Ice Fishing

Friday November 29, 2013

I am not much of a Black Friday shopper.  I believe that in 30 years of life I have made only one purchase on Black Friday and it was a tv for myself.  With that being said I saw this as a great opportunity to go out and try and find some fish.  The weather was predicted to be in the 40's with a winds out of the N NW at 10-15.  I decided to get an early start with my pops as usual.  I just love being on the water early.  Today that may not have been the best idea.  As we rode over the West Neck bridge this morning to my shock the entire creek was iced over.  We decided to ride up to the ramp and take a closer look.

We saw one other really smart truck in the parking lot that appeared to beat us to the idea of heading out in the ice.  My dad and I looked at each other and said what the heck we are already here, never been ice fishing before.

It was a slow needless to say.  We headed to the bridge first since this was the only visible spot that had no ice on the surface to make a cast.  It was so cold that on the retrieve ice was forming on the eyelits of my rod.

We try to find clear open water and deep water and tried North Landing channel as well as the Pocaty but not a tap, nibble or bite on anything that we were presenting the fish.  After some more debating we decided to head back up to West Neck to give it a shot.  We passed fellow blogger and fishing enthusiast Charlie at the bridge. He appeared to have just made it out and thanked us for breaking the ice to make it easier to for his paddle out.  The north side of the bridge offered us the same result as everywhere else, nothing.  About 1130 we made our way south again to call it a day when I decide to throw on one more point that I have had some success in the past.  It was in this last location that I got my first bite and the only fish to avoid the skunk.  I picked up this 12 in beauty on a black and blue jig with a chigger craw crazy legs trailer.  It was a very light bite on a slow slow presentation.

It was a learning experience as the cold water and cold weather is setting in.  Middle of the day from now on will most likely be best or waiting til the warm weather sets in.  Neverless a slow day fishing beats anything else I could have spent the day doing.

Until next time.....

A Salute to our Vets

November 11, 2013
As a grandson of two amazing men whom both served in the United States Navy for 20+ years each Veteran's Day is one that sits close to my heart.  It is an amazing sacrifice to put yourself on the line for the freedoms we so often take for granted.  To all of the men and women out there who serve or have served I thank you and your families to the service that you give.  You are the backbone of this great nation and I salute you.

Like planned I set out for West Neck again, this time my good buddy Brandon in tow.  We got to the ramp as the first boat to launch just as the sun was peaking over the tree tops.  Once again the air was cool and crisp.  The wind was laid down and calm to start the morning and there was a slight fog rising over the water.  There is something incredible about setting out during this time of day, it is and always will be my favorite time to fish.

The day started off hot for me again as I put two in the boat within the first 30 minutes. I landed both on an X-Rap Fire Tiger. I went out to try and find the school again but of course that was unsuccessful.  So after a bit we motored up and headed for the Pocaty. The more I fall in love with the sport of fishing, the more I read, listen, and learn about the techniques and tactics that make you a successful fishermen.  I say all that to say I am intrigued by this creek.  As you head up creek you come across a nice channel that runs anywhere from 6-10 feet deep with a steep ledge that rises to 2-3 feet close the bank.  I feel that with the fall and winter patterns of fish moving up to the shallows to feed and back to deeper water this should set up for a nice place.  I didn't disappoint today!

The bite started early and stayed fairly steady until about 1030.  I had a limit in the boat by 900 and had seven bass in the boat by 1030.  Brandon had added 3 bass and a pickerel in the same time.  My bait of choice was my War Eagle Spinner in Sexy Shad with double willow blades gold and silver.  My luck changed when I unexpectedly lost this bait.  The fish seem to really love it.  Always remember to retie you baits especially after a few fish and when throwing in heavy cover.

The bite slowed down after this and we only boated three more bass between then and 230 before we pulled the boat out of the water.  In total for the day I had 8 bass with the only one I felt like weighing coming in at 1.9 most were in the 1 lb range with one really little guy.  Brandon ended up with 5 bass and one pickerel.  All and all not a bad day, really beginning to enjoy my fall days at West Neck.

Until next time....

Schools in Session on West Neck

November 9, 2013
Since the last blog posted I have recently purchased a boat.  The new addition to my family is a '02 Bass Tracker Pro Team 165.  I couldn't be happier to have it and already put a few hours on the water with it.  The biggest issue I am having is now, even more so, with every free moment I want to take it out on the water.
With that being said the plan was to wake up early Saturday morning and hit West Neck.  With the wind blowing out of the north the couple days prior I was a bit concerned the water would be too low but arriving at the ramp things look good to go.  My dad was along for the journey today and we launched the boat about 720 am.  The conditions looked good. Air temperature was chilly but there was no wind until about 1030 am.  Water temperature started out about 60 but warmed to 65.
It was about 830 that we notice some activity on the surface and headed over to get a closer look.  It was about this time that we stumbled upon a large school of feeding bass.  I don't know how fish were there but in the span of roughly an hour we boated to my estimation roughly 20 bass.  Nothing too big I believe the biggest one I took the time to weigh came in a 1.8 lbs.  It was close to an every cast hook up kind of day.  It was something that was really hard to describe, but was a blast.  My only complaint if I was going to make one would have been they weren't big enough! I caught all of them in this period on an X-Rap Fire Tiger suspending jerk bait.  My dad caught them on two different jerk baits a suspending and floating (sorry but I don't know the brand). It was roughly 945 when we hadn't had a bite or fish in a while that we realized the bite turned off and we decided to move.
Over the course of the next roughly 6 hours I ended up boating 6 more bass on a War Eagle spinner bait and on pickerel on a jerk bait.  My dad I believe landed on more bass and on Bowfin weighing in at 3.13 lbs.
All in all it was a blast to be on the water and a day that I am sure I will never forget.  The plan is to head out again tomorrow and honor our veterans by hopefully boating a few more fish.

Until next time.....


Here are some photos from the day.  I will be updating this post later with a short video of some of the action from the day.