Monthly Archives: May 2014

How Much Fishing Is Enough?

I almost got enough fishing during the past two weeks a few years ago in early May. After fishing the two day Spalding County Sportsman Club tournament at Clark’s Hill April 23 and 24 I left for Center Hill Lake in Tennessee on Tuesday. I fished there four days in a row, and it rained all day each of them.

Although I caught a lot of spotted, smallmouth and largemouth bass and was in second place and had big fish in a tournament there on Friday, it was a two day tournament and I did not catch a keeper on Saturday. To add insult to my zero, my big fish the day before was beat three times on Saturday.

I left Center Hill at midnight Saturday and drove five hours to Lanier, arriving at the ramp in time to get a 30 minute nap before launching the boat. I decided the lack of sleep was my problem when I lost six bass early that morning, but then caught a limit just after noon. The fish that morning hit flukes and I broke my line on one, had two more hit and get off, and I just did not get a good hookset on three more.

After that tournament I drove home and got a little sleep, then got up at 4:30 Monday morning to drive to Oconee. I picked up a couple at the Ritz Carlton and took them fishing for a four hour tournament their business group was hosting. They placed 3rd in their group with the three keeper bass we caught weighing 6.25 pounds. One of them hit a Rat-L-Trap and the other two hit a spinnerbait.

It was fun that morning trying to help the couple learn to cast. Neither of them had ever been fishing. The woman caught a 12 inch bass on her first few casts, the first fish she had ever caught. I think she was thrilled and kept casting hard the rest of the morning.

In that stretch I fished 8 days out of 10 and was on 4 different lakes. I also drove just over 1100 miles in those ten days. I could not stand it when I got home last week so I went to my pond and fished on Tuesday and Wednesday, then went to Bartlett’s Ferry and fished Thursday.

Bass were biting good at Bartlett’s Ferry. I met Randy Duncan there to get information for a Georgia Outdoor News article and we caught about 15 bass in five hours. Most of them were small, but they were fun to catch. To round out the week I fished in my pond on Friday and Saturday.

I love being retired!

My love of fishing came from my mother and her mother. Some of my best memories are of fishing with mother and grandmother on ponds around the house. Mother’s Day always makes me think about those trips and how much they influenced my life. I wish I could thank them again for the time they spent with me and the ways they influenced me, but both are gone now.

May all mothers, fathers and children get to go fishing together any time they can, and make some memories that will last a lifetime. All too soon the chance to go fishing with each other will end.

Should I Use A Big Worm for Post Spawn Bass?

Big Wormin’ During The Postspawn
from The Fishing Wire

Use a big worm for postspawn bass

Use a big worm for postspawn bass

“I always have a 10″ Power Worm tied on during the postspawn because it’s just one of those baits that the bass will eat.” – Scott Ashmore

Broken Arrow, OK – Elite Series pro Scott Ashmore lists a 10″ Berkley PowerBait Power Worm as his confidence bait when it comes to targeting postspawn largemouth.

“The big worm really starts to shine when the water temperature approaches 80-degrees, regardless of where you’re fishing across the country,” explains the Oklahoman, who has amassed over $120,000 in career earnings. “After spawning, the bass begin migrating to main lake points and ledges, and a 10″ Power Worm is the best bait that I’ve found to intercept bass during that transition period.”

Ashmore begins his search for schools of postspawn largemouth by looking at prime spawning areas in the backs of creeks or pockets. “Bass will use the same routes to leave the spawning areas that they used to enter the spawning areas earlier in the spring,” states Ashmore. “If you can identify where they spawned, you have a starting point where you can slowly begin working towards the main lake, combing classic postspawn areas like secondary points and subtle ledges.”

Another key underwater feature that Ashmore likes to target when searching for postspawners on manmade fisheries is ditches or creek beds running into pockets that were created before the lake was filled. “They’re natural migration routes that the bass use year after year,” he points out.

Covering water is a key component to success during the postspawn, and Ashmore believes that there’s not better tool for the job than a Carolina-rigged 10″ worm fished with a 2′ to 3′ leader and ¾ oz. tungsten weight. “In the heat of the summer, I’ll throw a Texas-rigged 10″ worm with a ½ oz. bullet weight and catch fish all day long out of isolated brushpiles,” he explains. “But during the postspawn when the fish are not as target oriented, a Carolina-rig allows me to cover more water and find those groups of cruising bass that are in transition.”

The majority of the time, Ashmore relies on 20-pound-test Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon line for both his main line and Carolina-rig leader. “I like 20-pound-test fluorocarbon because most of the time my line is dragging across rocks and the weight is bouncing on the line,” he states. “If I’m fishing in really clear water, I’ll drop down to 15-pound-test 100% Fluorocarbon for my leader.”

As a general rule, darker colors like Red Shad and Plumb get the nod. “Red Bug seems to work well on some of the southern fisheries like the St. Johns River, and Blue Fleck is probably my favorite color on Oklahoma lakes,” explains Ashmore.

When it comes to hook selection, he pairs the meaty 10″ worm with a light wire 5/0 or 6/0 wide gap worm hook. Ashmore believes that the light wire allows for easier hook penetration when setting the hook at long distances, and it also gives the worm a more realistic action and allows the bait to flow naturally through the water.

On the topic of a natural appearance, Ashmore has difficulty explaining exactly why bass have an affinity for 10″ worms. “All I can say is that I guess a 10″ worm puts a little mystery in the ballgame,” he states with a chuckle. “I don’t think the bass really know what they’re looking at when they see a big worm, so it generates a reaction bite. All I know is that they eat the bait and that I have a lot of confidence in it. Beyond that, I don’t try to over think it.”

Can I Catch Saltwater Fish On Artificial Lures?

The Lure of Artificials

Florida charter captain avoids the hassle of live-baiting.

By Frank Sargeant, Editor
from The Fishing Wire

Catch big redfish like this on artificials

Catch big redfish like this on artificials

There aren’t many charterboat skippers around Florida’s central west coast that specialize in tossing artificial lures these days. The ease of catching fish with live sardines, particularly for anglers without a lot of experience, has made live bait the go-to standard for dozens of guides, and there’s no question the silvery baitfish are deadly on every inshore gamefish.

But Captain Ray Markham of Terra Ceia has taken another route.

“I just don’t like fishing live bait,” says Markham. “I like the idea of fooling the fish with a lure, and I like the process of casting, working the lure just right, setting the hook at the right moment–the whole thing is just more interesting.”

Of course, it’s a whole lot more challenging, too.

Unlike guides who use live ‘dines both as bait and as magic chum, Markham does not get that nice string of explosions along the shoreline to tip him off as to where the snook and reds are hanging out.

And since artificials don’t feed the fish and keep them in one spot, it’s not common to sit in one location and catch a dozen or more, as is sometimes the case with sardine skippers.

“It’s basically just a different clientele I cater to,” says Markham. “Anglers who have done enough fishing to know how to cast reasonably well, and who appreciate getting to see a lot of backcountry and picking out the spots for each cast are the ones who really prefer fishing lures to fishing sardines. For people who can’t cast at all, of course, live baiting is a lot easier, and that might be the better route for them.”

Markham says that if he had only one lure to fish year around, it would be a DOA CAL jig head in quarter-ounce weight, with a 4 to 5 inch soft plastic shad tail in white or pearl color.

“Just about everything from snook to reds to trout to flounder will hit that lure,” says Markham,” and it’s very easy to work–just pop it up off bottom, let it sink, and then repeat.”

He also likes the DOA shrimp, most often fished under a popping cork–an easy system for those new to fishing artificials to learn because it’s very similar to live baiting–and tossing an assortment of MirrOlure hard baits, including the MirrOdine in shallow grass flats.

He typically arms his anglers with spinning tackle, with 2500-size reels and 10-pound-test braid, tipped with a length of 20 to 30 pound test fluorocarbon leader. His lures are tied on with a loop knot to allow them extra action.

I’ve fished with Markham many times, and he consistently outfishes me, even though I consider myself a reasonably good lure angler. The difference, he thinks, might be the power he puts into the retrieve.

“I really snap that lure up off the bottom–it’s a quick, violent action, and that seems to trigger the strikes a lot more often than just a pull and drop retrieve,” says Markham.

He uses the same tactic when fishing a popping cork–the violent jerks he uses makes the cork chug and pop loudly, and the noise seems particularly attractive to trout.

Of course, the other thing that makes Markham effective is his bone-deep knowledge of the terrain–with more than 20 years of guiding the area, he knows every pothole, cut and mangrove point intimately.

On the half-day I joined him, we fished the string of bays and mangrove islands that stretch south from the Skyway, and caught a steady assortment of big redfish, trout and flounder, along with an occasional snook. It was rare to go 5 minutes between bites–for those who get impatient waiting for something to find their sardine, there’s something to be said for run-and-gun lure tossing.

The other major advantage of fishing artificials, Markham points out, is that you can start casting at first light; prime time for low-light feeders like snook.

“I just hate the idea of spending that best hour of the morning throwing a castnet for bait instead of fishing,” says Markham. “And the other nice thing about lures is that they’re always there in my tacklebox–there are no days when I have a hard time getting bait.”

For more, visit www.captainraymarkham.com

Bird Watching On Land I Manage for Wildlife

There are two small ponds on my property in east Spalding County and I try to make them as wildlife friendly as possible. Both have wood duck nesting boxes and floating goose nest platforms on them. The ducks and geese seem to like them.

Last year a pair of geese raised a couple of goslings on one pond and one of them stayed after the others left. It still hangs around with a female mallard duck. They have been inseparable all year. I really thought the goose would take up with other geese when they came back to nest, but it has not. I call them the odd couple.

Geese checked out both ponds and a pair nested on the lower one about a month ago. About a week later a pair nested on the upper pond, too. A week ago the eggs hatched on the lower pond and I saw the pair of adult geese with five little yellow puffballs following them around.

The next day no geese were on the lower pond, but when I went to the upper pond the pair had moved up there with their five little ones. They had moved about 100 yards through the woods, swimming in the little creek and walking around brush jams and up the dam. For several days they moved back and forth between the ponds.

I saw them several days in a row, then one day there was only one gosling left. I guess a hawk, snake, weasel, raccoon, turtle or some other critter had a meal of four little geese. The pair still moves back and forth between the two ponds with just the one left. It has doubled in size in a week.

When they are on the upper pond it gets funny. The odd couple is there as is the pair nesting on the platform. When one of the pair with the little one gets near, or one of the odd couple approaches the nest, the male tries to chase them off while the female stays on the nest.

I never realized Canada geese could swim underwater until I watched one last week. The goose of the odd couple got too close to the nest and the male attacked him. He would dive under, swim about 15 feet them pop back up. That did not stop the attacking goose and I saw the one fleeing swim underwater three different times.

Also, the pair with the little one got too close to the edge of the water and my dog Rip took off after them. The gosling dove and swam out of sight under water half way across the pond. That is a good escape tactic but I did not know geese could do that.

It is fun watching the geese, especially the little one, try to get near enough to eat the fish food I throw out without getting too close. The little one will head toward me and the parents will be right behind it, making noises that I take to be saying “Be careful, don’t get too close!”

The eggs in the nest the one is still siting on should hatch soon. It takes about three weeks for the eggs to hatch. I am not sure they will hatch since there was one egg in that nest that was abandoned. I hope she is not sitting on that bad egg.

Baby birds of all kinds are hatching right now. I remember many times while I was growing up watching nest, counting the eggs and learning the different colors and numbers of eggs birds laid. All too often I would find a baby bird on the ground and try to feed it and keep it alive. Earthworms were easy to get and I fed them all they wanted, but all of the baby birds died within a day or so.

Some baby birds abandon the nest immediately and are able to move around. Ducks and geese can swim almost immediately after hatching. Last year wood ducks hatched on both ponds and soon got together. I would see an adult with 10 or 11 little ones behind it. I guess it was the baby-sitter.

I have read that some kinds of woodpecker chicks leave the nest immediately after hatching. The nest smells and attracts predators that would eat them, so they leave and hop out on branches or go to the ground where the mother keeps them fed.

Birds and they ways of nesting and raising young are amazing. The great variety of ways they nest, from hollow trees to small depressions on the ground to the familiar twig and stick nest in bushes and trees is fun to study. Some, like hummingbird nest, are unbelievable.

Watch for nesting birds. Enjoy them without disturbing them. They can entertain and amaze you.

Managing Your Land for Wildlife

I have 75 acres of land in east Spalding County that is my little piece of heaven on earth. It is mostly wooded with two small ponds and a two acre field, and I have seen deer, turkey, squirrels, geese, ducks, raccoons, possums, fox, coyotes, beaver, otters and muskrats there. The ponds have bass, bream, catfish and shiners in them.

When I bought the land in 1999 I knew little about managing it, so I contacted the Georgia Forestry Commission here. Through them I had a Forest Stewardship Plan written. It gives me guidelines on everything from productive timber practices to pond management.

To start the plan I had to fill out an application and list my priorities for the property. I chose wildlife, soil and water, timber, recreation and aesthetics, in that order, as my management goals for the property. The plan would be developed around those goals.

To set the plans, my property was visited by the Management Forester and District Stewardship Forester from the Georgia Forestry Commission, a wildlife biologist from the Department of Natural Resources, the District Conservationist from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and someone from the Soil and Water Management Service.

Along with topographic maps showing soil types, vegetation types and contours, I received written information about these subjects. These maps would help with tree and soil management, and instructions were given for avoiding problems like erosion around creeks. There was also information about endangered and threatened species that might be found there.

A section discusses both ponds in detail and suggests how to keep them in good shape. One is very old and there is not much that can be done for it since there are big trees on the dam and it could leak at any time. I did have the water tested in both and got liming and fertilization guidelines from the local County Extension Service.

The notebook prepared for me had several hundred pages of information, including practices to improve the land for wildlife. Sizes and types of food plots were suggested as were tips on controlled burning, thinning trees and planting fruit and nut trees for forage.

I have followed most of the guidelines and they seem to be working well, with one exception. I was supposed to do a controlled burn on about 1/3 of the property each year in a three year rotation. Controlled burns help wildlife as well as improve timber growth.

A little over a year ago, just before the burn ban went into effect, I had scheduled a burn for about 10 acres. The Forestry Commission technician arrived that morning and warned me the humidity was very low, but I insisted we go ahead and burn anyway. He unloaded his bulldozer and plowed a fire break, and we started the burn.

As warned, the fire got way too hot and most of the pines lost their needles in the next few weeks. But within days they has put out new needles and looked good. Unfortunately, during the winter I found pine beetle damage and had to clear-cut the area to stop them. I was going to end up with no trees anyway, so I might as well get some money for them.

After the timber company finished I waited until just before the burn ban went into effect the beginning of this month and burned off all the residue left. I waited as long as possible to let it dry as much as possible, and it worked. I guess fire and me just don’t get along. The fire burned way more than expected, moving across what looked like bare ground to me, and I had to call for help to stop it before it got into the woods.

Right now the place looks bad, but I will plan pines there and will have a new stand of trees growing soon. Again, the Georgia Forestry Commission people helped me with what I needed to do and even provided some grants for planting some kinds of pine trees.

As the weeds, grasses, briars and other plants grow in the cleared land, deer and other wildlife will find it a great place to live. I will add food plots in the cleared area so there will be plenty for them to eat as well as good cover. I expect to have an abundance of deer for the next few years.

If you have land and want to manage it wisely, contact the Georgia Forestry Commission. They can help you be a good conservationist, managing your resources and using them wisely.