Since today is a Korean holiday, I knew that my regular spots would be crowded with carp fishermen so I went back to that big rocky area where I got skunked twice in a row earlier this spring. However, Rob and I did really well in that area right around the same time last year so I thought I’d give it a shot.
The bass wouldn’t touch anything while it was still dark but got active after it got light. I caught 4 dinks plus the one above (on 5-inch, black Senkos) and wish I could have stayed out longer since the action was picking up but it was time to head on to work. For those of you heading out this weekend, good luck 
The fishing is tough out there right now and I don’t know why. Could it be the cooler weather? The high pressure system? The unusually clear water? Do they get active a little later in the day this time of year? Heh, I don’t have the slightest idea. I did, however, manage to catch one on a 4-inch Senko and another one on a Karu Lures Vibraspin (which is a combination spinner bait/chatter bait), and that was all for this morning.
To start things out, I caught my first-ever bass on a shaky head rig this morning - to be fair, I hadn’t fished shaky head rigs all that much in the past but on the occasions I tried them, I had no luck at all. But this morning, I thought that since I’ve been on a mission to, ahem, expand my angling horizons beyond the Senko, I’d tie on one of these to see what would happen.
I also tried a chartreuse spinner bait (I’m all out of the white/red) for about 30 minutes without any luck but for whatever reason, the fish were liking my Senkos today.
I caught the above on my second cast and although I usually bag and tag them as fast as possible so they can get back in the water, I had to weigh this one - 2 pounds, 11 ounces (I thought it was at least 3 pounds…not even close).
That fish in the last pic would not stop flopping around…I was trying to get a shot with him hanging there with the Senko and hook showing and out of 5 attempts at a picture, that was the best one. LOL. Once again, a good start to the week
Nomad has graciously given me access to post pics etc. here. Here’s my first attempt, so if I screw it up too badly, I apologize in advance.
Well, any day spent fishing is a good day, however, the fishing itself could have been better on Saturday. It was a bit chilly early, but ended up being great weather. It was somewhat windy at times but overall not bad in that regard either. All that green stuff is gone from the water and it wasn’t too murky. But the fish were really difficult to find! We fished all day and only caught 16, which is actually a lot better than I thought it was going to be for a while. The bite did pick up a bit around 4 p.m. and afterwards, but most of the fish we caught were really small. We caught a couple that went around 1 1/2 pounds but most of the others would have been lucky to break a pound. I threw a little bit of everything at them. Crankbaits weren’t happening at all. I caught one on a tube, one on an in-line spinnerbait, a couple on a jighead worm and the rest came off of dropshot rigs. No one else we talked to on the water was having much luck either. It was good to be out there though and we had a good time. Here’s some pictures, but nothing special really.
I did catch one pig! Well, actually it was a plastic pig(gy bank).
We wanted cooler temperatures, well, we got them and how. When I got to the river this morning, the wind was blowing hard, it was raining and, it was cold enough for me to need a windbreaker. The cold front has definitely affected the fish, because I didn’t have one single bite on a Senko out there. Not even a dink!
So I put on the last white/red spinner bait I have, and ended up catching three total. Two of them were a pound or less (may have even been the same fish), and just as the rain really started coming down and I thought about going to work a little early, this bass nailed the lure and made my morning.
I almost slept in this morning because I figured that after those hard rains we had on Saturday, the river would be high and stained - and I was correct on both counts. The water level is so high that I couldn’t get down to the spots I usually fish, and the water was the color of chocolate milk. On top of that, there was a brisk breeze blowing in my face. However, the bass didn’t seem to mind the conditions too much.
The fish on the left was caught on a 5-inch Senko, black with blue flakes, and the one on the right was caught on a white/red spinner bait. I also caught two dinks, and had one bass on a spinner bait that jumped and threw the lure about 2 feet from shore, just as I was about to reach down to grab it. Unfortunately, it’s supposed to rain again today, tonight and on Thursday which will put a damper on my fishing activities but the good news is that these fronts will bring some nice cool weather, which I’m sure we’re all looking forward to.
My upstairs neighbor Mike took me out in his boat today (thanks, Mike!). I got to check out his boat since I’m thinking of buying one, and I also got to enjoy a heck of a good day out on the river. Well, more like a half day, since we were chased off by the torrential downpours (which didn’t bother us too much since the fish were biting) and the lightning and thunder.
Mike fished mainly deep-diving crank baits along with some drop shots, and I tried a little of everything; spinner baits, chatter baits, wacky-rigged Senkos, 4 and 5-inch Senkos (with not much luck, I might add), and once I saw how Mike was tearing them up again, I also tried crank baits. We ended up catching 18 bass, and I’m sure we would have caught a lot more had the weather not turned ugly. Here are some of the pics from today:
I had a blast and learned a few things as well. Thanks a lot, Mike, for taking me out there. Hopefully the weather will cooperate better next time
Friday; the last day of the work week (for most of us) and the beginning of the weekend. And, it’s a good day to catch fish, I always say . But before we get to that, there was no fog out there for once and I actually saw a sunrise:
But way before all that started happening, I was out there in the dark, chucking Senkos and spinner baits. I ended up catching 8 bass out there this morning which I must admit, made my day (even though 5 of them were dinks).
On my very first cast with a black, 5-inch Senko, I caught this fish but unlike a lot of the hits I got in the dark the last few weeks, this one nailed it hard and also put on one heck of a good fight. A while later, I switched to a spinner bait.
The above was the only one I did manage to catch on a spinner bait and once again he was hooked really good so despite all his aerial acrobatics, he stayed on till the end to pose for this shot.
I caught this one on a black 4-inch Senko about 10 minutes before it was time to pack it in and head to work. Today was definitely one of the better days I’ve had in quite the while and it’s days like today why I keep getting up early 
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I didn’t want to spend the entire three-day weekend without going fishing, so I headed out to the river bright and early this morning to get a few hours in. I also wanted to test a theory I had which was that in the dark, and with the water being stained from that green algae, a white spinner bait should work. I’ve always read that at night, you should use dark lures because the bass see the silhouette better against the surface light. That may be true, but I figured that since visibility is down due to that green algae, a white lure with silver or gold blades should work just as well.
It might have been a fluke and pure luck, but on the third cast with a white spinner bait (ok ok, for you purists, I know it’s white with red, LOL), I caught this fish, about 20 feet out.
And, I also caught one on a 5-inch Senko, black, fished very slow with the occasional twitch. I also missed a couple, which is par for the course. Just like the last two weeks, the bites were before or right at first light; once it got light, the action stopped. I got two hours in, which was perfect for me and by 7, plenty of other fishermen started showing up so it was time for me to leave anyway. I always say; if I can see another fisherman, then it’s too crowded for me
Published by Rob on September 13, 2008
in Fishing.
My wife and I went to Gosam and rented a boat yesterday. It was a beautiful day, but once again the fishing was extremely tough going. All of the ones we caught were very small, and were caught out in deeper water, 33′ to be exact. Once I realized that they were holding deep I put on a shaky head rig, and although I got numerous bites I couldn’t set the hook on one to save my life. Either the fish were really small, or I was doing something wrong. Any pointers? Yesterday was the first time I tried a shaky head rig so I really have no clue.
Gosam is actually a very beautiful lake, but I’ve never had much luck fishing out there.
That right there says it all, doesn’t it? LOL
It seems that my bass catching skills are lacking those of you guys up North. I fished for 6 hours yesterday with only one 12 inch bass to show for it.
I lost and missed a few bass (that felt much bigger) due to my lack of concentration :???: The worst part is, this was my last chance to catch a few before heading back to Nigeria on Sunday. Man time flies 
Well this morning was an adventure. First, check out how bad the algae is getting in the river:
And that stuff isn’t only floating on the surface; it’s permeated the water all the way to the bottom and there’s zero visibility now. I tried chatterbaits and spinnerbaits this morning but man oh man, now I remember why I never used lures from shore out there - I lost three chatterbaits and two spinnerbaits, all to getting hung up in the rocks 
I did catch a few fish and this was the biggest of the bunch. I hope they open the gates down by the seawall soon so this green crap floats over to China and the river clears up.
Published by Rob on September 11, 2008
in Fishing.
I received an email from Tex Mex this morning. He and his son recently went ocean fishing off the coast of California, and from the pictures it looks like they had an excellent time. They caught several nice sized barracuda, over 30 large rock fish and one rare ling cod. Joshua, who I think was ocean fishing for the first time, caught himself two nice sized barracudas and some nice rock fish. Way to go guys!
Published by Rob on September 11, 2008
in Fishing.
I hit the river bright and early yesterday morning for what I hoped would be a “not so crowded’ great day of fishing out on the water. Well, the “not so crowded’ part worked out great, but the fishing was a little tough. I caught 14 fish, but they were all very small. I also fished from sunrise to sunset, and received a healthy dose of vitamin D via the sun in the process. ;) Even though all of the fish were small, I still had a good time and consider it a true blessing to have been able to get out on the water, catch a few fish and enjoy the beautiful fall day.
Pictured below are the two biggest of the day, and I think they may have weighed a pound each, possibly a wee bit more.
As Nomad mentioned below, the green algae was horrible, but it wasn’t horrible everywhere. Weird…
The most exciting part of the day happened while I was dragging a top-water weedless frog across this stuff and a bass came out of nowhere and nailed it. I unfortunately missed the hook-set, but the way he exploded out of the water and slammed that thing was enough to get me hooked (no pun intended) on top-water fishing. I’ll definitely be doing some more of that in the near future.
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