Mississippi River - 9/27/09

Mark and I hit the river about 7:30 this morning. It was a beautiful morning. Crisp air, fog rolling off the river and a smooth ride to our first spot. We were targeting white bass again. We were fishing a dike break between two islands and the water really flows through there. We got nothing on our first spot so we decided to move. This time we headed out to the main river. We fished a U shaped dike on the outside, main cannel side. We caught 2 at this location. Then we moved over to the ouside, bank side of the dike. Again, we caugh two and I had one on, run straight at me and then under the boat. I had my drag too tight and as he went under the boat he came off the hook. He had that pole doubled over. I know it was a good fish. The key to this spot was we were sitting in about 2 feet of water on the inside current break and fishing out in the current where it dropped to about 8 feet. I think they were sitting on that ridge. Anyway, we worked our way down river fishing the same spot on 2 other dikes, but they produced nothing. Then we fished the backside of a partially submerged dike and caught 2 more. This spot has a LOT of potential. The back side of the dike has some sand on it and the water rolls over the rocks and creates a lot of turbulance. Then it drops to about 10 feet. We went back to our first spot and fished the opposite side which only produced a drum (on a spinner bait at that). It was a good day and we pulled out at Noon. A big thank you to Mark for going along. We've been trying to do this for quite a while. Now to get Matt Douglas out on the water with me!

Driveway Fishing...

 


We threw everything from lead weights to a pink butterfly.. no fish ... They did catch me a few times though. :)

Mississippi River - 9/20/2009

My brother-in-law, Dave, and I hit the river around 7:00 this morning. There was a slight drizzle coming down, with temps in the 60's (both ambient & water). We were going to target whites and wipers. We headed to the first dike I wanted to try and started casting into the current break. Both using crank baits, after a few casts & about 15 minutes, I wanted to tie on a different crank. As I'm re-tying, I was trying to explain to Dave how the stripes fight and how much fun they are, and BLAMO, Dave says, oh, here's one. After the first one we caugh a couple more and the rain started coming down. We also caught 2 drum on crank baits. As the fish quit biting, and the rain started to realy dump on us, we decided to call it quits. We were home by 9:00.

Of course it stopped raining by 10:30, but we were already done for the day. We'll try to get out again real soon.

Mississippi River - 9/6/2009

Today Adam and I took a trip out on the river. We were just going out to get a line wet and get out on the boat. We started by working the downstream side of a dike. Adam was using a snake and I was tossing a crank bait. This produced nothing, so we switched up to plastics and still nothing. We then started working some laydowns on the upstream side of the dike. We flipped jigs, tossed crank baits, threw spinners, you name it, we threw it but produced nothing. We didn't have much time but decided to work the current break where the water came around the end of the dike. We were both working the crank bait and it produced two stripers (or whites, or hybrids, or whatever they are). One was about 9 inches, the other was 13.5". These things put up a great fight. The bigger one was stripping line of my spool and was really giving it it's all. It was a lot of fun. I'll be targeting them again on my next trip out. -cld

Dove Season - Opening Day 2009

Dove season opened this past Tuesday, and as we usually do, Les and I took the day off to go throw lead and see if we could knock a few down. Gary met us at Greg & Cindy's before sun-up and we took our places. We had standing corn on one side and soybeans on another with a telephone line at the split. This typically produces birds for us. However, on this cool opening day, there were just not many birds flying. I ended up getting 5 but lost one in the soybeans. Les and Gary each got one, and around 11:00 we gave up. We hadn't seen a bird in over an hour and just got discouraged. Come to find out Brad went down that evening and nearly limited out. I heard other stories that as the day went on, the birds started coming in.

We went down again on Saturday morning. Got there before sun-up again, but sat in the barn for a couple of hours as the rain just kept coming down. Finally around 9:00 or so the rain lightened up enough that a few birds were moving around. We shot at a couple that were probably too far to shoot, but when you've been sitting for so long, you'll shoot at anything. Then we walked across the field (the corn was now cut) towards a small patch of tree. One bird flew in and any of us could have shot it, but I pulled my trigger first and that was our only bird of the day.

Saturday night I cooked all the birds for some friends and they were really good. I filet them off the breast bone then put a piece of pepper jack cheese and a jalapeno slice between the two halves. Wrap the whole thing with half a slice of bacon and put a toothpick through it to hold it all together. Once on the grill, we dab them in barbecue sauce just before we pull them off the grill. They are delicious! - cld

Lake Carlyle - 8/23/2009

Just got back from across the border. Made my way to Illinois this morning to meet up with my buddy Jay to do a little fishing. Carlyle is about 15 minutes from his house so that was today's destination. It's a shallow lake. We were fishing in 3' - 5' of water out in the middel of the lake. There are deeper spots, but we were after white bass. We started on a large flat near the center of the lake and caught one or two. I was using a crank bait or a rattle trap. Jay was using crappie jig looped about 18" above a weighted spoon. This was the "local" favorite, as told to him by the bait shop. We fished a few more spots and had about 4 landed total. Watched one guy using the same rig Jay was using, but with a crank on the end of it pull one after another in. We couldn't get it to work. On our last area, there were boats nearly running over one another, everyone using the same setup. I finally tied the rig on with a crank bait 18" below the jig. And wouldn't you know, I had about a 15" white in the boat. It flopped out before I could pick it up or measure it. that was the last fish caught and we headed for the house.

Mississippi River - 8/2/2009

Matthew and I headed out on Sunday morning about 7:30. It was a beautiful morning. Crisp air and so much fog coming off the water that you could only see about 50 yards or so. The plan was to fish a few new spots Matt picked out by looking at Google Earth. With all the fog and limited visibility we decided to try the back side of a dike that he had marked. It was close to home so we wouldn't have to fight the fog too long. We came up on ths spot and it looked great. Some nice slow backwater and a great current break around the tip of the dike. We started at the current break throwing spinners, but nothing. So we worked the dike slowly back to the shorline and then down the shorline around some laydowns. We pulled one short off the dike and nothing off the laydowns. We fished the area for a little over an hour and around 9:00 decided to run North up towards Winfield. As the dam was coming into view and we were nearing our second fishing spot something was happening with the motor. As I slowed down it started violently vibrating. We killed the engine and raised the motor to have a look. Matt says "Well that's the problem. You're missing the tip of a blade on the prop. How in the hell does this happen. We were running along, 20+ feet of water, no 'thump' no 'shutter' nothing. Just a little vibration, and then a lot of vibration. So we decided we could take our time and limp home on the trolling motor, and fish at the same time. As we are making our way out of the main channel to the Missouri shorline, the trolling motor decided to stop working. Yeah, we are now having one of those days that happens to every boat owner, it's just a matter of time. We ended up tying up to a dock in Winfield and called Bryan to up and pick one of us up. He took me back to Riverside to put the Wellcraft in and go get the fishing boat. Of course I didn't have the key for the hitch so we had to run back to my house to get the key to unlock the Skeeter trailer so we could hook up the Wellcraft and put it in. We finally did and 2 hours later we had both boats back on the trailer and were headed to the house. We were home by 2:30. Wow, what a day. Now the question is, how much will be under warranty. I'm hoping they realize there was something wrong with the prop for this to happen.

Illinois & Mississippi River

Made a run by myself today. It was a beautiful morning. Put in around 7:30 AM and ran up the Illinois. WOT all the way up to Hardin will burn 1/4 tank of fuel. On the way back I fished every lake inlet, creek, creavis that entered the river. That produced 2 fish, both shorts. I threw white spinnerbaits, plastic craws and crank baits. Then I came back and fished Pole Star and the rock between Pole Star and Duck Club. Ran into a couple buddies at Duck Club. They were having the same luck I was having. Oh well. More boat ride today than fishing. Ended up burning up 18 gallons of fuel (1/2 tank). Maybe we'll do better next week.

Slow Night

Cameron and i went out on the river Tuesday night to do a little fishing. We decided not to hit the marinas and fish some rip rap. The fishing was slow and the only fish of the day was a 6lbs Drum

Mississippi River - Pool 26

Mr. Maher and I hit the river around 6:30 and decided to try som sloughs. We tried the first one on the Missouri side as you head down river from Riverside. It was a bust. Current was moving way to fast through there. The next one we tried was where Eagle's Landing (aka Heartland) is. This one was more promising. Current was slower, but we just didn't have the confidence fishing these conditinos. Next was back to our favorite marina. We started by pitching to the docks as we worked our way to the back. This produced one 12" fish. Then as we got around the back side, Matt lost another 12" fish (gotta set the hook). As we made it around to my favorite hole, Matt put another 12" fish in the boat. My hole produced for me once again, this time giving up a 16-1/2" fighter. We had one more hit where it didn't take the hook, just the plastic and hung me up, bastard. It was a pretty good night. 3 fish in the boat and the potential for another 2 or 3 all in an hours time. - cld

Mississippi River - Pool 26 (Polestar)

Got out for a couple hours this morning. It was cool and a bit windy. Water was muddy, but not up too high. Went back into Polestar to try my luck. Started with a jig and didn't get anything. Worked the dock down the east side and all the pilings in the back. Switched to a craw to work the rocks and got one 12" fish out of a little hole where I had gotten bitten on before. I guess that's better than I usually do. Continued to work the craw around the rock and flipped it around the docks. Nothing more was hitting. Hopefully I'll get out again on Tuesday and then this weekend the family and I will be down at Table Rock. Going to try my luck at some Kentucky bass and smallmouth.

Mississippi River - Pool 26 (Winfield Slough)

Got back out on the Mississippi River on Sunday morning. Put the boat in at Riverside around 6:00AM and ran north to Windfield. Fished the slough next to the Windfield dam. There were a few bank fishermen that said they weren't doing any good. I mainly fished the rip-rap that forms the bridge base and then I fished under the bridge. Had a couple hard thumps, but couldn't get anything to take the bait. Fished a chat spinner and a white spinner, a green and chart crank and a black/chart craw. The plastic is what got the thumps. I was suprised to find 12+ feet of water under the bridge. The rest of the area is fairly shallow (under 9 feet) but the bridge is deeper. After a while I ran back down to Pole Star (seems to be the go-to spot) and worked my way in there with a spinner. Talked to another guy fishing who had not caught any bass. He was using a jig and a spinner. Started to continue back but saw two other boats fishing in there so I called it quits and headed for home. Another skunked day on the river.

Mississippi River - Pool 26 (Dardene Creek & Pole Star

The discussion of tonight's fishing trip started early in the day. We had to watch the radar close as there were some pretty severe storms headed towards St. Louis. At 5:00 we decided the worse portion of the storms would be south of us so we were going to try to get our fishing trip in. It was raining when we got to the harbor, but isn't that why we spend all that money on good rain gear? We put the Skeeter in at Riverside and decided to just start working the shorline right there and work our way up into Dardene Creek. There was a lot of good rip-rap to work, but spinner baits produced no bites. There were a lot of bait fish jumping, but no bass. So we decided to make a run to one of my favorite harbors, Pole Star. By now the rain had quit and the water was just glass. A 65 MPH run down to Pole Star took very little time and we were fishing again. We have heard rumors that crappie can be caught around the docks here so the plan was to work the rip-rap for bass and then as we had to move around the docks, get the crappie rigs out and work the docks, the work the rip-rap for bass again. We worked our way in, throwing spinners off the front and the back of the boat. Up on the shoreline and out just a bit. Then we setup the 10' crappie rods with jigs and Power Baits. Worked these around the edges of the dock. As we came around the backside of the first dock I got a hit. I was a bit excited, I thought I had an awesome crappie on. Instead, I had to play out a nice 15", 1lb 8oz bass. This is on a 10' crappie pole with a itty-bitty crappie real and 4lb line. It really wasn't that bad, but it was a nice fish. We contiuned with our plan, alternating between the two poles as we made our way to the back of Pole Star. Right at the sunset I was working a plastic bait up on the shore in this little hole and my line moved from one side of the boat to the other. I reeled down and felt tention so I set the hook. Pulled it out of it's mouth. Quick fix the hook and I threw it back up in there. Nothing. Again back up in there, apologizing to Matt for holding this spot, nothing. Once again, up in the same spot, working very slow. Tap, Tap, Tap... I hold on. The bait starts to move again, I reel down, feel tention on the line and set the hook. Bait comes out of the water, no fish. At this point it's getting dark. I threw in there 3 more times and didn't get another hit. Matt and I decided to call it a day and run for the house. What started as a wet nasty evening turned into a great night on the river. Got a busy weekend coming up so it'll probably be next Tuesday before we get out on the Skeeter again. - cld

Mississippi River - Alton Pool (Hideaway & Pole Star)

All three of us (Adam, Matt & I) went out on the river this morning. We put in around 8:30 and ran south to Hideaway Harbor. We figured we cheat a little bit since they had a bass tournament go out of there yesterday. Water temp was running around 72° in about a foot and a half of water. Yeah, it was shallow. We fished the whole area clockwise starting at the mount and ending at the ramp. The quote of the day was from a guy on the ramp. Conversation went like this. "Doing any good?" "No, but it's better than sitting at home" "Yeah, I'm married too". It was pretty funny. About that time Adam threw a spinner up along the rip rap along the ramp and we had our first river bass. It was right at 13 inches. That was it for that area so we ran back up river to Pole Star Marina. I keep hearing that people were pulling fish out of this harbor and today, we would too. Matt had the luck in Pole Star. We fished clockwise again. As we came out of the pack area, Matt (from the back of the boat) threw a spinner into this little pocket on the bank about 10 times, and on the 11th cast, wham-o! Fish ON! It was a little nicer fish. Just over 14 inches. He had one more that didn't measure before we ran for home. Good morning on the river. Congrats to Matt & Adam for showing me up. - cld

NICE FISH!

Adam and I did some fishing Saturday morning. We tried out cart first. The normal minnows were not producing much a couple of catfish and a cart bass.We decided to try our luck up at New Town. The fish in new town were loving the minnows we caught a bunch of bass and a few nice catfish. I caught a nice one on a swim bait also.This is the one I caught on the swim bait. The other photos are all minnows.

Mark Twain Lake (modified)

It finally happened. We went up to Mark Twain Lake this weekend to do a little crappie fishing and take my nephew fishing for the first time and we actually got into them. They were post-spawn, but they were just coming off the banks and setting up on the trees. It was a whole lot of fun. I went up Saturday morning and got on the lake around 7:00. The first stop was our honey hole up in Little Indian Creek. This area produced one crappie off a tree and a lot of sunfish. I actually left up there due to the amount of sunfish. Next I shot over to Dry Fork. This is where I started working the trees. I was finding them about 18 inches down, right on the trees. The water was fairly murky and about 75º with clear skies and a high around 85º with a steady to falling barometer. You had to lay your jig in there just right to get them to hit. The were lying in the shadow of the tree so you had to work not only the tree, but the shadows too. I had 6 in the boat (all over 9”, mostly 10”+) by noon when Dave and Ryan got there. Most of them were caught before 10:00, after that, the bite stopped. We took Ryan back up to Little Indian Creek and let him catch some bluegill since we knew they were stacked in there. He had fun and we only caught one more crappie before we pulled out around 3:30/4:00.


Sunday was a whole lot better. First thing that morning we made a run to Pigeon Roost. We hit a cove in there and tried to fish the bank. We had heard rumors they were still spawning, but this was just a rumor as after an hour or so, we had not caught a fish. We then switched back to working the trees in the same cove. Sure enough, we started catching fish. Conditions were identical to the day before except the crappier were spread out in the water column. We found them anywhere from 6 feet down to 18 inches down. Again, the 10-foot pole worked perfectly for this. Ryan was working a jig under a bobber and cast just beyond the base of a tree. He worked it up to the tree and let it stand. It took about 10 seconds and he was reeling as fast as he could. He put a 12-inch crappie in the boat, laid his pole down and said he had the biggest fish of the day and he was done. It was pretty funny and it was a really good fish. By the noon that day we had 9 fish in the boat and took Dave and Ryan in to head for home. They took the fish home to share with their family and Les got in the boat with me as we headed back to Dry Fork to catch 11 more which would give me a limit and enough to take home and feed us and our wives. Again, they were stacked on the trees about 4 feet down. The water temp was near 80º and murky. We didn’t use minnows all weekend. We were using a chartreuse jigs and Gulp! Crappie Niblets. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy another minnow again, unless I’m in Canada. It was a great tip that I have to thank the people at South Fork for. I got some more tips at the cleaning station on Sunday evening, but I’ll have to try them out for myself before I pass them along. We went out in the pouring rain on Monday, but didn't catch any keepers and after an hour of fishing in a downpour we threw in the towel and headed for home. It was a great trip and I’m looking forward to more trips up there this summer.

Mississippi River - Pool 26 (Harbors)

Saturday morning looked as though it was just going to pour, but the forecast was for no rain and the radar was empty. Savannah, Alan and I headed out on the Mississippi again for another try at those pesky river largemouths. The water was right at action stage and was on the rise from all the rain we got on Friday. We decided to stick to the marinas. As it turns out, there was also a bass tournament on the river today, so that hurt our chances a bit more. We started at Polestar Marina. They have a lot of rip rap on their shoreline. We were both throwing plastics today. I started with a jig and creature, but quickly switched over to a Texas rig. We worked almost all the way back but there were two other boats back there fishing the tournament so we didn't want to bother them and decided to try another spot. We ran down to Woodland and worked the back of their marina. They have a couple of culvert pipes that supposedly hold bass, but they didn't show us that. Alan did get a bite on a plastic worm, but couldn't get it to hook up. I eventually started throwing a spinner and got a bite, but again, couldn't get it to hook up. Talking to some of the other boats out there, they were catching fish. One of these days I'll get to catch a bucket mouth on the Mississippi. But it won't be today. - cld
Oh, forgot the conditions. It was overcast skies with a rising barometer. The water and air were both around 65° with the river on the rise.

Mississippi River – Pool 26 (Peruque Creek)

Jeffery and I headed out Tuesday evening to see if we could finally catch a fish on the Mississippi River. Up to this point I had not had much luck heading south (east) out of Riverside Harbor, so we headed north to Peruque Creek. I had been up there one other time and it looks like a place that should hold fish. A front was moving through on Tuesday evening. The weather forecast was for rain late Tuesday evening, but not until after dark, so we were going to miss any heavy stuff. However, the wind was picking up, coming out of the SSE which made the main river just a little choppy. It was quite a boat ride (I don’t know how to go slow). When we got to Peruque the water temp was 66° with a falling barometer. The water was high and falling. At 7:00 Winfield Dam TW was 25.12 and Grafton was at 20.57. We started with spinner baits. I was using a heavier white and red while Jeff stuck to the chartreuse. We thought we were getting small bites, but couldn’t figure out what it was. We switched to small in-line spinner baits (Rooster Tails) and again got small hits. We were watching the Japanese Carp rolling all around us and then we realized that we are probably just snagging up on them. Needless to say, we worked up and down the creek and threw everything at them including spinner baits, in-line spinners, jigs, you name it. We even stopped and bobber fished to see if there were any crappie or bluegill in there. No luck. So at this point the Mississippi River has yet to produce a fish in the Skeeter. We will continue to try. I’ve gotta learn to fish the River. It’s just too close to home to pass up. - cld

Mark Twain, Salt River & J Lake

This past weekend we got together for the annual bowling team fishing trip up at Mark Twain. Some took off on Friday, while the rest of us got up there after work. On Friday, the forecast was for rain and cooler temperatures all weekend. Luckily the rain didn't make it to us, but the cooler temperatures did. Jeff and I hit the lake at 7:00 Friday evening where we were greeted with high, muddy water and lots of trash floating in the Lake. The other guys had been up in Little Indian Creek all day and only had 3 fish, so we figured we would try somewhere else. We got the boat in the water and ran to Dry Fork. Dry Fork was really, really muddy and only 55#&176;. Not knowing where they were yet, we dabbled the edges of the shorline about 3-feet out with a jig and minnow combo, but caught nothing. We ran out of there about 8:30 and pulled out. The following day we ran north to Little Indian Creek and started with the same pattern we were using in Dry Fork. We dabbled the shorline edges about 3' out with a jig head and minnow (no skirt) and again, nothing so we moved to working the trees. This produced a few fish, but they were scattered and hard to find. The combo seemed to be 18-feet of water at about 3 to 6-foot down right against the tree. The water temperature was about 64#&176; in Little Indian Creek, while the air temperature started in the 50s and got up to the upper 60s. We worked several coves in Little Indian and then ended up working bobbers along the shorline, 12 to 18-inches below the surface at 1 to 3-feet off the edge. Between the two boats, this produced 6 or 7 fish, but only 2 keepers. For the first full day of fishing we ended up with 11 fish between 3 boats. Not a stellar day. Which is why we decided to try below the dam on Sunday. Being in fiberglass boats, we didn't pull up on the rocks right below the dam, so we tied up to some trees down below the rocks and worked the small eddies along the bank. We caught several fish, but only 3 that were close to keepers, and they weren't even that big. Water temp was only 55#&176;, with the air temp reaching the lower 70s for the day. After fighting the current for half the day, we decided to give J Lake a try. By 2:00 we were on J Lake. The water temp in J was 65#&176;, high and muddy. Similar to the rest of the waters we fished over the weekend. The lake edges are really shallow. We targeted bass, while some of the other targeted crappie. No one produced anything. We threw worms, spinners, jigs, buzz baits, you name it, we threw it. Oh well, maybe when the water coditions are a little better.

Mississippi River - Alton Pool (Pool 26)

Matt and I headed out on the Mississippi River again this evening. Overcast skies with a slight mist. The river was on the rise (it rained all day yesterday) and the barometer was also on the rise. We decided to check out the lower part of the river near Portage. We put in at Hideaway Harbor and ran south to the power plant. They weren't pushing water, so we didn't stay long. Next was a back slough I had marked. Turned out to be all dried up so we continued south to Harbor Point Marina. The bait fish were going crazy in there. We threw everything at them. Working the docks and the rocks. The depth throughout the harbor was about 5 feet. Water temperature was 62. We caught nothing. I really don't believe there are bass in the river, but people keep telling me there are. Matt did get hit with a Japanese Carp. Damn thing got us as we were leaving and slimed the bottom of my boat. I think the whole south end of the river is crap unless the water is high. Water levels at Grafton were at 17.42 and Winfield was at 23.56 at 8:00 when we pulled out. Hopefully this weekend goes better than our river trips have gone. We'll probably miss next Tuesday and pick it up again on May 12th. - cld

Mark Twain Lake - Little Indian, Lick & Dry Fork

Les and I had the opportunity to take the day off today and get up to Mark Twain Lake for a little crappie fishing. The weater forecast was right on target. High of 84 (it reached 87) with winds out of the SSW at 20-30 with partial overcast. Minus the wind, a beautiful spring day. Well, we weren't the only ones with this idea. The lake was packed. We left St. Charles at 6:45 and pulled off the trailer just after 9:00. We decided to start on the north side of the lake and made a quick run up to Little Indian Creek. We went about half way back and worked the edge of the tree line off the edge of the bank. As we worked our way back out I caught our first fish of the day. A 12" crappie. OK, we figured this was not going to be a bad day. The water temp up there was 52°, so it was a bit on the cooler side. No spawning yet. That was the last bite we had up there so after about 2 hours we decided to run back down south and check out Lick Creek. I guess I'm use to the lake being high because it seemed really low, but it was right at normal pool (609.6). We hit a couple coves back in Lick Creek, and found nothing except shelter from the wind. The water temp was much warmer. 57° in the main creek. Next we ran up into Dry Fork, with the rest of the people on the lake. One thing that everyone had in common, no one was catching fish. Most people had one or two, but that was it. After working back up into Dry Fork, I caught one small male and on the way out Les landed a good sized crappie, we were done for the day. 3 fish in the livewell is not a spectacular day. However, the water temp in Dry Fork was 61°, so with a little luck, we will be on target next weekend. Otherwise it will be a VERY long weekend. I have to make mention that we talked to some really nice folks on the water today. There are always those that would rather spit on you than say hello, but for the most part everyone was talkative and sharing information. A lot of people from Illinois and a few fellow Skeeter Owner's from Hannibal, Mo. Here is the Google Earth file from the trip. Hopefully we will get back on the river Tuesday evening before making the run back up to Mark Twain Friday night (Sat., Sun. & Mon.). - cld

A Better Day for Morels

Although we didn't find many, at least we got a start. A few yellows were east/northeast facing slope. They were new. Probably laszt night or this morning. I really want to try one of the islands on the river, but if I'm on the river, I might as well be fishing.

Mississippi River - Alton Pool (Pool 26)

Adam and I made a quick run on the river tonight. We got on the river around 6:00 or so and ran south to Aiport Lake. We rolled in there and it looked promising. Water temp was between 57° and 58° and really shallow. Majority of the time we were in 2 foot of water. The river is falling with Grafton at 18.36 and Windfield TW at 23.64. Basically, at Riverside it was just inside the bank across from the ramps. So if the water is down, you can't really get in there. But man it looked promising. We threw white and red spinners and then a black with a big carolina blade. Adam threw a black and blue jig and then a small Zera Spook. Nothing. I cannot wait until the first bass I (or anyone with me) catches on the river. Right now I don't think they are in there. At the same time, if we can learn to fish the river, we can fish anywhere. The boat ran great. We found out that when you slow down from 60 to go over a boat wave, you should probably slow way down, not just down to 50. Let me just say that both Adam and I were shaking a bit after we got the boat running flat again. But all-in-all everything keeps right on clicking with the boat. We've got a lot more places to fish. I haven't ruled out Airport Lake. We only fished the upper portion. We did not fish down around the docks where its about 3 to 4 foot of water. Bitch is, how in the hell do those boats get in there when the water is at normal level. We're fishing again Saturday morning, but we're taking Savannah so I doubt we run that far. Keep fishin' keep learnin' that's all we can do.

Morels... Finally

My buddy Jeff finally found our first morels of the season yesterday. Hopefully by Friday we'll have a couple pounds.

Pre Spawn Bass Fishing - Route J Lake

Henry and I got out EARLY on Friday morning, the water was very stained from the rain and snow but we finally figured out what they were hitting on. We threw everything from crankbaits to worms, the only bites we got were on black and blue jigs. When I was pulling in my first fish Henry was already tying on a black and blue jig before I got the fish to the boat. All together we landed 4 fish all day weighing in at a 14lb bag, not bad for two guys. As we were moving through the grass that was about to start growing big, we moved a ton of fish... each of these fish were 5lb+, no lie. Can't wait to get back there in a few weeks when the water is clear and pitch pig and jigs at these monsters.