Had a couple of good outings, but none to write home about. I did get to do some trout fishing with my wife back in February. We visited the mountains for our anniversary, and we had a great time catching about 7 lbs of trout, which are mighty tasty by the way.
Had a great day on the water in March searching for prespawn bass. The weather in NC has been mild all winter, and has had the fish staging early this year. So Stew and I hit a few areas we found fish last year, and it did not disappoint this year. The only good fish I caught I had to work to catch. Saw a few other nice size bass scanning the flats, but just couldn't get them to bite.
Worked that bank behind me with a shaky head for nearly 20 minutes to get this one to bite. That tattoo on my arm is Japanese for "Passion Makes No Border." It is the motto of a fishing buddy of mine from Tokyo, Japan. Check him out on facebook, Takatoshi Murase, or his global fishing experience of Crush TV.
The Tournament: 4-14-2012
Carolina Yakfish tournaments are always a great time, and the money raised for Heroes On the Water is what it is all about. I arrived at around 5:40, and it was COLD. A couple of guys had a fire going by the waters edge, and it was a welcome site. Slowly all the anglers arrived, and we watched at least 3 bass boat tournaments stage and take off while we were getting ready. 42 anglers showed up, the largest turnout for a Yakfish event yet. AWESOME!
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| Picture courtesy of Jason Scott |
We got cranking at 7:00 am, and final boats were in a bit before 3:00 pm. There were some awesome fish caught, and quite a few people had no luck at all. I think most everyone had a decent time, and at least got a few laughs in, so all in all a great event.
I had no luck early. I threw topwater frogs, zara spooks, tubes, jigs, worms, and a few other baits to no avail. About 8:30 I finally had a bite on a shaky head. I pitched it into the end of a downed tree, and before the bait hit the bottom, my line started moving. I tightened the slack, set the hook hard, and started to reel. When the fish got about 6 feet from the boat, he gave me an aerial. 15-17 inces, keeper! However, during the aerial, he threw the hook. So my first hookset nets nothing. I continued on this pattern for another 45 minutes to an hour without another bite. I took a stretch break and while I was on the shore, I noticed a 12-13 inch bass just hanging under a log. About a foot away appeared to be some type of fry. Not sure if the bass was looking for lunch or guarding the fry, but that gave me the sign I was looking for.
The next half hour was spent flipping and pitching worms into obvious bed area, but I had no luck. After seeing a bass near a bed, I knew that the warming trend had the fish back up in the flats. But with all the fish being seen in the open water on graphs, I figured the females were out and the males were in. So I changed up the worm color to my go to bait. A black grape trick worm. Most simple color besides black, and it made ALL the difference in the world!
Over the next 3 to 4 hours, minus a 20 minute stretch break, I flipped and pitched that worm to catch 5 fish. Most likely all were bucks up on the beds either staging for spawn or guarding fry. I threw a black and blue jig into a few trees, not even a bite. But when I followed the jig with the worm, I got a bite every time. I guess the worm was just the right combination for the day.
This is what made me stick to the game plan: Winds picked up throughout the day from the south-southwest. The sun was shining bright, and no clouds around at all. Water was fairly clear, and water was on a warming trend coming off of a cold front. I, along with several other anglers, saw LOTS of fish in deep water. Suspended a few feet off the bottom, or hanging around bait balls. I couldn't get any of them to bite, and with the water warming, I knew there would be some males moving in. I stuck to my guns and it paid off. I was literally catching fish a foot or two off of the banks. With that being said, I would have to offer up a bit of advice on tournament fishing if I could. While its great to try some of the things that have been working for other people, especially the locals to the body of water, never stray away from what you know. It is very difficult to have confidence in a bait you rarely fish, and confidence is what its all about. I don't know if anglers just don't work a new bait correctly or what, but it seems that the go to baits always work better. I had great luck with a shaky head on this lake, others tried and had none. So I have to attribute that to luck, and confidence. Maybe a little divine intervention in there as well!
With all that being said, here are the photos of the tournament fish from Harris.
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| 15.25" bass |
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| Smile for the camera! |
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| 14" bass |
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| Saying hello |
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| 14.5" bass |
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| Got my limit, good day. |
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| 15.25" bass #2 |
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| Glad to upsize. |
Took quite a while for these 4 fish plus the one that got away. All in all it was a great day though. I went out with a gameplan, and once I saw that my topwater option was not going to work, I stuck with my go to bait and worked it over. I ended up with a three fish total of 45". This was good enough to get me a 3rd place finish in my second tournament. I had a completely different mindset about this tournament than the first, and I believe that it helped tremendously. I didn't put any pressure on myself, and I fished how I enjoyed. If I had not caught any fish, I'm sure I would have been disappointed, but since I fished in a manner that I liked, I think I would have been ok. Thanks go out to the Carolina Yakfish boys who put on a GREAT tournament, and raise money for Heroes on the Water. A special thanks go out to my Hardcore brethren that taught me everything about kayaking and kayak fishing, couldn't have done it without you guys.
Go over and support this great cause! Heroes on the Water!
More info on the Carolina Yakfish Tournament Series!
Tight lines, and remember: Conservation and education are the key to keeping our sport alive and well.
Setup: Field and Stream Tec Spec Rod 7'MH Fast Spinning
Pflueger Trion GX-7 Reel
PowerPro 15 lb Braided Line
Spot Remover ProModel Shaky Head Jig in 3/8 oz.
Zoom Black Grape Trick Worm
Berkley Lightning Rod Shock 7' MH Fast Casting
Abu Garcia Silver Max Reel 6.4:1
Power Pro 20 lb Braided Line
Spot Remover ProModel Shaky Head Jig in 3/8 oz.
Zoom Green Pumpkin Blue Flash Trick Worm
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