Name: Joe Gruny
Email: Gruny13@gmail.com
Subject: Guide Service
Web Site: lakeandeverglades.com
Species You Guide: Large Mouth Bass / Peacock Bass
Message: Come Down to Florida and catch a fish of a life time on Lake
Okeechobee.
Name: Art Ferguson
Email: Art@artoffishing.com
Web Site:artoffishing.com
Home Lake: Toho/Kissimmee
Species You Guide: Bass
Message: Full time guide since 1991! Guided at Lake Okeechobee for 14 years and
now up in the Orlando/Kissimmee area. Look me up!! Look
29.Mar.2014 by Curtis Niedermier
LUFKIN, Texas – Falling weights and high pressure – both the atmospheric kind and the psychological kind – told the story of day three of the Walmart FLW Tour event at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Chevy. In the wake of a severe Friday-night thunderstorm that knocked out power and uprooted dozens of east Texas pines, pros took to “Old Man Sam” amid a high-pressure system and high, bluebird skies.
Walmart pro Mark Rose maintains his lead going into the fourth and final day, but for the second consecutive day, he failed to match his previous day’s weight.
Rose opened the event with 23 pounds, 14 ounces on a blustery, overcast day that provided the perfect conditions to activate the bass on his primary offshore spot. On day two, bolstered by a 9-pound giant, Rose weighed 19 pounds, 2 ounces. Today, he fell off to 16 pounds, 1 ounce and leads by less than 3 pounds over Chevy pro Bryan Thrift.
The Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River is in the books and Chris Lane pulled out the victory due to a big 2nd day of fishing. He had a huge bag of 37 pounds and 9 ounces and won by 14 pounds 4 ounces. Sixth place was won by a tenth of an ounce. The anglers did have some off limit areas, with the biggest being Rodman Reservoir. A large group, 57 boats, were fishing in Lake George on one small grass bed at one time. Some avoided the crowd and went off in search of less pressured bass. The St. Johns can be an unforgiving river, but it can also be so rewarding. You never know where the big girls are going to be, but it is truly an amazing and beautiful river to fish. Just look out for the alligators.
A really great friend, angler, and Christian, Preston Rogers, had the pleasure of being the marshal for Cliff Prince, Ish Monroe, and Jason Williamson. Wow, what a great experience. Preston is no stranger to fishing as he fishes several tournaments in Central Florida himself and is sponsored by Crème Lures, Death Shimmer Spinnerbaits, Flip in the Bird, and Maverick’s Trading Post. You can check his profile out on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/1dC6jE2 Two big things he learned from his experience over the 3 days was 1st, that the Hydrowave is a must have fishing instrument. The Hydrowave is “a patented electronic sound device that emits the natural sounds of bait fish and predatory fish feeding on them. Together the sounds produce an instinctive response in nearby predatory fish.”
The second thing is that patience is the key. “These guys never panic or if they do they keep it hidden. I would say the friendships I made are priceless. When you spend all day in the boat with a pro urging him on all day, they appreciate it and you make a friend for a lifetime.”
Day one found Preston riding with Cliff Prince. He had a 5 fish limit for 12.8 pounds on that day, but the big story was the big one lost at the boat, a sure 7 pounder. He was fishing on Little Lake George at the time. He had caught some 4 and 5 pounders there in practice. In case you didn’t see it, Preston captured it on his GoPro. You can see it at http://bit.ly/1iJBjkz Preston said that Prince “couldn’t make them bite his crankbait and rattle trap type bait, or a hard jerkbait or even topwater.” And “you could see them especially after he turned on the Hydrowave. They started schooling but wouldn’t hit anything.” Prince also fished some canals around Dunn’s Creek, “but there were already boats in the canals who had an earlier take off time.”
The second day was spent with Ish Monroe. Ish struggled on this day, only managing a 3 fish stringer of 4.7 pounds. “I was given a lesson in Frog Fishing from Ish even if he didn’t catch many. The lesson was worth gold.” Ish was one of those that went far from the crowd in search of less pressured bass. He just never found the big girls to put into the boat’s livewell that day.
On day 3, Preston was with Jason Williamson fishing in Lake George. Jason really kept Preston busy, as Preston had to log in every fish caught into BassTrak. “Jason was catching them sometimes faster than I could log them into BassTrak. We logged every fish, even if it didn’t measure. BassTrak kept up with all the fish and we had to log in what he kept and the estimated weight. BassTrak sorted it out so you knew how many fish they caught and how many were keepers and how many he culled.” Preston said that it was “pretty easy to operate.”
I can’t tell you all the sweet secrets Preston learned, nor can I tell you how he will apply them to his own fishing. But I can tell you that he will be a better angler from this experience. I would love to hear all the secrets Ish shared about frog fishing for my own benefit. Preston stated, “I would recommend everyone who can, to go be a Marshal.” Preston, great advice. Thank you.
The one that got away By Jason Houchins
As I loaded up on the rod it felt as if I had set the hook on a log, but then there was the head shake. “Get the net”, I knew this was a game changer. The fish moved out to deep water and took some drag along the way. I held on for the ride holding the rod tip down hoping the fish decided not to jump. Then she surfaced, so fat all she could muster to get the top half of her body and the giant mouth above the water. She flailed her head from side to side trying to throw the jig but she was hooked well. Again she lunges down by the boat just to make another run to the surface, this time the jig comes loose and she swims away only to become a story at weigh in. The silence and disbelief said more than any word could have, the day was lost in that one moment.
If you tournament fish or just fish for fun, this will happen to you at some point. It may not be the biggest fish you’ve ever caught, but it will most like be the one you need. You have to just forget about it and move on, nothing to it. Well we know that’s a bunch of bull, just ask any tournament fisherman, it can derail an Elite angler or the club president at the monthly derby. Nobody is safe and everyone is affected, it’s how you handle it afterwards is what makes you or breaks you. Sometimes I’ve been able to put it aside and somewhat recover and other times I have let the wheels come off and struggled. Most of the time it just happens and no matter what you did, it was still going to happen. This is why mental toughness and preparation are so important in fishing.
Recently this happened to my brother in law while fishing a tournament in Louisiana. My wife’s family is from Shreveport and I have fished a few of the lakes around the north western part of the state as well as the Red River a few times. Those can be challenging fishers especially during the colder months and this winter has been one for the books down there. We talk all the time about the up and coming week and what we are fishing, we also discuss practice and conditions. Seems his extreme roller coaster conditions continue and literally change by the hour. I got a text from him on Sunday that said he had lost a 6 lber. Even though he was 1500 miles away I knew he was done and I felt a sick feeling in my stomach for him. My brother in law is becoming a pretty good angler, but everything takes time to accomplish. This was another learning block for him, a lesson that he must figure out on his own.
Nobody can prepare you for losing a fish during competition and only you can figure out what’s next. I try to always look at my glass as half full and never half empty. At least I got the fish to bite, what was I doing at the time? Could I have had a better hook set? Were my hooks sharp enough? You can think of a million things of what you did wrong, or what you didn’t do at all. I always try to focus on the positive and this can be a challenging thing to do. But let’s face it, you have to in order to stay in the game and with each challenge comes a lesson, learn from the lesson and move on. We also have to realize that some things just happen no matter what and the quicker we understand that, the better off we will be. All I can say is when it happens don’t beat yourself up, evaluate, learn, and correct. Oh yes, and try to forget about the one that got away.
The best way to develop your feel for bites is by bass fishing with soft plastics. It requires patience to fish with these lures generally speaking because you have to feel the fish pick up or bite the lure, often when it’s not moving. There won’t be a big splash like a topwater or a hard tug like a crankbait. And knowing which plastic to use for different situations for bass fishing will eliminate a lot of wasted time on the water.
This category could take ages to explain so we’ll try to keep it as simple as possible. Soft plastics are essentially combinations of salt, plastic, sand, glitter, and coloring shaped and formed into anything that can be perceived to be alive by a bass. There is an amazing array of colors, shapes and sizes when it comes to soft plastics and there are hundreds of different types plastics available.
28.Mar.2014 by Curtis Niedermier
Weathermen lie, but Mother Nature never does.
Her power was on display on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour event on Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by Chevy. Forecasts called for a gloomy, potentially stormy day. But other than a light mist at takeoff and a dense fog that hung around until mid-morning, the weatherman couldn’t have been more wrong.
By lunchtime, sunshine and slick conditions spread across Sam Rayburn. The bass responded quickly by repositioning deeper into shallow cover and, in some areas, heading for the bank to answer nature’s spawning call.
The pros atop the day-two standings experienced mixed results. For some, the bite was better and should continue to improve over the weekend with more warm weather expected. For others, it was a day of scrambling and grinding, trying to make the most of what their primary areas had left.
Topping the list at the halfway mark is Walmart pro Mark Rose. He followed up a first-day catch of 23 pounds, 14 ounces with 19 pounds, 2 ounces for a qualifying-round total of 43 pounds.
On day one, Rose had the exact conditions he wanted: windy and cloudy. Though he took over the lead, the Arkansas pro indicated that today was a struggle. Fishing in the sun, he caught only seven fish and cobbled together one of the stranger limits we’ve seen on Tour this season, at least from a tournament leader. It included a 12-inch spotted bass and a brutish 9-pound largemouth.
“I was really blessed to get that one big bite,” Rose said. “If I had wind and clouds, I could catch them. I just can’t get them to bite the same in the sun. I’m fishing the outside and inside edges of grass lines, and when it’s like this [sunny] they move into the grass. I’m not a grass fisherman.”
Rose indicated that he’s fishing away from the bank, targeting what most would consider mid-depth areas for this derby, and that his limit was mostly postspawn bass.
Yesterday, Rose relied on two primary lures, but he expanded a bit today and used a variety of soft plastics, a crankbait and a Strike King Red Eye Shad lipless crankbait.
Many reports from the water indicate that the bass are making a strong push to the banks to spawn. Some pros are looking at the weekend as an opportunity to make a move. For Rose, it could be a grind to get to the podium.
“I’ll look at my depth finder, but I won’t be looking at them on the bank,” Rose said when asked if he’d go sight-fishing if the bass hit the banks with force. “I’m pretty committed [to what I’m doing]. I might have to adapt a little better and get in the grass and learn how to catch them.”
Giving people information along with tips and tricks to catch better and more fish is something I enjoy. Soon in our southern states and in the next few months in the north will be bass spawning time. Spawn is a great time of year to catch bass on beds. This is done in mainly shallow water, so having the best visibility is a must. Two tools you will need that are going to help you capitalize on these bass are going to be a great pair of sunglasses and the best choice of baits.
Bait during the spawn is important in making the perfect presentation that bass are going to eat. This time of year is when soft plastic baits are king. What I prefer is a Nemesis Baits bullet craw; it gives such a subtle action that even the most finicky bedding bass are going to eat. Though, color is not going to matter much because these bass are going to chase anything out of their bed, choosing a color that is most visible to the angler is going to be most important. I recommend using the Nemesis Baits Pearl Silver color. It’s a color that you are going to be able to see from your boat.
Nemesisbaits.com bullet craws
April Fishing Report Kerr – By Jason Houchins
Winter will not go away at Kerr! With water temperatures struggling to reach 50 degrees in most places on the lake, look for a late spawn this year. The stain continues to cover most of the lake and water levels staying close around 302 has really made it tough overall for most of us looking for a few bass. The constant 3 days warming followed by 4 days cooling doesn’t help either. Throw in a couple of days of a winter mix every week and you now see the culprit of our current conditions. I will hesitantly say things will eventually warm and stable out and hopefully the sun will stay out for an extended period to help settle the stain. Until then fish will still be kind of stuck between late winter and pre spawn.
Looks like you should keep an open mind this April, keeping your jerk baits and rattle baits out for a few more weeks. Continue to look for chunk rock or rip rap banks especially early in the day. I would then start to focus on the back section of creeks and really pick them apart. This past Sunday in a tournament I had a 10 pound limit and caught a few others doing this in the Rudds and Butcher creek arms. It wasn’t easy and doesn’t sound like much, but it got me 3rd. Believe me I was happy, it’s been tough for me the last couple of weeks. A one fish outing on Saturday really took the wind out of my sails; I needed Sunday for a little confidence. In the back areas of the creeks look for clay banks mixed with some rock or pea gravel and a few bushes never hurt. I would throw a variety of baits now; jerk bait, crank bait, rattle bait, and spinner bait being my favorite recently. The water is a degree or two warmer in the back section and that can make a huge difference. If none of those seem to produce, I would slow down and do a little pitching. Even though the water is still pretty cold it’s been up for a while now, I know a few people have done this already with some success.
As the water hopefully warms in the second half of the month it’s really going to be time to think about the spawn. These fish are eager to move, so the first solid week of warmer temperatures will have them moving quickly. It should be time to really start catching some fish on a variety of different baits. Spinner baits, chatter baits, and square bill cranks should dominate towards the end of the month. Also flipping creature baits, swim baits, and a fluke type bait can be great as well. You really want to concentrate in the 5 foot or less area and stay in or around some of the thousands of pockets this lake has to offer. Work your way to the back and keep an eye out for cruising fish or even spawning fish. When the water temperature hits that 60 degree mark, I really start looking a bunch. Also remember all the fish don’t do their thing at the same time so you will have a bunch of pre spawners as well. Just keep a note that most of the time the fish are farther along up the lake vs down by the Dam. That is true right now as well, fish are farther along in the back end of Nutbush and up by Clarksville than say in Palmer’s Creek.
I hope these few tips can help you if you venture to Kerr this month. This can really be an exciting month to fish this lake; it can also be very rewarding. There is a bunch of different ways you can catch them this month, a little bit of everything seems to work. So go out, have fun, and pray for warmer weather. The big females will be making there move soon, maybe you will catch one.
This weeks Tackle Warehouse VLOG #277 is a real treat – a behind-the-scenes look at the G. Loomis factory in Woodland, WA. Watch as we start our guided tour through the factory and begin to see how G. Loomis crafts their top-of-the-line fishing rods. A must-watch for anyone who’s ever wondered how premium fishing rods are made, this Tackle Warehouse VLOG series will be one for the books, so keep it tuned in next week the rest of the tour.
