March 22nd : Relaxation and First Spring Bite!

Since we didn't have any kids today I figured I would spend the last few hours of daylight after work on the pond.  I decided to try out a few of the new baits I hadn't got a chance to try out yet.  The two I threw the most were a topwater Strike King Rage Shad rigged with a 6/0 red AWG hook.  Man what topwater action this bait puts out.  Its still a bit early for the topwater bite here but let me tell you I am really excited.

The second bait I threw was one of the swimjigs I picked up at the fishing show last month, with a Strike King Rage Tail Chunk as a trailer.  I caught 4 small largemouths on it today, all really shallow, but they bit like 10 pounders.

I can't wait till next month when the fishing really gets interesting.

Till next time.

Wes

3-17-2011 : Pond fishing with Orion!

First off, let me say how much I love being able to come home from work and it still be daylight out.  My 9 year old nephew, Orion, and I decided to wet a few lines today on the pond.  We fished for about an hour, me with a Strike King Rage Tail Toad rigged with no weight, and him with a senko rigged drop shot style.  No bites.  I changed to a Yum F2 Shakelicious worm  and still no luck.  He changed to a BPS square bill shallow crankbait and instantly got a bite but missed it.  I explained to him how to set the hook properly and the next time he brought in about a 12 inch largemouth.  I forgot to take the camera so no pics but all in all we had a great time.

Till next time.

Wes

March 6th, 2011 : Bass Pro Anniversary Presents!

Went to Bass Pro today and picked up some stuff for my smallmouth trip in April.  Thanks to my wonderful wife for everything.  This was all an anniversary present.  Here's what I got.

1.  Bomber Switchback Shad

2.  Bomber Flat Bill Crank in Red Craw

3.  Bomber Flat Bill Crank in Red Craw

4.  Yum F2 Shakealicious Worm in Green Pumpkin

5.  Yum F2 Money Craw
6.  Strike King Rage Tail Chunk
7.  Strike King Rage Tail Craw in Bama Craw
8.  Strike King Rage Tail Craw in Green Pumpkin
9.  Strike King Rage Tail Frog in Pumpkin/Pearl

Like I said this is all for my fishing trip in April.  Its a two day float trip on the New River.  Six of us are going and it should be a blast.

Till next time.

Wes

Feb 27th, 2011 Central Carolina Boat and Fishing Expo

So my father, brother-in-law, and I just got back from the Central Carolina Boat and Fishing Expo in Greensboro, NC, and let me tell you how much fun we had.  I really didn't know what to expect there but everything I ever dreamed of and more was there if it had to do with fishing.  Some of the nicest boats I have ever seen were for sale there, from Skiffs to huge ocean boats, to bass boats and pontoons.

We started it off on the boat side, which was kind of a quickie because none of us are in the market for a new boat.  Man you can really spend a fortune if you want to.  The highest payment that we saw was a 21 ft. Carolina Skiff and it was $289/mo for 180 months.  You do the math.  On to the fishing!

I picked up a Koppers Live Target Frog.  Wow!  This thing really looks like a real frog.  As you know I bought a Spro frog last week but this one takes the cake.  We'll see how it does.

Next we visited the Striper Sniper tent because they sent my Dad's friend some free stuff to try out on Cherokee Lake.  I picked up two packs of their Swim Shad in Pearl and Chartreuse Glitter.  Hopefully they will catch me a few on the pond and if we hit up the lake soon.  

As we walked the many different isles of fishing tackle I came across a place that had hand-tied jigs on sale for $2 a piece.  I picked up 5 different swim jigs because I really like the bite you get from them.  I can't remember the place but they were pretty generic, but a good deal either way.

The next place we visited that was worth mentioning was a business by the name of Yee Ha Baits.  I believe this guy hand pours these unique swim baits at his house, probably part time, but they were great.  The jigs, which are included, are interchangeable, and the action was wonderful.  I'm sure I will catch many fish this summer off of these.

The last place we visited was Extreme Fishing Concepts.  This place was by far may favorite.  We liked it so much that we sat through a 1.5 hour seminar put on by the guy that runs it.  He operates a fishing charter business on the Yadkin River basin, and also sells tackle out of his house.  I picked up a pack of Panther Martin 1 oz Rigged Swim baits from him.  My dad bought 2 rods, 4 floats, an umbrella rig, and about 5 packs of the same swimbaits.  You can see his stuff here and his guide service can be reached at 336-249-6782.

Till next time.

Wes

Feb 19th, 2011 On Call

Well I'm on call all weekend, so today I figured I would spend a little downtime on the pond and try out some of the goodies my wife got me for Valentine's Day.  I threw two baits with no luck: a Spro Bronzeye Jr. Frog and a texas-rigged Yum F2 Money Craw.

Now let me tell you the frog is definitely my new favorite top water bait as long as it does catch fish.  In over 100 casts today it always landed upright and I didn't have to drain the water out of it once.  And it really does mimic a frog swimming across the water.  Its weedless and casts a mile.

The Money Craw is wonderful as well.  Texas-rigged it seems to always sink with its claws up, and I'm sure it will land me many fish this summer. My only problem is it is kind of big for these small pond bass, but who knows, maybe I'll catch that big one on it.

Wes

Feb 13th, 2011

So its been a while since I have posted on here, mainly because I haven't had a chance to fish very much.  My wife and I have been keeping our niece and 3 nephews almost everyday and it has been very cold here.  I have had just a few chances to fish for about an hour each time but nothing worth talking about.  I have, though, developed a habit of buying lures on eBay.  To the point that my wife has made me cut back.

There is this one seller on there that sells lures for a quarter the price you can get in stores.  Mostly in the $8-10 range which are usually $20 each.  I feel like I'm getting a wonderful deal but my wife thinks different.  Oh well.

Till next time.

Wes

11/28/2010 Duke Power State Park

Went shore fishing today in Duke Power State Park.  I had driven through the park numerous times but had never fished it.  The water always seemed too stagnant to me to hold any real quality fish.  But I was bored today and picked up some really nice tackle cheap this past week at the local Gander Mountain so I figured I would give it a shot.

My wife dropped me off at the first bridge you come to when you enter that park and told me to call her when I wanted her to pick me back up.  I had noticed the water was down and visibility was up so I started walking the shore looking for key spots such as lay downs and stumps to see if I could get any bass to bite.

I casted a 5 1/2" Chartreuse Bomber Badonk-A-Donk topwater plug and a Yum 4"  Green Pumpkin Wooly Hawg Craw up the entire north side of the bank with no luck.  Changed the top water to an orange/pearl Rapala DT-3 and also had no luck.

I then decided to try the south part of the shore with the crank bait and the plastic with no luck as well, so I called my wife and told her to start heading my way.  For some reason after I got off the phone I decided to change the  Pumpkin Craw to a Yum Watermelon Red Wooly Hawg Craw of the same size and immediately got a bite, but missed the hook set.  I continued down the bank with no luck.  About 5 minutes before she got there I returned to the same exact spot I got the bite at and got another, this time with a successful hook set.  Not sure of the weight but to me it wasn't a bad fish for never fishing this spot before.

I will definitely be going back this Sunday and will have another post.

Wes

The fish looks dead here but released just fine.