North American Fishing Club North American Fisherman Wants Your Story

trophy swims away

kckerr1188 — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:30:50 GMT

ok so first day of trout season was on the sixth her in jersey and it was a feeding frenzy i had just gotten out of my car i put my favorite lure on a orange green white feebee tossed her out and bam hit after a fifteen minute battle with this fish i finally got it ashore after breaking my pole and thier on my line is a 24 inch brown trout my very first trophy fish i pick it up get my lure out of its mouth and got a picture with it and as i was about to place it on a stringer as it jumps out of my hand and SPLASH into the water it went good catch along with a better leason ALWAYS HAVE STRINGER ON HAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Stone Fish

kragan — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 04:47:27 GMT

First of all I'd like to apologize for this story. It's a story NOT about a real fish, but something me and my friend would do on those days when the fish where slow to bite and the pier was crowded. It goes like this.

It was another slow day of fishing at the reservoir. Bob and I was not getting any bites and there was a steady flow of spectators walking around asking the same question over and over. "Anything biting?" This was getting to be frustrating and I was getting agitated. Every time one of us would real in to check our bait, a spectator would stand near us, as if we where reeling in a new species of fresh water Tarpon that danced on the water. Sometimes too close and too nosey, and really getting under my skin.

"I'll be right back" I told Bob. I had a plan. Something that would give both Bob and I a good laugh, and make those bystanders look dumber than they were. I went to the bank and scoured the shore looking for that perfect rock. It took me about five minutes to find but I found it. I was so excited. It was a piece of brick, about a third of it, with one of the holes intact. I ran back to Bob to show him my prize.

" Got it! Check this out" I held up the prize and he looked on with a puzzling look spreading across his face.

" It's a Stone Fish" I said in a proud fashion.

Bob and I were best friends and we spent a lot of time together. We could read each others mind-most of the time. I think my mind ran a little too fast for him some times.

"I'm first" Bob claimed, as he blistered his line in to tie on the new "Stone Fish".

Back then ( at age 14) we did not have fancy rod and reels. Just a medium action 6ft rod, mated to a Zepco 808, with 15lb test. This was our arsenal for what ever we fished for.

"Tie me on! Hurry someone's coming." Bob exclaimed in hush.

I tied the "Stone Fish" on but it was too late to make our maiden cast. I just dropped the fish over the edge of the dock. Bob set his rod down as I started to real in my bait, or lack of since our hooks were getting picked clean.

"How's the fishing? Catch'n anything today?" was the 100th time we heard.

"Naw, we were just about to leave." I replied in the dullest non-expressive voice I could muster.

The stranger made that "mmm" sound and walked away. Bob and I froze we didn't want to move as the stranger turned and walked back down the dock. We looked down the dock and no one was coming.

"NOW!" Bob cried.

Bob grabbed his rod and heaved the "Stone Fish" up and over, swinging it towards me. I grabbed the rock and Bob released the line. He pointed the rod and I gave the rock a throw with all my might. The "Stone Fish" sailed out over the water a good 50 to 60 yards. And now to set the trap. Bob reeled in the excess line and just barely set some line tension. Now for the wait.

Like I said, there was a steady stream of folks walking up and down the pier so it didn't take too long for our first victim. As our mark was getting close Bob yelled.

"I got one"

He grabbed his rod and jerked. (which put a significant bow on his rod)

Bob grunted and panted as he fought left and right that massive fish. The bouncing action that rod received as the "Stone Fish" fought along the bottom was just perfect. The spectator hurried his step to see the "whale" he was fighting. It was all I could do to not laugh out loud. Bob was doing such a great job over emphasizing the fight of the fish.

Bob got his "catch" all the way up to the side of the pier, reeling down keeping the rock just out of view, then heaving it up and over to thud on the deck.

"Aw man, it's just a Stone Fish" Bob, with his shoulders slumping, breathed out in a heavy sigh.

The spectator didn't say anything, but he did give us a dirty look and walked away. Leaving Bob and I laughing til tears formed in our eyes.

"My turn"

This went on for pretty much the rest of the day. It was actually one of our best days fishing. I know, it wasn't the nicest thing to do, but Bob and I usually got ourselves into trouble a lot. At least we wasn't doing anything wrong this time, well it was probably morally wrong, but not illegal.

Thank You!

pater47 — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 05:52:59 GMT

Yes, people really do win the contests here. I was informed a few weeks ago I was one of the "Gear Giveaway" winners. Today, a box arrives in the mail for me from "Northland Fishing Tackle." I didn't recall ordering anything from them so I wondering "what the heck?" After opening the box, it dawned on me - this was the Gear Giveaway prize! The box was loaded with fishing line, leader material, and pack after pack after pack of Impulse Reactionary Baits.

This is a brand I've never used, but it all looks really good. I think I feel "a slight cold" coming on and I'll probably have to miss a few days from work now. Thank you NAFC and Northland Fishing Tackle!

The Electric Walleye

rpurcell1 — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 16:55:04 GMT

  My brother-in-law (Swab), and I were regulars on Lake Erie's Central Basin trolling for the monster walleye's we have come to know as the "best kept secret known to man". I can tell you that the walleye on an average are 28 to 30 inches in length, weighing 8 to 10 pounds. With fish of this size you quickly become addicted to the hunt for the monsters held within Lake Erie's depths knowing you could easily pull out a state record.

   Our story of "The Electric Walleye" starts on a fine summer day in June 1998, it was a day with no air movement and temperatures that hit the 80+ degree mark. Swab and I had spent most of the morning in the traditional trolling pattern with six rods loaded with dipsy divers and a variety of "king Spoons" and deep divers hoping the tried and true technique would trigger a bite. Unfortunately, after several hours nothing would touch our rods, that is until the situation took a turn we will never forget. As our day progressed, Swab and I noticed that far off in the northwest section of Lake Erie towards the Bass Islands we could see a large dark mass of clouds rolling our way, the clouds course was slow but sure heading in our direction. Now we know that Lake Erie can be unpredictable and with dark storm clouds coming our way it would be best to wind in the lines and head for the dock...but we were experienced die-hards and we were going to ride it out, after all the clouds were moving slowly. However, it wasn't long until those clouds were over our heads and without much warning the winds started to blow with enough force that the boat began to troll on its own, no power needed. Then, lightning started to hit the water as if it was just outside my transom...we took cover under the hardtop of my 1984 Bayliner Trophy Fisherman and held on as Mother Nature beat down with a force.

   It was about twenty minutes into the thunder and lightning when the storm started to break. Our rods were still in position with the lines as they were as if we were still trolling. It was at that moment the rods started to tip..."fish on" I yelled. I ran to the closest rod and grabbed hold only to let go as a shock hit my arms like a bolt of lightning came into the boat. Swab looked at me perplexed and said "what’s wrong"? I said that rod just shocked me good and I don't understand what happened? We then heard a slight, but definite humming sound coming from the rods and noticed more movement indicating a fish was on. Swab decided to try his luck and grabbed a rod and as fast as he grabbed it he dropped it and backed off. We realized at that point and where in disbelief that the rods and boat had been energized possibly by the lightning.

   I began to get concerned about our safety knowing I had about 30 gallons of fuel in the tank and if the ground failed we would catch fire or explode. We had no recourse but to sit back and wait to see if the electrical current would subside. After about 30 minutes of sweating it out, the humming noise we heard in the rods stopped. Again, I reach out to grab a rod and this time no shock. I reeled it in only to find a dead walleye that by all indications had been dead the entire 30 minutes we waited. The fish was very pail, almost white green with fogged eyes. We decided to pull in the rest of the rods and found that we had two more walleye’s hooked, but as with the other they were dead. We still often debate if the current made its way to the fish and killed them? We motored back to shore as quickly as we could and told our story to some locals at the bait shop. It was then we learned that sometimes when lightning hits the water it can be absorbed into the fiberglass fiber in the rods and even sometimes in the boats housing. With that said, Swab and I have made it a tradition to run like hell the minute we see or hear of a storm...no more electric walleye's for us!

Walleye Secrets

donarthom — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 16:35:05 GMT

Went out today with hope of catching ANY size walleye. Been fishing walleye for 11 years and never cracked the 20 inch mark. That includes 9 trips to Canada and living on the Mississippi River for five years. Today I went to a lake not know for walleyes, let alone big walleyes. Last week I received the book called "Walleye Secrets" from NAFC. I read and felt like I learned more in 5 days of reading than in 11 years of walleye fishing. Started out today using the old tactics and caught nothing for 30 minutes. Switched to what the book suggested for the given situation and caught two 22 inch walleyes in less than an hour. My Dad, after seeing me catch them, used the same technique, new to him and me, and caught a 25 incher that weighed about 6lbs. Those walleyes were the two biggest I have ever caught by far and also the biggest my Dad had ever caught by over 2 lbs. Not to mention the multiple other walleyes caught under 20 inches. I feel like a true walleye fisherman now and know that I only have better days ahead of me. Thank you NAFC.

Those of you out there who are trying hard to catch those walleyes and do not fill your limit often or catch trophy walleyes, I highly suggest you purchase the book for $12. It has been by far the best investment I have ever made as far as walleye fishing goes. The pictures don't lie. I feel as if I have finally cracked the walleye puzzle. The best part is, if you don't like the book, you can send it back without ever even paying for it. It is a win/win situation. Good luck to all. Please respond with similar experiences or thoughts.

need your memoir and fishing story to be put in my book i am currently writting!

bassfisher — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 09:33:27 GMT

I need your true fishing stories and memoirs to be put in a book I am currently writing about fishing. Your name will be put in the book!!! If you want to reply to this and then send me an email at: fishingforbass10@yahoo.com

Life Member Rod

jmabry — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 11:14:58 GMT

Okay so back in May my rod got broken (long story) I thought no worries I just paid the last of my life member dues in a month or so I will be getting my club rod. I called at the end of June and was told it was sent out the 27th I'll have it in a week after two weeks I was concered and called again. Well it turns out it was not sent out and I was told it would be another 4-6 weeks so here I am in week 10 of waiting and not fishing! At this time I can't afford to buy a new rod, I'm not complaining I do enjoy the club it has so many benifits mostly the people you get to know, but please HURRY NAFC I NEED TO GET BACK ON THE WATER!

my helping had

bazza14 — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 15:04:32 GMT

IT seems that my fishing adventures are all about the other person in the boat. I am a dedicated bass fisherman. But my friends and i are somewhat limited as to what water we can fish. The area where i live does not produce the trophy bass that you can get in the south and far west, but it makes no difference. Getting on the water is what counts and we do catch a good # of fish but not the great size..well most of the time. I am 49 years old and have yet to catch my trophy bass. I have caught huge catfish a musky or 2 over 30 inches and few other beauties..but the real bass..the one that gets you up at 4 am to be on the water by sun up has eluded me..but not my friends..we sit in the same boat..we basically use the same gear and lures. They have all caught the fish that is on their walls. But the great part of it is when it comes to catching that monster if i am not there the fish does not get caught. all of my friends trophys were caught with me sitting in the other chair. i have either netted or lipped every one of their dream fish. Now i wont lie to you i would love to be the one fighting that fish, but to be honest its a great feeling watching the guys you grew up with latching on to their most wanted catch. and then trusting me to bring it in the boat. So no i still have not found my dream fish, but i take great pride in helping them catch theirs..and maybe rhat is actually a little bit better feeling.

Wife's crappie

FFFisch — Fri, 19 Oct 2012 07:19:16 GMT

Ok I have another story from years ago. Let me see if I can get it copied to here.

A day on the gulf of Mexico

FFFisch — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 03:09:28 GMT

I wanted to share this story. I posted it in the Ohio section, but not many viewers there so I thought I would copy it here also.

What have you snagged with your pole other than a fish

stumpknocker1 — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 05:28:54 GMT

I thought this might get some interesting feedback. I'll start with a couple.
My brother in law and I were Bass fishing one afternoon. He was using a broke back top water plug and hitting along a bank under some overhanging branches. On one of his casts (turn out it would be his last of the day) he over shot his mark and snagged one of the over hanging limbs. The next thing I knew his line was over my shoulder and he looked like he was trying the pull the tree up by the roots as he yanked on the plug in an attempt to pull it free. I could feel a little cold sweat on the back of my neck as I anticipated how badly this situation could turn out. I immediately fell to into a slump hoping to avoid spending a few hours in the ER. About the time a hit the deck I heard a whistling sound zipped past my head and I heard what sounded like a small girl squealing behind me. I looked around and there hanging from the skin right next to his eye was the plug. It had tow of the three hooks on one of the treble hooks buried in the meat right next to his eye. I offered to remove it with mu needle nose pliers, but some reason he chose a ride to The ER instead. So much for avoiding a trip to the ER
On another occassion I was fishing on the bottom of a river and was using a 1.5 oz weight to anchor my line in the current. I hadn't had any bites in a while so I decided to check my bait. While reeling in my line got stuck on something on the bottom. Without thinking I yanked back on the line. The next thing I member is looking up at the sky, with a terrible headache and not knowing how I got on my back or why my head hurt so bad. After regaining my composer I noticed that the only thing left on the end of my line was that !.5 oz weight. Suddenly the whole situation became clear especially when a saw the goose egg that rose up on my forehead!

Eyeless Channel Cat

Trent862011 — Fri, 14 Sep 2012 17:32:41 GMT

When I was 13 or 14 years old I would go fishing in a creek close to my home with a good friend of mine. We usually walked along the bank to the mouth where it merged into the Kankakee River and would fish for hours upon hours. One day when we arrived at the creek we decided to walk upstream and see what we could find. This day would forever change how I viewed this little section of creek. We started walking in the water slowly upstream catching small bait fish and crayfish along the way for when we would walk back to the river. We came upon a an area that appeared to be the remains of an old concrete channel. (Later research would date the channel to about 1958). The creek at this point was deep enough that we had to walk the bank to keep out heads about water and avoid giant chucks of concrete that had fallen into the creek. Some of it had collapsed due to neglect over the years but I believe that this contributed to the amazing stretch of fishing waters that we stumbled onto. There was a walkway or ledge of the channel you could walk on about 18 inches wide on the south side of the channel. We used this to move along and fish from. This area was almost unbelievable with the amount of catfish that were swimming around. You could literally watch about 7-10 catfish swimming up and down and from end to end. We loaded our poles up with worm and cast out into the water and let em sink. Two minutes go by, not a nibble. Fish are still swimming all over, damn near wanted to dive in a grab one. We switched bait thinking that they weren't interested in worm and put on a couple crayfish and again cast out. This time I had a bite no sooner than my bait hit the water while my buddy let his sink to the bottom. I pulled it in quickly after realizing it was a small Rock Bass. I then cast another crayfish out and let him slowly start to sink. I watched as my bait slowly started to disappear into the depths of the creek and suddenly my buddy was reeling on his pole claiming he had a whale, of course. After a short fight we had the catfish in the landing net. At this point we were able to examine the catch a little closer and that is when I noticed that it had no eyes. Not that its eyes were there at one point and then were gone but that it had no eye sockets, just skin. I admit that it was very weird but I had heard of fish losing their eyes from boats and other fish and it slowly healing over with skin so we kinda left it at that put the fish on the stringer and went back to fishing. About 5-10 minutes after the eyeless catfish, I have a decent fish on the end of my line. We get it in the net and pull it out of the water and realize this catfish has the exact same eyeless head as the one we had just caught. At this point my buddys pole starts to head for the water so I quickly get my fish on the stringer and prepare to net his. We get this monster in the net just barely after a 15 minute fight. My friend, exhausted from the fight, set his pole down and grabbed the fish out of the net to get a weight on him. It came in at 19lbs on my scale and 18lbs on his. Anywho, the fish was a great fighter but yet again the fish had no eyes or traces of eye sockets. We had three catfish in a row now with no eyes now and I was a little worried. I didn't understand why there would be a concentration of eyeless fish in remote part of the creek. Still to this day dont know why they were like that but I had asked around and heard that sometimes catfish get caught and stuck in underground streams and rivers and once in a while the streams surface and allow the fish to escape. Being in an underground stream would explain why the fish didnt have eyes but it still just doesnt seem all that correct to me. I believe there had to be some other factors that led to such conditions. Has anyone else had a similar experience with eyeless fish?

NAFC / NAHC Collections .

catfisherman369 — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 14:52:21 GMT

Lets see some of you guys and gals club collections from over the years .

Here is a list of mine .

I just started collecting the NAFC books as you will be able to tell .

I will try adding a few photos at the end of the list .

North American Hunting Club Book Collection .

Hunting Camp Memories
The Game Rifle
Hunting Camp Lore
Turkey Hunting Tactics
Hunting North American Big Bear
Hunting Camp Tails
NAHC Member Tips
Complete Bowhunting
1992 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
1993 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
1994 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
1995 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
1996 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
1997 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
1998 NAHC Wild Game Cookbook
Whitetail Wisdom - Bill Miller Edition
Guides Tails of Adventure
Bowhunting Big Game - Dan Dietrich Edition
The Hunting Rifle - Clay Harvey Edtion
High Country Hunting - Lloyd Bare Edition
All About Elk
North American Hunting Adventures
For Big Bucks Only
NAHC Member Secrets
Modern Waterfowl Hunting - Monte Burch Edtion
Successful Hunting Strategies
Mastering Mule Deer
Modern Bird Hunting
Secrets of the Hunting Pros
Hunting Trophy Black Bear
Hunting Whitetails Successfully

Amazing Whitetails - Briggs Edition with 4 Photos
NAHC Favorite Wild Game Cookbook
Wild Game Made Easy
A World of Game Cooking
Bears
NAHC Favorite Venison Cookbook
Whitetails 15th. Anniversary (Special Commemorative Edition)
Whitetails in Action
The Art of Wild Game Cooking
Whitetail Wisdom
Big Game of North America
Mule Deer

North American Fishing Club - Collection

Angling on Audio 2 tape sets 1 through 11

Collector Coins -

Largemouth Bass
Walleye
Trout
Muskie
Salmon
Missing the Smallmouth Bass Coin

1993 NAFC Members Cookbooks
1994 NAFC Members Cookbooks

Bass Strategies
Catch Fish Anywhere Anytime

caught a whopper this weekend

stumpknocker1 — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 04:44:40 GMT

Well as usual I had my boat in the water and my hooks on the bottom this past weekend. between my fishin partener and myself we already had 10 or 12 cats in the live well all of which were on the small side, but as any of you avid fisherman know the trophy you've been dreaming of can hit at any time. I had broken off twice already while drifting across the canal and it looked like I was fixin to do it again as one of my poles dipped slowly but steadly into the water. As I pulled on it, I felt it give alittle and then pull back towards the bottom. My partener saw what was taking place and started shouting in excitement. He could tell by the way I was struggling with my pole that there was no need to ask if I needed the net. My partener doesn't get around too well and it was a real chore for him to get over his seat and back to me. He had to grab his leg and help lift it over the seat and then stumble over the gear in the center off the boat to reach me. He did all this without a complaint as he was as eager to see my catch as I was. I pulled and pulled wondering which would snap first; my pole or my line. I slowly gained ground in my battle of wills against the unseen victim on the oposite end of my line. I finally got it to the top of the water. It was about 6' long and had to weigh more than 30lbs. It was the nicest peice of driftwood I'd seen in a while

My first Flat Head!

skersmarki1 — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 13:27:37 GMT

My husband has been an avid flat head fisherman for a long time and I, myself have always been a walleye kind of girl. I had never been flat head fishing before. I grew up on a river so I was used to channel cats and blues. So, yesterday my husband asked me to tag along to go fishing for these big flat heads that I have heard so much about. I honestly didn't know if I would like it or not. We went and caught our bait because as everyone knows..flat head love live bait! We set up our gear down at the river, threw our poles in and waited. Half way through the night, my pole went nuts and I reeled in a 48 lb flat head! It took me about 20 minutes just to get the monster in! It was the most amazing experience. It was like no other from any fishing experience I had ever had. I am definitely hooked and ready to catch another!

Dough balls still work

stumpknocker1 — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 05:55:27 GMT

Normally I can be found somewhere on Lake Oconee in Georgia almost every Friday night or Satuday, but this past weekend my wife and I decided to spend a few days at her parents place in the mountains near Cleveland Ga. Their place is situated right on a stocked Trout stream, so of course I threw a rod and reel in the van along with the rest of our baggage. Even though my wife and I spend about 9 days in the North Carolina Mountains every fall (and I do fish while we're there) I've never done any real Trout fishing, so when we got to her parents place I found one of the local boys and asked him to show me the ropes. I fished up and down the stream using a small panfish hook, with a small sinker about 6" above it. The local boy had said that corn good so I had some of that with me, but I also took a couple slices of loaf bread as well. I soon found out that the same method of using doughballs I had so frequently used as a boy still worked. I didn't catch any trout, but I caught quite a few horny heads.
I may never become a great Trout fisherman, but I had plenty of fun walking up and down the stream by myself catching horny heads on doughballs. I might try some this coming weekend when I'm back in my usual place on Lake Oconee

New member

stumpknocker1 — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 06:00:07 GMT

I saw this topic about NAFC wanting to hear our story so here's mine. I'm a 50 year old Husband, father and grandfather that has had a pole in some type of water as long as I can remember. I fished sinkholes and small natural lakes all around my stomping grounds in Florida. My dad took me saltwater fishing on a regular basis as I grew up. The area I grew up in is surrounded by fishing communities so fishing was simply a part of life for me. I remember when I first moved to Georgia and away from the ocean and marshes all I had was heavy rods and tackle. I almost got laughed off the shoreline of a local freshwater lake when I opened my tackle box and all my lures were bigger than most of the fish in the lake. As cast my rod you could here the anti reverse mechanism clicking clear across the lake. I became even funnier when the weight of my lure carried the 50lb test line clear across the lake and into a tree on the opposite bank.
   Next time out I step way back into my childhood and carried with me a 10' cane pole and a half bag of loaf bread for making dough balls. Even though my equipment and methods were quite a bit more primative than the others fishing nearby, I did catch some fish. As a matter of fact a couple of the guys fishing close by came over the watch in fascination having never seen a dough ball at work.
   Over the years I have progressed quite a bit with my tactics and gear. I have had several boats ranging from a small john boat with a 5hp elgin air cooled motor to a 18' Procraft bass boat with a 150 Mercury Blackmax. I never got the hang of bass fishing probably because if I hadn't caught one in short order I would opt for a live worm and a bobber which I knew would prduce results, even if it was in the form of a stringer full of bluegill.
   Last year a friend of mine took me driftfishing for cats and I was hooked more so than any of the fish I took home that day. At the time all I had was an old canoe that had been in my family since I was a kid. Obviously this would not make a good drifting rig, so I set out to get myself a more suitable boat. I am a man of very limited financial means, but have been overly blessed with a kneen since of ingenuity. One mans junk can be another ones treasure! Point in case when I found the boat I currently enjoy, my wife was completely horrified. You would think after 28 years of marriage she would see past the flaws to the hidden beauty beneath The boat is a 14' flat bottom skiff that when I first saw it I was convinced it had been present at Pearl Harbor when The Japs bombed it. After a month of working everyday on it, several cans of fiberglass resin and yards of fiberglass mat I finally got to take it out on It's maiden voyag. It didn't last long as the 20hp Chrylser motor on it self destructed not far from the ramp. Now it has a newer 25hp Mercury that runs excellent. I made my own rod holders out of 6" pvc pipe, 3/8" all tread and home made base plates. There are 4cross both the transome and the bow for crappie fishing and or trolling for cats and there are 7 down one side for drifting. It now has become my most reliable fishing buddy and almost every weekend you can find me in it somewhere on Lake Oconee!

It Was All On Me

Bob La Londe — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:25:05 GMT

I fished Yuma Pro Am Sunday (6/24/12). I didn't draw a co-angler, so it was all on me. I thought I would try to start in the current again. My first spot already had a boat on it, my second didn't produce. My third didn't produce. Off I went into one of the lakes to see if I could find something going on as the sun still hadn't cleared the mountains. I hit three high percentage spots in the lake and nothing.

There was some grass growing up in the lake with a few feet of clear water above so I decided to give a crankbait a try. Still nothing. My crank bait fouled on itself on one cast and started to spin so I burned it back to the boat spiraling through the water right at the surface. I wasn't even looking when I heard the "KA-PLOOSH!" of a topwater strike. I dropped the rod, took up slack, gave it a second, and swept the hook set just like I would on a regular popper strike. Amazingly I hooked up and put my first 2 pound keeper in the boat... on a fouled crankbait. I picked up a popper after that. Nothing. Then a buzzbait. Nothing. Then a buzz frog. Nothing. Without a clue what to do I picked up the popper again, and when it fouled itself I burned it back to the boat torpedoing just under the surface. "KA-PLOOSH!" Dropped the rod, took up slack... you get the idea. 3 pounder and second keeper of the day.

I thought about that for a while, but I just couldn't think of a bait that I could torpedo like that just under the surface making a bulge consistently. I did work those grassbeds for a while using a variety of baits and presentations for ... nothing. I hit a couple rock points, with a couple different presentations for nothing, and I finally hooked up a fish when I bounced a crankbait off a submerged rock. Short.

It was a small lake and I figured that I had burned up my best chances of catching a limit there so I headed out. Not sure why, but I decided to go out on the electric motor. At one point I was on my hands and knees working the peddle with my hands to get under the brush. I saw an undercut I had never seen before so I grabbed a light spinning rod with a salted melon pearl laminated Club-O tied on and proceeded to try and flick it up under there. Not an easy task while crouching down on your hands and knees trying to hold cane out of the way so you can move the rod. After three or four tries I finally got the bait back where I wanted it. Nothing. After that much work I decided to get it back there again. Only took me two failed attempts before I dropped the bait in the sweet spot this time. Still nothing.

I headed on out of the lake. As the brush opened up a little in front of me I tossed the Club-O out ahead of me a bit. I was still down under the brush, but there was some free space right in front of the boat. I blinked and as my eyes opened I thought I saw the tiniest hint of a line twitch. I watched carefully. The line was dead still. I gave it several seconds. Zero movement. Something told me to be careful. Still on my hands and knees, I eased forward over the trolling motor and reached the rod out into the clearer space in front of the boat. I dropped the rod tip almost all the way to the water, and slowly took up slack. When I felt the line go tight I set the hook, and it didn't move. It bucked. Then it headed back under the cane. I only had 8lb Carbon Pro on that rod, and I couldn't remember if it was the rod I respooled the night before or if it was the one I had caught all those small bass on in the canal last week. I let the rod do its job trying to hold the butt at 90 degrees to the direction of the line, and when she really seemed determined to get under the brush I eased back gently on the rod to try and just hold her. When she couldn't buck me that way she headed under the boat. The boat was still pinned in the brush, so just taking the rod around the boat wasn't going to work. I let the rod tip get down in the water a bit as I tried to ease her out with the rod. I was afraid to turn the reel handle at all with her bending that rod back like that. I made some progress, but she wasn't turning... until she decided she wanted to. She headed straight out in front of the boat and took some drag. I think she was making a last ditch effort to get back under the cane, but I managed to get the rod up enough to take the shock surge and held her. Then she jumped. I bowed to the queen. I threw myself flat out over the trolling motor and dropped the rod. I worried that she might shake my bait loose letting her jump free like that, but I knew she would break my line if I let her tail walk against it. I eased up the rod as she slipped back into the water and I still had her. She made one more run back up under the boat, but I was able to pull her back fairly easily. Then she tried to do a tail skitter along the surface as I eased her up to lip her. I knew she was a good fish, but she had the mouth of a 3 pounder. Nice fat fish. My mind instantly said six and a half, maybe seven, but I looked at the small size of her head and I didn't know. All day I told myself she was probably a heavy five, but every time I added up my bag in my head I counted her as six plus.

I got the boat out into the current and let it drift while I decided what to do next. I headed up river and hit a couple spots for nothing. I headed back down river to flip some one off spots and try to fill my limit. I had to take alternate spots three times, because Craig Johnson was there first in each of them. Tells me they probably would have been good spots since he won. He had a 2 pounder in his hand as I passed him at one of them.

I didn't catch anything in the current. There are several more spots I could have hit, but i just wasn't feeling it. I headed to Fisher's and decided to try and fill my limit in one of my last chance spots while it was still early enough to hit them ahead of other last chance anglers. Nothing. Those were very high percentage spots too.

I bailed out of Fisher's and headed for Ferguson. I passed up several banks that have produced in the past in favor of running and gunning to specific pockets and trying to fill my limit quick. My first spot produced a solid 2+ flipping an RFG in the same color as the Club-O I got the big girl on. My next couple one off spots produced nothing, so I picked a bank where I have caught fish before and just started slicing and dicing. It produced. Two fish. Both super fat. Both just barely short.

Fisher's bugged me. I almost never zero in Fisher's although for the last year its usually been just small keepers and not a lot of them. I headed back still one fish short of a limit and decided to work a few other spots more carefully. There is one little stretch that has a variety of cover, docks, a deep cut, heavy brush, and a cut that almost always has a floating mat in it. I probably should think of it as fifteen or twenty different spots, but I don't. I think of it as one spot. If I fish that little stretch thoroughly and fish each part of it as I should switching rods, baits, and presentations for each of the conditions I can usually catch one fish there. I did. I had a solid 2 pounder swim out from under a dock and take the Salted Melon and Pearl laminated Club-O. FINALLY. I filled my limit about a quarter to one.

Hoping to cull atleast once I moved out towards one of my next moderate to low percentage spots in Fisher's and saw Ed Reeder already fishing it. He wasn't fishing it like I do so I moved up as he moved on and I stuck another keeper, but it was no help. I checked all my fish and they were all bigger. In fact I they all seemed bigger than I remembered when I put them in the livewell. All day I was telling myself I'ld have a 12 pound bag if I could just fill my limit. I passed Ed who was having trolling motor problems and hit another of my 50/50 spots in Fisher's for nothing.

At some point after catching that last keeper I remember hearing my fish thrashing around in the livewell, but I didn't check on them. I thought, "They were all fine a little bit ago and the spray bar was spraying when I was in there last." I even had both the aerate and the recirculate pump turned on. I should have checked. After weighing and recording everybody else's fish two of my fish were dead, and the big one was looking weak. I looked down to see if my pumps were still on, and I saw I had accidentally turned off the master power switch at some point. Cost me four tenths of a pound and second place. I finished third, but that big girl was was 6.88 and big bass of the day.

In retrospect:
1.   I learned that if something doesn't sound right with your fish... CHECK ON THEM.
2.   I have since thought of a few different things I could have tried in the morning to emulate the presentation from those first two strikes. I guess I was enjoying being out and thinking a little slow that morning.

   a)   I could have used a technique Bill Dance calls "Waking Them Up" in his bass fishing course. Burning a spinner bait back to the boat as fast as you can without breaking the surface. Just create a bulge in the surface. I have never had much success with that technique, but I always figured it was a "right place, right time" kind of presentation.
   b)   Just break out a floating swim bait like a Kicktail Minnow or BBZ1 Shad. I had both in the boat and I have caught tons of fish on the floating Kicktail. In fact I used to pay the exhorbitant price for the floating version of them 6-12 at a time (they are pretty fragile for a ten dollar bait) until they started packaging them 3 at a time with a diver and a sinker. I only like the floater.
   c)   A lipless crankbait burned through the clear water above the grass might have provoked some strikes too.

..

Well, it was worth a try.

pater47 — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 04:06:17 GMT

My employer (a state agency) has a position on the local Reservoir Board. However, a new law requires that the board member actually be a property owner on the reservoir. I graciously volunteered to serve if they'd just buy me a house there - and a new bass boat (you know, just to "fit in"). Somehow, they didn't seem to want to go along with my offer. Think I should've just asked for a camping spot, aluminum boat, and trolling motor?

BowFin

egill — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:25:42 GMT

Good evening 6-11-12
   On 5-30/6-4-2012 I was fishing in 5 small interlocking lakes in Lowell Michigan.
There were 3 fisherman in the boat with 3 different goals. One named Rod, wanted to
catch a large Walliy which he did, 28"-8 lbs. on a yellow twister. My nephew Greg wanted
to catch some large bass which he did on spinners & various colors of twisters. 15" to 20"
in sise. Along with many black crappe & Pike. I how ever am a Trout fisherman by heart.
I fished with a #4 hook & Red worms. I landed many pan fish. But the fish that kept
my nose to the grind, was the hard to catch BOWFIN. Ron had the boat at a very slow
troling speed. as I would cast ahead of the boat to let the bate sink.
    I was encurrage when I felt a steady pull on the line. When I set the hook all hell broke
loose. I was in for a fight!! At first I thought is was a carp or large cat fish. Ron kept saying
let him run ED I think you have the BOWFIN you are looking for.
    Well the fish made my line sing and I had to keep adjusting my drag so I could play
the fish out. My arm were getting a little tight after about 20 min.it finally broke the surface.
I was so excited I lost my balance and it almost pulled me off the boat.
    Greg neted the dinosour and there were high 5's & Hugs for every one.
It was 25.5 in.long 8 lbs,4 in across the back & 6.5 in thich what a Fish.
ED GILL Call me smilly