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.

Like Father Like Son

After spending last Sunday October 6, 2013 on the water fishing with my dad, I realized that sometimes the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  Recently my dad turn the bright young age of 60.  Hard for me to imagine that because he doesn't act near what I normally envision for a man his age.  Sunday took me back to my childhood; just me, dad and the fish.  Except he was really the only one to find the later.  As I sat down to write my blog and put together the film from the day, I realized that it didn't matter whether or not I caught fish.  It was just good to be on the water with dad.  I actually felt like somewhat of a guide as on two separate occasions I told him where to cast and he caught decent bass.  I thought that this is what it must have felt like for him to see me catch them as a kid.

Well dad here is to you.  To the man who put the first rod in my hand. Thanks for always being there for me.

Below is a video compilation of all video I have of my dad catching a few from this season.

Lake Tecumseh and Hells Creek

September 28, 2013
I got a chance to get out on Saturday with a mission to fish.  A huge thank you goes out to my dad who kindly allowed me to use his NuCanoe for my adventure.  My trusted fishing buddy, Brandon and I headed out at first light for Lake Tecumseh.  We anticipated a windy day but were not ready for the 25 to 30 mph winds that we would face.  I landed two decent fish in the grass beds and lily pads on the lake before we gave up battling the winds and tough fishing.  We moved the boat into Hell's Creek where we found some protection from the wind.  The water level was down about 2 feet from the strong northern winds that we had been facing for a couple days.  The fishing was steady.  We landed 10 for the day.  Of course we missed a few but it turn out to be a good day.  We caught them on black chigger craw crazy legs and bubble gum fluke. The fish in the creek were holding tight to structure. The two from Lake Tecumseh we both caught on a KVD Sexy frog. The only fish I thought of weighing weight in a 3.26 lbs

I hope you enjoy the video.  I am still learning this editing process.  I was having some technical difficulties with the camera so I missed capturing a few of the fish

Florida Bass Fishing Trip

I have finally had some time to go back and edit some old footage from my Florida trip from this spring. In this post you will find the video from some of our exploits on the Peacock pit in South Florida.  I hope that you enjoy.

Great Neck Bass

September 7, 2013

Got a chance to get out and do some fishing this weekend after moving into a new place and a couple weeks of no real fish.  It has been a slow month of August for me fishing wise, hard to find the fish and the bite.  Saturday morning I set out with my trusty fishing buddy Brandon to a new spot for me.  I found access through a friend to fish Great Neck Lake in Virginia Beach.  I have heard from several people of the years that there is a healthy population of bass in the lake so I was excited to try a new place.  We set out early and got on the water a little after 630 am.  Air temp was cool Saturday morning, in the mid 60's, to get started.  Water temp started at 75 and warmed up only a few degrees by days end, to 77.  Depth varied through out the lake from 1ft near the back to 5 feet in the middle.  No real visible grass to note, but plenty of stuff on the bottom, lay downs, stumps, etc.  Only had success on black plastics texas rigged off the bottom.  I finished with 3 in the boat and missed a few more.  Fish of the day was 20.5 inches I am guessing around 4 or 4 1/2 lbs.  My scale died so I need to get a new one. Not sure when I will get a chance to get out again as I am headed out of town this week, but enjoy the video. Until next time...