fly rod and dabbled it around button bushes. The cork seldom settled on the water surface long.

After getting three limits – 90 crappie – we would go in and set up a cleaning line. Mom and dad would scale the fish and I would gut them. I made a diagonal cut behind the head to the vent and pulled everything out with one motion. I could keep up with them.

I miss those days. It is just not the same without them.

Fishing was good for some at Oconee last Sunday. In our March tournament 21 members and guests of the Spalding County Sportsman Club brought in 72 bass weighing about 142 pounds. There were eight five-fish limits and only one member did not catch a keeper in the eight hours we fished.

Russell Prevatt had a good day, winning with five at 14.74 pounds and his 6.10 pound bass took daily and cumulative big fish honors. Raymond English also had a good day and placed second with five at 13.65 pounds, Sam Smith had a limit weighing 12.15 for third and fourth went to guest David Weitgrefe with five at 10.72 pounds.

Russell said he caught his bass on a jig and pig on rocks. Bass were also caught on spinner baits and crankbaits, mostly around rocks. The water was stained to muddy and from 57 to 64 degrees. It rained on us for about half the tournament.

I wish I had known the pattern before the tournament. I ran to Double Branches first thing, to an area where I have won a couple of tournaments in March the past few years. And within five minutes I caught a keeper on a chatter bait on a rocky point. I thought I was going to have a good day.

After an hour without a bite I was beginning to wonder.

Then a fish hit my jig and pig on a point, almost under the boat. I set the hook too hard with such a short line and broke it. That really made me feel bad.

I was fishing back in a cove and it was very quiet and peaceful. Then someone shot a turkey about 100 yards up in the woods from me. I almost jumped out of the boat! I was not in any danger but that shot was loud!

A few minutes later I had tied on another jig and pig and pitched it to some brush on a steep bank. The creek I was in was very narrow and I was only about ten feet from the bank. When my line jumped, indicating a strike, I set the hook as fast as I could, but it was not fast enough.

I got the terrible reaction of pulling loose line. The fish had run back under the boat and you can not set the hook on slack line,. I reeled as fast as I could and got the bass, a three pounder, to the top of the water right beside the boat, but it came off.

I fished a wide variety of baits in a lot of places in Double Branches until the end of the tournament but caught nothing but short bass after that. I wish I had tried different areas of the lake, but the water color and temperature were good in that creek and I have done well there in March. Also, I didn’t want to make a run in the rain.

As soon as I send this in I am headed to Lanier for the Top Six. I surely do hope I do better.

Maybe I should be going crappie fishing.+

Top Six Tournament at Lake Lanier

Don’t forget to renew your Georgia fishing license. Most of us have licenses that expire in early April each year since, for many years, annual licenses expired on April 1st. So when the law was changed to make them run for one year from the date of purchase, we bought them around April 1st since the old one expired then. Now we need to renew before they run out. Don’t get caught without one.
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The Georgia Bass Chapter Federation Top Six was last Monday and Tuesday at Lake Lanier. Both the Spalding County Sportsman Club and the Flint River Bass Club sent teams but we did not do well. We just do not fish Lanier very often and it is a tough lake to catch bass if you don’t fish it often.

The Marietta Bass Club sent two teams and they finished first and third. The top Marietta team won by almost 30 pounds above the second place team, and five of their six man team placed in the top 12. That is an incredible result but that club fishes Lanier a lot and most of them live near the lake.

The Sportsman Club finished 26th out of 36 teams and the Flint River Club was 33rd. The winning team had 54 keeper bass in two days weighing 140.57 pounds. The Sportsman Club team had 33 bass weighing 66.27 pounds and Flint River had 27 bass weighing 51.06 pounds.
The winner was a no boater, meaning he had to fish in someone else’s boat on another team, but he got to run the trolling motor and choose the fishing spots for half each day. He had 10 keepers, a limit each day, weighing 31.4 pounds. It took 10 weighing 24.53 pounds to make the state team in 12th place.

Chuck Croft fishing with Flint River had the best catch in either of those two clubs, with eight bass weighing 18.39 pounds for 53rd place. Mark Knight on the Sportsman Club team came in 82nd and I came in 98th with seven keepers weighing 12.90 pounds out of 216 fishermen in the tournament.

I went up to Lanier last Thursday and fished up the Chattahoochee River all day Friday in the rain. I caught some fish but not the size needed to do well in the tournament. The best place I fished was a small creek off the river where my partner and I caught 14 keepers weighing 33 pounds in the 1991 Top Six, so I knew it held the possibility of good fish but they would be largemouth, and we needed some warm, sunny days to make them bite.

On Saturday I again fished all day in the rain but stayed on the main lake, trying to figure out how to catch the big spotted bass there. I never had a bite! That was frustrating. I planned on trying something different on Sunday but when I woke up in the campground with my van shaking from the wind I went back to sleep. I never got on the water on that cold, windy day.

It was “fun” Saturday night trying to grill chicken and having stuff blow off the table if it was not nailed down. And it was getting colder fast. So when I went to bed Saturday night I knew Sunday would be a bad day. And that I was not going to get the kind of weather I wanted. Wind stirs up the deeper, colder water and I needed warming water to do well.

I drew a 16 year old partner for Monday and he had no idea what we should do, so we gambled and went to the small creek up the river. After catching just a couple of small bass in two hours I said we should go, then he caught a three pound largemouth, I caught a fish just under the 14 inch limit and he caught a 2.5 pound largemouth on three casts!

Those fish were on a rocky point leading to the back of the creek so I hoped the quality largemouth were moving in. The day was getting warm and the sun was warming the water. After another hour we were ready to leave again but we caught nine bass off one small spot on a channel bend near the back of the cove in a few minutes. Although only two were big enough to keep that was another sign they were moving in so we decided to stay the rest of the day.

I got one more keeper, then caught a three pound largemouth right in the back of the creek not long before we had to leave. The water there had warmed from 57 to 62 degrees during the day but it was too little too late.

My partner for the next day had no places he wanted to fish so we went back to the small creek on Tuesday. We had fun catching fish but they were mostly small. At the small creek bend we landed 11 bass in 30 minutes in the morning but only two kept. With an hour left to fish he had two and I had one. Then back at the creek bend I made three casts and caught three keepers, two of them 2.5 pound largemouth. Again, too little too late.

It was a fun but very tiring trip and the weather was beautiful Monday and Tuesday. I just wish it had warmed up on Sunday, not Monday.

Fish should be biting real good at West Point today for the Flint River March tournament, but only time will tell.

When Do Kentucky White Bass Spawn?

Kentucky White Bass Spawning Runs Are Here
from The Fishing Wire

March is traditional white bass time across much of the South, but in Kentucky and most other states this year extreme cold slowed the runs until April. Here’s a report from Lee McClellan offering tips that will be helpful, where ever anglers pursue the spawning run of these prolific panfish.

It is now the first of April. If you asked most Kentuckians what it feels like weather wise, they would say it is the first of March.

The warm winds finally began to blow from the South earlier this week and brought the white bass upstream with them.

The spawning runs are finally here.

Kentucky White Bass

Kentucky White Bass

Most white bass are caught on small jigs or spoons when they swarm into rivers and creeks during the spring spawning season.

“Last week, in Nolin River Lake, they were up to the Cane Run arm of the lake and should be between Bacon Creek Ramp and Broad Ford by now,” said Rob Rold, northeastern fisheries district biologist for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We’ve had a lot of warmer, sunny days lately and the water temperature at Wax Marina was 54 degrees on Tuesday.”

Water temperatures breaking the 50 degree mark combined with rainfall signal to white bass that it is time to move upstream to reproduce. They need a gently rising river along with sun-warmed water to begin migrating from the main lake into the headwaters of reservoirs such as Nolin River Lake, Taylorsville Lake, Cave Run Lake, Herrington Lake and Lake Barkley.

Nolin River Lake has arguably the best white bass population of any Kentucky reservoir. The really good fishing occurs from Lick Run all the way upstream to Wheeler’s Mill. Bank anglers have good access to both sides of Nolin River at the Nolin River Voluntary Public Access Area (VPA) via KY 728 (Priceville Road) and Kesselring Road. Bank anglers also fish at Bacon Creek Boat Ramp and at Broad Ford.

Boaters should not venture upstream of Bacon Creek Boat Ramp as Nolin River Lake reverts back to the pool and riffle habitat of the pre-impoundment river at this point, risking the health of any boat motor’s lower unit.

Local anglers are catching white bass around the KY 248 Bridge in the headwaters of Taylorsville Lake in Anderson County. White bass run as far up the Salt River as the once-vibrant river trading town of Glensboro in spring.

The headwaters of Herrington Lake will be churning with white bass with the warming weather. This historic run spawned lure inventions and a regional reputation for incredible fishing. The legendary white bass fishery in Herrington Lake went through a fallow period in the 1990s and early 2000s, but is now producing good numbers of white bass from 12 to 14 inches long.

The good fishing starts near Bryant’s Camp Boat Ramp and upstream into Rankin Bottoms, near the KY 52 Bridge between Lancaster and Danville. Bank anglers may access Rankin Bottoms at the Dix River VPA site at the end of Rankin Road off KY 52 near the bridge. This site grants over a mile of bank fishing for white bass.

Small topwaters as well as crappie plugs are also effective at fooling white bass, which typically weigh a pound or two but can go up to 6 pounds.
With water temperatures just reaching the low 50s, white bass are moving into the upper reaches of Lake Barkley. They are also hitting in the Cumberland River just below Lake Barkley.

When the flows modulate slightly after the recent rains, the white bass will be active below locks and dams on the Green and Kentucky rivers.

White bass fishing inspires such ardor in anglers because these fish strike practically anything that comes near them during their spawning runs. No other fishing compares to it when white bass are really on and biting. Bank anglers can enjoy fishing just as good as those fishing from boats.

Herrington white bass anglers invented the plunker and fly presentation, originally comprised of a piece of broom handle with an eyelet screwed into it. They tied a piece of heavy monofilament to the eyelet with a treble hook dressed in white marabou at the other end. They cast this rig into the boils of feeding white bass and popped the rod to draw the attention of white bass.

Modern anglers use a white chugger-style topwater with the back hook removed. They tie a piece of light braided or monofilament line to the eyelet of the hook and attach a 1/32-ounce marabou jig or a dressed treble hook to the business end. Some remove both hooks to keep the rig from tangling on the cast. This presentation still catches white bass as well as it did in the 1950s.

White or chartreuse 1/16-ounce marabou or feather jigs suspended under bobbers and allowed to drift downstream also work extremely well on white bass. Adjust the depth of the bobber until it disappears from a fish.

In-line spinners of practically any color, small silver spoons and white 2 ½-inch curly-tailed grubs rigged on 1/8-ounce leadhead all score white bass.

White bass are either right on top, a few feet deep or just above bottom. The depth you catch them changes from day to day and sometimes from hour to hour. Keep probing the water column until you find them. When they are mid-depth or deeper, the curly-tailed grub is hard to beat.

The white bass are here, signaling this dreadful winter is finally gone for good. Get out in the next couple of weeks for the most exciting fishing found.

Author Lee McClellan is a nationally award-winning associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. He is a life-long hunter and angler, with a passion for smallmouth bass fishing.

Get the latest from Lee and the entire Kentucky Afield staff by following them on Twitter: @kyafield.

Fishing West Point and Oconee In the Spring

Don’t forget to renew your fishing license. Until last year new fishing licenses were always due on April 1st, but starting last year they are good for one year from the day you got them. So, if you renewed early last year, they will expire early this year. Don’t get caught fishing without a license.

Fishing is getting better with the nice spring weather like we had Friday. I fished at West Point and Oconee last week and the bass fishing was fair. Based on the number of boats on the lake fishing for crappie, that fishing must have been pretty good.

In a Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament last Sunday at West Point 18 members and guests fished for 9 hours to bring in 44 keepers weighing about 75 pounds. All but 7 of those keepers were spotted bass, the largemouth were much harder to find.

Butch Duerr won it all with a 5 bass limit weighing 14.62 pounds and had big fish with a 6.16 pound bass. He said he caught them on spinnerbaits in wind blown pockets. Although Butch had a great catch he was still disappointed since a much bigger bass had broken his line. Butch said the one that got away looked twice as big as the six pounder he landed. It jumped trying to throw his spinnerbait and he got a good look at it.

Gary Hattaway placed second with a limit weighing 9.54 pounds and he said he caught his fish on plastic baits. Gary also said he had lost a good bass, one around four pounds, when it pulled off from his hook. Billy Roberts placed 3rd with five bass weighing 7.59 pounds and I placed 4th with 3 bass weighing 6.59 pounds.

I started the morning by hooking and losing a bass that looked like it weighed about 4 pounds. It fought to the surface and then just pulled off. About an hour later I cast a different crankbait to a shallow point and something thumped it. When I set the hook it fought hard, running like a bass. Then my line went slack. I almost threw my rod and reel in the water.

When I reeled in my plug, it had a big scale stuck on one of the hooks. The scale had a definite red edge – I had hooked a carp. Fortunately for my mental attitude, I hooked and landed a largemouth weighing a little over 3 pounds a few minutes later. I have to admit, when the fish jumped, my heart stopped. I was afraid I would lose it.

On Wednesday Jim Berry and I went back to West Point. He started out by catching the first four or five bass to come in the boat, all on crankbaits, then I finally caught a spotted bass on a Carolina Rigged Baby Brush Hog. Jim caught a couple more bass then I had a streak of catching about five in a row. We ended the day with 14 keeper spotted bass and several largemouth.

On Friday I took Zane Lee and his son Andy to Oconee for a bass fishing trip. Zane had bought the fishing trip at the Friends of the NRA Banquet, and I hoped we would have a really good day. And it started out that way. Andy caught two small bass on a spinnerbait the first cove we fished.

At the second spot, I caught a small bass on a crankbait then Andy hooked the biggest bass of the day, a nice 3 pound fish. A few minutes later he hooked a bigger bass, one the looked to be about four pounds, but it came off the second time it jumped.

A little further down the bank Andy caught another keeper fish on his spinnerbait, then added a throwback. At the next place we stopped I caught a small keeper on a Carolina Rigged Baby Brush Hog but then we went for about an hour without a bite before I caught two more keepers on the Carolina rig. By now it was after lunch and the morning cloud cover had blown away.

Although we fished until 5:00 PM we did not hook another fish. I had lots of excuses, the clear skies made them stop biting, the crowds of jet skies and pleasure boaters made them quit biting, or I was wearing the wrong shirt. It must have been one of those things.

We had a beautiful, if somewhat frustrating day. On the way home Andy was making his plans for killing a turkey Saturday morning. If he hunted as well as he fished Friday morning, he should have gotten at least two gobblers!

How Can I Catch Spring Crappie?

Spring Crappie PANdemonium

Simple stuff for finding and fishing cool spring crappies.

By Calvin Christopher
from The Fishing Wire

Ask any saltwater angler whether ‘high’ or ‘low’ tide is the pick of the litter, and not only will you get mixed results, but iterations from “the first hour of incoming tide,” to “halfway through outgoing,” to “dead flat – I’m weird like that.”

Catch spring crappie like this

Catch spring crappie like this

In search mode, crappie expert Brian “Bro” Brosdahl casts small jigs with soft plastic bodies. Once fish are located, he switches to fuller bodied feathered jigs tipped with minnows. Photo by Bill Lindner Photography

Maybe not quite so particular, but subjective nonetheless, are freshwater panfish seekers. And in the spring, their preferences arc the spectrum from “sun-soaked bridge pilings,” to “mouths of creeks,” to complexities like “first drops off shallow muddy bays on the north end.” Myriad factors affect their partialities, of course, things like water temperature, water clarity, bottom composition, forage base and the like. So truthfully, to offer one man’s perspective is pretty one-dimensional, given the infiniteness of conceivable factors. But what about two-dimensional? Now that’s diverse.

So unwilling to enter the third dimension, I quizzed two dogged and salty (like character; sometimes language) panfish activists for their perspectives on spring fishing. And it goes something like this:

Who is your favorite NASCAR driver?
Bro: Dale Earnhardt Jr. It’s hard to live in the shadows of a big name like his dad. Jr.’s carving his niche and I respect that. (Frankly, I thought this question would stymie Bro.)

Neustrom: Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’s the crowd favorite. Great individual. He’s gone up against all the negativity and just races fast. Oh, and Brad Kieslowski – he’s a pain in the ass, and I sort of like that, too.

Do you open with plastics or livebait on spring crappies?
Bro: For searching, it’s definitely plastics. And ice fishing sized stuff. I like to put a single Northland Bro’s Bloodworm on a Gill Getter jig. Might slide on a piece of waxworm as well. The meat and plastic combo can be lethal in the spring.

Now once I know where they’re at, it’s time for feathered jigs and minnows. Cast it out and swim it back slowly. Give fish time to come over and grab it.

Neustrom: Depends. In clear water, my tendency is to go with minnows. The bite is trickier; fish are spookier. And livebait, well, always looks like livebait. Don’t have to worry about matching the hatch.

In darker water, I catch most fish on a jig and curly tail grub. The action does it. And I’m still a firm believer in the effectiveness of vibration.

Fish under a float or cast?
Crappie warlords Bro and Neustrom underscore the importance of keeping livebait energized. Minnows are best maintained with Frabill Aqua-Life aeration systems.
Bro: I use a float when searching during bluebird days. You can work a bait so much slower under a float. No float if the conditions are perfect – low pressure, warmth and some cloud cover. Then it’s time to cast and retrieve.

Either way, I’m looking for that one fish that gives up the flock. Humminbird Side Imaging lets me choose those casts wisely, too. It’ll show me actual fish, or at the least help me identify key features like emerging weeds and sunken timber – crappies are like glue on early green weeds. And just to make sure they’re fresh, I can verify greenness with my Aqua-Vu underwater camera.

Neustrom: Both. I like to pitch and swim plastics first, though. Keep the rod tip high. Reel in slowly. And just watch and feel for the rod to load up. There probably won’t be a classic ‘bite,’ either, so be on the trigger.

I fish with a float if I’m targeting smaller spaces like pockets in the reeds. In cover, the bait needs to sit longer, let fish find it. A 1/32-ounce jig with a minnow or plastic tail works just right under a float.

Are you a slave to fishing the northwest corner of a lake?
Bro: No, not at all. Some of my best spring crappie spots are shallow weedy bays on the south end. But then I’ll check the northwest corner of the specific bay. I’d say 60-percent of my natural lake crappies are caught on the northwest corner of the most qualified bay.

And then there are all those nooks and crannies, which can be in any direction. I’m looking for harbors, channels and small sections of water that get a lot of sun but little or no wind. Crappies hate the wind.

Neustrom: No. There’s far too much emphasis put on fishing the northwest end of the lake. Instead, I choose smaller lakes with all the right stuff: reeds, bays and darker water. If it looks good, I fish it.

Weather goes to hell. Where do you start looking for bites?
Bro: Crappies will hold to structure near shallow feeding areas under cold front conditions. Or, they might hover over holes near prime shallows.

I’ll go after them one of two ways. If the fish are 12-feet or deeper, I quietly drift over them dragging feathered jigs. If they’re shallow, I’ll pitch a heavily weighted float and jig. I want the float barely sticking out of the water so waves roll over it.

For both techniques, I’m using a short, 5-foot St. Croix Panfish Series rod. Long rods catch too much wind.

Nice spring crappie

Nice spring crappie

Freshwater Fishing Hall of Famer Tom Neustrom advocates releasing breeding-sized crappies before and during the spawning to promote species proliferation. Photo courtesy of Daiwa
Neustrom: I’ll slide out to first break, which might only mean 8- to 12-feet of water. Don’t expect the motherlode, but you can still pick away at a few crappies in crummy weather.

I go to a float with a plain VMC hook and a tail-hooked minnow. You have to sit on those fish.

And one more thing, I set my Humminbird on SwitchFire mode. It enhances my view, seeing baitfish and even smaller fish that’ll start me on the right path to locating larger crappies.

Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones?
Bro: Tough call, but I’m saying Zeppelin. The guitar riffs are epic. And their aggression and intensity keeps my pulse high, in that good sort of way.

Neustrom: Led Zeppelin. Their creativeness is incredible. Makes you stop and think.

How does current factor into your site selection?
Bro: Current sorts things out nicely. I can find fish faster. It pushes crappies into pooled-up calm areas associated with logs and timber. And the fish are usually more aggressive.

I like to tight-line with a 10-foot St. Croix Panfish Series, reaching out and bumping the jig around. And wherever possible, I lock down with a Minn Kota Talon shallow water anchor. It’s the absolute epitome of boat control.

Neustrom: Don’t like current much. Maybe the edges, but that’s about it. Crappies don’t like a lot of movement. They’re a different kind of cat.

But with all that said, current flushes in food. So it’s typical to find springtime crappies near current areas.

What are your thoughts on catch & release as it relates to the proliferation of ‘big’ crappies?
Bro: Nothing wrong with turning crappies into food, but that doesn’t mean getting greedy on the big ones. Actually, fish in that 10 to 12-inch range are the best eaters. Trust me. Watch how much better the meat cooks next time. Slabs fall apart in the pan.

And let others enjoy catching big crappies, don’t get all piggish. Unlike bluegills, there isn’t any scientific study that says fishing down size alters the gene pool. But I do know when a lake gets hammered, it takes years to bring back size.

Neustrom: I really don’t like catch and kill during the spring spawn. Let them breed. And if you remove the large fish, eventually all you’ll have are dinks. Can take 4- to 6-years for size to recover. I’ve seen it over and over again.

Where did all the big ones go, people ask? Duh.

Almost Drowning While Trout Fishing

Trout season opened in Georgia last Saturday and many people took advantage of inexperienced trout that have not been fished for in several months. It is an excellent time to head for your favorite stream.

My first experience trout fishing was almost my last experience of any kind. I was a senior at the University of Georgia and read about trout fishing below Hartwell dam, not too many miles from Athens. The cold water coming from the bottom of the lake supported trout, and the state stocked rainbows there for fishermen to catch.

I either did not have class one week day, or maybe I even skipped class, but I headed over there to check it out. I arrived in the area at about 9:00 AM. As was my usual tactic, I stopped at a fishing store near the river to ask for information. The owner took me outside and showed me an ice chest full of trout his son and a friend had just caught.

They told me the state hatchery truck had just dumped a load of fresh rainbows in the river at daylight that morning, and the fish were feeding. After getting directions to the spot, I bought a can of Green Giant nibbletts corn, the recommended bait, and headed off.

I turned down the side road, found the steel bridge over the river and parked beside it as instructed. The Savannah River was beautiful, about 200 yards wide at that point with rocks all the way across. The rock areas were full of pools and streams of water. It looked like a fantastic place to fish.

I waded into the water and started walking upstream, casting a small Mepps spinner to likely looking places. Nothing bit so I opened the can of corn with my pocket knife and put a kernel of corn on one of the treble hooks. On the first cast I hooked a 12 inch rainbow and put it on my stringer.

For the next couple of hours I caught fish out of almost every pool. I could hop from rock to rock and wade through the shallow streams, casting as I walked. Just after noon I had circled back to the truck, put my catch of trout on ice, and ate my lunch.

After lunch I decided to fish downstream from the bridge and had worked out to the very middle of the river at about 1:30 PM. I had two trout on my stringer hooked to a rock at my feet, and I was casting to a fairly deep pool, expecting to catch another trout any minutes.

A car went across the bridge about 200 yards upstream of me and blew its horn several times. I turned and waved, and went back to fishing. For some reason, something just did not seem right. I looked back and realized a fog was coming down the river. Then my heart almost stopped. The rocks I had walked on earlier above the bridge were under water, and the fog was from the cold water rushing down the river.

I grabbed my stringer of trout and started running across the slippery rocks toward the bank. I was lucky and did not fall, and was able to run straight to the bank, not around any pools. When I reached the edge, I was standing on a rock just above the water level and the top of the bank was at chest level.

I put my rod on the ground on the steep bank and hooked my trout to a limb. By the time I had done that the water had risen from ankle deep to waist deep where I was standing and I quickly climbed out.

Looking back to where I was standing just seconds earlier, there was a torrent of water several feet deep covering the rocks I had been on. The Corps of Engineers had started generating water at the Hartwell Dam three miles upstream, and the rushing water had almost washed me away. If the folks in the car had not blown their horn and warned me, I would have been trapped.

I stopped at the store on the way back and told them my story. They said a fisherman had drowned three days before when he had gotten caught by the rising water. They found his body trapped in the rocks the next day when the water went down. They also told me the Corps had a warning siren on the dam but had quit using it because of complaints about the noise from local residents.

Lake Russell now backs up to the Hartwell dam and there is no moving water. The old steel bridge was cut in the middle and is now a fishing pier.

I was lucky to survive my first trout fishing trip, thanks to some unknown person blowing their horn and warning me.

Can Offshore Habitats Be Protected while Rebuilding New Jersey Beaches?

Protecting Offshore Habitats while Rebuilding New Jersey Beaches

By Karen Greene, Sandy Hook Habitat Conservation Division Field Office, NOAA
from The Fishing Wire

The State of New Jersey has 130 miles of sandy beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. These beaches are constantly eroding, as waves and wind move the sand around. To protect local communities from storm and flood damage and to provide recreational opportunities for visitors to the Jersey shore, the Federal, State and local governments must regularly replenish the supply of sand.

For decades, the US Army Corps of Engineers has been dredging sand from “borrow areas” in the Atlantic Ocean and placing it on beaches. Local communities also shore up beaches by trucking in sand or dredging sand from back bays. NOAA Fisheries’ Habitat Conservation Division has a role in these projects. We provide advice on the best ways to rebuild depleted coastal beaches while conserving important living marine resources. We recommend ways to minimize impacts to important offshore habitats that might be impacted by sand mining to restore these coastal areas.

We’ve been working with the Corps and the State of New Jersey on beach re-nourishment and shore protection since the 1980s. We’ve consulted on various projects in northern Monmouth County, on Long Beach Island and in Ocean City. Since Superstorm Sandy, we’ve been providing suggestions for ecologically responsible ways to replenish decimated beaches and bayshores along the entire New Jersey coast, Delaware Bay and Raritan, and Sandy Hook Bay.

With demand high, the Corps and the state have stepped up efforts to find more sources of suitable sand offshore in State waters and on the Outer Continental Shelf. Offshore shoals and ridges provide good sources of sand. They also happen to be valuable habitat for fish and other species. Shoals are dynamic features that attract a diversity of marine life. They produce a variety of bottom types and foraging opportunities for finfish, like summer flounder, bluefish, bonito and false albacore and bottom dwelling organisms. Finfish tend to congregate around shoals and ridges. They also provide guiding features for coastal migratory species such as whales, dolphins, sea turtles and tuna. Many of these areas are also important habitat for surf clams. However, sand mining can alter the bathymetric contours (depths and gradients) of shoals and ridges.

Our staff works with the Corps to help identify and evaluate options for reducing impacts to these ecologically rich habitats. Some options may include simply maintaining the vertical relief (elevation) of shoals and ridges, avoiding areas of high quality surf clam habitat and conducting ongoing monitoring to assess changes to ocean bottom conditions due to the dredging activity. Where we can, we also support the research of other agencies and academic institutions. Through further study, we can learn more about the functions and habitat values of offshore shoals and ridges and the effects of sand mining on these special areas.