I tell ya, sometimes I just feel like a goofy, giddy little kid when I'm out on the water; stupid grin and all. Is goobery a word? Either way, that's me. Happy and goobery. Especially lately as I've been falling in love with the near by lake. After work on a Thursday, I decided to invite a few friends to share the love. Lockhart, Beck, and Britland joined me on what turned out to be a gorgeous evening out on the water.
Alex Britland enjoying the pedal drive on the new Old Town PDL
I quickly picked up two bass on a texas rigged Cut-R Worm and that aforementioned grin was clearly visible to all. I shared with my buddies what I used and how I was fishing it to pick up the 16.5" and 18.25" fish.
"You should feel the rocks there. Once you get passed them, there's a drop off. Make sure to let it get all the way to the bottom." Then I switched up to see if the swim-jig would produce similar results. A few casts into it I got a solid thump. Immediately after setting the hook that smile went away. I went into oh-please-get-in-the-boat mode especially after it thrashed on the surface for us to see that it was close to that 22" citation mark. Not long after, I landed it and the grin came back. And when I laid it on the board I smiled a little more...
22.5" Citation Largemouth Bass
Not too long after, Mike Beck landed a 23.5" Pickerel (half inch shy of citation). And Alex Britland landed a respectable 19" Bass.
Mike also scored a 19.5" bass toward the end of the night. Jeff Lockhart had the only topwater bite of the evening with a 16"er. He also had the misfortune of being the only one who got crapped on by a bird.
Guess it can't always be smiles and pretty sunsets for everybody.
It had been nearly three months since my paddle pushed through the water. The forced hiatus, which may have allowed me to focus on many "grown-up" things, still felt like an eternity. Jeff Lockhart and I met Drew Camp and his dad, Chip, in their neck of the woods in search of bass and pickerel. Even though it was wet and chilly, a perma-grin remained plastered on my face as I felt my kayak glide. And my cheeks didn't get any rest for awhile because my first fish of the day was a trophy pickerel.
Afterwards, we caught several more pickerel but the bass were tough to come by. I had a few little ones but that was it. My best luck came on a spinnerbait, husky jerk, and square bill.
Bass Dorsal
Pickerel eye markings and gill plate
Being able to check a citation off the list with my first trophy pickerel felt pretty awesome especially while juggling daddy-life, office duties, and trying to get a house ready to put on the market. 'Til next time, hope you all get on the water, and hopefully it won't be too long before I get out too.
As with most winter fishing in Virginia, I knew it was going to be hit or miss. So I recruited a couple of my favorite kayak bass experts to aid in my newly acquired mission. The growing inbox of bass print requests had been in the crosshairs for way too long and it was time to pull the trigger.
This post is brought to you by the YakAttack Boomstick camera mount. If you like taking video with GoPro style cameras, you're gonna love it. Full articulation, quick release, floating... it's brilliant.
Complete review with details coming soon.
I met up with fellow Werner Paddles and Kokatat team member, Drew Camp, his dad Chip, and the legendary Forrest Short. As I was taking photos and video for the upcoming review of the Boomstick, Forrest and Drew quickly got into some fish early on. A 17" bass and two good size pickerel were caught before I even left the ramp. And of course, by the time I got out, they didn't want to bite anymore. A few hours later, Chip broke the monotony with a 13" slab of a crappie on a jerk bait.
We all hoped the action would turn on as the water temps crept up but it stayed slow. A while later my jig finally enticed a good sized bass.
Just shy of 21" and a little over 5 1/2 lbs in 8' of water right next to a cypress tree. I thought about keeping it for prints, but couldn't. My respect for larger/older fish couldn't be shaken and it was released... fingers crossed... hoping I would run into one I didn't mind killing.
Not too long after that, Drew picked up a 16.5" bass on a square bill crank bait
After a thorough inspection of the super healthy short round, it went on the stringer.
Mission accomplished.
I was hoping for an upgrade to about an 18"-19" but that never happened. Forrest took off to try another lake and scored a huge 25" pickerel and a healthy 18.5" bass. I went on to score one more fish; an 11" crappie on a small husky jerk, which accompanied the bass for an ink session. Drew went on to catch another nice pickerel.
All in all, a very satisfying and successful trip.
Hopefully the upcoming weather doesn't keep us off the water too long.
Those of you who have been waiting patiently for a bass print, soon my friends...
Last weekend, I guided a friend to his personal best blue catfish. This weekend, I decided to play a little role reversal and called local legend, Forrest Short. Chain Pickerel remained unchecked on the proverbial list and Forrest's invitation to try his spots stood too long. The impending cold front, 12 hours away, added a sense of urgency but also a touch of optimism.
I usually do well shortly before a strong cold snap, so I had reason to be excited. New dad, Justin Mayer and I followed Forrest to the lake he grew up fishing on, with high hopes. But unfortunately, after four hours, even with signs of promise, we were facing the dreaded skunk. Shortly before Justin had to get back to his newly acquired parental responsibilities, Forrest found a massive school of 6"-10" crappie in less than two feet of water.
Our attempts at getting them to bite were futile and we ended up snagging a few as our lures grazed their backs.
We got off the water and after Forrest shared some great fishing stories about that lake, Justin took off. Phase two was implemented and I found myself following Forrest to another lake in Yorktown. Within a few minutes of launching, he was showing me how it was done.
I absorbed the knowledge he was generously sharing and it didn't take me long before I got into an altercation with an aggressive pickerel of my own.
Giddy after my chain pickerel devirginization, I adamantly expressed my sincerest gratitude, appreciation and admiration toward my guide. I always enjoy locating fish on my own, but it was still very sweet to catch a new specie with the help of a friend. Thank you again, Forrest.
Over the next 4.5 hours, we worked our crankbaits in 4-8 feet of stained water and continued to have ourselves an excellent time. Well over 20 fish were landed between us with several largemouth bass in the mix.
One of the highlights for the day included a chubby 21" bucketmouth that went a hair over 6.5lbs on my VAC certified scales. It ties a personal best I set over 7 years ago.
The other highlight was a feisty, acrobatic, and very pretty 23" chain pickerel
I also met fellow Hook1 prostaffer, Marty Mood and a relative newcomer to the area from Wisconsin, Richie Bekolay. They were off to a late start but quickly got into the fish. Richie also had a really nice 21.25" bucket (pictures on his blog).
I stuck around a little later than Forrest, but just before I thought about leaving, I got a call. Apparently the cold front was closer than we thought. Forrest called to make sure we were on our way in because "it was lookin' like armageddon". As I was hanging up, it started raining. Then the wind machine went to full blast. Within a couple minutes of paddling, we were being pelted by frozen rain, and a few minutes after that our kayaks had a layer of snow on them. Luckily we weren't too far from where we launched. I tried to get footage and photos of the madness, but moisture on the lenses made the shots unrecognizable. As we begged our fingers to finish strapping the kayaks, big fat snowflakes caked our cars. Then thunder clapped just above our heads. All three of us looked at each other, then laughed in disbelief. It quickly went from nice light winds to full on thunder snowstorm insanity.
What a day?!?!
I got to fish with an angler who I have great respect for... I tried two new places... I tied a personal best bucketmouth that was just an inch short of citation... not only did I catch the new species I was after but lots of them... and one of those was just an inch shy of citation too... and at the end, I actually enjoyed what felt like a joke from mother nature...
