When I first joined a bass club I had no idea bass would bite during the winter. But a January, 1975 tournament at Jackson taught me they would. Six bass weighing more than six pounds each were weighed in.
I thought I would freeze that cloudy, windy day with sleet all day long. I had worn my winter hunting clothes that were fine for deer hunting in the fall or walking winter fields and woods looking for squirrels, rabbits and quail, but they were not fine for sitting in a boat in 32-degree wind and sleet!
A catalog at home from a new mail order company, Bass Pro Shops, offered snowmobile suits and boots. I ordered both the next week. The thick insulated jumpsuit was water resistant and repelled sleet and snow, but I had to get a good rainsuit to go over it.
The boots were very heavy, with inch thick felt liners inside. I knew if I ever fell out of the boat they would take me to the bottom, so I never tightened up the string at the top, leaving them where they would easily slip off. Of course, with everything else I wore, getting out of the boots probably would not make much difference. This was way before the small auto inflatable life jackets I now wear at all times.
I had some of the old hand warmers, the ones you filled with lighter fluid, lit and put in a case in your pocket. When they came out I got the ones that used a charcoal stick and put it in a cloth lined case to put in a pocket to keep you warm. Both kinds were messy and hard to use, and inconsistent staying lit, but they helped.
A few years later I saw a product called “Hot Hands” at Berry’s Sporting Goods that did not make sense. It was a small cloth pouch with grit in it that, when taken out of a plastic bag, shook up and put in your pocket, it warmed up. Since I taught science at the time I was able to figure out the iron dust inside rusted really fast when exposed to air, producing heat.
Hot Hands make a huge difference when fishing this time of year. They are not messy or bulky and are easy to use. I can put them in my boots before leaving home and they are still warming my toes up nine hours later.
One in each jacket pocket lets me put hands in them one at a time when driving the boat or even fishing a slow-moving bait to warm them up. A few scattered inside my heavy suit keep my body toasty.
I was a press observer at the 2015 Bassmasters Classic on Like Hartwell. On practice day I rode with David Kilgore, watching him figure out patterns for eight hours. I could not fish, just sit and talk and watch.
The air temperature was eight degrees that morning, but it warmed all the way up to 20 degrees during the day. And the wind blew. I was comfortable all day though, since I had hot hands in the toes of each boot, in each outside coat pocket for my hands, and four in inside pockets against my body. I even put one under my cap before putting on a stocking cap and pulling my hood over it.
Two-packs of both hand or toe warmers are about $1.75 at Berrys and bulk packs are cheaper. They really help and I don‘t leave home without them this time of year.
St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Presented by SEVIIN Reels Kicks off Division 2 Competition on Lake Ouachita
Hot Springs, AR — At over 40,000 acres, Ouachita is Arkansas’ biggest lake and one of the most popular fisheries in the state. It has been more than 20 years since B.A.S.S. visited the lake for a major tournament, but today through Saturday, high-stakes bass fishing is back, with Visit Hot Springs hosting the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Ouachita presented by SEVIIN. It’s the second Opens event of the 2024 season, and the first of three in Division 2 competition.
Tournament days are scheduled for Feb. 15-17, with daily takeoffs set for 6:45 a.m. CT from the Brady Mountain Rec A ramp. Anglers will return for weigh-in each day at 2:45 p.m. The full field of pros and co-anglers will fish the first two days before the field is cut to the Top 10 pros on the final day. The winner will punch a ticket to the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, provided they have fished every event in Division II. EQ Anglers (those signed up for all nine Opens) will earn points towards the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers race.
With surface water temperatures barely rising above 50 degrees in most parts of the sprawling lake, Ouachita remains very much in a late-winter pattern. Rain leading up to and throughout practice has impacted water clarity, impacting how and where anglers will chase bites from the lake’s abundant smallmouth, spotted, and largemouth bass. Ouachita has both Northern- and Florida-strain largemouth, the latter of which can reach double-digit weights feeding on the lake’s shad, crayfish, and other ample forage. Expect anglers to use live sonar to focus on suspended bass keying on shad in open water areas, jigs and crankbaits on main lake points, and vertical presentations in Ouachita’s copious amounts of standing timber. Grass flats will also come into play, as long as competitors can find the ones that have pockets of clear water.
Maple Grove, Minnesota angler and St. Croix and SEVIIN Reels pro, Chad Grigsby, is a familiar face and talent in bass circles. He’s been fishing full-time on the national level for over 20 years – 18 on the FLW/MLF tour and two seasons in the Bassmaster Elites.
Grigsby says he has two goals fishing the Opens this season. “I’m fishing all nine events in hopes I can finish in the top nine in points and re-qualify for the Elites,” he says. “The other goal would be to win one of the nine events to get into the Bassmaster Classic.”
Going into this week’s competition, Grigsby says his goal is much simpler. “It’s the same mindset I have going into any tournament,” he says. “Ultimately, I just want to catch five bass to weigh every day. But I want to do it by putting myself in a place where I can get as many bites as possible.”
The pre-spawn period on Lake Ouachita is a pretty good place to do that. “It’s consistent fishing here,” says Grigsby, who has fished multiple tournaments on the lake in the past. “There’s really no fish headed to the banks yet, so it’s not like Florida where a cold front rolls through and messes things up. I think the rain is over, so it looks like we’ll have stable weather throughout the competition. Everyone is out live-scoping deep, but there’s bait and fish everywhere. I caught a couple 4.5’s in practice shallow, but they didn’t look as healthy as those deeper fish.”
While multiple options abound, expect the jig to play throughout competition for Grigsby. “I’ve got a lot of confidence fishing a jig and it’s been as good for me as anything else throughout practice,” he says. “I’ve been throwing jigs on a bit shorter St. Croix Legend X 7’ medium-heavy rod (XLC70MHF) with 14-pound line and a SEVIIN GS 7.3:1 reel,” he adds. “What I’m seeing them eat is really small.”
The final day of competition on Ouachita will be broadcast live on FS1 Saturday morning beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET, with streaming available on Bassmaster.com, as well as FS2 and the FOX Sports digital platforms.
2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Presented by SEVIIN Reels Schedule
Division 1 February 1-3, Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston, Florida March 7-9, Santee Cooper Lakes, Clarendon County, South Carolina October 10-12, Lake Hartwell, Anderson, South Carolina
Division 2 February 15-17, Lake Ouachita, Hot Springs, Arkansas May 2-4, Logan Martin Lake, Lincoln, Alabama June 20-22, Lake Eufaula, Eufaula, Oklahoma
Division 3 July 11-13, Lake St. Clair, Macomb County, Michigan August 22-24, Leech Lake, Walker, Minnesota September 12-14, Mississippi River, La Crosse, Wisconsin
St. Croix & SEVIIN Rewards Programs
The St. Croix Rewards Program remains unchanged this year, but an identical SEVIIN Rewards Program has been added.
Each program pays $1,000 to any registered pro angler (boater) who wins an Open tournament fishing St. Croix rods or SEVIIN reels, or $500 to the highest-finishing registered top-10 pro angler (boater) fishing St. Croix rods or SEVIIN Reels.
Similarly, each program awards $500 to any registered co-angler who wins an Open tournament fishing St. Croix rods or SEVIIN reels, or $250 to the highest-finishing registered top-10 co-angler fishing St. Croix rods or SEVIIN reels.
Since these are two separate contingency programs, a registered angler fishing both St. Croix and SEVIIN who wins or finishes highest in the top 10 would receive both rewards – up to $2,000 for a boater and up to $1,000 for a co-angler.
Anglers must pre-register to be eligible to win these contingency programs. Registration takes place at the St. Croix / SEVIIN tent prior to the start of competition at each tournament.
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly producing the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph®, Mojo, and BASSX, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world.
Wherever and however you fish, the reel in your hand should help create better experiences. Born from St. Croix’s seven decades of design and manufacturing expertise, industry-leading customer service, and unbroken private ownership by the Schluter family dating back to 1977, SEVIIN reels are meticulously engineered and purpose-built to help anglers conquer every species on every piece of water on the planet. SEVIIN focuses on reels and reels only, designing and crafting products that improve the angling experience, regardless of the rods anglers choose. Seven seas, seven continents, seven days a week, SEVIIN reels are fueled by a collective love of fishing surpassed only by a passion to deliver the most reliable reels on the water.
KEEP YOUR FINGER ON THE FISHING INDUSTRY PULSE
THE DEFINITITIVE NEWS SOURCE OF THE FISHING & MARINE INDUSTRY
A trip to Neely Henry four years ago got me thinking about muddy water.
I met Peyton Nance, an Auburn University bass team member and reserve defensive tackle on the football team. We managed to get the boat in and to the dock in the ripping current. The water level had dropped four feet overnight. Peyton explained they were trying to get it down to hold all the flooding water coming downstream.
We looked at and tried to fish ten spots that are good in March, but the current made river places impossible to fish and back-outs very muddy. I did manage to land a three-pound largemouth on a Chatterbait, my only bite. Peyton lost a five-pound spot right beside the boat when it pulled off his crankbait.
Muddy water makes bass fishing tough. Bass tend to get very tight to cover and not move much. It is like us in a heavy fog, we like to stay in familiar places and not run around and get lost!
My Garmin Panoptix has confirmed this. In clear water I see bass holding near but not down in brush and just over rocks and stumps. In muddy water they are down in the brush and right against rocks and stumps.
Bass still have to eat, though. They can be caught, especially if the water has been muddy for a couple of days and they have gotten used to it and have gotten hungry.
A bright lure that sends out sounds in the water is usually best. I will be fishing a bright chartreuse spinnerbait with chartreuse blades and skirt. A rattling chartreuse crankbait will also be used as will a black and blue Chatterbait, the bait I caught the three-pounder on at Neely Henry in the mud.
Even my jig and pig, a black and blue one with bright blue trailer, will have rattles in it. And I will fish all of then slowly and tight to cover.
Those who would nix your right to fish in an instant are active and organized – recreational anglers need to be equally vigilant.
Forestville, WI – Nearly half of Australia’s fishable waters are now off limits. Some European countries ban catch and release, claiming it hurts the fish. Think it can’t happen here. Think again…
The good news is that American angler interests are backed by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA), the nation’s largest trade association for the recreational sportfishing industry. The bad news is that they can’t completely protect your rights alone…and that’s where you come in.
Recently, ASA VP of Government Affairs Mike Leonard spoke at the annual NPAA conference in Fort Myers, Florida on the topic of advocacy, what ASA is doing on your behalf, and what you can do as an individual to protect your fishing interests.
Leonard’s engaging presentation highlighted three key themes:
DO NOT take fishing for granted.
DO NOT sit on the sidelines.
Stop with the infighting.
He went on to talk about knowing the issues in your area, joining fishing organizations that work to protect sportfishing like the NPAA and the ASA, and keeping up with the issues that could affect your ability to access the vast amount of aquatic resources available in this country at asafishing.org.
If you care about the future of recreational fishing, you’re not too busy to watch Leonard’s presentation…
Navigating The Depths: A Comprehensive Guide To Cannon Downriggers
By The Fishing Wire
In the world of angling, precision is key. Whether you’re a freshwater enthusiast targeting trophy walleye or a saltwater fanatic pursuing the elusive king salmon, having the ability to control your bait’s depth can be the difference between a successful day on the water and a frustrating one. Enter Cannon® Downriggers – the trusted choice for countless anglers worldwide offering the perfect solution for precise control of your bait, resulting in more fish caught.
Downriggers are designed to be used while trolling for a variety of species and can be used on different bodies of water across North America. They allow anglers to fine-tune their fishing experience, ensuring that they target the specific species they desire at their preferred depths. This level of control is essential for being able to cover the column and present their bait where the fish are most likely to bite.
Cannon offers a wide selection of both manual and electric downriggers, with the electric models such as the Magnum™ or Optimum™ gaining popularity over the years due to their precision and efficiency. Boasting both convenience and speed of retrieval, these downriggers simplify the fishing process with advanced features and longer booms to be able to run a larger spread of lines. The automated functionality on the Magnum and Optimum eliminates the need for manual cranking, allowing anglers to get their weight out of the water in seconds with no cranking required. Cannon’s electric downriggers not only enhance the overall efficiency of gear deployment and retrieval but also provide precision in bait placement, ensuring that your bait is exactly in the strike zone.
Many of Cannon’s electric downriggers are designed to integrate seamlessly with Humminbird’s® line of fish finders, making them easier than ever to use. The latest addition to Cannon’s downrigger lineup, the Optimum, boasts several exclusive new features. One of the most recent advancements includes bottom tracking, allowing the angler to set the offset distance from the bottom, and the Optimum will keep the bait at that desired distance automatically. The Optimum also includes depth cycling, giving the angler the ability to program their downrigger to automatically cycle the depth of their bait to cover more water. The introduction of these features has redefined the capabilities of electric downriggers, reshaping the way anglers are able to cover the water column.
Anglers often opt for the versatility of Cannon downriggers, deploying up to four units strategically along the stern and sides of their boat. Despite being commonly associated with deep-water fishing, these downriggers give anglers the flexibility to target fish at various depths. What truly sets these downriggers apart is the comprehensive line of accessories and mounting systems offered by Cannon. The aluminum mounting systems are essential in organizing multiple lines to avoid tangling and increase efficiency. Paired with a wide assortment of rod holders designed for secure positioning, along with downrigger weights and line releases to ensure peak functionality and optimal depth control, Cannon’s accessory lineup offers a comprehensive solution for a hassle-free experience.
Cannon Downriggers have established a renowned reputation for their reliability and durability, built to withstand the harshest conditions. Cannon offers a variety of different downriggers and it can be intimidating to choose the right one for your style of fishing. To choose the right downrigger, you need to consider various factors, such as your fishing environment, the depth you plan to fish, your budget, and your boat type. With a wide range of models and price ranges available, Cannon makes it easy to find the perfect downrigger for your angling needs.
Whether you’re a seasoned angler looking to enhance your fishing experience or a newcomer eager to explore the world of downriggers, Cannon continues to lead the industry, providing anglers with the opportunity to reach specific depths and enhance their fishing success. Their precision-engineered design, durability, and innovative features make them an irreplaceable tool for anglers seeking to optimize their trolling experience. In the evolving landscape of fishing gear and technology, Cannon’s unmatched reputation for quality and reliability has made them the top choice for anglers who demand the best.
JOHNSON OUTDOORS FISHING is comprised of the Humminbird®, Minn Kota® and Cannon® brands. Humminbird is a leading global innovator and manufacturer of marine electronics products including fish finders, multifunction displays, autopilots, ice flashers, and premium cartography products. Minn Kota is the world’s leading manufacturer of electric trolling motors, as well as a complete line of shallow water anchors, battery chargers and marine accessories. Cannon is the leader in controlled-depth fishing and includes a full line of downrigger products and accessories.
JOHNSON OUTDOORS is a leading global outdoor recreation company that inspires more people to experience the awe of the great outdoors with innovative, top-quality products. The company designs, manufactures and markets a portfolio of winning, consumer-preferred brands across four categories: Watercraft, Fishing, Diving and Camping.
The stark bare gray limbs of hardwoods right now offer the best of times and the worst of times for squirrel hunting. Tree rats are easy to spot a long way off, but they can see you the same distance, too. It is easier to find them but harder to get close enough for a shot.
The population is lower than at the start of season back in August. Human hunters and natural predators have taken some of the squirrels that survived last winter. But both have killed many more of the dumb young ones born during the spring and summer. They are much easier targets.
Still hunting is tougher this time of year. Squirrels aren’t coming to an oak or hickory that is full of nuts to feed. They are scrounging around, looking for nuts they buried earlier when they were falling, and looking for anything else edible in the winter woods. You can’t sit under a good tree waiting on them to come to you.
After a rain you can find them eating mushrooms in pine thickets, but that food is scattered, like everything else. And the green needles on pines make it hard to spot a squirrel when they scurry up a tree and hide from you.
Creeping up on a feeding squirrel is possible, but deer hunters would be impressed with the abilities of a squirrel to spot you and flee. Any movement in their world draws instant attention and they will either flatten against a limb or tree trunk, making them very hard to see, or head for a hollow tree where they are totally protected.
One of the best tactics for me was to take off running through the woods when I spotted a squirrel in a bare tree. That usually made them freeze in place, trying to hide rather than running to a hollow. With no leaves on the tree I could usually find the hiding critter.
A little breeze helped in several ways. It would move bushes and limbs enough to confuse squirrels’ senses, making it easier to creep up on them. But when searching for them up in a tree a little breeze would often fluff their tail a little and the hair moving or sticking out from the tree trunk would make them easier to find.
Another trick was to scan for their ears sticking up. Not much natural up in a tree looks like squirrel ears. It helped that I had a good scope on my .22 to scan limbs and trunks, looking for any telltale sign. I always carried it rather than my .410 in the winter, expecting to get shots at squirrels sitting still rather than running through the limbs when the .410 helped.
I also learned to throw a stick to the far side of a tree where a squirrel hid. The noise and movement of it hitting a bush would make the bushy tail move to my side of the tree. I could see him from the movement, and could usually get a good shot.
Every squirrel killed when I was growing up was eaten. I was pretty good as skinning and gutting them and mama could cook up fried squirrel with gravy, squirrel and dumplings, BBQed squirrel and squirrel stew that was delicious. The younger squirrels were best for frying, but even tough old boar squirrels were good and tender when cooked right.
This is a great time to take a kid out and teach them gun safety and hunting skills. Deer season is over and the woods are quiet and bare, offering fun and good food!
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Last Sunday 12 members and one guest of the Spalding County Sportsman Club fished our January tournament at Jackson. After eight hours of trying, we brought 31 bass longer than 12 inches to the scales. Only four of them were largemouth. There was one five fish limit and no one zeroed.
Wayne Teal won with the only limit and it weighed 7.72 pounds. Second was Zane Fleck with four weighing 5.72 pounds, Billy Roberts placed third with four weighing 4.98 and Niles Murray had four weighing 4.83 pounds for fourth. Randall Sharpton’s 3.21 pound largemouth was big fish.
I should have gone squirrel hunting! I guess I used up all my luck at Sinclair, it was one of those days when everything was just wrong for me. I fished hard but ended up with one keeper largemouth weighing a whopping 1.27 pounds for tenth place.
Glenn Anderson fished with me and caught a keeper spot on a crankbait the first place we stopped. After fishing two or three more spots, I got a bite on a shaky head worm. The fish swam toward the boat and when I set the hook I pulled a keeper largemouth to the top and watched it come off the hook.
The next place we stopped I got five bites, four on a shaky head worm and one on a jig, in five casts and missed all five! Then Glenn threw a drop shot worm to the rocks where I got the bites and landed his second keeper.
Soon after Glenn landed his third keeper, I felt a fish pick up my shaky head in a brush pile but felt the thump of it spitting out the worm just as I set the hook. I missed several more bites during the day, finally catching my keeper with an hour left to fish. I was in such a hurry to get it in the boat I hit Glenn in the face with it as he grabbed the net!
To add insult to injury, there was a Robby’s tournament out of Berry’s Boat House the same day. It took five bass weighing 17 or 18 pounds to win it!
When I hear results like that the same day I struggle to catch a keeper, I wonder why I even bother fishing.
“If anyone has earned a grand prize for this program, it is certainly Jason McRae,” said Scott Robinson, Chief of the WRD Fisheries Management Section. “Not only is he the only angler to have gotten a Bass Slam all 7 years that it has been offered, but he also caught all 10 bass species every year. That is an amazing accomplishment, and we are proud to offer these prizes to him.”
The Bass Slam Grand Prize Winner receives a cooler, camp chair, tackle box and a beautifully framed bass print. Are you working on your 2024 Slam?
Georgia Bass Slam: Catch (at least) five of the different black bass species found in Georgia within a calendar year and you have a Georgia Bass Slam! This program recognizes anglers with the knowledge and skill to catch different species of bass in a variety of habitats across the state, while also stimulating interest in the conservation and management of black bass and their habitats. For complete rules and more info, visit BassSlam.com.
Other Fishing Recognition Programs:
Angler Award Program: This program recognizes those who catch fish that meet or exceed a specific weight or length for that species. There is an adult, youth, public fishing area and trophy bass angler award program category. For complete rules and more info, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/anglerawards.
State Records: In addition to the angler award program, the division also maintains a freshwater fish state-record program for anglers who land a catch that exceeds the existing record catch weight by one ounce or more. More information at GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/recordprogram/rules.
Trout Slam: Catch all 3 species of trout available in Georgia waters and earn a Trout Slam! More info at GeorgiaWildlife.com/trout-slam.
Kids First Fish Certificate: The division wants to recognize children across the state for catching their first fish with an online kid’s “first fish award” certificate available at GeorgiaWildlife.com/my-first.
Georgia Wildlife Resources thanks anglers that took part in these programs and appreciates all anglers that head out to state waters throughout the year to wet a line. For more information about fishing in Georgia, visit GeorgiaWildlife.com/fishing/angler-resources.
I have learned a lot from my Garmin Panoptix I installed in November 2019. This system is a sonar that shows a live picture of what is underwater on the screen, much like shining a spotlight at night shows what is in its beam. And it shows movement as it happens, not as a line on the screen like older units.
One of my first surprises was how many fish are down there. I see schools of crappie and hybrids and clouds of baitfish suspended over deeper water this time of year. And I can see fish moving along the bottom, probably catfish and carp.
Fish hovering around stumps, rocks and brush, or holding right on a drop off, are probably bass. And there are lots of them. But seeing them does not mean they will hit my bait.
Time after time I see my bait move through them and they ignore it. Even worse is when I watch my jig fall on the cast or hop it and see a fish come up to it and follow it back down but never hit it.
I have always heard bass move tight to cover in muddy water. In November and December, Jackson was very clear and I could see bass holding just over rocks and other cover, and they would slowly move around it. But after the rain Jackson muddied up and now I see bright dots indication bass right against the rocks or down in the brush. And they don’t move, they just sit there.
I know a bait cast out and sinking will swing back toward the boat, and to get it to go straight to the bottom I “feed” line to it as it falls. That is important when trying to get you bait to the bottom under docks and down to brush.
Watching my bait swing back toward the boat as it falls amazes me. A half ounce jig with a twin curly tail trailer cast on 14-pound fluorocarbon line makes an arch back toward me no matter how much line I feed to it. It moves back toward me about a foot for every five it falls, so if I cast to a brush pile 20 feet deep I have to cast at least four feet past it to get my bait to hit it.
I am just exploring lakes with my Panoptix and hope to learn a lot more in the coming months.
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Final 2019 standings for the three Griffin bass clubs are out. During the year points are awarded at each tournament based on where you place.
In Flint River and Potato Creek first place gets 100 points, second 90 on down to 10 for tenth. Anyone catching a keeper but finishing below 10th gets five points. In Spalding County, first gets 25 points, second 24 on down to 1 for 25th. We also keep up with numbers of fish weighed in and total weight for the year.
Last year in Flint River, I won with 1340 points and 47 bass weighing 78.21 pounds. Niles Murry placed second with 900 points, 40 bass and 67.42 pounds and Chuck Croft came in third with 880 points, 36 bass and 65.2 pounds.
Fourth place was won by Don Gober with 790 points, 34 bass weighing 45.79 pounds and his grandson Alex Gober placed fifth with 660 points and 22 keepers weighing 28.41 pounds. Doug Acree rounded out the top six with 410 points, 12 Bass and 16.12 pounds.
In the Potato Creek club, I won with 890 points catching 73 bass weighing 130.39 pounds. Trent Grainger placed second with 840 points, 61 bass weighing 106.03 pounds and Doug Acree came in third with 825 points and 70 bass weighing 111.79 pounds.
Mitchell Cardell placed fourth with 790 points, 56 bass weighing 95.03 pounds and fifth went to Kwong Yu with 700 points, 57 bass and 97.77 pounds. Raymond English came in sixth with 670 points, 60 bass weighing 100.19 pounds.
For the Sportsman Club, I won with 316 points and 65 bass weighing 129.94 pounds. Kwong Yu placed second with 270 points, 51 bass and 82.11 pounds, Raymond English came in third with 266 points and 65 bass weighing 124.44 pounds.
In this club fourth went to Jay Gerson with 250 points, 55 bass and 84 pounds, Wayne Teal was fifth with 247 points, 44 bass and 68.24 pounds. Billy Roberts rounded out the top six with 241 points, 37 keepers and 57.22 pounds.
Since joining the Potato Creek club four years ago, my goal has been to win all three clubs one year. I was very happy to do it this past year while fighting health problems. I guess I can retire from fishing now – not.
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Last Saturday, 19 members of the Potato Creek Bassmasters fished our January tournament at Sinclair. After eight hours, we brought 71 keeper largemouth weighing about 126 pounds to the scales. There were 10 five-fish limits and two members didn’t weigh a bass.
I won with five weighing 13.0 pounds and had a 6.71 pound largemouth for big fish. Kwong Yu placed second with five at 12.85 pounds anchored by a 3.91 pounder. Third was Tom Tanner with five weighing 12.58 pounds and had a 4.09 pounder. Dan Dupree came in fourth with five weighing 12.44 pounds and second biggest fish of the day with a 5.61 pounder.
Add in the 4.43 pounder Raymond English had and the three pounder my partner Mike Scoggins weighed in and you can see it was close and there were a lot of quality fish caught on the cold, rainy day.
Fish were caught on a wide variety of baits. My big one hit a crankbait, I also had a three pounder on a spinnerbait, another keeper on the crankbait, three on a shaky head and one on jig and pig. The only consistent thing for me and others seemed to be fishing shallow in the 53-degree muddy water
I hope everyone had a good deer season and got to shoot what they wanted, either a trophy for the wall or a freezer full of meat. Or both!! But now that it is over, it is time to turn to small game. Many of us older folks grew up hunting squirrels, rabbits and game birds, and there is about six weeks left to hunt them.
Learning to hunt squirrels and rabbits is great training for hunting big game. You learn to read signs, be patient, acquire shooting skills and identify food sources that will help when hunting deer, turkey or anything else.
This time of year is both a challenge and a blessing. With leaves off the trees, you can spot a tree rat a long way off as it scurries from limb to limb. But they can see you just as far away and hide before you get near. And if you jump a rabbit you can get a decent shot.
There is no food in the trees, either. So you won’t be able to sneak up on a trembling limb where a squirrel is busy cutting pine cones or acorns and not paying enough attention for predators like you. When they are feeding in the trees you can often get in close for an easy shot. Not with bare trees!
Squirrels feed on the ground this time of year. When they see movement, they will run up a tree to a hidey hole and you may never see them again. But sometimes they just flatten against the tree on the opposite side, so you can throw a stick to that side and make them move around for a shot.
When food sources like oak trees dropping acorns are available, you can set up near one and let the squirrels come to you. Not gonna happen after Christmas. Now you have to still hunt, easing through the woods alert to seeing or hearing a squirrel before is hears or sees you.
That kind of hunting will help you still hunt for deer but multiply the squirrels ability to spot you before you spot them by about a thousand times for a deer. But it is fun, keeps you warmer than sitting still, and can be very productive.
My good friend AT had a pack of rabbit beagles, and we ran rabbits almost every Saturday after deer season when I was in high school. Deer season was limited to the month of November and one week at Christmas back then, so we stated letting the dogs out in early December.
I loved listening to the dogs run and figuring out where the bunny would circle back ahead of them so I could be in position for a shot. Rabbit hunting with dogs is easy compared to without them.
I killed my first rabbit while squirrel hunting with my .410. As I eased along a field line looking for activity in the trees, I jumped a cottontail and hit it as it bounced away. I think daddy and mama were as proud as I was that day!
Once after a light snow AT didn’t want to let his dogs out, so we hunted without them. We went to a farm where the owner had cut timber a year before, so there were brush piles all over the place between his fields. We would go up to a pile and one of us would get in position while the other climbed into the brush, shaking the pile to spook the rabbit.
That’s what my friend and fellow writer Daryl Gay calls “Rabbit Stomping,” the name of one of his humorous books.
Dove season was over by Christmas, but we still hunted quail some. Most of our quail hunting was earlier in the year, though. Daddy often said he did not like to put too much pressure on the coveys we hunted, they had a tough time just surviving in the winter without being pushed, scattered and harassed by us.
I miss those hunting days but nowadays I prefer spending time in my bass boat in the winter!
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Last Sunday eight members of the Flint River Bass
Club fished our January tournament at Jackson Lake. After casting from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM, we brought 23 keeper bass weighing about 26 pounds to the scales. There were three five-bass limits and one fisherman did not have a keeper.
Alex Gober won it all with five weighing 7.35 pounds and had a 1.80 pounder for big fish. Niles Murray came in second with five at 5.52 pounds and Doug Acree was third with five weighing 4.34. Lee Hancock came in fourth with two weighing 2.50 pounds, beating my two at 2.48 pounds by .02 pounds!
It was a tough day. Niles said he caught his five in about an hour. This time of year there is often a “bite window,” a short time when if you are in the right place at the right time you can catch fish.
New member Will McLean fished with me and we fished hard. But at 2:46 with five minutes left to fish I had gotten only one bite, a four-inch crappie that hit a spoon. I found fish in many places, some of them set up under baitfish and looked like perfect places to catch one. But it did not happen for either of us.
As time ran out Will and I were working around a rocky point. I told him I would make a couple of casts across the downstream side of the point then we had to go in, even without anything to weigh.
On three casts I landed two keepers and lost one at the boat on a DT 10 crankbait. On my Panoptix I could see baitfish all over the end of the point with fish moving around under them, like in a few other places, but thew were feeding better.
I wish I could have made a few more casts but we pulled up at the ramp two minutes before being late!
When writing about open-water fishing, I often refer to the “fish-catching equation” of finding fish and then finding the best presentation to catch as many as possible. One our TV shows we often refer to this as L2: location plus lure. A winter outing awhile back where jumbo perch were the target brought to mind a simple winter fishing equation: a sonar plus a jigging spoon equals fish!
This trip included three hours of drilling holes, fishing in each for a few minutes, and then moving looking for fish. Eventually my partners and I located a school of perch. These fish would appear on sonar, a few could be caught in short order, and then no action until the next small “pack” appeared. Interestingly, we were able to use an aggressive jigging approach to “call in” packs of fish minimizing our time between bites. Here’s what we did.
We started using a variety of jigging lures trying to locate fish. Eventually we settled on the Jointed Pinhead Pro. This spoon has a joint in the middle for extra action and movement. It creates a unique combination of flash, sound, and vibration in the water. More subtle baits slither and flutter through the water, this spoon’s action, sound, and vibration are more aggressive. This day, that aggression was what the fish wanted.
We baited our spoons with minnow heads or wax worms, dropped them near bottom, and aggressively worked them. When fish appeared on the sonar, we slowed up and simply held the spoon above the fish and waited. Invariably, one would swim up and inhale it and the fight was on. The next order of business was landing the fish and quickly returning the bait near bottom. Often, we would land two or three fish in short order.
When the action slowed, we would go back to aggressive jigging, with one twist. We discovered that we could minimize our time between flurries by letting the spoon crash into the bottom occasionally. This crashing created disturbance on bottom to call in fish from a distance. When they appeared, we simply raised our jigs again, slowed the jigging action, and held on!
On this day we used 1/16-ounce spoons in a perch holo color pattern. As daylight gave way to evening, we switched to the chartreuse lime glow pattern. Often using a glow lure late in the day will put a few extra fish on the ice and this day was no exception.
Another important part of our successes was the use of sonar. Knowing when fish were in the area to slow our jigging strokes and elevate the bait was critical. And, when no fish were around, we knew it was time to go back to aggressive jigging, with occasional bottom crashes mixed in. Not only does sonar increase success, but it adds to the fishing fun as well. The FLX-28 unit I use is loaded with features and does a great job of showing bottom, my bait, and fish allowing me to call in and trigger fish. Plus, it comes in a soft-sided carrying case which protects the unit when hauled around in my truck or in my portable fishing shelter.
Moving from spot to spot, using aggressive jigging, and closely monitoring our sonar units put several dozen perch on the ice this day. Though the mood of the fish will vary, staying on the move, experimenting with lures and ways to fish them, and using sonar will lead to winter success on your trips as well. In fact, a jigging spoon plus a sonar unit equals fish is one equation anglers across the North Country can use to increase their successes this winter. Good luck on the ice and, as always, remember to include a youngster in your next outdoors adventure!
